Seizure 18.y (Legend)
He froze in horror, watching as the Anti-Simurgh armband, which contained a small bomb that was supposed to go off after the hour of Simurgh exposure needed to become corrupted, beeped, listing the list of the dead. Those that had died because the Simurgh, the extremely powerful and extremely skilled Precognative, Tinker, and Telekinetic, had coopted the devices to make them explode.
But not randomly, no, the detonations had been targeted.
One dead per group.
Exactly.
"How did we not see this coming," he muttered, feeling like a complete idiot. They'd seen the Endbringer manipulate and create technology. They'd seen it be able to affect things large and small, without needing any kind of line of sight. And they'd gone, time after time, against it with remotely detonated explosives on their arms, thinking it was the best of their options.
From another group, he saw someone cut and run, rocketing away on blue flames from their hands and feet, only for their armband to detonate once they were almost out of sight, one of the flames spinning away as the limb was separated, while the other spun the cape's corpse, before they cut off completely, the body dropping back down to earth.
"Do not flee," Alexandria's voice came from the armband, and Legend had to look up to confirm that it was actually her, and not the Simurgh. "Armbands are compromised. They will detonate if you leave the battlefield."
If anything, the fact that she could send that message made things worse, not better, as they'd just been telling the others the armbands couldn't be trusted. Legend raced off, pushing himself as several more groups fled. Surely they thought the order to stay was false, to keep them fighting,, and he was able to head off one, yelling "Stop!" even as he came close to the edge of the battlefield, armband beeping at him warningly.
While the beeping wasn't a pre-arranged signal of anything, its meaning couldn't be more clear.
Pulling in closer, the beeping slowed, and he urged them, "Keep attacking. We'll figure something out!"
"Fuck that shit!" a man Legend didn't recognize shouted, "I'm a Brute eight! I'm getting out of here!"
Charging forward, a grey aura enveloped the man as he sped up, blowing past the Triumviteer, and into the danger zone. Sure enough, the beeping quickly sped up into a whine, before the device detonated, ruining the man's costume, but leaving him intact. He slowed, turning around a good two hundred feet away and yelling, "Sucks to be y-"
And then a satellite struck him.
No, that was a truck, some part of Legend noted, the fully loaded semi having moved fast enough that the shockwave of the impact picked him up and threw him backwards, even at this distance, his own flight slowing him down, as he heard the crash of other impacts in the distance.
Turning around, and looking back to the center of the field, the Simurgh, floating between attacks, shook her head chastisingly at all those around her, blurs blasting upwards as more trucks were thrown high, high into the air. "If we can drive it off," Legend told those around him, even as he was trying to convince himself, "we should be able to leave!"
Legend knew he was guessing, but tried to not let his fears show, the others nodding and turning back. As they did though, Legend looked at his own armband, wondering. He could outrun a thrown truck. Pushing the thought out of his head, he blasted outwards, to try and save another group before they ran afoul of the trap, making it in time to stop them completely, the collection of Parahumans having halted on their own, only for a person with a breaker power, turning to mist, try and run past him anyways.
The woman left her armband behind, the device detonating a second after it lost contact but her ethereal body rode the blast as she flew off, reforming once more into a ghost as she escaped, unable to be hurt by any falling vehicles. However, an enormous, invisible pulse of force shot past Legend, missing him by inches, striking the fleeing woman. Her mist form was blown outwards, a moment of fear on her face before it too was blown away. The motes of color that were the woman were scattered all the way down the street until all that was visible was a red haze, which suddenly reverted back to reality, a thin rain of gore all that was left of the woman.
Looking back at the others, he didn't need to tell them not to try.
Legend tried to go to the next group, to warn them, just in time to see another person die, and again, and again, and again. If I'd gone here first, he thought, heart clenching, once more coming a few seconds too late, as a fleeing teen, body split into a dozen different pieces, all flying independently, was hit by a redirected fireball, burning to death in an instant. But that was always the case fighting the Simurgh. It'd just been. . . subtler before, he supposed, only now, just like Leviathan, it wasn't bothering to hold back anymore.
The groups were now fighting, trying to hit the Simurgh while doing their best to not get hit by friendly fire, which the Endbringer was content to allow, only throwing projectiles high, high in the air to come down supernaturally fast at the edges of the battlefield, at those who tried to run.
Taking a risk, he used the armband, asking it where Alexandria was, and getting coordinates. Flying high, but not too high, he moved to them, seeing Rebecca talking to Rime, Chevalier, and a few others. Hesitating, he pressed the button on his armband again, asking, "Am I talking to Dragon?"
"Who else would you be talking to?" the armband asked, mimicking Dragon's voice perfectly. Then it beeped, twice. "Paranoia is the first sign of Simurgh Exposure, Legend. You should be. . . careful."
"Of-of course," he replied, wondering why he'd even asked. "I will be." Coming down to the others, dodging around the glowing orbs that hung above them, he heard the connection close, and shook his head, the others turning to look at him. "What's the plan?"
"The plan? There is no plan!" Revel snapped, before wincing. "Sorry."
Legend waved it away, "Don't worry. This is. . ."
"Excessive," Alexandria noted, turning back to the others. "Has anyone been able to contact the PRT?"
"Only for a moment," Infraready, a Tinker from Philadelphia, informed the group. "But they already know what's going on."
"Then when can we get reinforcements?" Chevalier requested, reading the Tinker's expression. "We aren't, are we."
The Tinker nodded, "Chief Costa-Brown herself ordered them not to. With the Simurgh acting like it was, everyone who's here is going to need to go into Master-Stranger confinement, and she said they weren't going to compromise more heroes than they already have."
"She. What." Alexandria, who, in her other identity, was Chief Costa-Brown, demanded.
Legend quickly asked, "Did they receive these orders in person?"
Infraready shook her head. "No idea. That's when my gear shorted out. I tried to fix it, but, this happens." Holding up a device that looked like it wouldn't be out of place in a fancy kitchen, she popped open the case and, with a pen-like tool, soldered something. Closing it, she clicked it on, the front of it glowing. The woman started to say, "This is-" only for a loud pop to come from the communication Tinkertech, the light cutting off, and a thin trail of smoke rising from the device.
Opening it back up, she sighed, "Different short, every time."
Legend started to talk, but was cut off as a song once more came from every single speaker, on every single armband.
"All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;
Those gathered spread out, so that if one of their armbands went off, only they would be hurt.
The monkey thought it had a good chance,"
Legend tensed, ready to move as fast as he could, shifting forms to outrun the blast from his armband, even if it came from around his limb.
"Pop,"
Infraready's armband exploded, the blast cutting through her thin armor, and she dropped, even as Alexandria was already in motion to reach her, to try and stop the bleeding.
"goes the hero!"
But it was too late, she was going into shock, and without a healer, she was already gone. They had a medical area, but it was outside the combat zone, as no one wanted another Brockton Bay, where, at the end, Leviathan had gone after the support staff personally.
The deaths rolled in, more of those he was unable to save, and Legend couldn't take it. He'd argued they needed to be careful He'd argued they should've brought in others. He'd argued so many things, and now his people were dying, and if he'd just stopped listening to the others they'd still be alive! The thought was almost familiar, as if he'd had it before, but he'd never been pushed this far, and, for a moment, he lost his temper. Legend pretended he could only fire lasers from his hands, but, in an instant, he blew through his own costume, disintegrating the bomb on his arm, if only to get it to shut up.
Then he froze, as the others turned to stare, but no blast came for him, no beam redirected by the Endbringer, no truck from above. Nothing happened at all, and it was terrifying. "I guess the Simurgh only cares if we try to leave," Legend said weakly, but gathered himself.
That moment of anger, while understandable, was. . . not him, not really. Was this the Simurgh already at work? It wasn't screaming, but did it need to? What else was it doing?
"Good idea, Legend," Chevalier nodded. "And doing it yourself. . ." he shook his head. "You're a braver man than I."
I'm not, Legend thought, but that wasn't these people needed to hear right now. "And that's what we need to do. We need to get these bombs off, and we need to do it fast. I wish we had Cache, he'd be exactly what we need, but," he paused, looking around the group, "I can't exactly find it in me to be upset that he's not here."
That got a few chuckles, breaking a bit of the tension that had been ratcheting up more and more. These are heroes, Legend thought, smiling slightly as he felt his own spirit rise as well, give them a way forward, and they'll face death itself. "We're on a time limit, people. Do the best you can, and do it fast. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Alexandria?" he asked, flying over to her and holding out his hand, just in case he messed this up.
She nodded and, holding his palm over the main component of the armband, he blasted it off without so much as leaving a mark. "Take it out fast, or rip it off and toss it. You should have a half-second, so don't hesitate," he instructed the others. "Once you're done, we'll re-gather here and plan our escape."
One of the spheres of light above them darted down, touch the armband on Revel's outstretched arm, most of the device just disappearing, the bottom falling down before going off with a pop, the secondary explosive cord, when not pressed against the skin, loud but not very dangerous.
"That's it, now let's go!" he urged, taking off towards another group, the others spreading out, either running or flying. As he flew, Eidolon, covered in a large blue energy construct, tried to charge the Simurgh to engage her in melee in combat.
The attacks sent her way paused to let him get in without being hit by friendly fire, but, the moment before he would've struck, a nearby building exploded, a bank vault slamming into David, sending the Triumviteer flying down the street. As he crashed into a store, Legend tore his attention away, having to trust that his friend knew what he was doing. Long experience had shown that, if the Simurgh was left alone when the battle started, it'd make more and more devices until all they could do was run.
And now, they couldn't even do that.
Moving to the nearest group, he nodded to the ranking Protectorate member. "Miss Militia, we're removing the armbands."
The woman's eyes narrowed behind her signature bandanna, "But they'll explode."
Approaching her, Legend gestured for her arm, which she, hesitating for a moment, offered. Cupping his hands over the armband, he destroyed it in an instant, and looked around. "Is there someone here who could do this?"
"I can," Blesk nodded, the yellow skin man touching his armband and causing it to disappear in a burst of yellow light, reappearing a hundred feet away, where it detonated. Legend smiled at the Case 53, one of many who, despite the hardship he'd endured, chose to fight as a hero, just as he'd volunteered to help Cauldron save others, even though the hero had no memory of it.
"Good man," the Triumviteer said, turning back to Miss Militia. "If we can't fight, we'll pull back, there's no one here we need to protect other than each other. But wait, we need to have a plan, or we'll get picked off." He took off, moving to the next group, as Eidolon, now surrounded by a hundred black swords, charged the Simurgh, which responded with a hundred bricks as it paused from constructing some large tube covered in circuitry. With its attention diverted, a stray blast curved in from behind its back, a crescent of grey energy impacting and cutting into the Tinkertech device, erasing a band of material as if it was never there.
Legend felt his hopes start to raise, as it matched Eidolon, pushing him back, but as they were finally starting to score some hits!
Wait.
Why were they suddenly able to hit it?
Legend blurred out of the way as a shotgun blast of projectiles came his way, reforming out of solid light on the other side as he moved to another group, seeing Alexandria, Revel, Rime, and others doing the same. Firing a laser the Endbringers way, he kept himself on task, moving to the next group. This bunch had noone that could remove their armbands, and he spent a minute removing them himself before he moved on, but the devices were unusually quiet, announcing no fighters dead, or even combatants down.
The next group had Narwhal, who accepted Legend's order with a nod, encircling her own armband with a force field before cutting it in half, absorbing the explosion, while the next group of fighters had a person who could temporarily transform non-living matter, turning the armbands to paper, which she telekinetically controlled to make them fly to the Simurgh.
It didn't seem to notice them as they stuck to the Endbringer's wings, transforming back, the bombs primed to blow.
The bombs which then dropped to ground below the monster, undetonated.
"Kantan sugiru to omoimashita!" the blue haired woman swore, letting the last of the transformed armbands settle on a nearby rooftop, where, returning to normal, they detonated.
"Good try," Legend offered the Asian woman, "Keep the pressure up. Don't overreach. We can't let the Simurgh work, but we can't do that if we're dead."
She nodded, and he moved to another group, passing by one that had Alexandria ripping the armbands off and throwing them away faster than they could automatically detonate, her hands a blur. Looking in the other direction, the Simurgh tried to activate the device, a heavily damaged cylinder of some sort, which exploded. It left the creature intact, but shrapnel from it flew out, one piece catching Legend in the shin despite his attempt to dodge.
It was a glancing blow, a hot line of pain, but he'd taken worse, and he needed to keep going. Stopping at the next group, the armbands of the group registered the deaths.
"Altertude deceased AC-1, Blesk deceased BA-2, Carbine deceased CF-3, Deluxe deceased DA-4, Elegy deceased EB-5, Fernicular deceased FE-6."
Wait, Legend thought, he'd seen Blesk take his armband off. How could- right, the Simurgh is the one that killed him, and controls the comms. More than that, it gave the impression that everyone else was still wearing their armbands, and he was sure the few that'd cut and run, but hadn't grouped up, didn't know the plan.
He wished he could tell the others, but the Parahuman that Alexandria had gotten to convey her message had already died. Instead Legend was doing what he could, having the others still fight the Simurgh so that, when they cut and run, they might have a chance. Not to surprise the monster, he knew that was impossible, but if the Endbringer couldn't construct any Tinkertech, it wouldn't be able to stop them all.
Flying high, he sped around, checking the groups, looking for the distinctive green of the armbands, and seeing none. Returning to where they'd met before, the others were gathering once more. "What's the plan?" Chevalier asked as the Triumviteer landed, and that was a good question. There were too many different powers, too many unknowns, for any kind of perfect plan.
If he could get in contact with Contessa, she'd be able to tell him what to do, not to counter the Simurgh, but to find the best plan with everyone here. However, after what happened in Madison, they weren't taking the risk of opening a doorway anywhere within five miles of the Simurgh. Dragon was supposed to handle communications, but she wasn't responding, and, yes, his satellite phone had no reception.
He wondered if the tech the device needed to work was one of satellites he'd had to destroy only- he checked the time- twenty-five minutes ago. Only twenty-five minutes, he thought, shaking his head. Not even halfway to the danger-point but they were already leaving. Again, his thoughts moved to his husband and his son, and a desire to just run, to abandon the people here and save himself. It stirred in his breast, a deep well of fear and loss, that was almost overwhelming.
No, he thought, shaking his head, while he was sure he'd escape, sure he could get out, if her were to do that now, he wouldn't be the man that Arthur married, couldn't look himself in the mirror ever again.
"Legend?" Chevalier asked, sounding concerned. "Sir, are you alright?"
"Just a bit stressed," Legend replied, trying to smile. "We took our time getting here, but we don't have that luxury to leaave. We'll need to hit hard. Hit fast. And retreat."
Revel didn't look impressed. "And how are we going to do that? You might be able to dodge supersonic cars, but most of us can't."
Rebecca's voice came from behind him, "We keep it busy." Turning to look at his friend, Legend found himself able to smile. If anyone could come up with the plan they needed, and had the strength to help pull it off, it was his friend. "Strider is in the medical area, likely awaiting our call. Or waiting for a call of down, instead of deceased."
"So we need to hurt someone with an armband?" Chevalier asked. "I'd volunteer, but-"
"I checked," Alexandria interrupted. "Before I removed them. It doesn't register. We won't be able to do this effectively," she stated looking around. "Those with high Mover ratings that can also attack at range, like Legend and I, will stand and fight at first, to give you an opportunity to retreat. Movers should take everyone they can while still able to travel at speed. Mobile Shakers, like Narwhal, will take as many as they can carry. The signal will be Legend firing into the sky in a three-beam pattern, one after another."
"And those that can't run fast enough?" Revel asked, angry, but looking resigned, not that he blamed her in the slightest. "What about them?"
"Prioritize known factors who will help in the aftermath. Director Costa-Brown will understand," Rebecca Costa-Brown stated, looking at the others from behind her Alexandria persona.
Legend winced at this, as, while it wasn't a violation of the Endbringer Truce, it was very close. On the other hand, expecting the villains who came here to prioritize others over their own group wasn't something that was expected of them either. They were Heroes, they were supposed to be better, but, like always, they were only able to do the best out of the bad options.
"Why can't we fight?" Stalwart, head of the Kansas City Protectorate demanded. The Tinker was good at defensive fortifications, and had helped build the Tinkertech Canons, which even now shot at the Simurgh, but always, always missed.
Because I don't want to die, was Legend's first thought, once again feeling the urge to run, which was so unlike him that he cast a glance to the Endbrignger, wondering if that was its work. Was he already compromised? Would he think he'd escaped, only to go mad, as its victims did, and kill his own team, or, worse, his family?
"Because, in case you haven't noticed, we can't hit her," Revel snarled, rebuking the man. "We thought we were prepared for her being like Leviathan was in Brockton Bay, and we weren't. So," the Chicago Protectorate team lead said, turning to the two Triumviteers, "Should I be one of the ones that stays?"
