A Waken 18.2
Stargazer dropped us over the water.
I shivered. The particles around me tickled. Like sitting on a leg or leaning on an arm for too long. Or static under my skin, but all over. That was new and weird, and more than a little distracting.
Apologies.
Not your fault.
Technically.
As I pulled 00 over the water, blowing out a wave with the exhaust from the thrusters, Administrator shot ahead. A wake of water spat up behind her as she flew toward the display of lights stretching over the shore.
I'd been to Sanc several times, but I'd never actually looked at the city from anywhere but inside it. It was densely packed and tightly spaced as I'd seen before, but far larger than I'd realized. The lights hugged the shore from one end of the horizon to the next, pressed between the water and the mountains.
Below, I could make out buildings in the water.
Darker shadows, obvious even with the moon hidden and clouds hanging overhead.
The last time the Simurgh came here, she sank a nation and killed millions.
Not this time.
I righted 00 and swung the GN Drives back. The suit burst forward, pressing me into my seat as I quickly caught up to Administrator.
Allowance.
No need to brag.
Behind me, Kyrios, Dynames, the Thrones, forty FLAGs, and three of Dragon's ships followed. They had all floated for a moment after Veda teleported them in, but after floundering temporarily and falling toward the water, they all straightened out.
"What's the status?" I asked.
"I have alerted the city's officials," Veda informed, "but am not getting the expected response."
My brow rose. "Wha—" A searing light drew my eyes up. It was bright. Bright enough to streak right through the clouds. "Here they come."
They started as plumes of light within the thick haze overhead. A streak tore through, pulling vapor behind it as it fell. One streak of fire and flame became two. Three. Four. Another satellite came down after the first, then another, and another. Some started breaking up quickly, while others remained intact.
"Veda!"
Stargazer teleported over the shore. Two dozen capes fell a few inches to the ground and rapidly spread out. Stratos looked up and pointed. Others followed.
Hands rose and a barrage of light illuminated the dark.
Dynames swung out behind me, inverting itself as Lily took hold of the rifle and started shooting. The FLAGs banked up, ascending rapidly into the air. They began firing as soon as they could, blowing the falling debris apart with Veda's precision.
The debris began exploding, shattering into small pieces that continued to fall. They were still going to hit, but smaller was less damaging than bigger. If we got everyone indoors fast they'd be safe from bits and pieces.
I was more curious how the Simurgh had gotten some of the smaller satellites to fall and not completely burn up.
"How many is she dropping?" I asked.
"Unknown." Over the beach, Stargazer turned as the teleportation ring spun up. "It could be as few as seventy or as many as one hundred fifty."
"She's not going to wait," I thought. Nudge. "Start deploying."
Ahead of me, a column of water erupted toward the sky and Administrator shot upward on a stream of gold.
I grimaced. That won't work.
Agreement.
I understood trying. It was literally what I did. But now?
The Simurgh wouldn't stop, not because Administrator said to. We both knew she was autonomous enough to reject any such order. Administrator wasn't supposed to have the command cluster in the first place, and in more ways than one she still didn't. A lot of what she was doing only worked because she could use me as a bootleg line into the network.
She wanted to try anyway.
Maybe we'd get lucky… I tried not to think about how much I didn't want us to get lucky. Not in that way.
I soared over the beach as the first wave of capes began spreading out. We had the locations of Sanc's shelters and evacuation procedures. Step one was to get those secured so we could start moving people.
"Start—" I paused and looked around. "Veda. It's time. The show is yours."
Without a word, Veda directed Throne Eins and Drei up into the sky.
My comm crackled, and Veda connected everyone.
"This is Veda. From this point forward I will coordinate the battle against the Simurgh. All teams should head immediately to their designated points upon arrival. Those of you who have not fought an Endbringer before, defer to those who have if you cannot reach anyone else."
I turned away and flew toward Relena's house.
I had a hard time giving up control, but in this case, I had to. It wasn't even about Veda being the best person for the job. She was, but I… I was emotionally compromised in this situation and I recognized that now.
Veda couldn't be mastered. She'd make the right choices and she'd know she was doing her best.
"Thinkers and movers are on standby as are healers and medical personnel. As of this moment, I am activating the Simurgh countermeasure built into each watch. The Simurgh is a master. If you can hear her scream, you are subject to her power. To that end, everyone must manage their exposure. Keep an eye on your watches. After twenty-five minutes, I advise evacuating yourself."
Veda would make the best decisions she could in the situation at hand.
"At thirty minutes, I will have no choice but to enact countermeasures. You will be moved to an isolated cell and assessed by thinkers and myself. Failure may result in permanent imprisonment, or in the worst cases, execution."
This was Veda's moment to lead, not mine.
"Please monitor your time and report abnormal behavior. Support each other. These are the moments that matter."
Throne Zwei continued toward the beach behind me, spinning about as the Dragon ships slowed and began to twist themselves. The doors at the back of each shuttle opened, and capes poured out. More were teleported in beside them by Strider and other movers. Stargazer delivered four crates that fell open and spilled dozens of Helpers onto the sand.
As many as it was, it felt like too few.
Now wasn't the time to lament how few had come though.
We had what we needed.
