Rosie swished her head back and forth. How many would-be soldiers had shown up? She didn't dare count; the fact that they clogged every road said enough. The army of thugs brought an arsenal pulled from the frames of countless sci-fi movies, whether they cradled them in their arms or gripped the handles of mounted guns. For once she thought herself lucky, since none shot at her. The feeling didn't last; as she crouched there, and swiveled and shimmied to scan her assailants, she nearly had a panic attack.
She'd put the hospital behind her. But if a brawl broke out -- when it broke out -- she couldn't guarantee it would stay out of the crossfire.
"Listen up," Chase said as he ducked back inside the car. "I know what you're thinking: if these guys aren't careful, they could hurt somebody."
Rosie glanced at the car, but didn't say a word. Partly because she couldn't; her breathing steadily ramped up, while her limbs shivered. Calm down, she thought. Calm down. Gotta stay calm.
"Let them run wild, and they'll wreck this hospital. Let them run free, and they'll wreck whatever they want. You'll have to fight back. Playing pacifist? Not an option."
I know. I know, but --! Rosie felt her muscles seize up, and her stomach churned. If I fight, they might get hurt! And how much damage will I do?
"Lives are on the line. Yours, theirs, and mine. What's it gonna be?"
Rosie almost hugged herself, but remembered in the nick of time that she had passengers to cradle. Stay calm. Don't worry. Don't think about it! If you keep this up, then --!
But by then, she realized it far too late. She ballooned to three fifty.
Then three fifty-one. Fifty-two. Fifty-three.
The thugs brave enough to stand on solid ground backed up. Half of them slid well away and let their barrels sag; the other half almost sniped at her skull. Rosie saw it all happen in real time -- and despite it, she forced every cell in her body to reach some feeble form of equilibrium. The growth stopped, but not before she reached three sixty.
"She just got even bigger?" one of the thugs squealed. He aimed at Rosie's eye. "We've gotta end this before --!"
"Hold your fire! Hold your fire, all of you!"
Not one shot made it out, thanks to one green-haired punk. "We may have firepower," Grim said as he stepped past the frontlines. "But we'd better make damn sure we do this right."
Rosie's breathing returned to normal, however reluctantly. "What're y'all doin'?" she asked. "Can't ya see how much harm you'll do?"
Grim looked to his left. Looked to his right. Looked back at Rosie. "Yeah. That's the plan."
"But why --?"
"We're not like you." Grim gave his palm a hard stare. "No matter how much we pretend, we're only humans scraping up whatever power we can get. And thanks to some hard-to-refuse offers, we've almost closed the gap with you." He waved toward the towering buildings near and far. "More CHAOS, more power. More power, more hope."
"Hope?"
"Hope we'll survive you."
Rosie stared at Grim. Mohawk or otherwise, he didn't even stand as tall as her finger. She had forced her shivers to a halt; he let plenty of them slip through the cracks, while his body stayed rigid and his teeth clenched tight whenever he stopped speaking.
"Let's make this simple." Grim reached for her. "Your passengers stole some merchandise from us. Hand them over, and maybe we can end this without a fight."
"Ya don't just mean the merchandise, right?"
"Spot-on. I've got orders to get rid of them, and I'm almost as afraid of my new boss as I am of you." The punk held up a finger. "But take a look at this crew. We came prepared."
The panic that nearly short-circuited Rosie seconds ago gave way to a rush of heat. "I don't wanna hurt anyone, but I'm not lettin' ya have 'em. And you're not gonna hurt anyone. Take your friends and toys, and leave."
Grim bared his fangs, but not without another shudder. "Think you're in a position to make demands?"
Rosie's gaze scoured the area, and even the simplest sweep gave her full view of her assailants. It didn't take much to ignore them; instead, she set the car with Chase and Isabel on the hospital roof. When it touched down, she seized a stray, tipped-over trash can and set it beside the car -- all so that Henry could spill out into a safe, or safe enough, haven.
