Got the Grimoire, Chapter 54

Chapter 54

“Alright, so where to first?” I asked Eidolon.

“Eagleton.”

“The Machine Army?” I’d read about them when I’d gotten Protectorate clearance to review S-class threats. I didn’t remember reading about them previously and chalked it up to something that had been expanded upon in Ward. “I’m surprised you haven’t done anything about them sooner. Not like they’d be of much help against Scion. Same goes for Nilbog, actually.”

He shrugged slightly, almost indifferently. “There's always a different crisis that requires the attention of high level heroes like us,” he said cynically. “Contained threats that have already sprouted and caused casualties, but have been quarantined just aren’t a large priority. Attempting to completely eliminate them might even cause more harm as failsafes or traps might cause further damage once the main threat is wiped out.”

“So then why deal with them now?”

“Because before, I was too busy conserving my powers for the Endbringer fights. Now I’m stronger than ever and you’re here. The Number Man calculates that now is the best time to take care of these kinds of threats, otherwise they may come back to haunt us later,” he explained.

“And what does Contessa think?”

“She had no opinion either way. She’s been using her Path a little less these days and besides, we’re both blindspots.” He paused for a moment. “Well, I am for sure. I’m only guessing that you are as well with how powerful you’ve become.”

“Even so, I have no doubt that she has plans in motion to manipulate me.”

“Almost certainly, you’re too valuable an asset to simply leave be.” He shook his head. “We’re burning time. Door to Eagleton’s airspace.”

One of Doormaker’s portals appeared and Eidolon ushered me through with a quick wave as he floated through himself. I followed and found us floating over a PRT quarantine zone. Like Nilbog, a massive wall ringed the perimeter of the town, bristling with weapons and all aimed inward should the Machine Army attempt any kind of assault.

“So shall we rain down fire until the place is naught but glass?” I asked Eidolon.

The older hero shot me a look and then shook his head. “You’re getting into a pattern that I got stuck in for a few years. When you use a hammer all the time, every problem starts to look like a nail. Overwhelming force isn’t always the answer.”

“Maybe not, but it’s been quite effective for most of my career.”

“And that’s fair, but you won’t always have the biggest stick in the room and sometimes the most straightforward answer isn’t the best. For example: If we could reclaim the materials of Eagleton, then this place might actually become habitable again. We wouldn’t have to pour quite so many resources into it’s rebuilding. So what kinds of powers could I look for or could you cook up, that would allow us to do that?”

“Some kind of technopathy or alternatively EMPs that disable complex electronics. But surely the Machine Army will have foreseen that weakness and taken steps to compensate?”

“Most likely their most important units will have some kind of protection from something as simple as an EMP, but you’re on the right track. Disabling them without outright destroying them and the surrounding area is a better long term solution,” he said with a lecturers tone. “I can cheat, since I have so many options available to me and now you exist as well. Other heroes have to get a lot more creative the more specific their powers are.”

“Like your colleagues among the Triumvirate?”

“Exactly so. Their abilities are very potent, but neither has the tricks we do to fulfill the parameters I just set.”

I nodded thoughtfully, considering my options. I’m sure that I could generate a powerful enough EMP to knock out the majority of the robots before dealing individually with the more important ones, but why work harder, when you can work smarter?

“I need you to bring me just one of the bots. Any will do, but active if you can help it.”

Eidolon shot me a look of confusion, but did as I asked, swooping down and away and returning a moment later with a writhing machine unit, suspended in some kind of gravitational field. I reached out with my magical senses and detected that he was also doing something to block it’s outgoing distress signal.

“You can drop whatever power you’re using to suppress it’s cries for help, I can do that myself,” I said as I began to inscribe a ritual circle.

Eidolon did so and I began blocking the signal with Lunatic Eyes before it could escape.

“What are you doing?” Eidolon asked.

“Sympathetic magic.”

“You’re going to have to explain that one to me,” he said. “You’re beginning to sound a bit like Myrddin.”

“Myrddin is a parahuman, no doubt about that.”

“And you?”

I smirked slightly, glad he couldn’t see my face. “By taking a smaller piece of a whole, in this case the Machine Army itself, you can inflict consequences on the greater part. It just takes focus and energy. I did something similar to Lung a while back.”

“I’ve had access to some weird powers in my day, but yours are weirder still.”

“So I’ve been told. Anyway, this is a standard drone from the Machine Army. With this circle and a large outpouring of power, something I have much access to, I can theoretically perform any number of actions to a large chunk of their systems. It might leave their main command and control units untouched, but I believe their primary threat is their numbers and the fact they self replicate, correct?”

“Sounds about right.”

