章 620: 59
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Taylor didn't really have time to figure out what the mass inside the borders of the shield was doing because almost as soon as the tentacles reached the border they burrowed slightly into the ground and a smaller but equally disgusting sack began to grow on the spot, pulsing at the same rhythm as the big one.
That in itself wouldn't have been a big problem (technically the entire thing was a problem, but at least inside the shield it was easier to handle) but instantly the familiar green portals appeared on the outside of the shield, and immediately began to regurgitate horrific monsters.
They were thankfully land-bound and at least several miles away from the station the PRT agents set up. Though thanks to the capabilities of her mask, she could clearly see them.
They were bipedal, had two arms, and had a stumpy head with a ferocious look on them. They were either covered with scales or crustacean-like armor, and their hands (and legs) ended in razor-sharp claws.
She was about to sigh in relief about how easy would it be to deal with those when another type emerged from the three portals facing them. A quick check showed that thankfully, the portals only showed up as if whatever became of Nilbog was directly aiming at them.
The new type was almost three meters tall, with the same specs as the smaller ones, only with everything bigger. Arms like tree trunks, claws like daggers, though the head remained comically small and stumpy. Even the armor-like protrusion increased in size, and probably in strength.
After a quick look around, Taylor figured there were around 20 small ones for every big one. And their number was continuously growing, though thankfully, they were content to mill around the portals.
Still, they had to be stopped. And wasn't she here for that?
Taylor flew down to the visibly panicking agents, who were either staring at the amassing horde or frantically yelling in headsets or radios or even phones.
She grabbed the nearest agent, yanking the man out of stupor. "You, tell people to gear up, I will delay them until reinforcements arrive! Understood?"
The man nodded shakily and gave her a sloppy salute. "Y-yes, ma'am!"
She watched as the man run back to the tent, talking to somebody that was probably the ranking officer who looked at her, nodded with a serious expression, then turned back to his station and radio.
Satisfied, she flew back in the air and contacted Dragon. "Hey, Dragon, did you see?"
"Yes, Lux," answered the woman, and Taylor could hear the anger in her voice. "Boston, New York is ten minutes out, Bay is five at max. Mine is also on the way."
Relieved to hear she was soon getting reinforcement; she flew a little closer to the gathering army of monsters.
"What about the Endbringer fighters?"
"We had to do some organizing, but they are also around ten minutes out. Three for teleporters." Here, Dragon's voice turned a little humorous. "I'm pretty sure they are going to ask for a raise after today… "
Taylor snorted in response, then took a deep breath. "I'm going to delay them, see what they can do."
"Understood. I will record everything and forward it to the others," answered the AI, the previous humor forgotten.
"Good. See you later!"
"Good luck, Lux!" said Dragon. Then Taylor disconnected and immediately connected to the screen in her house.
"Hey, Dad!"
"Taylor, what the hell is going on?" asked her father in the most panicked voice she ever heard from him. "The news is saying the Simurgh retreated, but something is happening at Ellisburg, and I can't understand half what I can see through your camera!"
"Well, dad, the good news is that your daughter won't fight against an Endbringer," she began with a slightly cheeky voice, making sure to hide the fear she was feeling. "The bad news is that she is going to fight against some abominations that the Simurgh made…"
"That doesn't sound good, Taylor. Are you sure you… " began Danny, but she instantly interrupted him.
"Yes, Dad! I can help here, so I will!"
"Fine, I still don't like it, but be careful, honey. Please… for me and for… your mother," said Danny, almost in a whisper.
"I will, Dad," she said, almost meaning it. She knew that those pitiful monsters weren't the last thing that would come out, so it was possible that monsters strong enough to hurt her would also come out.
She once again disconnected and turned towards the transparent avatar of her power. "Anything you can tell me?"
"Yes. I managed to interfere somewhat. The portals are one-way, no chance of that thing escaping," he said proudly, and Taylor released a relieved sigh. "However, the biomass on an empty world is truly impressive, and I'm pretty sure that Ball will increase the space inside the sac. So be prepared for a big fight."
"What about the monsters?" she asked while eyeing the horde that swelled up to thousand monsters.
"Not much, only that they differ from Nilbog's creations. Get me a sample, or have Amy examine one. Shaper can tell you more, it's her specialty." here he stopped a little and gave a defeated sigh. "But I don't think they are booby-trapped. This attack has a different purpose."
"What kind of purpose?" Taylor asked curiously.
"Think, Taylor… You are immune to the Simurgh sight. She can't see you with it, but now you are in the open and will be fighting. That will be probably enough info for her, and some of the Thinkers to model you!"
"Can we do something?"
"Yes, going home and not participating."
"I can't do that!"
Admin said nothing, just raised one expressive eyebrow.
"Ooooo, that bitch!" said Taylor, after understanding the reality of the situation.
"Yeah…" replied Admin with a slightly dejected voice. "I was hoping to keep you out of the limelight a little longer, but apparently The Simurgh forced my hand… "
"Should I hide my powers? Pretend to be weaker?"
