Chapter Text
Robin Swoyer had done Endbringer fights, over and over again. Against Behemoth, his wide-range dynakinesis sometimes interfered with communications; against Leviathan, there was rescue; against the Simurgh, some people managed to forget about the ticking time bomb of her presence. Even if you were barely empowered at all, there was still always something to do, and few capes were quite so able to escape and survive as Robin.
He'd done Endbringer fights, but he hadn't fought Endbringers. Today would be the first time.
"Nervous, Other Robin?"
He glanced up from the ready room's couch, meeting Robin Smith's eyes and grinning wryly. "More than a little," he admitted, and surprise flickered across his best friend's face. "I mean, for once, we're up against an Endbringer and I matter. That's as new as the rest of this is old."
"True." Robin shrugged, joining him; their powers meant they were the first to show up, and they'd be waiting a while longer. His friend rested his helmet on his knees, drumming his fingers against the metal mask; one hand fiddled with a ring wrapped around his thumb. "You get to deal with all my problems now." He raised an eyebrow, and Dauntless elaborated. "The pressure. A rising star, potential out the wazoo, might actually manage to damage one of the Big Scary Motherfuckers if you get the right gear, all that." He said it with an amusement that couldn't quite mask old remembered irritation. "You might be working off of Tinkertech, but just like me, you're the only one that'll ever get to use your gear. The moment either of us dies, it's useless."
"Assuming Miss Administrator doesn't hack in again," he teased, and his friend rolled his eyes. "So she can add 'basically a precog' to all your bullshit."
"She's welcome to it, trust me."
"'sides," Velocity said. "The psycho on the JV squad's got a partial mist transform--word is Armsy's considering making her a set of gear like this, if she shapes up, since she's got the same low-weight-Breaker thing. So I guess we've both got a runt in the wings that might replace us, if it comes to that."
"I expected you to call me on being morbid," Dauntless said, raising his eyebrows. "Didn't expect you to try and top me. You that nervous?"
"Oh, this is the first Endbringer fight since the tiny terror's joined the team."
"She's actually quite tall."
Velocity ignored him. "I'm shitting my pants over whatever crazy plan she'll be sending us into, this time. Half-expect she'll be having teleporters drop Foam trucks on the Simurgh or anything."
"Foam's been tried, it was a catastrophe," Colin said, stepping through the door. "And she won't be coming today."
He glanced to the side just as Robin did the same, catching the same look of surprise mirrored there.
"Not voluntarily, it seems," Armsmaster said, one hand clenched tight around the Halberd. "It seems she's not allowed to engage against the Simurgh, so she's been removed from Brockton Bay."
"Makes sense, I guess," Robin murmured. "Don't want her time-bombing someone you're sending all over the country."
"Shame Taylor's sitting this one out, though," Other Robin said, and they both glanced his way. "For once, an Endbringer's attacking a city that's strong instead of weak. Don't have Leviathan hitting an aquifer, no power plants for Behemoth, no infighting to weaken us..."
"Oh, but we are weak." He hadn't ever heard their leader sound so caustic. "We don't have the great and powerful Lung to defend us from the Simurgh. However shall we survive without his courageous efforts? Why, I fear all is already lost."
Both Robins grinned.
"Still sore about them never authorizing that kill order? That's fair."
"Seriously, we are totally gonna to get complaints about that when the fight's over, no matter how well it goes."
"'Oh, but it was Lung's home city!'" Robin spoke in a falsetto. "'Surely he would have fought this time!'"
"'If they had just unleashed the dragon, this never would have happened!'"
They both laughed, and even Armsmaster smiled.
"Come on," Armsmaster said, turning towards the door. "Follow me. The Triumvirate likes to hold a pre-briefing with local leaders, so we're expected. It'll be more interesting than sitting around here."
"Says you," Velocity groused, even as he stood up. "Sure you don't need me to read the manual backwards in Chinese one last time before we fight? Because I think my pronunciation of the phrase for 'armor purge' is getting real good."
