Chapter 15
I stood on the top platform of the Rig, the rest of the Protectorate assembled. I traded handshakes with some and curt nods with others before drifting over to the side of the Rig to take in the view.
"You haven't had any new powers spontaneously appear, have you?" Assault asked me light heartedly as he approached from behind. "Because damn, we sure could use some."
After he mentioned it, a flash of worry went through my mind. I hadn't received a new power or even the offer of one from the Grimoire for some time by that point. Was it because of the amount of power I had built up? A 'use it or lose it' situation? I wasn't sure either way, so I just settled on giving Assault a quick shrug in reply.
"Well that's comforting," he joked. "You look tense."
I gave him a flat look. "We're about to fight an Endbringer. Probably."
"Yeah, you aren't that kind of tense. I've seen newbies and veterans act with the same skittish nerves or fatalistic air, but you… you're thinking of something else."
Now that he mentioned it… Well I was a little worried about meeting Alexandria or Eidolon. Alexandria was the right kind of ruthless that she might just decide to kill me for what I knew about Cauldron. It was just a question of if she'd be able to tell or already knew. Had I avoided a visit from Contessa thanks to being some kind of blindspot or was I simply deemed useful to her Path? Questions that I had avoided asking myself until I'd actually had to face them head on. Eidolon…
How do you look a man in the eye and tell him point blank that there's a chance he caused the deaths of millions because of his own insecurities?
The answer was that you don't. I hadn't included the knowledge about Eidolon in my briefings to Armsmaster, because frankly, I wasn't sure if it was for sure true- too many people took it as gospel when even a Thinker like Lisa had only given just better than 50/50 odds- or what could be done about it in the first place. Best case scenario, Eidolon maybe finds a way to put a stop to them and then society starts to collapse even quicker as heroes and villains start to seriously try and kill each other. Worst case, Cauldron doesn't believe me and I get blacklisted or killed for trying to defame one of the world's most powerful heroes.
I wondered if I could broach the topic privately with Legend. He seemed like a reasonable man and would know his friend better than I did.
"Have you been to any of these?" I asked Assault to get my mind off Cauldron and their bullshit.
"A few," Assault answered, his face and voice turning serious for once. "They're…" He tried to find words and then simply shook his head. "They're forces of nature, but keep your head on straight, don't panic, don't take risks, and trust your fellow capes, even the villains. That's your best chance of survival." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh yeah: Don't get hit if you can help it. Even a glancing hit from Leviathan almost overloaded me once."
"Getting hit isn't what I'm most worried about. It's the scream."
Assault pulled a face. "Yeah, if it's Ziz, definitely keep an eye on your countdown clock. Everyone gets assessed before a Ziz fight by Thinkers, no exceptions. Unless you're lucky like Alexandria or have bullshit powers like Eidolon, you'll have only a limited amount of time to spend within her range or else…" He trailed off, looking worried that he might have scared me off.
"I already know how Simurgh fights typically go," I said with what I hoped was a cheerful smile. "I'll make sure I don't need to get put down the hard way."
Assault opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Armsmaster's voice. "Gather up everyone, Strider is almost here," he called out.
Assault flashed me one last grin and clapped me on the shoulder. We gathered in a loose group around Armsmaster, tenseness filling the air. We didn't have to wait long before the freelance teleporter appeared amidst us with a crackle of energy.
"Howdy there folks," he drawled in an atrocious impression of a Texas accent. "All aboard the Strider Express, today we're headed down to good ol' Australia. Everyone got all their bits and pieces in order?"
"We're all here," Armsmaster said, glancing at the assembled Protectorate ENE. "Whenever you're ready, Strider."
"Well then let's get this rodeo going!"
Energy filled the air and I felt a tingle as static washed over my skin. Then with another flash like how he'd appeared, we were suddenly somewhere else.
Bright and sunny was my first impression. Also warm, far warmer than Brockton Bay had ever been, even in the original Mak's memories. It was a pleasant change of pace, even if I did usually prefer the coastal gray climate of Brockton.
