บท 622: 61
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Alexandria followed the visibly angry Director towards the situation room, and she couldn't help notice how much healthier the woman looked. It seemed in the end Ellisburg overcame her distaste for parahuman healing.
Only a few seconds later they arrived in another room, filled with even more monitors, tables, and various devices, all of them monitoring the monsters, the fight, the city or simply showing one of the innumerable newscasts. Casting a glance at the statistics, it seemed a lot of people were watching the unfolding events.
That could be good if they could straightforwardly deal with the entire thing. Even better if they could eliminate the danger with no losses. But she wasn't expecting that to come true.
This situation was engineered by the Simurgh, and with the third Endbringer, nothing ever was simple.
They filed into the room and walked toward the giant table with a curious protrusion in the middle.
As soon as they arrived, the device came alive, projecting the map of the area over the table while Dragon's voice came from somewhere in the room.
"Welcome to the situation room, Director Piggot. As you can see, here is the map of the city and the area. The monsters appear as red dots," as she said that, the red dots appeared on the map with yellow dots intermixed with them. "Yellow is Lux Arcana and her clones. Blue is the main body of the Abomination, green is the defenses, gray represents the portals, white for non-parahumans, and yellow will also be the other parahumans joining the fight." And they watched as the aforementioned items appeared on the map with small boxes floating over them. "Touching the box will allow you to connect to a feed that is currently watching the selected item." As an example, one of them opened, and they watched Lux happily brutalizing monsters before the window closed. "If you want anything added, please don't hesitate to speak up, Director. Any question?"
People in the room looked at each other, then shook their heads as one.
"Very well, then Director Piggot. The stage is yours," said Dragon, and everyone turned their attention to the woman.
Piggot frowned for a few seconds. But before she could speak up, Dragon interrupted her with an apologetic voice.
"I'm sorry, but the Boston, New York parahuman contingent arrived and touched down. Army vehicles are also a few minutes up. Legend will head New York per the orders of Director Wilkins, however, Director Armstrong is here personally to oversee the Boston team. He is joining us over video."
As soon as she finished, a new projected screen appeared at head height, with Armstrong's frowning face. "Greetings everyone, sorry for being late. Dragon explained everything, so Director Piggot, please continue."
"Armstrong," greeted him Piggot with a respectful nod. "I took command; will that be a problem for you?"
Armstrong just chuckled at hearing the question. "No, there won't be. I know what this means to you, so I'm satisfied with playing the assistant this time."
"Thank you," replied Piggot, which was followed quiet sigh.
Alexandria watched as the Director, now marginally more relaxed, yet still with the same level of anger, spent a few seconds taking in the map in front of them.
"Right…"
"Director," interrupted Dragon again. "I'm really sorry to interrupt again."
"What is it now?" growled Piggot, and even Alexandria was slightly exasperated.
"Soon after the Boston and New York teams touched down, new portals appeared. It seems probable that as soon as the army arrives another will appear."
"That's just great!" exclaimed the dour woman. "Armstrong, can you hold the line?"
"We have Bastion, so more than likely. Dragon is also setting up some gun emplacements. I will be able to say more when I know what we are exactly up against."
"Good. Hopefully, without more interruptions, I can finally start." She waited for a few seconds for said interruption, then when nothing came, she nodded to herself.
"Right. So, Legend, you will handle south. I assume you know how you can use your lasers. I only need you to handle the outpouring monsters."
"Understood, Director," answered the man with a smile. "If you don't need me for anything else, I will head my post. I'm sure Chevalier is already annoyed with me."
The Director thought for a moment, then shook her head. "It's all right, but stay connected to the discussion with your communicator."
"Then, by your leave, Director!" exclaimed Legend, then turned around and left the room.
"Armstrong, you will hold the west side, same as Legend. The barrier that Panacea created should help with that."
"Roger that. Will we also get a Triumvirate member?" asked Armstrong. Piggot glanced at her and Eidolon, but both of them shook their head.
"I'm sorry, but they are going to lead the attack on the Abomination."
"I don't like it; we need the same level of a deterrent that Legend represents…"
"How about the parahumans who came with us from the Endbringer fight?" offered Alexandria. "There are several blasters that can be sent there."
"That works," replied Armstrong, while Piggot just nodded. "No further objections."
"Thank you," said Piggot, then she continued while still eyeing the map. "The rest of us will spearhead the attack here, hopefully destroying that thing once and for all."
Everyone nodded determinedly at hearing that. Ellisburg had plagued their minds too long. It was time to eradicate it from the face of Earth.
"Dragon, what can you tell us about the monsters we've seen as of now?"
Over the map a new projection materialized, this time the figure of the smallest goblin-like monster appearing. It began to revolve around, while information appeared next to it connected to specific body parts.
