"Now, I never actually heard of you. Granted I'm not really big on the whole superhero culture, I was a soldier and most of the metas that I had ever heard of were of the sort that I might end up having to kill in the desert, but if you're genuinely somebody who can get within spitting range of a titan, why the hell have I never heard of you?"

Eyeball and Ripper were walking together away from the tent, heading for the row of vehicles parked at the edge of the camp. Numerous trucks had been delivered here, mostly for use in bringing needed supplies down into Mexico now that military operations were over.

"I actually know a villain, goes by the name Ripper. Ripper Chameleon, honestly a pretty awesome guy, good friend. Maybe brother-in-law eventually. Is there some sort of a thing where heroes and villains try to avoid using each other's names?"

Ripper glanced down at Eyeball, shaking his head at his own reflection in the chrome.

"Yeah, I'm not like one of the big guys who they make action figures off. mostly I work with the CIA, And the DMA, working on problems that need to be resolved."

Eyeball nodded. " So, phasing out of reality. Is it some sort of dimensional travel, Or do you just turn into a ghost or something?"

Ripper stopped, and stared, as Eyeball continued on to the truck.. pulling out a cell phone the military had given him, dialing one of the numbers he'd memorized in the event an EMP killed his phone.

"So... It isn't just bullshit. You really can tell how to kill somebody just by looking at them?"

"Yup. I can tell that if I want to kill you, I'm gonna need to get you to disappear, Probly by shooting at you first, and then making sure that there's something for you to be in the same place as when you try to come back. Don't really know exactly how it works, just how to kill you if you do it. Not looking for any weaknesses, just curious. Are there other dimensions?"

"That's classified. If you were still in the service, maybe I'd tell you."

" Ah, hey. Not my choice."

Eyeball hopped into the truck, started the ignition... and placed a phone call.

***

"Got it. I'll pass the information along, I will have everything to the airstrip as quickly as I can. Hell, Since we're in the saving the world business today I might not even charge you for it." Tops leaned back in his chair, smiling, before setting down the phone.

He had been a lawyer for supervillains for quite some time, but he never had the occasion to be asked to review the paperwork for a presidential pardon to make sure it was legit. To say this was a novel experience was an understatement; he was looking at a document that had been signed by President Kennedy himself, granted an electronic copy.

Not only had he made plenty of money just by introducing Eyeball to Nicky, But his existing reputation had gotten even better once people had started associating him with the Eyeball and his growing organization. He had even had a bit of fun dealing with the feds, after they had arrested some of Eyeball's people with reflex, since while they had eventually made the substance illegal, it had not been when his clients acquired it.

Most importantly, though, he needed to make sure the he would be covered for any steps he took to help with this. Sure, saving the world was good, but no lawyer in his right mind was going to put himself at risk of going to prison.

***

The sight of what appeared to be a gigantic metal spider with, with Heavy duty anchor chains for legs, and a body that was once a train car, drew the eyes of hundreds of passerby as it marched straight north, with a loud clanking and squealing sound following it. Eventually, the car would come to a stop, settling on the ground.

The back hatch of the train car burst open, and spike stepped out, carrying Diss in his arms. Two soldiers emerged from the truck, one of them offering spike a salute, as the other took Diss from him, loading her up in the vehicle.

"Sir! General Bates would like to request you and the Lord of Iron to head back south, sir. We can take her north; would you be willing to take a flight?"

Spike frowned. "What? I thought the war was over? Did it not work? How many are left?"

"It's... Tai, sir. The Chinese Titan. He's been ignoring orders and is just burning everything in his path. He's so hot now that if he isn't stopped he'll cook us all."

"Jesus Christ, from one crisis to another. I don't know if I can stop him, but I'll damn sure try."

"Valkyrie and Ripper are already on the way. The Titanslayer has been called in as well... said he'd get replacement gear and be taking a jet down."

Spike growled, and shook his head. "Well, fuck. At least we know where the bastard is. Alright, I'll take a chopper. Make it a cargo one, though, I won't go below two tons until this Eyeball fucker is done."

The soldiers nodded... and re-boarded the truck, as the Lord of Iron emerged from the container. Spike glanced back. "So. You're a world-famous hero now. Want to join us in another dash of heroism to make all the others look bad?"

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He grimaced as he stepped out. "Honestly, I feel like shit. I need a doctor, not another fight. But... if you can get one to tag along and help me with the wires stuck in me when we arrive..."

A sudden loud 'pop' sound... and a sudden gust of wind blew dust away from the scene, as three figures seemingly appeared out of nowhere. One of them in dark blue tights and a mask; the next wearing an armored vest, shorts, and with glowing white strands of light projecting out of his back like a glowing set of octopus tentacles; and finally a pale-skinned teenager wearing a long dark jacket.

The teen had been holding the other two up off the ground; and settled them down when he arrived. He looked around. "Alright. I'm a a teleporter. Name's Fade. Angel flies and hits thing, Bolt is a telekinetic."

The two nodded at their names.

"I'd have liked to just carry your girl here myself, but I'd been hit by an EMP and didn't hear about that mission til it was already mostly over. So long as you don't mind dropping your weight below five hundred, I can teleport you down there in a few minutes... I can make it to any shadow within line of sight. If Lord of Iron here is willing to go along.."