Once she laid eyes on all three of them -- once she assumed, or hoped, they would use the doorway to hurry inside -- Rosie turned her back to the hospital once more. But that time, she didn't stay kneeling. She stood up slowly, foot by foot, story by story, to the tune of rumbling muscles a pitch away from a far-off earthquake.
She stood at her full height. Formed a fist.
And she stared Grim down. "Yeah. I think so."
Grim met her eyes. But in the end, he took a slow, weary breath and nodded. "Okay."
The punk pulled out his Kernel and gripped it tight, even as he twisted its top half on its axis. The moment he finished, he raised the cube skyward, while beams of green light spilled out from its spreading gaps. Those beams enveloped Grim in a whirling polygon; translucent walls formed the exterior, while rays traced the outline of its interior -- a cockpit, packed with more machinery than a jet.
Grim vanished inside. The instant he did, it shot upward like fireworks -- and exploded like them, too. Rosie shielded herself from the light show, yet not enough to block her view of what took form: legs, arms, a torso, and head, all crafted from searing sparks. But it died down quickly, so that she and everyone else got a full glimpse of what Grim had wrought.
And he had wrought a machine. A towering, bipedal machine -- lean, but covered in yards of chrome armor. Purple streaks traveled up green metals like vines, yet shone in the sun's wake. More neon tubes carried lime light across its body, atop and through the boxy chevron plates that comprised it. Arms and legs ended in jet-black steel, molded into claws and talons. On its chest, the armor linked together to create a robotic bat, fangs and all. On its head -- violet-eyed, and packed with teeth sharper than pikes -- sprouted a trio of metallic mohawks. On its back, wings locked into a V shape; they had folded enough to stay out of the way, but showed enough to turn the machine into what Grim wanted so dearly.
A demon. All two hundred fifty feet of it.
"Holy shit," Chase whispered, while Isabel took pictures. Meanwhile, Henry ducked back inside his trash can.
Grim's new toy checked out its palms; even with its metal make, its motions looked so natural that Rosie couldn't separate the man from the machine. "So, this is CHAOS power. Controlling it still feels as natural as breathing." The robot looked at Rosie, but clicked its steel tongue. "Damn. If I'd gone on the attack earlier, there wouldn't be as big a gap."
Rosie didn't ask what he meant. The robot towered over countless buildings, but to her? The top of its head barely reached her chest.
"If this is the best it's gonna get, then fine. Fine! I don't care how big you are -- I'm here to win! No matter what it takes!" Grim's machine aimed a thumb at its heart. "This is my ace -- my Legion-66! And the two of us are gonna rip you apart!"
The machine crouched while its calves opened up, then sprouted a trio of thrusters. Green flames erupted from each and launched Legion-66 forward, with a fire-shrouded claw at the ready. In the three seconds that she had to process it, Rosie spent two of them to glance behind her, all too wary of the tiny hospital. That left her with exactly one second to mount her defense.
She spent it well. As soon as Legion-66 boosted into attack range, she stopped it cold by grabbing its neck and hoisting it higher. "If we've gotta fight, let's do it somewhere safer," she said as she lugged the machine around, even as it clawed and kicked her body. Though she searched for a wider clearing than what they already had, she spent precious moments eyeing the robot's form. "You're somewhere inside there, huh? If I tear out the cockpit, then you'll be safe and sound, right?"
Grim gave her the best answer he could. Legion-66's forearms opened to equip a spread of cannons, and opened fire.
Green explosions riddled Rosie's body; as the smoke and fire swirled, she lost her grip and staggered. Grim didn't. He wasted no time and rushed right back in to slash with feral swipes. "Go ahead and die!" he called out. "There's a spot in Hell just for you!"
Rosie swung to dispel the smoke -- one sweep that not only cleared the field, but pushed Legion-66 back. Even with the blood and burns that riddled her skin, she stomped forward with her counter: a backhanded blow that hammered Grim's machine square in the cheek. If she hadn't reined herself in, that one hit would have slammed the head into the stratosphere. Since she did, she simply sent him flying, crashing, and grinding his way through the street ahead.
"Sorry," said Rosie. "Is your cockpit in the head? Must've given ya a real shock just now."
