I'd like to thank Lyova and FrustratedFreebota for betaing this chapter

-Scene Change-

Two days later, we got the call. Report to the nearest PRT building immediately. Leviathan was coming.

Well, Koa got the call, I was asleep. I should have been awake; it was nine o'clock in the morning. I had only managed to sleep for three hours, if that. The day after I had become a full magician had been a very long one, full of the most difficult kind of work that had dragged on deep into the night.

The medallion that now rested heavy around my neck was proof of time well spent.

"Miss Taylor, wake up. There's an Endbringer attack."

Her hands felt cool on my face, which wasn't a good sign. I hadn't gotten much sleep after Remilia and Koa had invaded my room yesterday and I had only barely closed my eyes last night before being woken up again. If you included all the stress I'd been under, it was only logical that my immune system would take a hit. And with the amount of spells I'd cast yesterday as well as a few...possibly poisonous reagents wearing my already frail body down, it had finally happened.

I was sick. I was really sick. I was really, really sick.

My bed was soaked with sweat and my body felt unbearably warm. Even in the groggy awareness directly post-sleep, I could tell I wasn't doing well. With shaky arms, I tried to push myself up, only to break out in a coughing fit and collapse back onto the bed. I curled up into a ball and whimpered into my pillow as I felt Koa massage my back. She was still in deep shit, but I was too sick to deny this small luxury to myself.

Why did it have to be today? I hadn't been feeling well yesterday, but I had been well enough to push through it. Right now, I could already feel my body fighting my every moment. I attempted to flip myself onto my side and crawl out of bed. My stomach decided to make its displeasure known at that moment. Koa must have seen it on my face; she had the bowl ready for me before I began throwing up.

"Miss Taylor…maybe you should sit this one out."

It took a moment for her words to sink in; I was occupied with something much more attention-grabbing. I didn't even have to think it over to know my answer. I couldn't. This was far more important than just me. Waiting another three or four months, floundering with my research, trying to figure out a way to destroy creatures that I knew almost nothing about...that would never work. It was tempting, oh so tempting, but I could never allow myself to do that.

I groaned out my disagreement and Koa lowered the bowl to the side of my bed. This time I forced my noodle arms to support my weight and crawled out from under my blankets. I couldn't tell if I was feeling chills or was way too hot. Koa lifted a cup of water to my lips and I sipped gingerly at it.

"I can't. I have to go."

I was afraid to talk too much. I didn't want to throw up again.

Koa didn't reply. She put a gentle hand on my forehead and helped guide me back down to my mattress. I wouldn't have been able to fight her off, but I didn't try to either. While I needed to go out and be there, my body and will didn't seem to agree. It was just so much better to lay down. To be taken care of. I could already feel myself start to drift, the pain of sickness easing just enough under her gentle hands.

"Stay in bed, I'll get you something to help calm your stomach. The world isn't going to end while you wait for the next fight."

"Contessa...Cauldron." I mumbled, everything in me fighting even the most basic attempts at exerting myself.

"They don't matter Miss Taylor. All that matters is you getting better."

I turned onto my side to watch Koa move away and stared into a featureless white hallway where the rest of my room should be.

"I would have to disagree."

I wasn't surprised that Contessa was here to make sure I showed up on time.

Koa wheeled around with an angry expression on her face, one hand on a hip, the other pointing at the well-dressed woman. "You are not taking Miss Taylor out like this. She is sick and needs her rest. If you try to make her go out now, then you will regret it."

I could feel the tension building and I didn't like it. Not only because I was too tired to affect anything to any meaningful degree, but because they were about to face off in my bedroom. I didn't want them accidentally breaking anything. Or injuring me. Or making me move.

"Panacea will be able to heal her."

Oh. Right. Panacea. I had nearly forgotten. She hadn't responded to any my messages over PHO and trust me, I had sent a lot. Eventually, I had put a notice on my calendar to go talk to her in person, but I had sort of just pushed that off for a while. Time had worn on, I'd gotten busier and now we were here.

"Well bring her in, Miss Taylor is too ill to go anywhere."

"I won't jeopardize the secrecy of Cauldron to make things easier on you. Panacea will be waiting at the Brockton Bay PRT building for another twenty minutes. If you leave now, you'll arrive in time to get healed. We will open a door nearby. You can move her the rest of the way on your own."

