A 2nd Chance (Honkai Impact 3rd/Worm) [re-write]

[Ereg]

That shouldn't really happen right? Don't you generally want a stigmata or gem or something in order to awaken a herrescher?

Click to shrink...

Not really. Things you have listed matter only when Herrschers are made artificially, not when Honkai spawns them. Sirin for example didn't have anything. She was just a normal brat with good Honkai resistance.

 

[0xA315]

Ah right. I kind of wonder if the Honkai is even generally active on Bet, apart from annoying Sirin.

 

[xcv45]

Not really. Things you have listed matter only when Herrschers are made artificially, not when Honkai spawns them. Sirin for example didn't have anything. She was just a normal brat with good Honkai resistance.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, Honkai is all for equal-opportunity genocide with its chosen!
Natural Herrschers automatically gain the Stigmata/resistance when they become one. Having resistance and such matters mostly when you don't become a Herscherr through direct means, such as with a Gem.

Though already having resistance/adaptability does make things better, see Void Tuna rocking that very nice Kaslana-Schariac body being a very beefy upgrade compared to her original self even with 3 less Authorities.

 

[QroGrotor]

Sarah Livsey

Sarah stared at the screen in front of her in horrified silence, the live image still showing the rubble where Sirin had vanished from into thin air. The audio feed from her friend had dropped completely, which could only mean that Sirin had either taken her earpiece out or destroyed it. Both options left Sarah feeling sick to her stomach. Either option meant that Sirin had isolated herself when she most desperately needed support.

"-rah, are you okay? What happened?"

Sarah blinked, belatedly realizing Brandish had been trying to talk to her. The older blonde cape was staring at her with clear concern, and Sarah fought herself clear of the endless flood of data that seemed determined to bury her mind to try and focus on what was happening around her. She forced herself to nod, despite the fact that she most certainly was not okay.

"-massive surge of exotic energy t's mangling our Thinker analysis, the only answers we're getting are black-void and ruler-10. Get everyone out of there, now!" She heard someone yelling into a headset, talking to those on site at Madison.

"I'm fine," she lied. Shaking her head, she tore her focus back to Brandish, anything to block out the tide of data threatening to swallow her mind. Her hands shook and she hugged herself tightly as Brandish put a hand on her shoulder. The touch actually helped her, a point of physical connection to anchor her thoughts.

Miracle star d̷̙̀a̵͈͌t̸̉͜á̵̧ ̶͕͠u̴̯͗ṋ̷͗k̷͉̎ñ̶͚o̷̬͋w̸̦̌n̸͈̚.̵̮̍ H̴̲͔̬̱̃̐͋̃̂͠͝ō̸̯͌́͊̽̅̋͆͌̒̕͘s̸̰͇̮͓̻̭͖̙̥̪̗̘͂̐͂́͂̂͐̕̕͝t̵̶͓̮͈̦̪͔͕̗̂̔̊͒̂͂͌̄͑̌̅̄̑̏̎̋̃̈́̕̚͠ͅc̷̺̰̈̉͊͂͋͌͘̕o̶͕͇̖̹̠̹̭̖̿̉r̸͚̠̠͔͔̣̺̋̅͒͘r̵̡̡̨̯͉̺̺͎̀̇ͅử̸͓̼̯̲̪͈p̸̦̺̺̹̉̊͗́ẗ̷̛̻͈͚̥̲̰̱͉̣̀̅̅͋͆͒͝͠ͅį̷̫̲̥̭͑͐͊̿̋͘͜ö̵̲̺́̌͐̋̃͊̌n̸͔͓̠̆̔͜ ḑ̷̨̢̡̢͖͓͉̯͔̪͍̮̰̘̟̦̥͈̙͈̏̀̂̌̂̍͊̋̋̌̏̃́̂́͜͝ͅȩ̸̢̨̬̖̠͔̭̼͍͈̭̜̱̟̼̦̰̞͕̣̟̥̫͈͔̼̓̌̽͐̈́͐̆̓͋̒́̎̊͒̓͘͠͝ͅţ̷̢͍͕̳̺̘̪̙̯̣͚͒̈́͗͊͌͑̈̑͘͜ě̴̺̣̥̳̞̹̫̹̗͉̻͔̠̝̱̯̬͓̪͉̩̠͉͒̊͋̆͒̋̄͗̓̎̈́̈́̽͋͗̄̋̔̅̈́̋́̈̂̈́̇̕̚̚c̴̡̨̨̱̹͖̮͙̬̼̰̺̲̔͐͂̏͠ͅt̷̨̧̨̡͎̯̥͕̟̼̱̘̟͎̭̜͚̙͍͍̮̭͉̺̦͛͜͜͝ͅȇ̴̡̨̡̬̪̺̜̜͚̪͙̙͚͚̂͒̈̃́̑̎̀͊̔͛͂̉̐̂̄̏͊̂͌̍̔͗̚̕̕͜͜͝͝͝͠d̷̻͖̩̪̼̬̟̻̜̞͙̯̪͓́͑̈́͆́̓̓̍̿̀̏́̈͆̅̈́̔̆̉͆͂̓͑͘̚ͅͅ.̶̢̧̫͕̩̮͒̾̽̎̾͝͝͝

Sarah clenched her jaw, fighting a sudden surge of sickness in her stomach. This wasn't what she wanted. Not at all. But whatever Sirin had just done had somehow set off something in her head as well. Something alien and terrifying, that raked at her thoughts in bursts of static. It hurt, too, like every Thinker headache she'd ever had had gotten together and come to visit at once.

H̴͓̓̐̂́͝ó̸̺̄̏̋̔͌͒͝s̷̢͕͙͚̥̝̟͔͌́̅̎t̶̢͈̺̮̭̪̐̀͛̅̔̏̔i̵̯͔̯̩̰̬̱̓͒͂͂̉͆̕ḻ̵̩̉e̴̦̦̞̦̟̿ ̴̛̯͒̀͋͐̑̒͝ͅả̶͉͖͖̫͙̣͓͔̑͊̾̽̾̚͝n̵̤̣̠̓o̸͇̞̮͐͒͌́̕͜͝͠m̷̨͖͉͕̲͗̈̈́͛̑a̷̺̳͋̿͛l̷̡̢̙̥̖̮̒̍̋̾ỹ̵̨̼̔̓̚ ̴̹̤͚̯̘̐͜d̶̪̠̞̖̔̿̂̓̍̕͜͝è̶͕̘̣͘͠ẗ̷͈̹́͘è̴͔͉͓̪͍̤̆ç̷͇̫͔̝̳̉̔̓t̵̢̰̺̯͕̉̕ͅe̶͖͗̍̾̉̏̏d̶̘̙̘̟̘͎̋̈́́͗̄̈́̎ͅ.̸̨͖̯̖͙̺͓͙̄̌̀ ̷̠̘̬̖̙̳͆̏̎͗̊̀͗͜͝Ȧ̴̰͍̅n̷̮̳̗̻̩͙̮̩̿͑̐̊͂̆̓á̴̪̱͆̀̀͛͛͝l̴̖͎̻̗̙͌̽̋͊ͅy̷̧͉̜̘͔̜̿̃̍̾̌̿̚ͅz̴̛̘̼̞͚̾̑̔̃ị̵͖͖̙̎̎͌̐̌͗n̷̨̝̞͉͚̪̓̽̈́́͝g̴͖̩͍͉͎̙̻̓͆̇̅̑͌͠ͅ…̴̝̺̺͍͐͋̌́1̸̼̉͘͘͝2̸̨̫̘͓̑͒͜%̴̧̦͙̀̀̈́́̚͠.̸̦͖̹̭̪̗͈̽.̵̢̞́.̴̯͕̮̋̈́̊̋͠͝͠ͅ.̶̲̪̩͈̣̉́.̸̲̲͈̟͓̽.̵͙̮̜̻̊̎͐3̴͇͓̜̄̀̇̑͘1̴͎̤̘͈̱̌͐%̵̨̼̗̀̋̈́̍.̴̮̺̈́͋̈́͌ͅ.̴̧̂̀̉͘.̵̮͔̅̉5̵̧͍͎̃̓7̴̢̠̚%̶̡̛̥͛́.̴̡̛̘͙͘.̷̣͘.̸͎͗̋̍

Brandish was speaking to her, and a blessedly painless line from her power informed her the woman was trying to make sure she was okay. But she couldn't hear any words. The static around her thoughts was breaking through from her thoughts to the world around her, drowning out everything else. It felt like her ears were bleeding, but that…that couldn't be happening.

Could it?

Å̶͜ǹ̴̰̈ạ̷͋̄ļ̸̘͂y̶̥̪̆̀s̷̨̺̿̄i̶̞͌s̵̬̕ ̶͕̹͌̑f̸͉̚̚å̴̬̜̓i̸̘͑l̸͈͆e̷̞̞͗ḋ̵̻͠.̵̨͕̒

Pure panicked instinct took over. She reached up and tore her headset off, throwing it away as her fingers reached for ears, terrified that they'd come away wet. She almost screamed when they did, until she pulled her fingers forward to look at them to find no blood. Just sweat. Brandish reached out with her other hand, her lips moving faster now, but Sarah shook her head. The older cape looked around and yelled something, demanding…Sarah wasn't sure what. She was sure that should bother her.

Ȉ̴̘n̵͇̓ḯ̴͎̑t̵̻̱̿i̵̯͚͌á̵͇͍͐t̴̢̘́̂ê̸͈̍ ̴͎̂͛p̸̭̞̌̋ȗ̸͚̑r̴̔͜ͅg̴͖͒ͅè̷̲͠ ̸̞͈̓ȍ̵͔͈f̴̬͚̅ ̸͈͒̕a̵̙͛̎͜ḽ̷̙͝l̵̼͑ ̴̲̪͂h̷̳̦̑̚o̴͎͒s̴͉̏t̶̟̲̀ ̵͓͎́̓p̸͕͇̑̈́r̴̖͇͗̋o̶̤̓c̷̦͊̊e̵̻͌͠s̴̝̼͋̀ṣ̴͛ȅ̵͖͚ş̴̀̕͜.̷̦͗͆͜ ̴̜̙́̌P̷r̷i̶o̴r̷i̶t̴i̶z̶e̴ ̷n̴e̶t̸w̴o̸r̵k̵ ̷f̶u̶n̷c̸t̷i̸-̶

P̴͎͉̖̼̥͐͠ú̴̘̦͗ȓ̵̺̗͝g̷̨̥̠͉͋̈́͊ë̵̺́̑̎͠ ̵̥̙̞͛̕͝f̸̩̰̪͍̲̕a̸̝͒i̶͓̖̲̟̜̍͛l̶̠̾̂é̷͍̳̜̩͚d̶̛̳̗̘̰̎͂͐͐ͅ.̸̠̂̿̕͝

Hostile â̸̹͖̫̫̞͙̙̺̈́̀̈́̄ṋ̴͉̏̄͛̅͂͂̐ȯ̷̡̜͔̞̲̣̹͍̝̹̪̭͉̪̭̌̔̈̍́̃̓͘̕͘m̴̼̹̝̳͕̖̲̮͛̔̂̓̊̿͜ͅà̸̰͌̓̀̄̀̀͂̎̌l̸̪̍́̎̃̒͋̿͊͊̈́̑̃̄͘͘y̵̘̤̤̤̹͂͗̐̽͆̽͋̚͝͝ ̴̩̲̥͍̼͋͌́̾̒̈́͒̕identified.

Attempting containment.

Everything felt wrong now. Like she was trapped within a dream, unable to wake up. The world felt distorted and warped around her, twisted out of shape by the atonal, droning hum filling her mind.

Sarah stumbled forward as pain lanced through her body, unconsciously grabbing tightly onto one of Brandish's arms. The older cape said something again, but she still couldn't understand the words. Brandish wrapped an arm around her shoulders, lowering her gently from the chair to the floor. She let the older cape adjust her position, taking several shaky breaths in search of a spot of calm in the mess of her thoughts.

Containment f̵͂͜ä̷͎i̷̪̒l̵͉̆ê̶͜d̵͇̓.̷̼̒ ̶̙̆Ō̵̱p̴̹̒e̶̘̋n̵̥͋ simulation.

It just wasn't working. Nothing was working. Any attempt to relax was ripped apart by the tempest ripping its way across her thoughts, and the pain was only growing. The cool metal below her head had helped for a few moments, but only that. She had to focus on something else. The other Thinkers had been on her headset, so that was out…but she could still see a few of the monitors. She looked up at one, forcing her eyes to focus through the pounding pain.

Most of the drones seemed to have been destroyed by the Simurgh, but the ones that were still functional showed a scene of utter devastation around the Hopekiller. Low buildings had been toppled, filling the streets with rubble that had crushed vehicles into scrap. Flickering colours danced across the sky, prismatic reflections of something that stabbed into her brain like a knife. Sarah swallowed hard, forcing herself to keep watching as heroes fled the area, pulling along as many civilians as they could. How many had been left behind?

Simulation 16635645332 successful. Initiate host containment structure.

Her next breath was hissed in through clenched teeth as lines of fire seemed to erupt all across her body. Then the pain lashed inwards, digging into her flesh in strange, twisting motions. She tore at her clothes, crying out in agony. Close above her but so far away, Brandish turned her head and bellowed something. And yet through it all, Sarah's eyes remained fixed on the monitor.

The landscape of the battlefield was starting to shift, warping strangely. Objects flickered in and out of reality on the streets, some appeared out of thin air already in motion and totally without warning. The video feed became increasingly distorted, alien colours making it difficult to make sense of what was happening. From what she could hear coming through the headphones, other Thinkers weren't having much luck either.

A young man crashed to his knees next to her, digging into the large bag at his waist. His face was drawn with worry, but he moved with a steady swiftness as he pulled a small penlight from the bag and flicked it between her eyes. Some of the tension seemed to drop from his shoulders a moment later, and he dug in his bag again, speaking across her to Brandish.

"She's visually responsive, Brandish, and you've told me she was able to control her body enough to grab you." Sarah blinked, realising she could hear again as the…doctor? Medic? continued. "There's a lot that could be, we're getting mass reports of Thinker overload in response to whatever's happening at Madison."

His hand came out of the bag with an injector, his other hand already loading it with a small cartridge of colourless liquid.

"Are you sure-" Brandish protested.

"It's a Tinker analgesic for Thinkers," the doctor said, adjusting his grip and placing the injector to Sarah's neck. "Very limited supply, but we've got leave to dispense it regardless of cost. The Protectorate can't afford to have its Thinkers out during an Endbringer attack. I cannot promise you that it is completely safe, but it's the best option."

"I'm…I'm okay," Sarah croaked, wincing at the feeling of her torn throat. Had she been screaming? "You can use it…use it on someone else."

The doctor looked down at her a little shocked, but then shook his head. "Young miss, you're clearly in a great deal of pain. This won't interfere with your thoughts, it'll just clear the pain away. Is that alright?"

Sarah winced, rubbing her temples gently. The lancing agony was fading now, replaced by a steady throbbing sensation that made her want to cry. She blinked several times, trying to clear the pain, then gave in.

"Please," she said, in a very thin voice. It sounded horribly like begging to her own ears, but she was hunting too much to care. "It hurts."

The injector snap-hissed as it nipped her, and then the medic was placing it back into his bag. He smiled reassuringly at her, the expression stretched over tension. "It'll take a few moments to kick in. I gave you a half dose given your body mass, but that should be more than enough. Is there anything else? Other pain or strain that you're feeling?"

She shook her head slowly. It was a lie, but she…she still wasn't sure about any of the people here at the PRT. Just giving them information about what she'd gone through? Maybe it was paranoia, but it didn't feel right.

"Alright," the man nodded, fishing a plain bottle of water out of his bag. "Drink as much of this as you can over the next half hour. Brandish, can you make sure she does so?"

