"Brandt," Jason continued, "block all the other entrances. Hopefully, it buys us some more time. Caelum, give Katsuro some long distance firing support. Maybe give him a chance to get a few hits in."

"I should help Katsuro," Pridament said.

Jason regarded him with deep inspecting eyes.

"I know who you are," he said. "And no, you're not helping Katsuro. I won't risk losing the kind of power you give us. We could be flying straight into a war zone. I think we're going to need you to cover our escape."

Marie seemed to materialize out of thin air.

"I think I've got something to get us out of here," she said.

"Good. Everyone, let's go. We are leaving."

The group rea.s.sembled and followed Marie to something Jason supposed was a kind of jet. It reminded him of the United States stealth fighters-all sharp angles and stubby wings. But it looked large enough to carry them all.

"The only problem," Marie said, "is I don't know how we're getting out. There're no controls on the plane to open the hanger doors. If someone has to leave the hanger to open the doors, they'll never get back without being captured."

Jason studied the hanger door.

"I think I have an idea," he said. "Brandt, Pridament, I'm going to need your help. Jackson, take Gwynn. Make sure he and Sophia are secured on board."

After handing Gwynn to Jackson, Pridament joined Jason and Brandt.

"Pridament, you use that lightning of yours to weaken the center of the hanger door. Then Brandt, shove a wedge of concrete into it, then rip that thing open. Doable?"

Pridament nodded, yes.

On the other hand, Brandt didn't look too convinced.

"You know I'm going to rip the h.e.l.l out of the floor doing that, right?" Brandt asked. "I don't know if Marie will be even able to taxi over what's left."

Jason slapped Brandt on the shoulder.

"I believe in you, buddy," Jason said.

Brandt had the distinct impression he also heard, Figure out a way, or we're screwed.

Pridament summoned Mjolner from the Veil. A thin bolt of lightning blasted from the top of the hammer, striking the top center of the door.

Pridament pushed closer to the door. White sparks skipped from the surface, glowing white and orange beneath the lightning's a.s.sault. He cut the beam down the door at a slow, steady pace. When the bolt started skimming the floor, Pridament ceased the flow.

"All yours," he said.

Brandt moved to where he faced the center of the door head on. In some places, it had fractured beneath the heat of Pridament's bolt. The few places where it remained intact still showed substantial melting and sizzled.

Brandt shook his arms loose and cracked his neck side to side.

Don't f.u.c.k up the floor, don't f.u.c.k up the floor, don't f.u.c.k up...

He spread his arms wide, wiggling his fingers like he was gathering puppet strings in preparation for a performance. He rose his hands upward, gathering concrete from the floor on the far side of the hanger. When he figured he had enough, he slapped his hands together. An earthquake rumble of concrete roared from opposite sides and ma.s.sed together ten feet in front of the door. Brandt angled his hands, mimicking a wedge, with his finger tips forming the pointed end. When the concrete followed his form, he shoved forward. The wedge mimicked his motion, slamming against the door, jamming into the weakened metal which screamed at the a.s.sault. He wiggled his fingers, trying to squeeze the point of the concrete wedge deeper, so he could get a grip on the edges of the door.

Now.

Brandt threw his arms open, feeling strain and beads of sweat pouring down his back as though he were trying to tear open the door with his hands.

The concrete was slower to part than Brandt's arms. The sections of the door howled in protest, a shriek loud and high pitched-an auditory a.s.sault worse than fingernails on blackboards.

He couldn't tear the door straight apart. Aside from it creating problems as to where the metal would go, it also meant he would have to keep the wall of concrete its full height the entire time he pushed the door apart. That would've destroyed the floor, which would then wreck the landing struts on the jet, which meant their escape would be pointless. Even if the struts held for lift off-which they probably wouldn't-they'd never be able to land. But by angling the way he tore the door, he could gradually decrease the concrete resources he needed, letting the excess drop and smooth on the floor. When it was all done, he had a hole large enough for the jet and a floor-even if not perfect- good enough to roll over.

Jason grabbed Brandt before his weakened legs gave out.

"Good job buddy," Jason said. "I knew I could count on you."

Brandt's chuckle was weak.

"You didn't give me much choice."

"No," Jason replied, "I didn't."

They looked beyond the torn door. All they saw was a solid wall.

"I can't fix that," Brandt offered.

Pridament ran through the torn door and inspected the s.p.a.ce.

"It's a lift. We're probably still below the surface."

Great, Jason thought. A hanger door and elevator, all probably requiring an operator in some external control room. Who were you going to leave behind to do that job, eh Katsuro?

"We're good," Pridament called. "I can see the motors for the lift. I should be able to spark them to life."

"Good. Then we're out of here."

Jason helped Brandt to the jet's ramp. Caelum still stood there, firing a volley of arrows into the fray between Katsuro and Kydoimos.

"I'm good," Brandt said. "I can get up the ramp."

He stumbled away from Jason's grip.

Jason cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Katsuro?"

"Go!" Katsuro responded without taking his eyes from his opponent.

"Saddle up, Caelum. We're leaving."

