Her head was pounding, she had to take everything in around her, there was no try.

But there was too much going on. Accepting sensory overload at the bare minimum was wrecking whatever holding on, whatever’s left. It was to the point that the images she was receiving, becoming jagged, choppy and sharp, becoming colorless images.

She looked to right. She saw the Enforcers rushing in, knowing that once they go in, they’re done for. Rushing into the various sludge creatures, and then just as quickly trying to fish the victims out of the ooze. Tripping, slipping downward but still committing to dive in to save people, and multiple struggling to yank them out despite having suits that could easily toss pounds of rubble.

The screech that flooded into a low rumble that was her hearing caused her to glance to her left.

A sobbing, sputtering woman, with her shaking and near-mutilated limbs, were turning into claws within seconds. She hovered over the straggler she already knocked down, a person that was just too slow in running away. Despite the neon lights around them, the stress lines of her face cast her features in shadow. Shaking her head, muttering:

“I’m so—I’m sorry, I’m sorry okay? I have—I got a family, you have to understand, you have to get it…”

She had to ease back.

She had to get all of this out of her head—

But she didn’t have a choice.

The crowds finally came towards them, away from the Trend that’s slowly stalking them, and the onrush of voices, movement, emotion—that was all there is to her current existence.

The flashing lights. The immutable night. Buildings, attempting to sink into the ground. Things and ideas that seemed to be set in unbreakable stone, bending without true rhyme or reason anymore. Completely surrounded.

Right back to square 1.

As she was flung back down to Hell, so did her senses, powering down as she finally heard Maddie.

“What are we doing, Jackson--?”

She tried to answer. All she could do was grit her teeth, shaking her head. Feeling the beads of sweat form from her skin, and yet the moisture of her mouth dry by the second.

The potency of the screams that ensnared her within a cacophony, it was hard to focus within it. The potency of this situation, two rampages that can result in the same game over. No ground, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

“Jackie, what are we doing?” Tracy chattered through her teeth.

She looked back, scanning her cohorts, just looking at them. River was still at the bad, searching away with shaking hands.

Then she looked forward, just using her sight as tears were pushed out of those eyes.

N’atural just sported a lightly confused, if not relaxed look. Looking around the buildings she let others destroy. As if she was looking for a restaurant she swore she saw on this street.

All of this was now a game to her.

“What could be done, at this fucking point?” Maddie said, exhausted.

“I am not doing this see-saw shit again, people!” Tracy shouted, nearly deranged. “We said we’re pushing through, where to?!”

“Whatever the answer is, we need it in ten seconds or so!” Aiko screamed. “What are we doing, what are we doing?!”

Huffing out of her nose, gripping at her neck with hand, Jackie just closed her eyes.

BAROS~!

Jackie heard the Voice of siVis sound so jubilant, and never heard it reach this level.

Opening her eyes, she caught the blur that was Stark Terri, dashing forward like a bullet, planting both feet onto the asphalt, and kicked up her left leg.

--CLIFFHANGER!

The road soon rose up, as if it was a glob of paint, and was smeared it upwards onto the invisible canvas. She put so much energy into the kick, it lifted her up in the air.

She winced, grabbing the small of her back, as she used both legs to paddle the street upwards, creating a makeshift wall that doubled with every kick upwards.

Until she croaked out in pain, clutching that small of her back, and quickly angled herself to plant her feet onto the curved wall and slide down backward using siVis on her thick legs and then on her core, in quick flashes.

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Smoke was emitting from her footwear, leaving skid marks that also defied gravity as accents, she was maintaining a good speed. Until she made it back down, and promptly fell onto her back, right at Jackie’s feet.

“…I… Hate… Being right…” Stark winced, her sunglasses shattered but lenses holding strong.

Jackie and Aiko quickly scrambled to pick up the weird girl, as she involuntarily twitched due to her back. Jackie did look back briefly, seeing the crowds race back towards the then-falling apart building now that they’re protected somewhat.

“GaaaAaah—you’d think that using both legs would help it along—that biiiarrgh—the big bingo—but I got… Whatever the term is for, like—no spaces for bingo—”

The strange girl looked at Jackie. “…You’re wincing too…”

Jackie didn’t realize, now painfully aware that her grip to hold Stark was the source, using her other hand and causing her to glance at the ruined one.

Stark continued to stare, study her face. Despite her cracked glasses not letting any light highlight her eyes, only shining against the lens.

“Terri, I think even with a fucked up back, you’d be the one to bail us out,” Maddie interrupted, causing the former to be startled, slowly getting out of Jackie and Aiko’s hold, turning on her worn heels.

“We’re doing terribly—” Tracy was the second to plea. “Nothing is going right—and it’s because we’re so, such, weaklings that can’t do the simple siVis things—”

“Can barely survive this,” Maddie sounded congested again.