"Of course."

"Good," he snapped the bag shut and pushed himself to his feet. "Stay down until the pain fades, then you can use your power again. Try to push against it and you'll break the painkiller. Wish I knew how that worked, but Tinkers will be Tinkers."

"Thank you." Sarah nodded. The man smiled, much more naturally this time.

"You're very welcome." He said. A brace of quick steps took him to the door, and then he was gone. Sarah could already feel the pain fading, but took the man's advice seriously. After what she'd just dealt with from her power, she'd no desire to try and rely on it. Looking around the communications center she saw that it was still in a steady chaos, though a little more restrained than it had been before she went down.

They still needed help, then. She started to push herself up, supported by a hovering Brandish who handed her the bottle of water. She tugged at the top a few times before succeeding and tried her best to sip instead of gulping it down. She half-succeeded. The water just tasted and felt so good.

"You sure you're okay to go back to it?" Brandish asked. The older cape bent down to recover Sarah's headset, offering it tentatively.

"I am," she nodded slowly. The pain really was almost completely gone, at least around her head. The dull ache in her bones was still there, but she could ignore that for now. Whatever it was.

"Just be careful," Brandish said as Sarah took the headset. She smiled at the woman.

"I will be," she said, checking to make sure the microphone was off before slipping it on. She still wasn't sure about her power right now, but that didn't mean she couldn't help. She brought the monitor she'd been working at back online, pushing it back into the proper alignment from where one of her hands must've caught it.

The video feed flickered wildly, flashing between static and distorted images for several seconds before the feed stabilized. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it was enough for Sarah to see what was going on.

The sky had torn open.

---

Armsmaster

Armsmaster's armor was battered and dented, and the generators that powered the suit's exoskeleton were badly damaged. He could barely move under emergency battery power after being tossed through a building by the Simurgh's telekinesis, but the hero refused to give up. Even though he couldn't see clearly through all the smoke and dust that had the Madison skyline, keeping track of the flying monstrosity wasn't hard at all. Especially when Legend and the other Blasters kept bombarding the Endbringer across the darkening sky.

He coughed as another pall of thick black smoke drifted past him. His HUD flickered briefly before returning to normal, displaying the status of his suit. His helmet had cracked during the fight, exposing his face to the harsh winter cold. Fortunately, it hadn't affected his ability to breathe. His impromptu attempt at flight had also shattered his primary communications system, and something was clearly jamming his emergency transceiver.

He staggered forward unsteadily, using the shattered remains of his halberd to maintain his balance in a few places. After several steps Armsmaster collapsed back against the remains of a building, gasping raggedly as he struggled to catch his breath. His entire body ached terribly, especially his ribs. Though, he supposed he couldn't really complain. He'd been sent through a building into an abandoned car and was still mobile. The pain made it difficult to concentrate properly, but the internal scanner in his suit told him that he hadn't actually suffered major injury. And that meant he couldn't afford to waste time recovering now. Not when so many lives were still hanging in the balance.

Armsmaster gritted his teeth, pushing himself upright once more, cursing quietly under his breath. He was approaching his time limit for the Simurgh engagement, which was why he was trying to retreat from the battlezone. The thought of running away made him furious, but he knew there was no point arguing with Thinkers over something like this. Especially when he was already exhausted beyond belief. Better to conserve energy until absolutely necessary.

With that in mind, he forced himself back to his feet and kept walking. Each step caused sharp jolts of pain to shoot through his chest, making him wince every time. His vision blurred as a faint ribbon of smoke washed across his eyes, and he stumbled forward blindly for a moment, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear his sight. He found another building to lean against for a moment of recovery, and gazed up and back towards where he'd seen heroes still engaging the Simurgh.

Instead, he only saw a myriad of colour sprayed across a twisted sky, the inner layer of reality laid bare for all to see. Armsmaster stared dumbfoundedly at the scene unfolding before his eyes as hundreds upon thousands of different colours flashed across the sky. They flickered and swirled around each other like tiny whirlpools, across the entire spectrum of colour and brightness. The whole spectacle reminded Armsmaster of fireworks, except infinitely more beautiful and yet…somehow alien.

That thought made him tear his attention away from the colours, remembering how frantic the Thinkers had sounded during the last transmission he'd received. Whatever was going on here, they hadn't sounded like it was good news. Yet another reason to get out of here, but he couldn't help but want to see what was happening.

The Simurgh's pure-white body floated amidst the backdrop of colours, seemingly serene as she dodged between the more obvious whirlpools. For a moment he wondered if the Endbringer had been the cause of this, but only until the Simurgh lurched right to crash directly into a highrise. The Endbringer righted herself quickly, only to abruptly plummet towards the ground until a gentle shockwave rippled out from below her as she brought her telekinesis to bear. It caught up dust and light debris, a few bits rattling against his armour as it went past, but it didn't stop him from watching.

And that was why he saw it. Something flashed into existence just short of one of the rising Endbringer's wings, translating into reality in a flicker of brilliant white, purple and gold. The Simugh didn't seem to react, continuing her ascent through a flurry of laser fire from Legend. And if not for the light cast by the Triumvirate member's assault, Armaster might have missed the result of the strange attack. A neat hole, punched completely through the Endbringer's wing. And she hadn't dodged it.

He blinked, forcing himself to focus on the distant Endbringer. And caught another blur in the same colours as it slashed straight straight through the Simurgh's left leg, tearing a deep line across the alabaster limb. That clinched it. Whoever was making those attacks could actually hurt the Endbringer. And he had to make sure what he'd seen was reported.

Armsmaster turned away reluctantly, continuing his limping progress onwards towards the command center located several blocks away. As he left the immediate zone of debris around the Simurgh's fighting, he broke into a heavy jog down one of Madison's ruined streets. Here and there he saw civilians lying motionless beneath piles of rubble, limbs sticking out in a grotesque parody of insect legs. Others sat slumped against walls or fallen lamposts, faces pale and lifeless. For a moment his pace hitched, but he forced himself to look away. They were dead, he couldn't help them, and there was still so much work left to do.

He'd made it almost a block before the world seemed to scream in protest around him, a howling thunder of air almost knocking him to the ground. Brilliantly white light exploded behind him, searing painfully sharp shadows across the ground. He stumbled over his feet at the sudden change, and kept them only by half-crashing into the wall of a nearby building, using it to anchor himself.

He looked back up again to see the same colours as before, flashing faster across a sky that had been torn completely asunder. Pieces of buildings and car and other things fell through jagged rifts in reality, crashing down in places to force heroes back or crush others. Others hovered in the air, blocking the avenues of attack to the Simurgh, and as he watched he saw her catch a charging Alexandria and fling her into one of the floating buildings.

He stared for a moment, long enough to see a sheen of prismatic light start to gather around the Simurgh, then shook his head and lurched back into motion. He couldn't help with any of that as he was now. Get back to the command center for now. Figure out a way to act at that scale later.

---

Roxanne Holmes

Roxanne Holmes was not a particularly brave person. Sure, she loved to watch old superhero movies and read about capes, but when faced with the prospect of facing down a living, breathing Endbringer, Roxanne found herself terrified beyond belief. Her heart raced wildly within her chest as she ran down Madison's shattered streets, her lungs burning painfully with every breath she drew. Her legs felt numb as adrenaline coursed through her veins, and sweat trickled down her brow as she sprinted down State Street.

She'd been one of the unlucky few left behind when the portals at the inner city shelters had been forced to close, and she knew what the Simurgh meant for a city. Everyone did, even if they never talked about it. She was not going to be stuck in here when the PRT walled off the city.

Unfortunately, the thought left her too distracted to notice the slight tumble of stones strewn across the pavement ahead of her. Her feet went out from under her as frantic footsteps flung the stones away, and she fell awkwardly forward. She flung out her hands just before she landed heavily on the concrete surface beneath her, wincing as pain shot through her wrists. But she couldn't let that stop her, as she scrambled upright again, brushing dirt and gravel hastily off her jeans before continuing her run.

Roxanne glanced upwards occasionally as she ran past damaged buildings and wrecked cars, watching frantically for any signs of danger. But the only real danger were the smoldering buildings here and there, easily avoided as she made her way down the street. Every now and then a strange burst of colourful light would flash by overhead. Roxanne hoped that the capes fighting the Simurgh somewhere in the distance were okay, but couldn't dwell on the thought.

Instead, she was focused solely upon reaching safety as quickly as possible, hoping desperately that whatever the heroes were doing would prevent the Endbringer from turning her home into a walled off ghetto. Alas, that wasn't all she had to deal with. A rumble of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since early that morning, and the smell of still fresh food drew her eyes as she continued. She recognised the building from its bright blue and cyan awnings, even though one of them had been torn in half by a piece of debris.

Broken glass shards littered the ground outside of the long-standing cafe, mixed with bits of plaster and wood splinters. Roxanne paused momentarily, hesitating. Her body needed energy if she was going to make it out of the city center, but was this the right place? She chewed nervously on her bottom lip for a moment, then shook her head. If not here, then where?

Her black business shoes crunched on the shattered glass as she poked her head through the shattered shell of the door. The power was out, and nothing stirred in the interior. She pulled her phone from a pocket and thumbed its flashlight on, casting a wan light across the area. It would drain the battery terribly fast, but she needed to be able to see. No one seemed to be there, at least. She nudged the door open and ducked inside, casting her light across the interior room.

Several tables stood relatively untouched from the chaos outside, and there were several pieces of food left there, presumably by people who'd been able to escape. Her stomach rumbled again, and she cursed the luck that had seen her leave late this morning, forcing her to miss her usual breakfast. A few steps took her to the nearest table and she examined the food there. A few bits had been taken from the closest gyro, but a little work with a nearby knife dealt with that. She worked quickly, unfolding a napkin and placing the somewhat cooled snack on it. Satisfied, she took a step back and took a bite.

It was just as delicious as she remembered from her last time here, and she hoped the owners would forgive her. And that they'd make it out for her to ask forgiveness, assuming she did- she shook the thoughts away. She couldn't think like that. She gulped down several more bites, appropriating a glass of soda from the table to wet her throat. She wished she could stay longer, but even these few minutes might be the difference between life free or forever imprisoned as potential Ziz-bombs.

She looked down at the table, then stuffed several other places worth of food into the white polystyrene box that had contained the gyro she'd taken. Hefting it under one arm, she made for the exit. It should be enough to keep her fed until she made it out of the city center. For a moment she considered checking elsewhere for supplies, but she'd wasted enough time.

She was just stepping back out onto the street when a bright, blinding light erupted from the direction of the university. The entire world shook and she flung herself back into the tentative safety of the building on raw instinct. She hit the ground in an uncontrolled slide and the back of her head slammed into something hard, filling her vision with stars. She groaned as she struggled painfully back to her feet, crawling back to the shattered window to try and see what had just happened.

Swirls of the same colour she'd seen in the sky before had filled the air, like a brilliant early sunset or the pictures she'd seen of aurora. Looking at the vast kaleidoscope of light made her brain hurt, but she couldn't look away. Cracks had been torn across the sky, debris and cars and buildings falling through. She hoped none of them had people in there. She was far enough away that none of them were over her, but she heard something crash down in a thunder of breaking glass and metal maybe a block away. And yet, for once, it didn't startle her.

In front of her eyes, she could see the Simurgh struggling in the grip of some vast, prismatic force. It held the monster immobile and unable to dodge as fire from Blasters rained down on the Third Endbringer, but none of it seemed to be helping. Debris flicked out from hovering buildings, making a shield around the false angel, but that wasn't everything that was happening. As Roxanne watched, spellbound, she saw one of the Simurgh's wings being forced to spread out by the light around her. What on earth could do that to an Endbringer?

A grey blur slammed into a gleaming piece of metal and flickering light beside the Simurgh, and Roxanne cried out as it detonated, the light clawing at her eyes again. But she didn't look away, she wasn't sure if she could. Blinking through the pain of the flare of light, she saw six…somethings flash across the sky. They weren't lasers, but the Simurgh shook in the hold of the light around her as they slashed in on her. The entire world shook again, dust flung everywhere by the vast forces in play. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Roxanne realised she'd held up her phone and was recording what she was seeing in a shaky hand.

Then six brilliant points of gold lashed into the Simurgh, at the base of the wing that had been forced up by the light around her. The pale, alabaster skin of the Simugh parted beneath the strike, but it seemed like that was the last straw for the Endbringer. Light exploded from the device at her side again, ripping into the sky, tearing open more rifts and the veil of colour around her abruptly vanished.

Buildings crumbled beneath the impact of falling objects, cars exploded into sprays of lethal glass and metal as they hit the ground, trees shattered into millions of pieces that went scattering across the streets. Utter chaos, unleashed by the last gasp of whatever horrific device the Simurgh had found. And, as Roxanne watched, the Simurgh flew, dancing unhindered between the cascading debris. Whatever the capes had done, she wasn't held by it anymore. But she hadn't gotten away unscathed.

One of the wingbitch's largest wings crashed down to the ground as she rose away from the city, dodging several more flashes of gold as she went. And Roxanne blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what she'd just witnessed. The faint scream in the back of her mind was gone.

It was…over?

---

Alexandria

Alexandria floated above the city, surveying Madison with a grim expression behind her helm covered face. Without a doubt this was the fastest retreat of the Endbringer to date, but even though the city wouldn't have to be condemned to isolation thanks to Simurgh's departure, the casualties inflicted by the Endbringer still likely numbered in thousands.

And then there was the question of whatever Miracle Star had done to drive her away. Alexandria had never seen anyone damage an Endbringer so precisely, and that was going to raise all sorts of questions. Especially with how little they seemed to know about the girl. She sighed. She didn't need to be a precog to know that this was only going to get worse as PRT scientists and Protectorate Thinkers examined the remains of the battlefield.

Though, there was at least one thing for them to be happy about. Intact pieces of an Endbringer were very rare and, looking down, she could see an entire wing that had been snapped off at the join. That…that might have possibilities.

But for now, Alexandria narrowed her eyes slightly as she shifted her gaze upwards, towards the girl that had only been supposed to be here to help evacuate people. She was staring up at the tears in reality that the Simurgh's device had opened, at least one revealing the distressingly familiar halls of the Cauldron complex.

The woman sighed internally once again. This situation was becoming more complicated by the second. But that wasn't really surprising, given how often things tended to go awry. A part of the Cauldron complex must have collapsed through the rifts onto Madison, and she could only hope that no one had been present in that particular part of the base. And god only knew how they were going to cover up the portals. Maybe Contessa would-

The thought process broke off as the tears in reality all across the sky seemed to shudder. Her gaze flicked back to Miracle Star, and then widened as every single rift started to slowly shrink in time to the gentle hand motions of the young cape. They reminded her of sewing, and she frowned in concentration as she watched the rifts blasted through reality close one by one.

Every single one of them was gone in less than a minute, though she saw Miracle Star's shoulders slump from the strain of acting at that scale after her fight. That was probably a good thing, really. Someone that was capable of actually harming an Endbringer having limits seemed a definite positive. If nothing else, it was a potential point to begin interaction with the young cape.

Alexandria made a note to look deeper into the girl's past and behavior as she shifted to see Eidolon and Legend approaching her. Eidolon seemed to be struggling to look away from the girl. Perhaps they'd gotten more than one win today.

"Legend," Alexandria greeted the male Triumvirate member politely. "Eidolon," She added after a brief pause, turning towards the man clad in green and grey.

"Alexandria." Both men greeted simultaneously, making her sigh again, though this time with more amusement. It fled quickly, though. Endbringer attacks were no place for smiles, even with hers hidden.

"You saw what happened." Eidolon said after a brief silence. It really wasn't a question. "I don't think we've ever seen the Simurgh retreat like this before."

"We haven't." Alexandria nodded slightly. "Whatever Miracle Star did, it seems that the Simurgh deemed it prudent to retreat. For now anyway." She added after a short pause.

"Agreed," Legend nodded.

"However..." Eidolon began. He trailed off suddenly, prompting both Alexandria and Legend to turn to him questioningly.

"What?" Alexandria asked after several moments passed without Eidolon saying anything further.

"It feels wrong," Eidolon replied simply, confusing both Alexandria and Legend greatly.

"What do you mean?" Legend asked, frowning. "The Simurgh is retreating. That alone should be reason enough to celebrate. Especially so quickly, "

"No, I don't think so." Eidolon shook his head, turning away from two Triumvirate members to face Madison below them. Alexandria sighed. If this was about– "There's something unnatural about this retreat."

He scanned the city below, as if searching for hidden threats. "Perhaps she'd achieved her goals already. You've heard what the Thinkers were warning us about during the fight, yes?"

Legend exchanged a brief glance with her, then spoke. "You think that she retreated because she'd achieved whatever it was she was aiming to do here? That her target was the girl?" The concern for such a young fighter was clear on his face as he turned to the masked fist of the Triumvirate, though he seemed skeptical of Eidolon's reasoning.

"You said her name was Miracle Star?"

"Yes," Alexandria nodded. "But she's an open cape. Her real name is Sirin."

"Ah!" Legend snapped his fingers. "The girl from Brockton Bay. The homeless shelter. What on earth was she doing here?"

"Her portals. It was-"

"Hold that," Legend cut her off. That was rare, and only happened when it was important. The man brought up his hand in an imitation of binoculars. It was completely pointless, as the man's eyesight was as superhuman as the rest of him, but old habits died hard. "What's she doing?"

Turning her head just in time to see the final rift close, Alexandria saw Miracle Starwink into existence by the Simurgh's wing. A moment later the older heroine dropped straight down towards the wing. As it turned out, the small, purple-haired girl was picking feathers out of the Endbringer's former limb. If not for the size and provenance of the wing, and the battlefield around them, she could've just been another girl. But those weren't exactly normal feathers.

Keith and David had followed her lead, stopping at her left and right respectively, forming an inverse triangle formation, just in case. And as the girl who'd driven off the Simurgh turned to face her, Alexandria was suddenly very glad of the fact.

"Miracle Star?" She asked. unusual hair color stood out immediately to the woman, and judging by her age, it was unlikely that it was dyed. Alteration caused by the Trigger Event was far more possible, but she wouldn't claim it as certainty until proper research was done.

That wasn't the most striking thing about her, however. The girl's face was utterly expressionless and gold light burned at the back of her eyes, dangerous and sharp. It shouldn't have been intimidating, not to a member of the Triumvirate standing at their head. And yet somehow it was.

"Yes?" She answered shortly. Her glowing eyes swept over the three in a single glance, as if bored by the presence of the generally agreed most powerful capes in North America and beyond. Alexandria reassessed her approach in an instant.

"I'd like to thank you for your participation here today," she said. "And I'd also like to extend my formal apologies for your being dragged into battle into battle in violation of the PRT's promises to you. I hope this poor experience won't alienate us."

Gold eyes stared.

"With that said," she continued steadily. "Are you sure you want to take those remains with you? They're usually passed onto the PRT for study."

The girl frowned, clutching the feathers tightly in her tiny hands, and Alexandria's eyes narrowed behind her helmet. She was…relatively confident that she could subdue the girl if she lashed out, but she'd prefer to avoid a direct confrontation with anyone who could do what Miracle Star had just done. Then Kieth stepped past her, placing a placating hand on her shoulder.

"That said, I think all of us could understand the desire to take a trophy," he said. He gave Sirin a disarming smile, dropping to one knee comfortably out of reach from her. Alexandria relaxed a little at that. Legend must have read at least one of the reports on Brockton Bay's latest open cape, and he was playing his role beautifully.

For his part, David stayed silent, which was probably a good thing. Powerful as he was, Eidolon was definitely more the type of leader who inspired others through actions instead of words.

"Then I can take them?" Sirin asked, her eyes flicking from Legend to stare at her. Alexandria unbent enough to nod. It wasn't as if they didn't have plenty of samples from the winged bitch.

"Yes."

"Alright." Miracle Star sank a suddenly shimmering hand into the wing next to her. There was a terrible, creaking crack and then her hand came out with a piece of Simurgh wing-bone in hand. She nodded once to the Triumvirate, and then dropped into a portal right below her feet, leaving all three surprised.


Alexandria recovered first, shaking her head minutely as she activated her radio communicator. She would discover later that, in the same instant as Sirin had left, a similar portal had whisked Sarah Livesy away from PRT's analysis center in Brockton Bay.

"All teams, the Simugh has been repelled," she announced. "Move to search and rescue protocols. Well done."

A rippling cheer bounced back through the circuit, though Alexandria also picked up more than a few relieved or shocked sighs, credit to her Thinker power. Flicking off the communicator, Alexandria turned to look at Keith and David, both of whom were looking around the devastated city with tired expressions on their faces.

"Well then, I suppose it's time for cleanup. We'll discuss anything that stood out later. Costa-Brown will be expecting to see you at the debriefing."

Both men nodded wordlessly before taking off into the air, each splitting off to focus on different sections of Madison. Alexandria watched them go for a few seconds before shooting off into the sky as well, heading towards the PRT command center established for this particular Endbringer battle.

As she did, she saw a flash of golden light resolve itself above the city into the form of Scion.

And now he shows up, she thought sardonically, as she saw the Warrior cast around as if in confusion. Humanity's greatest enemy swept a hand through the air, and a wave of shimmering firefly sparks scattered across the city. They sank into the bodies of the injured, and hundreds who might have died in the hands of desperate medics suddenly found their lives saved.

As outcomes went for a Scion appearance, Alexandria thought, they could have done much worse. The thought barely had time to cross her mind before the golden form vanished in a blur, heading west. Maybe there was a cat that way who needed saving.

The command post was swelling rapidly ahead of her, and she turned her thoughts away from the enemy to the oncoming storm of coordination that was about to be required. For now, they'd grasped victory.

Now they had to rebuild.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A/N: We're alive! Surprise! Finally free of Covid (god I hate being sick), and want to thank Snowfire for all of their help with the chapter. It probably would've taken much longer to get out. They are a treasure.

 

[Primeknight]

Damn she didn't make the moon fall... what a shame, that would've been fun.

Did our Queen connect to the worms or the cocoon? because both are bad.

 

[xcv45]

Simulation 16635645332 successful. Initiate host containment structure.

Her next breath was hissed in through clenched teeth as lines of fire seemed to erupt all across her body. Then the pain lashed inwards, digging into her flesh in strange, twisting motions. She tore at her clothes, crying out in agony.

Click to shrink...

Leave it to shards to be HALPING here . That was an alarmingly quick response though. Maybe its because Shard-san especializes in analysis (what was the name of Lisa's shard again? Don't remember)? Implementing those measures sounded pretty painful for Lisa.

That said, the Shards taking a look or otherwise playing around with honkai energy like that is gonna have consequences for Lisa and the others (right now or later).

Damn she didn't make the moon fall... what a shame, that would've been fun.

Click to shrink...

Even Six-Core Sirin didn't pull anything like that. Also WTF would she do that, that'd just make everything worse.

 

[Primeknight]

Even Six-Core Sirin didn't pull anything like that. Also WTF would she do that, that'd just make everything worse.

Click to shrink...

Hey, everything in worm is the worst! It wouldn't make it any more worst even if the moon fall you know!? don't forget that there's still WARD which is worst than WORM so moon falling will not really make it any more worst than what it would become after GM.

 

[Best_Human_Evil]

"Alright." Miracle Star sank a suddenly shimmering hand into the wing next to her. There was a terrible, creaking crack and then her hand came out with a piece of Simurgh wing-bone in hand. She nodded once to the Triumvirate, and then dropped into a portal right below her feet, leaving all three surprised.

Click to shrink...

I wonder what our Queen will do with this, use it as a basis for creating a Honkai Beast or a pseudo Divine Key? Or some other crazy thing?
I can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[QroGrotor]

As she'd returned into the living room of their house with Sarah in tow, Sirin felt numb. The portal closed behind her with a ripple, and Sarah stumbled forward slightly, blinking owlishly. Sirin ignored her sister, drifting aimlessly forwards until she sank into the soft cushions of the couch. She stared blankly ahead for a long moment, before looking down to see what she was holding.

There, in bloodstained fingers, she held a handful of long, long feathers of pure white, taken from the Simurgh's severed wing. And…something else, something hard at the center of her fist. She had to fight to loosen her grip, letting the feathers fall to the floor as she raised her hands up to her face.

Resting in her hand was an angular shard of bone the same shade of white as the feathers around her feet. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten it. But it had the same feel as the feathers, something taken from the monster who'd tried to kill her. And who had killed so many others.

The streaks of crimson dried onto her palms and fingertips spoke of only a small fraction of those deaths. And she could feel more blood smeared across her cheek from where she'd wiped sweat away sometime earlier.

It made her shudder, and she clenched her fists, feeling the drying blood break apart to flake off in tiny flecks of red as she did. Then Sarah appeared, carrying a damp cloth from the kitchen. She reached out carefully with the cloth and started to dab at the side of Sirin's face, cleaning away the blood and grime with gentle motions.

Sirin leaned into her friend's touch, closing her eyes as Sarah worked. She could hear the soft breaths of her friend as she cleaned her face, the rustle of the feathers shifting beneath her feet. She could smell the metallic scent of blood mixed together with the floral scent of Sarah's shampoo. And yet she didn't know how to feel at all.

After she'd finished cleaning her face, Sarah guided Sirin upstairs to the bathroom. The purple-haired girl followed in a daze as her friend helped her wash, scrubbing away all traces of the woman's blood they could find. She'd have to clean the dress, but that…that could be for later. Then she led Sirin to their room and set her down on the bed. Sarah sat down next to her, leaning against Sirin in a way that gave just as much support as it took.

They sat there quietly for a long while, the younger girl lost somewhere far away in the depths of her mind. Finally, though, she began to relax, leaning against Sarah as enough of her senses returned to feel the warmth of her friend seeping into her side. Her breathing slowed, evening out as she focused on the simple act of breathing. The blood was gone now, and she felt better for it, though she could still feel her hands trembling slightly. Not because of the blood itself, she'd seen enough of that, but because she didn't know how to feel.

"Sarah?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Sirin opened her eyes again, looking at Sarah properly for the first time since she'd returned from Madison. Her friend was smiling softly, though there was something strange happening with her eyes. She reached out and took Sirin's hand, squeezing it gently.

"How are you feeling, Siri?" Sarah asked quietly.

"...I don't know." Sirin admitted after a long pause. "I'm...fine? I guess?" She shrugged helplessly. "I feel fine? Better, at least. But also...confused?"

""You fought an Endbringer. Most of the people who do that don't walk away. Of course you're going to feel conflicted. " Sarah nodded understandingly, squeezing Sirin's hand again. "I don't think anyone would be able to fight one of those bastards without feeling shaken afterwards, and you drove one away."

She smiled wryly. "You kicked Ziz's ass, Siri. You should be proud. Or feel nothing at all. No one's going to blame you if you just want to curl up into bed for a few days. Not after what you just did."

Sirin nodded mutely, letting her friend's words wash over her. Sarah's voice was soothing, and she found herself leaning harder against her friend as she listened to her talk. She felt calmer now, more grounded, more herself.

But there was something she had to get off of her chest.

"Sarah, we need to... talk about something. About how I came here," Sirin said slowly.

Sarah blinked, tilting her head curiously. "How you came here? What do you mean?"

Sirin bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. She'd been putting this conversation off for too long already. She needed to be honest. She wanted to be honest. And she could only hope that Sarah wouldn't be afraid of her. Taking a deep breath, Sirin steeled herself.

"I've killed people, Sarah. A lot of people. Horrible people, mostly. But still people," Sirin confessed quietly, unable to meet Sarah's eyes. "Before I came here. Before I met you. I killed them all."

There was a moment of silence, and then Sarah wrapped an arm around her. "Siri, whatever you've done, I know you had your reasons for it. They're the ones who caused your Trigger, right? Then they deserved it."

"They did deserve it." Sirin nodded slowly. Sarah squeezed her hand again. "But that doesn't change what I did. It doesn't make me any less responsible for killing all of them. Even if they deserved it."

Sirin swallowed hard, clenching her free hand into a fist. "Even if they deserved it," she repeated, her voice cracking slightly. "Because they did, Sarah. They all did. Every single last one of them. They hurt me. They tortured me. They violated me. Over and over and over again. Until I broke. Until God heard my screams."

Sirin gritted her teeth, fighting back the shaking as memories rose to the surface. Sarah tightened her grip on Sirin's hand, pulling her closer with the arm wrapped around her shoulders. She rested her head against Sirin's gently, and the purple-haired girl leaned into her touch gratefully, taking comfort from the quiet presence.

"I was so scared. So angry." Sirin whispered brokenly. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. She didn't want to cry, to be weak again like this. Never like this. And yet the tears kept coming, in time to the pulsing warmth of her friend's presence.

"I wanted them to suffer. I wanted them to die. To bleed. To burn. To scream as I ripped them apart. To beg for mercy as I crushed them under my heel." Sirin's voice grew louder with every word, her anger rising alongside it until it threatened to consume her completely.

Sarah held her tightly, refusing to let go. She pulled Sirin even closer, wrapping both arms around her protectively. She buried her face in Sirin's shoulder, whispering words of comfort into her ear. And Sirin clung to her friend desperately, holding tight to the warmth of her body, the sound of her heartbeat, the smell of her shampoo. Sarah was here. She was safe.

"It's okay, Siri. I'm here. You're safe. You're home." Sarah murmured softly. "No one can hurt you here."

Sirin nodded slowly, and something broke in the angry tension around her chest that had been there since returning from Madison. She let herself sink into Sarah's embrace, shaking as she fought to hold back more tears as she let go of everything else except for the two of them sitting together in this moment. In this place that was theirs alone. Where no one could ever hurt either of them ever again.

Eventually, Sirin found herself slumped limply against Sarah, resting her head against her friend's shoulder. She felt exhausted. Weary beyond belief. As if she'd just run a marathon. Or fought a giant naked woman with wings. Sirin snorted softly at the thought. She stayed there for a few minutes longer, simply enjoying the feeling of Sarah's warmth pressing against her own. After a while, Sarah shifted slightly, lifting her head up and glancing at Sirin questioningly.

"Feeling better now?" Sarah asked gently. "Or do you want to keep cuddling for a bit longer?"

"I feel a bit better now." Sirin smiled tiredly. "Thanks, Sarah."

"Good," Sarah replied, smiling. She released Sirin, and stretched lazily. "So what do you want to do now? Movie night? Video games? Ice cream? We could order pizza? Or Chinese food? Or Indian? Whatever you want, really."

Sirin laughed lightly. "Actually, I kind of want to sleep right now. Today's been...really exhausting."

"If you want to sleep, then you should definitely rest up. I'm kind of worn out myself," she admitted sheepishly. "Figuring out things about giant flying naked women with wings is surprisingly tiring. Who knew?"

Sirin giggled. "Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate it."

Sarah grinned. "Anytime. Now come on, let's get you tucked into bed."

Sirin let Sarah help her out of her dress , feeling slightly embarrassed by the whole affair. Sarah tucked her into bed gently, and Sirin blushed when Sarah kissed her on the forehead lightly before turning off the lights.

"Sleep well, Siri." Sarah whispered softly as she closed the door behind her.

Sirin lay there quietly, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't bother listening, perfectly aware of Sarah moving downstairs and towards the front door. Sirin felt Sarah unlock the front door and step outside into the cool night air before closing the door behind her quietly. Sirin rolled over onto her side, curling up into a ball underneath the covers.