I brought 00 to a stop directly over the city and looked over the barren streets. That was good. We'd set up multiple staging points in the US and Canada. We'd resupply and repair at some, evacuate the wounded and civilians to others. Amy had a makeshift triage center already going up with help from Dean and Londo Bell. The PRT wasn't sending any personnel, but they'd made troopers ready to manage crowds and people.
Our backend was covered.
A portal opened on the beach to my right.
Narwhal emerged, followed by Kaze and thirty more capes from the Guild. Another portal rippled over the ground, and Haven emerged. That was all the other help we'd be getting.
When the Protectorate made clear they wouldn't be coming, the Internationals and King's Men followed.
We were lucky the Guild and Haven decided to come when we made it clear we were going.
"Birdcage?" I asked.
Doormaker's power opened, and my brow rose as Lung was the first one through. He stopped a few feet from the portal, head looking back and forth as others emerged. Eventually, he turned around and saw me.
Awkward, thy name is Taylor.
"Any sign of the Simurgh yet?" Weld asked as he led the Irregulars up the beach.
"I have no visual confirmation at this time," Veda answered. "The falling satellites have created a blind spot in low orbit. I am limited right now to terrestrial cameras and scanners."
"Let's start evacuating civilians to shelters and designated points," Colin called. "Teams call in as you reach your positions."
"Be advised that Newtype and I have developed a plan to battle the Simurgh," Veda continued. "We are not certain of the results, but we ask that directions be followed. At this time, all capes should avoid direct confrontation with the Endbringer."
Jerking at 00, I rolled the suit around as a large piece of debris sailed within inches of my head.
She did that on purpose…
More satellites fell and were shot down. We'd blown the big ones apart so far. Only bits and pieces were hitting the city and those weren't doing too much damage. Unfortunately, the bits and pieces were many and even the smallest ones were as big as my fist.
I darted to the side, throwing a wall of GN Particles into a coming wall of shrapnel. The pieces immediately above me blew back. The rest pockmarked the street below. The road was torn up. A car was struck and its alarm set off. Windows shattered and walls cracked. One corner of a building began collapsing.
"Building hit one block in from the beach"—I couldn't see a street address—"I don't see anyone."
"Rescue one," Veda called. "Check your watches. I am marking the position on a map."
I continued on. We had teams to help rescue people and teams to fight the Simurgh. Everyone needed to do their job and I wasn't some rookie cape out on her first Endbringer fight anymore.
On approach to Relena's house, I swung around to the rear and landed in the garden.
It was weird. I'd seen a fair bit of the city flying in. No one was outside to get struck by all that debris when it hit the ground. Except if Boston was any indication, the streets should be packed with people running for the shelters. It was late, but so late that no one was out and about?
Where was everyone?
Stella and Marie were there with a dozen of the other kids, geared up and ready. Not that I expected them to fight the Simurgh. That wasn't a fight they could wage.
Before I could ask them why they were still at the house, I frowned.
"What's wrong?" I could feel it from them. Hear it. Is this how this works for you?
Yes. Stella turned and looked at me. "We have a problem."
Of course we did. No way in hell this fight went simple. "What is it?"
"Relena refuses to leave," Marie answered.
I'd say she was joking, but I knew she wasn't. "What?"
"She w—"
00 fell to one knee and the armor opened. I pulled myself out and stormed toward the house. The kids parted for me, Stella falling in step at my side.
She leaned in, whispering, "Something is strange."
"Tell me more," I growled.
I found Relena in the living room watching the TV. She sat on a couch in a… Something was wrong. I didn't need telepathic bullshit to see her pain. Something had happened. Someone was gone.
"Count's dead," I muttered aloud.
The thought had occurred to me when Lisa showed up in her mask but…
Relena turned to look at me. She hid her pain well, but not that well. Feeling it was another thing entirely, especially because it was a pain I knew all too well.
The pain of losing a mother.
I hadn't realized Count meant that much to her. All the reasons I had for hating the woman meant nothing to her. Count had raised her. Encouraged her when no one else would. Protected her from assassins and hardened her against ridicule.
Relena wouldn't be who she was if Contessa hadn't been part of her life.
"I'm sorry," I offered.
She turned away. "It was long coming."
"That doesn't make it easier."
"No. It doesn't."
It was a weird thing about loss though. There was anger in it. Anger that someone was gone too soon. That they'd been stupid. That they took out their damn phone while driving down the road and got themselves kille—
I inhaled and stepped forward. There would be time for this, but not now.
"We have to go, Relena. You can't die here. Not now. This isn't a battle you can fight."
"Isn't it?"
I blinked. "Relen—"
"This isn't a coincidence, is it?" She turned her head forward. The news was covering the Endbringer sirens, but it seemed no one had publicly announced the target. Probably wanted to feign ignorance as long as possible. "She's coming here because of Fortuna. Because of me."
"It's not your fault," I insisted.
"I know." She leaned forward, folding her hands in her lap. "She wants to break us. That's what she's always done."
"Don't let her. Get out of here now. We'll make sure to get everyone else out. Deny the Simurgh her main target."
Relena shook her head. "It's not just me. It's Sanc itself. The idea that we can rise from the ashes. That's what she wants to destroy. Maybe she attacked Sweden to make all this happen from the start."
All the more reason not to fuck around with the absurdly powerful precog. "Probably. Now let's—"
"I'm not going."
