A Waken 17.8

It was probably a testament to how well we'd done things that everything just moved.

Kati went right to dealing with the press. People had already noticed several Londo Bell members were participating in the whole mess before we could reach out to all of them. Dean and Talia backed her up. Lisa and Dinah got all the thinkers to huddle. Colin and Faultline got everyone organized and Weld took a chance to talk to some of the Wards he still knew.

Other than saying 'we're dealing with this before it blows up and takes thousands of people with it' I didn't have to do much.

That left me with time to think. I hadn't had time to think in a while. Not about the mid-term picture at least.

Whoever's move this was… it was unfortunately brilliant.

Consternation.

Yeah. This resets everything.

My entire plan had been to force things to a head. Cut off David's 'no-lose' scenario and make confronting us his only way to win. I knew something would happen to try and change that, but I never thought it would go this big.

David hadn't quite reestablished a no-lose scenario, but he'd made things fluid again. More than that, he'd absolutely assured his main goal. I couldn't sit back and wait for the government to send in the military. There was no way to know how that would end for sure, but it would come with a lot of corpses.

If we went in ourselves, we couldn't save everyone but we could minimize the human cost. We'd also make everyone question what the PRT or the Protectorate were even for. Why have them on the government dime when independents did the job better?

Londo Bell needed to step up when that question started being raised and I couldn't let their reputation get sullied either.

There was no way around it. We had to go in.

Teacher had given himself options while constraining mine. He could hit me during the fight to try and take me out. Present himself as the reasoned middle ground. Ignore me while I was distracted and act elsewhere. We'd gutted Phantom Pain but they could still cause damage and he could still pretend to intervene.

And all the while, I was spending resources I'd wanted to save. Resources that, this close to the next Endbringer's descent, we wouldn't be able to replace in time. That gave me pause too, but it was possible this wasn't David's plan.

This could be the bitch in the sky making her move, insofar as she could act outside of David's influence.

With a deep breath, I raised my phone back to my ear. "Sorry. Still there?"

"Yeah," Lily answered. "We're being called in… Everyone is, I think. People are freaking out."

I grimaced and screwed my eyes shut. "I…" My lungs seized up for a moment and I coughed.

"Taylor?"

"I need you to make a choice, Lily."

I didn't want it to be like this. I didn't want to force it. I tried not to force it.

I still felt Lisa glaring into the back of my head, literally thinking at me to get over myself. Heroes took responsibility. That didn't just mean glory. They made choices—the choices only they could make—and they lived with the consequences.

"I can't keep waiting," I told her, and that was bitchy. Why did I immediately go to bitchy? "I need to know if you're coming or not." Not better.

"Now?" she asked.

"Now," I repeated. "I have to stop this before this becomes the Second American Civil War and we go the way of Africa."

Not because anyone really wanted to, but because capes where currently the only surefire solution to capes. Capes ended up kings either way. I needed more time to level the field. It couldn't all collapse now. It wasn't the way forward.

"Your power changes how I can deal with this," I explained. "It might be the difference between a Pyrrhic victory and…" I asked for certainty. Possibility. That was the best she could do. "And true victory."

There was a shout on the other side of the phone and Lily said something back. I'd guess she was pressing her phone to her chest. The muffled words went back and forth and then Lily was walking somewhere.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There are master-stranger elements involved here. What happens tomorrow could hinge on what happens tonight and I need to know right now if you're prepared to pull the trigger."

There wasn't an immediate answer.

I was about to speak when Lily spoke up. "I get info-sec. So, I know why you're talking around something. What does someone have to do to know what you're really talking about though?"

"Trust," I told her. "Which I know is the most ironic load of bull in the world coming from me but…but there might only be the one shot and I can't… Only Veda"—suggestion—"and Administrator know."

"Administrator?"

Deep breath. "My power. Her name is Administrator, and"—damnit—"and the next Endbringer is going to be early."

Lily stopped and someone called out to her. I couldn't say more than that. That alone might be too much. I knew I was a blind spot, but that hadn't stopped a shot from nearly killing Dragon, Veda, and me. The Simurgh wasn't dead yet.

We were both staring down the barrel of the other's gun.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to do it like this."

"It's fine," she said briskly. "Honestly, I'd probably just keep putting it off if you didn't press. I'm… I'm not the most initiative-taking person."

I blinked and raised my head.

"It's easy," she continued. "To let it all pass by, you know? Thinking about it, I wonder if I'd be happier if I'd put my foot down before. Refused to go along with whatever the Wards wanted. You know?"

Huh. "Yeah..."

"But Taylor," she warned, "there are things you do that I don't like."

"Do you want to do everything you can?"

"Yeah. I do. On my terms, for once."

"I don't expect anyone to kiss my ass."

"Okay."

She hung up before I could say anything else. I held my phone in front of me, staring at the screen. Was that a yes? It seemed like a yes with an 'I'm not your servant' sort of thing, which was fine. Just wasn't sure?

I inhaled and stepped aside. "Door, please. Sanc."

