The Fragile One reached out, using the form with the widest breadth, the me from a period that was trying to move a ruined mess of a body, one that could occupy a whole couch. The forcefield slammed into my back and the back of my head, hard, and the hand caught the pipe out of the air.

It was only after that I looked at the target. Dinah Alcott.

The boom of Chevalier’s cannon drowned out all sounds that weren’t the scream in my head. The Simurgh blocked the shot with almost casual ease, moving a chunk of pillar into the way.

Another chunk of rubble hit Dinah. Something I couldn’t have anticipated, catching her in what looked like the solar plexus. She fell, hand to her stomach. It hadn’t been moving as fast as other chunks, but it was still something.

The preparation material said we’d fail, we’d be whittled down, and it would perpetually feel like we could do more, if only we were at our best, while she guaranteed that we wouldn’t be at our best…

“Hey! Kid Cassandra!” Tattletale called out.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Move! Run! You’re a sitting duck!”

“And she really wants duck for last meal before she ends the world!” Imp crowed.

“Run where?”

“Run laps! I’m not even joking! Don’t fall in the hole in the floor!”

“What are you—I’m not an idiot!”

“No, but you’re about to be blind! Grue!”

Grue created a wave of darkness, hitting the curved wall of the open space. It banked, rolling out and expanding.

“I don’t suppose you could steal her powers, or—”

“No,” Grue said.

I saw another chunk of rubble move, and put myself in its way, kicking it with my forcefield to drive it into the ground. It still rolled a bit from residual momentum…

Again, I looked for the target. There wasn’t one, or if there was, it was subtle.

I’m losing my mind.

The Mathers Giant had gone dormant, backing up and falling into a crouch, knees to her chest. Thin, with near-white hair, gaunt features, and only a bit of loose attire that had been fabricated for her by Shin, in the glorious textures and patterns that Shin seemed to be so good at making. She had a few wounds from the earlier fighting.

No indication she was messing with us again. This was just us and the Simurgh.

“…the hell not!?” Tattletale called out.

“I’d need Valkyrie to undo the tweaks she did, and she’s gone,” he told us.

“What fucking tweaks?”

“It’s complicated. Needed—Christ!” Grue narrowly avoided getting smashed as a section of pillar high off the ground fell to hit the floor. “—To try something. To try and shake the memories those new powers were attached to. Didn’t work.”

“Well that’s really fucking inconvenient,” Tattletale said.