"WHAT?!"
She turned back to me, a quiet smile on her face. "They won't leave. I told the council to listen to Veda's instructions but… The Simurgh took our homes once. No one I know wants to leave unless everyone does an—"
My mouth slammed shut and I silently cursed the Simurgh.
No way. No way in hell this wasn't deliberate. Could she manipulate people this far out? Nudge. Stupid question. Of course she could.
That devious bitch.
I turned to Stella and found her head already nodding.
Everywhere?
Yes.
Confirmation.
Oh, hello.
Salutation?
"Veda," I whispered.
"We are noticing," she told me from my phone. Right. No visor. "All be advised. I believe the Simurgh has already influenced many of the citizens of Sanc. They are resisting our efforts to evacuate them."
How. How—No.
It was exactly what Relena said. She wouldn't leave unless everyone left. But if everyone thought that, then no one would leave. That masquerading monster. This was her long con. All the people she messed with who freaked out in obvious ways were a front. They were a way to hide something far subtler.
She was going to kill everyone in Sanc and the people in Sanc were so determined not to run away from her again that they'd let her!
It would end everything Relena was trying to do in the most ignominious way possible.
Did Count know the people in Sanc were going to be rigged like this or did the Simurgh do it to counter whatever Count was trying to set up?
"Relena." I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to her feet. "Relena listen to me. That makes no sense! Get out now while you still can. We'll pull—"
"I won't leave my people to die," she said firmly. "I can't. We..." Her expression faltered and she narrowed her gaze. "We can't..."
"You're not helping anyone doing this!" I pleaded. Would she listen to me? Could she? It's not like we had a whole lot of data on what the Simurgh could or couldn't do. "You need to leave or everything Count tried to do will be for nothing!"
Relena paled. "I—I wasn't—"
"Not. Your. Fault." I took her hand and pulled. "I'm going to do everything I can. We all are. But you have to get out. Now. If you die, then everything you tried to do dies."
She pulled back. "The people—"
Stella stepped forward and grabbed her from behind. She looked at me, asking permission. I nodded.
"Door, please," Stella called, "Brockton Bay."
The portal opened and she pulled Relena through. Her eyes widened and I released her hand.
"Live to fight another day," I told her. "It's not over. Not yet." The portal closed and I turned to the rest of the kids. "Start evacuating people by force if you have to. Veda, let's get the Haros here with stun grenades. We'll drag people to safety if that's what it takes."
"I agree," she said. "We will evacuate the areas likely to be hit first. This will be our priority until the Simurgh lands."
I quickly returned to 00 and climbed back inside.
Rising back up, I could see capes spreading out over the city in groups of six and twelve. Some groups were made of brutes and other fliers. Those who could move multiple people at once were grouped with however many they could take with them.
Those kinds of movers were rare though. At least we had Dragon's ships. Veda was already positioning them in the distance, delivering capes to other locations and ready to take them or civilians elsewhere. They were a bit too clunky to bring close to an Endbringer.
Some shakers were erecting barriers around the city, blocking off alleyways and streets so we could focus on evacuations and not lose anyone. Others were building power-made bunkers. Lustrum's hard light avatar grew in one street, standing before a group of twelve capes she was shielding. All women from her cellblock by the look of it.
I glanced around, taking note of Lung, Marquis, and Gavel's positions. We were keeping the prisoners mostly separate from others. Veda could watch them and we didn't need to tempt anyone to take shots at heroes or villains they didn't like.
Unfortunately, seeing the groups spread out highlighted how few capes we were working with compared to Boston.
The constant plumes of smoke and dust from the makeshift meteor shower striking the city weren't helping. The sky was a fireworks show. Fireballs were exploding, blowing apart, or disappearing one after the other. I doubted having more firepower would help though. The debris was too numerous and falling too fast for us to stop all of it. Trails of smoke and clouds of debris were rising all over despite our best efforts.
It was preferable to collapsed buildings I supposed.
Further up, beyond the clouds, I could see a faint golden light.
Any luck?
Negation.
I nodded and closed the armor around me.
Standing, 00's thrusters ignited and I floated upward.
It's not your fault. You tried.
Acknowledgment.
What now?
Determination filled our connection and Administrator nodded.
Destination.
Alright then. Let's do it.
I accelerated, flying up into the air. Lafter was already above, using Kyrios like a ram to bash larger pieces of debris toward the sea or the mountains away from the city. Dynames fired a constant barrage. Two dozen other fliers darted back and forth, shooting and punching anything they could reach. Vicky grabbed one satellite and swung it around to smash another.
She noticed me and drifted over. "What's happening down there?"
I pointed my swords up and began firing. "The Simurgh has rigged the people here somehow. They don't want to leave." Definitely not a coincidence. "Focus on this. It's what we can do. Veda is handling the evacuation."
"I have acquired line of sight through an old satellite," Veda announced. "There are twenty to thirty objects still falling from orbit."
Veda began highlighting objects on my HUD. Lily's fire shifted, and Lafter flew a little higher, bypassing two smaller satellites to strike a larger one barely visible in their smoke trails. I shifted my aim and shot a stream of beams at a satellite that was far to the left from the rest of the shower.
"The Simurgh?" Narwhal asked.