"While I'd love to continue testing my prototype translator," Armsmaster replied, not looking back, "you're not quite as clever as you think--I'm quite sure its recognition of 'obscenity plus goats' is already well-established."
"Hah! Told you, Other Robin!"
---
Briefings came and briefings went, and Velocity didn't pay it much mind; the Simurgh was the least dangerous Endbringer, at least in the short term. Oh, she was a telekinetic of incredible power, but compared to the others, for someone with Velocity's powers? That was small-potatoes. Just watch out for the Simurgh exposure timer (linked to those wonderful little bombs inside their communicators) and try not to get clipped by any flying buildings. Sure, talk of setting up dominoes was scary--but any Thinker or Master worth their salt would realize that with the rumors of her power already in play, it provided an easy scapegoat. If you asked Velocity, that probably explained half of the bad things that happened to people who had been in Simurgh fights.
The extent of her power was so fuzzy and so ill-established that it really wasn't worth thinking about, at least if you had good sense. --well, except insofar as it had convinced powerful people to strap bombs to all the participants of any given Simurgh fight. Velocity would have had stern words for the people responsible, if that wouldn't result in a firing and/or demotion and/or pay cut.
Eventually, the local pre-briefing on the Simurgh ended, they left for the greater group, and Legend had delivered basically the same briefing to everyone, no one had mentioned the obvious thing. So Velocity raised his hand. Legend nodded towards him.
"So," he said, to the silence and the auditorium of watching eyes. "Are we going to talk about the way she's acting weird? Because she's acting weird."
Legend sighed. "It's the Simurgh," he said, as if that explained everything. Velocity stared at him wordlessly, and he elaborated. "The world's strongest known precognitive and Master, on top of the usual mysteries where Endbringers are concerned. She's not singing, and she's unusually still, but what does that actually tell us?" He tilted his head. "If I had to guess, I'd say that she has something particularly unpleasant in mind today... But if it's a simple fight, people will instead say that it meant she just wasn't in the mood. Whatever happens will seem obvious in hindsight."
"And so," Alexandria said, from her place at his side, "we have given you all the useful information we can. Leviathan and Behemoth have standard tactics, but the Simurgh does not. Its telekinetic power is versatile, and it uses it to its fullest extent. Take nothing for granted."
"We will do our best," Eidolon said, from his other side. "That is all we can do, and that is all we can ask of you."
He'd hoped for something more than an extended verbal shrug, but... Whatever.
"Heroes and rogues, organize by city," Legend said. "Those villains willing to cooperate with those teams, join them; if not, speak to Alexandria, and she will give you teams and roles. If you aren't willing to cooperate even that far, go to a shelter. We will take you home when the battle is over." Velocity saw a startle or two in the crowd--first-timers, who hadn't already heard this several times already. "Each of the Endbringers is so much stronger than any individual hero--stronger, perhaps, than all of us here combined. Coordination will win or lose us this battle, moreso than any individual's strength. If you won't play ball, ladies and gentlemen, then you are a liability, and we can't afford your 'help.'" He looked among the crowd.
"Those of you who have only fought against Leviathan or Behemoth," he continued, "may be confused as to this difference in strategy. In short, the Simurgh has fought in a different fashion in every single battle. We do not know what will happen, any more than any of you--all the more when, as Velocity pointed out--" More than a few eyes turned back towards him. "--the Simurgh is already acting atypically. Therefore, you will not be separated by purpose today. We want you among those who know you, who will compensate for your weaknesses and who will put you in a position to utilize your strengths. We have discovered that that flexibility is what allows capes to come home, at least against the Simurgh."
"All the same," he said, "your team will be assigned a role corresponding to the general balance of your talents. Our hosts, Brockton Bay, for example--" Velocity wished that people would stop looking at him already. "--are geared towards heavy assault, and as such they will be on the front lines. My own team is much the same. But Las Vegas, for instance, will be working support, to keep the wounded moving and to defend against whatever projectiles she chooses to utilize."