Everything, even the dumbest hindrances, all making their appearances…

“…First off,” Stark began. “I’m so happy to see you guys again—sorry that both the meeting and what you’re going through isn’t good. But as a fellow human, I’ll just say this. Think. Even with the bad stuff spiraling around—really think about it. Catch them, grapple with them. I know it’s impossible here—but look around us…”

Looking upwards, seeing the air turn into static from above.

She looked down. “I need to get these people inside and into the evac tunnels, I promised something that I did—T-that I’d do that. We’ll talk later—see each other later.”

She smiled her smile that wasn’t really a smile, before darting behind them while yelping under her breath, “WE WILL BE BACK—TOGETHER—BUT NOT IN THE RELATIONS WAY—”

Jackie stewed in the thoughts that she hoped to dash away, prove wrong, but now told to make nice with.

“You people of ill-faith—” Aiko had her hands on her hips.

“Look, we’re not crazy like you: we’re trying to live at the end of the day,” Maddie then coughed, uncomfortably. “Shit we do simply isn’t working. We tried to keep moving, but it’s fucking clear…”

“What?” Aiko questioned. “That we should’ve died, is that it? That this whole thing was just prolonged torture? Alright, Mrs. Fuuki, your husband sucks.”

“Then what’s the explanation, other than sheer luck?” Tracy asked spitefully. “What’s the magical cure all solution that fixes the fact we’re half-baked, that gets us throw the horror and scars so far? That shows we can make a jot of difference in this fucked world we live in?!”

“… We did hear all of the solutions. We’re just too miserable to keep going at it.”

The trio looked towards Jackie, who looked back with a untensed face. Something continuing to wash over her.

“We met so many people trying to get by, continuing to… And that’s the thing. They think they’re insects too, biding their time until things happen and barely—A-J alone is, she did the greatest feat we’ve seen so far of a siVictim and you look at her eyes. It’s the same as ours.”

Maddie sighed, while Tracy quietly cursed. Aiko just nodded.

“There is no one-all solution. We just keep moving, against it all. Over and over, until it doesn’t bother us anymore.”

“Fine and good, looks great on some school poster—” Maddie stormed over. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we have to keep going through it. We keep getting smashed down, it’s getting to the point that we can’t do what we did to climb back up. You can’t fucking power through that. When is it until it doesn’t ‘bother’ us, huh? And how can we not break until then, ol’ fearless leader?”

Jackie gritted her teeth again. Her eyes were downcast, not with fire alighting them.

River just sighed, causing everyone to turn to her. Head in hands, phone on the ground, defeated.

“Causality doesn’t have any siVis attack patterns to follow…” River drily joked. But it was too bitter to be jovial, too upset to be snarky. “We’re fighting against that. And there’s no ‘winning’.”

But then, her phone erupted with light.

All of theirs did.

“—Tabby Morrow here, yeah I’m surprised that I’m not dead either—"

Everyone, disbelief written on their collective faces, just turned towards River’s phone—ignoring their own. Seeing the logo of the woman who survived’s show floating in the air.

“They wanted me to be a blow to you all—for me to be a victim in their little cosmic temper-tantrum, but I’m gonna do my job and that involves me living: so here’s the update you’ve been waiting on”

It all became all the more clear to Jackie, who glanced at each of the girls as they continued to gawk.

“Mayhem is not going to kill Eli Davenport or hasn’t harmed him in any way—he’s currently climbing the Jones-Press building at the lower ends of Steppe Ave, he wants to make an example and wants the attention—the potential Paradigm Shift is just a Get Outta Jail Free card, and he wants his like Nathan Fuuki and co. has theirs!”

“Meanwhile, Savage is looking either to undermine or possibly look for me: based on prior encounters they have, she wants to keep her own momentum going, but again, this is tentative. Remember, do not panic—stay safe, find the nearest Enforcer and hide. We will not let them ruin this day, do not let them scare you into forgetting that we knew this was going to happen somehow despite our efforts. But we have to keep going. And if I can, I know you can.”

Tabby proceeded to run off the information again. As they all looked at each other, the light from the phone’s projection illuminated their faces.

“What the hell, girl…?” Jackie smiled, wavering, in a hushed tone. “How did I suck so bad, you ended up saving me…?”

“She said it herself…” Aiko pleaded with the rest. “Even if our efforts are so small… It got us here, didn’t they? Even if they continue to shrink… They still move forward.”

Maddie looked down, silent. She coughed again, closing her eyes, cupping her mouth. “After this man, I’m only working on weekdays or something. You fuckers can go on thinking punching a brick wall will get you across despite the bloody fucking welts that used to be your hands. But I’m not.”

“Well,” Jackie said, tense—heavy—but understanding. “Let’s keep up with our work.”

Tracy sighed softly. “‘We few, we happy few…’”

“‘We band of buggered,’” River seemed to quote something else, but captured their mood.

Everyone turned towards the wall, and ran.