"No, absolutely not. Your first job is to survive, use whatever means you want," answered the slime. "Forget about the Simurgh. The cat's out of the bag already, so show them what you can do!"
She nodded and unconsciously straightened her back. "Very well. But make sure to warn me if you figure something out!"
"Will do, Lux!" replied Admin, his usual cheeky smile returning to the slime's face. "I will coordinate with Shaper, so good luck!" And with that, he vanished in a shower of confetti.
Taylor chuckled at the display. But when she returned her attention to the portals, it vanished so fast that it was like it wasn't even there.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Tarun stood next to his comrades, shivering in his boots. The view from their observation post was becoming scarier and scarier. And with only an unknown parahuman as a backup, he didn't rate their survival very high.
The only reason he didn't try to run because it was made clear to everybody stationed at Ellisburg if they run without order, they get shot. No question asked.
The monster horde was getting bigger and bigger, though 'thankfully' the drones flying overhead showed that only their side was honored with monsters.
Tarun with the others watched as the parahuman named Lux Arcana flew up, seemingly hung there for a minute, then flew towards the horde.
At the same time, the radio of the commander came alive.
"Commander, this is Lux Arcana, beginning my attack." Came the too calm voice of the parahuman. Tarun couldn't believe somebody could sound so calm facing something like this.
The Commander befitting his station reacted instantly. "Roger that Lux. Good hunting."
Then one of the people standing a few meters away from him voiced a question that was bothering Tarun too.
"But how is the cape going to fight alone against so many?"
They watched as Lux touched down a few hundred feet in front of the gathering horde. It was interesting to see that the monsters immediately perked up, but they only turned towards her, regarding her curiously, but did not attack her.
The parahuman stood there for a second, then a very high-tech-looking spear appeared in her hand, while she took up a stance that seemed some kind of martial arts, seemingly ready to attack the horde.
A few soldiers ohh-ed at that, recognizing it. But Tarun just hoped she had something better in her pocket than a metal toothpick.
The next second he and several other people sighed in relief, when with no motion, several dozen clones of a cape appeared on her left and right in a straight line, though curiously without the spear.
Tarun was pretty sure that the recording of this fight would be selling like hotcakes because the next second the parahuman and the clones were all enveloped in a yellowish aura that reminded him of lightning. Most of the clones also sported weapons made of this energy. He could see great swords, swords, war hammers, and even a few who were dual-wielding daggers.
Those clones who wielded nothing shot up in the air, and he could see balls of yellow lightning appear around them. Probably ranged attackers.
There was a tense silence, while the monster horde looked at the small army of parahuman, then like one they roared, and he could feel his bones vibrate from the sound, while the monster charged.
The roar signaled the start of the battle, and as they watched as the two sides clashing, more than few people wishing they had some popcorn.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Amy sat down in the transport plane (or whatever it was; it was really hard to know with Dragon) next to Assault, far from her mother.
She knew she would regret it later when they get home, but she wanted to be there.
Finally, a chance to cut loose and use her new powers? Priceless. Plus stopping Nilbog. That was important, too.
She looked around, looking at people's faces (though the masks made it a little harder) to see how they were feeling.
Vicky was bouncing in her seat excitedly, her mother and the rest of the family were talking with each other in a hushed voice, while Dauntless, Velocity, and Miss Militia were going over their equipment.
Armsmaster was working on a computer that popped up as soon as the man sat down, ignoring everything around him.
Assault and Battery were also talking, but from what she overheard it was more like joking around than a worried discussion.
The director was sitting away from everyone and furiously tapping away at another terminal that was provided by Dragon.
She inspected her and for the first time ever Amy noticed how haggard and sickly the woman looked. It seemed the stress of the situation was exuberating her condition…
Well, that was something she could help with…
She poked stealthily Assault in the side, who immediately turned slightly towards her. "What's up, Panpan?"
"First, never call me Panpan, or I will turn you into a tree. Second, can you distract everyone for a minute?" she asked with clenched teeth.
"Why?"
Instead of answering Amy simply nodded towards Piggot. Fortunately, it took only a few seconds for Assault to understand her reason. He nodded towards her with a smirk, then exclaimed.
"Oh my god, what is that?" he yelled while pointing away from the Director.
She ignored the others yelling and questioning the hero and stealthily slinked over the Director.
"Director," she whispered while watching the people berate Assault for his joke out of the corner of her eyes. It took the woman a few seconds to respond, but when she looked up from the tablet, Amy could see her eyes were a little bloodshot and slightly yellow.
That was not good…
"What do you want?" growled the woman, her entire body radiating anger beyond anything Panacea ever saw.
"You are sick," said Amy, deciding to go with brutal honesty because of the shortness of time. "If you want to survive, let me heal you."
"What?" exclaimed Piggot, her eyes narrowing further in anger. "No way!"
She quickly poked the woman to get a true feel of her conditions and paled. "Director, if you go as you are, I can guarantee you won't even survive until we land…"
It was an exaggeration, of course, but she wanted to get across how serious it was.
The Director didn't answer, but Amy could hear her teeth grinding together.