"The exception, naturally, lies with Thinkers, group Movers, power-granting Trumps and healers. If you believe that you will contribute most among your local team, join them. If not, join me, and I will assign you to one of our general support squads. Remember your communicators. In the expected event of the unexpected, you will be notified of any changes in the overarching strategy. Any questions?" He clapped his hands together. "Then that is all. Group together."
As the room dissolved into groups, Brockton Bay looked among themselves.
"I actually get to lead again," Armsmaster said, deadpan. "Imagine that."
Assault grinned. "I knew listening to her had to be chapping your ass."
"She was effective," Miss Militia said. "...though it never ceased to be strange."
New Wave approached, sans Panacea. Brandish's eyes scanned the group, and she looked back towards Armsmaster.
"She's absent?"
"By higher-order decree," Piggot said; she'd stood with the Protectorate all along, for all her lack of true membership. "She cannot contribute much to these fights yet, and she would be too potent a target for the Simurgh's manipulations."
New Wave didn't look thrilled, but they did look convinced. Having a former PRT Director was useful for this sort of thing.
Soon, the groups funneled out into the city. The Simurgh continued to float, silent and still, not a single wing flapping as it hung suspended in midair. She looked like a giant albino angel, with long snow-white hair, gray eyes, and fair skin; she wore not a single stitch of clothing, same as always, covered only by three carefully folded white wings among her great multitude. Wings flowed out of her back, arms, legs, and out of other wings, arranged in a way that made no sense, and yet somehow the result was almost artistic.
Normally, she would be singing, the sound echoing out despite her closed lips. If the voice in the back of his head was eerie, then seeing her do nothing was ten times worse.
And as he thought that again, as the last cape funneled out of the building, as they prepared to take the first action, the Simurgh threw back its human-like head. Instead of singing, she screamed, a long, wobbling discordant note that made even his bones ache--
And then she leveled all of the buildings between herself and Brockton Bay's defenders.
That attack was no delicate employment, no precise destruction. A wave of smashing force simply fell upon the city like the foot of a great giant--but there was no sound, no plume of dust. One moment, that part of the city stood; the next, it had fallen. Even to him, it had all happened in an instant.
A massive swath of Brockton Bay was simply gone.
Velocity stepped up his acceleration still further, thinking, panning his eyes over the fallen buildings, trying to overlay the map he'd seen just about a week ago, and--no shelters. Well, there was that, at least. She'd decided not to just murder all their civvies.
How had she done it...? In the moment between one millisecond and the next, between everyone else's breaths, Velocity thought. This expanse of time was his alone; he truly had all the time in the world. Well, not all of it, he wasn't that fast, but a lot. No reason not to take his time.
Had she held back before? Well, duh, that wasn't actually the question. The important thing was, how quickly could she do that again?
If she could do it in an instant, and she was willing to use it, anyone that wasn't a Brute was going to die--but with his acceleration at its maximum, when he could barely interact with the parts of the world his Breaker field touched, mere pressure wouldn't kill him. He could probably fall into the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean and be basically fine. (Though he hadn't tested how his field worked when submerged in water--he'd run the hell away from Leviathan every time that had come up. Probably the same thing that happened every other time something on him crossed the edge of his Breaker field: pain.)
So okay, he could take her best punch, cool. Maybe her telekinetic power was like some kind of tank? Like, it only had so much capacity. If she usually drained some of it with the 'singing,' then not singing might let her store it up? If that was the case, she'd probably be drained for a bit... Or she'd be sandbagging, which she apparently did all the time anyway, so it'd look like that right up until the sucker punch. She was kind of a massive bitch, so she'd totally do that, and therefore assuming she was 'tired' might make things worse.
What was she going to do next? 'Blow up buildings' was sort of a standard opener for her, even if she'd always kept to a smaller scale. Would she throw the rubble? She'd done that before. She'd also turned the buildings into giant stone weapons, triggered progressively larger dust explosions, utilized electrical wiring and plumbing to make giant horrifying water-shock beams, looted a gun shop and a military surplus store and an entire mall's worth of kitchen knives... Technically she hadn't done all of those at the same time, she tended to stick with one trick and abuse it in horrifying ways, but that probably wasn't 'new' enough to satisfy her apparent taste for gimmicks.
