To Lyger 0: You would think…
As they splashed through the standing water on the street leading to the port, Chloe paused across the street from the boardwalk, looking out over the harbor. Waves rolled in from the sea, the ships bobbing wildly up and down. A pair of small yachts motoring for the private marina on the far side of the harbor turned sharply, trying to stay aligned perpendicular to the waves; one succeeded, but the other overcorrected and rocked side-on to the wave, its stern crashing into the other yacht with a rending screech audible across the water. The stricken boat started to roll onto its side, as the forms of people rushed around the deck. Near the middle of the harbor, several smaller boats were thrown together by the waves – one flipped completely upside down. The nearest wave crashed over the pier, scattering the garbage cans that had dotted the boardwalk; already, water covered the street in front of Chloe to a depth of at least three centimeters. Another wave came in, and Chloe braced herself, leaning into the oncoming tide and steadying herself against the small undertow that threatened to rip her feet out from under her. Huddled in her arms, Bee-atrice quivered, whimpering.
"Whoa!" yelped Zoe, her eyes wide, waving her arms and grabbing onto the streetlight next to her, just barely keeping her footing.
"Be careful!" Chloe chastised her, her jaw clenched. "Hold onto that and stay put!"
What was she thinking, bringing Zoe with her today? It had seemed so much simpler over breakfast in the penthouse suite they now shared. When she had agreed to bring Zoe with her on this trip, she had told herself that nothing could happen, that Zoe would be perfectly safe. After all, this was only supposed to be a quick stop to get an update from Greece – especially about Night Bat. There wasn't supposed to be danger! What would happen if Zoe got hurt here, when Chloe was supposed to be responsible for the girl? And yet, at the same time, she couldn't have left her behind at the Olympiad's headquarters – would that have been any safer than bringing her with? Here, at least, Chloe could keep an eye on her.
Why had she ever agreed to bring Zoe with her in the first place?
Zoe's breathing hitched, but she nodded, hugging the streetlight tightly. "I–I will!"
A rending groan echoed across the water from near the harbor entrance. A large container ship had tipped almost entirely over, its top deck dropping so low that water sloshed over the side. Just before it could capsize, it suddenly rolled back to an even keel, pushing a massive wave toward the harbor and triggering a chain reaction that nearly swamped the tugboat that had been guiding it toward the dock. An unfortunate sailboat that had been in the process of passing the container ship flipped completely upside down; moments later, three people surfaced, clinging to the side of the upturned sailboat.
Chloe's stomach churned as the next wave struck her shins and rushed past her to crash against the restaurant behind her. Putting out one hand, Chloe braced herself against one of the struts holding up the awning. "Those people are in trouble!" she called, glancing over at Zeus. "I could–"
Zeus waved a hand confidently. "No need," he assured her. "Allow my team to show you what we can do!"
Chloe sighed. "Your city; you're the boss," she reluctantly agreed.
Zeus raised an eyebrow, grinning jovially. "Hermes?"
Chloe quirked an eyebrow at him in confusion… just as a blast of wind rushed past them down the street, streaking over the water straight toward the stricken yacht. The blur reached the boat in moments, racing around it twice before approaching the closest of the two people who had been thrown overboard. Grabbing the girl, Hermes sprinted to the shore and tossed her onto the land, before doing the same thing with the man. Less than a minute later, he had started rounding up the other boaters, placing them haphazardly into the nearby boats. Zeus turned to Chloe and winked.
As the next wave broke against the boardwalk, Athena leapt onto the roof of the restaurant and dropped into a crouch, bracing herself with the end of her spear wedged between two rooftiles. Leaning forward, she shaded her eyes, scanning the rolling waves washing in from the direction of the ocean. Pointing toward a spot near the entrance to the port, she called down to Poseidon, "If the waves get any higher, they could wash away the seawall there – that cruise ship is listing heavily as is!"
Poseidon's eyes narrowed intently, following where she indicated. "Right. So how do I stop it?"
"See if you can calm the waves just outside the seawall, past the naval academy," Athena instructed him. "Stop it there and the port will settle down."
Chloe folded her arms, leaning into the oncoming wave as she watched the Olympiad work. Hermes, still running back and forth across the harbor, had finally managed to get everyone out of the water, though now the approach to the pier was clogged with damaged and abandoned boats, leaving very little space for the few boats still moving to maneuver around them. On the restaurant roof, Athena turned in all directions, surveying the scene carefully. A delivery truck sloshed down the street in front of them, just as Zeus and Poseidon both strode forward, crossing the road just in front of it. The truck's brakes screeched; almost without looking, Zeus held up his hand and send a plume of wind at the truck, stopping it in its tracks. Frowning Chloe nodded to herself pensively: arrogant and self-assured they may be, but they worked together pretty well.
"Hang on!" Athena called, just as Poseidon was about to jump off the boardwalk. "That container ship: see if you can push it into the dock. If it keeps going, it will crash through the rest of those boats and cause an even bigger pileup."