I stepped through the portal as it opened and came out in Relena's home. Cranial's Kids were running back and forth, donning body armor, headsets, goggles, and various weapons. Relena stood still in contrast, watching a TV report about an 'American Civil Incident.'

She spoke as I approached, asking, "It all comes to a head soon, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

I stopped at her side and looked at the screen.

It was playing the same report I'd seen but with German laid over the English. Agnes Court was one of five figures on the screen. I didn't automatically recognize the others. Members of the Elite or corporate teams I'd guess. Agnes stood at the center, but from the body language of the others, she was more a spokesperson than a ring leader. Out of the capes in the room she was easily the most recognizable.

"This is when people will be in the most danger," Relena noted. "When those with power start shooting, they'll be in the crossfire."

"I'm sending Imp, Wisp, and Mantellum to Paris," I told her.

"Why Paris?"

"Because that's where Djibril will try to use this, and it's where you'll be attacked when you try to stop him. I know you're going."

"I am."

"So are we." Stella came up behind us, dressed in body armor and armed.

"Do what you need to do," I told them. "Tell people what they need to hear, whether they want to hear it or not."

"Do not do anything too foolish," Relena replied. "The world needs you."

"Door, please. My workshop."

I came out to find the Tierens moving. They stepped out of their alcoves one after the other. Weapon lockers opened as the suits armed themselves. Haros ran and rolled back and forth, fitting final components or loading ammunition that was coming off the printers. Green stood atop one of the machines, a cord connecting him to it while it moved to the head of the company.

Trevor sat on the steps, watching.

"This is it," I mumbled.

Trevor nodded as I went up the steps past him, whispering, "The age of the mobile suit." He rose once I'd passed him. "I'll come."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. We should both be there. No running."

"Okay."

Continuing on, 00, Kyrios, StarGazer, and the Thrones were ready. Purple and Yellow were rushing to put Dynames into working order and Veda was overseeing the fitting of weapons to the suit. Lisa, Dinah, and Hunch were clustered, the latter glancing about. Lafter was by Kyrios, waiting.

"The PRT is calling again," Veda stated.

"As if we have nothing better to do other than tell them the obvious," I grumbled. "There's no time. We need to go."

"It's not as bad as it looks," Dinah said. Hunch and Colin both looked at her incredulously. "It's not."

"Precog blockers are involved in these," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm not looking at them." Dinah pushed her pad toward me. "I'm looking at cities."

"Checking which places are going dark," Lisa elaborated as she came in from the lounge. "Not bad."

"What did Uppercrust say?" I asked.

Derisively, she said, "He deeply apologizes for this turn of events, but there's nothing he can do. All members participating in the 'event' are former members of the Elite."

I scoffed. That confirmed it. "He's dumping his problem children on us."

"And far from Elite territory at that," Lisa added. She walked over and looked at the page Dinah had laid out. A list of cities with an x, a circle, or a question mark by each one. "I asked Veda to start running down names. A lot of them are career criminals Uppercrust wants gone anyway so the new Elite can be legal. He probably gave them this out because either way, he's rid of them."

I looked over the list and while I did Hunch pointed. "I have a bad feeling about this one." Los Angeles. "And this one." New York.

"Makes sense," Colin suggested. "Both cities are the headquarters of the PRT and the Protectorate."

Nudge. "It's too obvious." I shook my head and looked south. "David is blunt but not that blunt..."

Houston.

That was it. I knew that was it. It was his original city. That's where he'd do it. He'd appear there to reintroduce himself to the world. Consideration. And Azrael was there too. Something was going to go down in Houston. That had to be it.

Dinah put a question mark by it. "What's going on with Houston?"

"I can't see it," Dinah answered.

"But I have a vaguely good feeling about it," Hunch continued. "We figure Eidolon and her team handle whatever goes down there."

No. Eidolon II was far from a weak cape, but she wasn't comparable to David. In direct terms, no cape was. There was something wrong there.

"Keep an eye on it," I said.

"I agree." Lisa was staring at the list with open suspicion. "The name 'Eidolon' is part of Houston's hero team, so much so Cauldron went and made a second one to replace the first."

"My power has been known to get things..." Hunch shrugged. "Not wrong, but not right either."

"There's a lot of moving parts now," I assured him. "A lot of reasons you might have something wrong. Defiant." I turned to Colin. "Can you manage here?"

He didn't have to tell me he wasn't happy. "Yes, but—"

"There's no time." I stepped back and turned toward 00. "This is it. One way or another, Teacher is going to come out now. That's what we need to be watching for, not this sideshow circus."

Lisa helped by pointing. Hunch followed her, leaving for the lounge while Dinah remained in her seat. Colin hung back as well, watching me. He wanted to say a lot of things, but there wasn't time. He needed to get everyone else ready to go.

Lafter stepped over to me, and in a low voice asked, "We seriously going in there with just us?"

"Trevor's coming."

"Just us?" she asked again, unamused.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "Be ready for anything. I don't think Teacher will try to swipe us but he might send someone to do it." If not him then... No. No talking around it anymore. "The Simurgh might be behind this one."

