"Can you hear me?"
"What?" Yareli said, her words slurred.
"Can you hear me?" the voice repeated. Yareli groaned, trying to focus on the words.
"Father?" Yareli's vision cleared, seeing a familiar worried face looking down upon her. "What happened?"
Her recent memories were only a confounding blur. Her biker suit was in tatters, her helmet off to the side. She hastily returned it to her head, not wanting to be seen without it. Happy she'd been restored to some normalcy, she examined her surroundings. It seemed she sat on a cot in a rather crowded research lab.
"Thank God you're awake!" Her father hugged her tight, shaking with pent-up emotion. She hugged him in return, grateful for the contact.
"You took a nasty blow," Anderson said. Where was she? Yareli recognized nothing about her surroundings. "It's a miracle you're functioning."
"Right! My key got damaged!" Yareli said, her memories returning in a rush. "How long was I unconscious?" She avoided the word non-functioning.
"About half a day." Her father appeared disheveled, his hair uncombed and his beard unwieldy, most unlike him. He seemed miserable, tears pricking his eyes. "I did my best, but your creation was a fluke—a one-in-a-million chance! I feared how much I should meddle with your key."
"But you will function—enough to fight." ID-01 looked in terrible shape, bandages covering exposed circuitry from view.
"Wait, how's the battle going?" Wasn't Jörmungandr still fighting Surtur? Yareli flinched when she tried recalling details about the fight, a black void in her memory. The last before moments before she'd lost consciousness were a haze. A pit formed in her metaphorical stomach when she caught everyone's expression. "He died, right?"
"No," Anderson said, scowling. "We underestimated Surtur. He found a better use for him."
The detective pulled his phone from his pocket and opened a news app. Yareli watched with curiosity as he played a video. She gasped, unable to believe her eyes. "What the hell?"
People screamed, running in fear as a torrent of purple rain poured upon them. Each drop was deadly, eating their flesh alive where it touched. The ones who died instantly were the lucky ones. Someone laughed—inhuman and definitely insane. A nearby building exploded, toppling over and taking a restaurant with it. Among the insanity and carnage, a purple figure walked through the smoke.
"Simensen?! What the hell?!" Blinding pain struck Yareli's skull again, making her almost cry from the agony.
"After his defeat, Surtur meddled with Jörmungandr's Ragnadriver. When he forced Simensen to transform…" Anderson's words trailed off.
"Nothing can stop him. He's totally out of control." ID-01 showed Yareli an article about the military's failed attempts to stop Jörmungandr. The damage was horrendous, tanks and soldiers scattered like broken, forgotten toys. The sight of a bloated purple corpse made Yareli's nonexistent stomach turn.
"That fool!" her father said, pounding a fist against a wall. "His Ragnadriver was a rushed job without the proper safety precautions. This severe risk of mental damage was why I pushed to scrap the project!"
"We'll figure out something." Dino wore a bandage over his head, but otherwise seemed fine. "Still, somehow, Jörmungandr is the least of our problems."
"What do you mean?" Yareli said, dread filling her voice.
"The entire world's economy has crashed," her father said. "The stock market is in total disarray—another of Surtur's plans."
"How?" Then it struck Yareli, remembering Wilson's crazy plan to control the stock market. A disturbing hunch came to her. "Did Surtur upload Ymir's equation to the internet?"
Her father nodded. "We were so worried about him that we completely overlooked it. What an utter disaster. Stores are barren of essential supplies as people fear the worst. Others are rioting in the streets, looting whatever they can. It's utter chaos. Some are calling it the end of the world."
"Damn." At this rate, Surtur would get his Ragnarök. Yareli's heart seized in her chest, wondering if it was already too late.
"Hey, it isn't all bad—Surtur got messed up!" Dino said. "Robogirl here tells me she damaged his energy system. He can't easily repair himself."
"Don't call me Robogirl," ID-01 said, indignant. "But he's right. I've reduced his energy efficiency by almost forty percent."
"That's something. But can we even find him again?" Yareli said. And that didn't include defeating Jörmungandr.
"That won't be a problem," her father said. "He's staying near Jörmungandr. While the attacks seem random, Surtur is targeting Bifrost's crucial infrastructure to weaken an already desperate city."
"Then we can destroy him," Yareli said, forcing herself from the cot. "He couldn't have had that many chances to recharge himself."
"Stop. You're still in no condition to fight," her father said, his tone desperate. "I'm not certain if your Uhyre key will survive the hour. Its damage is severe."
