One moment Joker was in Brockton Bay's PRT HQ, the next he appeared in the middle of a huge roundabout. Trees had been cut to create space and open up the sky for the area. Pockets of tents have been propped up, people with red crosses coming in and out. Once in a while, they came entered the tents carrying an injured civilian, but most of the time, it seemed like they were bringing in capes.
Oddly enough, the around him was, ignoring the injured and tents, was in one piece. However, if he focused into the horizon, he could see a storm of debris and lots of lights attacking that storm.
A man in military fatigues jogged over to them and another man followed, bringing with him a box.
"Capes from Brockton Bay?" the first man asked.
Armsmaster nodded. "Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Dauntless, and Velocity from the Protectorate. Victor, Othala, and Rune from the Empire 88. Joker is an independent rogue," he said, gesturing at each of the capes with him when he mentioned their names.
"Everyone knows the drill?" the military man asked. Everyone but Joker and Rune nodded.
"Sorry, but this is my first Endbringer fight," he said.
Rune nodded. "It's my first fight against the Simurgh."
The man nodded, and the second man began handing out armbands to everyone. "I'll give the breakdown then. This is Landing-Charlie, established about 1.8 kilometers north-west from the Canberra Airport where the Simurgh is sitting. This was created to coordinate efforts between relief and the fighter teams. We are just outside of the Simurgh's range of about 1.6 kilometers. If you go anywhere south-east, you'll hear her screaming. Once you hear her screaming, you are in her range.
"You have 25 minutes before your bracelet lights up in yellow. If it turns yellow, you are an increasing danger to others, and you must leave. Five minutes after that, your armband will turn red. The bomb on the armband will initiate."
Joker blinked. "You're giving us bombs?"
The man shrugged. "Better dead than the Simurgh's bitch. The longer she screams at you, the higher the chance you'll be Mastered. Red means you've been fully Mastered. She can use you to hurt others into the far future, and you wouldn't even realize until it happens. You might not even know it's happening.
"Outside of her ability to Master you, she also has psychic powers. You can see her using buildings and debris to protect herself from our Blasters," he said, pointing at the storm in the distance.
Ah, so those lights were the capes, and that storm was the Simurgh.
"Fighters will have to go to another zone and coordinate with them. Just know, Blasters and Movers are our best capes for this fight. Can't get too close for too long or you'll get Mastered. Those here for Relief, our main zone is down south at the Commonwealth Park. If you can heal, you're part of Medical; if you can locate and stabilize people, you're in Rescue; if you can move obstacles around, you're part of Hazard Management. The latter two will partner up to help rescue people.
"The only issue is that because of the Simurgh, Rescue and Hazard Management won't go too deep. Focus on the areas near or just outside of her range. We don't know who's safe or not without the armband. If you see someone without an armband and you're decently deep in to the Simurgh's range, assume they're red. You get the fuck out of there. You can call for a Mover using your armband if you need to.
"Save who you can, but don't push your luck. We'll let you guys know when to stop and get back. At some point, there won't be any more civvies to save, and the only ones left would be capes. You'll be on standby when that time comes. Outside of our newbies, does everyone know what they're doing?" When no one said otherwise, he continued, "Good, then Fighters go with my assistant here. He'll get you guys to the ones actually coordinating for you. Relief, stay with me. As for the new guys, I've got a couple questions."
The capes who chose to fight left the group while Joker stepped up in front of the man and Rune followed right after.
"Right, so what are your powers?" the man asked.
"I can touch objects and move them," Rune answered. "I was planning to go in Hazard Management."
"And I can heal and locate people," Joker said right after.
The man hummed. "You guys pair up then. Joker, you focus on locating people then heal them out of critical condition. Rune, you get these people to safety."
"Hold on!" Rune yelped. "I can't-"
"Too bad," the man interrupted. "Whatever issues you had, put them aside. We have the Endbringer Truce right now."
"I plan on following the truce," Joker said. "I'll put your racism to the side until we get back to Brockton."