She was on a roof below. Capes had spread out across the city. Those capable of projecting shields and barriers were erecting them. Others were shooting down the falling objects. The rest were moving from house to house, probably trying to evacuate people.
"I cannot identify her," Veda warned. "I suspect she has infiltrated the debris field and is falling with it."
"We should consider that she's already here," Colin suggested.
"There's no scream," someone else pointed out.
"Does she need to scream?" Dinah asked.
"Of course she..."
The rebuttal died before finishing. Dinah was right. If the Simurgh could set the citizens of Sanc up to become a hazard in this fight years ago, then we shouldn't discount any possibility.
"What about the timers?" Weld asked.
"We will wait until we have visual confirmation," Veda replied. "If she does not need to scream, we must consider the possibility that the presumed time her power needs to take effect is also in error."
That sent a fresh wave of panic through everyone. I could see it even as I spun around to fire behind me at a piece of debris.
Administrator?
Update.
More?
She was not forthcoming and I was completely blind to whatever the other side of her conversation was aside from her frustration.
Leet wanted to destroy the Network. She wanted the Simurgh to stop that, not perpetuate a cycle that had already failed.
And I wasn't sure I could accept that help even if it was offered.
"She hasn't landed yet," I confirmed. "This changes nothing." Switching over to a private line, I said, "We should start the plan now. It'll either work or it won't."
"Agreed. I'm moving Throne Drei into positio—" The line died and Veda switched over to the broadcast line. "Be warned, there is an exceptionally large satellite falling at the center of the debris field!"
"The Simurgh?"
"No."
I looked up and gawked as a massive ball of fire and metal tumbled through the cloudy night sky.
"What the hell is that?" someone asked.
"It's huge!"
"That's—"
Some kind of H-shaped structure the size of an apartment building. Massive solar panels stuck out from either end of it, peeling back and breaking off as the main satellite fell.
"The International Space Station," Colin identified.
"The what?" Vicky asked.
"She must have hidden it among the other debris," Bough proposed.
"Correct," Veda confirmed. "I'm sorry. It was well hidden by the heat and smoke."
The Simurgh could pull that bullshit.
"Flechette!" I threw all my thrusters back and 00 rocketed into the sky. "Target the right side. Laughter the left!"
Beams shot past me over my shoulder and Kyrios raced ahead. Dynames' shots landed on one side of the H, shattering the warped structure and sending it into a fierce spin. Lafter hit it from the other side, smashing through and breaking the other arm.
Pulling the Buster Sword from my back, I brought the blade crashing down into the center. The machine exploded, blowing apart far more easily than I expected.
I twisted, dodging some small bits of burning debris. Another satellite's shadow came over me. 00 sliced it in half, splitting the makeshift projectile as I flew through the burning shell.
It's hollow?
The pieces fell, they were still big enough to do a lot of damage. I started to turn to pursue, but FLAGs bolted past me in a steep dive. The frames rocked from the stain, but they held course and fired. Air bursts detonated ahead, blowing the smaller pieces of the station apart. The suits banked hard then, noses turning up as they rapidly accelerated to escape their fall.
A bolt of lightning struck a hill and a light flashed out. The beam tore the dismembered station to dust and Hashmal's beak closed shut.
Right. We had Hashmal. Forgot about tha—
Warning!
I spun and 00 shook violently as hands slammed into the suit. I fought for control as I was forced down into the falling cloud of wreckage. Beams and energy bolts continued to fly and explode around us. Shrapnel showered 00's armor and dust clouded my vision past a few feet.
It wasn't enough to obscure the white hair billowing before me.
I looked the Simurgh in the eye.
The Simurgh raised her head to look at me plainly, a passive face meeting my eyes.
My lips curled back.
There was something inhuman in her face. It was pretty. Flawless even. Too flawless. Just too perfectly serene for what she was. Looking at her was like seeing a living doll.
Administrator might have respect for what she did. Maybe it even saved the Shards more than once throughout their history. I could respect how she felt.
It wasn't how I felt.
My reaction to finally confronting her was far more visceral than that. My blood boiled at the memories. The lives she'd ruined. She destroyed Noelle. She killed Dragon. She almost killed me. She was trying to get Relena and all of Sanc to slaughter themselves not running from her! It's why I couldn't be the person calling the shots. Not in this fight.
I had very muddled reasons for being here, and the sudden humming in my head was highlighting that fact. Was that her scream? Did it sound different to me because of how I'd changed?
It felt like something was trying to press in and finding a wall where one shouldn't be. Well, tough shit.
I looked the Simurgh in her pale white featureless eyes. I had no interest in pretending this wasn't personal. It had been for months.
"I'm going to murder you."
Wrenching her head to the side, I swung my sword down and buried the edge in her neck. It was a pointless wound to inflect. She didn't have a throat to cut and beheading her probably wouldn't do anything. She knew it as well as I did. My blow didn't shift her at all.
But fuck her.
Slamming both knees up and swinging the GN Drives around, I fired every thruster full burn. The air cracked as the sound barrier shattered. 00's external temperature rose.
"You want to crash?! Then let's crash!"
Her wings unfurled, spreading out around her like a parachute. Our momentum arrested but didn't stop. We rocketed toward the ground together. Something hit me in the side. A wall of sheer force had slammed into the GN Field and pushed me. I grit my teeth, refusing to let go even as my hold was broken. Mere moments before hitting the ground I swung around and threw her. The thrusters fired again and my entire body strained as I pulled 00 out of the dive.
I almost passed out.
A thunderous crash and the echo of shattering trees rocked the air around me.
The mountainside behind Sanc exploded, blasting outward and sending the peak crashing down as I flew back. Rocks and splinters clattered over me as I retreated, my eyes searching while I held my swords at the ready.
If only it were that easy to kill her.
The air rippled.
Another wall of force slammed into my suit and threw me back. It hit so hard I struggled for control, flipping end over end and twisting around. The GN Drives and thrusters fired in a constant flurry, projecting particles all around until I finally righted myself and sailed over a rooftop seconds before collision.
The mountainside collapsed, a wall of dirt, rock, and forest crashing down the slope and throwing a cloud of dust into the air.
"Was that the Simurgh?" someone asked.
The question was immediately answered as a massive outstretched wing swung through the dust cloud. Then another wing pushed free in the other direction.
The Simurgh rose from the mountain, the dust pulling and pushing away from her as she moved. There was a graceful stillness to her like she was moving underwater in slow motion.
Three of her wings covered her human-like body. It wasn't that much taller than 00, but her wings were titanic. Her wing span was dozens of feet. It was hard to appreciate just how big they were until you saw them. More than a dozen wings, flawlessly white but with no uniformity or symmetry to them. Smaller ones too. Very small. Had she always had those? Could she alter her shape?
Thinking of it, that was actually a bit closer to the Biblical depiction of angels than the pretty long-haired guy in a white robe with wings.
"I hear humming," someone else said.
"Me too," another confirmed.
"Indicate if you can or cannot hear humming," Veda ordered. "I will zero in on the apparent radius of her power."
Did Veda not hear it? No, she wouldn't. Her 'brain' wasn't here.
"She doesn't usually sound like this," Narwhal commented.
"Maybe she never needed to sound like anything," Colin said, echoing Dinah's comment.
Did she ever need that?
Negation.
A golden beam slammed into the Simurgh's back. Administrator rose up, standing atop the Endbringer. She frowned, but drew an arm back and then swung. The Simurgh rolled her shoulders as Administrator moved, sending the punch off course. The air visibly shifted and Administrator was jettisoned through the air and sent crashing into a city street.
And like someone fired a starting gun, the air exploded.
Mover powers flashed and rippled, pulling capes into range. Beams of light. Solid shots. Missiles. Bullets. Projections. Everything flew forward all at once like a massive wall and the Simurgh was caught in explosions, blasts, and fire. FLAGs dove from above. Throne Eins fired a beam of solid red from its cannon. Hashmal turned, beak snapping open moments before white light seared the air.
The earth behind the Simurgh erupted, the forest upending itself and crashing down in a landslide as powers continued slamming into the mountain. The light exploded, blowing the sudden blockade apart and scattering dust into the air.
Through it all, the Simurgh didn't even flinch. She continued her slow advance, drifting down the slope toward the city's edge. Bits of rock, boulders, and tree trunks lifted from below and blew apart as they intercepted attacks. The debris hung in the air, floating and moving like a fog as she glided forward.
Focus.
The barrage we were throwing up wasn't anything like the cascade of power I'd seen at Boston. It was what we had though.
"Veda?"
"Analyzing."
I bowed my head and threw 00's legs forward. Firing the thrusters, I flew away from her as she began a slow descent from the mountainside. The debris was still falling from above, though it had petered out. I joined Lily, Vicky, Lafter, and a half dozen others in blowing the last few satellites away.
Still no song.
Probably best to expect there wouldn't be one.
Agreement.
A golden light exploded from the ground and Administrator slammed a fist into the Simurgh's side. The angelic figure blew back, twisting about as beams of gold left Administrator's palm. They only grazed the Endbringer, but where they struck they scoured away entire chunks of the Simurgh's flesh.
"Who is that again?" someone asked.
"Unknown," Veda lied… Well, technically not. I hadn't exactly explained. Oops.
"Wait, didn't—"
"Now isn't the time," Veda interposed. The last piece of debris exploded and I scanned the sky just to be sure. "We're clear above. Focus on the Simurgh. We need to try and slow her down while analyzing her defense patterns."
Suddenly, the ground under the Simurgh quaked. There was a visible wave of force once more, projected from her feet and blowing the dust away. For show. A crack tore through the streets at Sanc's edge and up a wall as a building was violently ripped from the earth.
It rose quickly, listing to one side as it drew toward the Simurgh's advance.
The windows shattered as if being crushed by an invisible hand, and bricks crumbled off the walls. The barrage of powers let up for a second as many capes scrambled to reposition.
Administrator fired a beam of light only for the structure to be swung around into its path. The building exploded and showered onto the streets below. Dozens of bricks however seemed to fly forward at impossible speed. Capes on the ground scattered. Lustrum's avatar hunched over, shielding others and the civilians they ushered out of an apartment complex.
"We need to get people out of here!" Weld called.
In the distance, something sparked and flashed. The city streets suddenly went dark.
"Debris has struck the power station," Veda announced. The Dragon ships rose up slightly, each igniting floodlights and shining them down into the city. "Be wary of attacks from dark areas."
"A manual evacuation is going to take too long," Colin warned. "We may have to acce—"
"No worries," Lisa cut in. "Someone saw this coming." She stepped out over a roof a few blocks away, a big smile plastered over her half-hidden face. "It's me. I saw this coming."
I frowned. Someone is playing up the smarm.
She threw a very subtle middle finger my way.
Classy.
Behind her, Paige emerged from the portal.
…Okay, she won this one.
Paige looked at Lisa nervously but the thinker just waved her hand. "Time to save some lives, songbird."
The singer nodded nervously and started to open her mouth.
The air cracked and visibly rippled. The Simurgh surged forward, bringing her wings in closer as she bolted toward the line forming to face her. Paige startled as the Simurgh's face turned toward her.
Bitch.
I swung the GN Drives around and threw myself into the Simurgh's line of sight.
As soon as I did, the buildings on either side of the Simurgh shattered. They crushed inward and then blew apart. Shards of brick, glass, and wood spiraled into the air. They crashed into my side, throwing me off course and away from the Endbringer. Hashmal fired, blasting some of the cloud away, but there was enough junk to scatter the beam from hitting the Simurgh.
The streams of debris shot outward all at once. I cursed and slammed on the thrusters. Two capes ahead of me got hit and were thrown to the ground. Another was cut in half as a wire or cord went clean through her.
The first casualty announcement followed.
Starcaller deceased.
I'd only just regained control when a particularly large object—a boiler I think—hit my leg and sent 00 into a downward spiral.
Double bitch.
I shouted as I hit the ground. "Canary!"
I could hear powers firing off as my suit crashed, but no singing. Swinging my swords out and the GN Drives ahead, I blew the debris away and threw myself back into the air.
Ahead, powers barraged the Simurgh. She used her wings and clouds of dust to shield herself. Moving them—despite their slowness—and blocking many of the more powerful attacks. Stratos was running around in the distance, his view almost constantly blocked by a wing or debris. She was too high off the ground for anyone to try and hit her physically and the debris cloud was getting thicker.
That was going to make everything take longer.
I spun about, dodging a cloud of glass shards that suddenly came my way. "Canary! Now!"
With that, Paige inhaled and sang.
I still couldn't hear it, but she was far away now. I guessed Veda was piping whatever the song was into an emergency broadcast system. That would be heard by people in their homes but not those of us on the street. Veda could cut the connection if any of us approached since the watches told her where we all were.
"Focus," Narwhal called.
"Leave the evacuation to those Veda is tasking it to," Colin said.
I pointed my swords at the Simurgh. "Bring her down!"
The barrage started anew, and Stargazer teleported in. The FLAGs dived from above, firing airburst rounds. I began firing too but paid more attention to where shots were landing, and where they weren't.
We needed to keep hitting her.
Leviathan had a weakness, something that the moment Veda tried to strike it, the Endbringer hightailed it out of Boston. I'd wager good money the Simurgh was exactly the same. We just had to find the right spot.
Veda would find it.
I kept shooting and dodged to the side as another building was ripped from the ground. Administrator blew through it and nearly landed another punch. The air rippled just inches before contact, deflecting Administrator over the Simurgh's head and into the mountain.
Was she scared of Administrator?
Behemoth and Leviathan supposedly fled quickly whenever Scion showed up, but I wasn't sure what that meant. Did he fight them for show? Maybe. If the Gold War was any indication though, the powers of the command cluster weren't a joke.
Unfortunately, Administrator wasn't used to having a physical body.
She shot out of the dust cloud behind the Simurgh only for the Endbringer to shift sideways.
You're being too direct. Vary it up.
Another building lifted, tearing up the street as it was run over the ground and sent sailing. Hashmal jerked to the side, firing its weapon at the object and blowing it apart. The shower of debris from the explosion continued forward. Lisa threw her arm in front of Paige as the singer closed her eyes and kept singing.
Stargazer teleported over Lisa and Paige's heads. Fangs shot out from the ring and began firing into the debris. Lisa and Paige reappeared on another rooftop, and the remains of the building shattered the rooftop they'd vacated.
"Blaster teams three and five," Veda called, "prioritize the destruction of any object the Simurgh manipulates. Rescue three, I am directing you to clear a damaged structure of civilians."
"On it!"
"We have evacuated a quarter of the Simurgh's range," Veda revealed.
Not fast enough.
I glanced back, seeing a steady flow of people running away from the Simurgh. Shakers and barrier-makers covered them, projecting walls and forcefields as they retreated. The Dragonships flew in long arcs, keeping their distance from the battle and touching down to pick up groups of fifty or more.
Administrator wheeled around beside me.
I nodded. The GN Drives swung forward and blew me backward as she charged. I flipped 00 around, swinging the Drives back, and put myself directly behind her.
Administrator abruptly shifted right, her body twitching over like a blip of static on a screen. She slammed into the Simurgh, driving the Endbringer back as her wings began to curl forward. Light posts pulled from the ground suddenly, spinning up into the air and forward.
I flew over Administrator's back and cut through one post with my sword. Sending 00 into a roll, I spun down and slammed the blade into one of the larger wings. A wave of force shot up to throw me back, but I swept to the right and away from the wave. Faintly, I noticed another wave blow through the air. In the other direction.
Driving my blade up and raking it over her flesh, I shot forward and away before a third wave could strike me.