Legion-66 slapped the street and drove a dozen fissures into it. "Hey! Are all of you just gonna sit there and watch?" Grim asked as his machine clambered back up. "Shoot or die! Your choice!"
Dozens of vehicles peeled out and repositioned themselves to keep Rosie in their sights. Frenzied yells filled the air, and only the blast of white-hot munitions dampened them. Rosie didn't have the time or ability to dodge; she stood there and withstood every bullet, laser, and missile, even when the best of shots made her buckle.
Those frenzied yells mixed with triumphant cheers. "Yeah! How'd ya like that, Tiny?"
"Not so tough now, huh?"
Rosie did her best not to acknowledge them, even as they chipped away at her. At most, she only turned back to make sure the hospital stayed in one piece -- and to see if Chase had escaped harm. Not one bullet nicked him, but he had long since scrambled to the roof's edge for an up-close view of the action. "Get in there! Tear that mech to bits!" he screamed over the warzone below. "Fight! Fight!"
Rosie wanted to scream back at him -- to tell him and the others to go inside -- but in the end, she decided to follow his advice. Just as Grim made it upright, she started forward, one thunderous stomp at a time.
"I know that look," said Grim. "Finally taking us seriously, huh?"
Rosie's eyes darted about; when she finished, she took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth. "If there's anyone nearby? Sorry! But I'm gonna need y'all to clear out, now!" She took another earth-rending step as she balled her hands into fists. "I'm gonna make a mess."
Legion-66 flashed a metal grin. The mech blasted toward her, propelled by an emerald blaze. Rosie braced herself, so even when Grim's machine careened into her, she barely slid back a foot. If anything, she caught it in mid-rush; she seized those arms in both her hands and squeezed, all to make sure it couldn't escape as she marched on. A quick glance confirmed that Grim's army followed, as if the shots that peppered her backside weren't proof enough. Legion-66 kicked furiously to break free, but she dragged the fight, and every last attacker, into a long-emptied square -- where at most, the pedestrians shrieked at the perimeter as they scrambled away.
Rosie nodded. When she finished, she hoisted Legion-66 well above her head -- and threw it face-first into the ground a hundred feet away.
The seismic slam cast stone, trees, and steel skyward, only for all of it to rain down on the floored mech. Rosie would have pressed the advantage, but her concentration split. Grim's forces closed in -- surrounded her, and blasted her from every side of the square's perimeter. Countless shots landed, whether they hacked out and burnt chunks of skin, or scorched patches of her dress to perforate her organs. Those that somehow missed her -- out of sheer panic, or pure inexperience -- hit different targets instead. They blew out walls of nearby buildings, and set plenty of others ablaze. Including the tallest one.
The tallest one, with a redheaded youth stuck on the top floor.
Rosie shut her brain off. She gave the nearest set of gunmen a stare hotter than the sun as she reared her arm back. The goons barely had time to scream in terror, let alone start their escape; Rosie took a big swing with her right, even as it scraped through the earth below.
That one swing kicked up a tidal wave of wind and dirt -- more than enough to bowl over a quarter of the goons' machines, and snuff out flames. The sight of it froze the other, free attackers in place. With that reprieve, Rosie hurried toward the burning building; she flapped, clapped, and blew to put out another set of fires, then plucked the redhead out of the building. "Are ya all right, sweetie?" she asked the youth in her palms -- and offered a smile despite the blood that dripped down her forehead.
The redhead nodded quickly.
"Good." She reached past the building and set him on the road. "Stay safe from now on, 'kay?"
The redhead nodded again, and even faster. Before he could give thanks, he sprinted in the opposite direction. Rosie didn't dwell on it, though. As soon as she turned toward the square, Legion-66 hurtled toward her -- and planted a blazing left against her cheek.
"Stop trying to play hero," Grim snarled, while Rosie wobbled and sagged. "I'm here to win!" The mech kept up its offense and hit her with punch after blistering punch. "And you're here to die!"
