He could always go through one of the existing people in charge, but considering they make the Elite look like Toybox he might not want to.


On the bright side, Cam's efforts with the sterile mosquitoes are already paying off with a drop in new malaria cases. Barely anyone objects to that.

At least there's some unambiguous progress that isn't cooperation-dependent.

But when he's back in Tokyo: sirens. Extreme quantities of sirens.

And Cam installed those so he knows what they're for. Shit.

Which one is it?

The third one.

The Protectorate is already on their way, having worked out an agreement with the local people in charge. Tokyo was a burgeoning cape city, but it still doesn't have many capes in absolute terms. And even those have been selected for fighting less.

They have minutes before the Simurgh arrives. Cities cannot be evacuated in minutes, but that doesn't mean they aren't trying.

Capes start arriving before either it or she does. Batches brought by an increasingly exhausted-looking teleporter, then the few who can cross an ocean under their own power, then the ones who had to use some tinker's merely supersonic transportation.

Some teams arrive from Australia, predictably none from the CUI, and the Russian groups seem to be staying out of it as well.
Mostly the out-of-town reinforcements are the North American capes.

The Triumvirate is recognizable as always. In the absence of an organized local team, Legend starts briefing the new arrivals on what they're up against.

"With the Simurgh, there are no good days." Legend has exactly zero good news to tell. "You deserve to know your chances. Simurgh fights do usually have lower direct casualties than the others, one in six instead of one in four. But some days that's one in every ten, and others it's as bad as Behemoth.

"What's worse is the scream. I doubt any of you will underestimate that. It's why every one of you will be wearing an armband. This will track your exposure based primarily on distance from her, and the countdown might not decrease at a constant speed. In case you can't spare a glance at the display, it will vibrate at five, two, and one minutes from lethal. If it vibrates, disengage.

"You all know she is physically the weakest Endbringer. But she is also very hard to hit. Her telekinesis is powerful enough rip apart buildings. If you cannot hurt her directly, destroy whatever she uses for cover so that others can get a clear shot.

"We will be fighting a battle of attrition. Strike teams will attack in turns, to keep her under as much pressure as possible. For this reason we recommend the teams all have past combat experience together. We do not want to have everyone's timer run down simultaneously, so stay back if your team is not taking its turn.

"Many of you have abilities tested against pieces of whatever Endbringers are made of, or equipment incorporating the same. This is the most durable known material; if you cannot destroy it that only means you can't kill her. Our goal is still to drive her off, and enough damage has always been sufficient to do that. This will be the first fight where we know where to aim. The humanoid body is a distraction; her core is at the base of her largest wing. Those with offensive power, aim there.

"When she—"

Legend cuts off as he, and everyone else, notices the song.

"For those of you who have not fought the Simurgh before, you are right to be afraid of the song. You'll notice yourself thinking differently, or flashing back to particular things that she wants you to relive. The song does get more intense if you concentrate on the song. Avoid doing that. Beyond that, there is no countermeasure.
A short exposure is not lethal. That's what the armbands are for. They will also signal when we need a team to put pressure on the Simurgh or when you need to stay away, and can be used for communication.

"A very few of you have shown their ability to damage Endbringer core. But that was under controlled test conditions, and we must assume the Simurgh knows about it. Protect them."

The armbands on three capes start glowing green. One of them is Eidolon, who presumably doesn't need much protecting.

It doesn't, but beyond the assumption that if you're hearing it you're affected there isn't a whole lot else to say.

The scream wavers and splits into two notes as the Simurgh comes closer. Armbands start slowly ticking down.

"Eidolon and Alexandria will be fighting continuously. Everyone else, rotate between front lines and support. HQ will signal through the armbands when your squad is up. There will usually be injured to rescue. Anyone hurt within range of her scream will need it.

Remember, the goal is to wear her down and drive her off."

Alexandria and Eidolon fly toward the source of the scream. One of the Protectorate teams flies off after them, bringing the other green-glowing cape with them.

Cam starts on Support. If he can see the Simurgh he can cover her in plasma or something, take a few layers off, but he's not a big deal here and he has to be ready to bail.

In the meantime he can medical-demon anyone who's injured and take bullets/arbitrary damage for the folks who can make a real dent.

What the battle looks like is the Triumvirate blasting away (Legend from a distance as the only non-immune member) while supported by rotating teams. It's still early, so there are more than enough speedsters active to pull people away from the Simurgh when they fall. There'll be a mostly steady supply of people to medical-demon in no time. Unfortunately. Other times the falls are more permanent.

Not all of the offensively powerful capes can fly. Machines are less than trustworthy around the Simurgh, but some capes are using devices anyway. Other times they get a lift from flying teammates. Mostly it's down to fliers or ranged combatants.

Cam bodyguards Dentmaker Girl, whatever her name is, and monitors his reaction to the song.

He's not having any weird thoughts. He's not in a worse mood than he should be (granted, that's not saying much). He's not having flashbacks. The song is not getting more annoying as she gets closer, beyond a certain point.

Which is what he'd expect if he were mentally indestructible-to-it.

And she did have to extort him to get him to make the fruit.

Her outer layers are subject to damage. Cam aims where nobody's trying to close with her and applies plasma.

Or that's just what she wants him to think. Always an option with the Simurgh.
The singing does become louder or more varied at times, and this does correlate with when he pays attention to it. Annoyance is limited to what a mundane screech might sound like; it's not detectably becoming more annoying in any weird superpowers way.

Heat is not the most effective weapon against the weird crystal that Endbringers are made of, but enough of it it scorches her. Her human parts don't burn the way human skin would, and her feathers don't burn the way feathers would, but an outer layer gets peeled off and slowly begins regrowing.

The group around the cape Cam is protecting notices their armbands flash simultaneously. "You coming with us?" one of them, a medieval-themed cape with a lance, asks.

"I'm not significantly more effective close up. I'll stay back and get in the way if anything comes flying at her," Cam says, aiming a thumb at the girl. Isn't she going to do anything? Maybe she has to charge up.

He moves from plasma through his other options.

The crossbow-wielding cape is a bit occupied.
The preceding team comes back, having just been relieved, and the one of them with the green-glowing armband answers instead. "Depends. What do you do?"