She closed her eyes slowly, letting herself drift off into slumber.

---

Sirin wasn't sure how long she slept, only that when she woke the sun was shining bright past the curtains. She yawned widely, stretching lazily as she sat up in bed, the entire room illuminated in the warm glow of dappled sunlight. Glancing around blearily, she started to put things together in her head. It had been…early evening when she'd fallen asleep, she thought? By the angle of the sunlight it should be at least mid-morning, so Sarah should be back from wherever she'd left for last night. The same should be true for Alan as well.

Sirin frowned down at herself as she realized that she'd fallen asleep wearing her Miracle Star costume. It had gotten all creased on top of the smell of dust, blood and disaster. The combination made the need for a proper cleaning a forgone conclusion. And – she checked herself – that was a situation shared by her own body. A shower, definitely.

She stripped off the dress and walked through to the bathroom, stopping to check herself in the mirror. Sirin winced slightly as she caught sight of the dark circles under her eyes, accompanied by her messy hair. She looked tired and worn out, though her skin was curiously absent of any cuts. That could wait though, for now she just wanted to get clean.

With that in mind, Sirin quickly stripped out of the rest of her clothes before stepping into the shower stall. She turned the water on, pushing the showerhead to one side to avoid the spray of cold water and turned the water up until it was just shy of scalding hot. Then she turned it back and let the heat soak into her muscles as she began washing herself.

Sirin started with her hair, working her fingers through the tangled strands as she worked in shampoo. Next came the rest of her body, using soap liberally to ensure that every inch of her skin was thoroughly cleaned. A full rinse followed, before another round of shampoo and a smooth conditioner that Sarah had said she should use. When she finally finished, Sirin exhaled deeply as she leaned back against the wall, letting the hot water cascade down her skin as she stood there with her eyes closed..

The sensation of hot water pouring down upon her was wonderful, washing away any remaining aches. She remained there for several minutes, simply basking in the warmth of the steam rising from the shower stall. Eventually though, Sirin reluctantly opened her eyes and stepped out of the shower. She wrung her hair out, then grabbed a towel off the rack beside the sink and began drying herself off. Normally she'd move quickly, but today…today she took her time with the wonderfully soft towels. Once she was sufficiently dry, Sirin wrapped the towel around herself loosely before heading back to her bedroom.

Upon entering her room, Sirin immediately noticed something strange about herself. One of her previously purple locks of hair had turned white.

"What the hell…" the girl murmured.

Sirin approached the mirror at her dresser carefully, peering closely at her reflection. Sure enough, there was a single strand of pure white running through her otherwise purple locks. Sirin touched it gingerly, running her fingers along the length of it. She frowned slightly as she examined herself critically in the mirror.

Was it because of Simurgh, she wondered. 'Because she'd taken some of the Endbringer's feathers? An infection of some kind? She felt fine, though. Sirin spent another minute examining herself intently before deciding that there was nothing physically wrong with herself. Other than that single white hair lock, which seemed completely normal aside from being a completely different color than the rest of Sirin's purple hair.

"I'll ask Sarah about it later," Sirin told herself. She sat down at the dresser and took a brush to the tangled mess of her hair, luxuriating in the feeling of the bristles running across her scalp. It took her more than five minutes to completely tease out any tangles, which had the added benefit of confirming that it truly was only one lock of hair that had turned white.

That finished, she stood and went over to her closet. Pulling some underwear from a drawer, Sirin slipped them on underneath the towel before removing the latter entirely. She selected a pair of jeans and a simple white T-shirt that was slightly too big for her. The girl still couldn't feel Sarah or Alan anywhere near, meaning they'd left somewhere in the morning, probably for work. Perhaps he'd taken Sarah with him to the shelter?

Sirin dressed quickly, finishing dressing with a pair of fluffy black socks with purple paws on the bottom before leaving her room. She headed downstairs, with food in mind. Upon rummaging through the refrigerator, she settled on a cheese sandwich that vanished down her throat in several swift bites. She considered that for a moment, before taking an apple from the fruit bowl and biting into it hungrily. She set her plate next to the sink like Alan had asked them to, then wandered off through the house, chewing at her apple.

She ended up in Alan's study, browsing through his bookshelves. She picked up titles randomly, skimming through pages without really paying much attention to their contents. Finishing eating the apple, she tossed it casually into the garbage bin, making sure to aim correctly, before turning back to the shelves. She found her eyes drawn to one particular book, titled 'The Art of War'. She flipped through its pages curiously, reading snippets here and there as she wandered over to Alan's study chair to sit.

Sirin spent most of the next hour flipping through various books that Alan had in his study. She found herself particularly enjoying reading about military strategy and tactics, finding herself engrossed completely in the subject matter. When she finally did sit back with a satisfied sigh, stretching languidly as she glanced at the clock hanging above the fireplace mantelpiece, which showed half past noon. Sirin frowned slightly as she realized that neither Alan nor Sarah had returned yet.

Sirin considered calling Alan for a moment before discarding the option. There were plenty of reasons why either of them might not answer, and she preferred waiting instead of disturbing them unnecessarily. Instead, Sirin stood up and stretched, thinking about what to do next. Her Miracle Star costume needed cleaning, or perhaps an update. Either way, Sirin wanted to fix it up.

She headed back to her room, collecting the Miracle Star costume and dumping it unceremoniously onto the bed before heading over to the dresser drawer containing her sewing supplies. Sirin removed everything necessary before returning to sit cross-legged on the floor next to her bed, setting the sewing kit down beside her as she laid the Miracle Star costume carefully out across the carpet. She examined it critically, then sighed regretfully.

The only thing she could do with this dress was fix it. It had taken too much damage in her fight with the Simurgh, trying to update it fully as she wanted to would just destroy it. That was…sad. She'd enjoyed making the costume, and wearing it, and now it was stuck. Forcing a smile, she dug into the sewing kit for a handful of sketches. She'd need them later. For now, fix what she had.

Sewing up the various rips and cuts on the dress took over an hour, doing her best to hide any new seams with the proper choice of threads. Here and there she had to just cut away sections of the costume entirely, most notably the cape. She decided that she could make a separate one for the future given how utterly shredded the bottom third of the garment had become during her fight. She couldn't really place when that had happened, but it certainly had.

But she wasn't done with her current costume yet. Going back to her dresser, she pulled out sheets of padding and several large sections of material matching the current dress. She'd have to make an entirely new one later, but for now…for now this could work. Turning the mostly repaired costume inside out took a little while, but once that was done she was able to start sewing the new padding into sections of the costume. She took the remains of her cape and used it to draw out a new one on the material she'd fetched, then drew a slightly smaller copy into the padding.

Sirin could already tell that she'd need new materials to make a dress that could properly survive encounters like yesterday, but this was the best she could do for now. So she worked steadily, concentrating intently upon completing each task efficiently whilst maintaining the high standards she'd set for herself.

It took most of another hour for her to finish with that, but she was very happy with the result; a thickly padded cape that should be easy to attach or detach from the rest of her costume. She placed it down next to it with a satisfied smile, then moved on to the last part of her plans for today. She'd meant to do more, but the state of her old costume meant it would have to wait.

A spare bit of dark cloth, some freshly cut padding and a few pieces of elastic were combined together into a simple black hairband. That done, she reached up to her bedside table, where the trophies she'd taken from the Simurgh were sitting. Sarah must have brought them up for her. She took two of the feathers in her hands and, for a moment, rainbow light shimmered. Then she drove sharpened points of bone on the feathers into two slightly thicker sections of the hairband. Another shimmer of light flattened the points to lay flush with the hairband, and several more moments proved necessary to make the ornaments fast to her new accessory.

Sirin smiled happily as she held it up, checking the angle of the feathers to make sure she'd gotten it right. She had. She hoped no one would mind, but after all the Simurgh had made her suffer through, she felt like this was only fair. She picked up the Miracle Star costume and placed it back onto her bed to rest, then checked the clock. Quarter past three and she was still alone. Now she was starting to grow worried.

She pushed out with her senses, expanding them quickly until the entire city was contained within her perception. Sirin scanned across all of Brockton Bay, searching steadily until she located Alan's form among countless others. He was sitting on a bed in a large building, talking to a girl in a hood that Sirin recognised as Amy Dallon. It wasn't hard, even if the older girl almost never talked. That was mostly Amy's sister's forte.

Sirin relaxed slightly as there could be a number of reasons for him to be at the hospital, especially with the shelter still rebuilding. Perhaps he wanted to ask the parahuman healer to visit the rebuilding shelter to help with someone getting sick or something along those lines.

Sirin focused on Sarah next, and found her much faster, almost as if drawn to her. She was…heading straight back for their house, with some bags in hand.

Huh.

Sirin wondered what exactly Sarah had bought that she was coming back so late, before checking back on Alan again, finding him still in front of Amy Dallon who was holding his hand, probably talking about something. A feeling of frustration that she couldn't hear what was being discussed washed over the girl, and she made a mental note to learn how to read lips. It could certainly prove useful in situations like these!

Then she turned her attention back to Sarah, who had just arrived in the front of the house, shifting the bags before heading straight for the front entrance. Sirin noted idly that she appeared slightly nervous, fidgeting constantly while walking towards the front door.

Once she entered the house, Sirin felt Sarah pause briefly before heading straight for the kitchen. She heard cupboards opening and closing, followed by sounds of plates clinking together. Sirin listened curiously as Sarah continued preparing whatever she was planning to make for dinner. A part of Sirin wondered if Sarah thought she'd still be asleep. Maybe Sarah planned to wake Sirin up once everything was ready.

Sirin considered heading downstairs to greet Sarah, but ultimately decided against it. She didn't want to disturb her cooking. Instead, Sirin turned to making plans for her next Miracle Star costume. Her experience at Madison had given her a surprising number of ideas, though she wasn't quite sure how she was going to apply some of them.

She was still working on several, increasingly complex sketches when Sarah called up the stairs to let her know that dinner was ready. She placed her pencil and sketch paper to one side then picked up one of the finished sheets. Maybe she could talk with Sarah about some of her ideas over dinner?

She didn't bother going down the stairs, though, simply opening a portal by her side and stepping through to emerge at the kitchen. Sarah didn't appear surprised for even a moment.

"Hey Sirin," Sarah greeted her friend. She smiled as she placed a plate full of spaghetti covered in a red sauce onto the dining table. "How're you feeling?"

"Better. Much better," Sirin replied. She tried not to look worried, but continued on. "Thank you for... yesterday. For taking care of me."

"That's okay. I'm just glad that you're feeling alright now. Come on, let's eat!" Sarah gestured towards the chair opposite her own seat.

Sirin obediently sat down and waited patiently as Sarah served both of them from the large dish of sauce-covered pasta, adding several slices of garlic bread to each. Two glasses of water were joined by two of orange juice before Sarah sat down across Sirin. Then she just picked up a fork and began to eat. Sirin followed suit, and both girls ate quietly for several moments before Sarah broke the silence.

"So..." She began hesitantly. "Are you okay? Really?"

Sirin glanced up at Sarah briefly before nodding slightly as she swallowed a mouthful of pasta.

"I think so." Sirin hesitated briefly before continuing. "But thank you. And I'm..sorry that you had to take care of me like that."

"You would've done the same for me, Siri," she said confidently. But she slumped a little after saying so, before sighing heavily as she set her fork down on the plate. "But honesty? It was kinda nice having you rely on me for once instead of always helping others out."

Sirin blinked in surprise at Sarah's comment before laughing lightly. A wry smile formed on Sarah's lips as she resumed eating the spaghetti dish once more. They finished eating quickly afterwards. Neither girl spoke further during the meal.. Once finished, Sarah collected their empty plates together before placing them into a sink alongside the dirty pots and utensils she'd used. Sirin packed up the leftovers, storing remaining portions of paste inside the fridge alongside freshly made garlic bread slices covered in plastic wrap.

Suspiciously enough, Sarah took a few moments with what seemed to be simple actions of cleaning the dishes, putting them away properly, and throwing away trash, but Sirin didn't comment, assuming Sarah simply wanted to be thorough.

"So," Sirin said once everything was taken care of. She was leaning against the counter top as she crossed arms beneath chest, raising an eyebrow questioningly as Sarah dried her hands on a towel hanging nearby. "Where did you go today? Alan's been at the hospital for a while too."

Sarah froze momentarily before shrugging nonchalantly. "Just went shopping," she replied. She glanced over her shoulder towards Sirin curiously. "Why do you ask?"

Sirin narrowed her eyes suspiciously, sensing something was off with Sarah's behavior. And not just that. Now that she was up close, even Sarah's presence felt somehow different. Not as if she was a different person, but something. Was Sarah's skin paler than it had been before? Sirin couldn't put her finger on it.

"Alan's been gone for hours," Sirin pointed out instead. "I got bored and missed you guys."

Sarah nodded understandingly as she hung the towel back onto the hook nearby afterwards. "Well," Sarah began slowly. "Alan had to talk to Amy about something important apparently.

He said he'll be back soon though," she added reassuringly. Sirin frowned slightly as she processed information presented before responding finally.

"Okay..." Sirin agreed after a brief pause. She wasn't entirely convinced by Sarah's explanation, but could see how Alan might need help from New Wave's healer regarding shelter matters rather than any personal reasons.

She considered asking more questions, but decided against it. She didn't want to ruin the mood, and she could always ask again later. Instead, she pushed herself back from the counter and smiled at Sarah.

"I updated the costume, by the way," she said. It wasn't hard to sound excited about it. "Wanna see?"

Sarah cocked her head to one side before nodding firmly. "I'd like that."

Sirin took a step to the side, gesturing for Sarah to go ahead first, allowing the blonde to pass by her as she headed for the staircase. She'd trust her friend and maybe-sister for now, but she'd also make sure to watch over her just in case. Because something had very clearly changed.

And for a moment as she turned to follow Sarah upstairs, she saw pink and purple lines pulse across the back of Sarah's neck, leading down below her sweater. The lines vanished between eyeblinks, but Sirin took careful note of their presence.

Something in the back of her mind told her that they were important.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A/N: All of my thanks to Snowfire, as usual, for helping beta-read and fix mistakes! It would've probably taken much longer without their help!

 

[DareusX]

Oof, new trauma incoming. Being Sirin is suffering

 

[BanzEye]

Welp, someone is either going to horribly die or become the first Valkyrie of Bet. I give it 50/50 odds.

 

[Rimu]

Hopefully Sarah is going to become a Herrscher here too

Actually did she get infected during the fight with Ziz if so a lot of people are about to become zombies including the Triumvirate and I am curious how it will interact with Shards especially dead Shards

 

[xcv45]

I love how Sirin backstory makes perfect and complete sense to Worm people.

 

[Ereg]

So, Sarah got Honkai infection? Well, we can only hope that she turns into Herrscher instead of the regular zombie or the corpse.
Also, why did Sirin's hair started changing colours?

 

[Best_Human_Evil]

Also, why did Sirin's hair started changing colours?

Click to shrink...

I believe that her body is slowly changing to her HoV appearance (Kiana) I'm not sure of the details but it seems that in a parallel world the older Sirin had the HoV appearance even without changing her body.
Or is she getting so stressed that she got some gray hair early in life hahaha

 

[xcv45]

The white hair is honestly kinda weird, since she didn't have that even going full 6 core Herrscher. The white hair only came about from being reincarnated as K423, a Kiana clone with the Kaslana white hair.

Unless she's a Kiana, she always has purple hair even in GGZ (maybe excepting that one time Retrospective Sirin merged with Retrospective Kiana to awaken Kiana as a Herrscher and become the Doom Tuna).

