For Pouffe, the spear had carved out a circular hole from the top of her ‘head’ to her lower body, the head fusing with the ground so the shaft could stick directly up. Defiant had already sent the signal, prompting the shaft to start producing nanothorns, expanding out to fill the hole.

Rather than wait, Titan Pouffe walked through the spear. The nanothorns that had already grown cut through her, from midsection to the ‘skirt’ of her lower body. Unable to maintain her own structural integrity, the Titan crumbled under her own weight.

Not dead. Pouffe surrounded herself in the mist, in portals.

Defiant began producing another spear.

“I’ll need another ship.”

“Alright,” she told him. “Good work.”

“Should I report in? Let the Wardens know?”

“I will, shortly. The final offensive is gathering in the lobby of the Headquarters.”

“Legend’s having a hard time out there. They took recent losses.”

“I know,” Dragon answered. “Worrying.”

“They’re starting to throw up deflectors. If we relieved him, he could lead that push.”

Legend was part of the perimeter around the Machine Army. He had taken a few too many hits from the Titans, and his ‘recuperation’ was floating in the sky near the portal, bombarding the area.

She focused a camera in on one area. Machines with the rough dimensions of refrigerators and spidery mechanical legs were escorting others, bearing shimmering forcefields on their backs. When the lasers hit the forcefields, they reflected off.

Which meant Legend had to change the orientation of his shots. Lasers turned at right angles, struck underbellies, severed legs. Machines picked up the immobilized deflector drones, raising them up as they would a palanquin. He shot those too.

It took concentration, focus. He was only human in the end. That concentration would falter.

“We can’t do the relieving,” Dragon said. “We can only call for reinforcements.”

“We could. Your—” he paused a fraction of a second to access the system and check the name. “Bakunawa Zero.”

“Last resort option. If they get access to my tech, they’ll incorporate it. If they get access to my network, they’ll start decrypting my security.”

“You can’t be brute forced.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate them. The other Wardens agreed it would be best if I remained clear. You too, for that matter.”

“Won’t argue. Heading to the nearest garage, then. Keep me updated on the meeting.”

“Of course. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She paused, switching mindsets to view the big picture, a hundred thousand files, a thousand icons spread across fifteen maps, and logs of every message and communication across phone or internet, which was badly disrupted.