As soon as I crashed into her every attack began to land. I flew forward, pushing her upward and away from the city. I was vaguely aware of some attacks landing around me, biting at the edge of my shield. It wasn't helping.

I chanced a look up and was instantly met with the Simurgh's eyes bearing down on me. Her teeth were bared angrily, her lips pulled back unnaturally far. That was the last thing I saw before all of her wings converge on me at once and shattered my shield.

Right before the wings continued past and crushed me, a red tendril came out of nowhere and lashed her across the face with enough power to send her reeling backward. I immediately flew away and looked for the person who brought me the time.

With her legs turned into towering green tendrils, Whiplash flashed a grin at me as she stood taller than any building in the city. Her arms were just as long, except with a red colour to them as she attacked the Simurgh. I nodded to her once and turned back around to get back in on the action.

Ziz was hurting. We all saw it, the brief moments where every attack landed had taken a toll on her. Chunks of her strange flesh were missing, scorch marks lined her previously pure white wings, and now there was one long black mark across her face where Whiplash had struck her. By all accounts, we were winning.

But she wasn't stopping.

I flew around her at a much large distance than the other capes did, even though she was desperately attempting to pursue me. Periodically, I fired a small flame spell at her. It wouldn't hurt her, but it still served to make her momentarily blind and gave the others a chance to land a hit. That was the smart strategy, to break her down over a period of time that let me conserve my energy. Particularly as I already getting a headache after the gambit with my shield. I wouldn't survive a direct attack like that again.

I haven't seen Legend in a while, no idea why as I still saw his beams coming in from time to time. Striking the Simurgh with uncanny accuracy at some distance. It looked like he had caught onto my rhythm. And apparently, so had the others. Now, everyone was pausing and saving their attacks in time with my small flame attacks. It was working, every single time she took more damage, she got more hurt. We were winning. And we were winning hard.

Then the Simurgh stopped. She paused in mid-air and looked at me with her scorched face. Then she turned and rushed straight toward the other heroes.

I shot forward to chase after her, but she had caught them off guard. It didn't help that at that moment, she levitated blackened rocks right into the fray. People scrambled as the rampaging Simurgh lashed back and forth, wings catching more than a few as she went. Only my occasional flame spell gave people a chance to got out of her way quick enough. But it wasn't fast enough.

I flew closer and activated the flame spell in full. It wasn't as draining as the kinetic beam in exchange for not being that devastating. Especially not against the Simurgh. But I didn't have enough power to sustain it, even as I was flying in with it going only at half power I felt my head pain growing to migraine levels and myself getting magically exhausted. But if it gave more people a chance to get out of her way then it would have to do.

At that moment, the Simurgh turned in my direction and launched herself directly at me. I didn't have enough energy to do anything but attempt to fly away. But I knew I wouldn't be able to get up to speed nearly fast enough. I drew back my magic, lifted a little shielding stone out my bag, and hoped it would be enough.

Suddenly, four tendrils shot out and wrapped around the Simurghs wings and began to smoke. The Simurgh lashed outwardly, trying to pull herself free as the tendrils wrapped around her tighter. Whiplash's own hair turned into more tendrils before growing several dozen feet and grasping the Simurgh again. Two different beams from Legend came by and struck her face at that moment as well. They were buying me time.

As I turned around to fly away as hard as I could, Glory Girl caught my eye as she flew forward with her normal grin. Then one blackened boulder struck her once before one of the Simurgh's free wings whipped out and struck her, making her disappear from sight.

Friendship bond broken.

Unacceptable.

"...CD-5. Glory Girl deceased CD-2. Marchlancer down…"

It was like something snapped and floodgates opened. Magic flooded through my veins with a power I only felt two times before. But more than that, I felt angry. Irrationally, probably. Unjustified? No.

I turned around and looked at the Simurgh as she threw off Whiplash and started to attack the other people in the air. I hadn't paid attention to how long we had been in the air, but it was long enough that only half of the original force was still here. They had fallen in between the moments the Simurgh and I were getting into it. I couldn't accept that. Too many. Too many now, too many from before, too many going forward. And now one of my friends. Not even one of my best friends, but a friend anyway. And if she killed one, she would kill the others.