“Excellent.” I finished inscribing the circle, then stood back and allowed a flood of power to extend from me. The runes and sigils I had laid out began to glow with arcane power. “You still have your gravity power?”

“Yes.”

“Crush it.”

To his credit, the world’s strongest hero barely hesitated before making a vague gesture with his hands, probably out of habit, and the unit was crushed inwards with the sound of crunching metal and plastics. I released the power in the same instant and the massive outpouring of energy shot forth in an equal division between all of the units in Eagleton. Which luckily, wasn’t too many. Part of the quarantine was to prevent the Machine Army from growing bigger, so their numbers hadn’t actually gone up much in the years since they’d been cut off from the outside world.

As the spell I cast divided, it lost power, sure, but I had put a very large investment of energies into it. It struck all of the machines it could reach like a hammer blow and the city was filled with the sounds of metal crushing in upon itself.

I grinned and started to take flight- only to nearly keel over. I hadn’t put that much power into the spell, had I?

Your maximum capacity has improved dramatically, my host, Raziel said. But the amount you can channel in any one instance is still limited. You are a powerful sorcerer and many other things besides thanks to the Grimoire, but even you have limits. Take a moment to catch your breath.

Eidolon shot me a look and I could practically feel the amusement. “Want me to go deal with the rest while you take a little break?”

“Shut up, old man,” I muttered. “Just need a minute. I’ll follow and observe.”

“Okay, but I’m not slowing down just because you’re feeling a little sleepy already.”

He took off and I followed after I took a second to regather my power and focus. Whatever power he was using to fly (probably the same gravitational power he’d used to capture and destroy the drone) let him do so quickly, but I’d been practicing my flight skills with Crystal, I was a much better flier than I had been even a week or two ago. I kept pace easily enough as he used some kind of Thinker power to begin tracking down the few remaining units, the machines either too tough to be taken out by my spell or too disassociated from the Army to have been linked properly by the magic.

Each one was dismantled with brutal efficiency as Eidolon wielded both his gravitational control and some kind of focused electrical disruption to great effect, disabling each and every one without actually destroying the bodies. More materials that could be reclaimed. Since international shipping had taken a massive dip due to the Endbringers, salvaging and recycling were more important than ever on Earth-Bet.

With all the various backups and redundancies that the Machine Army had in place, it took almost an hour for us to root out the remnants. I shuddered to think how long it might have taken with all the various drones swarming us as well. Not a danger, but a definite annoyance. I’d recovered enough mana to begin assisting after about ten minutes, but Eidolon insisted on taking care of it himself and I wasn’t going to argue with the man.

Finally the work was done for the moment and Eidolon floated above Eagleton with a satisfied air about him.

“This is thanks to you.”

“What?”

“I may have done all the work, but Doctor Mother and Alexandria have been keeping me from doing a lot of real good because my powers were getting weaker,” he explained. “Forced me to conserve my energy for the Endbringers. Now that I know why my powers were getting weaker and know how to recharge them… I can finally act again.”

“I am glad that I was able to assist in some small way.”

“More than just a small way, Magus.” Eidolon stared down at the city we’d cleared. “There are a couple more I thought we might get to tonight. Door to Ash Beast.”

Doormaker’s portal appeared and we both went through to lay eyes on the continuous explosion that was constantly laying waste to the African continent. Through the haze of fire and debris, I could just make out the humanoid figure within.

“Now?”

“Why not now? Even if he can go toe to toe with him for a minute or two, thats not enough to justify the destruction he causes. He doesn’t directly end a lot of lives, since you can see him coming from a mile away, but the amount of destruction he’s caused has had massive knock on effects throughout the region. We’re talking thousands or more displaced, millions of dollars worth of property damage, not to mention the crops and infrastructure that have all been destroyed. If not now, then when?”

“Why not before?”

“Because we were so focused on finding something, anything that could stand against the real enemy, that even something like this was deemed acceptable. You’ve shown that there is a better way, not to mention that with your other powers in play, you can boost existing stable parahumans. Keeping in your good graces by cleaning up our mistakes seems the least we should be doing.”

“For being the so called ‘least charismatic’ of the Triumvirate, you’re pretty eloquent when you wish to be.”

Eidolon grunted. “Lexi has her intimidation factor going for her, plus she can cheat with her Thinker power. Legend… Legend just really is that good of a man and hero, despite some of the lies we’ve made him tell. Next to Hero, he’s always been the most idealistic of all of us.”

“So he is. He was quite inspiring when we were at Canberra.”

“He was,” Eidolon agreed. “How do you wish to handle this? Keeping in mind that we’ve tried before to stop him, if just a little half heartedly.”

I hummed to myself and eyed the walking detonation. “He regenerates, correct?”

