The Upper Richmond Road, running to the north of Richmond Park, led straight to Roehampton. In normal times, it was one of London’s more congested roads. Right now, it was clogged by ambulances and first aid stations. I could see soldiers on stretchers, shaken and vomiting from the effects of the gamma radiation. "I can help most of them," I told Pemberley. "They're all headed to the University. Once we get there we'll set up an assembly line for you to treat those you can." "I'm sorry about the containment failure." Pemberley shook her head. "Don't be. Explosives misfire sometimes…. there's very little you could do to predict it. Thankfully, most uniforms include a layer of radiation shielding." "They do?" "It's been standard for years. Plus, troops going into battle normally apply radscreen." ".... radscreen?" "It's like sunscreen, only against radiation. Nanoparticles suspended in an avobenzone base with a Radiation Protection Factor of 50 to 150." BLUEPRINT UNLOCKED: ANTI-RADIATION CREAM. "Did you apply it?" "Of course." I quickly cast an Observe on Pemberley. Minor Radiation Burns. CURE MINOR RADIATION BURNS? 750 MP. "No," interrupted Pemberley, as if reading my mind. "Once we get there." "I can cast while I walk." "Then do the men first. I'll tell the squads to rotate by you one by one. Don't stop moving, though." My Regen was up to 192 MP per second, so I could treat a person every four seconds. With Alpha Company already treated, a group of Australians took their place. As we marched, I rapidly Cured as many as I could. The Australians were replaced by an Indian Gurkha unit, followed by a group of Kenyan soldiers, a Royal Grenadiers platoon, and a Bundeswehr squad led by the beer-loving German noncom. "Sergeant Lucas Klingemann. You make beer?" "I cook. I've never actually tried brewing." I let Cure wash over the men of his unit one by one. "I tried many types of inventech beer." "How does it compare to normal beer?" "Some good, some bad, some strange. Depends on the brewer. You share when you make, yah?" "Yeah." Klingemann nodded, satisfied. "Schmidt! Get over here and get healed!" TEST OF LUCK: PASSED. DANGER ALERT! I activated Dodge Bullets. 50 AP burned as I was flung sideways, and the plasma bolt flew past me. “AMBUSH!” roared Klingemann. More plasma bolts flew past, as dozens of Lynxians shimmered into view. Soldiers shot back, M22s and carbines barking together, smashing into the Lynxians and driving them back. Sergeant Winford took a bolt from one of the Lynxians and fell back. Another bolt hammered into one of the Phoenix Company troopers. Don’t think, just react. POWERCHARGE! LYNIXAN SOLDIER -448 HP! A swing of the Lightning Hammer. LYNXIAN SOLDIER DEFEATED! +500 XP! I slammed the Lightning Hammer into another Lynxian. Two more slashed at me with wicked-looking blades. I dropped the Hammer and equipped the Nanothorn Kukri. LYNXIAN SOLDIER -2,700 HP! LYNXIAN SOLDIER DEFEATED! +500 XP! LYNXIAN SOLDIER -2,700 HP! LYNXIAN SOLDIER DEFEATED! +500 XP! My third opponent was tricky, though, and ducked under my swings. The creature’s blade sliced at my flanks, leaving a deep crack on the Fullersteel armor. GRAZING SLICE! -150 ARMOR. 4476/5000 ARMOR. A second’s glance warned me that this was a different opponent. LYNXIAN ELITE COMMANDO LEVEL 18 HP 800/800 FAST AND DEADLY, THESE ELITE LYNXIAN WARRIORS ARE MASTERS OF THE BLADE. The blademaster dodged as I swung at him. Missed again. And again. The whine of plasma bolts continued as we duelled. A tall, bulky alien was firing plasma bolts wildly, green lightning smashing into the soldiers. A Phoenix trooper slammed into him, knocking him over. The Lynxian swung his plasma rifle towards her and fired. The bolt exploded through the trooper’s stomach even as she stabbed down with a knife. No! : ANDREW WATCH OUT! The Elite Commando charged, its blade suddenly glowing white. I Powerjumped. Ten feet in the air, just enough to watch the Commando barrel into the space I’d been… And I came down. DEATH FROM ABOVE ACTIVATED. LYNXIAN ELITE COMMANDO -382 HP! CONDITION INFLICTED: BROKEN LEG! Half a ton of weight crashed onto the Commando’s leg, pinning it in place. I swung downwards. LYNXIAN ELITE COMMANDO -2,700 HP! LYNXIAN ELITE COMMANDO DEFEATED! +750 XP! Blood spurted all over my armor, as the nanoscale-edge weapon ripped the Lynxian apart. Rifle fire, plasma bolts and grenades smashed into the remaining aliens. “Cease fire!” I swiveled around. Forty, maybe fifty dead Lynxians. At least as many dead on our side. Sergeant Winford wore a bright smile, even in death. “Any wounded?” I yelled. “I can help.” “Here!” Tucker yelled, dragging Doyle’s body forward. “Plasma burn! Bad!” I invoked Heal. Golden light spilled out, closing the wounds and sealing the burns. : Anne, get the wounded Phoenixes here fast. I’ll treat them now. : Andrew… : What? : It’s Maria. She didn’t make it. I stopped for a second. : Get her here, I’ll try to heal her. : Andrew. You can’t heal dead. : Just get her here! I was healing person after person when they brought me Maria’s body. Cure. TARGET NOT VALID FOR CURE. Heal. TARGET NOT VALID FOR HEAL. WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT. YOU CANNOT RESTORE THE DEAD. There has to be something, dammit! I knelt by her side, trying First Aid, Cleanse Toxins… nothing worked. WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT. YOU CANNOT RESTORE THE DEAD. FURTHER ATTEMPTS TO USE HEALING SKILLS ON THE DEAD WILL RESULT IN A WISDOM PENALTY. Heal, dammit! CONDITION INFLICTED: GRIEF-STRICKEN DESPAIR. -3 TO WISDOM. A hand touched my side. “She’s gone,” whispered Daisy. “Steady.” “I should have saved her.” “You did.” I looked up. There was a circle around us. A circle of blue, green, khaki and black. Uniforms and armor. Soldiers from around the world, standing at attention. Pemberley stepped forward. “Your friend. The Lynxian had us all pinned down, she charged him. Sacrificed herself to save us all.” I nodded mutely. “What was her name?” “Maria,” I said. “Maria Esperanza.” Daisy squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll remember her.” “As will we,” said Pemberley. “She died protecting this city. We won’t forget that.” “I should have spotted them faster. Done something.” “Even superheroes aren’t infallible.” “How do you handle it?” A ghost of a smile crossed Pemberley’s face. “You soldier on.” Deep breaths. Daisy’s touch upon my armor was gentle but firm. “We’ll take care of her.” “Somebody has to tell… Olinda and Kristina.” “I’ll do that. You go help the ones who can be helped. Lavinia could use a Heal, by the way.” “... Sorry. I’ll help her now.” The next several minutes were of me healing and Curing soldiers and Phoenixes in the middle of the road. Somewhere along the line, Winford’s and Maria’s body were carried away on stretchers. I hardly noticed. The only thing in my mind was the hundreds of soldiers being brought to me, and the continuous use of Cure and Heal. When Windsor walked up beside the queue, it took me a few seconds to register. The General saluted me. Awkwardly, I pulled away from the line and returned the salute. “Belessar. Thank you for your help.” “... Thank you for keeping Nanocloud safe.” “She saved our hides at the Tower. It’s the least we could do. You okay?” “Just… healing a few people.” “I noticed. I’m going to suggest Samuel bring you to the University. There’s a lot more people who could use your help.” “Did we win?” “We’re winning, but it’s taking time. Small squads of Lynxians and Raptors are holed up across the city; we’re flushing them out building by building.” “Can we help?” “Nanocloud’s been giving us positioning and tracking information for a while. If we run into something too tough for a squad to handle, we’ll call for help. In the meantime, Chikaradzuyoi wanted to see you.” “... why?” “The Carnotaur chewed up one of his arms. Besides that, there're about fifteen hundred more injured at Roehampton, and thousands more across the city. Melody Harmony and Redcross Rhythm are doing what they can, of course, but every bit helps.” “I’ll be there.” I swallowed. “We lost a lot of people today.” “We did. But still we stand.”