"Alright, we're going to be checking in with the Thinker team now," Armsmaster explained to Triumph and I as our whole team began to make our way over toward a tent set up outside the larger building that appeared to be the primary assembly point. "All data indicates this will be a Simurgh attack. If we're wrong and it's one of the other two, then this will have been a still needed waste of time. They'll give us wristbands and assess how long we are each individually able to remain within the Scream before requiring," his mouth curled in distaste, "euthanization."
Triumph audibly gulped and I had no doubt that he was probably sweating beneath his helm. Not that I was much better.
The tent we entered was alive with activity, a small crowd of capes waiting in line to stand before a table of men and women squinting at charts and graphs, arguing amongst each other, then distributing the large tinker-tech wristbands that Dragon so helpfully provided. They were larger than the ones given out at Leviathan or Behemoth fights, due to the shaped charges within that could put down even mid-tier Brutes.
All of the Protectorate ENE got in line with the rest and began to be assessed by the Thinkers present. Some of us got relatively short periods of time we could spend in the Scream's presence, but Miss Militia, Armsmaster, and Dauntless, got significantly longer.
"Psychic shielding," Armsmaster explained, tapping the side of his helmet. "I accounted for the likelihood of this being a Simurgh attack." Maybe it was just my imagination, but it looked like he was smirking faintly at me when he said that.
"My helmet has some anti-Master capabilities," Dauntless also supplied.
"Noctis cape," Miss Militia said as if that explained anything.
Then the Thinkers got to me.
They had been giving out color designations to mark out how long someone could remain active within the Scream. When one of them came up and held a hand out in my direction, closing his eyes in concentration, he suddenly shot up and yelled.
"Gold! We got a Gold!" He sounded pleased, but also a little panicked.
Four other members of the team came over and all began using their powers on me before muttering amongst each other. One of them asked me to wait while another ran off. My team and I were left standing there, more than a little flabbergasted and confused, except for Armsmaster, whose mouth showed his face to be in it's 'neutral' expression.
"This is your first time at one of these, isn't it?" A thoughtful woman's voice asked.
I glanced over and nearly did a double take as I saw Alexandria, barely a few feet from me. Her eyes swept up and down, taking me in, and I could practically see the gears turning within her Shard assisted mind.
The unbreakable woman gave a small smirk at what must have been the utter panic on my features. "The Think-Tank called me over to give my assessment as well. I have to concur with them. Gold. Congratulations on being the fourth such cape we've found so far."
"Who are the others?" Armsmaster asked curiously.
Alexandria's smirk grew. "Myself, Eidolon, and while he technically isn't on paper, Legend effectively serves as one." She turned her eyes back to me. "It means that you are either immune to the Simurgh's Scream or have a way to shield yourself indefinitely from it."
Lunatic Eyes…
"I wouldn't… I mean, I guess that makes sense," I hedged carefully. "I have some rather… esoteric abilities."
"So I've heard. Armsmaster, forgive me, but could I speak to your protege in private for a moment?"
Armsmaster looked rather disgruntled, but gave a quick nod to the Triumvirate hero and rounded up the rest of our team to gather their armbands and assemble inside the main venue.
"Please put up one of your illusion barriers. I wouldn't want this conversation to be made public," Alexandria requested as she led me to an unoccupied corner of the tent, though it sounded like an order.
I hesitantly did as she asked, wondering if this was the point where she rushed me with supersonic speed and snapped my neck.
She continued to study me for a moment and then sighed and removed her helmet. "You're scared of me." She sounded so… tired. She rubbed beneath one eye in a soothing motion, probably the one that the Siberian had ripped out. A fake? It looked and acted like a real eye, though I was sure it wasn't.
"No, I-" Thinker… "Yes," I admitted, voice tense.
"You shouldn't be. I've done many monstrous things to keep the world and our secrets safe, but it's not like you've gone around telling everyone about us."
"About who?"
She gave me an unimpressed look. "I know that you know about Cauldron. You also know of Contessa. Her Path was dramatically altered when you appeared." I opened my mouth to reply, but she held up a hand. "Truth be told, I wanted to lock you in a box to keep you safe while your power grew, but both Contessa and another one of our sources-"
"Number Man?"