Rune growled. "Of course, you can say that! You're not the one worried about being Mastered! You Mastered Kaiser and sent him to the PRT!"
"That's not how my powers work," Joker said. "If you're that uncomfortable working with me, then I can go one way, you go the other."
"Fine with me!"
"You two, stop being childish," the man said, annoyed at the two. "You put your shit aside for the Endbringer. Your powers compliment with each other, so you two are going to work together. Grumble and complain, but you will work together to save lives. Failure to comply means failure to follow the Endbringer Truce, and you know what we do those kinds of people?" When Rune shook her head, he continued, "They get put down. Unless you want that, you work together!"
"Trust the Truce, Rune," Victor piped up. "No one as heroic enough as Joker would break that."
Joker shrugged. "I'm down. I'm here to save people. If I have to work with people I disagree with, so be it. It wouldn't be the first time."
Rune responded with a snarl. "Fine, but you better stay away from me, you hear?"
"Crystal clear, miss," Joker said, saluting with a mocking grin. "Just do your job, I do mine."
"And you understand what will happen if you Master her, yes?" Victor commanded.
Joker gave him a thumbs-up. "With respect to the Truce, the entire cape scene here with us will come get me. No need to repeat."
Victor stared directly at Joker's eyes before frowning. He motioned for Rune to follow him where he whispered something to her. When he finished, he left for the medical tents with Othala. Rune stood in front of Joker.
"I don't like you," Rune said. "I hate Masters like you; you broke the Empire. I hate that I have to work with you."
"And that's your right," Joker said with a nod. "No one said you had to like me."
Rune stared at him, mouth slightly open before sighing. "Holy shit, Victor was right. You don't have any bone in you to hold a grudge, don't you?"
"Not particularly?" Joker rubbed the back of his head. "An old... acquaintance of mine said something similar. If I want to help people, I can't afford to be held back." Joker stared back. "Does that answer your question."
"...Yeah, it did," Rune replied before walking past him. "Let's go. I'll lead."
Joker shrugged and followed.
"You know I'm the one that can find people, right?"
"Shut up! I can find with my own eyes, too!"
-.-
One target deviated from her pretercognition.
Future fulcrum points disappear because of that.
She searches the battlefield for what could have caused it.
The target was in the south-east of Campbell. He would have been trapped in the quarantine zone. He would eventually cause a riot the day before the singer's sentence. The singer would then be vital for the future.
Now, that's gone.
She focuses on the numerous targets in the area. She compares the differences between her two abilities. In one, there are three people. In another, there are only two.
A blind spot. A new one? She hadn't expected that. She only expected him to be the only blind spot, but there seems to be a second one.
She pivots to the two people with the blind spot. One was her original target; the other was inconsequential. She wanted freedom, but her own wants were her chains.
She uses their senses to perceive the new blind spot. This one is a child. Too focused in saving others rather than fighting her. Currently inconsequential. She uses memories to see how he acts and works.
Can create projections and control others. Too heroic to use his full power. She wonders how much the boy is holding himself back when using his powers. Would it be possible to have him create more conflict? Maybe she doesn't need her lost target anymore; one far better has appeared in front of her.
She predicts. She isn't sure how far his breaking point is, but he is a child. She begins whispering to other targets, urging them. Match fulcrum points when meeting him. She positions them carefully in the battlefield, in the land on the opposite side of the world.
She will continue to push him, further and further. He can be a tool for the future.
Another blind spot approaches. She is familiar to this one: her creator. Pieces are scattered and ready for the young blind spot. She focuses on the elder.
-.-
"Alright, that's another group saved," Joker said, guiding the mother and daughter to Rune's floating platform. "Think you have space for one more?"
"Hell no!" Rune shouted above him. "We've been here for too long already. We need to leave!"
"Come on, it's not that bad!"
"Sorry to barge in between you two," Dragon's voice from their armband said, "but you will need to go now. You've been within the Simurgh's range for fifteen minutes and 47 seconds. That's not even mentioning how long these victims have been here. I highly suggest leaving now."
