Black Nadir 6.3
"And I wanted to talk to you," I ground out, nearly crushing the phone in my hand. "You forgot to mention something."
"If you are referring to the last member of the Travellers, no I did not. You hung up before I could warn you that they were sheltering something," he replied, voice calm. Battery stepped back, out of hearing range, and waited, watching me.
"Usually, you put the biggest threat first. The one most likely to be a problem. That makes sense to me," I said, angry at him, and angry at myself. Mostly myself, for not being patient. For rushing off to rescue Damsel, without gathering enough intelligence. For making a bad situation worse. I... really had to stop doing that.
"My apologies. I will endeavor to make our communications more clear in the future. However, as I said before, I am calling in the favor I earned from supplying you with the information," he chastised, voice cool.
"And what do you want? I don't know if you're paying attention, but we have a slight problem. My schedule isn't clear," I said, irritated. The Simurgh was attacking Montreal, and could quite possibly go onto a third city. And the Number Man was calling in a favor now, and for all I knew he wanted me to go to the grocery store, or something equally inane. Even if it was something serious, it could wait, with the
Simurgh attacking, right
now.
"You will not fight the Simurgh," he ordered.
I saw green. I was
furious, nearly beyond rational thought. I sputtered, a jumble of words running into each other. He wanted me, who he had acknowledged as vital to fighting the Endbringers, to stand down? To not try? Everything I had done, since meeting him, had been for two goals. To stop the Endbringers, and to clean up crime in the process. The former had been the goal I had been striving to above all else. Fighting, and eradicating crime had been a nice diversion, and a beneficial side-effect to my actions. To prevent others from suffering as I and others, had. But fighting the Endbringers had been my atonement, meaning, and purpose. To get stronger, better, ready.
Everything.
And he was telling me
no?
"Fuck. No," I all but shouted, sending Battery and Sundancer back in surprise. Sundancer looked concerned, while Battery turned away, guilt showing on her face. She walked away, back into the auditorium, hands wringing. I was about to pull the phone from my ear, to let him know in no uncertain terms what I have thought of his plan, before he spoke.
"First, please don't hang up. Second, this time let me explain," he asked, unflappable.
"Fine." He had would either have to have the best explanation in the world, or give up on his ridiculous idea.
"You aren't ready, and I have a way that you can be of more help than just being a large rock with limbs."
"That's not a real convincing argument," I pointed out.
"If you will recall our first conversation, you are possibly immune to all known forms of precognition. It would be better to find out what that entails, now, when we can observe her reactions, than to find out you have no effect on her in that regard," he explained, his voice never wavering or raising.
"Oh," I replied, stunned. That made sense. I should have thought of that. He had even said that, that night.
"Yes. I do have a good reason for not wanting you to engage the Simurgh," he chastised, "but you will still be playing a vital role, to help negate her precognition."
"How? What sorta vital role?" I asked, my anger sputtering out into curiosity.
"I have arranged the services of a teleporter. He will take you in a to-be determined pattern, across the continent. In addition, I would like you to stay in contact, over this phone."
"Ah. Wait, if I'm being sent all across America, how can I contact you," I pointed out. By now, embarrassment had eclipsed any lingering feelings of anger.
"It is a PRT phone, and it can connect, after a brief adjustment time, regardless of your location in North America. And, as I am certain you are concerned with the actual fight, with the Simurgh, I have confirmation from reliable sources that Eidolon and Alexandria are already on the scene."
I was relieved. Two of the Triumvirate, and the third was coming. That was plenty of cape-power. I knew, academically that the Simurgh was dangerous, but knowing the entire Triumvirate would be there was a great comfort.
"Who's the teleporter?" I asked.
"You can call him Portal. The number has been programmed into the phone. Just call him, and the phone's tracker will let him know your location. However, as a condition of his arrangement, you must not be seen, at least by capes. And it is my belief that you will distract the Simurgh, at what could be a critical juncture. "
"I'm not entirely pleased, but I can see the benefit. I'll do it," I agreed, somewhat torn. If I could distract the Simurgh when she was about to be blasted by Legend, it would make running away from the fight that much more palatable.
"Thank you. Good luck, Defiler," he said, genuine, and hung up.
"What?" Sundancer asked me impatiently as the call ended.
How to break it to her? The only reason she wasn't a mess, or more of a mess, was that I had given her purpose. To stop Simurgh, from attacking NYC. Maybe I had been mistaken where the Simurgh was originally, but she was still out there, and we could still help.
I'd have to phrase this delicately, "I've been given a way to possibly make a significant difference against the Simurgh."
Her eyebrows furrowed, as she tried to digest my words. She asked, "Isn't that why we are here?"
"Yes," I equivocated, "But more than ineffectually pounding at her, before Scion can show up, or the capes can drive her off. A way that could reduce casualties, significantly."
"Where?"
I paused, wetting my lips. She was giving me a hard stare, evidently not amused by what could be interpreted as running away.
I revealed, "I can block or disrupt precognitives. Someone called in a favor, and offered up a new plan. If I move across the country, frequently with the help of a teleporter he contacted, it could disorient or at least distract the Simurgh."
"Oh," she said, eyes wide. She stayed silent, thinking. She ran a hand through her blond hair, troubled by her thoughts. Sundancer shook herself, and looked me in the eyes. "This will definitely hurt the Simurgh?"
"Yes," I lied. I didn't add the, 'probably.'
"I'm coming with. I owe the Simurgh, a lot," Her voice hardened, and I could see her resolve stiffen.
A door across from the auditorium caught my eye, and I motioned for Sundancer to follow me, quietly. That hall was empty, and I didn't want to be seen running away. Or appearing to run away, as I knew that this might matter more than what a pair of capes could do on the front lines. I checked the entryway of the auditorium, and see that everyone was clumped together in their own groups, not paying attention to the hall, I went for the room behind me.
I opened the door, looking in. An actual conference room, a single long table flanked by a dozen chairs. I tried to lock the door, but it only had a smooth handle, without a lock. I pulled a chair over, and propped it against the door. Sundancer pulled another chair, stacking it with mine, as I flicked through the phone's contacts, selecting 'Portal'. Two rings later, it was picked up.
"Portal?" I asked, after waiting for several silent moments.
No one answered me.
"I need a portal?" I tried. Nothing.
"Alakazam?" Zip.
"Click my heels?" Sundancer added, leaning against the table, faintly amused.
"Me and Sundancer in Las Vegas?" I joked.
"Who's gonna be Hunter Thompson, then?" Sundancer pointed out.
Answering her, a pale rectangle had appeared, and additional rectangles folded out from it, exponentially expanding. In a few seconds, it went from the size of a playing card, to almost half the wall. Revealing a parking lot lit by pale yellow lights. A collection of cars half-filled it, and I could see bright lights in the distance.
"This is cape country," Sundancer said, half-sarcastic, half-serious. She walked through the portal, and then shouted, "It's Las Vegas!"
I followed her through, and with a
whoosh of displaced air, the portal closed.
Author Notes:
Defiler and Sundancer's Las Vegas adventure. (No Mushrooms).