"Indeed. Both were all but certain that doing so would hinder your growth tremendously. Same reason we haven't done the same to Dauntless truth be told. Powers- even strange ones like yours- seem to grow from using them. I don't know how you know about Cauldron, though I'm guessing it has to do with your precognitive abilities."
"That would be correct."
"Good, that saves me time. You were scared when you first saw me. You still are. I just wanted to be clear: You don't need to fear us. Your goals are the same as ours. We've seen your rate of growth and we're willing to put some faith in you. If you had tried going around spreading tales of us, well… We don't allow that sort of thing to happen. But you've been doing nothing except help improve the city you live in," she suddenly smirked again, a self-deprecating kind, touched with bitterness. "Though you did mess with one of my pet projects a bit. Made me lose a bet."
"Parahuman feudalism. You realize that you can literally just look at Africa or China to see how that goes, right?" I asked.
"The United States has a very different type of people living in it. I wanted to see if it was viable, should the worst come to pass," she explained.
I stared. And stared. And then finally shook my head. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but that is such bullshit. The United States isn't special, people are still people. You're just being biased because it's your homeland. Parahuman feudalism obviously is a viable- if very violent- form of government, you can even see a micro-scale version of it by just looking at Lung and his territory in Brockton. You wanted to screw over a whole city just to… what, confirm something you already know or could learn by just observing any number of other countries in the world?"
There was a beat of silence and my heart rate skyrocketed as I remembered who exactly I was talking to. Then Alexandria let out an amused snort. "Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. You aren't the only person to raise such concerns. And even someone like me isn't as… objective as I like to pretend." She put her helmet back on and took a deep breath. "I just wanted to assure you that you needn't look over your shoulder every second. And welcome to the Protectorate. We're following your progress with great interest." She strode past me and out of the illusion, back to her role in helping assess capes.
I waited a few moments just to make sure I wasn't about to get shot in the back of my head by Contessa, then grabbed my waiting armband and went to catch up with my team. I found them inside in a large auditorium. The place looked like it might have once hosted stage plays.
Armsmaster shot me a glance as I entered. "She wasn't trying to poach you, was she?" He asked it in his gruff 'I'm joking' manner, but I could tell there was genuine worry there.
"No sir, just welcoming me to the Protectorate," I half-lied. "Besides, you know I won't ditch the Bay so easily."
That earned me a half-smile and a terse nod. "Good. Depending on how you perform today, you'll probably get yourself a raise. And probably some offers from other Protectorate team leaders or PRT Directors. Some with better funding and career opportunities. It would be a shame to lose you so soon after you joined us."
"They could offer me a team of my own and a seven-figure salary and I'd still tell them to shove it. Y'all have been good to me, I'm not going to leave just cause some suit waved numbers in my face," I said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Armsmaster judged my sincerity for a moment and apparently didn't find it lacking. "Glad to hear it. Have you set your armband yet?"
"Oh hell. Uhhh…" I looked at the simple device and blanked on how to activate it.
"Alright, like this…"
Armsmaster walked me through the basics of using it, allowing me to input my name. A small clock timer appeared in the corner, then blinked out of existence once it seemed to confirm something.
"The amount of time you can spend in the Scream," Armsmaster explained, showing me his own wristband with a countdown clock where mine had once been. "Dragon coordinates with the Think-Tank and adjusts the numbers accordingly." His face turned into a grimace. "She's also the one who has to detonate the charges."
I winced, not remembering that detail. "No automatic countdown?"
"No, too easily tampered with one way or the other. It has to be done manually."
"Damn… that's a heavy burden to bear." My respect for Dragon went up a few notches.
"Yes. I respect her for far more than just her Tinkering capabilities." He paused and a far more natural smile crossed his face for just an instance. It wasn't as practiced as his PR ones or even as good looking, but it was genuine and that made all the difference. "Though that certainly helps build common ground and rapport of course."
Damn, the dude was in love and didn't even know it yet. "I think I know what you mean."
"Alright everyone, listen up!"
