Interlude: Aftermath (Eidolon)
The PRT Headquarters appeared a dull green to him, which was the best he could hope for. It meant there was minimal radiation left there by Behemoth. Well, as minimal as you could get when dealing with an Endbringer. A few waves of his hand reduced it to much more appropriate levels.
There was some structural damage as well, one of his minor thinker powers told him, but it wasn't a pressing concern. The local bureaucracy could handle it once they'd been informed.
David landed on the helipad of the Headquarters and took a moment to look out at the city of Brockton Bay. He had spent the better part of the day bringing radiation levels down in PRT camps across the city, and whatever time spent in transit doubled as an opportunity to assess the state of the city.
The conversation that was about to come...he did not look forward to it. Most people held that the Endbringer fights were the hardest parts. Personally, he thought that it was always in the aftermath where the hard choices had to be made.
Like whether or not another city had to be abandoned. Like whether or not they had to concede defeat. Like whether or not an Endbringer had permanently pushed back humanity again!
These fights, this strategy of trying not to lose, was unsustainable.
His fists clenched. His agent responded, dropping powers as new ones took their place. A shaker power that could annihilate half the city; a thinker power that let him see the weak points of his adversary; a blaster power to rival Legend on his best days...all of it useless! Useless against that son of a bitch Leviathan, against the goddamned Simurgh, against fucking Behemoth!
This...this wasn't the legacy he wanted to leave the world.
Doctor Mother told him they were doing all that they could. That in the end, their cause would prevail. That this action or that action would increase the odds of their final victory.
Some victory, he thought, finally willing himself to move. It would be pyrrhic at best, this "victory" of theirs and for David, that was no victory at all.
He let his powers slip away again. There'd be no need for them tonight. Others began to manifest immediately in the vacuum that they left. An aerokinetic power for mobility, a future thinker power that would let him construct accurate models so long as he could feed it information, a social thinker power that allowed him to win an Oscar without ever having to star in a film...
David found himself in a room with Alexandria and Legend soon enough. His social thinker power kicked into overdrive as it presented various diplomatic strategies, told him of the current group dynamics, advised him how to stand, smile, sit, speak...how easy it'd be to seduce them.
Well, Legend at least. Alexandria's ice was too cold even for his power to crack. She'd also see right through him in an instant.
David had tried before.
"Chief Deputy Director Costa-Brown has asked for the Triumvirate's opinion on the Brockton Bay question," Alexandria began, blatantly placing a recording device in the table between them.
Ah, so they were here in that capacity.
Seize the initiative, his powers told him. Set the tone of the discourse. Dictate the path it will follow and what you want will be yours.
David smirked. Alexandria raised a brow. Legend tilted his head.
"I'll begin then," David said. Use the facts. They're on your side. "From a pragmatic point of view," Alexandria would love that, "this is one of the best fights we've had not just against Behemoth, but against any Endbringer."
"It wasn't so much our fight as it was Scion's," Legend mumbled.
Counterpoint. Don't let the pessimism poison your words. You know Legend, how he thinks, what he wants to hear…'Honor the sacrifices, name them. Make him believe they died for something.'
"Does it really matter who landed the final blow, my friend?" David said, keeping his tone somber. "We lost four capes today: Dauntless, Glory Girl, Kid Win and Stormtiger. I would like to say only four, but every loss is a loss of someone who gave their life in service of a greater cause."
Empathize.
"I don't want to make light of this loss," he said, "but let us not forget it could have been much worse. Let us not forget it should have been much worse, on any other day. But today is a victory. Behemoth was driven off with the lowest casualties in years. Whether you look at it in percentage or in absolute numbers, for civilians or capes, that is indisputable fact."
Drive home the point.
"The math doesn't lie my friends."
Legend nodded slowly. Alexandria rolled her eyes. David smirked, though he didn't show it.
"Interesting that you bring up numbers," Alexandria said, "considering we don't have them yet."
Your powers.
"My powers can do many things. You know that," David said, a chiding tone underlining his words, barely perceptible unless you had had enhanced senses. Like Alexandria.
"The damage to the city though..." Legend trailed off.
"Marun Field, Iran. Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela. Cologne, Germany. Shanghai, China," he listed off. "Each one a target of Behemoth, each one suffered much worse. My friends," he smiled softly, "what we have here is an unprecedented opportunity."
Legend. Appeal to ideals, morale, the good of the people.
"Think of the people who live here. If not them, then of the capes that gave their lives so that their people might live. Villains and heroes united today under one cause: humanity. Their sacrifices brought us victory. Let us turn this victory, this city, into a monument of humanity's strength. A shining beacon for the world to look towards."
He paused for an appropriate amount of time for dramatic effect, looking Legend in the eye. Exactly 2.31 seconds.
"Let us make the people see our resolve. They will say, 'We stand together and we are not afraid'."
Alexandria. Appeal to public perception of the Protectorate, the greater good, the potential backlash of abandoning another city.
"Do we really want to send a message of weakness to our allies, our subordinates and the public?" he asked, peering at her. "Brockton Bay is not in the best of shape, yes, but it's still habitable. Now, more than ever, we need the people to stand behind the message of the Protectorate and-"
"You've made your point, Eidolon. Director Costa-Brown, it is in the Triumvirate's opinion that it is in the United States' interest to rebuild Brockton Bay," Alexandria said before turning back to David. "Since you seem to know so much about the city, why don't you give us the rundown of the situation?"