He glanced at the man. By now, the blood was dried; he didn't look in the best of shape, but he nodded as he approached. "Then Bolt can carry him. I can outrun any airplane, so I'll be heading back to grab Eyeball as well. Ripper is afraid of heights, so he'll be driving a truck, and Valkyrie... might already be there."

Spike grimaced. "...I don't like dropping my density that low. Someone might be able to tag me with a tank round or something."

"Look. I can't make any promises for once you get there. But for the trip itself? You'll be safe as houses. Just don't panic on me, it'll feel like we're falling the whole way."

***

As Tai approached the Pacific, the loud hiss of boiling water finally penetrated the loud roaring hellfire of his aura; he had been completely blind to anything but the white-hot light in every direction, channeling and shaping the heat just enough to keep him rolling forward. He settled down on the beach; still surrounded by a transparent haze, the scent of the ocean burned out of the air that reached him; air so hot that it was being changed at a molecular level, and yet somehow, he could still breathe it.

He stepped out further onto the sand, awkwardly slipping on the smooth, glassy surface, smacking into it and leaving an imprint of his own flesh there with a laugh. Yue would've loved this idea. She wasn't heat-proof, but she would've blasted her name into the sand with a barrage of lightning before heading back east to continue the assault. She was the fun one. The assertive one, the one that wanted to take the quick approach.

His tears were vapor before they could leave him. Something just felt wrong about being unable to feel them running down his face... but he didn't dare to cool back off until the job was done. These idiots in charge wanted to stop him. To let some trace of the machines survive, to doom humanity just to avoid a few more casualties.

Not that they would care about them. No... they just cared about looking bad. It would be fine to put these people into death camps and work them until nothing was left. That was practically the party way at this point. But a quick, clean death by fire? Too barbaric. Can't do it.

It wasn't really the machines, responsible for killing Yue, was it? No... it was the party. They sent her here to show off. All they needed was Tai. Tai could've handled this on his own. He could handle all of this on his own.

He looked out to the west. Somewhere, far enough across that ocean, was home. Where the people really responsible for this were. And after he was through cleaning off this entire continent, he'd be back, to remove the filth from there as well.

After all, what was it that machine had said? "Victims of the Oligarchy." Perhaps it was a machine, but it was right. He wasn't working for some communist party; he was working for a group of wealthy, powerful old men. Men who'd kept him on a chain, like a leashed dog, to impress the rest of the world.

Well. Today, North America. Tomorrow, China.

Tai rose into the air, the heat swelling once more, growing to that interminable white-hot radiance, and flew north; just a few miles, far enough that he would still be melting deep into the earth... and started moving east... another trench of molten rock and death forming behind him.

***

" You know, I think this is the first time I've been to Tucson." Eyeball looked around at the airport; Not the smallest of things, but certainly smaller than most of the ones he'd been to. It was also ridiculously busy, likely a point where numerous flights that had been heading south were diverged to. he didn't even want to guess at how many planes had crashed thanks to the Fed's little stunt with Spike's girlfriend.

Emerald gave a laugh. " And what the hell are we doing in Tucson?"

"Tops has a package being delivered for me here. Honestly, we're probably gonna take the plane south, and just airdrop into Mexico."

Completely ignoring the terminal, Eyeball drove directly to the fence around the runways... and lifted out his cell, casually abandoning the military truck right at the fence-line. Someone would be by to grab it later. Probably load it with supplies and head south, too. Checking the timing, and watching the planes. "Hop me over, please, sweetheart? Don't want to damage these folks' fence without a reason."

She shook her head, grabbing him by the shoulders... and hopped up with a single powerful flap of the wings, more jump than flight. "I've seen the sort of damage you're good with. Now we don't want to cut a fence?"

She followed behind his approach to one of the runways.. as a small corporate private jet was pulling in for a landing... and stopped, right there on the runway. The door popped open, and a massive, heavyset man in a suit leaned out, waving... as Eyeball sprinted towards it, Emerald following behind.

Airport security was already heading towards them in a pair of small, golf-cart-like vehicles, shouting something inaudible over the jet's engines... as the two slammed the door behind them, the jet turning back to take off, ignoring its order in line. Inside, Eyeball glanced down at the cases that filled a big chunk of the floor; his own equipment, from up in Colorado. A full replacement for all of his gear, as well as the rifle that, if it worked, he was going to be calling his 'Titanslayer Special'.... even if he didn't get to shoot Spike with it.

As Emerald settled into one of the nice, comfortable chairs, Eyeball stepped up to the cockpit, leaning in. "Hey, gents. Full speed, straight south. I got approval from the DoD."

"How far south, sir?"

"We'll be jumping out south of Mexico city. You can land wherever, but I don't know if anything south of there is still intact."

The co-pilot was currently handling the take-off as the pilot turned in his chair. "But... we don't have the fuel to make it back from there. And all the airports are out."

"The DoD is footing the bill. If you gotta lose the whole plane and land in the water, fine, they'll replace it. Life-or-death, end of the world stuff here."

"... Huh. You think I could get one of those new electrics?"

***