The room fell silent at the speaker's voice. He drifted lazily through the air before settling onto the stage where a microphone had already been set up. His costume was distinctive, his name even more so. Legend, often considered the second strongest of the Triumvirate, the epitome of mobile artillery when it came to capes. "Hello everyone. As you can see, we have approximately," his eyes scanned the small crowd briefly, "two-hundred or so members of the Protectorate and Guild in attendance, as well as locals from Canberra. Special thanks to Armsmaster and Magus of Brockton Bay and Dragon of the Guild. It's thanks to a combination of Thinker powers from Magus and tinker-tech software that we've had this much warning. We were able to confirm as of about twenty minutes ago, that the Simurgh is descending towards this city. As we speak, teams of Movers are bringing in even more reinforcements, volunteers and independents from across the globe. Thanks to the forewarning, this is perhaps one of, if not the largest turnout of capes that we've ever been able to bring to bear against one of these bastards. However, you all deserve to know the truth, especially those of you who have never been to one of these fights." Legend took a deep breath and braced himself. "The Simurgh is the least overtly dangerous of the three Endbringers. A good day means a casualty rate of about fifteen to twenty percent. Like all of the Endbringers, she's incredibly tough, though she is the most 'delicate' of them, preferring to dodge rather than tank attacks. Her offensive powers include macro-telekinesis, though she is still Manton Limited, and Tinker capabilities. As far as we can tell, she also can see the future. However, her most dangerous ability is her Scream. It's a limited radius, about a mile give or take, but if you're caught within it for too long, she turns you into what we call a 'bomb', making you into a long-term threat against society as a whole. If you are turned, then Dragon will remotely detonate the armband you're wearing. If that isn't enough to kill you, then other capes will be authorized to put you down. This isn't done out of cruelty: It's a mercy. We've seen first hand the kind of damage that comes about when we let a Ziz-bomb go free. It's a nightmare and they're always a twisted mockery of who they once were by the end." Legend's eyes closed and he sighed. "I understand if any of you newcomers do not wish to continue, knowing these risks. You're still free to leave now."
No one took the offered out and Legend's stance straightened with pride. "I'm proud to be standing amongst so many good heroes," his eyes strayed toward a section of the auditorium that seemed to have an invisible line marking them as different, "and villains. We have only so much time to drive her off before she either succeeds in whatever goal she has- which make no mistake, will be nothing short of catastrophic- or condemns this city to quarantine. We've managed to start an evacuation, but there are still over hundreds of thousands that won't have the time while the Simurgh wreaks havoc. Due to the Simurgh's nature as a flier, we ask that any Strikers and Brutes without significant Mover capabilities assist with evacuation, search and rescue, or guarding our rear-line. Fliers and those with other Mover abilities, you'll be the ones dishing out the damage today. If you've ever fought in one of these battles before, please stand now!"
A large majority of the Protectorate and Guild stood and I even spotted a single villain from the Canberra locals do so.
"If you're new, then follow the veterans' advice, it could very well save your life. Know your limits and keep an eye on your countdown. I'll let Dragon start coordinating what squads you'll be part of and get you set up. Good luck!"
There was a roar of approval and we broke off to begin final preparations.
Most of my colleagues lacked Mover powers unfortunately. They all elected to remain in the backline, with the exception of Dauntless, who offered us all handshakes before moving to join the mobile team being led by Legend.
I debated joining him, but felt a gauntleted hand rest on my shoulder. "You're teleportation is formidable, but I've seen how quickly it tires you out," Armsmaster said firmly. "Stick with us, heal what injuries you can, and be on standby for emergency extraction. You'll save more lives that way."
I wanted to argue. To say that my place was up there punching the Simurgh in the face with the other heroes, but… Dammit it all, he was right. "Yeah, you got it."
Time passed as an odd sense of peace washed over us all. The calm before the storm. Maybe minutes, maybe even a couple of hours, but soon, I began to feel it. A slight pressure in my head. The other capes all around me began to tense, some beginning to charge up powers.
"She's here," Assault said grimly.
The clouds parted and the Simurgh descended upon Canberra.
A/N: Decided to split into a more manageable length. Felt weird to jump right into the fight after 3k words of just preparation. Hope everyone has been having a good weekend. I'm off to enjoy what's left before the work week starts.