Legion-66 drilled into her face with another punch, but she found her balance and held her ground. She even pushed back; the resistance from her head alone drove the mech's arm further, to the tune of squealing metal that splintered from the source. In the end, Grim made his robot break off and jump back, while Rosie hurried in for a punch of her own. She landed it, with the sonic blast to prove it. Even though more pieces of Legion-66's armor shattered, it punched back.
She punched back. He punched back. She punched back. He punched back. They traded blow after blow, with explosive echoes that filled half the city. But Rosie steadily gained ground; whatever punches she couldn't block, she simply took head-on and powered through. Meanwhile, Legion-66 did its best to just hang on. It had the advantage in speed, so it boosted around Rosie to dodge her heaviest blows and land sneak attacks -- but with each hit it landed, it came closer to breaking itself. Arms, crumpling; armor, cracked; flames, dulled.
And all the while, she grew taller.
"Please, give up," said Rosie -- injured and awash with heavy breaths, but she stood up straight while the mech nearly dropped to its knees. "You're not gonna win. Let's stop before we --"
"I won't lose to you," Grim snapped. "Not again!"
But Rosie shook her head. "What're ya gonna do when I stop pullin' my punches?"
Even with that metal face, Legion-66 looked at her in shock. It didn't last. "Hey! All of you! What the hell are you doing?" The mech pointed at Rosie. "Aim for the eyes! The toes! Knees, elbows, whatever! Don't just sit there and --!"
The shocked face came right back. Grim and Rosie alike saw that the army's numbers thinned. Those that remained fumbled to reload -- and even then, only half dared to try. The other half cowered, with more effort put into pleadingly eyeing their leader. "Grim? Maybe it's time to fold!" one of the thugs yelled.
"Yeah, man! She's too tough! We gotta come back another day!"
"Are you kidding me?" Grim asked. "You want to come back 'another day' when she's even bigger and stronger?"
Even more thugs took off. "Should've known this wouldn't work," one of them mumbled.
"We messed with the Maxima -- and now we're paying for it!"
"Don't you dare run! Don't you dare!" Legion-66's head ground left and right; Rosie followed its eyes to the goons that remained. "Fine! Forget about attacking her! Use those guns to shoot up whatever you can!"
Rosie stifled a gasp and froze.
"What? Grim, are you --?"
"You heard me!" Legion-66 swept its hand about, however clumsily. "She wants to play hero? Fine! Let's what happens when the whole damn city's burning down! Now give Santa Infierno a real taste of hellfire!" The mech curled its mouth into a malicious grin. "And while you do that, I'll --!"
Rosie hit him with an arm as fast a speeding train. Before Legion-66 could even hit the ground -- before its head could tumble from the handful of wires that kept it attached -- she grabbed its forearm and tugged it up. Up into her reach, and close enough for her to seize both limbs in her crushing grip. It didn't last. She ripped both arms off with one downward tug. And she swung them at him like cutlasses.
"You are not gonna hurt anybody else," Rosie said over the wail of shattering metal. "None o' ya are! Shoot me, burn me, hit me as much as ya want! But if anybody even thinks about touchin' an innocent person?" She stopped swinging, but not as an act of mercy; her wild attacks had left the mech's arms as nothing but glitter. "Think again! Ya gotta go through me first!"
"Suit yourself."
Rosie turned just in time to take Grim's attack. He force-fed her a rocket-powered roundhouse, packed with enough force to make her, of all people, grind through the square underfoot. Though the strike left her stunned, she shook it off as the mech sprang backward. She moved in to grapple -- to seize and tear Legion-66 in half.
She could have, if she made contact. She didn't. The mech's wings unfolded and formed a shield, complete with a barrier of green fire. Sheer reflex made Rosie pull back and stroke her smoldering hands, though the barrier's repulsive force did more than its part.
"My ace in the hole," said Grim. Flames burst all over the mech, so that when it jumped, it looked more like a comet than a machine. The sphere that remained hovered well above the rooftops, only to burst in a spray of pyrotechnics. And when those embers faded, a bat emerged -- built from the compressed pieces of Legion-66, kept aloft by flapping wings and howling thrusters. And of course, equipped with fangs that could tear through steel.
