[wiegeabo]

"01010101.....systems failing.....10010010101010100101010101....zzzzzzzzzztttt SELF DESTRUCTION INIT-"

NO! The world slows to an utter crawl as realization dawns on me what Amazo is about to do. And how little time I have to act.

"-IAT-"

I have an entire street cleared out, and already starting on the next. At least a dozen families moved out of the city and harms way before they realize what's happened.

"-ED."

I finish clearing out the block and turn back towards the city-

Everything goes white.

I'm vaguely aware of my body being airborne, and then slamming into the ground over and over again. But my mind's effectively shut down by the world's biggest flash-bang.

By the time I can squint my eyes open again, my skull feels like it's been split in half. I touch my face and feel it's coated with a sticky film of blood. Half the bones in my body are trying to knit themselves back together, and every nerve burns like it's on fire.

I crawl to my knees and try to regain my bearings. The world finally comes back into focus, and all I see is-

"No..."

What used to be Stanford is mostly now a smoking, smoldering crater in the ground.

"No."

The air smells of burned ash, and everything is so quiet. Not a sound. Not a single sound of life.

"NOOO!!!!"

I drop my head in my hands and fall back onto the ground. I wasn't fast enough. I should have been fast enough. Why wasn't I fast enough?

"There wasn't enough time. Not enough time." My face feels wet in my hands, but I know it's not from the blood. "Why wasn't there enough time!" I shout to the sky in anger, making my voice raw until it's not much more than a whisper.

"There's always supposed to be enough time..."