this is crazy

[from_scratch]

Cam is watching a new recording of Atriama, tail swishing in the gap in his couch, and doesn't stop to pause the show when he feels a summons go by.

Comments

[wormcan]

That depends on which them. The Protectorate is on good terms with some of the less criminal Elite and openly opposed to others. They would rather not swat the former.

Up until he shows them the full list of the Elite's activities. In several places the Elite had reputations as strictly business and strictly legitimate, but as it happens the second part was never true. Cue the war between the two largest parahuman alliances.

[from_scratch]

Whee. Cam helps. Mostly remotely; he sets up floating platforms so he can drop merchandise without worrying about intersecting important metropolis. If the Protectorate would like this merchandise to include tinkertech to go after Elite with he won't say boo. Bad Elite.

[wormcan]

Only mostly. More so now that they've dropped the facade. Exposing the Elite turns into an ongoing headache for the heroes on the other side of the Pacific, but they're gradually winning.

[from_scratch]

Good for them.

Cam returns to his more customary business.

[wormcan]

Upgrading technology, enriching the world, rebuilding countries from the waves up... These are pretty good customs to have. Much better than most capes, for multiple reasons.

In short order Tokyo looks like a functioning 22nd-century city, with the addition of tightly controlled capes.

[from_scratch]

Which means Cam can spread out his attention a little more. He was already doing a lot of overseas commerce, but in broad strokes - you don't need to be a particularly decent individual to be trusted with a hepatitis vaccine. He checks up on people real carefully for anything else, now, but he goes looking.

[wormcan]

Which means more opportunity to run across just what the rest of the world looks like. Eastern Europe has barely got anyone with the reach to distribute things, China is the CUI, and nearly everything in Africa is under the control of one of the many competing short-lived warlords. And the lack of candidates comes even before sorting by trustworthiness.

[from_scratch]

Would Japan miss him very terribly if he just moved to Africa and did that next?

[wormcan]

Yes. Cam singlehandedly brought Japan back out of a previous century and hasn't finished; everyone kind of likes having him around.

[from_scratch]

...Okay, Japan can keep him for now, but only because he's really short on people to delegate things to. He keeps looking. Occasionally he just literally parachutes food or creates rain over places where that seems like it would be helpful.

[whole_new_can]

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.

[from_scratch]

Hooray! He can add a booster population when his will have started dying off, too, make sure to be thorough.

[wormcan]

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

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

[from_scratch]

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

Which one is it?

[wormcan]

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.

[from_scratch]

Cam doesn't even know if he can be here for this; it is unacceptable for him to wind up songed to madness and running around immortal, indestructible, and potentially planetbusting. He gets Tokyo citizens into autopiloting airbuses that'll ship them to Kyushu, ready to take off if he hears Horrible Insanity Song and feels like it might be causing Horrible Insanity.

[wormcan]

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.

[from_scratch]

Cam listens. He hasn't done this in particular before, doesn't matter if he's three times Legend's age.

[whole_new_can]

"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.

[whole_new_can]

She's still distant, so it's faint. A high note, a single note unless the listener pays attention to it, at which point it changes. A few capes who haven't fought the Simurgh before try covering their ears, but then don't bother.

[from_scratch]

Cam raises his hand.

[whole_new_can]

"...yes?"

[from_scratch]

"I may be immune but if I'm not I really need to leave. How do I tell?"

[whole_new_can]

"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.

[from_scratch]

That didn't really answer Cam's question. He puts an armband on. If it vibrates he'll book it unless he has reason to believe he's covered. He can't damage Endbringer core; he notes a green-glowy non-Eidolon person and marks her for bodyguarding.