HydroKineticPhobia
(by ShadowVulpix)
Brockton Bay watched as the rain grew heavier, a sure sign that Leviathan was coming to the city. Capes were already gathering for the fight, though there was hope that Kaiju would come to save the day.
However, one group of supposed Parahumans weren't preparing for a fight. Saurial was scrolling through something on what looked to be a phone, with Raptaur leaning over it, both to see what she was doing and to protect it from the rain. Next to them, Metis watched, occasionally adding to the quiet conversation they were having in the Family language. Having finished his speech, Legend floated over, curious.
"Are you girls ready?" He asked, during a pause in the talk. Metis looked up.
"Saurial thinks she might have a way to end this early, without needing to field Athena." The black reptile replied. "We don't know if it'll work, but it's possible."
"Kaiju is nearby if we need her," Raptaur added, while her younger sister scrolled frantically, "But we're hoping this works so we can avoid too much environmental damage."
"What do you mean?"
"If I've got this right," Saurial began, looking up for a moment, "And I don't know if I do, since things work so strangely there, but if I have…" Metis elbowed her cousin, making a gesture of 'hurry up' which was responded to with a frown, "I might be able to get some people to nullify the waves."
There was dead silence, a silence which alerted Legend to the fact that the groups nearby had been listening in to their conversation.
"Do it." He commanded. "I may not be able to command you, but please." Saurial nodded firmly, looking down once more and pushing a button on the phone.
"Hello there, I'd like to speak with Ponder Stibbons, please." She said cheerfully. "Ok, I'll wait." Silence, then a smile, "Ah, Ponder! Good to talk with you again." Legend raised his eyebrow as Raptaur, who shook her head. "Yes, that Wowwow sauce was lovely, thank you. I've still got some of it left, actually, though I might have to ask you to order some more for me, if that's alright… Thank you, that's kind of you. Listen, as much as I wish this was a social call, I've got a bit of a problem I could do with some help with… Well, there's a creature in our world-" That caused a few more raised eyebrows from the surrounding crowd, which Saurial ignored, "-Called Leviathan, it's a hydrokinetic, and I thought you might have some way of helping us out?" A moment of quiet, with the faint sound of murmuring. "That… could work, yes. Does it function the other way, though?" A longer pause, with the sound of a yelp in the middle. "Ah, brilliant. Tell me, how many could we borrow for a time?... A hundred?" Raptaur stretched up, looking along the coast, and nodded. "Yes, that should be perfect… Yes, I'll leave the caller on, use that to lock on if you could… Thanks again Ponder, I'll be sure to be careful." Taking the caller away from her hearing organ, she smiled at Legend. "Ponder will have what we need over in a moment, I just need someone to ferry them all down to the coastline for me."
"Ok…?" Legend called for Strider, the Cape appearing next to him in a flicker, before a screech echoed and a strange hole opened up.
Looking pleased, Saurial went over, glancing in, then spoke to the caller again. "Yes, that's right. Send them through, thank you." One by one, a line of people in pointed hats and robes strolled through the portal, looking around curiously and flinching at the rain. After a hundred, a man poked his head through.
"Is that enough, Saurial?"
"I think so, Ponder. Thank you for the help."
"No problem ma'am. The Archchancellor and Commander Vimes would have insisted anyway." The man, apparently called Ponder, looked around. "This is your world?"
"Normally it's a bit brighter, but yes." Saurial chuckled. "Legend, could you start moving these fellows down to the coast for me please?"
"Alright, but what are they going to do?" Legend looked at the group.
"They're stopping the waves for us." The hundred nodded, still looking nervous, as Strider began ferrying them down to the shoreline. "Do you intend to stop, Ponder?"
"Alright then." Ponder's head vanished, only for the dark portal to be replaced with the image of a large ritual room, with the man sitting on a chair before the portal. "I ran the numbers, and I'm fairly sure they'll be able to do what you need."
"Good. Maybe we can lower some of the casualties from this battle, then." Saurial looked about to continue, when a loud voice on the other side of the portal startled them.
"Ponder!" A elderly man made an appearance on the other side, with a younger man next to him smoking a cigar. "Why the hell did you summon for-"
"Hello, Archchancellor!" Saurial said cheerfully, waving through the portal. "And Commander Vimes as well."
"Oh, Saurial." The Archchancellor suddenly lost his temper completely, becoming a much calmer man with a speed even the Family didn't often match. "Ponder, you should have said it was for our friend."
"Good to see you both as well." Saurial put her hand through the portal, shaking both the men's in turn. "Archchancellor, could I impose on you to send some more of that sauce through? My elder siblings found it very nice, as did I."
"Of course, my dear girl!" The man wandered off, and the sound of shouting soon followed him.
"Saurial, a pleasure to see you again." The other man, obviously Commander Vimes, said around his cigar. "The lads at the station wanted to pass on their thanks. After your… enthusiastic… criminal hunting trip during our demon situation, many of them appear to have retired." Legend's eyebrow's were taking a trip to his hairline.
Criminal hunting? Demon situation?
"Ah, that's good. I hope I haven't put your officers out of work?" Saurial's voice was a humorous as Vimes' was dry.
"No. Angua says hello as well, might I add. It's not all that often she runs into someone who truly doesn't care for her condition."
"I don't see why I should be bothered. She clearly doesn't hurt anyone, and she couldn't bite me even if she wanted to." Saurial shrugged. While the group of eavesdroppers contemplated that, the Archchancellor made his return with a box.
