Book 2: Chapter 92: Restraint (1/2)

In retrospect, Echo couldn't have picked a better city. Austin had seen nothing but peace for over a decade. Its people were entirely unused to the oppressive tactics often unleashed by military forces during extreme villain attacks. It was an intellectual thing; something that happened to other people, not them. Austin was peaceful, prosperous, safe. Those vicious things weren't required, here.

Some would call them spoiled, or privileged. Echo hoped for a country where everyone could be so privileged, but getting there would be a bloody and brutal process. Villain attacks were common things, and large-scale engagements against unhinged mutates or Naturals happened two or three times a year, on average. A city of Austin's size should have had at least a handful of incidents over the past ten years, but between the city's general prosperity and a great deal of luck, they'd stayed more or less unaffected by the conflict that routinely enveloped most major cities. It made for a population easy to rile against perceived injustice from the brutal military currently occupying their city.

But even Echo was surprised when a student cast the first stone. Literally. The decorative rock, large and heavy and the size of a man's torso, soared from somewhere within the crowd. It flew on a low, fast arc, clearly tossed by someone with upgraded strength. The lead soldier was the target, but the man simply side-stepped the projectile. The rock soared past him, all of his men, and ricocheted off the concrete walkway. It ended up embedded in the wall of a nearby building, the impact strong enough to shake the ground beneath Echo's feet.

The soldier was still as a grave, his head canted towards the gathered civilians. Echo could see the decisions going through the man's head. Search for the aggressor? Subdue the crowd? It was more than justified, but the optics would be terrible. With the city in the state that it was in, there was a real risk of open rebellion if they were to put down a mob of angry students. There would be no hiding it, not with hundreds of cameras running in the crowd.

Echo patiently waited for the soldier to make his decision. He held himself in Champion's posture, arms clasped lightly behind his back and chest straight. He eyed the gathered soldiers, noting that he still heard the sound of circling helicopters. He dared not look skyward, lest some clever grunt take advantage of his distraction.

The students at his side had finally realized their position. Some had stiffened in alarm, a few were vibrating in anger, while the girl who had first approached him was giddily filming everything on her phone. Echo wondered if she would survive the day's events. He hoped so. She seemed like a sweet girl, if in dire need of an introduction to reality. No need to worry on that account; their meeting would be soon.

He felt the edge of something press against his open palm. He closed his fist, fingers squeezing against a square pane of force that hovered in the center of his hand. After a moment, it vanished. Echo's worries faded away. Bastion was here, watching and waiting. It seemed as if he might survive the next few minutes. Things were going to plan.

Mostly.

Where are you, Anastasia?

Echo had expected her to make a personal appearance by now, if only to try and murder him. She couldn't have gone after Bastion's sanctuary. He would've heard that fight from across the city, and the man was present besides. He cautiously concluded she was in one of the circling helicopters, waiting to see how this would play out. Cautious to the very end. He'd hoped the traitorous woman would catch some blame when the situation inevitably went wrong, but he'd settle for her fucking off back to Florida in a hurry just as soon as Cannibal made his presence known. It would certainly make Echo's job easier if she wasn't around, though it would be infinitely less satisfying.

His thoughts were interrupted as the soldier made his choice. His hand flicked towards Echo and a shot rang out from somewhere in the distance. The students beside him screamed, and a bullet flattened itself against the air, approximately ten feet away from Echo's head. Ripples from the impact flowed across the surface of an invisible barrier, slowly traversing the wide box of force protecting Champion from the outside world.

The students burst into motion at the outrageous attack! One young fool charged the soldiers, his actions immediately spurring a dozen others to join him. Shouts of outrage from the crowd were accompanied by a hail of thrown projectiles. Rocks, beer bottles, backpacks and books clattered off of overdesigned armor. More people rushed the soldiers, and the mob turned to madness.

The soldiers' weapons flashed up and the roar of gunfire filled the plaza. The charging students faltered, but quickly rallied as they realized Champion was the target. Bullets struck Bastion's shield, causing more and more ripples as the specialized ammunition did its best to break the unbreakable. Other soldiers stepped forward to confront the charging mob, and swathes of white gas erupted from their fingertips.

The students hit the gas and stumbled, coughing and wheezing and clawing at their eyes. The soldiers swept their hands out and the gas expanded outwards, pressing against the edges of the mob. This did little to quench the riot. Young men and women, high on adrenaline and outrage, pushed past the tear gas and charged the soldiers attempting crowd control.

The first to reach them bore some kind of animalistic upgrade. He snarled and leapt like a charging tiger. The soldier took him down gently, redirecting the teenager's lunge and planting him into the ground. The rash young man was restrained and zip-tied in less than a second, giving the soldier's partner plenty of time to intercept the next angry student and do the same. And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Until that trickle of bodies became a flood.