Then Dragon began to describe the monsters while everyone leaned forward, not wanting to miss anything.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Amy walked into the medical building and couldn't help but be impressed. The doors could hermetically seal the building if there was a need for quarantine, and beds lined the walls while a few dozen doctors, nurses, and a few parahumans capable of healing were walking around checking up on everything.
As soon as she walked in, one of the doctors broke off from the group he was talking to and walked towards them with a professional smile on his face, but Amy could see in his eyes that he was thrilled to see her.
Here she was, powerful enough to create a forest with a snap of her fingers and still relegated to healing idiot parahumans who got hurt. Still, she had to agree; she was much more useful here than out there with her nonexistent fighting skills and experience.
Maybe next time she could join Taylor…
The doctor stopped in front of them, extended his hand while he greeting her. "Panacea, I'm Doctor Fortin, and I'm so glad to see you," he said while frowning a little. "Though I heard you don't participate in Endbringer fights?"
She shook his hand and pointed towards her hovering and bored sister with her thumbs. "Indeed. That's why she is here. For protection. So if you want something heavy to be moved or need a patient held down, call her."
"Hey, I can do other things!" exclaimed Vicky with a small glare towards Amy.
"Like what?"
"I can… er… do…" answered Vicky halting, while trying to figure out the answer.
Amy turned toward the bemused Doctor while ignoring the grumbling from behind her. "See? Anyway, where do you want me?"
The doctor smiled at her, then looked around quickly. "We don't have anybody here yet who needs our services thankfully, the only one fighting is Lux Arcana…"
"Hmm. That's good. Where can we put our stuff?" asked Amy, indicating her jacket and a small bag.
"We set aside a few rooms for resting, but I will set aside one for you and your sister."
"Thank you," and with that, she headed towards the corridor where she could see the sign for the rooms. Vicky also said her thanks and cheerfully followed her.
A few minutes later she left the room she had chosen in armor that was covered by a deep green robe she made from extra strong plant fibers with anti-bacterial and waterproof properties, the only decoration on it a bright luminescent red cross.
Her sister got an armband with the same properties. She didn't need the extra protection now that her power had improved.
When she returned to the main hall, she spent a few minutes basking in the people's awe at her spiffy new robe, while familiarizing herself with the equipment. Which, thanks to Dragon, was incredibly high tech, though even easier to understand than some of the equipment she interacted with back at Brockton General.
She was looking over a handheld Medi-Gel dispenser when Doctor Fortin approached her again. She pocketed the device and turned towards him.
"Now that you are situated, how about you join us reviewing the incoming information about the monsters?"
"No samples?" she asked with a frown.
"Sadly, we couldn't retrieve any corpses. They flake away as soon as they touch the ground," answered the doctor, while motioning Amy to follow him. "And command doesn't want anyone to join Lux Arcana yet for some reason."
"Why not ask Lux to get us a sample?"
"We didn't want to bother her…"
"Hmm. I might have an idea…" said Amy, and the eyes of people around her lit up with interest.
"Really?"
She nodded, took out her phone, recently improved thanks to a sleepover at Taylor's, and dialed Dragon, then switched it over to the speakers.
"Hello, Panacea, how can I help?" came almost immediately the response from the famous Tinker.
"Hey, Dragon. Can you connect me to Lux? I have a question to ask."
"Samples?"
"Yep."
"One second, please."
She looked up from the phone and was quite satisfied with the look on people's faces. They were looking incredulously at her, as if wondering if it was that simple.
There was a brief beep, then an unfamiliar voice spoke up. "Hello, Panacea! What do you need?" In the background, they could hear the zaps of lightning and the roars of monsters.
"We need a live sample," said Amy simply.
"Can you restrain it?"
"Sure."
"Then wait for the package!" said Lux, which was followed by silence as the heroine hung up.
"Anything else, Panacea?" came Dragon's voice again.
"No, thank you, Dragon."
"Very well. Have fun!" and with that, the phone fell silent.
The doctors and nurses looked at the phone and Amy for a few seconds, then at each other before they broke out of their stupor.
"We need to prepare!"
"I will get the syringes!"
Amy just surveyed the chaos she helped to create while extending her new senses to see if she could warn them when the sample would be arriving.
Not five minutes later, the doors of the hall opened to the relief of everyone, and in came one of Lux's clones, with a goblin monster next to her in a lightning cage.
"One package for Panacea?" spoke up the clone, and Amy could hear the grin in her voice. Some people had all the fun…
She raised her hand, aimed towards the goblin. "On three, release it!"
"Okay-dokey!" replied the parahuman.
"One… Two… Three!" she exclaimed, and as soon as the cage vanished, wood-like material grew from her palm. The material snaked towards the monster with such a speed that the monster didn't even have time to relish in its freedom before the wood grabbed it by the neck and held it aloft.