"Gladly," David said. "First and foremost, the electromagnetic pulse that Behemoth released before he was driven off. It was powerful enough to fry everything it touched, aside from a few crude radios that were in the Endbringer shelters. The locals have no means of communication with the outside world." While he waited for his other thinker power to finish its predictions, he dropped his social thinker power. The most likely possibility was that "Several thousand people will die in the coming weeks because of the lack of medical equipment."
Alexandria sat down. "You factored in Panacea in your models?"
"Yes," he said. "Also included were victims of gang violence, those suffering or will suffer from radiation poisoning as a result of staying in high concentration areas or who drink contaminated water sources-"
"I get the point. You were thorough."
Eidolon nodded.
"What's this about high concentration areas?" Legend asked, brows scrunched together.
"Behemoth's attack pattern deviated from normal," David's thinker power said. "Instead of soaking the entire city with the same amount of radiation, he instead chose to focus it on certain areas. Of particular note are the underground reservoir and a section of Downtown. All other areas are seemingly random or of no importance strategically."
"Finally," he continued, "the fires and earthquakes combined have collapsed thirty-six percent of all buildings. Another forty-one percent are in need of structural repairs within the week if they are to be saved and the remaining twenty-three percent suffer from light to moderate damage. These can be safely ignored for a year before posing a threat to their inhabitants."
"Should we expect tsunamis? Secondary tremors?" Legend asked.
"I do not believe so," David said.
"We'll need to get word to the locals about the water supply situation," Alexandria said. "How exactly is this city salvageable again?"
"I have a solution for that, though it will take time," he said. "I will remain here for two weeks. My powers are uniquely suited to reversing Behemoth's damage to the long term sustainability of this region."
Alexandria and Legend shared a look. "Eidolon, are you sure about this?" Legend asked. "What about Houston? Can they spare you for that long?"
"Exalt is a capable hero who has served with distinction before," he said, sighing. He sank into his chair wearily. "A word in private, please?"
Alexandria shut off the recording device.
"We all know about my...condition," he said. "I'm getting weaker."
"You're still the strongest among us," Legend argued.
"That doesn't change the fact that it's happening," David said. "Sooner or later, the Doctor will ask me to step down." All his thinker powers told him so. There was no point denying the truth when it was right in your face. "I have a year, maybe two if I'm lucky."
"She wouldn't," Legend said. "We need you."
"Eidolon's right," Alexandria said. Legend looked at her, appalled. "His booster shots have been losing their effectiveness. At some point, the opportunity costs of giving him the shots will outweigh the benefits."
"When that happens, I will have to step down from the Protectorate and cease participation in Endbringer attacks," David said, the words almost dying in his throat, but he endured. "I...I've made peace with that."
A lie.
"My strength will be needed for the fight that matters. The only fight that matters."
All of them matter!
"Helping here will only drain your power faster," Alexandria said.
"As opposed to using it up during an Endbringer fight, where we lose anyways?" David countered. "Here I can save lives. I can make a real difference." This city will be my legacy.
"You do make a difference," Legend said. "We've saved more people than we can count-"
"Yet, two perish for each one we save. I can't walk away from these people, not when I know I could save them." An uneasy silence loomed over the room like a headman's axe. "I'm not like you, Legend. People see me and they think 'now that's a powerful cape'. They see me as a hero now, yes. But do they think I'm a good person? I know I don't."
He turned to Alexandria. "Of the four of us who began the Protectorate, you were always the smartest. If humanity survives, it will be in no small part because of your actions. Can the same be said of me, now that my power has started to bleed away? Who knows if I will even be strong enough to fight when the time comes."
He sighed. "There are other reasons too. I could tell you my presence will be a stabilizing influence. I don't mean to brag, but mere word of my presence, of any of us really, would be enough to stop half the expected crime in the city. I could tell you that with Behemoth's quick retreat, it's likely he failed to kill his target. Staying here will allow me to look through things more closely. Maybe catch something we missed."
Alexandria didn't respond. Not right away. Eventually, she started up the recording again. "After discussing the matter, the Triumvirate also feels that the United States is best served by leaving one of us here on a temporary basis. Eidolon is uniquely qualified to deal with the various problems that will soon crop up here. However, his absence from Houston will be noticed. I recommend that the capes that are being transferred to Brockton Bay be stationed there until Eidolon can return to his city." Then she shut it off again.
"If that's all?" Legend asked, glancing at his watch. "I'd like to return to my family before the night is completely spent." He stood, but he hesitated to leave right away.
Then he hugged David.
David blinked.
"Despite all your doubts, you do matter, Eidolon. You make a difference in this world for the better."
"...Thank you."
Legend nodded to the two of them and left.
"Eidolon?"
"Yes, Alexandria?"
"The next time you use that thinker power of yours on me, I'm knocking your teeth out."
"Yes, Alexandria." There was a pause. "Alexandria?"
"Hmm?"
"How did you know?" he asked.
She snorted. "You talk differently. I know how charming you normally are, David."
Eidolon smiled. Smart girl.