The only think that comes to mind is how the Sirin from the Magical Girl BW became white haired for a bit for thanks to her magic------
...wait, is that's what happening? Does this Sirin have magic in addition to being a Herrscher of the Void?

 

[Mega1987]

Please let it be like the stress of everything during the ziz fight took a toll on her?

We're here to see Sirin, not K-423/kiana/reborn sirin adventure.

 

[AngryMartian]

Please let it be like the stress of everything during the ziz fight took a toll on her?

We're here to see Sirin, not K-423/kiana/reborn sirin adventure.

Click to shrink...

He made a statement in the spacebattles thread. The white hair is the result of stress and 100% Tuna Free.

Spoiler: "QroGotor on Spacebattles"

Synnero got it right, MG!Sirin showed what realistically would be Marie Antoinette Syndrome, but it's magical and all. Here, it is the result of both stress/relieving trauma that overlapped with her awakening as a Herrscher. I don't want to tease people with Tunality when she's not currently in the plans. I feel like it'd be a dick move.

 

[QroGrotor]

"People will absolutely take it the wrong way," Sarah protested, glaring at the head accessory that Sirin had made. "You're not even pretending to be subtle about it, either."

"Subtlety is for cowards," Sirin replied cheekily. She gave the hairband a quick spin between her fingers. "Besides, I have an excellent reason for choosing to incorporate the feathers."

Sarah raised an eyebrow skeptically, to which Sirin rolled her eyes, smiling. "I am Miracle Star, and she is the Simurgh," Sirin explained patiently. "I won against her, I get to do what I want with what's left."

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that," Sarah muttered under her breath. "It's...a unique design though. Very distinctive."

Sirin perked up immediately, grinning proudly at her friend. "That's the point! An excellent reminder that I shouldn't be messed with!"

"Or they'll think you're going nuts," Sarah countered wryly. "The Simurgh isn't someone you want to be associated with, Sirin."

Sirin tilted her head slightly to one side considering the statement. Then she shook her head.

"I'm not associating myself with her," she said slowly, actively willing Sarah to understand her point. "I'm associating myself with what happened at Madison. The Simurgh is powerful and scary, and I beat her. Which means I'm powerful and scary. It makes perfect sense."

"Look..." Sarah trailed off. She cleared her throat nervously. "Let me put this bluntly, Sirin. Wearing the Simurgh's feathers on your head? It will make people think that you're going crazy. That you're going to end up like her."

Sirin blinked in surprise once Sarah had finished speaking before turning her attention back towards her head accessory. It had been a spur of the moment thing, really. She'd had a number of ideas involving her costume and the Simurgh feathers, but had rejected every one until the present design had come together. It made sense to her. A sign of her victory. A declaration of her power. Why would others think that was weird?

"Well, it's too late now," Sirin said, coming to the decision. She stuck the hairband on top of her head before turning to the mirror, tilting her head back and forth to make sure it was properly secured.

Sarah sighed heavily in resignation as she watched Sirin, shaking her head. At this point, she knew how stubborn the younger girl could be once she'd set her mind on something. Just her opinion probably wouldn't be enough to change her mind, so…

"Come on," The blonde said. She pushed herself up from the comfortable mattress and headed for the bedroom door. "We need a second opinion."

"A what? From who?" Sirin asked curiously. But she followed Sarah down the stairs to the front door, where the older girl started to pull on her shoes and coat.

"The only person we know that has actual modeling experience," Sarah explained. She pulled out her phone and typed something. "If she's not busy, we're going to go meet Victoria."

Sirin hummed thoughtfully at Sarah's proposal, debating whether or not it was worth going through such lengths to gather a second opinion.

"Don't worry," Sarah said encouragingly. She must have noticed Sirin's hesitation. "I'm sure that she'll be more than happy to help us out."

"..okay." Sirin agreed. She started putting on her shoes.

"Oh, and no portals unless there's an emergency. We're going to go to their house like normal people and enjoy the crispy, fresh-ish air of the city. If that's fine with you?" Sarah added wryly, winking playfully at Sirin as she did so.

Sirin huffed loudly before crossing her arms beneath her chest. "I'll forgive your attempt at calling me lazy. This time," she conceded. She was trying for regal, but really just sounded like the child she was. "But only because I was going to suggest it myself."

Sarah rolled her eyes at Sirin's dramatics, before opening the door for her friend and following her out onto the street. She took a moment to make sure it was locked, and then the pair set out to one of the nearby bus stops. Sarah would have loved to walk the distance, but Brockon was just too big for that. Fortunately it wasn't a particularly difficult trip, even with them taking a few detours to buy sweets, some drinks and, at Sirin's insistence, a cone of strawberry ice cream.

However, despite the purple-haired girl's enjoyment of her cold treat, she couldn't stop herself from sneaking glances at Sarah. The lines she'd seen on her friend's back were similar to the ones other children in the Tower had, but they'd never disappeared like that. Why was that happening to her friend? Was she really okay?

She mulled over the questions as they sat together on the bus to the Dallon's neighborhood, one of upmarket homes, lawns and ever-present white picket fences. And she lingered behind slightly after they arrived, as her…best friend? walked over to where Victoria was waiting for them. The older blonde smiled at the two, seemingly not noticing the strange expression on Sirin's face.

"Hey Sarah! Sirin!" The heroine called cheerfully. She waved enthusiastically at her friends, jogging the last bit of sidewalk to the bus stop, and wrapping one arm around Sarah in a hug as soon as she reached her. "Took you long enough, let's get inside. It's fucking freezing out here."

Sarah shivered as a strong gust of winter wind blew down the street, and Sirin moved quickly to her side, trying not to show how concerned she was.

"Yes, let's," Sarah sighed. She sounded very tired. Victoria didn't notice it, though, simply ruffling Sirin's hair playfully as a greeting and quickly pulling away before her hand was slapped, before half-leading and half-dragging them up the street to the Dallon family home.

"Sorry for being late," Sarah added, as they approached the property. She sounded sheepish and slightly out of breath. "We were delayed."

Victoria snorted in amusement as she led Sarah and Sirin up the garden path to the front door. Only once they were all inside, with the door closed, did she reply. "Amy's at the hospital, so we'll just have to wait until she gets back if you want a third opinion."

"We brought ice cream," Sirin chirped helpfully.

"Good! I love ice cream," Victoria said enthusiastically. "We can use it as a bribe to get Amy to hurry up."

Sirin nodded eagerly. She could easily open a portal to the hospital and drag Amy back home if need be, but if she could slack off a bit and indulge in ice-cream, having the other girl walk back was perfectly fine with her.

"Parents won't be back for a few hours, so…" Victoria tailed off, leading them into the living room. They'd been here often enough to know the way, and both girls made sure that they'd taken off their shoes before following. On arrival, they found Vicky stretched out on one of the sofas, with a fluffy blanket wrapped around her.

"What can I do for you two?" she asked. "We haven't talked since Madison, and I hope you're both alright. Sarah said you wanted to ask me something?"

Sarah smiled at Victoria's question before turning to Sirin, watching expectantly. Sirin rolled her eyes, plopping down on the sofa next to her other friend.

"I'd like an opinion," she said eventually. After Sarah had been so against the idea, she found herself a bit nervous now. Was it really a good plan?

"Sure!" Victoria said. The older girl sat up on the sofa, crossing her legs to give Sirin some more space. Then she leaned forward, clearly curious. "About what?"

Sirin reached into her bag, and a portal formed inside of it as she realized that she'd forgotten to bring her hairband. She made a play of rooting around inside of it, then pulled the feather-adorned accessory through to reveal it to Victoria. Then she slipped it on, straightening her back, chin held high. And if her proud smile was a little uncertain, who could've said.

"So…any thoughts?" Sirin demanded after a long moment of silence.

"..." Victoria blinked several times, processing what she was seeing. "So that's going to be part of your costume now?"

"Yes!" Sirin confirmed cheerfully, puffing her chest out proudly as she said so. "It's a statement! Proof of my victory over the Simurgh."

"Right." Victoria glanced at Sarah briefly who simply shrugged helplessly. Noting that, the older blonde returned her attention to Sirin, the younger girl still sitting confidently in front of her.

"What's your opinion?" Sirin repeated patiently.

"It looks," Victoria mused, trying to figure out how to describe what she was looking at diplomatically. A moment later, Sarah pinched two fingers around her nose as the older heroine broke out into a broad smile.

"You know what?" Victoria said. She reached over to Sirin, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders.. "I think it fits you quite nicely. Especially considering that you're a bit... You know, eccentric?"

"Eccentric?" Sirin repeated, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "I'll take that as a compliment." She decided.

"You should!" Victoria said, ruffling Sirin's hair fondly. She pulled back just as her target scowled at her, smiling impishly in a way that the purple-haired girl knew she couldn't entirely resist. She sighed, accepting the inevitable and smiling back hesitantly.

"And you've definitely got model potential," Victoria added approvingly, completely oblivious to the way Sarah's eye twitched briefly at those words. "Still young, now. But you'll turn heads in a few years, I bet."

"Eugh. You like vanilla ice cream?" Sirin replied, deliberately shifting the subject. She did enjoy spending time with Victoria and Sarah too, but…romance weirded her out.

"Sure." Victoria said. She ruffled the girl's hair again, as if trying to distract her. Then she flitted away to find bowls.

Sirin, meanwhile, shook her head a few times to settle her hair before reaching into another portal. They'd gotten ice cream for Vicky and Amy, but she'd put it in the freezer back home to stop it from defrosting. Bending of the rules Sarah had given, yes, maybe. But her friend had agreed with the idea, which meant it had to be okay. A short minute later, each of the three had a bowl of delicious, frozen dessert in front of them.

"So, is there anything else I can help you with?" Victoria asked between bites of ice cream. "I'll have to go pick up Amy later, but she didn't even reply when I told her we had ice cream and she should come home to share. So she'll probably be busy at the hospital for another few hours."

"Don't worry about it," Sarah said, savoring her own ice cream with slow bites. "We just wanted to get some other opinions on Sirin's new costume."

Sirin nodded along, eating steadily whilst occasionally glancing at Sarah. The lines she'd on her friend's neck before were nowhere to be seen, leaving her perplexed. Was she seeing things? Sarah did feel somehow... heavier when moving through space, as if she was more 'real' than everything else. But aside from that, everything seemed normal.

"Good!" Victoria said around another spoonful. The loud word brought Sirin's attention back to her. "Because I have plans!"

"Plans?" Sarah asked curiously. "What kind of plans?"

Victoria smiled, taking a moment to finish off the remains of her ice cream. "I'm going on a patrol with mom later today, and I'd love to have you tagging along. I mean, if you're interested, I'd love to have some company. Mom won't mind, I think she likes you two."

"Eh, I can't exactly fly, and jogging down the street at night doesn't seem like a good idea," Sarah noted. "Sirin could probably use the visibility from going out with you, though."

Sirin considered this for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay." she said. She laid down her bowl and stretched lazily. "Though I'll need to get changed."

"Awesome! I'm going to go change and call mom. Be right back!" Victoria said cheerfully. She picked up her empty bowl and rushed out of the room, leaving the other two girls alone.

"You know," Sarah noted. "She really held herself back from interrogating you about the Simurgh fight."

"She did." Sirin agreed. Her face fell. "Why?"

"Because she thinks she's your friend." Came the instant reply. Sarah wiggled a hand. "She's jealous of not being allowed to go herself, really wants to know the details, but she also doesn't want to crowd you over it. Her mom might've told her not to ask, too."

"I see."

Sarah stared at Sirin for a few seconds before sighing heavily. "Just don't give too many details unless you want to spend the entire patrol being interrogated. You know how curious she is. And you should go get into your costume."

"Will you be okay here?" Sirin asked. "Or would you like to come back whilst I change?"

"I'll be fine." The blonde smiled at her. "Might talk with Amy if she comes back with her mom, then head home.

Sirin nodded, then opened a portal beneath her feet to fall through it. A few seconds later the portal shifted to the vertical and Sirin stepped through, dressed in her Miracle Star costume, She was carefully adjusting the feathers on her headband.

Sarah raised an eyebrow in surprise at the speed at which Sirin had changed into her costume. "I'm just warning you, PHO will definitely start rumors." Sirin paused as she considered this possibility before shaking her head.

"It'll be fine," she declared.

Sarah shrugged. "Up to you."

Victoria returned downstairs a few minutes later, dressed in her own costume and holding her cell phone. She smiled brightly at Sirin's eagerness. "So, Mom's on her way home and she already picked up Amy. Apparently, they were done with today's work early and everything was pretty slow. Which means we've got the whole night free."

"The whole night for patrolling?" Sarah asked doubtfully. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Well," Victoria mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Mom wanted to earlier this week, but I was busy, and we're doing it now because her schedule's kinda full tomorrow."

"Busy? With what?" Sirin asked curiously, glancing curiously at the older girl.

"Date with Dean," Victoria admitted, blushing.

Sirin rolled her eyes at Victoria's words but didn't comment further. Sarah looked like she really wanted to say something, but managed to hold herself back and simply gave the other blonde a thumbs up.

"Anyway!" Victoria said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get ready to greet my mom, she should be here soon."

Sure enough, a few minutes later they heard a car pull into the Dallon's drive. Sirin had been tracking her ever since Victoria had told her the plan, but she was still curious. Going to the window, she saw a sleek white car coming to a halt in front of the garage door. The driver's side door swung open moments after the vehicle stopped, and Carol Dallon stepped out in a crisp gray suit. The passenger side door didn't open for several seconds more, and she frowned slightly as she picked out a tired redness at the edge of Amy's eyes.

She didn't get much time to consider it, though. The door banged open and Victoria float-dashed over to her sister. Carol barked a warning at her older daughter, something about not flying so much, but it didn't stop Vicky from crossing the distance and wrap Amy up in a hug. The younger brunette stumbled for a moment as her sister's grip took hold, then hugged back. Sirin kept track of the two as she and Sarah followed Vicky to the door, part of her wondering why Sarah had such an infuriatingly smug smile on her lips.

"Sarah, Sirin," Carol greeted the two soberly. "I'm glad to see you girls alright again. Especially after, well, everything."

The two girls nodded, but neither spoke. Neither really wanted to. Carol sighed softly. "I honestly expected you to rest for a few more days." It wasn't quite a question.

"I've rested enough already," Sirin replied, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "And I'd rather do something useful than sit around and twiddle my thumbs."

Carol nodded understandingly. "Well, if you feel up to it, you're welcome to join us on patrol. Just make sure to listen to instructions carefully and follow them closely," she advised seriously before turning towards Sarah once more. "Vicky said you didn't plan on joining us?"

"Oh no, I'm not," Sarah agreed readily enough. The grin on her face was gone, but Sirin could tell that her friend was trying not to stare at Amy. "Might talk with Amy a bit, if she'd be okay with that. Then go home and wait for Alan."

"Given everything, that seems wise." Carol nodded curtly before glancing towards Victoria. The younger heroine seemed like she was almost vibrating on the spot with excitement, and Carol smiled. The expression looked rather odd on her face. "Please enjoy your time here, and give your father our best. Sirin should be back by a reasonable time."

"Okay," Sarah agreed. She glanced at Sirin, and her lips quirked smugly again as she winked at the purple-haired girl. "Be good," she whispered conspiratorially. Sirin rolled her eyes.

"Let's all come back inside for a moment, I need to change." she said. "Amy, will you be okay with Sarah until she goes home?"

"Yeah, sure," Amy sighed heavily as she trailed along behind her mother. Once inside she made for the kitchen, Sarah just behind her. The sparkle in the blonde's made Sirin wonder if maybe she should have told her to be good instead of the other way around

But it wasn't like she could do that now. "So... How do your patrols usually go?" Sirin asked curiously.