Caelum let his bow dissolve back into the Veil and trotted up the ramp to join the others. Jason pressed a b.u.t.ton on the wall to raise the ramp. He doubted Katsuro would notice, but he snapped him a salute anyway.

Once he felt confident the ramp wouldn't fail-with their run of luck it was a distinct possibility-he jogged up to join Marie in the c.o.c.kpit.

The instruments looked nothing like he'd seen before. Not that he was an expert. Marie, lover of all things fast, was more knowledgable when it came to things with wheels and or wings.

"You sure you can fly this thing?" he asked.

She pressed a b.u.t.ton. The jet's engines coughed and then hummed in response.

"Yeah," she said, "I should be good. Thankfully, English seems to not only be the international language of choice, but also intergalactically too. If anything, this seems easier to control."

"Thank G.o.d for small mercies."

She eased the wheel forward, moving the jet toward, and then through, the torn doors. She pulled back, bringing it to a stop on the elevator. Soon afterward they began to ascend with a lurch.

"You said we could be coming out in the middle of a war zone?" Marie asked.

Jason nodded grimly.

"That's why Pridament's still outside. He's our cover fire."

"Seems like a tall order for a single person."

Jason sighed.

"I'd usually agree, but I'm pretty certain he'll be able to handle it. My bigger concern is if we'll have enough runway to take off."

Once they'd risen above the top of the torn door, they plunged into near darkness-a few blinking yellow lights providing only periodic illumination.

Thump.

A dark shape deposited itself on the nose of the plane.

"s.h.i.t," Marie yelled.

Jason grabbed her shoulders before she inadvertently jerked the wheel.

"Easy, it's just Pridament getting into position."

Marie blew a held breath out in a huff.

"You have no idea how terrible this day has been," she said over a suppressed sob.

Jason sank into the seat next to her and buckled himself in.

"I noticed. No Nat, or Wade. I'm sorry, Marie. I know she was like a sister to you."

Marie bit down on her quivering lip and took a few hasty breaths through her nose.

"Thanks, Jay. When we're out of here, I'm going to need some time."

Jason nodded.

"I think we all will."

Time. Yes, he'd need time. To find a way back to their Earth, to search for Fuyuko. Hopefully, she'd know where Angie was too, so they could reunite the remaining members of their adopted family. Together, they'd be better equipped to figure out what to do next. If there was anything to do next. What happened today? Did it need repairing? And a.s.suming it did, were those repairs possible? Could the members of Ansuz be the ones to do it? And what of the rebels, Fenrir, on this planet? If Katsuro didn't escape, they'd be without a leader.

That couldn't be Jason's problem. If Katsuro were as capable a leader here as his other self had been in Ansuz, then he'd have prepped a replacement. Neither of them lived a life that promised to be a long one.

Fuyuko... You'd better be all right. Dammit, who even knows if our Earth is still there.

He did his best to banish the thought. No, their Earth had to be there. They'd return, band together the remnants of Suture and the other teams. They'd seal the tears this disaster created and then continue their original job of protecting the world against any future incursions from the Veil. And if it meant they did it without the Immortals, then that was the way they'd go. Maybe it was time to wipe away the old world and for the new breed to a.s.sume their proper roles.

A loud whirring of machinery and beams of light falling down on them broke him from his thoughts.

Moment of truth.

The top of the jet breached the surface, affording them a glimpse of the surface.

"Holy s.h.i.t."

What Jason had seen of Asgard, the surface of the planet was pristine-golden fields stretched to the horizon, and the sky verged on purple. But here stood the one compound on the surface-Valhalla.

They'd come out in a military compound built outside the main city's walls. Fences and armed outposts once guarded the facility. Now, they lay in ruins, their corpses strewn haphazardly across military parade grounds and the paved tarmac of the runway. Potholes deep enough to conceal a grown man dotted the landscape both within and outside the base's facilities.

Judging from the total destruction, yet lack of Fenrir or Aesir troops, the place had been hit early in the conflict. Bolts of lightning erupted from Pridament's hammer at the nose of the plane. Debris either blasted away or vaporized.

"The runway looks to be in pretty good condition," Marie said. "Pretty surprising considering the craters everywhere else."

"This was always supposed to be Katsuro's escape route. They were probably instructed to maintain its integrity. Still, if that's the case, why aren't they here? You'd think they would keep it secured."

"Maybe they had to withdraw to support the other forces?" Marie offered.

Jason leaned forward and knocked on the window, getting Pridament's attention.

He gave Pridament a questioning thumbs up. Are we ok?

Pridament stood straight, scanning the landscape around them. He looked back at Jason, shrugged, but motioned they should continue straight ahead and lift off. He threw his arm holding Mjolner forward, lifting off into the sky, as though the weight of the hammer carried him off his feet.

"Punch it, Marie. Let's get out of here."

She pushed a few b.u.t.tons. The engines revved. She leaned the wheel forward, pushing them down the runway. Each foot they gained speed until finally lifting off into the sky. Jason craned his neck out the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of the battle.

But it looked like the battle had ended.

Had they lost or won? From here, there was no way of knowing. All that mattered was no one was shooting at them.

"Just follow Pridament," Jason instructed Marie. "He'll lead us to where we need to go."

"And then we get some down time?"