In that time, they managed to save a boy, a man and his boyfriend, a grieving father, and a mother and daughter.
"Let's go, Joker," Rune urged. "The Simurgh's scream has been getting louder and louder. I don't want to wait until I can't get out of here."
Joker frowned before he hopped on with the others. "Fine, that doesn't sound good. Let's-"
"Is someone there?!"
Everyone's head snapped towards where the voice came from. It came from southwest, closer to the Simurgh.
"Someone, please!"
Before Joker could move, Rune held his sleeve.
"Don't you fucking do it. We need to go!"
"I can't just leave them behind!"
Rune held her hand towards the others on the floating platform. "Then what about them? Are you just going to leave them behind?"
Joker's eyes lingered over each person's face before coming to a decision.
"Then you get out of here," Joker said as he peeled off Rune's hand on his sleeve. "I can at least carry one person."
Rune grit her teeth before she called out to her armband. "You hear that, right, Dragon? Joker wants me to leave him behind, so it's fine if I go, right?"
"Joker, I highly advise against doing this," Dragon pleaded.
Joker refused to listen, jumping off the platform. "It'll be in and out, I promise. I'm not going to leave someone behind when I can help them out. Dragon, put it on record that I'm doing of my own choice."
"...You have seven minutes, Joker. Rune, please head towards the safe zone."
"Fine by me!" Rune said as the floating platform began moving away from Joker. "You better not take shit back, you hear?"
Joker smirked. "You want me to post it in PHO?"
"You'd do that?"
"Joker, please get moving," Dragon said hurriedly. "Rune, you have my word that you did your part. Joker is doing this out of his own volition."
Rune eyed her armband before glancing at Joker. With a huff, the platform flew away.
"Now then," Joker began. "Seven minutes, right? Then I'll start moving. Maria, Heat Riser!"
Maria appeared behind him, and a series of lights appeared around him.
While the lights died down, Joker continued to glow, and he ran.
"You are certainly faster than before," Dragon noted, surprising Joker. "Was this a Trump ability that gives a Mover rating?"
"I didn't expect you to stay around!"
"I'd like to ensure you stay alive."
"Oh yeah? How come? Not that your help is bad or anything, but I've interacted with heroes and villains, and they haven't given me a warm welcome. Hell, the best I've got is probably Panacea, and that's because she approved my healing. We haven't actually met until earlier. Even Brandish was suspicious of me."
"I don't want to see a fellow hero becoming a Ziz bomb, Joker," Dragon replied. "I work closely with PRT, and the dossier they produced about you was worrying. All that power for someone so young. However, after meeting you, I'm honestly relieved. You have a lot of potential for good, and you know it. You've actively used your powers for best of everyone, Mastering aside, but they managed to keep their dignity upon their surrender."
Joker kept quiet while he focused on getting over the debris and terrain.
"...I know how bad my powers can be," Joker finally replied. "I've seen it used for selfish reasons."
"You... Someone else had your powers?"
"For the most part, yeah," Joker said, leaping over fallen wall before stopping. "Ah, but you don't have to worry about him. He won't cause any problems."
"...I see. I won't ask any further," Dragon replied. "Back to what you're here for, have you wounded?"
Joker's head swiveled around, his golden eyes searching the fallen buildings.
"Hey! Anyone here?!" Joker yelled as he cupped his hands around his mouth.
"..."
Joker's ears perked up, and he stared to his left. He sprinted off before he found his target: a woman breathing heavily, piled underneath wreckage.
"...You're..."
"Hold on, okay? I need to heal then lift this thing up. Once I do, you have to crawl out, alright?"
The woman whimpered, but she nodded.
"Great! First, Salvation!" The woman's breathing steadied as green light surrounded her. He put his hands underneath the rubble and readied himself. "Alright, are you ready for the next step?" When the woman nodded again, he heaved. "Come on! I can't carry this thing all day! I-"
Before he could continue, the woman lunged at him, screaming at the top of her lungs. She pushed him to the ground and straddled him, her hands on his neck as she tried to choke him.