"It is possible," Veda said in a low voice just behind us. "I am still compiling a list of capes involved, but the Fallen appear to be present."

Mama Mathers. Would the Simurgh seek to use the Fallen to pursue her own goal? Pft. If it suited her. I didn't get the sense she had scruples. Confirmation. Objective destination. Right.

"On our toes," I told them. "Some of these capes are going to surrender when they realize we're not going to protect them, but I get the feeling plenty will just fight. Plus I doubt they're dumb enough to go ahead with this without—"

"They're here," Dinah announced.

Orga stepped up a moment later.

Followed by Lily.

"Flechette?" Colin asked.

"Armsmas—" She stopped herself and paused. She scanned the room, eventually fixing her eyes on me. "It's, um, nice to see you again. Sir."

Colin glanced at me and then back to Lily.

He wanted to talk about that, but apparently, it convinced him he needed to get going. The talks would have to wait. He left to go get his armor on and Lily walked over to me.

"How messy was the exit?" I asked. Kati would need to know.

Lily grimaced. "Not really, actually? I, uh, I went to Miss Milita and she didn't seem surprised. She called Vista over and walked me here."

Hannah was here? I turned my head slightly, looking over my shoulder at Dinah. She was ready to meet my eyes and waved her hand in a 'go on' motion.

"So, here I am." Lily reached up and pulled her mask from her face. "I noticed the, uh, robot army is walking about."

"Yeah." I inhaled, feeling more than a little dirty that it was happening this way. "Long story short, this whole thing is a ruse. Teacher is going to make his move and he wants us busy when he does it."

Lily blanched. "Wait, can I—"

"I can fill you in once we are in flight," Veda offered. "Unfortunately, we have little time." She nodded toward Dynames. "This one is yours. Gundam Dynames."

Lily blinked and turned around. Her head rose, looking up at the suit's face as a pair of rifles were fitted to its shoulders.

"Um… I thought you kind of needed my power."

"We do," I told her. "The rifles can fire beams or solid shots. There are going to be capes out there who are masters or who have strong anti-material powers. We need to end the fight as quickly as possible with the least cost."

Lily nodded. "You want me to…"

"I don't dictate your conscience. You make these choices for yourself, Lily."

"Just be ready for dramatic speeches," Dinah piped up. "Feel free to tune it out."

"We only listen to every other speech," Lafter added.

I rolled my eyes.

Lily swallowed and nodded. "I still don't—"

"This way." Veda stepped forward and pointed. "I have loaded one of Dragon's programs. His name is Tieria. He will handle maneuvering for now so you can focus on shooting."

Lily followed nervously and Lafter whistled.

"You're worried," she noted.

"We're all in now, Lafter. This is where it really counts."

"Sorry what was that? I listened to the last speech." She stuck her tongue out at me, smiled, and turned on her heel. "And here I'd hoped you'd learned to relax!"

"Never." I looked back to 00 and took a deep breath. I checked the time on my visor. "I want to be out of here in three minutes. We've spent enough time as is."

"I'm going to send everyone at the factory to Londo Bell," Orga informed me. "Kati and the PR team too. She can do her thing somewhere that isn't here."

I nodded. "Thanks." At least I wouldn't have to worry about them. An attack on the factory wasn't impossible. "If need be, let it all go." I leaned over, whispering, "Even if this place gets obliterated, Veda will survive."

We'd moved enough of her servers now. Everything on the factory grounds could be replaced. It wasn't worth dying over.

"Gotcha." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "How bad is this?"

"Depends on what comes next and how well we've prepared," I lamented. "There's no more time to make plans or schemes. This is it…"

Orga waited because of course he did.

"It's my fault," I mumbled. "I should have seen this coming. I shifted the standard to have an army of capes or get rolled over by one. Now capes are forming armies."

"Capes were already doing that," Orga told me.

"I escalated it."

"Get over it." He gave me that 'I'm about to tell you exactly what I think' look. "Even Blue Cosmos has a cape army. The Protectorate and the Internationals did it first. The Super Sentai. Cape armies have been the only way to really get things done for a long time. People just liked pretending otherwise."

"Ignorance is bliss," I said glibly.

"Ignorance is ignorance."

"We call that a tautology."

"It's like a movie," he mumbled. Beside me, he was staring past 00 at the wall. "All the little scenes make up the picture, yeah? You can't be on the set, can't see what's going on, and act like it doesn't matter or nothing you can do can change anything. Small isn't the same thing as weak."

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

"It's their fault if they want to sit back and pretend they're not part of the world. World'll catch up eventually or leave them behind. They might blame you, but it's their fault and they know it. They chose to wait until it all passed them by, and now they want to complain how unfair it is."

I looked at him, wondering if that was a power in effect. It kept coming up in variations. Possibility. Or maybe I was just noticing it subconsciously. Guess I did sort of have that topic on the brain…

Fuck it.

"Do you want to go out with me?"

Orga didn't respond at first and I felt my chest flutter harder the longer the silence drew out.

