"Pyrrha!" At the sight of his partner, Jaune and his team ran up to the entrance to Beacon. He couldn't stop the relieved smile that came to his lips. The two of them had been separated in the hectic defense of the school. Which was fine, he hadn't wanted to hold her back.
Pyrrha was strong, definitely the strongest in their year, but even he'd started to worry when he hadn't seen her for a while. The last he'd heard was that she'd gone to find Ruby. Who, as it turned out, was just a few steps behind Pyrrha. Ruby zipped past the redhead and reunited with her partner and sister.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here, but everyone seems to have fared well without me." Pyrrha said after looking around. Beacon had been cleared of Grimm and deactivated Atlesian robots cluttered the school grounds.
There was still a lot of trouble in the city though, and Grimm were still making it dangerously close to the school. Lots of civilians were also on campus, evacuating in Bullheads nearby.
"Blake's hurt?!" Ruby shouted. "How? Where is she?" Her wide eyes turned to the Bullheads, and she looked like she would run off any second.
"Calm down, it's not serious." Yang said. "Blake's aura will take care of it, she's safe. Where were you guys?"
The two tensed immediately at the question, and Pyrrha answered. "We . . . were assisting the headmaster. He had a plan to end the invasion and repel Cinder, but she attacked his office. H-he's fallen."
Weiss wiped her forehead of sweat and her eyes shot open. "The headmaster's dead?"
Pyrrha nodded. Ruby's lips pinched together, and she looked aside. Their expressions erased any doubt. Jaune shook his head. The headmaster, Ozpin? Dead?
"Whoa." Yang was the first to speak up after that news. "Well where's she now? Did you two fight her off after the headmaster softened her up?"
"No, we received assistance from someone else." Pyrrha explained.
Some light came into Ruby's eyes at that. "Yeah. I-I met him before once, he works at Beacon, but I didn't know how cool he was. He was really strong, Pyrrha and I barely got to do anything to help."
"Really? Wh-
"Hey, if you're just going to stand around talking, do it while you evacuate." A gruff voice ordered.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice, which turned out to belong to Ruby and Yang's uncle. His brow was furrowed and his eyes sharp, a very different expression from what Jaune was used to seeing from the man. Mr. Branwen was usually a lot more laidback, his drinking habits had made that pretty clear.
"Well we're not evacuating." Ruby said. "Beacon might be safe, but there are still Grimm in the city."
Qrow sighed. "Yeah, I thought you might say that. Goodwitch needs all the help she can get, I'm sure we can get some use out of you."
"Wait! Sir, I . . . I need time to rest." Weiss said, her hand clenched in a shamed fist. Every word came out reluctantly, but the sweat on her brow and her scroll's aura reading meant the truth couldn't be avoided. "My stamina isn't the highest, and I believe I'll only be a burden if I join you immediately."
"Good point." Qrow said. He raised his voice for the other students in the area. "If any of you need rest or medical attention, get it. I'm sure as hell not going to let you drag the rest of us down." He added with a glare.
As it turned out, several other students had low aura or needed rest. Those that did went to the Bullheads with the other civilians. Before Weiss left, she promised her team that she'd look after Blake and rejoin the fight if she could.
Then, a majority of the remaining students followed Qrow to the ships headed for the city. The rest stayed at the school with some Atlas soldiers, in case any flying Grimm ignored the defensive lines and came straight for Beacon.
When the students arrived, they were split up in zones around the city with their teams. They'd spent the past year working in those groups after all, and even longer for the older students.
When team JNPR received their assignment, Jaune gulped. There'd been dozens of students defending Beacon together, but now they'd be spread out in the city. He was his team's leader, if anything went wrong, it would be his fault.
Pyrrha had noticed his unease, and he was grateful for her steady hand on his shoulder and reassuring nod.
Team JNPR was assigned to the western line to help some professional huntsmen. Ren and Nora stayed in the rear. Their aura and stamina weren't as low as Weiss' had been, but for the moment, they were more useful with their ranged options. Although it wasn't like that handicapped them, Nora's grenades and Ren's bullets still ripped through a good number of Grimm.
On the other hand, Jaune and Pyrrha had plenty of aura left. Their fighting styles were more focused on getting close to the enemy, so they hacked and slashed at the Grimm. Now that the dragon had been killed, it was easier to see the progress they made reducing the hordes.
