Taylor: You'll live. I didn't hit you hard enough to paralyse your diaphragm all the way, just partially. Though I could have, if I really wanted to. You could be sitting there, suffocating in front of everyone, with nobody the wiser. I could finish this meal, get up and walk out, and you'd die in the middle of a crowded room. The same way you shoved me into my locker in the middle of a crowded hallway. I suppose that's irony for you.
Now see, people might be upset with me for killing those guys, but the truth of the matter is that everything after Oni Lee happened because people don't pay attention. I warned everyone exactly what was going to happen. They thought they were untouchable.
Nobody's untouchable.
Nobody's untouchable.
"Yeah," agreed Lacey. "The bad guys liked the rules just how they were. Even after Oni Lee bit it, they thought they were untouchable."
"But if she could kill them, she could've captured them," protested Gerry. "Handed them over to the PRT. Fair trial and all that jazz."
Danny shook his head, not actually disagreeing with Gerry's point but aware of where he was going wrong. "You know what happens when high-end villains end up in custody, especially if they've got gangs at their beck and call. It might take a few days or even a week, but they're always busted out. The last Brockton Bay villains to actually make it to the Birdcage were …" He paused, thinking back.
"Marquis and Galvanate," supplied Kurt. "Marquis never had any capes under him, and Galvanate's underlings got their powers from him, so they weren't able to break him loose."
"And now Atropos is supplying a one-way trip to the morgue instead." Alex shrugged. "Let's see 'em bust out of that."
"But if she could kill them, she could've captured them," protested Gerry. "Handed them over to the PRT. Fair trial and all that jazz."
Danny shook his head, not actually disagreeing with Gerry's point but aware of where he was going wrong. "You know what happens when high-end villains end up in custody, especially if they've got gangs at their beck and call. It might take a few days or even a week, but they're always busted out. The last Brockton Bay villains to actually make it to the Birdcage were …" He paused, thinking back.
"Marquis and Galvanate," supplied Kurt. "Marquis never had any capes under him, and Galvanate's underlings got their powers from him, so they weren't able to break him loose."
"And now Atropos is supplying a one-way trip to the morgue instead." Alex shrugged. "Let's see 'em bust out of that."
I turned to Flechette. Her face was pinched from the effort of withstanding the Scream, but she was still standing strong beside me. The faith she held in me was inspiring.
It was time to reward that faith. "It's duck season!" I shouted.
I saw the understanding light up in her eyes. "Wabbit season!" she disagreed.
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
Alexandria and Eidolon, and about half the crowd, were staring at us as though we'd gone crazy. Legend and Dragon were trying to stop the rest of the crowd from breaking down into a panic.
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
The time was right. I nodded to Flechette. "Wabbit season!"
"Duck season!" she screamed. "Fire!"
I still had the shotgun in my hand, and I pointed it upward at an angle. Just as the Simurgh swooped past at the right point … I fired.
The Flechette-charged pellets blasted straight into the cloud cover; a split second later, the Scream cut out.
"And now," I said, my ears trying to ring in the mental silence that followed, "we all step back."
Obediently, Alexandria and Eidolon moved out of the white shape I'd drawn, as did Flechette and I. Not two seconds later, the Simurgh tumbled down out of the sky in a welter of flailing wings. She hit the ground once, bounced, demolished a couple of flagpoles, then landed precisely within the outline I'd drawn out. If the cessation of the mental assault hadn't snapped the assembled capes out of their incipient panic, the double impact certainly did the trick.
It was time to reward that faith. "It's duck season!" I shouted.
I saw the understanding light up in her eyes. "Wabbit season!" she disagreed.
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
Alexandria and Eidolon, and about half the crowd, were staring at us as though we'd gone crazy. Legend and Dragon were trying to stop the rest of the crowd from breaking down into a panic.
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
The time was right. I nodded to Flechette. "Wabbit season!"
"Duck season!" she screamed. "Fire!"
I still had the shotgun in my hand, and I pointed it upward at an angle. Just as the Simurgh swooped past at the right point … I fired.
The Flechette-charged pellets blasted straight into the cloud cover; a split second later, the Scream cut out.
"And now," I said, my ears trying to ring in the mental silence that followed, "we all step back."
Obediently, Alexandria and Eidolon moved out of the white shape I'd drawn, as did Flechette and I. Not two seconds later, the Simurgh tumbled down out of the sky in a welter of flailing wings. She hit the ground once, bounced, demolished a couple of flagpoles, then landed precisely within the outline I'd drawn out. If the cessation of the mental assault hadn't snapped the assembled capes out of their incipient panic, the double impact certainly did the trick.