"Fuck you, Henry! You cheating asshole!"
"Hold on, lady, I'm not-!"
"Joker, she's under the influence of the Simurgh!" Dragon called out.
"So, what? She's brainwashed?" Joker asked. He finally gathered his bearings and began struggling back. At the very least, he managed to get her hands off his neck. "If it's just that, then Maria! Salvation one more time!"
While green lights did appear around the woman, she still continued to screech at Joker, fighting to hurt him.
"It didn't work!" Joker yelled.
"You can get rid of brainwashing?!"
"I thought I could, but this is definitely beyond brainwashing! Sorry, lady, but if you're going to keep doing this, then Raoul, Phantom Show!"
Raoul emerged from blue flames and sent out a full moon. Its shine caught the woman's attention, and she immediately relaxed, letting go of Joker, before falling unconscious on top of Joker.
"Joker, you have to get out of here. I'll have a Mover come pick you up."
"Dragon, what's going on with her?" Joker asks. "It's not the normal brainwashing; this felt more, I don't know, stronger than that?"
"We're not quite sure, but being in the Simurgh's range lets her control you over time," Dragon explained. "However, from what we've seen, the person doesn't become some mindless drone out to act on the Simurgh's instructions; instead, they act from memories she set up to trigger. She influences you to act in certain ways through memories and hallucinations. Not only that, but these triggers may also not happen until the far future. They can snap at anytime, anywhere that the Simurgh decided on."
"And that's why you set up these armbands to kill capes, don't you?" Joker replied, glancing at his armband. "But this feels very drastic from the get-go. Did you try anything else?"
"We deemed the victims to be too dangerous to try anything. It's just how things go for Endbringers."
Joker grit his teeth. It was efficient, logical, and systematic. He couldn't deny that, especially when he wasn't even from this world. But he didn't need to be from here to know it's inhumane and callous, especially for the ones that were already under her control.
He glanced at the poor woman beside him. She was crying out for help just a few minutes ago, and now she's condemned to a life under someone's thumb, all without her input.
It irritated him, but what can he do? He already tried Salvation, which should remove Brainwash, but it didn't work. The only thing left is-
A change of heart. Would it even fix what the Simurgh did? Dragon mentioned that the Simurgh triggered memories and hallucinations to control people. Has ever there been a change of heart from someone with those issues?
Oh.
"Dragon, I'm going to try something," Joker said to his armband.
"What do you have in mind?"
"You've read my files, right? I think I'll do a change of heart."
"Your Master power? Wait a moment-"
The air shimmered around him as he teleported into the Metaverse.
"Joker unknown, CB-7."
The familiar call came from the armband. However, that's not what took his attention.
Strings flew in the air, all coming from the same direction: southeast. If that's true, then that's at the direction of the airport, or more importantly, the Simurgh. Is this how the Simurgh controlled people? Strings?
Joker glanced at the woman, the Shadow, beside him, and there was a string attached to a bomb on her.
"Wow, a literal bomb," he muttered. Well, he supposed it would be bomb here; if that's how the general public saw it, then it would be a bomb here, too.
He had no time to lose. He wasn't how much time he had, but he needed to get that bomb off the woman as soon as he can.
When he looked closer at woman, it turned out those same strings that flew from the Simurgh is what attached the bomb to the woman. The string wrapped the woman and the bomb together. He took out his knife and began cutting it. While it resisted him at the start, it's still just a wire. It eventually fell off.
He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the bomb. It was less a bomb and more sort of... something? He wasn't sure. It didn't look like a normal bomb, that's for sure. He kicked it away from the Shadow and lit it up with a simple Agidyne.
It exploded, but not in the normal bomb sense. A man mostly in the nude appeared where the bomb was, a sheet protecting his jewels. He looked surprised and desperate, and he had his hands out, as if trying to calm someone down.