I think I fucked it up.

Rejection?

I fucked it—

He blinked after a few seconds and then stuttered. "What?"

My voice started stuttering. Pretend I didn't say it? Say It again? "Like a date. Would you go on a date?" Still fucking it up! "With me?"

He stared and his face started turning red. Maybe redder than mine because I did not think this through! What was I thinking?! I was so worried about possibly humiliating myself I didn't think if I'd be humiliating him!

"Is this the time for that?" he asked.

Ugh. Double fuck it.

"Maybe not," I admitted. "But if I just wait for the perfect chance to ask, I'll be waiting forever." Seemed like kind of a pitfall actually. Hindsight. "So, whatever."

I glanced back to 00. I should have kept the full mask. A full mask would hide the blush on my pale skin. My very pale and unappealing skin. Definitely should have kept the mask.

"I'm not sure what I'd do on a date," I continued, "but I think I want one. With you."

I replayed those words in my head fast. Well that sounded utterly desperate. Wait, was desperate good in this situation? Not that I was desperate, why couldn't this be simpler?

"Is this about…" Orga trailed off and triple fuck it.

I forced a smile and tried to sound more confident. I think I mostly sounded more crazed though.

"No. It's not about that. Not really." I kept glancing only to look away. Why did this feel so raw? "It's the brothels that did it for me."

Orga shifted, finally drawing me to really look at him. He turned his face forward. I think he was returning me looks? Hard to tell. He kept looking away. Maybe. His face was red. Really red. Was that good? Bad? How much was I fucking this up?

"The brothels?" he asked.

"Yeah. What you said. You didn't want to profit off your own blood?"

I understood the metaphor. Many of those girls weren't even Asian. They came from all over the world, no doubt tricked, kidnapped, or sold into slavery and ferried to the US.

"You had those girls completely at your mercy. You could have done anything you wanted with them and as far as you knew, no one was going to stop it. You set them free." More than that. "You got them safe, at your own risk."

Orga frowned. "That's not that special."

"Yes, it is."

The idea of dating was scary. I'd been close to someone before. Opening myself up to be hurt in the worst way, again, was terrifying. Emma and what she did would color my relationships of all kinds for the rest of my life.

Someone who did what Orga did, as purely as he did it, would never take my trust and crush it. He'd never do to anyone what Emma did to me. It's not who he was. He was someone I could fully and completely trust, like I trusted Veda and Lafter and that was what I wanted.

"You're a good guy, Orga."

Too good, honestly, for how cruel the world had been to him.

"There's lots of good guys," he protested.

"True."

I knew quite a few too. Trevor. Dean. Theo. Orga wasn't like them. Trevor had powers. Shitty family aside, Dean and Theo came from money. They were all good guys, and noble.

But Orga came from nothing. Everything he had he built with his own hands. I liked that. I related to it. It spoke even more to who he was, because he didn't do it for himself.

He did it for them. For all those abandoned souls who had nowhere to go.

"I like you."

Internal screaming came quickly.

Oh god what did I just say? Query? That was too much. I went too far. Uncertainty. I screwed it up. I just went from light and casual to coming on way too hard and now he was going to say no. Confusion. I could handle that maybe. I was far and away no stranger to rejection. It was still worth it to try. Assurance? Exactly. Not every risk pays off.

"I guess you'd have to come back first."

My brain froze. "Huh?"

Orga kept his eyes forward, hands in his pockets. "Can't exactly do anything like that if you get yourself killed fighting a bunch of assholes."

I blinked. "Is that a… yes?"

Orga's skin was darker than mine and I think it helped cover the color, but I was pretty sure there was some red on his face. "I guess."

…

Curse my pale skin and its complete inability to hide red. "Guess I'd better make it quick then."

I climbed into 00 as soon as the Raiser unit's binders closed over the GN Drives.

"Find me Agnes Court." The suit closed around me and the HUD started up. "We need to have a conversation."

Veda came to stand beside Orga, who was pointedly staring at the ceiling.

"The other capes on the video are not dangerous to 00 except Haze," she explained. "You should disable him first."

My HUD scrolled with information and I nodded. He was a corporate cape and a controversial one. Critical of the PRT and the Protectorate. Went rogue frequently. He didn't seem like a bad person, but definitely the kind who would resort to extremes to do what was right… And he'd more than once commented on the 'need' for capes to take control when all else failed.

Imagine that.

"I'm going ahead."

I didn't wait for the elevator to lift my suit into the warehouse above. I lifted off and flew, rocketing out the doors as the Tierens were moving into position to use the lifts. Outside, Tekkadan was surrounding the perimeter and putting sentries on rooftops. Barbatos was outside the fence with two jeeps.

I took note of the fact the boys had nothing. No body armor. No real protection. Orga had banned them from using guns to avoid trouble with law enforcement. The guns he used to gun down Jack Slash he got for that plan and then tossed.

I'd worry about rearming them later.

I pulled up and launched 00 into the sky and then turned northwest.

On my HUD, Veda began adding markers. "How many capes do you think they have?"

