"Alexandria to all forces. Leviathan is currently attacking the offshore oil rigs at ZA-7. All capes capable of engaging at range, join us."

"Trollhunter this is Dragon, you will attempt to keep the 10 clear as much as possible. I have direct orders from Alexandria. When Leviathan starts moving to endanger the interstate, you must withdraw to the city—regardless of the current status of the road or any civilians on it. Do you confirm?"

"I-yes, I confirm," Jim said. Amelia and Merlin had already vanished, heading for the hospital shelter and the battle against Leviathan, respectively.

The highway was a nightmare. There were police trying to keep people moving, but there were wrecks every few yards, and a horde of humanity was running as fast as they could inland. The howling of the Endbringer sirens sounded like a chorus of the dammed. Jim saw women holding screaming toddlers and infants over their head, crying out and trying to get the attention of the people in ATVs and motorbikes that were able to move in the mass of immobilized cars. Some stopped to take the children, others didn't.

On the sides, the rain was already churning the soil into an impassable mud, and even now, parts of it were miring the fleeing people.

A family tried to help an old man in a walker along, a middle-aged man who looked more at home in front of a computer than in the field, finally trying to pick the older man up and carry him…

And then he slipped and fell in the mud and his scream of despair was torn away by the wind.

Nothing like this. I've never seen anything like this. What can I do? There were thousands of people running, the road was jammed, it was hopeless he—

He would do something.

"Hard override," Jim said. "I need all parahumans capable of clearing the road of cars who are not involved fighting Leviathan or establishing defenses, at the 10, now!"

"What do we do?" Vicky asked.

"Right… You've got Laserdream and Shielder, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good, Rune, you can move cars, right?"

"I—" Rune was staring towards the city, mostly lost in the lightning and rain.

"Rune!" Jim snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, fuck!"

"Good. We'll be removing the cars from the center of the road. Get something people can sit on and start moving the people who can't walk."

"Not the edges?" Carlos asked. Chris was on his board, flying down the road, marking disabled vehicles.

"No. We do that, more people will just jam in, and the sides are going to get impassible. Get the people out of the cars, and get them walking down the center. We need to get them away from the city."

If that helps, the few moments Jim had had to check the city said bad things about the water level, but hopefully, Leviathan would be occupied with the heroes. "You and Gallant need to stay here with…" Jim gestured at some of the cops, several protecting an ambulance, medics working away on someone who had collapsed. "You!"

"Um, yeah?" the police officer said.

"Nobody gets through here in a car. Rune will levitate cars for people who can't walk, but we can't let this road get jammed up again."

"Yessir!" the cop said. Jim didn't really know what to say to that, given that the guy was older than his dad.

Now, a few other capes were landing, Jim looked around. "Anyone here able to move earth or erect barriers?"

Nobody. