“Sundancer just hit Jack, Hatchet Face and Bonesaw.”

“Where are the rest?”

“Crawler heading for Grue and Ballistic, Mannequin running down Tillman in Regent and Trickster’s general direction.

Regent may not be able to do much against Mannequin, but Trickster may have some tricks up his sleeves.

Shatterbird’s going for the bird’s-eye view.  I don’t think she’s seen any of us except Grue and Ballistic.”

Seems like that’s true for them all so far.

“Siberian?”

“Missing.”

Last we saw, she seemed to be jumping into a miniature sun, though it was a little ambiguous which way was considered “forwards”, so I’m not sure. It would make a lot more sense for her to have bolted into a building or something.

“Shit.  Assume they’re all alive, then.  Sundancer’s power still in that area?”

Yeah, that’s a good thing to keep in mind. If this is actually killing them, it’s going too well.

I especially don’t think Cherish is dead.

Alive?  “It is.”

“Then keep it there!”

Tattle may have figured out that Bonesaw’s protections are there.

“Don’t have line of sight to Jack!” Trickster reported.

Well, that’s a problem. Can’t teleport him without line of sight.

“Hit the others,” I told Sundancer.

“You mean kill them,” her voice was quiet, her fists clenched at her sides.

Yes. Can you do it?

“Kill them, then.”  I could see the sun growing as it flew.  It was maybe eighteen feet in diameter now.

Oh fuck, that’s way bigger than we’ve seen it before, or at least way bigger than I imagined it before. The idea that it could get bigger than maybe a single foot or so in diameter never occurred to me.

“Just… just tell me there aren’t any civilians there, no bystanders.”

Tattletale?

I suppose Skitter could use her bugs, but I’m not sure the target zone is quite within range? It should be around the edge, unless they’ve gotten closer.

I looked through my binoculars.  The remainder of the Nine were making a break for it.  Mannequin and Siberian stood still, watching Grue and Ballistic, Crawler was barreling towards them, and Shatterbird had taken to the air.

Not so fun when you’re the targets, is it, guys?

It looks like big trouble’s heading towards Grue and Ballistic.

Heh, Big Trouble sounds like a nickname for Crawler.

Jack and Bonesaw were taking cover around a corner to stay out of Grue and Ballistic’s line of fire.

It seems like the Nine haven’t taken notice of the other two squads, including Trickster. They’ve heard the gunshot, but they don’t know where it came from, so they focus on the enemies they’ve spotted.

Sundancer sent her sun soaring around to the Nine, taking the long route so it could cut them off.

Here we fucking go.

Hey, Nine, did you remember to wear sunscreen today?

In that same moment, Trickster pointed a sniper rifle at a corpse on the street and swapped Cherish’s position with it.

That’s a really good use of the power. It can be used to put Cherish in a position that is easier to hit with the sniper rifle while at the same time surprising and disorienting her so she won’t have time to get out of the way.

Now it’s just a matter of whether a sniper rifle can actually incapacitate or kill her with Bonesaw’s protections in place.

Part two of the plan, after finding them and getting into our positions, was to remove Cherish as fast as humanly possible.  If we accomplished nothing else, our goal was to do that and then make a run for it.  It would pave the way for future attacks and it would slow them down.

Solid tactic. When she’s actually working towards the Nine’s best interests, she’s super important both as a scout/radar and as a defense against close attackers. She’s got one of the most dangerous powers on the team.

We’d left that task to Ballistic, with the idea that Trickster would take care of Jack.  Ballistic decided he didn’t have it in him at the worst possible moment, forcing us to shift roles.

Ahh, I see.

Damn him.

I mean, yes, it was poorly timed, but are you sure you wouldn’t have similar qualms when it came down to it?

Cherish was struck by Trickster’s shot, blood spattering the pavement.  Her teammates left her behind.

That’s probably because they’re running ahead to get out of the ambush, but from just this bit on its own, it kind of sounds like they’re completely oblivious/uncaring about the fact that right in the middle of their group, one of them was suddenly replaced by a random corpse right before a gunshot could (probably) be heard. 😛

Regent sounded remarkably calm given the situation.

“She’s my sister.  If anyone has a right to get sentimental, it’s me, and I’m saying it’s okay to off her,” he finished.

That really does say a lot. If there’s anyone here who’s gonna know what she’s like, it’s Regent.

“I-”  Ballistic broke off.

I shifted my attention to the Nine.  Jack, Siberian and Bonesaw were moving past the yellow lines.  And Cherish… Cherish was turning to look in Grue and Ballistic’s direction.

“Are you gonna off me or not?”

I could see her almost bounce in place as she got her feet under her and started sprinting, her mouth opening.

Oh, so she really did only just notice?

Or did she only just realize she was the first target?

It’s entirely possible that Ballistic’s sentimentality is the whole reason she just noticed him.

“Cover blown!” I shouted into the walkie-talkie.  Taking my finger off the button, I called out,  “Trickster, Sundancer!”

It’s go time!

“Who?” Trickster asked.

“Sadie.  From seventh grade.”

Wildbow continues to heavily imply that the Travelers go way back.

But yeah, sounds like it’s genuinely just a case of similar appearances.

“Nope,” Trickster replied.  “Not in the slightest.  Your head’s fucking with you.  Get the job done.”

I suppose that’s also possible.

“But-”

Trickster’s voice was as hard as I’d ever heard it.  “Now.  Remember the deal we made.  Our promise to each other and to Noelle.  Don’t fuck this up.”

I would love to know what that promise was and how it plays into this situation. Alas, that is probably a matter for another day.

Ballistic hesitated.  Through the scope of my binoculars, I could see him holding the foot-ball sized warhead in his hands.  “She’s a human being, someone with feelings, and tastes and-”

That she is.

She’s also a fucked up mass-murderer.

Regent was the one who cut him off this time, “And she’s someone that has forced parents to mutilate and kill their kids and she made them enjoy it.  Then she left them to live with the aftermath.”

Fucking hell, Cherish.

If you want a full redemption you’ve got so much to atone for.

That’s not really how Worm tends to go, though. Her self-interested betrayal may prove critical to beating the Nine, but she’s probably not heading for a redemption.

He’s supposed to handle Cherish.  I glanced at the Nine.  No sign of anything from her.

Ah, fuck, that’s pretty critical, at least as far as Taylor knows.

She was standing apart from the rest of the group, her arms folded.

“You gonna smite the others yet or what?”

“She looks like someone I used to know,” Ballistic said, as if that was some kind of answer.

Oh, huh.

I wonder if he actually did know her specifically at some point. The Travelers used to be nomadic, so it’s entirely possible that he’s met Cherie Vasil before she came to Brockton Bay.