"I would estimate at least seventy," she said. "Likely more. I am more concerned about the local municipalities. I do not think the capes could pull this off without support."

"And why would they?" I questioned. "Masters." My eyes narrowed. "What about the Protectorate and Ward members in the area?"

"I have inquired. The PRT is unable to reach any of the branch offices or teams. It is likely that they have all been compromised. I've confirmed the presence of multiple Fallen members in the area. They have a number of masters who could do this."

"Hostages." Hostages that might fight being rescued. "Great."

"I am preparing Dragon's shuttles," she told me. "If necessary, we should evacuate civilians. I suspect the part you haven't wanted to say out loud is that suppressing a region this large will likely take us several hours."

Now that it was said, "Yeah. Even bringing everyone in with us wouldn't necessarily speed it up. It would just make more of a mess."

"I am prepared to coordinate the dolls," she affirmed. "I'll make this as quick as I can."

"We have to make an example here, Veda. If we don't, then every dumbass with enough capes behind them will try to do it. This has to be swift and vivid." I inhaled. "And the suits need to be front and center, for when we start handing them out. We have to prove they work."

"Yes. Unfortunately."

Understatement. "Unfortunately. Are you alright?"

"No, but I will manage." Her voice shifted, taking on a more somber tone. "To endure is human, they say."

I took note of a flight of aircraft off to my left. About three miles away and in a close formation. The Air Force was already scrambling fighters.

"Several tinkers are at work," Veda explained. "They are attempting to attack me."

Ha. "Cute."

"Quite. They're severing hardlines. I've commandeered several satellite connections. They cannot cut my access."

"How many Londo Bell members are involved?"

"About a dozen that I can identify."

"How bad is the argument back home?"

"Why would there be—"

"Veda."

She paused and after a moment explained, "Hashtag and several others are expressing an opinion that we not become involved."

Any good plan, a plan worth executing, works on more than one level. This didn't just potentially damage my image or reputation. It hurt Londo Bell. It split the members over what to do. I'd gathered a bunch of idealists together and put them under one banner in a rush. Figures that some of them would have very strong opinions about self-determination.

Notation.

Hmm.

"Record this," I said. "Send it out to Londo Bell and then to Kati."

"Recording."

I licked my lips and shook my head. "The line is clear. I'm not saying it again. I will say, did the people living in multiple states and Canada actually agree to this? Have any of you thought about where this leads?" Dramatic pause. "I have. If you want to walk away, call for Doormaker and they'll move you. If you want to stand in protest of me or whatever, fine. Keep your hands up and don't use your powers and I'll leave you be. I'm coming, and it's not to defend the Special Zone. End."

"Sending," Veda stated.

"Anyone who calls for Doormaker, have them moved to Toronto. We'll clean the mess up once we have the time."

"Taylor."

I banked and noted the presence of police vehicles blockading a road below. The Protectorate were there. I could see their costumes.

That was fast.

Of course it was fast. This scenario had probably haunted politicians' nightmares for years. What would they really do if a large number of capes banded together and tried to declare themselves their own nation? It was a worst case scenario with South America and Africa as examples of what happened when the capes won, and the Middle East when no one wins and the entire region just stagnates and spirals.

"Record again," I requested.

"Recording."

"Anyone who lives within the so-called 'Special Zone.' I ask that you stay in your home. If you are not safe in your home for whatever reason, call the number attached to this message"—I knew Veda would know what to do with that—"and you will be evacuated."

I crossed the police line, some heads snapping up as I flew overhead. Veda informed me she was launching Stargazer and the Thrones. The FLAGs were lifting off from the hangar in Canada where we'd been hiding them. Kyrios and Dynames were launching with Lafter hanging back to help Lily.

"To those supporting the Special Zone, I will afford you the chance to stand down or leave of your own accord. If you do not take it... I determine that the Special Zone is creating the ground bed for future violence, and oppression on top of that. It will disband or be disbanded. There will be no further warnings."

"Sending. Taylor. The Masters."

"I know what you're going to say. Has anyone asked for Doormaker?"

"Seven."

I nodded and passed the first town.

Veda highlighted a building in central Vermont. That's where the video announcement was recorded. She'd backtracked from there and located the 'headquarters' of the Special Zone in an office building in Burlington.

"I estimate that the Special Zone can boast around a hundred capes. Maybe a quarter could be persuaded to surrender. This does not include all capes living in the region."

"See if we can get any of the locals to help us."

"Taylor."

"You don't have to say it."

"The answer is important."

"I know it's important."

"I need to know."

I grit my teeth. "You already know the answer, Veda. If it comes down to it, if lives are at stake, and if there is no other way"—I angled myself down and dove—"we kill the master… We don't have the luxury of saving everyone today."

My visor switched to the sonic camera as I collided with the roof. Crashing through, ports along the binder wings opened and fired. Two dozen micro-missiles shot out and the floor exploded. The guards jumped for cover and got thrown back by the blasts. 00 kept going, slamming through and bringing some of the top floor above collapsing down.

