The Reckoning: Views from Realm Defenders

Prelude

"...I do not want a single civilian left in the entire country of Turkey, and possibly the surrounding area. I will send BADGE commanders to coordinate efforts with the Government of Turkey. There is no timetable, this must be done immediately. Nova out!"

"How the devil are they - we - going to launch an evacuation of what's got to be tens of millions of people in a few hours?" groaned Aflima as the comms-line dropped.

"That's why they want all hands on deck," shrugged an exhausted Tri-blade as he donned his team jacket.

The two dashed towards the team's solitary transport jet. Analisa and Rosa were already waiting for them. After a few minutes to prep the vehicle, they took off in the direction of Bursa, with Analisa and Tri-blade at the main controls. They sat in silence, each contemplating the magnitude of this particular mission and how they were going to undertake it.

As the jet approached Italy, the radio buzzed.

"RD-Pegasus, we're here," said Analisa.

The voice on the other end crackled. "Good. Is Aflima on board?"

"Roger."

"We're asking you to join Agent McKee near the border with Greece, where they'll be trying to get citizens as far west as possible."

Aflima muttered under his breath and shared a look with Tri-blade. "Captain Courageous again, huh?"

Tri-blade nodded sadly before turning back to the controls.

"The rest of you, please hurry. You'll rendezvous with one of the BADGE support air vessels within a half-hour at your current velocity."

"Ten-four," replied Analisa as she closed the connection.

Aflima unbuckled his belt and moved to the door hatch. "Well good luck, guys... although I think I'll need it more than you right now. Maybe this time he'll have a backup set of underwear."

"Give him hell," smirked Tri-blade.

The hatch opened and a figure jumped out, its body quickly shooting forward and propelled by bursts of flame.

Nice job.

Perspective

Aflima was pleasantly surprised to see a more confident yet humble Agent McKee - after the regrettable discussions concerning the World Serpent some time back, Aflima was wary about working with him again - this was a most welcome change. McKee explained that there was still some diplomatic issues to resolve with the Greek forces - he'd be lasing with the Turkey and Greece officials, while Aflima would be asked to make a sweep of the area just west of Istanbul to ensure nobody was left behind when the support vehicles passed through.

Aflima smiled and went on his way, happy to see that at least part of this excursion was looking to be successful.

---

For the first time since arriving in this realm, Tri-blade was truly regretting the loss of his ability of mass-teleportation. However, he knew he couldn't brood too long on it.

Analisa, Rosa and himself were each piloting hovercrafts designed to hold hundreds of people at once, along the west coast of Turkey and the myriad of islands between the mainland and Greece. Nova had wanted people to evacuate as far from Bursa as possible... there were BADGE representatives ferrying people north across the Black Sea towards Ukraine, others south towards Cyprus and land and air vessels shuttling many others to the east and south-east.

BADGE's resources seemed virtually limitless, and yet Tri-blade knew that even such a huge amount of manpower wouldn't be of much help if this Jinn character turned his efforts on them.

"We're clear," came Analisa's voice over the comms.

"RD squad, this is Agent Aksoy," came a new voice, feminine in tone. "You're clear to return to Pegasus and join the meta-humans at Bursa if you wish."

"Thank you, we're on it," said Tri-blade and Rosa simultaneously, before chuckling.

"In happier times I'd have said 'Jinx', you know," sighed Rosa.

"And you know full well it wouldn't matter to me. Let's move, guys."

As they boarded the Pegasus, they noticed the sky colour, a most ugly appearance that they hadn't seen - and Rosa had never seen - in a long time.

"That's evil," muttered Analisa as the vessel took off.

The aircraft approached Bursa rapidly; many more air vessels flew past in the opposite direction, carrying numbers of terrified civilians. Rosa sensed the despair and worry from each of them and whimpered.

"Something's going on up ahead," said Analisa quietly.

Tri-blade nodded. "That must be the Lord Dragon that I've heard about. They're headed for that hill in the distance."

From the cockpit they could make out an energy beam of some sort flicker then bounce back to its source. They couldn't yet see from whom and to who the beam was directed, but they were getting closer and closer... then their field of vision was overwhelmed by hundreds and hundreds of various energy blasts, spells and projectiles being flung in all directions. They saw that eventually they converged on one target.

"We're winning," whispered Tri-blade.

They soon heard a rumbling from the ground.