Grk! Whooosh! Grk! Grk! Whoosh! Grk!
In the distance, a group of Beowolves and Ursai . . . exploded. There was no other way to put it. One second, they'd been charging towards the huntsmen, the next, they had enormous holes missing from their chests. Bone armor and blood had flown through the air or splattered against the ground before all remains of the monsters dissolved.
"Wh-what the?" Jaune stared, stunned by the attacks, before he heard the process repeated a few blocks over.
And for a brief moment, right after a Creep burst apart, something flickered out of the hole. Then, the man-sized object sped up so quickly that Jaune lost track of it entirely.
"I-it's the Dart!" Jaune yelled with a smile on his face. "Wh-whoa!" He stepped back from a Beowolf that had gotten too close. In a quick motion, although not as smooth as he would have liked, he slashed up into its neck and moved back.
"The Dart? Where?" Pyrrha looked around with surprised eyes. "We could certainly use his help."
Weird, she'd never expressed that kind of interest in the Dart when Jaune had talked about him before. In fact, she'd been one of the most skeptical about him, even though she was always polite about it with Jaune and Ruby.
"I sawhim right there!" The blond pointed with his sword. "He must be why some of the Grimm are dying suddenly!"
"Truly? I . . . didn't realize how fast he was."
Yeah, it was awesome! Seriously, the Dart! They were fighting Grimm alongside the Dart, who'd just blasted through a dozen Grimm like they nothing. No way they'd lose now!
They moved forward, and strangely enough, it was like there were less Grimm as they got further out. At least, it seemed that way at first. They had to go several streets before more land-bound Grimm appeared. The Dart must have gone through several blocks of them.
Jaune grinned at his luck. What were the chances that he and the Dart would be protecting the same region in the city? Ruby was going to be so jealous.
Focus, Jaune. Now's not the time for that. He reminded himself. Some Boarbatusks were stampeding toward them, prompting the team into action. Nora's grenades were a big help, knocking the Grimm over when they tried to ram into them. Exposing their underbellies for Jaune and his partner to stab.
It wasn't often that Jaune got to see Pyrrha unleashed. Even when Ms. Goodwitch had started pitting her against entire teams during her spars, there hadn't ever been the sense that his partner had been pushing herself. It had been the same during the festival too. She fought, she put in effort, but the fights weren't really challenging for her. She hadn't needed to give them everything she had.
Here, with the city at stake, it was totally different. She was focused completely on tearing through the Grimm. That wasn't hard for her, most weren't even too difficult for Jaune to deal with, and all the training he had was from his time at Beacon. Yet she fought the Grimm in a display that truly showed the distance between him and his partner. Something that was easy to forget when she sparred with him often, and at times even let him win.
She slashed and ripped through the creatures with incredible efficiency and speed. Her weapon transformed quickly, and she adjusted so smoothly to each new form that it boggled his mind. She flipped and ducked from the Grimm's attacks, or blocked and redirected them with ease.
Pyrrha was amazing.
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Ironwood couldn't see each one directly, but the number of Grimm in the streets dwindled. The black masses shrank even when no huntsmen or soldiers were nearby to combat them.
Kent was killing the monsters, slaughtering them, and it had taken an incident of this level to force his hand. How much time would have been saved if Kent had started killing the Grimm when he'd first arrived? How many could he have killed by now? How many lives could he have saved?
It was obvious to see the benefits, and Ironwood appreciated them. However, such power wasn't to be taken lightly, even when used to defend the city. If Ironwood had thought otherwise, his position as general would have been disastrous for the citizens of Atlas.
Having some degree of control over Kent, that would be ideal. However, Ironwood would have sacrificed much for any means to stop him.
Perhaps he'd already sacrificed too much. Penny. Even with all his time in the military, Ironwood knew she was one of the most terrible losses he'd ever suffer. One that wouldn't leave his mind for years to come.
Even with all her modifications, Kent's double had eliminated her and injured Kent to a certain degree. Sonic weaponry, the solar lamps, the hard-light shields, they hadn't been enough. The double had nearly won against them even with Kent's assistance. Even if Ironwood had the so-called kryptonite, what would stop Kent from choosing to wear lead armor like his doppelganger? Even if Ironwood mustered the force to stop him, how could the general prevent him from just running away?
