QUEST COMPLETE: FACING THE FIRE.

YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY FACED AGNI THREE TIMES AND SURVIVED. FEW CAN CLAIM THAT DISTINCTION.

REWARD: +2500 XP. +1 VITALITY.

NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: FIRE RESISTANCE.

FIRE RESISTANCE LEVEL 1: ADDITIONAL 25% RESISTANCE TO FLAME-BASED ATTACKS.

WHAT’S MORE, YOU ENDED THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF YOUR CONFLICT WITHOUT KILLING HER.

+1 CHARISMA.

NEW SKILL TREE UNLOCKED: FIRE CONTROL.

SKILL UNLOCKED: FLAME STRIKE.

SET THINGS ON FIRE WITH YOUR MIND. THE MOST BASIC SKILL IN THE FIRE CONTROL TREE.

LEVEL 1: 25 FIRE DAMAGE TO AN ENEMY FOR 20 MP.

RELATIONSHIP WITH AGNI SET TO NEUTRAL (0).

SKILL UNLOCKED: DEATH FROM ABOVE.

THE FORCE OF GRAVITY ENHANCES YOUR POWER AS YOU DESCEND FROM THE SKIES.

IN ARMOR, JUMP ON TO AN ENEMY AND STRIKE AT THEM FROM ABOVE.

REQUIRES EQUIPPED POWER ARMOR, SKILL: BODYCHARGE, SKILL: POWERJUMP.

LEVEL 1: FALL DAMAGE IMPACT INFLICTED ON ENEMY INSTEAD OF ON YOU. MINIMUM 300 DAMAGE, +400% BASE DAMAGE ENHANCEMENT. COST: 300 MP.

I reflected on my new skills for a moment. Death From Above was expensive, but potentially devastating if done right. Flame strike seemed underwhelming, compared to Lightning Strike - except that some things were immune to electricity.

At least the battle with Agni was done, which was a positive. And - somehow - I’d managed to survive.

After all, Agni was Level 40.

Which brought me to the other thorny question.

I’d never really dug deep into Maria’s past, or the circumstances that had brought the girls to the Grunter mansion. Sure, their faction title - ‘Former Grunter Slaves’ - had been a hint, but I’d never stopped to think how they could end up that way.

Human greed and malice?

The so-called Black Dog Bowers, for example - I hadn’t known a fraction of his crimes when I’d destroyed his Captain suit.

Well, at least I had no reasons for regret there.

Anne walked into the room. “Can I borrow some of the steel you have lying around in the workshop?”

“Help yourself. What do you need it for?”

“I need to rebuild my nanobot stocks. A lot got fried at Brahampton. What’re you up to?”

“Going through my skills,” I said. “And thinking about what Maria said.”

Anne sat down on the sofa opposite me. “I’ve been checking up on them. You know all twenty-eight of them had suited up and reached Brahampton by the time Agni left?”

“I didn’t see them. Just Maria.”

“They snuck away later, but they were ready. In case things failed, they were going to attack Agni. With laser rifles.”

“Which don’t work on her.”

“Yeah, I told Daisy that. She just pulled out a knife.”

“She was going to attack Agni with a knife?”

“I guess so. Donna had a second rifle with her - a hunting rifle.”

“They’ve been getting stuff together. Preparing.”

“It’s like they don’t understand how dangerous it is.”

“I think it’s more than that,” I remarked. “One of the main arguments people made for the Grunters is that they fought the aliens.”

“You think Maria and the others want to … question that?”

“I think they want to show the world that they can do just as much. Grumman’s still out there, after all.”

“Huh, so we probably need to turn on the TV right now.”

“Why?”

“Because Daisy just started speaking to a bunch of reporters, and - well, you’re going to want to watch this.”

Puzzled, I switched on the television.

Daisy was standing in front of a microphone. Her helmet was off, but she was still in armor.

“I am Daisy Cullen,” she announced. “My colleagues and I were once victims of the Grunters, and their reign of terror.

“We are free now, and we want to help protect people. So we’ve formed a mercenary organization. We call it Phoenix Company, and will be taking part in combat actions against the alien foe, under the guidance and support of Belessar.”

A reporter yelled out a question: “Miss, what is your relationship with Belessar?”

“Belessar is an ally, and we owe him a debt of gratitude. We’ll be supporting him anywhere he fights.”

“How many people are in Phoenix Company?” shot off another.

“Classified.”

“Are you an ultra?”

“No. We’re normal human beings.”