An energy shield projected all around me, a rolling wave of multi-colored light that popped up and then snapped around me.

"Predictable," someone said.

Huh. Someone was finally ready for me to come through a wall or ceiling. Good for them.

I slammed my foot down before the field locked in place. It warbled and the floor cracked. The GN Field flared and light exploded through the room. The barrier warped and popped, throwing two figures across the room while I spun on the third. His device, a triangular pylon about the height of a person, tilted on the cracked floor and exploded.

"Shoddy construction," I told him, just as I drew a longsword from my waist and slammed the flat into his side.

I swung the GN Drives backward and throttled them again. The blast threw the other two figures back again as they tried to rise. Tossing my sword into the air, I grabbed it with my left hand and drew the Buster Sword. Bringing the blade down in the same motion, I collapsed the floor.

The thrusters arrested 00's fall halfway down.

The room below was big with a high ceiling. I began firing through the debris, disabling armed guards and others who could clearly see me. One of the capes from the second floor—thinker of some kind—managed to propel herself from falling rubble. I swung a sword upward, catching her mid-flight and wheeling her down into a chair below. The article shattered and I fired on a man with a gun that was clearly prepared for me ahead of time.

As the dust settled, I was left with a dozen men and women. Capes mostly. They stood around the room in suits or costumes, staring at me. At least two seemed legitimately shocked. The rest didn't seem very surprised.

Haze was at the center, behind the podium the cameras were pointed at.

Violation!

I see it.

Glancing over the room a second time, I noted Agnes Court wasn't here.

And that just pissed me off.

Taylor: Find her
Taylor: she doesn't get to start this and run

Haze stepped forward and raised his voice. I turned my sword on him and fired. The beam cut right through him and collided with the wall. His entire body was oddly wispy. Still there, and clearly so, but as if it were in a haze. The table and floor around him too. The effect extended to the other nearby capes, half of whom were clearly ready to fight.

Not the one who raised his hands and stepped back though, shouting something about 'This isn't what you said would happen.'

Figures.

I looked at Haze solidly, vaguely feeling around the intrusion present in him. It was like the Case-53s, but uglier—like something had been rammed right into his Shard connection. Something that bled and squirmed. Just like Seahawk.

Was that how the master power David used worked? It formed a connection inside the host Shard and began influencing the host.

The more I thought about that, the more my stomach turned.

"Newtype," Haze called. "Let's not resort to our baser instinct. We both want a peaceful solution to the world's problems."

I raised the Buster Sword and pointed it right at him. I considered that David might be the one talking, but fuck him. "You don't get to make that argument."

The blade parted and lightning coursed over the stake inside.

"Surrender," I ordered, "or your willingness exits the equation."

Haze flinched. That intrusion in his head flashed for a moment. Were they talking? Did David's master power actually amount to telepathy?

Haze stepped back then. "You can't—"

"Understood."

00 pulled the trigger.

The air cracked and every window in the building shattered. I heard the sound ringing in my ear, despite the room having no windows. The force of the blast knocked the Stranger trying to sneak up on me back and slammed his body rag-dolling into the floor.

Unfortunately for him, Haze had a very secret caveat to his power.

One I was very familiar with.

It reduced effective mass.

The stake shot over his shoulder, not hitting him at all before it pierced the wall and kept going. Haze blew back, sucked in as the projectile passed. He screamed, body seizing as his misty form started to pull apart. His power dropped and he flipped through the air and hit the wall. Two others under his power's effect followed.

The stake stopped in the parking lot after skewering two empty cars and a truck.

A dagger of light cut through the air in response. The GN Drives flared, blowing a green wind through the room that knocked it off course. I floated in a wide circle, dodging the fast charge of a cape who shot forward like a missile.

I swung the Buster sword down as she passed, flat of the blade striking her head and bouncing it into the floor. Aiming through the spin, I fired two shots, dropping the small girl throwing knives of light and not pulling the trigger at all at the boy.

Huh. That's an interesting power.

Reluctance.

A literal anti-conflict power. Weird.

Precision.

A cape at the far end threw his hands up quickly as I aimed at him, but the one at his side snarled and threw out a hand. The arm stretched, extending and turning into the body of a snake as it moved. I severed it with a twirl of my longsword, used the Buster Sword to block a chair, and fired all thrusters to propel myself forward.

00 slammed the snake-arm cape in the body and drove him to the ground. Swinging wide arcs that scored the wall behind me, I sheared through a force field and struck the projector with a follow-up blow. A third cape had decided to surrender, leaving only three.

I fired at the first and when he jumped to the side my knee caught him as a burst of speed set 00 to intercept faster than he could dodge. The second, a thinker, raised his hands but wasn't really surrendering. He just knew he couldn't fight me. I shot him twice in the chest to take him out and then turned my attention to the last hostile cape standing.

The boy glared at me, axe in hand. His costume made me think of a British schoolboy, which fit with the whole name I guess. August Prince. Very classy.