The sight of it made Rosie want to end the fight right there. She would have if she could. But she couldn't, and for one simple reason.
She couldn't reach.
"This is a new feeling for you, isn't it?" Grim asked from on high. "Go ahead and grow if you want to touch me! But you'll be dead long before that happens!" He let a wild laugh flood the block as Legion-66 rose even higher -- and then tucked into a flame-tipped dive.
Rosie raised her guard too slowly. Legion-66 tackled her with full force; the power behind its charge blew her off her feet, while the bat plunged its fangs deep into her forearm. She didn't even get to register her grind through the asphalt. Nor did she pry the mech free. By the time she tried, Legion-66 took to the skies, well out of her attack range.
But she wasn't out of his. Cannons sprouted from the bat's back.
If Rosie hadn't rolled, she would have vanished in a symphony of explosions. Even though she crunched yards upon yards of the city under her weight, she made it back onto her feet -- with more than enough time to spot the damage Grim's shots had wrought. It took everything she had to ignore it, but even at her best she couldn't subdue a pained wince.
Grim took advantage of it. The bat grazed her with another high-speed dive, and by the time she recovered, it landed its second and third tackles in succession. "How's that?" Grim yelled as he landed a blow that sent Rosie into a clumsy spin. "I said, how's that? Still think you're gonna win?" He landed another tackle, and another, and another, while the mech's burning wings slashed through the buildings. "How's that? And that? And that?"
The thugs that remained found their nerve as Grim landed hits, up close and from afar. "He's doing it?" one of them asked. "He's kind of going nuts, but he's actually doing it!"
More thugs nodded and pumped their fists. "Yeah! Do it, Grim!"
"Finish her off!"
"Get her! Slay the Maxima!"
Cheers rang out from the perimeter, but Rosie set them out of her mind. She found her footing; her arms and legs alike tightened up as she braced for Grim's next attack. You can do it. You can reach him, she thought. You just have to --!
Legion-66 rocketed toward her once again -- but Rosie stood at the ready. While he zoomed in, she pulled back her fist for the winning blow. It didn't hit. Legion-66 switched back to biped mode in mid-flight, and twisted well out of range. While she stumbled, it slammed a leg deep into her kidney, then switched back to bat mode and returned to the sky. Safe and sound, without a single beat missed. Meanwhile, she dropped to a knee and clutched her side.
"You can't touch this demon anymore," said Grim. "You're strong as hell, but slow and stupid. That makes you an easy read!"
Rosie looked up at the flapping bat. She couldn't do much else.
"Enough talk. Time to finish you --!" Grim readied the bat's cannons, but didn't pull the trigger. "Oh, yeah. I've got orders to take out those two. Better handle that first." The bat grinned at her. "Still feel like playing hero? Then how about saving an entire hospital?"
"No! Don't!"
"Try and stop me!"
Every last conscious thought poured out of Rosie's mind. She ran as fast as she could -- over the blockade of Grim's army, past the buildings that nipped at her thighs, through asphalt underfoot and street lamps beside her. Though her top speed could have doubled as a crawl, she pressed on; only the panic that welled up in her heart could have chained her down. Her eyes zipped from corner to corner of the street. Could she throw something at him? Not without risking more collateral. Could she jump at him? If she did, he could flap out of reach, and shatter the district with her resulting drop. Could she intercept the shot? With what? With her own body? And crush the hospital under her from the impact? In the end, she clamped her eyes shut. Though she closed in on the hospital, not one answer came to her.
The whistle did.
"Hey! Don't give up yet!"
Rosie opened her eyes. Chase's whistling, and his voice, roused her from her panic. He stayed right there on the roof with a viselike grip on its edge -- ahead of, yet flanked by, Isabel and Henry. "You've got this bastard on the ropes! Now finish him off!"
"But how?" Rosie asked. She nearly slapped herself over it; she'd just acknowledged Chase's existence. Would Grim respond to it, or --?
"The hell? Who are you --?" The bat tilted toward the hospital roof. "That kid. You're in cahoots, huh?"