Catching him by surprise was no easy feat either. The general's initial attempt to spy on Kent, Cinder's people following him, and even his doppelganger had put Kent on the lookout. His senses and his reaction time would be difficult to circumvent. It could be done, but it wouldn't be easy. They'd also have to kill him on the first try if weakening him wasn't an option.
These possibilities persisted in the back of Ironwood's mind, even as he reestablished communications with more troops and barked out orders.
"Lieutenant, I want men airborne in any vehicle not designated for evacuating citizens! Shoot down the Grimm any way you can, fire out of the windows if you have to, but I want them dead!" Decompression shouldn't be an issue only a few hundred feet above Vale anyway, but he was no expert.
He switched frequencies. "All troops! Those of you with six and up for the last digit of your identification number are going in the air. Pilots, take delta formation, Major Pormick will command you directly from there." That formation and Pormick's guidance should prevent friendly fire.
Kent and the huntsmen were working through the Grimm on the ground, but besides the dragon, there hadn't been much in the way of eliminating those with wings after Ironwood's ship had been hijacked. That changed now. It would be a sight, the men hadn't been trained to take Grimm out like this, but it was a simple method. Shoot out from their vehicles.
There was more to do, so much more to do before they'd finally repel this invasion. However, despite the daunting number of necessary tasks, Ironwood was certain they would. Their defense was organized now.
Splitting his attention too far would have been fatal, and it was only a result of his experience that he was able to find a proper balance of delegating tasks to those under him. It allowed him to focus on large-scale events, ordering multiple contingents at a time.
The Atlesian troops were vital in the city's defense, but another element had to be considered. Kent. The troops obviously noticed Grimm killed before their eyes, but those few who caught glimpses of him were speaking up. Based on their reports, Kent was going in widening circles around the city.
Good, it was a predictable route that the general could work with, and predictability was crucial when communication with Kent currently wasn't an option. Beyond that, Kent was going to have an important role to play. One that would have ramifications for the aftermath of this attack.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
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Grimm and terrorists attacked Vale. Vale, the seat of the Kingdom, and even worse was the fact that it was during the Vytal Festival. This Cinder, Asenich was going to have her hunted down. It didn't matter which Kingdom she ran to, or even if she left them entirely, she would pay for this.
The Councilors and other high-ranking officials had been brought to this bunker. One of many in the city built for Grimm incursions, but which hadn't been used in decades. It's lack of cleanliness had been irritating enough, but Asenich's indignation had flared when they'd been crowded together with ordinary civilians.
The damn soldiers hadn't given him a modicum of proper respect. Those fools had been too busy cleaning up their messes, shooting their own malfunctioning droids and failing to establish communication with their superiors.
At the very least, Asenich's personal bodyguards provided some space between his family and the rabble. But how long would they be forced to wait here?
Almost immediately after Asenich had formed the question, a group of Atlesian soldiers entered the bunker.
"Finally! We deserve answers and proper treatment, what is the state of affairs outside?" Asenich shouted. The other Councilors made sounds of agreement, as did the crowd, although they did it far more loudly.
Instead of answering, the soldiers' lips twisted in fierce snarls. "Before you die, know this. You Councilors are the worst of humanity. You're the ones who enforce the abuse and suffering of faunus, and if I could, I would give you far more painful deaths!"
They fired their weapons. God, they'd stolen the guns and uniforms off Atlesian soldiers in the middle of a Grimm invasion? How deranged were they?
The various bodyguards reacted swiftly, pulling out their pistols and returning fire. Councilor Worden fell from a hail of bullets and guards clutched bullet wounds but continued to do their duty. Fortunately, Asenich hadn't been close to the disguised faunus when they'd entered. Their shots entered those who'd happened to be between them.
"Stay together!" Asenich roared. He didn't know if his wife and children heard him over the screams of the crowd, but he pulled them together. They ran out of the emergency exit, death was certain if they stayed inside. Outside, there was still hope.
In the rush to escape, elbows and shoulders jostled against him. If it weren't for his stature and size, he would have been knocked over. His wife nearly had been, but he managed to pull her along.
"Hold on!" Asenich screamed at his son. He was losing his grip, there were too many blasted people all running for the exit. Too many bumping and pushing against him.
Asenich's fingers lost their hold on his son, and the stampeding crowd forced them out.