The thought made the magic thunder through me even harder.

I reached out with my telekinesis and grabbed all of the Simurgh wings and forced them still, exuding more magic at once than I ever had before. She attempted to thrash and twist, but I wouldn't let her. I held her still as everyone still flying pegged her with attack after attack. But it was enough. I clenched my teeth and started to pull in opposite directions.

She opened her mouth and let out a very real and very audible scream as the first wing separated with a crack of her crystalline feathers and skin. Followed shortly by the others. One after another, I pulled her apart and didn't feel any less furious as I did so. Stubbornly, one wing was stronger than the others and refused to part from her body. But it didn't matter, she was done. I let her go and she immediately started to reel backward. She dripped a black ichor that I believed was supposed to be her blood and moved slowly away. It seemed she was trying to run now, but she had been crippled. And many people here weren't willing to let her leave that easily.

I shook my head and left her to them. I was still riding a power high and there were better places to direct my efforts.

I tossed all but one of the Simurgh's wings as far as I could, keeping the last one as a sort of weapon I might use. Looking at the other two Endbringers, I quickly considered my options. Lung and Behemoth appeared to be going at it to the west side of the city, completely leveling the mountains in the area as they traded blows. It seemed the Behemoth couldn't fight both his claws and his flames, let alone every other Brute capable of attacking him. That would be fine for now.

The Leviathan was doing much better. With most of his attackers being Tinkers of one sort or another and the Crystal Heart keeping his waves out of the city the Endbringer was standing his ground much easier than the others. He stayed waist deep in the water, going toe to toe with Eidolon while the Tinkers attempted to get a good shot in. They weren't doing so well.

I took a deep breath and zeroed in on the Leviathan and started to fly. In a second I was moving fast enough to create an after image that trailed behind me. And I pushed it harder. When an air cone formed around me and when the wind resistance got to be a little too much I made a bubble shield and pushed myself harder. And I kept pushing as the Leviathan came closer and closer. Time seemed to slow down for me, and I saw him raising a wave to bar my path. I swept the Simurgh's wing through it, effectively destroying it right before I passed the place where it had been.

I felt a loud explosion around me as I broke the sound barrier while barreling in the Leviathan's chest. I briefly saw a strange rainbow colour before the world became surrounded by water. For a minute all I could see was my shield, the water surrounding me, and a tiny patch of the Leviathan's skin. That changed when a reptilian tail came around and struck my shield, sending me flying like I was trapped inside of a ping-pong ball.

I quickly broke the shield and flew upward, turning around to find the Leviathan looming over me. I didn't hesitate a moment before slapping it with the Simurgh's wing. I noticed Eidolon coming in with his hand held in front of him before a massive beam larger a than I was shot out of his hand and consumed the Endbringers face.

Tinkers with jetpacks and antigravity tech came flying in, carrying their own weapons and the weapons of other Tinkers. Glowing beams and strange projectiles filled the air, striking Leviathan with growing intensity. Again and again, I brought the Simurgh's wing across the Endbringer. Each time it left a large gash in its skin which the other capes were more than happy to attack with a passion. But it was slow going. And while I still felt power flooding through me I knew it couldn't last. But I was still angry and frustrated, I had to make it enough. It had to end this.

It was at that moment a golden beam of light shot out of the sky and struck the Leviathan square in the chest, throwing him backward.

Scion was finally here.

I threw the full force of my power behind my attacks, slamming the Simurgh's wing down on the Leviathan as hard as I could as he attempted to avoid Scion's next attack. I briefly glanced up and saw Scion floating high above the fight, firing his beams between Behemoth and Leviathan each. I shook my head and focused.