Legend shook his head, "No. It might just be us three, " he stated motioning to Alexandria, the third person he was referring to obvious. "When we pull out, we'll be doing so fast, and you wouldn't be able to keep up."
"I would," Exalt said, stepping up. "I've been here since where it was going to attack was announced. I've built up my power here. I'll need you to carry me once we're a few miles away, Ma'am," he added, nodding to Alexandria. "But burst speed, to get the heck outta dodge, I'll be able ta keep pace."
Alexandria nodded and turned to give Legend an expectant look. "Alright. We're on a time limit as is," the Blaster told the heroes assembled before him. "Anyone who can hit from a distance and go at least a hundred miles per hour should hold the line, everyone else is running. I won't lie, this is a retreat, but we've already evacuated everyone. In terms of lives, we've already won. We just haven't won as completely as we'd've liked. Now, we can do this. I believe in you all. Show the world why we're the Protectorate!"
The others nodded, still grim, but standing a little straighter as Legend nodded back, taking off to find Eidolon, who was wielding long whips of bright orange electricity, slashing at the Simurgh, which sent projectiles back at him. Its projectiles disappeared right before impacting the man, reappearing behind him and dropping to the ground, robbed of momentum. Shooting a few lasers of his own, Legend's shots bent around the Endbringer, or were blocked on the cloud of debris that now encircled the fifteen-foot-tall creature.
If he didn't know better, he could think this was a normal Simurgh fight, as much as those existed.
"Eidolon," he called, approaching his friend and flying around the path of the whips, which seemed to be striking on their own as much as David was swinging them. "Eidolon!" His friend didn't seem to notice him, swinging with abandon. "EIDOLON!"
Legend had to dodge as a whip snapped his way, before his friend realized who was beside him. The man sent a glance his way, turning his attention back on the Simurgh, slicing a large looking computer, that the Endbringer had started to pull out from a nearby building, in half. "What is it?" David snapped. "I'm busy, in case you haven't noticed!"
The Blaster hesitated, having to overcome his instincts that screamed at him not to tell the enemy their plans, but it already knew. "We can't win this, Eidolon! We're pulling out!"
"Like hell we are!" the other Triumviteer snapped. "Damn it Legend, I've got her on the ropes!"
Legend looked at his friend, who continued trying to attack, his whips able to slice through solid matter with ease, but were turned aside when they hit the bits of debris. Looking closer, firing a few lasers of his own, Legend realized the whips weren't being turned aside by the debris, but directly after they blasted through Simurgh's 'shields'.
It was hard to tell the difference, but the Blaster knew his power inside and out, knew what to look for, and David, David probably had his power for less than five minutes. The Simurgh wasn't on the back foot, it was playing with him, and David couldn't tell the difference. Legend flew to his friend, "You're holding it off, but that's not enough. The others are falling back, and we need to keep it busy. Can I count on you?"
Eidolon hesitated, then turned back to the Endbringer. "What do you think I was doing?" he asked, snapping another length of lightning out, almost catching a wing. If you didn't know better, the Simurgh almost looked worried. But he did.
Adding his own fire, the Simurgh fired back with projectiles of its own, Legend dodging around them while his own lasers missed, were deflected, or were just completely blocked. Every single one of them. It's not about hitting, it's about keeping this monster busy, he told himself, ignoring the instinctive annoyance of missing, as the other heroes spread out, spreading word of their plan.
Even then, the Simurgh seemed. . . docile. Oh, it was trying to kill him, he knew that. On a whim, he'd tried to spar with Contessa. He'd done so to see what it was like fighting a precognitive. It had been. . . an experience. Every dodge had been a dodge into an attack, every attack that got through only did so because she'd let it happen. This? This was nothing like that, which meant it was, on a much, much deeper level.
Alexandria flew up, stating with calm purpose, "Ready."
"I, I think this is what it wants," Legend warned, as the Simurgh stopped attacking him, fending off Eidolon's attacks as it turned to watch him, almost expectantly. "Are you sure?"
"We cannot win here," Rebecca replied, which wasn't a yes, but, she didn't need to say it out loud.
Lifting a hand, he fired off three blasts, straight up.
