1:07 p.m.

Centurion shook her head to refocus on the present. Staring at the church, she saw members of the utilitarian team bailing from the roof or out of the building. Around the building itself was the hazy look the air took on right before a rupture occurred. Her team was maybe a hundred yards away when the rupture opened. Which was one hundred yards too far for Marionette. She was leaping out of a building assisted by a flying toy of hers when all the walls exploded outwards. Centurion watched helplessly as a chunk of marble the size of a horse dropped Marionette out of the sky. The way she landed, Centurion had no doubt she was dead. Joan, who had been nearby, blasted another similar chunk away with her fire.

Joan, don’t go back! Take your team and regroup! Centurion gave a mental shout but Joan wasn’t listening as she leapt back to check on Marionette, practically falling on top of the limp body from the force of landing. Arc and Sabre were already moving faster to try and cover Joan. They were ten feet away when a gigantic axe blurred through the air, cutting the flaming woman’s body in half. Arc and Sabre pulled up short as the dust and haze settled, revealing their opponent. Wreathed in green flames, a Minotaur class Contender emerged from the ruins of the church, bellowing. Minotaurs had earned their name by the two curved horns on their head and vaguely hoof-like feet. After that, the resemblance to the famed Minotaur ended, as these Contenders had two tails, were usually covered in colored fire, and used small-scale pyroclastic powers.

As the Contender emerged from the rubble, the ground beneath its’ feet began to bubble and small pops of superheated gases could be heard. Centurion pulled up to assess for a moment. This was easily the biggest Minotaur class they’d ever run into, at least twenty five feet tall and probably weighed at least a ton, if not two. Even Titan would be outclassed strength-wise for most of the fight. Well, if was only strong it wouldn’t be too difficult to contain.

Petra, Minotaur class, biggest yet. Joan and Marionette are dead. This is not going to be quick.

Petra: Got it, organizing a replacement now. Utilitarians are shattered, don’t expect back-up from them for a while.

Confirmed, we’ll engage with that in mind.

Centurion’s hopes about speed were dashed as the Minotaur spotted Spartan helping an injured Phosphor away. The Minotaur charged directly for them and Centurion was too surprised to react, it was fast. Fortunately, Sabre wasn’t caught flat-footed and a slice of kinetic energy caught the Minotaur mid-charge, sending it stumbling off course. It turned and glared at the only four beings not sprinting away from it. When they held their ground, it roared a challenge and charged their way. Centurion braced herself for the charge and began barking orders.

1:07 p.m.

Vulture watched as ground teams began scattering before he heard Pike yelling orders. Soon, he was flying about 300 feet off the ground, about forty yards away from the predicted rupture point. This wasn’t his first encounter with Contenders, but it was his first time dealing with an aerial opponent. Vulture was nervous, the ones that could fly tended to the most dangerous and he wasn’t exactly able to take a hit from a Contender. His only power was wind manipulation, which he used to fly. Granted, he could knock most other flyers off course with his winds but Contenders were almost always big enough that they would likely laugh at his efforts. His nervous musing was interrupted by Pike barking into his earpiece.

“Vulture, you’re our safety net. Catch anyone who’s rendered unable to fly. Land them or revive as needed but stay out of the way. Freya, you’re with me up front against this thing. The rest of you, hammer at it from range and stay the hell out of its’ way. Also, I’ve never worked with the Dozen before but their leader said their ship is usually targeted by aerial Contenders, is that right?”

“Petra’s usually right.” Vulture heard a voice he thought was Neutronis’s. “And I’ve seen it personally, it will almost certainly be a target. Exact thinks it has to do with it being a threatening size compared to the rest of us.”

“Hmmph. Well, be prepared to defend that ship then, our coordination’s all running through there.” Pike crackled over the radio.

“I wouldn’t worry about the Limo defending itself.” Vulture jumped as he heard a voice next to him, only to see Neutronis floating about twenty feet away. There was no response over the comms and Vulture realized that comment was just intended for him. Neutronis gave him a reassuring smile, right as a series of lightning bolts struck. Vulture zipped backwards until the flash faded and he saw Neutronis still there, now glowing brighter. “Ahh, sorry about that. I know you’re new and haven’t worked with the Dozen before but I have. If you’re worried about having to be the safety net for the Limo, don’t. It’ll be the hardest opponent for the Contender to deal with.”