Chaos, that was what they'd entered. Grimm still swarmed in the sky, and in seconds, the closest dove down on the frightened masses.
Asenich held his wife by him and frantically scanned the crowd for his son. There, to his right! The boy had fallen on the ground and was crying from a skinned knee.
"Get up, Jason! Get up!" Asenich screamed and ran to his son, but he'd be too late. Already, a Griffon had landed and approached the child. Fear clutched the Councilor's heart and turned his veins to ice.
The Grimm leapt.
And then it burst apart.
It wasn't alone. Asenich hadn't realized that more Grimm had landed, he'd been focused on his son, but the splattering sounds of their deaths brought them to his attention.
Asenich reached his son and lifted the child. He was still young enough that carrying him wasn't too much of a burden.
"Come with me!" A soldier shouted. Panic struck Asenich for a moment, fearful that this was another White Fang, but a terrorist would have shot them already.
More soldiers arrived to defend the people from the Grimm, and relief swept through the people as they fired into the sky. They rounded up the civilians. Somehow, there hadn't been any deaths from Grimm, and they were put in heavily armored trucks that would transport them to a safe location.
During the ride, Asenich puzzled over the sudden deaths of the Grimm. They hadn't been riddled with bullets. No, it had almost seemed like they'd been blown apart. How?
When he looked out the window, he received his answer. A separate contingent of soldiers were having difficulties with a swarm of Nevermore. When one particularly large one landed, it burst apart as well.
Something exited from a hole in its body, something that flashed away too quickly for Asenich to see. Yet he knew what, or rather who, it had been.
The Dart. The Dart had saved his son.
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"So . . . I guess Cinder didn't exactly fill you in on what we're supposed to do in this situation?" Mercury asked as he and his partner hid on the roof of a building. His scroll was in his hand, he'd been recording the event as Cinder had ordered.
But if it was supposed to spread negativity to other Kingdoms, then it wasn't exactly going to work when it showed Grimm spontaneously exploding instead of attacking people. Mercury was sure Cinder would cut him some slack if he stopped filming.
"How is Kent even here?" Emerald glared down below at a figure who was only visible for a moment at a time. And even then only as an indistinct blur. "Didn't Trav say that he was going to take care of him?"
Trav, that was what the two of them called the Traveler. The nickname hadn't seemed to bother the guy. If it had, they wouldn't have risked using it. It would've been like calling Cinder 'Cindy' to her face.
"Gee, Em. I don't know, what could have happened to him?" Mercury's normally sarcastic tone took a fearful edge. It was obvious what had happened, Trav had lost.
"Shut up. H-he doesn't matter anyway. We just need to leave after Cinder finds the Relic."
"Well I don't think she's coming down. You saw what happened at the tower."
"We don't know what we saw! It could mean anything!"
True, neither of them had been able to make out the details from down here, but when Cinder's fireballs had stopped lighting up the top of the building, Mercury had caught on quickly. Emerald, on the other hand, was refusing to accept the truth.
"There's no way Cinder would lose to Kent." Emerald muttered.
Mercury wasn't so sure. Trav could crush metal like putty and jog faster than bullets. He seemed like a good contender, and Kent, the Dart, whatever he wanted to call himself, had beaten him. That didn't automatically mean Kent would beat Cinder, fights weren't that simple, but if his throwing arm and speed were anything like Trav's, he could have run circles around Cinder and pelted her with projectiles until her aura went down. At that point, he could have killed her.
Not that he would if Trav was right about him, and it was certainly looking that way. At least based on what Kent was doing now the brief blur that had leapt from the tower.
"Cinder lost." Mercury said. "Maybe she wasn't at a hundred after her fight with the headmaster, or maybe Kent got lucky. That doesn't matter, she lost, and she's been captured by the enemy. We need to leave."
"No! I'm not abandoning Cinder again!"
"Damn it, how is this different from before? We have to."
"That was a contingency plan we were supposed to follow in case something went wrong. She didn't give us one for this, so I'm staying!"
Mercury huffed. Seriously, was she that devoted to Cinder? "Then what are we going to do? Wait here until Kent finds us and knocks us out before we know what hit us?"
"No, we're going to make him tell us where Cinder is."
"Uh-huh, how?!"
"My semblance. I'll make him see Goodwitch and have him tell us."
