Remember what I said about not updating for a while? Apparently I lied. Updates will be slow, just FYI, but it looks like they'll keep coming nonetheless.
Thunderstorm 12.1
Tuesday, July 26
«
Mistress,» Perfect Storm says in your head, «
trouble.»
The speed with which your Device pulls you from sleep to full wakefulness leaves you queasy as you blink up at the ceiling. "Huh?" you ask, your voice still taking its sweet time to join the rest of your mind. "Trouble? Is that what you said? What kind of trouble do you mean?"
«
Urgent message from Dragon. Endbringer attack imminent. Requests Mistress go to her.»
That gets you up and moving. A thought replaces the old t-shirt and sleep shorts you wear with your Barrier Jacket, and you grab the floating jeweled staff. «
SAM!»
"I'm up, I'm up," the raccoon-woman says, already in her normal pant suit. That would be more impressive if you did not already know that she changes her clothes before she changes back into her pet form to sleep. "I heard Storm's message. By the way, Lacey's up too and—"
The door opens up to reveal a grumpy Lacey still dressed for bed. "Would someone like to explain why the hell we're all awake at two-thirty in the morning?" she snarls.
"Endbringer." Your simple response cuts through her irritation. "We're headed for Dragon's base. Do you want a ride?"
"I… I'm not a fighter, Taylor! You know that!"
Samantha huffs, pulling Lacey's attention to her. "You need to get over this idea that we're trying to trick you into fighting or something. You're a support mage who can heal. This is an Endbringer. Put two and two together already."
"Oh." The woman blushes and looks away. "Yeah. That… makes more sense."
"So you coming or not?"
Lacey nods and takes the Guardian Beast's outstretched hand. A flash of light surrounds them before they are gone, and you teleport yourself as well.
Tim's lab is fully lit when you arrive, and he and Dragon are standing on either side of Cassiel with Firefly and Nostromo working on something in the background. "How exactly do you know where the attack will be?" demands Tim, though whether his tone is rough because of suspicion or panic is hard to tell.
The feathered Unison Device lets out a sigh. "I remembered that the next attack was scheduled to take place at this general time, thus I used what precognitive ability I retain to investigate. I was able to determine that the Second will attack somewhere on continent of Australia. There are five targets with a high probability. Which he plans to strike I could determine with more time, but I suspected that you and Dragon would prefer to possess actionable intelligence early as opposed to exact information no more than five minutes prior to the attack."
"We do appreciate it," Dragon says, screens open in front of her and displaying code scrolling up at a dizzying speed. "How long would you say we have before he arrives?"
"Half an hour, plus or minus."
"Plenty of time, then. We'll use Canberra as a rally point and command center. It's inland and therefore not Leviathan's target, but it's also close to several places he might choose to attack. Deploying the upgraded Ladon and Pythios as well as the Zomok."
"The Zomok?" you ask. That is a new name, or at least you think it is. You have not exactly made memorizing the roster of Dragon's armada a priority.
She nods, not looking up from her screens. "It's not really a new design, more a modification on the Tiamat line. I downsized it, gave it a manatech generator, switched it over to antigravity and ion drives, and built in a pair of teleportation pads. I actually designed it specifically for this. Not Endbringers per se, but rapid deployment rescue and international aid missions." Dragon looks up and gives you a smile. "This should do well to keep the healers away from the fight."
"I can go for that," mutters Lacey.
A flash of blue light heralds the arrival of the only person who both has a way here and is not already present. Vista storms over, a determined expression hardening her gaze and the overhead lights glinting off her heavy combat prosthetic. "Where is the Endbringer attacking?"
"Somewhere in Australia," Tim tells her. He glances up and down, and in a cautious voice he asks, "Have you been in an Endbringer fight before the one where the Simurgh attacked Brockton Bay?"
"I helped in search and rescue when Behemoth attacked Tehran, and then again in Kharkiv."
"Then I don't feel bad about giving you this. Nostromo, she can have her present."
Vista gives him a suspicious look, but her attention is soon pulled away to the red-feathered Gear as he drags over a cube made out of various pieces of green and silver metal. "What is this?" she asks.
"Press the button and find out," the Guardian Beast dares her, pointing to the handle coming out of the top face of the cube. On one end of the handle sits a small button, clearly meant to be pressed by a thumb. "Word of advice. Don't panic."
"If you want me to be calm, that isn't the best way to start." Despite her words, Vista reaches down and grabs the handle with her right hand. Turning her head to stare into Tim's eyes, she pushes the button.
Something beeps and clanks deep within the innards of the cube, and it snaps closed on Vista's forearm.
Her shriek of surprise is cut off as the cube unfolds and stretches upwards. Tongues of metal wrap around her entire arm, plates sliding into place and locking down. The bulk of the former cube lifts up and splits in two to sandwich her front and back, but rather than crush her it gently cradles her torso and rearranges itself into a firm breastplate and shoulder plates. Another strip of steel wraps around the right leg; predicting what is about to happen next, Vista picks up her left to let the other leg on this suit of armor encase her without a moment's hesitation.