Also his power apparently was that I couldn't hurt him. Like, literally. I thought about it and nothing happened. 00 didn't move. Like, the moment I thought about doing it I just stopped. I'd have thought the Trace system might get around a power like that but apparently it just adapted to the fact my suit could move on my thoughts.

"Veda," I called.

"One moment."

Suddenly, 00's arm raised and the tip of my longsword pointed into August Prince's chest.

"Please surrender," Veda requested through 00's speakers. "I would prefer not to harm you."

The boy blinked, as if surprised. He frowned, eyes vacant. His axe rose and the sword fired a beam across its blade. The kid shouted and dropped, his axe tumbling to the ground.

"Sorry about that," I offered.

"It was his choice," Veda lamented. "There will be more."

I glanced around the room. Some of the bystanders were coming to, as well as a few armed guards—one of whom needed a shot in the chest before the others got the message.

"Is everything set up?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Door please," I called. "Birdcage Block H."

The portals opened. One by one every cape I'd disabled dropped through the floor. Those who'd surrendered gasped or stuttered as it happened.

"You can't do that," one of the surrendered capes shouted. He dropped his hands, ready to fight. "That's too far!"

"I'm not playing musical capes today," I declared. "They'll be released when we're done. If you're worried about anyone's fate, tell them they can surrender or spend the next few hours sitting in the Birdcage while I put an end to this childish little fantasy."

"But what about the other prisoners?" another cape asked, her hands still up.

"Block H is isolated from the rest of the prison. Where is Agnes Court?"

Heads turned, looking as if… None of them had seen her go? Bah. She would be that paranoid. Of course this would be the first place I'd hit and she wasn't the kind of person to kiss, tell, and wait to see how it played out. Not up close anyway.

She probably suggested the precautions against my arrival and then bailed in case it didn't work.

"Veda."

"You can't stick them in the Birdcage!" the cape protested again. I didn't know his name. He was young. Not my age but probably college-ish. "That's too far!"

I turned 00's head and looked right at him, ready with a biting remark.

It died in my throat when he flinched away in fear.

Really?

I looked him in the eye and asked, "How many people live in this city? Tell me. Did any of them want to live in the 'Special Zone'?" I scanned the room. "Did you even bother to ask?"

I knew he didn't from his reaction alone. He did resist the accusation, but I got the sense he'd been told something and was naive enough to believe it. He had several levels of fear in him. Fear of this exact moment. Fear of the future. Fear of the past. He wanted to run. Run and get somewhere it couldn't reach him.

And I was too tired to be angry at him because that was too human. I knew the temptation of trying to run away from the things I couldn't change. I couldn't snap at him for it.

"Go home," I told him. "Or don't. Stand for what you think is right. Fight for it, if you have to." Veda flashed an icon on my HUD and I turned away. "Do whatever you need to do to live with yourselves. I'm doing the same."

I lifted off the ground and flew out of the building.

Outside, there were crowds in the street. They were shouting and throwing things.

Not at me for once. Looking around, I didn't see anyone who actually was the target. It was just mobs of people wandering the street, shouting and throwing. Some trying to calm, others trying to rile. At least one guy looked like he was having a violent seizure while others were trying to hold him down.

A few people lined up around the office building, but they'd clearly settled to stand back and watch after I entered. Even the private security for the building had retreated from it, abandoning their barricades in the front parking lot…except for a thin line of people standing in a line around the front who were looking straight ahead, unflinching.

"We need to prioritize the masters and strangers," I told Veda. "Surgically. This needs to be broken up before a coordinated defense is mounted, and we need to clear the streets."

"I am already preparing," Veda told me. "Members of the National Guard are amiable to providing manpower while we deal with the separatists."

Separatists. Great. Time to wonder if I was Obi-Wan or Vader. The line between doing what's right and doing what's expedient is a fucked one. Fuck you Lucas.

"Do it." I flipped and hovered over the crowd.

I wanted to shout but I hesitated. I was tired of the mask. Tired of being the bitch who forced everyone else in line. That mask had served its purpose.

Inhaling, I called, "Stop."

Not everyone did, but the light show of the GN Drives did draw attention to me.

"If you have to be here," I told them, "then be here. But be calm. Be patient. Enough people are going to suffer today without adding more."

I already knew that wasn't good enough, but I'd cultivated my tough-as-nails mask too well. A softer and gentler voice wasn't my experience and I didn't have time to train it now.

The air snapped and 00 boomed into the sky. I flew, following a highway out of the city and along a mountain road. The convoy was apparent as I approached. Three black vans traveling in a line.

Coward.

I caught up and raced around. Spinning about, I dropped into the road and let the lead car crash into me. The Buster Sword cut straight up, severing the car in two and leaving a trail of sparks as the two halves skidded over the road. The second car swerved and I fired a series of shots into a window as a cape tried to lean out.

The final car came to a screeching stop. Agnes glared from the back seat…oddly. Not fearfully. Not angrily. More like a sense of frightful preparedness. Like someone who'd accepted their fate.

The doors of the vehicle swung open.

I immediately recognized Thirteenth Hour. That settled the question of Felix's involvement. No way he didn't know what his girlfriend was up to.