"Okay, no, that's a horrible idea." For one, Emerald's illusions didn't seem to work on Trav. Or according to Cinder, they seemed to work for a moment before he saw right through them. If Kent did the same, they were screwed. Besides . . .
"Can you even get a lock on him?" Mercury asked and pointed at the street. The Grimm in the area had been cleared and he'd left.
Emerald followed his finger and her lips pinched together before she spoke. "If he stayed still for a second-"
"Yeah, good luck with that. I think we'll have better chances if we leave and find a way to get Cinder out. Which we won't be able to do if we're imprisoned with her. You coming or not?"
After a few seconds, she agreed.
They headed down and kept to the areas with the least Grimm. That gave them the best chance of hiding from Kent. At least until they filched a couple Atlas soldier uniforms, helmet and everything. After that, they went straight to their hidden Bullhead without a worry.
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"Nnnngh!" As He had for the past hour or so, He rolled on the ground and tried to find some relief from the pain. Sweat drenched His brow, and His entire body burned. The pain was most intense in His chest, where the shard of Kryptonian crystal was embedded.
Kryptonian tech. Damn it! He'd done everything possible in order to trap Clark. Preparing the lead chamber that reflected and spread out the kryptonite radiation from a fist-sized chunk over an entire room. Using Velvet as a hostage to ensure that Clark would throw the crystal away and cooperate.
It hadn't worked. Even when that idiot still couldn't use it properly, it was capable of reducing Him to this.
No, no it wasn't. He grit his teeth and turned over on His back. Each breath scratched His throat, but he forced them out.
Before He'd been a phantom, He'd been a product of Kryptonian technology. He'd been Kryptonian as well, but not like Clark. No, He'd been a genetic experiment, a monster that Jor-El couldn't control. Too much even with all his tools and knowledge, and that had been why He'd been sent to the phantom zone.
Even as a phantom, Clark's crystal hadn't worked on Him. It made light shows and pushed them apart, but He'd still been able to get a new body for Himself. That had given him more power, elevated Him to more than a phantom, no matter what Clark thought.
Kryptonian tech? Sure, it hurt. Jor-El had given this crystal particular attention, but that didn't change what it was.
He took a deep breath, even as it pained Him to do so. Even when the crystal sensed His intentions and radiated sunlight to stop him.
"Raaaaagh!" He screamed. The crystal pulsed. He would beat it. It was still Kryptonian tech. He'd overcome it before, and He'd overcome it now.
It shattered, pieces flew into the walls and ceiling, and the pain faded. It didn't disappear entirely, but it was a far cry from the agony from only seconds earlier.
He grinned and pulled His wrists free of the cuffs. His strength had returned as well. He wasn't at a hundred, and nowhere near what he felt after a kryptonite boost, but it was good. Should he confront Clark now?
"Gah!" He held his chest. By focusing His vision, He could still see that microscopic pieces were still embedded in Him.
Super-hearing and X-ray vision had returned as well, so he took the moment to check his surroundings. Cinder and her two little minions He'd broken out earlier were in cells nearby. They might still be useful. So in a flash, He forced his way out his cell and tore into theirs. Alarms blared, and it wasn't exactly easy carrying three unconscious people, but tying them together with warped metal bars helped.
He made sure to keep skin contact with all of them when He burst out into the sky. With His acceleration, things would have gotten messy otherwise.
In seconds, they flew out into the mountains near the lead chamber. He had some more kryptonite stashed a mile or so from the chamber. There wasn't a ton of the stuff left, but He needed it right now. His flying was starting to get unsteady, and his chest throbbed.
He dropped the three in a cave nearby. They'd probably wake up with bruises, but He honestly couldn't care less at the moment. He needed the kryptonite, that would flush the damn crystal out of him. It had to.
He flashed into the hiding spot, and from one of the various lead boxes, He pulled out a shard barely bigger than a marble and held it to his chest. The pain compounded at first, like it always did from kryptonite absorption, but it gave Him some relief.
Only some.
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It hadn't taken long for Clark to clear the streets of Grimm, but dealing with the ones in the sky took time.
Firing pulses of heat vision was the best method for taking them out. Thankfully, high intensity blasts weren't necessary to deal with them, so Clark had been able to keep up the beams of heat without issue. The relatively low intensity had also kept his heat vision in the infrared and allowed him to keep his presence hidden.