I really didn't like how the two of them were talking like I wasn't here.

"And how do you expect me to move Miss Taylor there? She can't walk like this."

Contessa pushed forwards a wheelchair from where it was sitting off to one side.

-Scene Change-

"Please hold on Miss Taylor, we're almost there," Koa whispered as softly as one could manage, while sprinting through a rain storm.

I had a book sitting on my lap and a bowl on top of that, half-filled with a combination of vomit and the drizzling rain from overhead . Fortunately, the ratio was skewed heavily on rain's side, but that didn't mean my stomach was feeling any better. The change to being a true magician had made the need for food irrelevant, which in turn meant the ride was filled with plenty of dry heaving instead of full-on vomiting. I guess at this point, even if I had been eating regularly it would have all left me. The rain at least made it easier to deal with how unnaturally warm I felt. I would get the chills soon, but for now, it helped alleviate the pain just a bit. I wasn't thinking far ahead enough to worry about what came next.

The sight of the PRT building was a welcome relief. Every jolt, every bump, every single thing about this ride was unbearable. And Brockton Bay's streets were not well maintained. Even the few blocks Contessa had dropped us from the building made for an unimaginably long journey. I was glad it was raining to hide the tears that were flowing from my eyes.

It was irrational and pointless, but I couldn't stop myself from crying over the sheer irritation of the situation I was in. I felt so helpless and I couldn't do anything about it.

Koa's brisk jog slowed down to a walk as we approached the front of the building. They had an intimidating welcoming party of beefed up agents waiting for us. Well, intimidating if you discounted the one superhero in their midst. I guess they needed a show of force; with unstoppable monsters killing millions throughout this world, they needed to look like they were doing something to fight it. But the bright red spandex didn't compliment the other's uniforms. Maybe if I had recognized the superhero, but without that knowledge he just looked goofy.

"Hello, the Protectorate is happy to…" The official speech it sounded like he was about to give us trailed off as he got a good look at my sorry state. "Holy crap, what happened to her?"

"Miss Patchy is very sick, could we please get a healer to assist her?"

He took one more look at me, opened the door behind him and let out a loud yell.

"Medic!" His voice rang out through the room, cutting the chatter like a hot knife.

Everyone turned to stare at us as Koa pushed me past the threshold and wheeled me into a throng of people. The group parted like the red sea, either kind enough to make room for an ill woman, or, more likely, worried that I might have something contagious.

I didn't have much of a chance to survey the room beyond that. It was hot and humid, in part the summer climate and part the sheer number of people stuck inside. Whatever the cause, it set me into a vicious coughing fit. I covered my face with my hands, but it made all my other issues flare up worse than before.

"Assault said you needed healing?"

I looked up at someone peering down at me. A cloak covered her head, partly hiding her freckles and curly brown hair. I couldn't make her face out too well through my watery eyes, but it wasn't the look of compassion I would expect from a healer finding someone in distress. It was more general disinterest than anything else. Then a look of disgust came across her face and she started glaring at me.

"Oh. It's you."

I'd also nearly forgotten Panacea had some sort of grudge against me. Jeez, how was I supposed to know there was a bank robbery going on there? Some people just couldn't get over the smallest things. I mean, a few weeks had passed by this point and she hadn't even been hurt.

Well, I was getting healed now whether she wanted to do it or not.

She pushed past all small talk and gave me a glare as she reached for my hands. "Do I have permission to heal you?"

"Yes." My voice sounded quiet and grumbly, even to my ears; I was surprised she was able to hear it.

Perhaps she hadn't and just wanted to get this over. I didn't care; if she could let me turn my head without throwing up, I could deal with her anger. She grabbed my hand and her eyes widened, then narrowed. She leaned in and whispered a sharp, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I didn't want to risk opening my mouth again, so Koa eloquently took over for me. "Huh?"

"I know you aren't a parahuman, you don't have a corona pollentia. Do you really think now is the time to try and get free medical treatment? Using an Endbringer attack as a way to get me to heal you?"

"I-I…"

"Is there a problem?"