"He's not wrong," said Chase. He tugged a Kernel out of his bag. "Here! Take this!"
Rosie eyed the cube. To her, it looked less like a weapon and more like a speck. "What do I do with that?"
"It's easy!" Chase pushed the Kernel closer to her. "Focus on a strong image, and the rest should come naturally, I think!"
"You think?"
"No time for details! Take it and bust out your own big guns!" Chase loaded it into his slingshot and fired just far enough for Rosie to touch, albeit with an awkward lean forward.
As it turned out, that did the trick.
A supernova of pink light erupted from the Kernel. It swarmed the park, and blocks beyond, and stories above -- high enough to swallow Legion-66 whole. Between the strength of the shine and the swell of heat, only a miracle spared them from turning to ash. "The hell is that?" Grim asked.
The light swirled and hummed, but faded almost as quickly as it had come. Rosie stood her ground, unfazed by the show. Unfortunately, she also stood there unarmed.
Unarmed. And unclothed.
Her dress was gone. Every thread of those ruined tarps, gone. In its place? A two-piece bikini, white as the sun on a summer day. The top's straps -- narrow, and linked into tidy knots at the cups' corners -- looped behind her neck and to her back, with the front tied into a bow. The first in a set of three; two thin bows kept her bottoms securely sealed. A pink hibiscus pattern tagged the right side of her new outfit, and that same hue made an encore inside the white flower that bloomed from the left side of her head -- another hibiscus, for completion's sake.
Rosie recovered first. "Eh?" She twisted about to look at herself, with the occasional pat along the way. The shock still left her breathless as she gazed at her humungous, half-naked form -- but at the very least, she couldn't deny the sheer comfort. Whatever fabric the Kernel used had as much strength as she did.
Chase recovered next. "Okay, guess it wasn't that easy."
Henry recovered third, but said nothing. He simply passed out.
And Isabel just started taking pictures.
"You're kidding me," said Grim. "Tell me this is some kind of joke! Seriously! Are you messing with me?"
Rosie stepped away from the hospital and held up her hands. "I can explain. Honest." Her gaze darted between it and the flapping bat. "It'll take a minute. So, can we please not do this here? We've gotta leave, or else --"
"Trying to humiliate me by stripping down? You're so sure you're gonna win that you don't even need clothes?"
Rosie stepped away again. "I don't even -- gimme ten seconds, and I can clear this up!"
Grim aimed his cannons at her. "One!"
Rosie stepped one more time. She didn't do it a fourth. Instead, she looked Legion-66 right in the eye. Finally, she made her move. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and stood up straight as she thrust her fists onto her queen-sized hips. "I'm gonna be a big star!" She shifted her legs and hips to slide into a cute pose, while her fingers cupped together to form a heart beside her freckled, grin-tinged cheeks. "For love and peace!"
Grim didn't count to two. Didn't count to three. Everyone on the scene, and well beyond it, let the seconds pass. Only a hot, dusty wind threatened to break the silence. But it couldn't do anything about the sheer, crushing awkwardness of the moment. Nothing could. Least of all Rosie, as she stayed there and held that pose -- smile and all.
"That's it," Grim said in a low tone. "Oh, that is it! I'm sick of looking at your stupid face!" Dozens of green bonfires shrouded Legion-66; amidst them, the bat's fury-filled face translated into a demonic silhouette. "I'll burn you to ashes!" The bat flew even higher. It let loose a sky-rending screech, then tucked into a dive at a hundred miles per hour.
Rosie didn't mind. She held that pose.
"Hey, hey!" Chase shouted. "This is bad! You've gotta move!"
She didn't move. She held that pose.
Grim sent his machine into a tornadic spin -- and in the midst, shifted Legion-66 back into biped mode for a kick. "Go! To! Hell!" he roared as he zeroed in, foot-first, on her heart.
And Rosie held that pose.
At least, until she didn't.
She snapped out of it, with a heated glare as proof -- and did more than brace for impact. She threw a punch to intercept Grim's diving kick. That one attack made its whole, outstretched leg crumple like an aluminum can, right up to its hip. The sheer force behind her punch blew away even the tiniest sparks, and whipped cool air across the block. Meanwhile, she stayed anchored to the spot, no worse for wear.
