Excelsior, excelsior.
Gloria excelsis.
Gloria Dei, Gloria Dei.
Excelsior.
The chant ended. Its performers bowed their heads, put up their cowls, and strode double-file back the way they came.
Their audience opened her eyes.
"It is time, and past time, that I acted."
*-*
Joseph Carney stood before his audience, bathed in sweat. Another bar fight won, another smartass boy being dragged out the door. He reached for his beer, and there it was, spilled all over the counter. His fury returned, and Joe grabbed the nearest fleshy thing, punched the guy so hard his nose vanished, and flung the glass mug into the liquor display behind the bar. Satisfied, he yelled at the bartender to bring him another.
The door to the bar was opened, and a tall figure stepped in. A large figure, cloaked as if it had stepped from some weird fantasy dimension. The slap of hard feet was heard on the floor as it approached the bar. The long feet, solid legs, and thick tail suggested a saurian of some type.
"I'm looking for a strong, fat, angry man by the name of Carney. He kills people." She spoke quietly, but the bartender understood.
"If you want to take him away, be careful. He's killed saurians before."
Wings slowly unfolded, and the wild eyes gleamed. The creature shook out her grey horse's mane, and grinned a hunting grin with vicious teeth.
"He's at the end of the bar, ma'am. Good luck."
*-*
"His name's Carney."
"The man's killed six of ours. He deserved this."
"I dunno. Something about the way he just fell over gives me shivers."
*-*
The dark-winged figure strode across the plaza. Everyone was staring; this wasn't the only conversion interface to fail recently, but it had been changing things around as usual up until _she_ walked through.
Everything was going mad. Maybe the next great Cataclysm really was approaching. People sighs, shook their heads, and went on with business.
She kept walking. An old woman looked at her, then turned away, muttering prayers and crossing herself fervently. Shortly, an entire group of young people on the steps of a church began singing hymns of praise, raising a noise to the Lord with announcements of safety and hope for the sinner.
She kept walking. She could not fly in this reality, and would not want to anyway. A police car pulled alongside, a large white shadow that followed her to a certain park. The officers did not track her inside; they knew better.
She kept walking. The trees grew thicker here. There were people meeting among them, quietly talking amongst themselves. Many were haggling, some were trysting. There was one whom she would meet soon.
She stopped. He was here.
"It is good to see that you finally shook off your last assignment."
"I knew enough to save her for last, though."
"Unfortunately, that one is next on your list, this time."
A pause.
"Gloria, excelsior. You must overcome, and much sooner than a human century."
"I've had a meal."
"Yes, and Joseph Carney isn't going to be enough. Lucky for you he was on the list, or you'd have to find another. O Christos, tell me someday why we hired this mercenary."
"I shall rise up, my friend. Who do I hunt today?"
*-*
Indeed there was an uprising. The whole park felt it. Hagglers stopped and looked toward the center, pimps felt the beat drop. Those with justice in their hearts saw joy illuminate the whole city, and were drawn to light up the park with kindness. The entire grounds underwent a thorough cleaning, funds poured in. The one spot of beauty in a sewage of industrial trash would live again.
And she returned through the portal, the still-working portal. People stared, but there was again no change in her body.
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