Febuary 25th Hyderabad India 2001

I can sense when an Endbringer's about to attack. At first I used what I could remember from the timeline, but I can sense when and where an attack's going to happen. Another city was supposed to be attacked, this city was supposed to be attacked by Leviathan, but my powers my senses tell me that Behemoth was going to attack this city today. I decided to hedge my bets, I told the PRT that they were trying to take me off of my game.

My intelligence might be wrong this time, one of the cities was a false lead, it was either going to be Vanderhoof, British Colombia or Hyderabad, India. Both cities were evacuated and I was sent to the more populated place. I have tried to get as many people to safety as possible, but there are over six million people here and it's been an organizational disaster. That said, we got enough people out that there is enough room for the civilians in the Endbringer shelters.

Three days warning, any attempt to give people more then that has failed, I just can't predict attacks before then. Three days, is it enough? I don't know, I feel a communication, 'hate' 'hate' 'hate'.

"HE'S HERE!"

I charge forward, sending wave after wave of disposable minions to attack and harass Behemoth. The others open fire, everyone knows that his core is located just below the place where his neck would be. Fighting him close is just sucidally dangerous for your normal cape, so my job is to get in close to distract him and keep him off balance. His powers are a perfect counter for mine. Fire just burns my plants, my creations way to well, but I don't need to win, I just have to keep him away from the civilians, keep him busy and contained.

I'm doing better then last time but not by much, Behemoth is fast and strong but he's also angry and that's making him sloppy. I'm using that, or rather abusing that, trying to hold off his blasts so that people can get to safety. The Triumvirate is here now watching me, they were in Vanderhoof. I grow more fire resistant wood and continue to take a beating. This is an endurance match, take hit after hit, poke, take a hit, poke.

I'm wearing wooden armor now, making it evolve in real time to keep up with Behemoth's power and strikes, and I'm still losing. I'm really only not dead because the other hero's distract him when he gets too focused. I see an opening and stab him. It's not doing any serious damage but I'm getting something out of it. What?

Samples, tissue samples, I'm trying to be more creative, trying to analize him, find a weakness, find a way to finally end him...hmm I'm actually learning a lot. His tissues are incredibly energy rich. I can turn his own power against him. I stab him again and I can feel his amusement as we continue fighting. With each jab I put a little more into him, bacteria, viruses, mold, parasites all of them specialized. I use my power to make them grow, evolve. I'm getting hammered, I feel the pain, the burning and Behemoth's rage and sense of impending victory.

I'm dragging out the fight, suddenly he stumbles.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

10% of his total strength, gone.

"GET BACK!"

I warn my cape allies and throw up walls to hold in Behemoth's attacks, the radiation, the fire, the heat, even with my ever evolving armor it's almost too much to bear, it's painful. He screams and attacks with a greater ferocity while I continue making his problems worse. Every minute he fights me is another percent of his power gone. Behemoth doesn't back off, he doesn't run, he just gets more desperate and angry, thus getting more sloppy.

Every bit of him is infused with power and that's his weakness, because his core has to supply all that power and I'm having my tiny little friends expand geometrically, and devour more and more, at the half hour mark he starts slowing down, I try to keep him contained, it's an effort that's mostly in vain but as long as he's angry, he will stay near me.

"You're weak."

That throws him off his game, he attacks again redoubling his efforts, using more and more energy, it's an hour into this game of rope a dope. 70% of his power is gone, he's using more of it, no longer sandbagging, but he's slowing down. Getting to the point where my armor isn't being obliterated as quickly as I evolve and reform it.

By the hour and a half I'm exausted tired, hurt, sore but still intact, Behemoth finally starts getting slower, he blows out a wave of heat and my partitions are obliterated, I don't bother wasting energy trying to repair them, instead I just tackle him to the ground. We wrestle, claw and bite each other. The battle has lost all sense of dignity, it's a brutal brawl but the clock is ticking and it's not on Behemoth's side.

By the one mintue mark his flesh goes dim, his fires starts sputtering, I get on top of him and just rip and tear until I get to Behemoth's core, the anger vanishes replaced by fear, I ignore his begging and put my hands into him and rip his core apart. He thrashes violently under me, his screams fill the city and then there is silence. I get up my burnt armor slumps off, reveling my ripped tattered, and singed clothing. I'm tired, so incredibly tired, the heroes of the world stare at me.

I look down at his body, this is the first time I've killed someone.

"I'm trying to think of one time, one moment where you were kind. One moment where you acted like the big brother that I deserved. I'm trying to think of one moment where you were not a colossal jerk, and I have nothing."

I fall to my knees, I'm so tired.

"It didn't have to be like this, if you had simply listened to me, if you had simply stopped your rampages I wouldn't have had to do this."

I'm angry.

"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS STOP!"

"It's ok."

Eidolon is patting me on the back.

"It's ok, big guy."

I looked at him.

"Why couldn't he have listened to me? I begged him, pleaded with him to stop this, I told him what I would do if he forced my hand, why didn't he just listen to me?"

There are guilty looks and I sigh.

"Go celebrate, I... I just need to talk to my wife."

I walk with Eidolon towards the airport, or what remains of it.

"You should go celebrate."

He shakes his head.

"No.. you need me right here."

He motions for me to sit on some steps, I can hear the beginnings of a party.

"You ok?"

I sighed.

"He was a horrible brother, he was abusive, cruel, and mean and..."

"He was your brother."

I slumped.

"It has to be done."

"No one's saying it doesn't, but we understand how hard it is."

Eidolon looks at the sky, at the setting sun.

"You did the right thing, and sometimes the right thing is really hard. I wanted to get married to have kids."

"And?"

"People need me, there was never enough time and things didn't work out, being a hero requires sacrifice."

He closed his eyes.

"If you want to just heal and stay out of it, I...I can talk to the others."

I got up and looked at the airport.

"Earth is my home now, Seattle is my home, I said I was willing to die for your people."

"Being willing to die and willing to kill are two different things."

I stumbled a bit and got my bearings.

"You can't save both the spiders and the butterflies."

He blinked.

"I made a choice, I have to stand up to the concequences, it hurts but..I don't want other people to feel this so I have to keep fighting, even though it hurts."

Eidolon nods. A flat bed truck picks us up and I get ready to head home.