City in the Bay of Time
Founding 1.1
It was the shortest Endbringer battle ever. Battle casualties were low, due to the fact that there wasn't a battle to begin with. To all appearances, the Simurgh had descended far faster than everyone previously thought, assembled a Tinker device with unprecedented speed from parts lifted from a nearby lab, and completed her sorcery before the first heroes even finished teleporting in. By the time Alexandria had changed into her costume and took a lift from a nearby teleporter, the devious Endbringer already turned tail.
They were too late.
"Up to three hundred and fifty thousand people... all gone." Legend lamented.
The Triumvirate hovered helplessly as they stared at the perfectly spherical hole carved out of New England's placid coastline. A place once occupied by a declining, albeit functional city.
"Dozens of capes are gone as well." Alexandria noted sourly. "Armsmaster was one of our more foremost Tinkers in our ranks. We'll be even more dependent on Dragon after this. It's a disaster."
Eidolon on the other hand boiled with barely concealed emotion. "This is a new low. The Simurgh has always been insidious, but accomplishing the entire annihilation of a city before we can even mobilize is something even we can't fight against."
Startled, Legend turned to his comrade. "It doesn't look like Brockton Bay is destroyed. It's more as if... it's sliced away. To somewhere else."
"But where?" Alexandria asked, before shaking her head. Unless it turned up somewhere else in Earth Bet or Aleph, it wouldn't concern them any further. "More importantly, why?"
That was a question no one had an answer for. Alexandria suspected something in the city had the Simurgh spooked, but whatever it was she couldn't say. What mattered now was that the Endbringers succeeded again, making the world a darker place once more.
Still, the people of Earth Bet were too acquainted with loss and suffering to care for long. Soon enough the people of the world forgot about Brockton Bay, just like they did Kyushu or Newfoundland. Earth Bet had too many tragedies to stand still for a single city.
"Urghh.. did anyone get a number on the truck that hit us?" Alec moaned as he came back to consciousness.
The rest of the Undersiders quickly followed. Taylor wobbled to her feet. "What... what happened? Oh shit, the Endbringer sirens! They were screaming for only a second before.. before that explosion!"
Rachel only shifted around uncertainly, sniffing the air of their cozy little loft as if there was something deadly nearby. Since nothing happened, everyone soon enough turned to Lisa, who still sat dazed on the ground.
"Hello? Earth to Lisa? Anyone home?" Taylor asked, and then lightly tapped their erstwhile mastermind's shoulder.
That snapped the blond girl into action. Tattletale practically leapt past Taylor and bounded towards the exit. She ripped it open, letting bright sunlight stream into their base. Taylor and the rest of the Undersiders followed quickly, but were halted for the same reason Tattletale stood paralyzed.
The world had changed.
"What.. the... hell?"
The city looked normal. Besides the lack of power everywhere, Brockton Bay looked as normal as it could be, as if an Endbringer never touched it at all. Yet even a casual observer would become more uneasy the more they watched their surroundings.
The world hadn't ended. The sky was still blue and there was still a veritable ocean of water out in the bay.
What differed were the birds that gracefully dotted the sky. Instead of placid seagulls and other harmless forms of life, the sky sported very menacing looking reptilian fliers. Much like dragons.
"God.. They're the size of busses.."
At least they behaved skittishly, unwilling to fly downwards and snack on a few errant humans.
There were other signs of differences. The sea smelled a little bit different, as if it was not the Atlantic Sea the residents were familiar with. The climate grew noticeably chiller. Everyone knew in their heart that something was horribly wrong.
Screams erupted nearby, and it seemed the entire city jolted back into action. People were coming out of their powerless abodes full of confusion and fright.
The peace didn't last long. Already people were either arguing among themselves or moving with determined purpose.
"Shit.." Tattletale muttered. "People are starting to figure out they're not in Kansas anymore. They're going to loot all the shops and hoard every last scrap of food. We should probably lay low and—"
A sharp scream echoed the dingy street as some gang member brutally ripped a woman's grocery bag. Skitter moved forward before Tattletale could restrain her. "Shit. There goes miss do-gooder."
"As far as I'm concerned, an Endbringer did this. The truce is still in effect." Grue stated, then gestured everyone to follow. "We're backing Skitter up."
With no choice, the rest of the Undersiders proceeded to calm the nerves as best they could with their limited reach. Skitter was the most effective member in doing so, expanding her swarm to such a vast and unprecedented amount that most people fled back into their homes as soon as they saw what could have imitated a biblical plague.
No one knew what happened. That made it difficult for the authorities to corral the public into order. As much as the police, PRT and the Protectorate tried to safeguard shops and halt looters from spreading further chaos, they were severely outmanned for the task. So they relied on the villains to keep control over their core territories.