"I can do a quick and dirty heal quickly, you have enough… biomass to work with," she said, trying to hold a straight face.
The Director once again remained silent and spent the next minute alternating at glaring at her or at the tablet. Finally, she ground out an answer.
"Fine, but be quick, girl!"
Amy nodded and touched the woman's hand. "Lay back, relax, and close your eyes. It may sting a little."
As soon as the woman reluctantly complied, she went to work, touching up the damaged parts, healing her organs, and using the biomass present to remove the wear and tear of years of living from the Director's body.
Thanks to Shaper no longer giving useless advice about upgrading the body and not having to concentrate on leaving the brain alone, it went remarkably quickly.
After only a minute, she let go of Piggot's hand. "We are done, call me when we are finished here and I will finish it."
Not expecting any thanks, she got up and moved back to her previous seat. She looked around, and it seemed Assault was good at distracting people because nobody noticed her actions.
"Excellent work, Panpan," said Assault with a grin.
"Go die in a ditch," was her answer, but Assault just chuckled.
She was about to lay into the man when Dragon spoke up.
"Attention everybody," a hologram appeared in front of the plane, so as to make sure everyone could see it, and on it, a video began playing. "Lux Arcana engaged the Horde to stall for time. Expect joining the fight as soon as we touch down."
They watched, fascinated, as the bodies of the familiarly dressed hero, clad in yellow lighting, armed with all manner of weapons, were in the middle of Horde, butchering them. Over their heads, more clones were raining lighting in all shapes and forms on the seemingly unending tide of monsters coming from the green portals.
They watched as the slightly shaky camera focused on one clone armed with a lightening great sword facing a hulking monstrosity.
The monster roared, spittle, and who knows what flying from his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, raised its arm and rushed at the clone. Or tried to.
The parahuman simply slashed with the sword, releasing bright crescent-shaped lightning, cutting the monster in twain.
The parahuman immediately changed focus on another creature, but the hulking one stood for a few seconds more, as if not understanding what happened, then it collapsed. But to the surprise of all those who were watching. Instead of seeing blood gushing out of the corpse, instead, it began to flake away, the wind carrying the flakes away, and the body vanishing in a matter of seconds.
"Currently we observed two distinct specimens," continued Dragon, the aforementioned specimens appearing on-screen obscuring the fight. "I will go over what we know about them, so please pay attention."
That sounded really useful, so Amy leaned back and prepared to pay attention. After all, her life would depend on it.
"Apologies everyone. We now have three confirmed specimens," spoke up Dragon. And on the screen appeared a video of the new monster.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Alexandria touched down slightly rougher than usual after the teleportation, due to the teleporter's exhaustion. And in the corner of her eyes, she could see Strider collapsing.
Originally she was going to go with Eidolon, who would be teleporting her and Legend to Ellisburg, but after Dragon's warning about the space inside the city, they instead chose to use Strider while Eidolon used a power that made sure they were protected from any interference.
As soon as she arrived, she saw the new parahuman, Lux Arcana, using her clones to fight the Horde. It was a rather impressive sight. She could hear several people behind her expressing their awe over it.
The young woman was everywhere, thanks to her apparent speed and clones. She watched for a few seconds as Lux annihilated several groups of the smaller ones, then turned around and began to issue orders.
"Flyers, recon. I want to know what is happening around the city. Movers, S&R. You know what to do. Brutes, for now, start digging in. I want some walls between the command center and the portals! Anyone with earth manipulation powers?"
Before she could get an answer or people could start following her commands, a new type of roar interrupted them. She whipped around, only to see a new monster emerge from each of the portals.
Superficially, it looked like a dog. If the dog was green, two-meter-tall, had armored scales, three heads, and some kind of tubes instead of mouths. She didn't have to wonder what they were for, because they immediately opened fire, with green plasma-like projectile leaving their tubes.
One clone was hit by the plasma, and immediately vanished, but another took its place, heading for the dogs, intent on killing them.
Thanks to it, the chaos in front of the shielded city increased even more.
Alexandria was about to continue issuing orders when she heard the by now familiar sound of Dragon's mech arrival. Several smaller armored suits and planes that the AI used for transportation followed it. One of them looked like it contained people instead of supplies.
After a yell of warning, she looked in another direction and saw another transport arriving, probably the one from Brockton Bay.
She watched as the various planes, drones, and suits touched down, the drones heading towards the battle, the armored suits unpacking several mysterious devices, or setting up temporary buildings and fortifications, while the plane with humans disgorged several Guild affiliated parahumans, most notably Narwhal and Nero, their new bomb tinker and a few non-parahumans, like doctors. Between the two women was one of the most sophisticated Dragon armors she ever saw, carrying an enormous lethal-looking gun.
On the breastplate of the armor, she could see Dragon's logo. So the AI got herself a body? How interesting…
The armor-clad AI, flanked with Narwhal and a twitchy Nero, who was playing with futuristic-looking grenades on her belt and glancing at the fight, walked over to her.
Dragon stopped in front of her and hefted the gun onto her shoulders.
"Well, Alexandria, ready to rumble?"
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