She tried to activate her power, but nothing happened.

She dropped to the ground in a trance, and I remained standing. Three cheers for altered brain chemistry. Apparently, it covered me against some powers.

When she hit the ground and I started moving, the other cape snapped his fingers. A wave of smoke burst from his hand and the hood of the car melted away as it was touched. The GN Drive on 00's left shoulder swung forward, flaring out and blasting the smoke away.

Dust's clothes began to melt, but his skin was unharmed.

"Clever," I said. "But I've lived through worse."

Dust started to snap his fingers again, but I snapped them first. My longsword caught his hand, slamming it into the half-melted side of the SUV and crushing the fingers. He screamed and fell back. When he tried to raise his other hand in defiance, I shot him.

Walking around the side, bullets pinged off my armor as the now exposed driver shot a pistol. That only lasted for three shots before the dust caught the barrel and the weapon exploded.

I grimaced and shook my head.

"All of this, and for what?" I stabbed my sword into the ground and ripped the already peeling SUV open. Agnes held her ground, looking up at me. "Who put you up—"

A blow rocked me, throwing 00 off its feet. I caught myself in the air, flying back and up as another punch nearly connected. I deflected it with my free arm and swung the Buster Sword across my chest.

The cape—a man in a suit that screamed Elite—shimmered. Not like Haze. More like a sudden burst of speed. He pushed himself off 00 with one hand, flew over my swing and then flipped himself, swinging one leg down toward my head.

I arrested my sword mid-swing and sent myself into a fast spin. The kick deflected off one of the wing binders and as I came around I swiped the blade out. The cape shimmered to avoid the blow and when he materialized my hand was waiting.

The upside of fucking telepathy.

I already knew what he was doing.

My feet crushed the asphalt and I swung the man around and crashed his head into the ground. He went limp and I threw him forward in the direction of the cape I couldn't see. There was the sound of a crash and an invisible woman materialized. A woman in armor.

I grit my teeth.

Those poor idiots in over their heads I'd have mercy on, but her?

00 shot forward and I slammed the suit's knee into Banshee's jaw. She collapsed back to the ground, the cape atop her.

"You tried to kill Veda!" I snarled. "I owed you that concussion."

"The Newtype generosity." Agnes coughed, pulling herself from the van. "Or is this your temper?"

I turned to face her and let the capes lay limp. Despite her mask, I knew how scared she was. There was something here. A threat. This—all of it—wasn't her first choice. It was the least bad option. The corner she'd been pressed into.

00 stepped toward her and she stepped back.

"Go ahead," she bluffed. "Do your worst. Take it out on me if it makes you feel any better."

"It won't," I informed her.

She coughed a laugh. "You're such a child…" Her mask cracked and she clutched her thigh with one hand. "You changed the world. All sins have a cost."

My brow rose. "If it's a sin to change the world, then I'll change it again. As many times as it takes."

She scoffed. "Doesn't the act get exhausting?"

My lips parted. I'd slipped right back into that familiar mask already.

Again, the biting remark died in my throat. The flare of anger at seeing Banshee here was already gone. All that was left were these fools and Agnes, a woman who I could feel didn't want to be here.

It didn't really matter. Not right now. The masks were off.

"It does get exhausting," I agreed. "Doesn't it?"

Agnes raised her head and laughed. "One sign of weakness, one moment of humanity. Everyone takes it as a sign that you're pathetic. Less than them. That they can roll right over you… That they can strip you down like a machine and take your gears apart."

I thought back to Orga and crying my pain out. "We need our masks. They let us pretend to be strong."

I came to a stop in front of her and stared. She raised her head, seemingly ready for a blow I didn't plan to give her. A familiar sting bit at me. I hadn't exactly been friendly with Agnes Court. I really should have prepared for her to do something cutting. With everything else I was dealing with, I'd never had the chance to brace myself.

It didn't matter now.

"What?" Agnes asked. "Not going to hit me?"

"No," I told her. What would even be the point? It wouldn't make me feel any better. "No need for that mask anymore. Not with you. Not now."

"Then what?"

"You watch," I guessed. No running. "This is where it all comes to a head, or starts to, at least."

Destination.

Yeah. Destination.

"Our actions and our inactions. Yours. Mine… Cauldron. The Triumvirate. Blue Cosmos. Teacher. Scion." Identification. "Everyone. Whether we like it or not, it all leads to this moment we've made."

The sound of jets echoed through the air. Agnes raised her head, and her eyes went wide. The machines flew by in several V formations, each leading one of Dragon's shuttles. Six formations in all, with one having an extra unit on its right wing. The seventh shuttle followed behind, led by the Thrones with Kyrios and Dynames flying just above.

"It all starts to end here."

As the seventh shuttle passed, its payload dropped from the air and slammed into the ground behind me. The machine sent dust and wind into the sky as its wings spread and a three-taloned foot pressed into the street.

"This is the part where we all watch"—I lifted 00 off the ground as Hashmal raised its head—"and face the things we've done."