Chapter 2

The day was February 24th, and it was another day were hope would be lost.

Dragon focused all her processes on coordinating the Endbringer fight. The Simurgh had began to descend, and after some time and calculations, they narrowed her target to Canberra, Australia.

As always, the PRT and independent heroes, villain and sometimes rogues from around the world, moved in to battle the Hopekiller.

It was never enough. Be it time or parahumans, it was never enough.

Capes kept arriving even after the battle had started in earnest, and as always, as though mocking her specifically, Dragon could see how effortless the Simurgh evaded attacks, and only took ones that made superficial damage. Even when it seemed like she could have been hurt, any experienced veteran of Endbringer battles knew that the Simurgh was faking it.

"Ah, umm..."

The emergency broadcast built into the armbands was activated. Dragon quickly located the cape responsible, and identified her.

"Majin Saber, given the protocols for Endbringer battles, especially for Simurgh fights, unless you have a very significant announcement for altering the course of the battles, you will be sentence to prison for violating the rules of Simurgh combat." Dragon told the Brocktonite cape. She quietly turned off the All armbands announcements, as she spoke to the cape.

From a quick look at the file PRT ENE had on her, Dragon knew that Majin Saber was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum. Dragon only told her of the rules for using the announcement on the armband and punishment, but shut it off in case Majin Saber turned it on by accident or something. She didn't want the poor woman to end up in trouble, but this was a Simurgh fight and the attacking force can be distracted, or for the armband speakers to be played with or used for any useless announcement.

"Can you tell, everyone else to leave the bird?"

"What?" Dragon quickly calculated how long Majin Saber had been in the fight, only to see she had just arrived 20 seconds ago. No time at all to be affected by the Simurgh. Why would she want to use the announcer then?

"The bird," Majin Saber's voice began to be more focused. "Can you tell everyone to stop attacking her for five seconds."

Five seconds?

"Are you sure you'll be able to damage her? Endbringers durability increase the more you go past their skin level." Dragon told the cape in case she forgot or didn't know.

"Yes." The absolute focus and surety was unlike the flighty cape at all. Maybe a Thinker power that activates in relation to danger? "I can slay this beast."

"Good luck then." Dragon turned on the speaker for all capes. "This is Dragon speaking, Majin Saber will attempt solo combat for 10 seconds. All capes please pull back for that long." 10 second just to give time for people to retreat.

The Simrugh paused in her flight and movement for one brief moment, then she immediately began jumping into large groups of people. Dragon for a microsecond was shocked before he began to push her platforms into action, trying to pull other's away.

Whatever Majin Saber's power was, it was enough for the Simurgh to try and use others as meat shields to stop the rogue from attempting it.

Majin Saber burst forward, passing the sound barrier by several magnitudes. The red aura covered blade sliced right through one of the Simurgh's wings. The Endbringers flew and weaved through Majin Saber's attacks, but as Dragon analysed the pattern something became increasingly obvious. Even if the Simurgh could fly, Majin Saber seemed to moved over invisible platforms under her feet, like she was solidifying wind or space for a few instants.

"She's trying to keep Majin Saber from going all out." Dragon announced, she could see that while Majin Saber was doing damage, actual real damage for the first time int he fight, most of the cape's attacks were to get other capes away from the Simurgh. Counter to that, the Simurgh was multitasking, building her tinker devices while pulling in, or placing people close to her. Dragon spoke specifically to the cape leader present. "All forces need to retreat right now. Whatever Majin Saber is going to pull, it's not what she's doing now, with the Simrugh forcing people close to them."

There was only 2~3 seconds of arguing, before Eidolon took command and used a power similar to Strider and Vista switching space to effectively mass evacuate people away from the sword wielding cape and the Endbringer.

The battle now was one pulling away from the Simurgh, while Majin Saber trying to corner her.

The game of cat and mouse kept up for a while, and it was this glimmer of hope that would be their undoing.

"She's bringing her device together." Dragon shouted.

As the battle raged on, for the briefest of moment, no one was looking at the Ziz's tinker device. The machine itself wasn't complete, but the parts that made it were. Now it was time for the Simurgh to bring it together, and unleash some unimaginable disaster.

Majin Saber's attacks seemed more frantic, almost cornering the Simurgh, but Dragon with her thought speed could manage to see just one tiny path the Endbringer could escape from. Which meant the Endbringer could definitely see it and would definitely escape form there.

Dragon had this one platform move, ready to sacrifice it to block the Endbringer's escape. This was it, the one moment were they could maybe land a decisive blow.

Which was obviously when the Simurgh blew that tiny hope away. She stopped holding back.

The force of her telekinesis increase in power and range a hundred fold.

She was...she was playing with them.

All this time.

And now, Majin Saber was too close to the Endbringer. In trying to get close to attack, the cape was now too close to attack.

"Uhh...What was it again...?"

Dragon did an instant playback to see Majin Saber's armband activate on it's own.

"Majin Saber, run!"

No, it was the Simurgh wanting to make everyone hear this new champion's dying screams. Dragon knew this because she tried to shut the speakers down to no avail.

"Uh~~huh..." The Simurgh's hands closed in. "I forgot!"

Majin Saber moved, and for the first time her appearance a look of shock and fear was on the Endbringer's face.

Yellow energy slashing appear all over the Simrugh. From all direction, from all point an attack could come from. An attack so overwhelming so fast, not even the Simurgh could avoid it.

It reminded Dragon of the very first and absolutely most hilariously fail plan made to counterattack the Endbringers. Overwhelm them. It naturally fail.

But this? This attack overwhelmed ever the being with billions of predictions of the future.

Dragon would likely be surprised and disgusted if she knew the Simrugh agreed with her in that moment.

Why, if the Simurgh had human thoughts it was would one of increasing frustration at how every possible future she could use to dodge an attack would come from. Because the sword slashes where coming from every direction.

From every single possible move the Simurgh could use, was one where an attack would come from. Thus every single future was one where she was attacked. All the energy slashes where coming, even in places where the Simurgh chose not to dodge to.

There was no way to precog an escape.

In that moment, the Simurgh had an experience and shared a thought, that many, many humans who would watch this battle later on would have. In a way the Simurgh and humanity were able to relate very much on one thing in this moment.

And that was the thought...

"Take this!" Majin Saber moved so fast, as though she teleported, with her arm pulled back. "Something Awesome BEAAAAAAAM!"

Majin Saber thrust her blade toward the Simurgh, covering her with a black laser with gold outlines, and slamming her whole body into the ground. The Simurgh couldn't even block it, because the Servant had cut her telekinesis.

Oh this is just absolute bullshi--