“Quickly too. Part of what makes him such a pain to deal with. Not to mention most conventional attacks can’t even reach him. Parahumans who might be able to effect him are few and far between as well. The destructive force of his shroud is enough to make even me or Alexandria think twice. So… What do you think?”

“And you can’t simply Door him to a different Earth because…?”

“The amount of energy he outputs interferes with the Doors,” he explained. “Otherwise we’d stash him on an empty world, then bring him out when the time is right. Not really an option here.”

I grunted and continued my examination. I tapped into Lunatic Eyes, reviewing the wavelengths of energy outputting from the Ash Beast as well as examining the person beneath the explosion. After just a moment, I swore violently and ceased.

“What’s the matter?”

“He’s nothing but a shell,” I spat angrily. “The passenger has basically overwritten his brain at this point. The man who was once in that body is no more, it’s just the Shard now, using a vessel for destruction and violence.”

My hands moved through a sequence of gestures as I envisioned the flow of energy. “Door to an uninhabited Earth.” One of Doormaker’s portals appeared and I took a moment to peer through the opening as well as scan the way that Doormaker was parting space. It was rather fascinating and not something I’d be able to replicate without my Vestments, but still interesting to see.

How primitive. Angels could cross realities far easier than that, Raziel scoffed.

Maybe, but they aren’t here right now. I needed an example as well as an image of an abandoned Earth.

I’m surprised you aren’t just putting the creature out of it’s misery.

I want to, believe me, but Eidolon is right, anything that can fight Scion for even a minute might come in handy. But since Cauldron can’t stash him away, that duty falls to me.

Spell completed, I formed a tear in space right on top of Ash Beast’s head. With a flick of my wrist, the portal moved and swallowed the S-class threat and then immediately shut behind it.

Eidolon stared for a minute. “Did you just do exactly what I said we couldn’t do?”

“Doormaker and Clairvoyant are still probably far more versatile than I am, but the portals I make can be a bit more… brute force. Now we’ve got another card up our sleeves when the day finally arrives.”

“Waste not want not I suppose… Alright, still feel up for one more?”

“Of course.”

“Good. We’ll be dealing with the Three Blasphemies next.”

“Tinkertech constructs, correct? All very powerful and deadly?”

“That’s them. Even going all out back in the day, I could only ever get one or two, the others would escape and then they’d be back up to full strength within a matter of days. We’re just lucky it’s only the three.”

“Well then lets get to it.”

“Let’s. Door.”

Once more unto the breach.

***

Oliver Williams polished the pint glass he held, eyes fixed on the television screen. Most people in the UK didn’t follow American news so closely, but Oliver had family in the States and knew how much they worried about the kind of shite that went on over there. Things were looking good though. The Slaughterhouse Nine, a merry bunch of killers if there ever was one, got properly done in not too long ago and one of the Protectorate’s newer heroes was being given the credit for it. The same hero who they claimed had also driven off the Simurgh over in Australia.

Oliver wasn’t sure how much he believed in all that kind of propaganda, but what did he know, he just ran a pub in London. Not like he’d ever have a chance to sit down with those kinds of folks and ask-

The door chimed and Oliver nearly dropped the glass as two bloodied superheroes marched in and slumped at his bar. A fancy looking credit card was dropped onto the counter. “Two pints. Keep them coming,” the fully masked individual said.

“What kind?” Oliver asked automatically.

“If the accent wasn’t a giveaway, we’re Yanks,” the dark haired one said with a roll of his eyes. “But I’ll take anything German if you got it.”

“Stout,” Eidolon grunted.

“Right away, lads,” Oliver said calmly, trying not to freak out. Magus was new blood, only popular in America, but Eidolon? The man was an international household name. But they were acting like any other customer, so that’s how he’d treat them. “Dinner as well? Cook hasn’t left for the night yet.”

“Fish and chips,” the younger requested. He nudged the other hero, who started, as if he’d fallen asleep right then and there.

“Oh, curry for me,” the Triumvirate's powerhouse said politely.

Oliver nodded as he poured the pints and then went to take the order to the cook.

Still not the oddest customers he’d ever had…
***

A/N: Back to our regularly scheduled updates. Sorry about last week, it's near impossible for me to write when I'm on vacation. I've got another weekend away coming up, but I'll try and coordinate it so that I have a chapter in reserve to be posted on Sunday or maybe even the Thursday before I leave.

Anyway, didn't show the fight with the Blasphemies because, well, I couldn't find what their powers were, just that they're considered dangerous and that Eidolon wasn't able to permanently kill them, I think that alone says a lot. So yeah, bit of a tough fight before stopping off at a pub in England for some beer and grub. Normal superhero stuff.