Shooting forward again, the Endbringer brought his arms in front of his face and threw a wave in front of me. I teleported past it and unleashed the hardest kinetic beam I could muster, striking him where his arms were crossed at. At that moment, one of Scion's beam hit him at the same time and the same place. There was a brief golden and purple glow, and then the Leviathan exploded and I went flying.

I was thrown into the air, spinning uncontrollably, when I decided to teleport upwards. By whatever mechanisms of the power, I stopped spinning and just started falling. Now that I wasn't spiraling through the air I managed to right myself and took in my surroundings.

Looking back, I saw I had been thrown almost all the way back to the city. The waves were dying down now, a hint of what might have happened.

Flying back towards the where the fight had been, I saw Eidolon approaching me as Tinkers flew back towards the city. If I hadn't suspected it before, I knew now. Even Scion was turning towards the Behemoth.

"The Leviathan lost an arm," Eidolon told me as he got close. "Sustain more damage than ever before in the process. He face and body had been worn down more than we've been able to before."

"Good," I said, looking back towards the city determinedly. "That just leaves one left."

"Right," Eidolon said with a nod, floating upward. I took a deep breath and drew up what power I had. There was still a lot more than I had at the start.

The image of Glory Girl went through my mind again. It wasn't dramatic, it wasn't horrifying. Just one moment she was flying forward, the next moment she wasn't. Gone, her death announced on an armband. Panacea's sister, a sort of friend of mine, an ally too. In a blink of an eye she was gone. And my band continued to rattle off names one after the other.

I felt the power surge through me again. Not as strong or as forceful as it was before, but it was there. It would have to be enough.

I teleport straight to the other side of the city and was might with a completely barren blast zone. Even the Crystal Heart hadn't been able to keep it out of the city entirely. A good portion of the housing area in the part of the city was on fire and they struggled to keep Behemoth and Lung out of the barrier.

What I saw looking like something out of a high budget sci-fi film from Earth Aleph. Lung was radiating fire, Behemoth and shooting lighting and all number of energies. Alexandria was flying all over the place in a blink of an eye. All the Brutes, Blasters, and all the flyer coming over from the Simurgh's fight were filling the air with so many bright lights and attacks that the light pollution made it nearly impossible to see. Combine that with the blasting music and light show from Showman somewhere around the fighting area and it was liable to give me a seizure.

But I had to do something. I briefly lamented dropping the Simurgh's wing before shooting upward. It would be near impossible to approach from the ground, so I'll just have to drop in from above.

It was then I was able to see Scion flying forward, shooting towards the Behemoth as fast as I typically flew. I probably only just beat him here with the teleport. I saw people preemptively parting for him to get in. And then I had an idea.

I changed my path and start picking up speed. I curved upward, matching Scion's path almost perfectly as we both shot forward towards the Endbringer. Maybe in any other circumstances, I might have been a little more concerned getting this close to Scion. But even as I got within wing's reach of him neither of us were looking at the other. We were only several dozen feet away from Behemoth when everyone had finally moved out of the way. Scion and I shot our respective beams at the same time, striking the Behemoth directly in the face. Our beams mixed a moment and things seemed to go still. Then they violently exploded much the same way they went off against the Leviathan. My world turned white and I was aware I was flying through the air for a few moments before I hit something and I blacked out.

***

When I came to I was on top of the Crystal Tree, the leaves gently holding me in the air. I couldn't have been out for long as I could make out a horribly disfigured Behemoth burrowing its way into the ground as an ever-shrinking Lung attempted to beat it to death.

I got to my hooves and looked around. On the far outskirts of the city, I saw the body of the Simurgh laying still on the scorched earth surrounding the city. We killed her. We managed to kill the Simurgh. I suppose I could take solace in that, maybe. I hope.

It was about then I noticed Scion was floating over me, looking down with an unreadable expression. I stood frozen as he stared at me, the golden man himself looking… confused?

He opened his mouth and I felt my eyes go wide.

"You…" he said slowly. "Are not…" His mouth slammed shut and his expression changed to something unreadable and not really human. He turned around and flew away without another word as fast as he could, leaving me behind to be completely confused.