"Here you are, my dear." The box passed through the portal, the people on the other side letting out a small sigh when it did, and Saurial grinned.
"Thank you, Archchancellor." She stored it in a pocket on her belt, then beckoned her family forwards, looking at Legend. He floated over. "These are my family members; my sister Raptaur-"
"Good to meet you."
"-And my cousin Metis."
"A pleasure."
"Our other cousin, Ianthe, isn't around at the minute, unfortunately." Saurial smiled. "Anyway, this is Legend, the leader of the Protectorate. They're like a police force, almost, but made up of people with superpowers." Too bewildered to say much, Legend nodded.
"Leviathan incoming, wave expected in the next minute." Dragon's voice chimed over the armbands, cutting the greetings off.
"Trouble, Saurial?"
"Somewhat, Vimes. Leviathan's one of the… you'd likely call it a greater demon, it's strong enough to be one, and it's trying to attack the city. It's hydrokinetic…" She trailed off as the Archchancellor laughed.
"Ah, no wonder Ponder called for that lot." Sitting down in a chair- where did that come from? Legend thought dimly- he took off his hat and unscrewed the top, pulling out a glass of brandy. "I think I'll stop and watch, if you don't mind."
"Of course not, sir." Saurial grinned, reaching up to her camera. "It should be a bit of a spectacle." Vimes sat down as well, in another suddenly-appearing chair, and lit another cigar, throwing the match into a well-placed fireplace.
"Wave approaching." The fliers took off, ready to fire attacks at Leviathan, and Legend moved to join them.
"I hope this works as you say it will, Saurial." He said.
"It'll be fine, Legend." She waved him off. "Go help out, we'll join in soon." Nodding firmly, he took his place in the group, charging up a beam, then gaped.
The wave, expected to crash into the docks, stopped nearly two metres from the group of people Saurial had called through. They didn't appear to do anything special, but the entire wave stopped in the form of a wall, then slowly fell down into the water.
"What the hell?" One of the Blasters said slowly.
Leviathan, apparently annoyed by this, sent more waves forward. Every single one of them met the same fate, before the Endbringer sped forward, swinging a claw towards a group of the people. The water echo froze two metres away, holding Leviathan with it, then dripped down as well, falling in a perfect line to the water below.
Bellowing, Leviathan swung again and again, each time running into the same problem, before it finally seemed to give up, turning away and running as fast as it could. The rain slowed to a halt, and the group of fliers landed. Legend headed back towards the portal, where Saurial now had a glass of the same brandy the Archchancellor had.
"I get the feeling I'll regret asking…" Armsmaster said slowly over the armbands, "But what just happened, Saurial?"
"They repelled the water." The reptilian woman replied, as Strider began bringing the people back.
"How?" Someone else asked.
"They're hydrophobic wizards." Everyone was dead silent as they processed this, the only person moving being Strider. When all one hundred of the wizards were back, Armsmaster began speaking again.
"That's… not what hydrophobic means?"
"Now that's where you're wrong, lad!" The Archchancellor announced, leaning through the portal to yell at the band. "See, these good folk are specially trained hydrophobes! They're so scared of water, they actively repel away from it! Great for getting across water, they can literally walk over it with no trouble!"
"I… what?" Legend replied, bewildered. Metis nodded.
"Ah, I see. You used that method in reverse." The black reptile seemed impressed. "Instead of them being repelled by the water, they repelled the water."
"Exactly, my dear!" The Archchancellor seemed just as impressed that she understood. "Come on back, lads, it's off to the Drum for you lot!" The wizards seemed to perk up slightly, heading back for the portal as the others moved out of the way.
It was only then that Legend noticed all of them were perfectly dry, despite the heavy rain they'd been in.
Ponder looked through the portal again. "I'm glad we could help, Saurial."
"Me too. Thanks for the Wowwow sauce, and if you ever run into more trouble with those demons, feel free to call. You can reach here again, right?"
"I think so, yes." Someone yelled from the other side of the room, and he nodded. "We can, definitely. I think we've got a lock on this reality now. Quantum, and all that."
"Indeed." Saurial nodded wisely. "Go treat your wizards to a beer or two for me, they were a lot of help." Ponder nodded, retreating from the portal, which then shut.
"And that's that." Raptaur grinned, seeming amused.
"Quite." Metis looked at Saurial. "Let's go and open that Wowwow sauce. I've heard good things about it."
"No need to open it, there's still some left. I'll put this stuff in the special storage first, it's apparently a little unstable."
"How unstable?"
"The box has a list of things you shouldn't do to it, here." Metis took the paper.
"Do not shake, do not get wet, do not get hot, do not get cold, do not leave near lemons, do not leave near coal, do not leave in ontologically unstable areas, do not agitate, do not pass through portals repeatedly…" The trio walked off, Metis reading aloud from the list which got more worrying as it progressed.
"Every time I think I have a grasp on the Family, they go and do something like this." Armsmaster sighed.
"Well, at least Leviathan was dealt with quickly?" Legend offered, slightly bemused.
"There is that."
After a few minutes, people began leaving the site. Legend stared at the area the portal had been, then shook his head and flew away, being careful to avoid the spot.
He could have sworn it was glowing in a non-existent colour. It was a greenish-purple, which Legend was pretty sure wasn't a real colour, anyway.
Though with the Family… who knew?