“Uh, thanks.” Vulture said back. He hadn’t really been thinking in those terms but it was nice to know he wouldn’t be on the hook for saving an entire ship. Vulture wasn’t sure his winds could support that much weight.

“No problem. Trust me, the Dozen are veterans dealing with Contenders, we’re lucky they came back.” Vulture thought he saw Neutronis frown and mumble to himself.

Both of their heads snapped upwards as they felt the pulse signaling a rupture. A rift appeared in the haze, about twenty feet tall. What flew out of it was a nightmare given a fifteen foot tall form. Two sets of red, bat-like wings, a head that looked crocodilian, two sets of humanoid arms, a pair of squat legs, and a crocodile like tail. The eyes gleamed with a wicked intelligence and there was pungent smell of ozone as lightning arced from its’ body. As if that wasn’t bad enough, each humanoid arm carried a weapon, two maces and two whips, all crackling with electricity.

Vulture saw Neutronis dart towards the Contender, closing the gap in a few seconds. Neutronis pulled up short, about fifteen feet away and lightning arcing off the creature began to all be drawn his way. Neutronis sat there absorbing the electricity and Vulture watched the Contender’s eyes focus on Neutronis before it darted towards him with a powerful flap of its’ wings. Freya intercepted it with a punch, knocking it sideways as Neutronis zipped backwards to maintain the fifteen foot interval. Pike zoomed up to block direct access to Neutronis. The Contender roared, a sound filled with rage and bloodlust.

Vulture thought he saw it tensing up for another charge when an explosion appeared on the side of its’ body, knocking it into a spiral for about twenty feet before the Contender caught itself. Vulture’s eyes followed the Contender’s line of sight to see the Limo strafing sideways, a gigantic gun barrel protruding from its’ underbelly. As Vulture watched, the ship seemed to shudder slightly as the barrel flashed. The Contender roared again as it was knocked into another spiral. The Contender was getting entirely too close for Vulture’s comfort and he zipped away before it could notice him.

He needn’t have worried; the Contenders eyes were riveted on the Limo and one armed blurred as the Limo’s gun belched once more. There was a different sounding explosion as the Contender detonated the shell about ten yards in front of it with one of its’ whips. As the Contender made directly for the Limo, Vulture thought he had a better idea of why the ship was targeted so much.

1:08 p.m.

Centurion dove out of the way as the Minotaur charged her directly. It passed through the group, Titan blocking an axe swing with his hammers. Before the Minotaur could turn around, Titan’s hammer flew into its’ back, sending it stumbling into a wall.

“Titan, front and center, hold it in place!” Centurion shouted as she came up from her roll. “Arc, Sabre, hit it from range, keep it off balance.”

Titan settled into a spot, daring the Contender to try and move him. The Contender took the challenge, charging directly at Titan. Arc and Sabre laid into the Minotaur and it staggered but kept coming. Centurion didn’t like the fact that no damage or pain was evident from the ranged attacks. If the Contender proved too tough, there would be massive casualties as the Contender forced the defenders to continually reset their cordon.

Titan absorbed the charge, taking an axe swing on one hammer and using another to smash the other hand grabbing at him. He ducked low, using the Minotaur’s continued forward momentum to flip it over his back. Centurion grinned while the Minotaur went skidding along the ground, taking a direct hit from one of Sabre’s slashes as it did. Titan had just pulled a move almost identical to one she had seen Khyber execute on him that morning. As much as Titan griped about fighting people smaller than him, he apparently also learned from what they did.

The Contender came up swinging and the strike made a pealing sound when it connected with Titan’s hammers. Titan was now twelve feet tall, dwarfing his teammates. But he still looked runty compared to the Minotaur he was facing. It roared as it swung repeatedly, trying to bash a hole in Titan’s defenses.

Centurion hung back, letting Titan absorb the initial punishment while she assessed. Arc’s bolts of lightning were having minimal, if any, effect. Sabre’s slashes were much more potent and Centurion decided this thing was probably only affected by kinetic force and maybe large amounts of energy. It had Titan outmatched strengthwise. Centurion guessed another few hours at minimum before Titan could match the Contender. For now, Titan fought defensively, dodging and deflecting as much as possible to minimize the effect of the strength differential.