At the same time, Analisa pulled the control back, forcing the vessel in a stationery position. Analisa and Rosa quickly unbuckled and headed for the hatch. Tri-blade followed, trusting the instinct of the women.

"Trouble!" screamed Rosa, as the hatch opened.

Instead of leaping out, as Aflima had done a few hours back, they scrambled to the roof of the vessel and looked on. Tri-blade felt a hum from his weapons. Now it was his turn to trust instinct.

"Behind me!" he cried out as he drew two of his daggers. He clasped the two together and dropped to a knee. Blue energy flew out and created a shield, then another ahead of it and then a third. He knew something large and devastating was on its way.

The blackness struck full on, and although the shield held, the force still pushed them back and off the vessel. Analisa, unharmed behind the energy shield, drew her spirit of Macaw ability and by grabbing Rosa and Tri-blade, was able to keep them afloat. The Pegasus, however, tumbled back and slammed into a set of houses.

They glided to the ground under Macaia's power and started jogging towards the source of the energy wave.

"This. Is. Bad," said Rosa.

Pandemonium

Ghostly demons emerged from the ground and the walls of buildings and swarmed in all directions. Tri-blade, leading his small trio, slashed with his enchanted daggers, refusing to pause. To his left, Macaia had pulled her set of tonfas out and used a combination of strong strikes and mystical energy pulses to knock demons over. To his right, Rosa was focused on using her telekinetic abilities to levitate and then toss demons at each other.

Slowly, they made their way closer to the heart of battle.

Another voice was heard through their comms devices... the voice of Director Nova.

"To all heroes, operatives, and world governments, we have a code Omega...", came Nova's command.

Rosa looked over, and gasped at the sight of the winged, red-coloured behemoth.

Tri-blade and Macaia exchanged a look.

"Analisa."

"Yeah."

Memories of a battle of this scale long ago flooded the minds of both warriors, and each struggled to hold back tears.

"This time, we all live," said Tri-blade, choking a bit on his words.

Analisa nodded, and they continued their push forward, towards the great demon.

A yell broke their stride, as Rosa was surrounded by greyish demons. They pounded against Rosa's arms, trying to batter her to the ground. Rosa tried to evade the assault but it was fruitless.

"Keep pushing!" screamed Analisa to Tri-blade as she took flight and dashed to rescue her daughter.

Tri-blade, caught in a moment of indecision, was suddenly struck in the side and stumbled over. He nearly lost control of his weapons, but was able to roll away and gain his footing.

Sheathing his blades, Tri-blade dug his feet in the rocky soil, gathering his energy. His eyes closed as he focused. He knew he had just enough breathing room... three... two... one...

"I trust you, Analisa," he whispered.

"Nova..."

"Burst..."

"X!" he cried as his eyes opened.

Energy flowed out in a heavy stream. The demons in its path were immediately blasted away. The beam went directly towards Jinn, striking him in his calf and causing a yell to emerge.

Tri-blade ran closer in, as various other heroes both in front and behind, were also in the fray... determined to hammer the giant demon with all of their might.

---

"Preciosa!" screamed Analisa, to no avail. She screamed again, as she struck every demon in her line of sight. Her mind was consumed with rage and worry, as the lack of response from her daughter pounded on her spirit.

She didn't even notice that she was now well adrift of the main battle and had no other known ally in the vicinity, such was her despair and anguish.

"PRECIOSA! ROSA!"

Two of the smaller demons, situated on an overhanging balcony, leaped down, looking to crush Macaia and feast on her body and soul.

Perseverance

A large fireball blasted the demons in mid-air, causing them to disintegrate immediately.

"What -" began Analisa as she looked behind her.

Aflima, his body consumed with flame, zoomed at rapid speed towards the numerous demons before pulling back his right arm and aiming another fireball. A dozen demons were destroyed on impact, with the remainder stepping back momentarily. The Flame Warrior landed next to Analisa and allowed his fire to dim slightly.

"Rosa..." Analisa said softly.

Without even a pause, Aflima took flight and scanned the immediate area. He soon saw what he was looking for, an arm waving about frantically, even as more demons launched themselves at their target.

Aflima pointed in Rosa's direction so that Analisa would notice, then dashed over.

He was outnumbered 40 to 1, but there was no stopping Aflima as he punched, blasted or yanked away each of the demons. He pulled away the last one attacking Rosa, blasted it at point blank range, then helped his friend to her feet. Rosa's hair was torn, her face cut and her clothes ripped. She breathed heavily and looked a spent force.