With a curt nod, Poseidon turned and took off to the right before pivoting and racing down the pier, out over the water. Just as wave rose higher to crash over the pier, he dove into the wave, which burst apart in a spray of mist that rained down over the boardwalk. Zeus held up his hand and pushed the rain away from himself. A rippling wake appeared on the surface of the water where Poseidon had disappeared, which faded within moments as the water continued to roil. Scepter in hand, Zeus braced himself on the edge of the boardwalk in front of the restaurant where Chloe and Zoe had taken shelter and on top of which Athena still knelt. Another wave started at the harbor entrance and rushed in toward the port, only to cut off into a wedge shape which pushed half the wave in either direction. The force of the wave pushed against the back of the container ship, propelling it toward the commercial dock. Chloe's eyes widened as the ship built momentum and slammed into the dock, listing hard to the side before righting itself with a creaking groan. The leading edge of the oncoming wave, though lessened by Poseidon's passage, rushed toward the shore, growing in height as it came. Chloe braced her legs, her grip on Bee-atrice tightening, and double-checked that the leash was still wrapped around her arm. The wave grew larger, crashed over the dock, and ran down the streets beside the port. Chloe leaned forward, into the water, involuntarily tightening her grip on the awning support next to her. Not far from her, Zoe yelped, though she still managed to maintain her footing.
"Come over here," Chloe yelled, her eyes darting out to sea, watching for the next wave. The water had risen past her ankles; it had almost reached the hem of her capri pants.
"A – are you sure?" asked Zoe, staring at the closest wave nervously.
"No time to hesitate!" Chloe called, gritting her teeth.
Glancing back at the city before giving the water around his feet a look of disgust, Zeus tightened his grip on his scepter. "You'd better do something now," he growled into his communicator.
Cautiously, Zoe released her grip on the streetlight and waded through the water toward Chloe, her hand outstretched.
"Hang on." Poseidon grunted. "I'm almost in position… now!" Almost at once, a blast of water erupted into the air from a spot near the entrance to the harbor. The water that had been pooling along the street suddenly rushed back toward the harbor, creating a stiff riptide that grabbed at Chloe's legs. Less than a meter away from her, Zoe let out a cry of surprise as her feet were pulled out from under her.
"Zoe!" Chloe lunged forward and grabbed for Zoe's outstretched hand, catching her by the wrist as she fell and dragging her toward her, holding her with an iron grip. Chloe slipped and fell, rolling with practiced ease to land on her back, Bee-atrice pinned to her chest, without releasing her grip on Zoe. The puppy let out a whine, her eyes wide, and quivered in Chloe's arms. Zoe gasped, turned her hand around and grabbed Chloe's wrist, pulling herself up to hug Chloe around the waist.
Suddenly, a crack of thunder sounded in the distance. The skies above turned abruptly dark, and lightning streaked across before striking the lightning rod on top of an apartment building four blocks away. Athena jumped, turning to search out the storm.
"Where did that come from?" Athena demanded. "The skies were clear!"
Zeus let out a grunt as another bolt of lightning streaked toward a tree growing in the soil next to the boardwalk. Thunder reverberated around them almost at the same instant; Chloe's heart stopped beating with it. Zoe let out a squeak, clutching Chloe tightly. Holding up his scepter, Zeus drew the lightning toward himself, sucking the lightning bolt into his scepter, which crackled with the energy for a moment before it dissipated. Scanning the sky with furrowed brows, he muttered, "Let me try…" Before he could finish the thought, another bolt of lightning struck the building next to Athena's, and she jumped down, landing and rolling back to her feet.
"What should we do?" Zoe called, looking up at Chloe with wild eyes.
Hesitantly, Chloe pushed herself up to her feet and reached down to haul Zoe up after her. Placing Bee-atrice into Zoe's arms, Chloe searched the street quickly. "I–I don't know!" She cleared her throat, trying to force herself to think. It was probably just a storm… but if it wasn't– But that wasn't important right now. "Staying here isn't working," she decided, looking down the street behind them leading away from the harbor. "We need to find better shelter!"
"There!" Zoe pointed away from Chloe and started in the direction of a bus stop on the edge of the boardwalk, clutching Bee-atrice tightly to her chest.
At that moment, Chloe's eye was drawn to another wave rushing in from the harbor, angling straight toward them, almost on top of the boardwalk already – and Zoe was directly in its path. "Wait!" Zeus had raced down the street away from them, toward the darkest section of the sky; Athena wasn't close enough. Zoe was too far away for Chloe to reach; the wave was almost upon them.
"Pollen, Buzz on!" The warm, familiar glow of her transformation washed over Queen Bee, so familiar and yet achingly foreign after over a year. The new suit formed around her in an instant, leaving flashes of light against her eyes. Even before it had fully formed, her top leapt into her hand and she hurled it out at Zoe, just as the wave crashed directly in front of her. The top looped around Zoe and tightened, pinning Bee to her chest and reeling her back through the air, straight toward Queen Bee. Snatching Zoe out of the air, Queen Bee dove in the opposite direction and braced herself against the restaurant wall, holding Zoe tight to her chest as the water washed over them and flowed back out to sea. Wet and bedraggled, they collapsed against the wall, panting. "You have to be more careful!" Queen Bee scolded Zoe. And yet, as she breathed, in and out, some of the anxiety and fear that had gripped her started to fade away.
Zoe's eyes widened, and she sniffled. "I'm–I'm sorry," she mumbled, hugging Bee-atrice close. "I–I didn't mean to cause trouble."