Centurion glanced away, checking on her team’s positioning. Sabre was a safe distance away and moving as necessary to maintain a good buffer distance. Arc however, seemed to be inching closer and closer to the fight. He was standing as if straining at a leash, obviously wanting to mix it up directly with the Contender. Centurion frowned, hoping reason would hold back his eagerness.

Shifting her gaze back to the fight, Centurion smiled as she watched Titan’s posture gain confidence. He sent the Contender stumbling away with a well-placed leg sweep. Following behind it, Titan charged the Minotaur, obviously intending to slam into the unbalanced Minotaur. Centurion felt alarm thrill through her as the Minotaur recovered far too quickly and planted its’ feet to receive Titan’s charge. Titan’s shoulder impacted the Minotaur’s lower chest and he bounced off, staggering away. His defense was open and the Minotaur’s axe blurred upwards. Centurion’s heart leapt into her throat as she saw a spray of blood in the wake of the axe swing. She sprinted to cover him as he reeled, dropping his hammers and clutching at his chest.

Centurion used her shield to block the Minotaur’s axe, brought to her knees by the power of the blow. She jumped back, intending to get clear of immediate range and force the Minotaur to face away from Titan. As she moved backwards, her foot was grabbed by something warm and yanked. She stumbled and out of the corner of her eye, saw a tendril of electricity snaking away.

Arc tripped me? Was all she had time to think before one of the Minotaur’s horns caught her directly in her stomach. Instead of sending her flying after her invincibility rebuffed the point, Centurion felt a searing pain as the horn pierced her stomach. She stumbled backwards, gasping in agony as the Minotaur lifted its’ head back up, the tip of its’ horn creating a line of fire in her chest. Centurion dropped to her knees and watched the Minotaur go stumbling away as Sabre repeatedly laid into the Contender with everything he had. She saw Arc step into its’ line of sight, obviously challenging it. Sabre began running up to her as blackness rushed in.

1:06 p.m.

Celestis darted towards the bomb site right behind Khyber. Having an aerial Contender complicated things and it didn’t help that the Valkyries had never worked with the Dozen before. In fact, only Meridian had, Celestis thought as they covered another block. Which was ironic, considering those two teams had a legendary feud. Celestis didn’t know what started the feud; no one outside the two teams did. But the Dozen and Meridian hated each other’s guts, without a doubt, their clashes pushed the limits of the unspoken accords between most teams.

Which made it odd to see Centurion and Khyber treat each other with such respect. Celestis didn’t know what she’d expected, but respect certainly wasn’t it. Though Centurion had struck her as honorable the previous times they’d worked together against a Contender. And certainly competent. Centurion had been on the front lines against Contenders since day one; she’d gotten her gifts during the very first Rupture. That she was still alive and very much kicking after eleven years spoke volumes about her ability.

And Khyber, well, Celestis was the last person who could accuse Khyber of not being honorable.

That thought brought back the memory of their first encounter. Celestis had gotten her powers less than a year before that encounter and had only reached the three month mark with the Valkyries. She’d already participated in two separate Rupture events and had earned a good deal of respect for holding her own on the front line. It didn’t matter that those Contenders were fairly mild, Celestis was already being hailed as the Valkyries’ big gun. She was arrogant and hadn’t met anyone yet to pop her bubble. Then the Dozen came to town on a contract.

The Valkyries still weren’t sure, two years later, what the Dozen had been after. In the two days they were in the city they’d robbed a bank, held up a gas station, ‘remodeled’ the interior of an office building with brute force, and planted several acres worth of endangered plants at a retirement home. Their motive should have been cut and dry considering they made off with several million from the bank in cash and stored valuables, but the Valkyries couldn’t be sure. The gas station was owned by the son of one of the biggest mob bosses in the state of California, the office building had housed a top secret satellite monitoring facility, and the retirement home had used the plants to stave off a predatory real estate operator who was trying to foreclose on the business. Given that the Dozen would take a job from almost anyone, any number of those actions could have potentially been the job and the Dozen had just done the others as a smokescreen.

They’d done it before; the year before Celestis had joined the Valkyries, the Dozen had broken into seven different hotels on different days to kidnap guests. They’d then used the hunt for the missing persons to draw out the family member of one guest. It turned out that man’s wife had been the target the whole time, which was only discovered when she confessed on CBS a year afterwards that she’d been encouraged by the Dozen to drop a certain line of products in her design business to have her husband returned.