"Fuck you, Henry, you cheating asshole!"
Well, looks like he finally met Henry. The man eventually disappeared.
Glancing around him, nothing seemed different otherwise. Now that the situation seemed safe enough, he had to make sure the Shadow was alright before moving on.
The woman woke up with a startle. "I- You're not Henry," she said.
"No, ma'am. He won't bother you for the time being," he responded. "What happened?"
"I don't know," she stammered out. "I was trapped and... You saved me from it, but when I got out, it turned out Henry saved me. He looked so happy to see me, but I hate him... I was so angry I fought him. You said he's gone, right?"
Joker nodded. "Yes, you're safe now. Do you think you can get away from here? Maybe closer to downtown of Canberra?"
The Shadow nodded and began moving away. He kept his eyes on the retreating woman before switching over to where all the wires converged or came from.
He wasn't exactly sure about fighting the Simurgh or any of the Endbringers. They were often described as natural disasters: things that happen just because, and all you can do is run or hunker down in hopes the disaster passes over. Just like how one can't really do anything against a typhoon but survive, the Endbringers were just like that.
He could feel everyone's will to live, rebel, and fight against the impossible. It made him happy that, despite against overwhelming odds, people still banded together to fight for their lives. That said, being forced to do it under the Endbringer Truce rather than people actually caring about each other sucks, but hey, baby steps. Maybe in the future, parahumans could come together to beat these Endbringers rather than just fighting to live.
That said, he was afraid how the cognitive versions of these Endbringers would appear. Would they truly be unbeatable and immortal? He remembered the fight against the cheater that the Phantom Thieves couldn't hit at all. The power of cognition is strong, capable of making people immortal in the right circumstances. If enough people believed that something was impossible to kill, then the cognitive version might just be as strong.
When he got back to the real world, he tapped on his armband. "Joker with a civvie, CB-7. Requesting for evac. Moderate priority."
Instead of an acknowledgement, Dragon's voice piped up. "You're still alive, Joker? What happened?"
"Mover powers. I think the woman's fine now," he replied as he knelt down towards her.
"Joker, I don't think you should do anything with that woman at this moment. You don't know what she'll-"
He lightly shook her until she blearily opened her eyes. "Hello ma'am, my name is Joker. How are you feeling?"
The woman blinked at him before looking around her. "'m fine, I think... Did you see someone else nearby? I-I think I saw my ex..."
Joker shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'm sorry, but you were the only one here."
"...I must have been hallucinating..."
"Maybe just a dream. You were hit by a wall and got knocked out," Joker replied. "I've already called a Mover cape to get us out. Let's get out of here before things get worse, okay?"
The woman nodded before getting up.
"Joker, please explain what you did," Dragon said. "We've already confirmed she's-"
"I used my powers. My Master ability lets me see someone's psyche, I figured there might be something there, and I was right: whatever the Simurgh does, it affected the person's mind and I managed to counter it. I bet a lot of Masters can help against her. I'm more surprised you haven't tested yet."
"She'll still have to go under Master/Stranger quarantine, on top of whatever else is going to happen here at Canberra," Dragon said.
"The Simurgh has begun to move northwest! I repeat, the Simurgh has changed directions and is now going northwest! All Relief parties in areas CB and DT, begin evacuation! Movers with the ability to move multiple people, help with evac!"
-.-
Author's Notes:
Hi there. Sorry about the delay. It's been a very long while since I last posted a chapter, over a month. I've been working on ch10 since, including the outline. Originally, I wanted to do a longer ch10, but I thought that maybe I took too long with the remaining outline, and it got really big as well. I decided to split it into 2 chapters. Ch10 will uploaded today, and ch11, the actual fight itself, will be uploaded when I finish it.
For SB and AO3 users, how should I post updates to this fic? I've been updating my FFN profile consistently, but I worry that other platforms wouldn't know what's happening and think this fic is dead.