Was she imposing some sort of time limit? 'Defeat me quickly or I blow up the rest of the town'? Probably. But she still had to have a fighting gimmick in the meantime, right?
Other things she did... Well, there was the time she'd stuck to just raw telekinesis and battered people around, and there was The Bullfighting Incident, which was what had made people really sure she was a precog. She probably wasn't going to turn the civvies into crazed killing machines, that was the first time in Switzerland. Somehow she'd once opened a giant portal and unleashed especially freaky Case 53s on them, that one had been memorable. With the lack of singing and the big showy thing, maybe she was going to try and screw with their minds somehow?
By the time that everyone else was just starting to realize what had happened, Velocity had been thinking about it for what would have been fifteen minutes, and after that time, he had to admit that he didn't know what she was going to do. He just had a list of things she already had done, and therefore probably wouldn't do again.
He sighed, not that anyone noticed. Sometimes, he kind of wished this power had gone to someone smarter; in the end, all he usually got out of it was time to panic, calm down, search his mind for a clever answer, not find one, give up, and then do the obvious. Just one more bit of wasted potential.
Whatever. He wasn't stupid enough to sulk during an Endbringer fight--especially not now, when he could do so much more.
"Go!" In actual time, Legend had reacted very quickly. "Assume she'll weaponize the rubble, and advance!"
The scream stopped, and no sound took its place--aside from the advance of footsteps, she was still utterly silent and still. The first capes began to run and fly, and Velocity and Dauntless were among them, keeping pace.
He and Dauntless would take the lead, same as always, but there was no reason to run ahead; he was sure he could exhaust his entire stock of ammo and not do a thing to her. He'd use his time, keep an eye on anything and everything, and deflect projectiles, maybe? He might only be smart enough to do the obvious thing, but time in the military and the Protectorate told him that with the right timing, 'obvious' still got the job done.
The Simurgh began to raise the rubble around her, and then Eidolon raised his hands. It all slammed to earth, but though it remained silent, a thick plume of dust rose and then began to twist, twirling with each twist of Eidolon's left wrist. He clapped his hands together, and the resulting dust explosion was blinding--but not deafening. Somehow, he'd contained the shockwave... Or had he harnessed it with that aerokinesis of his, made it another part of his attack?
Either way, Velocity decided to try and buy him a drink later. It took real balls to taunt the Simurgh like that.
Alexandria charged on, heedless of the danger, even as Legend strafed around the Simurgh, brilliant light flying from his fingers. When the flames cleared and he could see again, Velocity charged forward. Dauntless had teleported--behind her, probably? Right, he had, that was his Arclance. A telekinetic push sent the glowing electric blade up and away from her before it could strike, and Alexandria weaved smoothly around it, flying in for another blow. Velocity shadowed her, then pushed ahead; as the Simurgh tried to interpose her wings, he accelerated, releasing a full one-handed volley. The bullets flew with a sonic-boom crack, as much wind as force, and with the wing out of the way, Alexandria landed a body blow.
She nodded briefly at him as she finished the pass, and Velocity disengaged. The first volleys of Blasters and projection Masters were beginning to reach her; he could see Miss Militia and Armsmaster, her with a sniper rifle, him with some rifle he'd made with Kid Win. Eidolon was using some sort of force hammer, probably related to the gravity he'd used, even as he kept the rubble pinned down and unusable; the Simurgh was using telekinesis like a bludgeon, but his aerokinesis let him dance around her air-warping swipes, cape billowing in the wind. Velocity had a feeling he was grinning, and he couldn't blame him... Eidolon looked pretty badass today, even more than usual.
In and out, around and around; Velocity continued to play support. Everyone was playing it careful, holding back something in reserve, because she still hadn't unveiled her trick for the evening and everyone knew it.
Nearly ten minutes of inconclusive fighting later, Ziz had taken nearly no damage, there wasn't a single heroic casualty, and she hadn't shown any new tricks yet, though she had blown up many more buildings. Velocity pulled up to Dauntless.