"All the more reason to go." Before she died, Yareli would put Surtur's head on a pike first.
"You fool." Her father hesitated, knowing he couldn't stop Yareli. She'd fight to last, whatever the outcome. "Okay. I'll do what I can. I still have some tricks up my sleeve."
"I'm ready," Dino said, beaming. "The three of us? We can kick their asses, no prob."
ID-01 sighed. "Foolish. Our odds are minuscule. But the risk is unavoidable."
"I'll do my best to help coordinate from here," Anderson said. "It isn't much, but I can at least help the rescue efforts. Would you believe the other Valkyries are out there, without their armor, helping people?"
"Sounds like them." Despite their dire situation, Abbey and Pihu's bravery brought a spark of hope. They hadn't lost yet.
"Let's go." While having some trouble seeing, Yareli seemed fine otherwise. She prayed it'd last until the deed was done. It was odd, entering battle with her two worst enemies. Still, she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Do you still want me dead, ID-01?" Yareli asked.
The doppelgänger only snorted. "An irrelevant question. Still, you have impressed me with your luck and determination. I may not need to destroy you."
"I see." Yareli figured that would be the best compliment she'd get from ID-01. Still, it was some progress.
///
"Wait!" Johan said, bursting into Halvorsen's lab. He frowned, finding it empty besides the scientist himself. "Dammit! Did they leave already?"
He gripped his sword tight, frustrated that Yareli left without him. Angra Armlet or not, he was determined to fight alongside her.
"Maybe it's for the best," Friedel said, peeking in behind his stepson. "Facing those monsters is suicidal!"
"It doesn't matter! They need my help," Johan said, remaining stubborn. "I can still fight!"
His stepfather didn't reply, scowling at Johan's insistent stubbornness. These destructive last few hours had magnified his previous misgivings about Johan fighting. He almost hadn't returned Johan's sword.
"Wait," Halvorsen said, turning toward the newcomers. He'd been tapping at a laptop but stopped to address the intruders in his lab.
"What? I'm going, whatever you say," Johan replied.
"Please! Talk some sense into him!" Friedel said. "That snake thing is destroying freaking skyscrapers with a sword!"
"No. I want you to join Ilma and the others, but you'll need assistance first," Halvorsen said. Johan blinked, not expecting that answer. "You're our best candidate."
"Sorry, what are you talking about?" Friedel said.
"The strain caused by the Brokkrdrivers is considerable—possibly lethal," the scientist said. "But Dino Rizzo can wield one with no obvious side effects. I suspect his mastery of his Uhyre key provided him with subtle enhancements to withstand the strain. It explains why he can heal quicker than expected."
"Wait—are you saying?" Johan said, catching the scientist's meaning.
"You're the only other person who's used an Angra Armlet extensively," Halvorsen said. "You likely have the same enhancements."
"I hate the sound of that," his stepfather said with a nervous chuckle. "Does this mean he might mutate into some kind of pig monster?"
"Unknown," Halvorsen said. "This phenomenon doesn't have enough research."
"That's not exactly reassuring." Johan realized he'd never considered the consequences of using the Angra Armlet. Ilma had died when she first tried one, and now she was a living skeleton!
"But that's a matter for another day," Halvorsen said, ignoring Johan's sudden rising panic.
"The hell it's not!" Friedel said, furious. "And now you want my son for another experiment?!"
Halvorsen gave Johan's stepfather an icy glare, staring him right in the eye. "My daughter's life is at stake. The world, also," he added, almost as an afterthought. Friedel trembled with pent-up fury but said nothing.
"Hey! Got the parts you requested!" Rebecca said, rushing in with a tote bag over her shoulder.
"Excellent." Halvorsen pointed toward his workstation. "Over here on the table."
"Even with Mom's help, they were a pain to find," Rebecca said, spilling some complicated computer parts onto a nearby table. "I swear, Ymir scientists are terrible at record keeping."
Johan peered over his friend's shoulder. "You borrowed these from the Ymir headquarters?"
"Yep, my mom's security code still works. They were in deep storage, though—forgotten."
"Blame Doctor Nomikos." Halvorsen examined the pieces with a careful eye before assembling them into a complicated mechanism. "A real scatterbrain. He flew from project to project whenever something new caught his eye."
In silence, they watched as the scientist pulled over an odd, half-assembled device and fiddled with its innards. He worked the new piece into place while reading something on his laptop.
"And this will help me fight?" Johan said, hazarding a guess. "Like Dino's new belt?"