She thought I was going to go the other way.
Her power doesn't work on me…
My cuts ended up looking a lot more shallow than they felt, just like Leviathan or Squealer's tank. Denser on the inside than the outside.
Confirmation.
Do you know where her core is?
Negation.
So the Simurgh wasn't telling her.
"Blaster team one," Veda called, "focus your fire on the Simurgh's right side. Blaster team—"
I tuned out the noise and swung around. Administrator fired a wave of golden light from her palm. A wing came down and blocked the blast, which left a rather remarkable dent in the wing and scoured the feathers black.
"Dynames," Veda continued. "Aim—Team three take cover immediately!"
What?
I swung around as I peppered the Simurgh's back with bolts of energy. Administrator grabbed a statue out of the air as it sailed toward her and then fumbled awkwardly mid-air before throwing it back. The Simurgh twisted, avoiding the projectile and giving me a straight look at Stratos' team diving for cover as someone shot rays of blue at them.
"Friendly fire?" I asked.
"Iceshift just went crazy!"
I followed the beams to a cape in a blue costume. Two other capes grabbed him from behind, pulling him into a struggle that ended when Kyrios fell from the sky and kicked the ice cape in the head.
"What happened?" she asked.
"We don't know!"
The Simurgh had even primed some of the capes we'd brought with us?!
"Stay calm!" Colin shouted. "This is typical of fighting the Simurgh. Everyone remain focused. Watch out for yourself and those around you. Continue to keep your distance."
"We have evacuated four-tenths of the Simurgh's range," Veda added. "Eight more minutes and the movers will have cleared a four-block radius."
I dove in again, swinging for another wing. I had to dodge more force waves and debris. Administrator blasted one large piece before it struck me and then tried to hit the Simurgh but she subtly moved out of the way.
I wasn't doing much damage swinging wild, but it was forcing the Simurgh to move.
Veda might be able to get something from that.
The Simurgh pulled back for a moment, bringing a floating building and clouds of debris between her and a firing line. Stargazer teleported behind her, depositing a team of blasters who started unloading into her back. Another building cracked and tore itself up. It started to hurl forward, but a massive beam of energy tore down from the clouds and detonated the structure.
Throne Eins cut the beam and flew back, quickly fading back into the sky.
I dodged the Simurgh's makeshift shields and projectiles. Flying over one of her largest wings, I took aim for her chest. It seemed a bit obvious, but also a bit logical. If she hid whatever her weak spot was there, she was already shielding it with the wings she used to cover her body.
Nudge.
I dodged at the last second.
Unfortunately, as I came over the wing a fire hydrant slammed into my shoulder and a car crashed into my flank. I barely avoided taking the hydrant right in 00's jawline, which might have been enough to crack my jaw, despite my helmet. As it was my skull rattled and a sharp pain shot to the back of my skull from the impact.
00 spun feet first past the Simurgh and I caught sight of Administrator blowing her way through a dust cloud to tackle the Endbringer. The Simurgh brought the car around between them just moments before—like she knew that would happen—but it didn't stop Administrator at all.
Her golden avatar slammed into the angelic monster and drove the Simurgh to the ground. She began punching wildly, fists slamming into the Simurgh's form an—
She was holding back, still trying to convince the Simurgh to stop.
Administrator…
Negation.
I pulled myself up and flew over Vicky and a group of flying brutes who were holding overhead.
She won't listen. You know she won't.
Administrator rejected my protest again. She wanted to try—again—even knowing it wasn't going to work. She'd rather try and fail than not try at all.
So I shut up.
She kept punching the Simurgh literally and figuratively, and the blasters were starting to blow through the debris field shielding the Endbringer's body. The immediate block where she'd first entered the city was becoming a crater. Pock and scorch marks were tearing the ground apart and the Simurgh had lifted or crushed the buildings.
There had been people inside. Had to be. I had no time to think about that though, other than to acknowledge the price already being paid.
Sanc was a lot bigger than a few blocks.
I squinted. Moving to the side, I could see the ground shaking. It was subtle, like something moving over the surface. Bits and pieces went left and then right. The effect moved in a wave, circling the Simurgh with some variation in distance.
Searching for something. Searching for—I looked up. I looked down.
I was getting real tired of saying bitch.
"Focus fire," Veda called. I started to speak up to warn her. "Shift—Team six take evasive action! There is a—"
The ground whipped up, forming a wave of debris that hurled toward one of the blaster teams. A few of them were quick and started moving. Others fired into the wave.
I blinked, noticing only in the final instant that there was something shiny and reflective in the refuse. Rocks crushed around it moments before the blasters hit it and a huge cloud of gas exploded from the tank. A few powers struck it, and the cloud ignited into an inferno.
I dove and pulled up over the roof. Lafter flew in from the other side, fighting back a wave of fear as she projected Kyrios' shields at the same time I projected a wave of particles from the Twin Drives. The capes and civilians behind us shielded themselves or dove to the ground, but our suits managed to blow the inferno back as it hurled forward.
The fire rolled over the rest of the rooftop and the streets on either side.
"What the hell?!"
"She's using the fuel tanks from the satellites," Veda warned. "Team nine, begin searching the crash sites I'm sending you. We need to remove others. Evacuations most continue"
"Get them up!" I shouted.