"Want me to spot for you?" Velocity glanced to the side, where Dauntless was floating, still staring at the Simurgh. "You know, you use that oversized pigsticker of yours, and I try to make you an opening or two?"
Dauntless said nothing. Velocity leaned in, shaking Dauntless's shoulder. "Hey, Robin," he murmured. "Say something. You're freaking me out."
And then Robin went limp; as Velocity shook him, his head lolled back, helmet slipping from his head. For a moment, Velocity froze, thinking of chin straps and secret identities--and then he caught sight of his best friend's face.
The hero vanished. Velocity accelerated, turning quickly, and caught sight of Dauntless again as he floated behind their lines. It wasn't hard, not with the Arclance glowing like that.
And then Dauntless spun in place. The Arclance glowed and grew and stretched, the enormous electric blade scything forward--through their back line, killing Movers and Blasters and all of the people who were supposed to protect them.
Velocity stared in shock, and then well-honed reflexes kicked in.
He used his power.
Time slowed, and slowed, and slowed, but the blade still moved; he had time to see the ripples of shock begin to pass through the faces of the dying and the dead. He pushed his power further and further, ignoring the pain, pushing even as he felt as if his head and heart would split open. He pushed and pushed until time very nearly seemed to stop, until even his own body left his reach. With the Breaker field at its full expansion, he couldn't have moved his arms or legs any more than he could move heaven and earth, but he had done it: every moment of not-time made his heart feel as if it would burst, every instant sent jagged pain through his brain, and yet the Arclance stood still.
And then, hanging in suspension over the span of an eternity, he took his time.
Shock, horror, denial, anger, sorrow, acceptance--while time stood still, for a time that could be minutes or hours or days or years, he thought. Other Robin considered Robin, considered what they each wanted, considered what had happened, considered the implications. He searched for clever answers, and he found none; perhaps there were none to be found, or perhaps he was simply incapable of finding them. So he went further afield: he thought of gambles, and risks, and outright stupid plans, and in time, he discarded all of them. Not a one would have worked.
That left the obvious facts and the things that must be done. He bowed his head, gritted his teeth, and forced the pain down into a deep, dark place. He would process it later, after all of this. Until then, he had to return to the world of the living.
He slowed the acceleration, returning to his body. Time returned to the world inch by inch, and soon he wasn't so much faster than a normal man.
The first reports of casualties began playing over the speakers, and he ignored them. They didn't matter. He'd mourn any other friends after all this.
He flew forward. As he did, he raised his arm to his mouth, pressed a button, and began to speak, taking his time, speaking in the slow, steady pace that would allow others to understand him. To others, it would still seem incredibly fast, but it was intelligible, and that was all that mattered.
"Dragon," he said to his armband. "Highest priority: talk to the Triumvirate and get Administrator on the line. Tell her to brief people on what Dauntless can do in the Simurgh's hands. He's too strong to let people fight him blind."
'Highest priority' would kick it a ways up the queue, especially coming from an anti-Endbringer vet. In perhaps two seconds, she would get the message, and she might do it. By all accounts she was the one who edited the videos from the training exercises; she would have seen what happened against the Vegas team. And she knew Armsmaster, didn't she? She should have known what Administrator did there. He'd have to hope Dragon took his words, and her power, seriously.
He let go of the communicator for a moment, then pressed the button and spoke again.
In the real world, in the normal flow of time, Dauntless's head lolled back still further as he completed the swing. His entire upper body now dangled on invisible strings, legs ragdoll limp; only his arms, ready to wield the shield and Arclance, were steady. His face was still frozen, eyes wide and staring towards Velocity, mouth set in a horrified rictus.
"Hard override," Velocity said, and then he was speaking to everyone with a communicator. "This is Velocity of Brockton Bay. The Simurgh has used Master powers to take control of the hero Dauntless. He is a teleporter, is capable of flight, can shield himself, can penetrate shields, and can expand his weapon to slash or emit blinding pulses. All abilities have a delay before reuse. Greater details on his abilities hopefully forthcoming." He took a breath, in and then out. "And he owes me twenty bucks. Now engaging."