"Yes," Halvorsen said, giving a genuine smile. "You will be our secret weapon against Surtur—but it'll take time. Some bugs still need fixing."
"Oh," Johan said, deflating somewhat.
"This better work. I'm counting on you to win this. You're strong enough. Give Surtur hell, Johan." Johan gasped when his stepfather grabbed him in a tight hug. Were those tears in his eyes?
Are you angry at me for fighting or not? Decide already.
"I will," Johan said, giving an awkward hug back.
"The world's counting on me?" Johan's thoughts raced like a headless chicken, panicked and frightened. He wasn't some hero! His bravado left him, replaced with ice-cold terror. But his stepfather's smile abated this somewhat—Johan didn't want to let him down. Even if the world died, he would protect his loved ones. That goal seemed more plausible.
"Yareli, hang on! I'm coming!"
///
"How are you?" Surtur asked.
"Fine." Reine flinched away, refusing to admit how much her left leg throbbed. Despite the hours that had passed, the pain hadn't lessened. Her entire body ached, a pressure that threatened to drive her mad. At least the blackness had slowed to a crawl, losing its potency after an hour.
"Don't push yourself. Keep wearing your armor. It should fight the worst effects of Jörmungandr's poison."
"Like you keep telling me." Hadn't he said that five times already?
It was like Surtur was actually concerned for her or something. Which was impossible for an unfeeling robot like him. Despite wearing his helmet, Reine pictured Wilson's face gazing down at her with concern. It only made her angrier. Was it some personality defect in his AI? It'd be ludicrous to suggest he contained a part of Wilson's soul.
"At least I'm doing better than those poor bastards over there." She watched as people screamed while Jörmungandr slashed widely into crowds. It mattered little who they were. Her former employer slaughtered them all.
They walked through destroyed streets, flames spreading everywhere as Jörmungandr's sword blew nearby buildings to smithereens. She stepped over a writhing body, ignoring their desperate pleas for help. It wouldn't be long until the entire city of Bifrost was a smoking ruin—though this wasn't Surtur's true purpose. Reine realized Surtur was directing them toward Ymir's defunct headquarters, mentioning something about accessing their prototype teleportation system.
Her Niflhel walked behind her, fully transformed into monsters. After almost getting killed, she'd summoned her zombie minions to her. They fidgeted, wanting to get into the action. Selim, in particular, looked ready to jump at the nearest person to alleviate his boredom. She told Surtur as much.
"They can't," the fake Wilson said. "You're still in a terrible condition and can't protect yourself. Besides, Gungnir, Valkyrie, and Fenrir are still alive. They might cause problems."
Reine bristled at the implication she needed protection. "They'd be suicidal to fight us again. They know they can't win."
"Humans don't pay attention to the odds."
"No one's that stupid." Still, Reine hoped they would attack, so she could finally enact her long-awaited revenge against Fenrir. For some damn reason, the wolf girl kept slipping away from her despite the odds.
"Can you fight?" Reine said, her tone derisive. "In that last battle, you got pretty hurt."
"Despite the damage to my energy systems, I can still function at reasonable levels. That brief charge should sustain me for the incoming battle."
"Is that right?" Reine froze as three figures approached them on the street ahead.
Smoke billowed as the walked through it, steps steady as they confronted the worst army ever assembled without fear. Hel's undead army howled behind her, eager for an easy prey. Half-dead as they were, these three won't prove much a challenge. Jörmungandr stopped attacking a woman huddling behind a car, hissing as he turned to address the newcomers. While battered and bruised, they appeared no less determined to fight.
"So, you're finally here," Surtur said, readying his sword. "I knew you'd come."
"That's right, you bastard! We're here to finish this!" Dino Rizzo said, pointing a finger toward them.
"Our odds of defeating you are less than 2.5 percent," Ilma Halvorsen's robot clone said. "But those odds are satisfactory enough. Today, you die, Surtur."
"I don't care if it kills me. I'm taking you down!" Fenrir said, pushing her fists together. She turned toward Jörmungandr and sighed. "And we'll save you too, Simensen, I guess."
"Come then," Surtur said. "I'll show you the limits of human might."
"Henshin!" Together as one, their enemy activated their belts. With an unspoken signal, they charged as one toward their probable doom.
"Fools!" A jolt of pain shot throughout Reine's body as she turned to address her foe. But she ignored it, focusing her hate on Fenrir. It was time to avenge Mallory. "The queen of the dead will happily fulfill your death wish."