"Usually pretty boring," Victoria admitted, pouting a little. "Sometimes we stop robberies or gang fights. Saved some kids from burning buildings or cars a few times. Despite the reputation, nothing huge happens very often in the Bay."

"Really?" Sirin inquired dubiously. "Sarah told me that the city is infamous for its gang violence?"

"It is," Victoria admitted. "And there used to be even more, but the city's currently in a balance of sorts. No one is willing to make big moves, or everyone else will jump them," the older cape explained. "Most of what goes on are petty crimes and drug deals. Mom says that they're largely too busy fighting each other for territory and resources at levels we can't act on."

"Oh." Sirin murmured thoughtfully. She didn't know much about the criminal underworld, but what Victoria said sounded reasonable enough. "So what is it that we'll be doing, then?"

"Watching over people and responding to signs of criminal activity," Victoria replied, shrugging. "We mostly just fly around above the streets, listening for sounds of fighting or gunfire. We also cooperate with PRT sometimes, hero solidarity and all. Let's everyone know that there are heroes around if someone does decide to start trouble."

Sirin nodded slowly as she processed Victoria's words. "Sounds pretty simple."

Victoria grinned brightly at Sirin's remark. "It really is," she said, a little wistfully. "Although," she sighed, looking down at herself. "I really should've made pants a part of my regular outfit. It's cold today."

"Huh?" Sirin glanced up at Victoria curiously before following her gaze towards her lower body, noting how short her skirt was and how much her bare legs were exposed. "Oh. Yeah."

"Yeah." Victoria agreed. "You know, maybe I should-"

"Vicky, mom's going to tell you to come to put on some pants if you don't do it now," Amy said, poking her head through from the kitchen. There was a tired expression on her face as she spoke, cutting off Victoria mid sentence. "You'll probably get hypothermia otherwise."

Victoria considered that for a moment then drooped a little. "I'll be right back," she muttered. She rushed back up the stairs to her bedroom, presumably to get something warmer on her legs. Amy started to turn back towards the kitchen, then stopped to look at Sirin.

"You sure you'll be alright, too? Hypothermia is a bitch." There wasn't exactly sympathy in the mousy brunette's words, but it wasn't dismissive either.

"I'll be fine," Sirin replied after a moment. She looked down at the dress, much longer than Vicky's, and added. "I grew up somewhere much colder than here, so I'm used to it.

"If you say so," Amy said, taking a bite from a sandwich of some sort. She chewed it carefully, swallowed, and was about to start back into the kitchen when Sirin spoke.

"Are you alright?" she blurted, and Amy went still.

"I'm managing," Amy admitted softly, turning to face Sirin fully. "I just hate that the gangs waste so much of my time. There was a shootout downtown today, and I had to miss some of my work in the cancer ward to help patch all of the people who got hurt in it."

"Do you hate them?" Sirin asked. "The people, I mean."

"I hate the ones who make the others hurt," Amy sighed. It didn't feel quite true, but Sirin didn't know the girl well enough to be sure. "It just makes me so tired."

Then she stepped back into the kitchen. Sirin didn't follow her.

---

The patrol, as she had found out, wasn't particularly interesting. Despite Victoria's claims of flying above the streets, Carol had insisted that they spend some of the time walking down them, talking to people and generally being visible. There weren't any big events in town, so the three of them made a long circuit of a grid of streets. Only once did they see someone who needed help, and Victoria was quick to fly up and fetch the young woman's cat. Sirin smiled at that, the poor creature had been very fluffy.

Carol asked Sirin a few questions about the Simurgh fight, mostly checking if she felt any lingering effects from it. She didn't, and she said so. It wasn't that she didn't understand why Carol asked, but it still annoyed her a little. Alas, it wasn't the only annoyance, or even the largest one. It seemed like at every turn she could see a phone pointed her way, cameras focusing on her every move. Whenever they stopped to talk with people, Sirin found herself standing to one side, not sure about what she should do as Carol and Victoria did…hero things. A few people tried to talk with her, and she tried in return, but most of the time she felt unhappily certain that the other two heroes were shielding her.

She tried to ignore how that made her feel, but shortly after the sun had fully set she shook her head and turned to her fellow heroes.

"I think this is late enough for me. I'm going home."

Carol looked at her curiously. "Are you sure? We've only been patrolling for about two hours or so." she asked calmly. "Do you need something?"

"No," Sirin replied, shaking her head. "I think I'm just more tired than I thought. I should probably rest."

Carol stared at her intently for a few seconds before nodding in understanding. "Alright," she agreed. "Victoria and I will continue patrolling for another hour or two and then head home. Thank you for joining us."

Sirin nodded at the thanks, then flicked a hand to open a portal in front of her.

"Hey," Victoria said suddenly. The purple-haired girl turned to her, only to meet a light hug. "Feel better." she said simply.

Sirin gave her a small smile as she pulled back. "Thanks," she mumbled, before stepping through the portal.

She appeared back in the living room of Alan's home, and quickly scanned the area to see if Sarah was home. Her friend was in their bedroom, typing furiously away on her laptop. Sirin didn't bother opening another portal, deciding instead to play ghost as she flew up through the walls and floor to Sarah's room. The blonde glanced up at her briefly before returning attention to her laptop screen.

"How was it?" Sarah asked distractedly, continuing to type rapidly.

"Boring," Sirin replied, flopping down onto the bed next to Sarah. "And annoying," she added. "People were taking photos of me, but no one came up. Why?"

"That's fame for you," Sarah responded, smiling wryly as she leaned back into the chair she was sitting in, looking away from the laptop screen once more. "You're famous."

"Yeah... And I don't like it," Sirin mumbled as she rolled onto her stomach. "Felt like an animal in a zoo."

"Well," the blonde started, slightly pushing her laptop forwards. "How about you see the opinions of the people for yourself?" Sarah suggested, gesturing towards the laptop's screen where multiple tabs were open, all showing various sections of the PHO website.

"Uh..." Sirin mumbled hesitantly while slowly raising herself up onto her elbows, narrowing eyes as she looked at the various pages on the computer's browser window. "I don't know if I want to?"

"Oh come on," Sarah urged impatiently, leaning over to push Sirin up fully with one hand while using the other to pull the laptop closer to them. "Look at all these threads! Oh, a new one! 'Saw purple girl in Brockton Bay!'. Come on, let's read some!"

Groaning, Sirin floated up the bed to where Sarah was sitting, leaning in to see the screen.

---

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♦ Topic: Simurgh Attack
In: Boards ► World Affairs ► USA ► Midwest ► Madison
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Dec 23rd 2009:
I'm actually a bit shocked to be posting this so early. When the sirens went off a few hours ago, I didn't think I'd be able to put this up until much closer to midnight. But here we are.

For those who somehow didn't read the thread title, the Simurgh hit Madison today. For those who haven't watched the news, it appears that she was driven back in record time. There's a PRT statement on the matter here for everyone who I know will be desperate to confirm things. The picture of what actually went down in Madison is still emerging, but what we have right now goes like this.
All times in CST

13:15 - Endbringer sirens sound across the United States as the Simurgh breaks orbit.

13:45 - Simurgh landing zone is confirmed. Local heroes prepare to engage as reinforcements are transported to Madison.

14:50 - The Simurgh descends on downtown Madison, directly above the State Capitol. Emergency evacuation of the city begins, made possible in large part by an unknown portal generator Brockton Bay cape Miracle Star.

14:52 - Protectorate forces and local volunteers engage the Simurgh as she assaults a previously unknown cache of Tinkertech hidden beneath Madison.

14:55 - Reinforcements from other regional Protectorates engage the Simurgh, alongside the Triumvirate.

15:02 - The Simurgh advances south and telekinetically bombards Camp Randall Stadium, knocking out the evacuation portals with a piece of unknown tinkertech.

15:10 - The Simurgh retreats from Madison, minus the largest wing we've ever seen removed from her. On her way out, she overloads the remains of her Tinkertech – previously damaged by Alexandria – to replicate the work of Professor Haywire on a massive scale.

15:12 - All interdimensional portals created by the Simurgh are sealed. It remains unclear who was responsible for this, and the PRT has yet to make a statement. Update: statement on the matter can be found here.

15:13 - Scion appearance. The First Parahuman arrives, generates a city-wide healing pulse, and then leaves. See the Scion Tracker thread for further appearances.

15:15 - Alexandria confirms that combat has concluded, Protectorate and volunteer forces shift to Search and Rescue efforts. First sign that Madison may not be quarantined.

15:30 - PRT spokesperson announces that the Simurgh has retreated, search and rescue operations are underway, and that Madison is likely to avoid being walled off due to the vastly reduced time the Simurgh spent over the city. Advises all citizens to remain indoors or in shelters for now.

16:30 - All clear is given for citizens to exit Endbringer shelters and return to their homes. PRT activities transition to triage and longer-term reconstruction.

The ever-helpful @Endwatcher has made their usual repository of videos and is adding more footage as it comes in. It may be found here. Standard watch warnings apply.

(Showing page 17 of 94)

►IridiumSky
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
What the fuck happened? In eight minutes she's going from Just Ziz Things to… down an entire wing, with no clue what even happened in those minutes?

►CheezItz33
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
There's cameras from John Nolan that survived, got great footage of the skyline [here]. The whole area above downtown just rips open, looked like movie effects, then they just... disappear and it's a quiet winter night again.
Seemed almost like nothing happened- anyone know if weird stuff dropped in? I got a bad feeling.

►FinalFlash13
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
Hold on a second. Did the PRT just say that Madison may not need to be quarantined? Even the Triumvirate wasn't enough to stop that harpy's screech last time, so what suddenly changed that let Madison survive?

►Tigerblitz (German Lurker)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
Whoever the cape was that manged to change things, I hope they don't become the target of the villains.

That kind of fame is not good.

►SenorEel
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
Not particularly. Aside from some nutcases, everyone hates Endbringers. A villain targeting someone who made significant contribution to fighting one of them off would have a lot of trouble coming their way.

►HopeSpeaks (At Ground Zero: Madison)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
My sister was in Camp Randall when it was attacked, she barely made it out- she got out from one of the portals Miracle Star made.

Has anyone gotten any news about Miracle Star? Is she okay? She was still there when the portals closed.

►Endwatcher (Not a Thinker)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
That's some very interesting footage @CheezItz33, adding it to the video repository. Definitely good to have some better quality imagery.
I have a grainy phone video of the events from somewhere downtown - did my best to upscale but the quality just isn't up to snuff. This is much more on the money.
@PlasmicTruths this might be what you were looking for earlier this evening. Sorry I missed it.

►PlasmicTruths (Tinfoil Junkie)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
This is bang on, EW. Crunching away at it now, but a few bits stand out now. I know we talked about it in that phone vid, but this makes it all the clearer. Look at 15:08:52-15:09:18. Ziz is gettin held down by something, those weird colours around her. Bet you anything that's what stopped her dodging.

And look, here. Gotta frame-by-frame down at the refresh rate out of my rig for the wingcut. One moment there's nothing, half a second later some sorta white and gold spears. What the shit we looking at here? Tinkertech? Some sorta projection?

►DumBird (Cape Groupie)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
Hey, anyone made contact with people from Madison? I've been trying to contact a friend that's living there, but so far nothing. Did Ziz make an EMP or something?

@PlasmicTruths I think it might be a projection of some kind? Doesn't look like Legends pew-pews. Maybe one of the volunteers? Anyone knows anything?

►CircleGarden (At Ground Zero: Madison)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
If anyone knows Miracle Star in Brockton Bay, tell her that the people of Madison thank her. Her portals were a godsend in saving a lot of civilian lives. We barely got a 5-minute warning to evac before the Simurgh descended and a lot of people of us couldn't reach the shelters in time

►WhiteKnight023
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
i know that im gonna get hated on for this but can we all just stop for a second and think? look at this miracle star girl and you realize that shes like 14 r something rith? and if what i heard ws true the prt just up and let her go into there w like a pat on the back and then simrgh basically up and went solely for her

theyre sending KIDS against these things! its already bad enuff that wards can get called to fite and now we have this girl who isnt even protected by prt go out there and face bird bitch alone? id say the real fucky thing happening is that nobody thinks this is weird!

►Miss Mercury (Protectorate Employee)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
@WhiteKnight023
there's been a release on this matter which you can find here, but to reduce it to salient points:
- The PRT contacted Miracle Star several days before the Simurgh's attack, specifically because of her portals. They were seen as a potential way to evacuate large numbers of civilians from Endbringer attacks, and that was all she was meant to be doing in Madison.
- She explicitly refused to remain at the temporary HQ on the MSU campus, despite the repeated advice of Protectorate member Armsmaster and the independent hero Lady Photon, who was there in the role of a guardian.
- It's obvious in hindsight that the Simurg was focused on Miracle Star, presumably for her role in helping expedite the evacuation. It should be noted that, in this, she is personally responsible for tens of thousands of civilians making it out of Madison alive and whole.
- Beyond this point, it's unclear. After the Simurgh bombarded Camp Randall Stadium, Miracle Star engaged the Simurgh directly and forced her to withdraw. How she did this, beyond what's apparent from the video coverage, I can't say.
The Protectorate takes full responsibility for its part in not properly protecting Miracle Star as we'd promised to do so, and will be reaching out to her privately to offer whatever support she might require after such a traumatic event. Personally I'm appalled at what happened, but given what little I've seen of Miracle Star's internal profile...I'm not sure anyone could've stopped her.

►MiGrain (Cape Groupie)
Replied On Dec 23rd 2009:
@MissMercury Internal profile? Anything juicy you can share with us?

►IridumSky (Verified Bored)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
@MiGrain
It's the PRT. We'll get whatever they're willing to share in a press release, not PHO.

Otherwise though- even legend hasn't managed a chunk this big. And Ziz is the bitchiest to fight. I wonder how she'd do against the others.

►PlasmicTruths (Tinfoil Junkie)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
@DumBird from the press release this morning, it was something that Miracle Star did.

@MiGrain so from the sources we've had report in and the various videos and photographs the best guess of Miracle Star's known powers I can put together for now is as follows.

Portal generation, on a scale large enough to evacuate a significant portion of a State Capital. No clue if they're Manton limited or not, and I'm honestly a little scared to find out.
An area sense of some kind to help her manage all of her portals, probably some level of enhanced cognition on top of that to handle the mental load.

Phasing(?) or something in that ballpark, probably. There've been some reports that Miracle Star was directly targeted by those yeeted buildings, and she didn't dodge.

Presumably some kind of...I'm not even sure how to describe it. Rainbow telekinesis? It's visible when her projections slice off one of Ziz's wings, like it's holding the entire Endbringer still for the shot. The sheer scale required to do that, even for a few moments, is kinda ridiculous.

And then we have her projections, that can somehow both hit the Simurgh (how?) and deal more damage than we've seen in single attacks from...almost anyone. And the way she uses them, it's friggin surgical.

What the heck even is this list? I've done writeups of Protectorate teams with fewer powers than this.

►White Fairy (Veteran Member)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
@CircleGarden Miracle Star's already a bit of a local celebrity even before Ziz and I think she lives near where I do. She's an open cape so I sometimes hear from my neighbors that she was at the convenience store.
That brings me to my point: I think Miracle Star should join the Wards. She's an open cape and will benifit immensely from being under the protection of the PRT and Protectorate to dissuade anyone from having thoughts of doing something to her family. From the gangs especially. Brockton isn't the safest of environments for open capes and this goes doubly for those whose family doesn't have superpowers.
Also, we all know that the girl is incredibly powerful and should get the best environment to help guide her on the right path. The girl can become an incredibly powerful force for change but someone has to be able to temper that into a fine skillset and point her at the right direction.

►IridumSky (Verified Bored)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
Ah yes. Because the wards know exactly how to handle and train a triumvirate grade powerset. I'd say if anything get her an apprenticeship with one of them, if that's at all possible.