There wasn't that much to do. With Administrator off the field, without any way to predict his teleports, with no combat-capable teleporter to counter him, the only other option was someone who could go fast--but the battlefield was just too big. One hero couldn't cross that entire distance in time, not if Dauntless used his maximum range... But he had a feeling the Simurgh wouldn't have done this, not if there was anyone else who could help him. If he was wrong, then that was great, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to be that lucky.
Oh, sure, there were two right in front of him who could do the job just as well--but if Eidolon or Legend disengaged to hunt Dauntless, the Simurgh wouldn't stand idly by. And with the speed that teleport afforded and with her precognition, she could simply destroy every single attempt to coordinate around her new assassin.
He was the only one who could do the job, because he was the only one with the ability to keep up who could afford to leave the front line. He'd have to hope for an opportunity... Or keep going after him as more heroes died, over and over and over, until the slowly-increasing teleport timer ticked up to something he could manage.
Velocity reached Dauntless just as the Simurgh forced him to teleport away. "At least two seconds," he said to himself. Robin hadn't teleported much against the Simurgh. He turned, just as Dauntless appeared behind Alexandria. He appeared slightly to the left just as she looked right, and before anyone could act, the lightning spear stabbed straight through her.
Velocity flew, looking closely. It has missed the heart, but had probably pierced a lung. He'd have to hope that 'invincible' body of hers could be healed, at least that much. For now, they all had much larger problems.
By the time he was there, she wasn't; a teleporter had taken her away. Eidolon had turned, hammering Dauntless's shield with blows, but with him occupied, the Simurgh could lift the buildings once more. Eidolon was forced back, forced to shove them all down once again, and then the Simurgh landed a telekinetic haymaker on the strongest hero--and before he could recover, Dauntless was gone again.
That would be the third or fourth teleport, right...? Probably about up to three seconds. Dauntless appeared among another group of Blasters; a Brute tried to save them, and in the controlled hero's hands, the Arclance cut him clean in two. Then he turned on the rest. His shield deflected the few shots they could quickly level at him, and the heroes died.
Legend hesitated, glancing between Dauntless and the Simurgh, and Velocity waved a hand to catch his eye, shaking his head. Legend looked at him, and a moment later, he nodded, turning back toward the Endbringer.
Velocity reached him, just as a voice cut across their communicators.
"A briefing on Dauntless," a distorted voice said through his communicator, a faint static crackle cutting through--but anyone who had heard her would recognize Administrator.
She must've pulled some strings or something to listen in, to get on the line so quickly... He chuckled despite the situation, a slight smile tugging on his lips. Yeah, that seemed like her.
Dauntless vanished again, reappearing near the Simurgh.
"His teleport range encompasses the entire battlefield, and at present it should be limited to once every three-point-two seconds. His communicator signal has gone dark, so no, we cannot track him that way."
He slashed as he appeared, cutting through an Alexandria package or two who were focusing on the Simurgh. As the rest whirled on him, the Simurgh waved a wing, and a telekinetic burst whipped through the air around him, blowing them back. Dauntless thrust, the Arclance lengthening, spearing through the one who had seemed to be their leader.
"The Arclance can lengthen to approximately three hundred feet, or can be enlarged and slashed at approximately fifty, with a blade up to fifteen feet wide. It will circumvent very nearly all defenses, as you've seen, and can be enlarged or used to blind every two-point-seven seconds."
Eidolon teleported, appearing next to Dauntless--but the Simurgh had picked up a building the moment his focus waned. Even as he reappeared, the stone caught him in the back; if not for the shimmering shield that had appeared in the moment before impact, he likely would have died, but he was still slammed down towards the pavement below.
"His shield can be used every second, but can be overloaded and become unusable. All of his abilities will charge more and more slowly the more they're used. Teleport up to three-point-five, Arclance up to three. Timers will appear on your communicators now, replacing the casualty ticker." A pause. "Eidolon! Leave Dauntless to Velocity. Focus on the Simurgh!"