"What the hell?" Grim said in a wheeze. "What the hell?" As soon as his senses returned, he tried to escape. But Rosie denied it. The instant he pried that mashed leg free, she stuck out a hand and grabbed the other one. It took one second to crush that ankle into a wafer-thin tube.
"You said I'd never reach," said Rosie, unfazed by Grim's desperate attempts. "I believed ya. But I figured I'd win if I got ya to come closer." She clamped her free hand into a fist. "Guess I had it right, huh?"
Legion-66 looked down at her in horror. "No. Don't!"
She tightened her muscles.
"No, no, no, no!"
Rosie didn't care. She just threw that punch.
It looked, and felt, like a bomb went off. Legion-66 bent and warped around her fist as her uppercut traveled ever higher, orbited by winds that doubled as tornadoes. Her overwhelming force ripped through what remained of its body, and turned once-pristine chrome into shards separated by gaping faults. But it didn't stop there. Grim learned that firsthand.
He dove at a hundred miles per hour. Rosie's uppercut launched him at three hundred.
Legion-66 broke apart like a jigsaw puzzle, torn by air pressure and Rosie's might. As the mech skyrocketed, its pieces dissolved into neon light -- and that light splayed out before fading. Every scrap of Legion-66's body met the same fate as it ascended, until only one thing remained: the green cockpit that housed Grim. But even that didn't last. The cockpit flickered out of being, while the cube that crafted it turned to dust.
That left Grim there alone, suspended hundreds of feet in midair -- and due for a close encounter with the ground. The punk shrieked as his ascent stalled, and his descent began. But, miraculously, the air around him turned into a soft, warm cushion.
A hand. Rosie's hand.
She caught him by sticking her arm sky high. She didn't have to jump, run, or move from that spot -- and for the worst possible reason.
Once the punk came to his senses, he scrambled backward like a crab. "No way," Grim said amidst a choke.
Rosie nodded, then lowered her palm to get a good look at Grim, all to make sure he hadn't gotten crushed in transit. He hadn't. She kept him there, then set that hand in her other palm for extra safety; in the midst, she lowered herself until she could sit on her shins, even if it meant her knees bored through the earth below. "Yup. Was the only thing I could think of."
"You're even bigger now?"
Another nod followed. "More emotion means more, well, me. So, I let go. Let it all out for a couple o' seconds, and -- here I am." She shook her head quickly as the punk tried to scurry away. "No, no, no -- it's okay. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt ya."
Terror still gripped Grim as he knelt in her hands, and he turned to the square's perimeter for support. He didn't get it. The few members of his squad that remained stood there, awestruck, and stripped of their will to fight. In a rush, he fumbled with his pants to try and seize a weapon.
"Ya don't have to fight anymore," said Rosie. "You've done enough. Proven enough."
Grim bared his canines as he searched. "It's not over. I can still --!"
"You've hit me harder than anyone else has in my whole life. And no matter how tough it was, ya never gave up. I respect that."
Grim stopped his search.
"I'm not gonna pretend like ya haven't done some awful things. I hope you'll work to fix it from here on. But even then? Even if it's a matter of time before ya get locked up, I wanna make the most of the time we have left together." Against reason and odds alike, she smiled at him. "I don't want ya to feel that hurt anymore, sweetie. Ya can finally relax -- because there's always gonna be one person out there who thinks you're a winner."
Grim didn't say much after that. Didn't do much. Rosie took that as the signal she needed. Even as fires cackled and rubble tumbled, even as criminals made their exit in the face of approaching sirens, even as the sun shone on the chaos Rosie herself had wrought, she did exactly what she wanted to do. What she knew was right.
She knelt in that spot, shut her eyes, and set Grim atop her heart like a precious locket. All for him. All to cradle Grim in a hug -- the best hug a woman who'd just hit five hundred feet could give. And that, of all things, got a response from Grim.
He squeezed out a laugh. "Guess I lost."