I felt proud that I recognized it was Armsmaster who towered over the two of us; for me, it was because I was sitting, Panacea was just that short.

I could see the look go across her face, thinking about whether she wanted to rat me out or not. This was so stupid. If we got into some whole argument with the local Protectorate because I didn't have a corona whatever, I was going to be pissed. It would be so easy to show I had powers if it had been just a little bit better. Her face was still close enough to mine that I could get some words off without Armsmaster hearing me.

"Weird powers," I whispered to her. "Messed me up…"

She gave a harsh exhale in my face, but she still turned to Armsmaster and said, "No, nothing's wrong."

It looked like Armsmaster was about to say something, but Koa cut in. "It's so nice to see you. We never got to finish our conversation from last time."

She accentuated this comment with a healthy batting of her eyelashes. I don't think I had ever seen someone speed walk away as fast as that.

Panacea leaned in close to me and whispered, "You're lucky I'm a hero," into my ear.

Yeah, whatever. Get over your grudge girl. She grabbed my hand again and started listing off what was wrong with me as she took care of it.

"Weakened immune system gave you the flu. Asthma and anemia making your conditions worse. Poor sleep pattern and anxiety have caused undue stress on your body. Muscles atrophied from lack of use? Mercury and arsenic poisoning?"

Her face scrunched up and she peered at me. Yes, I hadn't been walking as often as I used to, but I hadn't been avoiding exercise that much. And yes, I had needed select amounts of both chemicals for a few rituals and spells I had done in the intervening weeks, but that didn't mean anything. It couldn't have been that harmful to me. It didn't seem like I ever used that much but I guess even a small amount can show up in the body. I just moaned pitifully, to try and get her to move past that.

If it worked, she didn't say much to that effect. Slowly I felt my second wind returning to me. My breathing became easier, my body ached less and my queasy stomach began to straighten itself out. I could feel every nagging little pain and sore fade away until all that was left was me.

Perfectly healthy.

I let go of Panacea's hand and levitated out of my wheelchair, barely even a thought required to do it. I had never felt so powerful before. Always my spells had been limited by how much my body could take before my illness stopped me. Either my asthma made it hard to speak, or my body would start hurting, or any number of things to get me to stop. Right now, I was healthy. Healthier than I think I had ever been, even before the locker.

Though I notice she hadn't fixed my bad eyesight. Bitch held a grudge like nobody's business.

It didn't matter. I could cause some serious damage like this. Every spell I had ever come across but dismissed as unfeasible ran through my head. So many choices. So many possibilities. A grin stretched my mouth as far as it would go.

Panacea just sulked away. I didn't care. I was done with her. She could go back to glaring at the floor or whatever.

I let power flow through me. It was the day of Earth. The day of foundation and immobility. The element opposed to water. This couldn't have been a better day to fight Leviathan. I turned to survey the group around me. I was surprised that no one was really paying attention to me. I guess once I was healed I was just another super powered person to them. I recognized a few people here and there, the heroes and villains that I had met in passing. Tattletale stood out, even alone. Perhaps because I couldn't see the other major annoyance of my last few weeks hanging around here.

There was a burst of displaced air and suddenly there was a new person in our midst.

"Strider here, everyone gather round," was shouted over the din.

Everyone moved as one, a mass of capes heading off to a possible death. You could taste the fear in the air, everyone was apprehensive, frightened, even if they didn't show it. The very real chance of being killed in the next few hours was an unspoken dread that hung over everything.

All I was excited about was the fight to come. How I would be able to use my newfound powers to their fullest.

"Next stop, Florida."

And with another burst, we were gone.

-Scene Change-

Brockton Bay was humid; Florida was worse than I could have ever imagined. Even with the rain, I felt like I was breathing more water than air. This storm made Brockton Bay's drizzle look pitiful in comparison. Brockton had just been the average summer rainstorm, this was an actual gale of wind and water. Heroes and villains scattered to get under any sort of cover as quickly as they could. I followed them just because I couldn't push back, everyone was lost in the mass as more and more people came streaming in. Small bursts of new arrivals and departures as those with the ability were sent out to gather more groups as quickly as possible. Giant ships landed, carrying streams of people. It was a gathering of hundreds. All of them come to risk their lives to keep this city from being lost like others before it.