The strongest hero reappeared at the Simurgh, fists clenched tightly, but he did the job--he raised a hand, calling crackling orbs of energy, and he continued to fight.
"Good," she said. "Long Walk, take Alexandria to Panacea. We need to do this quickly." Velocity turned, freezing time for a moment as he thought with a frenzied haste. She wouldn't dare... No, it was Taylor, of course she would.
He returned to the world, and then he ignored Dauntless, flying at full speed toward the back line.
"Valkyrie, attune your blades. Use their extradimensional properties--attuned correctly, you should be able to allow Panacea to circumvent Alexandria's time-lock. I'm counting on you two to save her."
The Simurgh couldn't possibly ignore a straight line like that. Dauntless's next teleport took him behind the healer--just as Velocity reached him.
The shield rose, just as he'd expected, and he released a full volley. The horrible sonic crack of the four guns jammed between his fingers echoed out, three of the bullets hitting the shield and breaking it. The fourth flew past harmlessly--and then Velocity was forced to throw himself to the side, accelerating, to shield Panacea from the stray round, because the Simurgh had thrown it back.
The bullet punched through his shoulder, but his tackle had kept her safe, the weight-modifying effect of his Breaker field keeping it from doing more than jarring her aside. He strangled the cry that tried to escape through his throat, keeping it to a low grunt; the bullet had exploded like microscopic buckshot on contact, and his left arm dangled limply.
But the world's best healer was still safe, and that was the important part.
He glanced down, Armsmaster's dire warnings glancing through his mind, and was relieved to see no torn metal. He was still in the fight, then. But by the time he reached his target, Dauntless had vanished again.
He flew forward, back towards the center of the battlefield; Dauntless hadn't appeared anywhere in the back line, not that he could see.
As he approached, he saw Legend (on the other side of the Simurgh) stiffen oddly. One laser flew wild, and Velocity was forced to weave aside--and, therefore, narrowly avoided the extending Arclance that had appeared behind him. Velocity banked, turning, but Dauntless had already disappeared.
"You've got another few minutes before the shield's up again," Administrator said.
Dauntless appeared next to the Simurgh, who was now surrounded by four rotating rings of interlocking rubble. She maneuvered them around and around, blocking Blaster shots and Brute punches; telekinetic blasts rained through the gaps, flying towards people and buildings, reducing more and more to rubble as she slowly retreated towards the rest of the city.
Velocity would have considered throwing a bullet her way, if not for what'd she'd already done with his own bullets. Instead, he continued to race towards the gap.
He glanced at his watch. Two seconds left on the teleport. He'd make it there in one.
He flowed around her wild blasts, aiming at a gap. Eidolon appeared beside him, and they pushed forward together, the hero shielding the both of them. They reached the inside of the ring, Dauntless retreating to her back--and then she contracted it with sudden, crushing force.
The moment before they were pinned between her diamond-hard wings and the repurposed buildings of Brockton Bay, Eidolon grabbed his arm, teleporting the both of them away.
Naturally, the moment they'd reappeared, the Simurgh had flung all the walls their way. As Eidolon protected them, Velocity put his back to his. As he'd expected, Dauntless appeared in front of them. His Arclance shifted, beginning to lengthen--and then became blindingly bright instead.
But Velocity had seen that trick before in another enemy's hands, back in Vegas. He threw himself forward, ignoring the light, and Dauntless aborted his own forward charge, raising the Arclance. Velocity dodged it, arcing around, Dauntless continuing the slash in an futile effort to reach him--and then, with a sickening crack, the Simurgh pulled his arms out of their sockets to continue the slash.
But even so, Velocity reached Dauntless with a five-fingered touch. He pumped in a full dose of anesthetic. Dauntless's horrified face slackened, wide eyes gradually closing... And then he vanished.
It seemed that the Simurgh didn't need him awake to use his powers. Meaning that unless he could somehow convince her to let go, Robin really was going to die.
For a moment, he still hesitated, fighting the conclusion he'd already come to back in the endless moment of stopped time... But then he took a deep breath.