Analisa ran and caught her daughter just as she fell forward.

Even then, Rosa mustered the strength to rub her mother's arm.

"Just a couple scratches, Mama. Give me a minute to catch my breath."

"Take all the time you need, preciosa," said Analisa as she stroked Rosa's head.

With Rosa secure, Aflima ran in a circle, incinerating every demon within striking distance. He then went to assist Analisa in getting Rosa to a safer spot in the field of battle.

"Hey! Catch!" called a BADGE agent. He threw something round towards Aflima, who caught it without a flinch. He looked at it, chuckled and handed it to Rosa.

"It's one of those EB chocolates," he laughed. "Guess it can't hurt."

Rosa nibbled, then ate the entire thing rapidly.

---

Tri-blade was no stranger to battles of this magnitude. The final battle with Sin in that ill-fated dimension of S.H.C. was of similar scale, and there were clashes with Zigonian and Astronikus fleets that had immense reach. This however, was one of only a very small number featuring a target of such size and quickness.

Every hero was giving it their all, and every strike counted. Not everybody was able to inflict the raw damage of a Heretic, Super Rakly or Lumpsum, but by peppering Jinn with relentless attacks from all angles, they were able to prevent any sort of respite from happening.

Several of his fellow heroes fell back to regather their strength, yet others stepped forward in their place.

He looked up and saw his friend Krystal motioning and directing heroes. He heard her call out for magic-users to flank Jinn on each side before she shot out of his view.

"BADGE should promote her once this is over," he smiled appreciatively before dashing to the left. He wasn't in a good spot to fire additional Nova Bursts, but his daggers were more than capable at the job of ranged attacks.

"Got your back," called another voice, this time in his comms. Tri-blade smiled.

Aflima ran up to join his friend.

"Teamwork makes the dream work, and all that," smiled Aflima.

"Rosa and Analisa?"

"Safe and sound and soon joining us. Do you remember the play?"

"Do you?"

Aflima laughed.

They simultaneously released a battle cry as their synchronized beam attacks shot forward.

Pyrotechnics

Tri-blade looked on in wonder as the World Serpent assumed his true form and threw its massive body at the torso of Jinn. Fangs met flesh and it was clear that massive damage was being done by this attack. Yet Jinn stood, before wrestling away the large beast and throwing him down the hill.

He saw the Avengers team at full strength converge on Jinn from above. Dredge, The Fallen, Starscream, Phantom and others battered away at the demon's head. The likes of Hot Wings and Metaphysic launched attacks across its back, and dozens of others were aiming strikes at the legs and arms.

Looking at his friend, he said, "Ready for another set?"

Aflima was breathing heavily. "Gimme a sec. These More-fun bars aren't exactly the best for a sustained assault... okay, let's go."

"I told Rosa to take a break near the med-center," Tri-blade said. "B.D. is handling much of the recuperative services there so she'll be in good hands."

"And she is," said Analisa as she rejoined her friends. "Let's go."

Their 5th Precinct allies, CdnDraxis and Timebender were nearby and Tri-blade gave them a salute as he ran towards Jinn's left leg.

"Lord Dragon again," said Analisa.

Aflima replied, "Can't have too much firepower," then leaped in the air and made his way behind Jinn's body. He allowed flames to encompass his body again and darted towards the demon.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a large wing swatted Aflima, sending him out of control. Jinn quickly turned around and caught Lord Dragon.

Aflima, feeling dazed and dizzy, hurtled backwards, then suddenly his field of vision went black. A second later, he was in another man's arms on the ground.

"Hey, handsome," grinned Power Bottom.

"New P.B., never been happier to see you!" smiled Aflima as he jumped away.

"About time," Power Bottom said before manifesting his magic knives and running back to tackle Jinn.

---

"Nova's back for more," grinned Tri-blade as he saw the BADGE director running in with his sword drawn.

The other heroes, seeing Nova rejoining the fray, were inspired and prepared for another volley. They each knew that they had to give 100% and then some, if they were to prevail.

They watched Nova leap across energy platforms before driving his sword into Jinn's forearm and seeing some smaller creature - was that Easter bunny? - leap off and fling something at Jinn's face.

A second later, Analisa and Tri-blade were knocked off their feet by an energy wave and sent flying. Tri-blade managed to grab a tree and regain his footing; Analisa was able to avoid crashing by taking flight and hovering a good distance from the massive demon.