As for the Merchants? They actually joined the rioters, forgetting the Endbringer truce entirely and reveling in the loss of order. It took several forceful Protectorate and New Wave showings to scurry them off in the holes they no doubt occupied.
The chaos lasted until sunset. With no street lights to keep vision steady, night time was distinctively more unpleasant. What most citizens took for granted after hours was now abruptly gone, and no one dared to roam in the dark. The few people who ignored common sense and used flashlights or their cars to illuminate their way were deftly turned back by fliers such as Glory Girl and Purity.
The heroes and villains had been successful in reestablishing a measure of civility, but with no power and failing water, this could quickly shatter.
That was why Armsmaster called for an extraordinary meeting of capes. To minimize the risk of collateral damage such a gathering might provoke, he held the meeting in the Boat Graveyard and invited only the minimal amount of parahumans.
Kaiser arrived first. Purity floated besides him in an unmistakably bright form.
Lung came alone, confident he could hold off everyone else by himself.
Skidmark and Squealer loudly proclaimed their arrival with the roar of the female Tinker's monster truck. As much as Armsmaster wanted to squash them on sight, he couldn't afford to let them out of this discussion.
The minor factions arrived along the way. Parian, New Wave, Uber and Leet, Faultline, the Travelers and even the Undersiders came, just as he hoped.
"Thank you for coming." Armsmaster began. "I'm sure everyone knows what happened, so I can spare you the explanation."
Most people nodded. Skidmark spat on the ground. "The Smurf fucked us over."
"That is.. correct. We don't know exactly what she did and how she did it, but the end result is that Brockton Bay and its surrounding locale has been displaced to a different Earth. We're still not sure whether we've traveled back or forwards in time, but we are reasonably sure that this is the same location, just on an alternate Earth. Obviously not Earth Aleph."
A short moment of silence ensued as Armsmaster confirmed all their worst fears.
"Is.. is there any way to go back?" Sundancer asked almost hopefully.
"The short answer is no."
Most of them expected this answer as well.
"So now what?"
Armsmaster grimaced, but Tattletale's grin grew wider. "Oh I see what you're up to Armsie. You've been a busy boy. Does Miss Piggy know about this?"
He glared at her, cowing her for now.
"Then tell us." Lung growled.
"We are in an unprecedented crisis situation." Armsmaster explained. "If we want to avoid the city going down in flames and letting people starve, we have to pull together and work to replace our missing infrastructure. But we can't do this if we're uncoordinated or worse, working against each other."
"You don't mean.."
"I'm telling you all to let our divisions go and unite as one. Only as one team of parahumans can we restore essential services and survive the next winter."
"No." Kaiser objected immediately. "I am not going to give up our territory and work together with washed out refugees like Lung."
"This 'washed-out refugee' can roast you in your armor any time you want." Lung warned, and pulsed a flame in his hand. "And I'm not going to let anyone dictate terms to me. If anything, I should rule this city. You may challenge me if you disagree."
That turned this meeting into an ugly turn. Armsmaster felt all semblance of control going right down the drain as Lung and Kaiser egged on everyone else.
"Ahem! If I can have your attention!" Tattletale shouted, and strangely enough everyone turned questioningly at the teenager. "Armsmaster is right. There's no way in hell the city's going to last a month if this trainwreck keeps going. But there's also no chance any of us will hold hands and sing happy little campfire songs. The Protectorate and the Wards alone can't keep the entire city under check."
"Then what's your solution?"
"It's simple. We'll still work together for the most essential stuff, like electricity and water. We also have to present a united front to the outside world, if this version of Earth is even populated. The Protectorate and the PRT will take the lead there. But for the most part, all things related turf-wide will be the sole responsibility of the gangs who currently control it. The land is yours as long as you can keep your people alive and fed. It'll be your own little kingdom."
An explosion of protest followed, not that Tattletale was discouraged.
"That's insane." Coil responded first with shaking breath. "Brockton Bay will follow the path of East and West Berlin all over again."
But Tattletale had a ready answer for that. "Then force the gangs to keep the flow of people unhindered. If their own people want to live elsewhere, then they better get off their lazy butts and improve their turf. A little competition won't hurt. "
While the gangs were uneasy at this proposal, the heroes were livid. "The Protectorate will be sidelined by this agreement."
"On the contrary. It's actually a benefit for you guys if you let most of the territory go. They're a distraction. You're the only faction everyone can trust to focus on the common good. Essential stuff like running the utilities or providing food. If any of you have a better solution, then you're welcome to suggest it, Armsie."
Skitter and a few other level-headed capes had the feeling that despite all the disagreements, things would go exactly as Tattletale described.
Brockton Bay might very well be carved apart on the first day of its arrival.