She takes a couple of uncertain steps, adjusting to the change in balance now that she is firmly encased in the metal shell. A glance to the left reveals that it has even clamped onto the base of her prosthetic, looking for all the world like they are a solid design. Something twitches at the back of her neck before more metal expands around her neck and jawline and up over her head, finally slamming a plate of translucent green material down in front of her face. "What is this?" she asks in a soft voice, the helmet giving her words a bit of a hissing effect.
"It's something we made for you for bad situations like this." Tim gives her a self-satisfied smile. "I call it the New Horizon. We adjusted one of the suits of power armor I had to fit you. It's got a mechashift framework so it can unfold onto you – like you just saw – along with thrusters on the back for flight and hydraulics to make the rest of you as strong as your prosthetic. Add in seals to protect you from the outside environment and an air tank in case you get submerged in water, and you're as safe as I can possibly make you."
Vista looks over her new armor, and you cannot help but compare the sleek contours to the much harsher lines of its predecessors. "Wow," she finally whispers. "Thank you. Really, thank you so much. This is just… wow." She shifts her head back and forth, and the faceplate slides upwards out of the way. With her face revealed, she gives him a smile that is as bright as the noonday sun. "I don't know what to say to this."
"Just say you'll be careful."
"I don't know that I
can't be if I'm outfitted like this." A thought apparently crosses her mind. "Are there any weapon in this thing I need to be aware of? I don't want to accidentally blast someone."
He shakes his head, but it is Nostromo who answers the question. "There was not sufficient time to add weapon systems to little one's armor. It can be done, but the armor will need to be partially disassembled first."
Vista looks down at her hands and watches the fingers of both prosthetic and armor move in turn. "I'll have to keep that in mind. The fight!" she remembers suddenly.
"We have time before it all goes down," Samantha tells her. Your Guardian Beast has taken off her normal jacket to strap on a sheath for her bone harpoon, and her sword is also firmly in place. "Dragon, if you'll give Storm the coordinates, I'll take Vista and Aeris to the rally point."
A nod and a burst of light, and the trio are gone a couple of seconds later.
"I suppose the liquid nitrogen sprayer will not be of much help, will it?" Firefly remarks with a glare at the canister she was previously working on.
Tim shakes his head. "I don't think so. It was a great idea just in case it was Behemoth again, but apparently the Simurgh's fall wasn't enough to disrupt their schedule as much as we thought." The end of that statement is accompanied by a look in Cassiel's direction.
"I informed you that it was a possibility that the pattern may be disrupted due to my departure. It was never a guarantee. Need I remind you that my conversion to this state of existence placed a substantial limit on my precognition? I am confined to no more than three days of foresight. Perhaps I could tell you more if I spent time in the command center—"
"I'd really rather you didn't," Dragon cuts in.
"Why not? If there is anyone in this world who could predict the First and Second's next moves, it would be me—" Cassiel narrows her eyes, and her wings flutter. "You think I would betray you and aid the Second if I went."
Dragon shakes her head. "It's more that it would be needlessly cruel to force you to watch us fight your brother."
Which pretty much means even Dragon is not ready to trust Cassiel at an Endbringer fight, you decide.
"I'm just gonna get the new armbands ready," Tim whispers as he and his Guardian Beasts retreat out the door. Smart man.
Rather than get in the middle of the fairies' argument, you use the coordinates Dragon relayed to your Device to head to Canberra. You land on top of a building and look west towards the setting sun, then east towards the storm clouds that are rapidly building. Are you really going to have to fight Leviathan in a thunderstorm at night? Visibility is going to go down the toilet. You are going to need all the help you can get.
"Prepare to send a message," you tell Perfect Storm.
"Recipient?"
"The Enforcers." Your Device beeps, and a blank screen appears. "It's Taylor. You guys said you wanted to help against the Endbringers. If that's still true, everyone's meeting up at the following coordinates. Storm, add the coordinates to the end of the message and send."
"Message transmitted, Mistress."
There is that part done. You keep staring out towards the gathering storm. Even with Cassiel's advance warning, you have no illusions that this will be anything but a bloodbath.
Vista's character sheet updated.
Remember how you needed to join a group during the Simurgh fight? Similar idea applies here. Samantha will join whichever group you do to keep you safe unless you specifically vote otherwise.
[ ] Impact group – With Flare Blade and an upgraded Barrier Jacket, you have a better chance to survive going hand-to-hand than you did in the last Endbringer fight.
[ ] Blaster group – You have Solar Wrath. You even have Ragnarök. Join the capes heading out to bombard Leviathan and give him a taste of nuclear fire.
[ ] Wave group – Leviathan's main strategy involves sending wave after wave at his target. There is always a need for barrier capes to keep them away from the city.
[ ] Search and rescue – You played this role once before, when fighting the Simurgh. You shouldn't need to rescue capes this time, just help get civilians to safety.
[ ] Transport group – Some capes, Tinkers especially, are using the extra time to finish preparations for the big fight. Head out to pick them up just before Leviathan shows.
[ ] Gofer – Dragon should have Tim and the healers well in hand, but there is always the possibility she will need a mobile pair of hands. Mobility you can do.
Oh yeah. One eensy weensy warning. Depending on how the fight goes, you may or may not be in this group the whole time