"Uh oh," Tri-blade said as he looked up. Fighter jets appeared to continue the pressure. Tri-blade assumed the generals saw that with fewer heroes around Jinn's body for the time being, the time was ripe to pepper him with conventional military might.

The arsenal of missiles seemed to be of a minor annoyance rather than the devestating attack that the military generals would have expected, as Jinn simply focused his effort on swatting the jets.

"Dammit," said Tri-blade. He could only hope that BADGE ground support could scan and rescue any survivors.

Others joined the fray - Cupid, Santa and a creature unfamiliar to Tri-blade each launched their own assaults on Jinn while heroes who had recovered from the energy wave attacked from other angles.

A woman jumped from Santa's sleigh, and began throwing projectiles at Jinn. The demon roared loudly, its rage and pain clear.

Santa pressed his own attack using Nova's sword until Jinn swatted him away. Yet the woman kept up the pace of her attacks, focusing on the neck of Jinn.

Jinn's other hand drew backwards.

"Watch out!" cried Analisa, a fraction of a second too late.

The woman's body was struck by Jinn's manifested blades and hurtled to the ground.

As Jinn approached the woman's body, the remaining heroes ran forward, some to attack, others to try and protect the woman. However, all paused at hearing Jinn's voice, "What is this! What have you done to me?"

"Now!" shouted several heroes, including Tri-blade. Tri-blade drew all three of his weapons, clasped them together and pointed them at Jinn's greying body. Beams of blue and green energy struck, joined by firebolts, arrows, lightning and energy beams of various colours from all directions. Jinn's body started to flake away like ash.

"Nooooo!" cried out Jinn as his body convulsed.

Quark, dear Quark, respected and befriended by so many across dimensions, appeared and allowed a strange power to emit from his body. Jinn's body ceased its quaking and quivering and turned to dust. Quark seemed to collapse, but Santa's sleigh appeared to catch his body in mid-air.

Tri-blade hugged Analisa, then Aflima, and exchanged fist-bumps with everybody in the near vicinity. Then, they made their way to where the brave woman - her name is Chase, Aflima whispered - was likely to have performed her last gallant gesture. They walked together solemnly.

Pragmatism

As BADGE agents scampered about, filled with new tasks to enact in the wake of the battle with Jinn, Analisa looked on. Bursa and the surrounding area was mostly obliterated as far as buildings and structure went; even trees and natural formations bore the scars of war and violence.

She knew it would take a long while before any semblance of normalcy returned to this region.

She walked back, to where Tri-blade was engaged in conversation with a BADGE Agent.

"This is Macaia, you may have heard of her," Tri-blade said to the agent.

"Ah yes. An NPC, I take it?"

"Huh?" asked Analisa.

"Um," stuttered the agent, "a, um, you know, ummm, Nueva Primera Chica?...," he continued, failing to disguise his embarrassment.

Analisa closed her eyes, whispering something inaudible.

"That doesn't even make sense," said Rosa as she joined the group.

The agent tried to smile, then turned back to Tri-blade. "Well enough dilly-dallying on my part, we have some errands to run. Stay well!"

As the BADGE representative walked away at Olympic-level pace, Tri-blade sighed. "Most guys are pretty level-headed and professional, but every now and then you get your insensitive nut-jobs. Par for the course, I guess. Try not to let it bug you."

"I can be bugged enough for the two of us," Rosa grimaced. She allowed her mother to put a loving arm around her shoulder, then folded her own arms while giving a death-look to the retreating BADGE agent.

"So, what happens next, guys?" asked Rosa after a short lull in conversation.

Tri-blade looked at Rosa and Analisa. A few yards away, Aflima was tending to a fellow hero, wrapping bandages around her leg.

"Our job, I believe, is done here for now. Crews are going to assist with the wounded and see if repair work is possible. That said,... this doesn't feel like a triumphant moment.

"We should stay a little longer. The Pegasus doesn't look salvageable, not that it matters really. I'm concerned. More than a few of 'our guys' took a beating and I don't know how the aftermath of this battle is going to shake out. Nova's badly hurt, Chase hasn't been located... and Quark hasn't seemed like himself at all. We can hope, but that is all we have at the moment."

He absent-mindedly nibbled on his thumbnail. "Let's see if anybody else needs help."