If his friend lived at the cost of countless other innocent lives, that friend would never forgive himself, and he'd never forgive his friend for allowing it to happen.
Three more rounds over four launchers, plus an extra shot left in the last one... His left shoulder was too hurt to use. (And in related news, son of a motherfucker did it hurt.)
God, this blows goats, he thought, a melancholy smile crossing his lips--and then he was off again.
"Can't keep reacting," Taylor said, voice undistorted now; she was speaking to him alone, then. "A friend and I have a map, and from what we can tell, the teleports are following a rough pattern. You don't have the time to make the next one, but you can get the one after."
"Roger."
"That's not my name," she said, voice oddly choked. "...veer left."
He did. Dauntless appeared among another helpless group, tearing them apart, but Velocity kept moving. Then he reappeared, and Velocity struck. He threw out his right arm, and then he tripped the trigger twice.
The first grouping roared as they flew past, the Simurgh having veered him aside with a rough telekinetic tug. The second volley soared towards Robin, flying to take his life--
And then they stopped, and so did Velocity.
The abrupt deceleration hurt felt like running into a wall. He tried to move his head, but all he could see was the slack form of Dauntless and his four bullets, warped by the force of their firing.
Then the bullets fell down, towards the distant earth.
Oh, thought Other Robin. He was next, apparently.
Dauntless was teleported away, to a building, and was lowered limply down to the ground. Velocity felt his acceleration activate without his conscious decision, cranking farther and farther forward, until the world stopped and it seemed as if his heart and brain would burst... And then time returned to normal.
Legend was flying towards him. At least Legend probably wouldn't die... And he only had so many bullets.
Well, a lot of people might die, but... Well, that was Endbringer fights, wasn't it? At least he'd saved Robin in the end.
And then there was a wrenching metallic scream. Velocity's armor abruptly warped and twisted, the fabric-like metal bulging out unnaturally, inflating in places and growing spikes in others.
Velocity began to fall. He reached out instinctively for his power, and as time accelerated, he found himself whipped around like a rag doll, twisting and turning in the wind of his passage.
She had pushed his armor through the edge of his Breaker field.
He reached out, trying to fly. Nothing happened. He activated the mental command that would purge his armor. Nothing happened. He activated the manual override in his gloves. Nothing happened.
He continued to fall.
Eidolon reached out a hand. A shimmering shield began to appear below him, to break his fall. For a moment, he dared to hope--and then Velocity fell still faster, smashing through the still-forming light.
"ROBIN!"
Was that Taylor? Huh. He'd never thought he'd hear her so upset. That helped, somehow, let him focus his mind.
In the moments he had remaining, Other Robin pushed his acceleration to its maximum one last time, leaving just enough in his body to move his lips and his lungs. The wind whipped him around more strongly than ever, but he ignored it.
He breathed, in and out, letting the terror and the pain and the anger have their time... And then he spoke.
"Two last messages," he said, knowing the communicator's passive recording would catch it. They wouldn't understand a word, but they'd think to slow it down sooner or later. "Think that's all I have time for. I'd appreciate it if you could get this to them, Dragon."
"To Administrator," he said. "Taylor. You're going to blame yourself. Don't. Easier said than done, I know." He chuckled, the sound coming out more pained than he had wanted. "Yeah, I think we can say the Simurgh came for you, that's fair. Just means you pissed her off enough to make her show her true colors, and that's someone no one else has ever managed. You did good--for Brockton Bay, for all of us, for me, and I really appreciate all of it. This didn't last long, but... I had fun. Kill one or two of those fuckers for me, okay?"
Not much time left.
"To Robin," he said, and he paused. "No, fuck that, you're Other Robin right now," he said, and despite the situation, he smiled. "Everything I ever wanted to say to you, I already did, at some point... And the other way around, I'm sure. It's been ages, and I still didn't know you nearly long enough. I love you, man. Don't catch up to me too quickly."
Velocity let go.
He hit the ground.
Robin Swoyer died.
And then, less than half an hour since the start of her attack, the Simurgh turned and left Brockton Bay.