“Are you going to attack the Grunters?”

Daisy smiled enigmatically. “Classified.”

“Will you be recruiting?”

Daisy pointed her rifle upwards and fired.

The whine of the laser - and the bright burst of its discharge - lit up the area.

The reporters fell back, terrified.

“I said I would make a brief statement,” said Daisy. “I have now made that statement. For any further information, you may reach out to our press office. That is all.” She slammed her helmet into place and walked off.

Anne was grinning. “Now that’s one way to handle an interview.”

“I’ll say,” I nodded admiringly. “That was impressive. Why can’t I do that again?”

“Maybe you should take tips from Daisy.”

FACTION UPDATE

FACTION ‘FORMER GRUNTER SLAVES’ NOW RENAMED ‘PHOENIX COMPANY’

FACTION RELATIONSHIP UPDATE

PHOENIX COMPANY ARE NOW ALLIED WITH DRAGONFLIES

“I got the notification too,” Anne said. “So we have an allied faction now? What does that mean?”

“Let’s find out,” I accessed my interface. “Huh. There’s an Allies tab on my Factions screen now.”

“What does it say?”

“Phoenix Company, faction status: allied. Faction leader - Daisy Cullen. Members, 28. Associates, 59.”

“The ones you gave suits to are members and the rest are associates, then.”

“Yeah, all eighty-seven members. Headquarters, unknown. Hey, do we have a headquarters in our faction description?”

“Considering our faction’s just the two of us, does it matter?”

“I mean, can the Phoenix Company see our HQ?”

A panicked look passed over Anne’s face. “Uh… let me check.” She flicked through her own screens. “Huh. Did you know we have Privacy settings?”

“Like what we can share with friends and allies?”

“Yeah. The more I go through this interface, the more it looks like something ripped out of a social media webpage…. Okay, so we currently have no Headquarters. Apparently the Faction Leader has to designate one.” She gave me a pointed look. “That’s you, by the way.”

I navigated my way through my own screens to find the Faction Settings. “I see. Yeah, I can assign a Headquarters - although it doesn’t say what that would do. Also I get the Privacy settings - hey, that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“Apparently I can turn Faction Member Location. It’ll tell each of us where the other is at all times.”

Anne’s eyes widened. “Wow. That is useful. Well, more useful if we didn’t have my power, but anyway.”

“It gets better. We can share our locations with allied factions if we want to - it’s a toggleable setting. And the location of our headquarters.”

“I’m guessing other factions don’t have these nifty interfaces.”

“Right, right… For now I’m setting all of this to private. Just in case, you know, Mindspeech isn’t the only ability the aliens have.”

“Fine by me. What’re you doing with that thing anyway?”

I held up the hairband Maria had given me. “This thing?”

“Yeah. I saw Agni put that on Maria’s head. What is it?”

“According to Observe and Analyze, it’s a Mindshield. One hundred per cent resistance to mental attacks.”

“Oh… wow. I didn’t even know that was possible. Can you make one?”

“Too advanced.” I twirled the headband around a finger. “Maybe someday.”

“If you can’t make one, how can she?”

“The same way that non-inventor ultras get their gear,” I said. “Trade. Observe told me that it was made by an unknown inventor and then sold to Agni for an ‘undisclosed sum’. She probably knows a few villainous inventors. Or inventors who supply to villains.”

“Makes sense. By the way – Agni said that she doesn’t target soldiers. Only rapists. What do you think that means? Is she actually telling the truth?”

“I have been thinking about it, actually. Ever since Pemberley’s message.”

“And?”

“And I think the world has been reading her actions wrong. She got classified as a global terrorist because she attacked Rawapindi, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well. That’s the one time she didn’t pick the target. King Shah led the attack and killed Duraid personally – Agni was just one of the ultras in his team.” I took a deep breath. “Zaka in Sudan, and the druglords in Medellin. Those were the targets she picked.”

“Both of them had ultras and soldiers working together, right?”

“According to the news articles I read, the gangs in Medellin were playing a major role in the global underworld for four things. Mercenaries. Drugs. Black-market inventech weapons.” I paused. “And human trafficking.”

“Wait – you mean like Grumman and the Grunters were?”

“Exactly.”

“Then – she went after Medellin because they were trading in, well, women. But Zaka?”

“I don’t know. But – Zaka was a Master, and his human form – General Ulvar – was a brutal military dictator. How likely is it that he was involved?”

“Have you told the Brits this? Or Doyle?”

“I will, although I suspect they may already have it figured out.”