Capes behind me scrambled, pulling people to their feet and urging them forward. No one lo–
"Emergency by team thirteen," Veda announced. "Strider, evacuate the fire hazard."
Another fuel tank somewhere else? I could faintly see the light of flames through the Simurgh's storm of dust and junk.
There were too many people in the street. We didn't have enough movers to get them all out quickly enough. They were sitting ducks in buildings the Simurgh was turning into weapons or target practice trying to escape.
"This is too simple," Colin declared.
"This is simple?" Gauge asked as teams started moving.
"Yeah," Narwhal agreed. "This is really direct for her. She's just letting us wail on her and throwing things around. She's usually more evasive."
"She's waiting," I mumbled.
The fire around Kyrios and 00 passed and I spun around.
Beside me, Lafter was swallowing back what I could only take as a small panic attack. This was hitting her harder than she thought it would. It was hitting me harder just feeling it.
"Laft—"
"M'fine," she replied.
"Thanks," one of the blasters below said as he turned to run.
"Clear the roof," I told him, eyes still on Kyrios. "Stay light on your feet. The Simurgh plays dominoes."
That's how we needed to look at this. She didn't do anything without a reason. Multiple reasons. She dropped those satellites to cover her arrival. She never did something for the most obvious reason. Duh. She was going to use them fo—Tinkering.
"This is Newtype," I said. "Be advised that the Simurgh is likely to use the satellite debris to build something."
"Water is wet," Lisa unveiled. "Cough."
She'd dropped dozens of satellites from orbit. A lot of them would have burned up entering the atmosphere, but many more got through to be blown apart by us. I could do something with those kinds of parts though if I could find the right pieces. Abstractly, it was just a fancy math problem to drop some technology from orbit and predict where it would land.
"How much longer to evacuate the surrounding blocks?" Weld asked.
From the corner of my eye, I did see a group of four capes ferrying about two dozen people out the back of a building. Strider appeared and teleported most of them away and the rest ran through one of Doormaker's portals. A shower of broken glass suddenly fell and I looked away as someone—a cape in a blue costume—was shredded by the shower before he could protect himself.
Streamer down.
How many of us were going to walk out of this alive?
"Evacuation of the Simurgh's range is at fifty percent," Veda answered. "Rescue teams, I will be directing you specifically. Do not assume someone else will get to the location if you don't."
"We can't wait," I told her. "Veda. Do it."
There was a moment's hesitation, and then, "All teams pull back from the marked radius"—as if reacting, the Simurgh surged upward—"line."
Administrator was thrown off and sent spinning away as the Endbringer lifted herself from the ground. Her wings flicked outward, blasting the ground and projecting a massive cloud into the air that obscured her.
"Pull back," Veda repeated. Teams began reacting instantly. Stargazer and Strider teleported some away. Others high-tailed it out on their own. "Deploying Throne Drei."
I flew into the junk storm, blowing it apart in my wake and exposing the Simurgh.
A moment later, the entire sky ignited into a shimmering cascade of light. It blew outward, suffusing the clouds and turning them red above us. Particles began to drift down, falling like glittering ash over Sanc as far as the eye could see.
The Simurgh stopped. Her wings continued to shift and her hair fluttered, but she wasn't moving in any particular direction anymore. She seemed to have stilled completely save for whatever dramatic effects she induced to make her appearance memorable.
It's working?
Administrator circled around behind the Endbringer. Unknown.
"Trans-Am activated," Veda announced. "Seven minutes and twenty-three seconds remaining."
We'd only managed to push the time out another twenty-two seconds.
It would have to do.
I drew my longsword into my free hand and came about. "Anything?"
"I am uncertain," Veda replied. "I'm sorry. I haven't gathered enough data to make a useful prediction. We'll have to pinpoint as we go."
"Not your fault…"
I flew up and looked over the city… And I couldn't ignore the truth.
The civilians were still in huge streams moving away from the fight, but close enough the Simurgh could attack them. Her stupid play had wasted a lot of evacuation time and forced us to do things slower.
It made the problem worse.
We didn't have enough capes.
If we wanted to find a place somewhere on the Simurgh's body that she was trying to protect, we needed to shower her in firepower. Preferably, firepower that she actually wanted to avoid. There was Lily but I hoped to save her power if we could. We still weren't sure exactly where the Simurgh's line was when it came to precognition.
Our groups were so small and so spread out. Even with Haven and the Guild showing up, the Birdcage to shore up the ranks, and nearly all of Londo Bell coming along we only numbered three hundred. Maybe a third of that number had powers suitable for fighting the Simurgh herself. Everyone else could do little more than search and rescue and evacuate people.
It just wasn't enough.
Administrator…
Rejection.
And if we're just throwing lives away?
Nudge.
I blinked. What?
"We got something going on behind me!" someone cried. "On the beach!"
I checked the rearview cameras.
The air was warped. No, not warped. Stretched. There was a thin strip of land maybe twenty-five feet wide stretching over the water and spilling onto the beach.
I knew that power. How—
A smile broke out over my face, which felt wrong with the situation but fuck it. "Veda. Begin." I swung my swords out and charged into the particle field falling over the city. "We'll figure it out as we go."
At the shore, Vista's foot stepped onto the sand.
And the Wards followed.