I didn't like the claustrophobic feeling of it, so I left. Walked out. I knew there would be speeches, planning, maybe even things given out to help.

And you know what, I didn't care. My blood was pumping, readying myself for the fight to come. Everyone else was probably preparing for some massive siege or whatever they thought would be best. That wasn't for me. I'd hold back and watch. Gage Leviathan. Figure out how it worked and how I could best hurt it.

No one stopped me, so I assumed it was fine.

I rose from the ground and floated over the city streets to see the ocean, not so beautiful under the cloud cover.

It was coming. I could feel it.

The waves moved with an unnatural rhythm. Even on the day of the earth, I could feel the water's normal flow disrupted by a foreign entity. Something so alien, so massive, so powerful; it was difficult to comprehend just what I was seeing it do.

I should be scared right now. I had never been in a fight on this scale. Never against something like this. But I was more ready than I had ever been. With only the sound of rain and my blood pumping in my ears, I had nothing to distract my mind as it thought over what I was going to do. I idly fingered my new medallion as I thought it over.

What was I going to do?

Normal spells were completely out of the question. People had been throwing normal attacks against these things for decades. They weren't hurting it any more than I would be. I was here because I wasn't normal, not to this world. They didn't have magic, they didn't have demons, they didn't have Youkai, Vampires or Fairies. They had superheroes and superpowers, and three evil monsters that had been dragged along for the ride.

I might be inexperienced, but I had plenty of knowledge on things that were outside the norms of this world. Outside the norms of this universe.

I not so subtly glanced at Koa as I thought that to myself.

If anyone would be able to figure out what these things were and the best way to destroy them, then it would be me. I had been studying the most esoteric branches of magic that I could find for these past few months. It was time to put my work to the test. I was sure I'd find something that would cross the alien-magic boundary. Something to actually damage whatever had made these things appear. Destroy a part of them that they couldn't regenerate.

I could feel the earth ready to move around me. It was different than Brockton; more manageable, more eager. This was an environment more used to change than the solid foundations of New England. Good, it would make this fight a little easier for me. I wouldn't have the time to set up bigger spells, things would have to be done on the fly. Any asset I could find, I was happy to take. I could already picture the ways I would use the land. Encaging, summonings, focal points for larger spells; though not as stable as what I was used to, I'm sure it'd make up for it in practicality.

If Leviathan came charging after me, I had a few ways to deal with it than just flinging mud around.

The rain changed, with all the subtlety of a hammer. The downpour's intensity increased exponentially. The water was so heavy, it was difficult to see what was in front of you.

It was here.

I ran my hand over the medallion, the reason I had woken up so sick today and also why Panacea had been so taken aback by the metal poisoning. You just couldn't skimp on reagents like that if you wanted a spell to go right. It was an untested defense I had meant to create much earlier and I was glad I had managed to get it finished up late last night now that Leviathan was here. Koa wouldn't be able to do much with so much water around, it would wear away at her powers. She would be a momentary distraction at best. Contessa wouldn't be able to help me until after I had already been hit. If I survived that, they would at least make sure I lived to the next day.

I was on my own right now. I would need every asset I had.

The gathering of capes moved as one. Like a group of ants after you kicked over their hill, dots running every which way. Flying too, but I guess the ant analogy fell apart there. The water rose and Leviathan burst out of it. Yells, screams, thuds and explosions, a symphony of sounds. It all boiled down to white noise as I focused.

I opened a book. The book. It's pages documented everything I had ever considered useful for fighting an Endbringer. Everything I could possibly try out here. This and the necklace were the only things Koa had deemed worth grabbing before we had to go. They were all that I needed.

This was...this was it. This was the fight I had been preparing for. This was why I was here.

I looked down as Leviathan carved destruction through the ranks of the defending force. I aimed a hand and started muttering to myself. A magic MRI was the only way I could describe the spell I was chanting. I wouldn't jump in now, the time wasn't right. Too many people could get hurt. Too many things happening at once. But the fight would wear on, people would die and get injured and leave as they were unable to do anything. For now, I would evaluate.

I floated above everyone as they threw themselves at Leviathan. High enough up that I could set aside the realities of what was happening below. They were a necessary sacrifice. I had work to do.