Exalt came up from the other side, carrying a whirlwind full of shrapnel, and fired it directly at the Simurgh, who raised a wing to shield, the rocks actually striking its pure white feathers, as Eidolon pressed the attack. Alexandria blurred to the side, grabbing debris and hurling it at the Endbringer as well, as even attacks came from every direction.
"It's working!" Eidolon yelled, electrical whips curling together and solidifying into an enormous sword, as he charged it. Looking around, Legend saw some groups running, but others were coming towards them, trying to help now that the tide seemed to be turning.
No, he thought, flying over to them. "Unless you can move at a hundred miles an hour, run!" he commanded, one of those coming to help, a man in armor carried by phantom copies of himself, stopping to stare. "NOW!" Legend shouted, as one of them started to argue.
Thankfully, they listened, pulling back and away, as the Simurgh, still silent, seemed to take fire, pulling its debris cloud tight to try to protect itself, showing more weakness than he had ever remembered it displaying in any fight. Looking around, Legend tried to find what everyone else was missing, trying to think differently, in the hope that doing so would help.
He saw nothing.
Joining the fight, the others continued to pull back, the Simurgh fighting them with crude telekinetic attacks, and while he felt his beams hit something, looking closer, the Endbringer seemed undamaged.
Moving to Alexandria, he said, "It's-"
"Faking, I know," his friend agreed. "But she's fighting us so she's not-"
A glimmer of golden light came from above them, and, despite himself, Legend felt hope. With communication cut off, they couldn't track Scion, but when they started this the Entity was in South America, its estimated arrival would be, well, now. The Simurgh might be playing with them, but if the Endbringers had been holding back, the Entity wasn't even trying.
However, the glimmer of gold suddenly expanded in every direction, stretching downwards, a dark shape perched on the other side of the ever-growing dome that was quickly growing out. "Run!" Legend shouted, turning and grabbing David as he accelerated, trying to escape.
If he let go and moved on his own, he knew he could make it, but he wasn't going to leave his friends behind, and the other man didn't have a strong enough Mover power to get out on his own. Legend pushed himself faster, and faster, the golden dome moving down with increasing speed, but he could do it, he could make it.
And then with one-third of the space left, the barrier flared fully into being, sealing them in.
Pulling himself back with everything he had, he slowed down barely in time to come to a stop before the audibly sizzling barrier. Darting backwards, he found himself with Narwhal's group, who had been riding the woman's forcefields to safety, the static constructs having secured themselves to small drones to create mobile platforms.
A parahuman gestured out, a cannon of earth forming itself out of the asphalt of the street, and fired a cannonball of the same material at the barrier.
With a sound not unlike a bug-zapper, the ball of stone, tar, and whatever else went into blacktop disintegrated in an instant.
"Let me," David said, yanking himself out Legend's grip, as the area around him turned to darkness, spreading out to encompass them all. A sharp tug was felt, and the darkness faded, leaving them right were they were.
"Um, what was that supposed to do?" A cape Legend didn't recognize asked.
Eidolon, from the set of his shoulders, glared at the golden wall. "Teleport us out," he finally said.
From everywhere, and nowhere, Legend heard feminine laughter. Mocking. Harsh. Devoid of any warmth. A pulse came from the Simurgh, turning the hero's stomach, causing him to drop to the ground, staggering as the pain in his leg flared once more.
Looking around the group of forty, or more, everyone's powers fluctuated for a moment, and an icy feeling of pure terror shot down his spine. It can affect powers? He thought, though, no, no, he couldn't believe that. It never had before. It'd never shown that It could, even a little. No, people controlled their powers mentally, and the Simurgh could affect brains. Those that were transformed by their powers, while staggering themselves, did not revert.
Looking around the others, similarly unnerved, there was a moment of complete silence, save the humming of the barrier, before two people started screaming. The sound dug at him like freezing knives, but he backed up away from them, as did the others, unsure.
Then, it stopped, and both people stood up in unison, their expressions blank for a moment, before they cleared, revealing stark, unadulterated terror.
And then they began to sing.
"All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;"
Both of them reached up, trying to cover their mouths, though not in unison, but their hands froze before they could. Their voices were different, but they both had perfect pitch, and sang in harmony.
"The monkey thought it had a good chance,"
And then they exploded, the man in a conflagration of green flame, the woman in an explosion of brown crystal spires. It was two others, that continued, freezing as expressions of panic spread across their features, as they too sang in unison:
"Pop goes the Hero."