►WavesofLight (Cape Groupie)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
Last I checked Miracle Star was spending a lot of time with New Wave, and @MissMercury even said that Lady Photon was there in Madison to act as a guardian. I know a lot of people don't pay attention to them so much anymore, but New Wave has been much more active in the last few weeks. And a friend linked me some pics a few days back showing Miracle Star going into BB's PHQ with Brandish, Photon Mom and Glory Girl.

Think she has some people who can help her with being an open cape already, White Fairy.

►DumBird (Cape Groupie)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
@PlasmicTruths
Wait, should this even be posted here? Who knows what the cultist nutjobs will try if they learn how her powers work...

►CheezItz33
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
An IT friend said the data centers downtown were scrambled and landlines are down, but cell lines are mostly back already.
Don't give up hope- rescue workers are still going strong, it's only been a day- and efforts will keep going since the city isn't being quarantined. I hope you hear from your friend soon!

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 ... 92, 93, 94

■

---

"Well, that's fame for you," Sarah noted. "People in Madison are singing your praises."

"What about people not in Madison?" asked Sirin.

"Eh, the same thing with variations. Most people just talk about the miracle of the whole ordeal ending relatively fast or whatever what-ifs they can come up with." Sarah scrolled down further. "Though, some are bringing up how the Protectorate was very unprofessional in the whole ordeal and I quote 'Letting a child run around without proper supervision,'" she read off the screen, "and should have placed you into master/stranger quarantine after the fight. Oh, and some of the usual cuckoo cultist ramblings, if those deleted comments are anything to go by."

Sirin growled something deep in her chest, the air vibrating around her for a moment. She'd never tolerate being locked up again, isolated from people she cared about. Whoever might try to pull something like that would find a few holes in themselves.

Sarah looked down at her, taking notice of the angry sound. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," replied Sirin as she attempted to play off the fact that she was bothered by something. "Is there anything else about me?"

"Hmm..." Sarah frowned, opening a new tab and quickly typing in 'Miracle Star' in the search box. "Oh. Look at that, there is!"

---

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♦ Topic: Miracle Star affiliated with New Wave?
In: Boards ► Cape Sightings ► America ► Brockton Bay

Skulldugger (Original Poster)
Posted On Dec 24th 2009:
While going on a walk, people of Brockton Bay managed to see Miracle Star patroling with Brandish and Glory Girl of New Wave. Does this mean she is affiliated?
We have these images: [here], [here], [here] and [here].
Edit: AllSeeingEye mentioned that MS's name should be written as Miracle☆Star. Unsure if it's true, since Star doesn't seem to have an account, but keep it in mind, I guess? It does seem like something a kid would come up with.
(Showing page 3 of 9)

►Tigerblitz (German Lurker)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
Since I am only now focusing on the Bay, is this the Group that unmasked themsleves back then?
Deinftly something to keep an eye on once I have cheked the local german cape scereny....
*Sees the Nazis and the leader being called Kaiser*
Is it bad that I want something bad to happen to him?

►FishLord49
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
Holy crap, that headgear- what a statement. Lung used to be the biggest and baddest in the Bay, and he stood up to Leviathan and survived.
But now comes along a petite slip of a girl, and she took one of the Simurgh's wings and is wearing it as a trophy.
How hopping mad is Lung gonna be, to have his reputation as the Brockton Bay Badass beaten by an honest-to-God magical girl?
Anyone worried he's going to try to mess with Miracle☆Star?

►IridumSky (Verified Bored)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
I'm not one of you crazy brocktonians, but I can't imagine anyone besides the Teeth or the Nine would fuck with someone like that. You don't attack the new best chance against the endbringers unless you've completely lost it.

►FinalFlash13
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
@Tigerblitz: Yeah, that's New Wave. I don't follow the Bay that much either, but they were the talk of the country for a while. Everyone thought they'd be a shining example for heroes everywhere, showing everyone that good doesn't need to hide behind a mask. And that was the case, up until one of their own got murdered a couple years ago...
But on a less depressing topic, something else interesting about little Miracle☆Star there: in the brief bits of footage from Madison where she's visible, she has a full head of purple hair. (Still reminds me of those magical girl shows from Aleph, but I digress...) But check out that second pic: part of her hair seems to have turned snow white!
Makes me wonder if clipping the harpy's wing at Madison took more out of her than initially thought, or if she'll eventually have a whole rainbow for hair...

►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
Wait, do you think her hair turns white because of Simurgh? She's wearing her feathers, what if she's becoming second Simurgh?

►Tigerblitz (German Lurker)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
....I am not going to sleep this night, thank you very much.
And just before visiting my relatives

►FishLord49
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
XxVoid_CowboyxX

That would be terrifying, but I just have to hope against the Hopekiller. It really did seem like she was surprised and her plans ruined.

Every other time the Simurgh appeared, she was unflappable, in control, and never took a real hit. Our adorable magical girl took the biggest chunk out of her we've ever seen, and I don't know what the heck happened in the sky but word is that Miracle☆Star just closed whatever it was.

Girl deserves a hell of a lot more than a shopping trip with friends, it may be a bit early to say but I think a parade is more like it (if she wants one at least).

►Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied On Dec 24th 2009:
I feel like this is intentional at this point. We were patrolling those streets just an hour before! Let me meet her, dammit!

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7, 8, 9

■

---

"Do you think we should comment on any of these threads?" asked Sirin.

"Not if you don't want to," Sarah said. "You should make an account for yourself, though, if you do. We can get it verified really quick too."

"No thanks," Sirin replied. "I don't feel like spending time on something like this. Not right now"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "Your choice."

"By the way," Sirin spoke up again, "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I'm going to spend it with my new family," Sarah answered, a genuine smile blooming on her face. "What about you?"

Sirin gazed at the city from their window. The night sky above Brockton Bay was dimly illuminated by the moon and the lights coming from the nearby houses. "I don't know yet..."

"I'm sure Alan would love to spend it with us too. As long as you're willing to tolerate all the cooking he'll do, that is." Sarah offered Sirin a small smile. "I know it's probably not how you pictured celebrating Christmas this year, but... I'm sure it won't be all bad."

"No... it won't be." Sirin gave Sarah's hand a gentle squeeze, slowly pulling the girl up. "Come on, let's go to sleep."

Sarah nodded before turning off the computer. The two quickly got changed, and the lights in the house were soon turned off. But in the darkness, Sarah suddenly went still, wondering about something that her own comment had brought to mind.

Where was Alan?

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A/N: I seriously apologize for the delay, but this chapter was... fighting back. Especially the PHO part. There are a few things that we sneaked into it, hinting at two arcs in the future, but I won't say more. Hopefully you'll forgive me for being a slowpoke. Next chapter shouldn't take that long.

As always, all of my thanks to Snowfire for betaing. Couldn't have done it without them.

 

[Best_Human_Evil]

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[QroGrotor]

Thanks for the chapter!

Click to shrink...

Glad you liked it!

 

[LithiumWar]

Glad you liked it!

Click to shrink...

I see you brought tiger and IridiumSky in for comments on the pho post. I recognize tigers english grammer.

 

[QroGrotor]

Alan McIntyre stared at the ceiling, trying to focus enough mental energy to work out what was going on. It was proving rather difficult. His whole body ached, and he felt each breath as a low burn against his chest, throbbing in time to his heartbeat. And then, over the pain, was the general fuzziness of high strength painkillers.

His eyes shifted towards the needle sticking out of his arm. The nurse had explained that it was there to provide Alan with enough morphine to numb the pain, but it hadn't worked so far. Alan desperately wished for it to kick in soon; he wanted nothing more than to get some rest.

A knock on the door drew Alan's attention, making him turn his head to see who it was. "Hello?" he called out.

"Ah, Mr. McIntyre." A doctor stepped inside the room, carrying a clipboard with him. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Alan wheezed. "It hurts... Everything hurts..."

"I know. We barely managed to keep your heart stable when you came in," said the doctor, walking closer to Alan. "You're lucky to be working with such reliable people," he continued, checking Alan's pulse. "Not to mention the fact that Panacea was here to help stabilize you."

Panacea... Right. Alan vaguely remembered being carried into the hospital and seeing the Dallon girl for a few seconds.

Alan coughed, sending a jolt of pain through his body. "How long... Do I have to stay here?" he asked, struggling to speak properly.

The doctor frowned, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. "To be honest, Panacea has stated that your case is one that she'd never seen before, and-"

"What do you mean?" Alan interrupted. "I've had chest pains, sure, but that doesn't sound like something Panacea wouldn't be able to heal..."

"Mr. McIntyre, the problem isn't your heart, it's your entire body," the doctor said, sitting down on a nearby chair. "It's as if the cells of your body are undergoing rapid... mutation. We still don't know the reason for this, but your condition is getting worse. There's also the fact that these lines on your body are nothing we've ever seen on a human before."

"Lines?" Alan repeated, confused.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. You might have some trouble seeing them yourself, but we have this photo," he said, flipping through the papers on the clipboard before showing Alan a picture of his back.

There were glowing purple-blue lines spread across his skin there, as well as the side of his neck, like some kind of strange tattoo. "Wha- what is this?"

"We don't know," the doctor admitted, putting the photo away. "Panacea thinks that, whatever it is, is changing you on a cellular level. And she's struggling to affect it, which is deeply worrying. Thankfully she's confident that it's not contagious, or we'd be having this conversation through glass. With that in mind, have you been in contact with any kind of tinkertech or unusual chemicals?"

Alan shook his head. "No. I haven't."

"I see..." The doctor sighed, standing up. "We'll run some more tests, but in the meantime I can only recommend that you try to get some rest. I'll ask Panacea to visit you again later today."

Alan didn't reply, staring at the ceiling. What in the world was happening to him?

After the doctor left, Alan slowly turned to lie on his side. Maybe he should have called Sarah and Sirin to tell them that he wasn't going to be home tonight, but...

He closed his eyes. No, he decided to leave them be. They were both tired after yesterday, and they deserved to relax. Alan would tell them tomorrow.

'Maybe I should try to get some sleep...' Alan thought to himself. The warm pulse of painkillers still wasn't enough to dull the pain, but it was…something.

He was woken up by the sound of his hospital room's door opening. The light from the window told him that the short-lived winter sun was starting to set. He mumbled around familiar words, suddenly desperately thirsty.

"Ah, sorry," a tired, female voice said. He heard a few footsteps, the murmur of cloth, and then a hand offered him a glass of water with a straw in it. "I didn't mean to wake you, but they asked me to take another look before I finished."

Alan blinked a few times at the dark-haired girl for a few seconds before his stumbling brain caught up. He really should have done so faster, the white and red robe wasn't exactly common. Amy Dallon, one of the girls who'd been spending time with his wards.

He took the glass of water thankfully, having to force himself not to gulp it down like the nurse had told him the first time he'd come round. Amy noted that with a weary smile, but waited until he was done before taking the glass back and placing it on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like shit," Alan replied truthfully.

"Given how you looked before, that's not surprising." Amy frowned, her eyes drawn to where he now knew a few of the odd purple-blue lines had crept around to the side of his neck. She sighed. "May I have permission to examine you with my power?"

"Yes." Alan nodded. An idle, perhaps delirious part of his mind wondered how that worked when someone came in like he'd been at first, unconscious or delirious. Given how tired the girl looked, though, she probably wouldn't appreciate the question.

Whilst he thought, she reached out, laying a hand on his exposed wrist. He didn't feel anything, but she grimaced in response to whatever she'd found there. Not for the first time, like thousands of people before him, he wondered what it was she actually saw. He did, however, see her grimace.

"No joy on fixing me?" He asked. There might have been" an attempt at a wry smile.

The healer shook her head. "No. Whatever this is, it's heavily resistant to my power. I've contained the damage its done, and it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse since, but that's all I can do right now."

"I see..." Alan mumbled.

Amy sighed, releasing his wrist and taking a step back. "I have to go now, but I'll check on you tomorrow, okay?"

Alan gave her a nod. "Thank you, Panacea."

As Amy left the room, Alan was once again left alone with his thoughts. What was he supposed to do now?

Alan sat up, staring blankly ahead. Should he call Sarah and Sirin? Tell them that he might not be able to come home for a while? No, he decided against it. It would be Christmas soon, and they deserved to spend it with a smile. It was better to wait until tomorrow, when Alan knew more about his condition.

But it hurt to think that he might not be able to spend his first Christmas with them.

Alan lay back down, closing his eyes. He still needed to figure out how to make sure the girls wouldn't spend the holiday alone. Asking Carol or Mary to look after them would probably be for the best. The shelter was functional, and people that relied on it would undoubtedly be in a celebratory mood.

But would it compare to the feeling they'd get from celebrating with friends? Even if the Dallons weren't that close, Alan trusted them enough to know that Carol wouldn't turn the girls away. In the end, he would respect the girls' wishes.

He lost time again, hours flickering by in a haze. When they slowed again, the hospital room was dark, only illuminated by the moonlight shining through the window and the low glow of emergency lights. How long had he been sleeping? And when had he eaten? He must have done so, given he didn't feel hungry right now.

Alan raised his head to look out of the window. The view outside was beautiful, stars shining brightly down from a clear sky, even through the light pollution. It was a pity that he couldn't appreciate it more. Alan took a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the pain that came with it. He didn't want to think about Christmas too much.

Alan McIntyre did not have the best track record with holidays.

His thoughts wandered to his own father - an absentee parent who'd preferred to spend his time with co-workers rather than his own family. Alan understood why his parents had divorced, but it still stung to know that his mother had been forced to raise three children by herself.

Alan closed his eyes, letting out his breath this time. The pain from earlier had subsided somewhat, but it was still very much present. And, as much as Alan hated to admit it, he felt weak. As if all his strength was being drained away by those glowing lines on his body.

But there was nothing he could do about it right now. All he could do was wait, and hope that he'd be able to get out of the hospital before the next day. If he couldn't…he'd have to call someone, before they got worried about his absence.

That thought roused a burst of concern, flashing across his thoughts. He didn't want to worry either of them, especially after everything…everything he'd seen Sirin do for Madison. He took a minute or two to take another few unsteady sips of water, then sagged back onto his pillows. The sooner he fell asleep, the faster the morning would come.

---

Watching Sarah talk with the receptionist of the Brockton Bay's General Hospital, Sirin felt a mild feeling of jealousy that she knew was wholly irrational. For all the people Alan had raised in the orphanage, and those he had helped on the streets, it wasn't surprising that he knew so many people. He was well known and had connections across the whole city. A big part of that came from the fact that he genuinely cared about the people he worked with.

The woman's expression clearly softened when Sarah explained that he was their guardian, and she readily passed both of them visitor's passes. She gave the blonde a list of directions, and pointed her down one of the halls with a smile. Sarah thanked her before walking over to Sirin and giving her a pat on the back, gesturing for her to follow.

Sirin still didn't understand why she couldn't have just opened a portal to his room.

It didn't take them long to reach their guardian's room. Sarah knocked on the door, waiting for a reply for several seconds.

"Come in?" Sirin's heart sank as she heard the weakness in Alan's voice. He usually sounded so steady and calm. Sarah pushing the door open didn't help, either.

The man looked, frankly, horrible. His skin was a sickly pale, sweat beading it in places, and his eyes struggled to stay open. There were wires and an IV connected to him arm, feeding into various machines around the bed. But what drew Sirin's attention immediately were the lines on the side of the man's neck that disappeared under the hospital gown. The lines that she'd on so many other children at the Tower, before they died.

"Girls," Alan weakly said. "Are you alright?"

Sarah walked over and took a seat on a nearby chair. She grabbed onto his hand, "We're fine," she replied, her voice raspy and quiet. "What about you?"

Alan grunted, though it seemed as if even such a simple noise pained him. "I've been better," he admitted.