Then she separated several strands of wood and had those grab each finger and too individually, making sure to prevent any kind of movement. Finally, she used the last strand to fix the head into one place while also covering the monster's mouth.
Finally, she raised another hand, using that to create a simple wood platform to which she connected the bound monster, disconnecting it from her, leaving the monster bound, silent, and immobile in the middle of the room.
The clone seeing, she was done, nodded at her and gave a thumbs up then vanished into the air.
For a moment there was an awestruck silence, then everybody charged towards the creature, intent on figuring out how it worked.
Amy shook her head at their enthusiasm, then joined them.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
He watched the news of the Endbringer attack from his house, just like always, so he was there to watch live when the news showed the changed Ellisburg. When he learned what happened, he wanted to immediately head there and join the fun, but he knew as soon as he left the Empire would pounce.
So instead he called one of his underlings.
The man joined him a minute later, trying to hide his fear of him.
"Make sure everyone knows. The Truce stands. If somebody breaks it, I will deal with them!" he said, while not taking his eyes off the screen.
"Y-yes!" replied the man, then he whipped around and left the room, running.
He snorted at his cowardice, then sent a message to another person, ordering a few more monitors. He needed to see as much as he could.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Max turned towards James and didn't even wait for the other man to greet him. "Tell everyone to lie low. The Endbringer fight might have ended, but too many people are watching this. If we act now, we will get too much of the wrong kind of attention."
As soon as he finished, he noticed the awkward face James was sporting. Max had a horrible feeling.
"What?"
"Brad decided that now that the Protectorate is out of town, it was time for some 'hunting'…" replied the man. "I just got the call."
"Well, hell! Call him!" yelled Max angrily, while cursing Hookwolf for his idiocy.
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
Day 6103 - Tuesday - Administrator Network Time
He watched as his Trojan viruses went to work on the Triumvirate's shards, the increased traffic of the Network masking his overtly covert actions perfectly.
Though even so, he had to be cautious because Path to Victory must have connected to these Shards deeply. For now, he only wanted to get a foot in the door and see what he could from them.
The rest of his attention was occupied by observing Simurgh's communication on the Network and trying to figure out what she was planning. Sadly, it wasn't going well.
Most of the communication was encrypted in such a way that it would be really noticeable if he copied them, or contained such disjointed data, that he could barely make sense of it.
He didn't like the feeling.
At least he managed to prevent, hopefully without notice, the abominations from leaving the dimension in any way. He simply used his position outside of the dimensions and inserted a simple dimensional anomaly that would implode the connection the moment something tried to leave towards the other side. He was pretty sure the Simurgh knew somebody interfered, but he hoped she didn't know it was him.
As for the rest: according to his scans, the parahumans of Earth Bet were perfectly capable of dealing with it. Even more with the help of Taylor, Amy, and the villain formerly almost known as Bakuda.
He only had to sit back and watch the fireworks…
Date
2011 February 23rd - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time
"Director, Panacea, and the doctors managed to get a sample and do a quick analysis." came Dragon's voice from overhead.
Alexandria and everyone else looked up from the map, which now had much more markers and information covering it than at the beginning.
"And?" asked Piggot, arching an eyebrow.
"It appears, they are practically simple meat suits, controlled from some kind of central location. No disease or virus was found hidden on them, though their claws and teeth are covered by a liquid that contains a fast-acting, but manageable necrotic substance. They are already working on an antidote."
"Excellent! How did they get the sample?"
"One of Lux's clones captured one."
"It seems; the young woman is rather useful…" spoke up Miss Militia with a chuckle.
Armsmaster typing away on a holographic keyboard in front of him nodded in agreement. "Yes. We must make sure to try to recruit her after this is done. Her addition to the ranks of the Protectorate would increase our effectiveness several folds."
Piggot ignored their discussion and asked another question. "Can she still hold the line?"
"Yes," answered Dragon simply, and Alexandria was once again struck by how much Dragon trusted and believed in the newly revealed parahuman. Her theory of Serenity and Lux Arcana being the same was becoming more and more viable!
"Good. We are done with organizing the defenses around the city. Any idea how to take down the Abomination?"
"Yes, Director," answered Dragon. "Nero, our bomb tinker, has been working a cluster of bombs that if planted in the correct location, would annihilate Ellisburg to the last atom. We planned to use it later in the year to take care of Nilbog, but apparently, we were a little slow…"
"Would they work from outside of the shield?" Asked the corpulent woman excitedly.
"Unknown, Director. But more than likely not, or not entirely."
"Pity…"
Alexandria had to agree and made a note to pay more attention to the Guild projects from now on if they were playing around with ideas like that.
"So, we need to hold the line, while a small team infiltrates, then plants the bombs," spoke up Piggot after a few seconds of silence.
"Essentially, yes," replied Dragon.
"Very well! Then let's plan it out…"
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