Haven Uprising

Protocol X

We'd failed.
We'd had our last chance and we'd failed.
It was my fault, I realised. I could've just reached through that glass and taken Vindicator down. But then this happened.

Another shockwave erupted from Vindicator, throwing everyone back, the unconscious or dead bodies of everyone around me included.

Vindicator rose into the air, gaze centred not on me, but herself. She clenched her hands, fire, ice, water and a million other things danced across them. Her armour glowed like the night sky did in movies, like every power taken was a singular star on there. I didn't have time for that now.

I glanced back to Tia, still laying there lifelessly.

With a burst of agony, a crackling red shield appeared around us, gently pushing away any of the other bodies that lay on the edge.

I looked at Tia desperately, their tired eyes closed, and face hopeless. Kind of peaceful in a sad way.

But then something caught my eye.
Their chest going up and down- breathing. It looked shallow and pained, but it was still there. Tia was breathing
They were alive!!

But they might not stay so for long.

How long had Valkyrie said people could survive without powers?
Come on think, Autumn.
It was like an hour or something?
Ok that was good, everyone had like an hour.

I could end it in an hour. I think.

I stroked Tia's forehead, assuring them,"It's gonna be okay, I'll take Vindicator down and then everyone will have everything back, right?"
They didn't reply.
They didn't need to.

I stood, turning to face Vindicator still floating there. I dropped the shield.
She floated in the sky soundlesly, looking not at me, but at something else a tiny bit away.
I followed her gaze, coming to rest on Morwenna and Reyna still standing in front of her.

The lights in the ground below our feet illuminated everything more harshly than daylight, so that everything hurt to look at.
It was obsucred in some places by people laying on top of it and shards of broken glass, leaving it patchy as if we were under a tree in bright sunlight.

"You haven't won,"Morwenna declared, spreading two fiercely glowing shields over her and Reyna.
"Yeah!"Reyna agreed,"Especially not when I can fucking laser you."
Reyna extended her left arm, splaying her left hand as a blinding beam of light erupted from the palm.
It hit Vindicator in the face, but didn't seem to do any damage.

She raised a hand in response, giving a twisting gesture. Reyna's robotic arm wrenched off, elicting a cry of surprise from her. The arm warped into metal shards which oozed some kind of thick blue liquid.

"Okay now I can't fucking laser you,"Reyna replied angrily, throwing various bits of ice at Vindicator with her other hand.
They were ignored.

I tried to move towards them, but finding a path through all these people was pretty difficult.

I raised a hand, staring down Vindicator.
I could sense life, on the edge of what I was about to try. Everyone around me had the faintest ember, which seemed like it was fading rapidly. Morwenna and Reyna's glowed like tiny stars, but Vindicator's was like a supernova. So bright I couldn't even comprehend it.
What I was going to do wasn't right. It wouldn't dispense justice or anything. But I had to. To save Tia. And everyone else laying lifeless here.
I glared at Vindicator, clenching my fingers, and I told her to DIE.

The supernova kept on burning, but that was enough to make her notice me.
"Ah, the trap,"She announced, seeming a little bit less serious now,"Done playing dress-up now? I can let you change before you die if you apologise?"

"Give me back my friends!!"I ordered, adjusting my stance a little.
Vindicator seemed to tilt her head back, as if in thought, before looking back at me.
"How about no,"She laughed,"I am using their powers for something good here. More than anyone could-"

Another icicle hit her in the head.
She looked at Reyna, clenching her hand again.

Reyna raised off the ground a bit, clutching her neck like she was choking. Morwenna's shield around her tore itself apart in a flurry of blue energy.

"Mowenna. Look at you now,"Vindicator remarked, the traces of a smile in her voice,"Weak. Pathetic. Are you even going to stop me from killing her?"
If I couldn't kill Vindicator by the usual means then maybe the old-fashioned way would work.

I lunged into the air, the command to FLY feeling alien in my head.
My legs and back seared in agony, and I felt myself lift into the air.

I streaked through the air towards Vindicator, the wind pushing my hair out of my way and hands held aloft for a SWORD, which appeared.
I brought it downwards for a strike to the unarmoured back of her head, but at the last second, she twisted in the air, catching me by the neck with her gloved left hand. My body dangled in the air, flying too painful to keep up for too long. But this almost hurt more, choking as she slowly crushed my windpipe.

The sword slipped out of my hand, and I brought my hands to my neck to try and rip Vindicators' off. But they were like iron. It was pointless.
I couldn't breathe.
I was going to die.
I yelled at everything, for Vindicator to HURT, for myself to ESCAPE, to FIGHT.
I felt the pain sear into my entire body, all over the surface of my skin. I glimpsed the flash of pain on Vindicator's face, my vision going red, but-
Nothing.

I felt my heartbeat in my ears, the pressure just behind my eyes as the lack of bloodflow took its toll.
I closed my eyes, embracing the inevitable.

"If I knew how to use all of these powers,"Vindicator began maliciously, staring right back into my fear-filled eyes,"I could make you look like a male again. And I would happily do so."
No. No nononono.
No I would rather die than let that happen.

There was an intense deep sound, like the death star before it fired.
I felt the grip on my neck loosen, and I fell to the ground gasping for breath again.
I landed on somehing soft, which was probably a body. I immediately felt sorry for them, but I couldn't even get up right now.

I opened my eyes, seeing the traces of a huge energy beam fading away and Morwenna holding Reyna up as she coughed. I glanced around for the source of the beam, seeing Valkyrie Autobot standing nearby, a lot of her guns smoking.
Thank god for transformers.

I looked back up, still wary that Vindicator could still be alive.
And I was justifed.

A black-clad figure still smoked there, wreathed in blue energy.
"I think you- all of you - should probably learn an important life lesson here,"She spoke quietly,"Do not challenge a god."

She spread her arms, and Valkyrie melted into molten goop like she was made of snow.
She looked at Reyna, who stared back in horror.

Vindicator directed a hand at her, a huge beam of solid light exploding out of it and the world around us going dim.
When it cleared, she dropped to her knees, the edges of her neck still glowing orange like they were on fire.
Morwenna and me both stared in horror, as she slumped forwards; headless.

Morwenna looked at her body, eyes wide, before dropping to her own knees. She touched Reyna's back, as if to check her eyes weren't lying.
I stayed laying down.

No. That wasn't okay at all.
She wasn't- couldn't be.
A soldier came up to Vindicator, but I couldn't hear the words they said.
There were only a few all-consuming thoughts racing through my head now.

Reyna was dead.
And Tia was going to follow in the next hour.

And I couldn't do anything to stop it.