"So... why are you here?" Sirin asked. "Why aren't you home?"

"Ah." Alan tried to raise himself up, wincing from the movement. "Well, you see-"

"Don't move," Sirin interrupted him. "Just stay put."

He froze at her words, falling back onto the bed. "Alright, I'll just stay here."

Sirin wanted to make him more comfortable, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. That was one of the reasons she hated hospitals, since they were filled with all kinds of devices and medicines that made her feel uneasy. "Why are you like this? What happened?"

"I have... an unknown illness," Alan explained. "They don't know what it is or how to cure it, or if they even can." He coughed. "It's... a shame that I won't be able to spend Christmas with you two."

"It's okay," Sarah spoke up, though it was obvious she was holding back tears. "It's... really okay."

Alan chuckled weakly, "Ah, what's with you girls? Come on, it's not that bad."

"Yeah..." Sirin said, wiping a few of her own tears. "Yeah, it's not. We can just... celebrate after you get better."

"You should be celebrating right now." Alan gestured at the doorway. "Don't worry about me, I'll be back up in a few days. How about you go meet with Dallons? I'm sure they have everything prepared for you."

"Alright, I guess..." Sarah murmured as she rose up from her seat. "Promise that you'll call if anything happens, okay?"

Alan nodded slightly, "Of course, I promise."

Sarah approached the door but paused before stepping outside, her eyes wide as if she just remembered something. She looked around the room, focusing on Sirin. "Ah, can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked, gesturing towards the hallway.

Sirin nodded before following her outside, shutting the door behind her. "What is it?"

"You know something, don't you?" Sarah said quietly. There was a grim expression on her face.

"About?" Sirin asked. Her heart sank.

"About his sickness," Sarah said, pointing to the door. "You knew he was here, didn't you? You knew about his illness."

"I knew he was here, but," Sirin lowered her head. "I thought it was because of the fire. That he was here for people from the shelter. I didn't know that he was ill."

"But you know about his illness," Sarah stated firmly. "You knew the moment we saw him just now."

Sirin nodded, before taking in a deep breath.

"How are you feeling? Any pain? Headaches?" Sirin asked.

Sarah hesitated, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, before nodding. "Yes, I-I've had a headache all day now," she admitted.

Sirin's expression twisted as she came to a decision, and then her arm surged forward. Sarah jerked back, startled by the sudden movement, but only for a brief moment as Sirin's hands found her temples. They felt warm and…strangely familiar, in a way that she'd missed ever since the accident. A sense of comfort and safety that was absent without Sirin by her side.C

"Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

Sarah nodded slowly, watching Sirin's eyes flicker closed in concentration. And then she felt it. It was a very odd feeling, like having a spot on your tongue you couldn't scratch or the feeling of sand in your eyes. It wasn't painful or even uncomfortable, just strange. For a moment she felt like she could actually feel the energy flickering around her friend, making a circuit between her hands.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the sensation vanished.

"Wh-what was that?" Sarah asked. Sirin was already stepping back, her eyes full of confusion, doubt and very real fear. It was unmistakable to her friend, even without the blonde's power.

Whatever she'd done, the result hadn't been what her purple-haired quasi-sister had expected. Or wanted. The marks she'd seen on both Alan and Sarah were familiar to her somehow, and the conclusions the girl was drawing from them were agonizing.

Memories flooded through her mind. The day the monsters in white coats had taken her away, telling them that a disease called Honkai had killed their parents. The day they said that Sirin and others were special, capable of helping humanity to survive. The day she'd begged and screamed for the injections to stop, returning to find her friend silenced forever, just like the song they'd sung. A mantra that gave them hope of coming home.

Светит месяц, светит ясный,

Светит белая заря.

Осветила путь-дорожку

Вплоть до милого двора.

And now Alan – and Sarah – had the same markings as all of the test subjects back at that place, except neither of them could have been injected. It had been some time since Sirin had figured out that she'd been in an entirely new world, as surprising as it was. But there were no reactors that he could've approached, so where had this come from? How did Sarah get infected? It all came back to a single thought that had been repeating inside of the girl's mind for a while now.

She was the only source of Honkai in this world.

It was impossible for it to spread to Alan without deliberate action, letting go of the power that bubbled under her skin. But she never did, at least not that she could rememb-

'No, back at the shelter, when I froze him... But that's not- That shouldn't be enough!' the girl thought, her mind racing through possibilities.

"Hey, Sirin?" Sarah said. Sirin didn't hear her, too lost in racing thoughts and possibilities.

'If I caused this, then... Then... No, no, no, I can't think that way. I need to check again, to be sure.' The girl clenched her fists, taking in a deep breath. She'd become God's chosen to punish the ones who tortured them, but did that mean any who crossed her would be punished as well?

"Sirin!" Sarah shook her, snapping the girl back into reality.

The girl blinked, "S-sorry."

Sarah frowned, "What's wrong? Are you alright? Is Alan going to be okay?"

"I..." Sirin hesitated. "I'm not sure. I... need to check something."

Sarah narrowed her eyes, clearly not satisfied with the answer, but nodded regardless. "Alright, but please hurry up."

Sirin gave her a quick nod before reentering the hospital room, closing the door behind her. Alan had fallen asleep again, his breathing shallow and eyes closed. It reminded her of all those times when she'd seen the other kids at the Tower, those lines glowing on their bodies. They were dying, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Nothing but watch them slowly fade away, screaming in agony, praying that she wouldn't be next.

But this wasn't the Tower, and Alan wasn't one of those children. Sirin refused to believe that he would end up like them.

She approached the bedside, reaching out with her hand to touch his forehead, noticing how the man's face twisted the closer she got to him. The second her fingers came into contact with his skin, Sirin felt it. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it was there. A spark of Honkai energy coursing through his veins, all through his body. It was similar to how the energy felt within Sarah, but different in a way Sirin couldn't describe. More... chaotic, like a raging storm that threatened to consume everything in its path, while Sarah felt much more contained. Like energy in deliberate motion.

Sirin gritted her teeth, pulling away from the man. If she had done this to Alan, then it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to the disease. But if she hadn't, then the only possible explanation was that someone else had done it. Someone with access to Honkai energy, who knew what it could do.

But who? And why? Was she truly not alone on this Earth?

Or was that just an excuse?

Sirin clenched her fists, taking in a deep breath. She needed answers, but she had nowhere to start looking for them. All she had were questions and suspicions, none of which led anywhere useful.

The girl reached up with a shaky hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, only to pause when she felt something wet on her cheek. She touched her face, bringing her hand down to stare at the droplet of liquid clinging to her fingertips. Tears.

Sirin clenched her fist, wiping away the tears angrily as she took in a deep breath. She couldn't afford to lose control, not now. Not when Alan was in danger, probably because of her. She needed to calm down, to focus. She had to figure out what happened to Alan, and if she was responsible for it.

Turning her head to look at the man's pained face, she took a few steps towards the door, noting the slight relief that the man had, which only furthered her suspicions. It seemed that whatever was hurting Alan reacted to her presence. That made it more likely that she really was the cause.

Sirin left the hospital room, walking down the hall to where Sarah was sitting in a chair nearby, anxiously waiting for her. The moment the blonde girl noticed her approach, she jumped up to her feet, rushing over to Sirin with a worried expression.

"Hey, what happened? Are you okay?" Sarah asked frantically, taking notice of Sirin's red eyes and coming to her own, probably enhanced by her power, conclusions.

Sirin hesitated, unsure how to answer the question. She wasn't okay, but it wasn't like Sarah could help her with it either. Alan needed her more than Sirin did right now, and the last thing she wanted was to worry her further.

"I'm fine," Sirin started to say. She didn't get beyond the first syllable.

"Please tell me you're fine," Sarah cut in, expression downcast. "I don't need anything special to see how you're hurting, Siri. So please, please don't tell me that when it's so clearly not true."

There was a deep pain lurking in her friend's words, older than their friendship. Something, something that had happened. Had it been part of what led her here? And in the face of it, Sirin couldn't just refuse. She slumped, leaning into the hold of her oldest new friend.

"It's…I think I might have done this, Sarah," she breathed. Her throat felt raw, and tears pricked at her eyes a second time as she went on. "I swear I didn't mean to, I didn't even think I c-"

"Hush." The blonde girl pulled her close, cutting off any more words. There was a roughness to the gesture in the shared pain, the worry, what would even happen if Alan didn't recover? Yet it was forced back for now, by a friend's hand.

"It'll be alright. We'll find a way forward," Sarah told her firmly. "And we won't have to do it alone."

A sob threatened to burst from her lips at that, but she choked it down, pulling back as far as the hug allowed. "You're alright, then? Really?"

"Maybe?" Sarah shrugged. "I wouldn't say fine, I'm worried, but that's not what you're asking about it. Except for the headache, I don't feel anything wrong. And we…we can talk about this later, okay?" She jerked her head at the space around them. "In more privacy."

That…made a lot of sense, really. And Sarah didn't seem to be in any pain, nor was there any indication that she was experiencing any symptoms of Honkai infection. That meant the disease wasn't affecting her as severely as Alan. Or, a treacherous little voice supplied, maybe it simply hadn't manifested yet. She pushed that one away.

"I see..." Sirin murmured quietly to herself before continuing. "Do you want to spend some time with Alan? I can go wait outside for you."

Sarah frowned, but got it. "You don't want to stay with us?"

Sirin shook her head. "I think you know why. And I could use some fresh air," she replied.

Sarah hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, just don't wander too far.."

Sirin gave her a weak smile, before turning for the exit. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do next. Alan needed help, and she couldn't just leave him here to suffer alone. But at the same time, she couldn't risk hurting him even more by staying close to him. She didn't want to hurt people she cared about, especially not those she considered family.

'What should I do? I can't just sit around and do nothing! How would someone even fix this?' Sirin thought desperately.

She exited the building, stepping into the cold winter air. The sky above was filled with clouds, obscuring the sun completely. Snow was falling gently, coating the ground in white. Sirin shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked around, wondering if she should just disappear from the city entirely, hoping that Alan and Sarah would recover without her being near. Her mind fell back onto the song that gave her hope. And, quietly, she started to sing.

"Светит месяц, светит ясный,

Светит белая заря.

Осветила путь-дорожку

Вплоть до милого двора."

For now she would stay.

---

Watching the news about Madison, the man huffed and leaned back in chair, struggling to understand how so-called "intelligent" people called him a barbarian, yet still couldn't understand that fighting those monsters was pointless. The girl performed admirably by "injuring" the beast, but it would be back without a single scratch for the next attack.

And according to the conversations that he'd overheard from the idiots on the streets, the girl was now considered the 'major player' in the city, despite showing no interest in fighting the gangs or claiming territory. She was simply a child, living a fairy tale that was undoubtedly tainted by the encounter with the monster. Still, she was no threat to his operations or territory.

'Then why?'

Pushing himself off of the sofa, the man walked over to the punching bag placing his hand against it. It took only a few seconds for the brown leather to start darkening, traces of smoke going up into the air, causing the man to huff in annoyance and take a step back, heading towards the kitchen.

'Why am I reacting like this? She isn't a threat, nor am I afraid of her. So why?!'

The mug that the man picked shattered in his growing hand, causing him to growl as he looked at the shards of porcelain that were scattered across his carpet, something he'd have to clean once he'd calmed down enough. But not now, not in the state where he could feel his power growing, and the flames that would come with the build up, no matter how much he suppressed it.

Luckily, there was something he could do.

"Lee," the man spoke to no one, only for a man to appear in his apartment by the window. "The Empire has received a new shipment of guns, correct? Have you found out where they keep it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Bring some of the men that have yet to complete their initiation and lead me there. I have some frustration to get out of my system."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A/N: All of my apologies for the long delay. Life is very busy. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner next time! All of my thanks to Snowfire, as usual!

 

[xcv45]

A spark of Honkai energy coursing through his veins, all through his body. It was similar to how the energy felt within Sarah, but different in a way Sirin couldn't describe. More... chaotic, like a raging storm that threatened to consume everything in its path, while Sarah felt much more contained. Like energy in deliberate motion.

Click to shrink...

Oh boy. Negotiator is learning Honkai.
Shards proving themselves frighteningly adaptable.

Also RIP Alan. And also other normies that don't have an alien god-virus bestie pulling lots of extra effort to keep you alive/stable.

Sirin is taking this...surprisingly well, I guess? One would think she would freak out upon seeing the lines, given, well, Babylon.

 

[Ereg]

Whatever this is, it's heavily resistant to my power.

Click to shrink...

Eh, I'm not buying this part. One of official mangas mention two different ways Amy could have easily handled Honkai infection. Getting rid of affected tissue is one thing that works, and she definitely could do it way better than people in PE could. Another one is miniscule amount of antibodies that people with Honkai Sickness produce. Harvesting them from the corpses (thousand corpses per dose) was how PE made their anti-Honkai serum and Amy definitely should be able to encourage their natural production.

 

[xcv45]

Eh, I'm not buying this part. One of official mangas mention two different ways Amy could have easily handled Honkai infection. Getting rid of affected tissue is one thing that works, and she definitely could do it way better than people in PE could. Another one is miniscule amount of antibodies that people with Honkai Sickness produce. Harvesting them from the corpses (thousand corpses per dose) was how PE made their anti-Honkai serum and Amy definitely should be able to encourage their natural production.

Click to shrink...

There's also Magi's serum that's way better than the PE cure, but sadly that come to be for years and may not even be a thing at all in this timeline given no 2E and its ramifications. On the other hand, even Otto recognized Magi's genius for it, so maybe it will still be a thing.

But yeah, Panacea is a biokinetic par excellence.

 

[Ereg]

There's also Magi's serum that's way better than the PE cure, but sadly that come to be for years and may not even be a thing at all in this timeline given no 2E and its ramifications. On the other hand, even Otto recognized Magi's genius for it, so maybe it will still be a thing.

But yeah, Panacea is a biokinetic par excellence.

Click to shrink...

Magi's serum has entirely different effects (it converts Honkai into heat or something like that, instead of bolstering your ability to handle Honkai thousandfold) so it would be outside Shaper's field of experience. Making antibodies or removing damaged tissue on the other hand isn't.

 

[xcv45]

it converts Honkai into heat

Click to shrink...

That's Selene, not Magi's serum.

Schicksal explicitly used Magi's work in the Honkai Vaccines they gave to ARC City and others, not to mention how World Serpent weaponized it into an aerial version that even nullified and made Rita and her Valkyrie subordinates powers for a while. Magi's work is really really good. When injected into zombies some of them even got some level of brain activity back. And that's without his main work (which when combined with Schariac Holy Blood was used to turn Void Kiana back into regular Kiana).

 

[Ereg]

That's Selene, not Magi's serum.

Schicksal explicitly used Magi's work in the Honkai Vaccines they gave to ARC City and others, not to mention how World Serpent weaponized it into an aerial version that even nullified and made Rita and her Valkyrie subordinates powers for a while. Magi's work is really really good. When injected into zombies some of them even got some level of brain activity back. And that's without his main work (which when combined with Schariac Holy Blood was used to turn Void Kiana back into regular Kiana).

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure Magi's vaccine (or at least it's derivative made by Tesla) does exactly the same thing as Selene. And PE vaccine was pretty good too, seeing as Su got one shot on the brink of death and got better. It's just, unlike Magi's serum, antibodies used in the vaccine were beyond MOTH's ability to synthesize, so they were stuck with rate of 1000 corpses per dose.

 

[Best_Human_Evil]

...Well RIP Alan.
Sirin is going to be really upset about this. I'm surprised that Sarah isn't having more severe reactions to Honkai, since no one in this world should be resistant to it, but that's a good thing, I'd be sad if my favorite Worm character just died from Honkai radiation.
Thanks for the chapter!