It wasn't an easy power to use while also running by at super-speed. Throwing things was a lot easier for both his eyes and concentration though. Manhole covers, street signs, car doors, even bricks, any piece of debris became a deadly weapon with his strength behind it. Of course, he had to be careful not to hit the ships in the air and to also rein in the projectiles' speed. Smaller objects could set off sonic booms without issues, but it was dangerous to try the same with anything more than a few feet in diameter.
He made a lot of progress, but the soldiers deserved more credit. They actually went into aircraft and came almost face to face with the Grimm, and their coordinated assaults put Clark's attempts to shame. Sure, he'd dealt with a large number of them, but his attacks were random, disorganized. He rushed from district to district like a headless chicken.
He'd even tried to help the soldiers directly, but that had proved to be a bad idea. Frying a Nevermore's brain near one of their aircraft wasn't a kindness, not when it interfered with the orders an officer gave his men or pilots. They were adaptive, but there were plenty of times Clark took care of a Grimm that they were readying themselves for and made them send new orders and change formation. It was especially bad when pilots tried to dodge a Grimm that appeared to be diving for them, but was actually already a dissipating corpse he'd already taken care of.
The case might have been different if Clark could understand the military lingo he heard from them, but fighting Grimm was their job. He'd quickly learned that he was best served helping where the ships weren't, or where they were having trouble. Taking a second to slow down and listen was better than going off at super-speed.
Hours later, Clark heard a transmission that sent a wave of relief through him.
"The city is clear." General Ironwood announced, and by this point, he could communicate with nearly all of his troops. He continued with movements and formations, jargon whose meaning Clark could only guess.
The city was free of Grimm, both on its streets and above, but there was still plenty of work to do. Troops were being sent to the perimeter as Grimm still approached the city.
Clark went as well, racing to the east. The soldiers stationed there had either fallen or been ordered elsewhere, but ships descended for their comrades to take their posts.
The Grimm didn't come in the multitudes they had earlier. The packs of Beowolves, Ursai, lone Taijitu, and all other varieties all came in intermittently. They must have been on the edge of what the negativity in the city could attract and had likely traveled miles.
Clark focused on the gaps in the border. As the night carried on, a few incidents popped up when the soldiers needed his assistance, when the Grimm got too close and were on the verge of overwhelming them. Too many lives had already been lost, and each time, Clark had flashed to make sure no more people would fall.
Clark remained on the eastern outskirts of the city until morning came, when the Sun a rose in the east and rejuvenated him. He'd pushed himself that night. No sweat stuck to his skin, his skin wasn't flushed, but he was breathing harder.
When was the last time that had happened while he'd still had his powers?
When he'd been fifteen and run hundreds of miles straight to find a doctor for Ryan. Clark's powers had been less developed at that age. Now, running thousands of miles without stopping didn't even wind him in the slightest. Of course, he'd done a lot more than running for the past few hours, but any exhaustion was still surprising.
It didn't last long, only minutes while he stood in the sunlight. Actual sunlight, the sun lamps had come close and the crystal even closer, but they couldn't match the real thing.
Clark raced back to his room in Beacon and put on a set of new clothes. He didn't feel sleepy, but even if he had, there was too much to do. His scroll had been melted by the phantom, but he soon found Ms. Goodwitch and borrowed hers.
After a few rings, his call was answered. "Hello? Clark?!" Coco's mouth shot open. Fox and Yatsuhashi were in the background of the video call as well.
Clark's relieved smile mirrored theirs. "Thank God, you guys are okay!"
"Us? Dude, we were fine. The three of us stuck together this whole time worrying about you and Velvet. How come you didn't answer?"
"My scroll broke." It had, but the more likely explanation was that he'd been too far from the city when she'd called. "But I have good news, I found Velvet earlier, she was injured and evacuated."
"Where?"
"I . . . I know where I left her, but I think she was moved. I'm not sure where."
"Well meet up with us and we'll go find out!"
"Right, where are you guys?"
"By 4th and 45th. Are you at Beacon?"
He nodded.
"Crap, even if someone gives you a ride it'll take a while. And I don't think there are Bullheads to spare right now."
Clark chewed on his lip for a few moments, then replied. "It's okay, I'll be there soon."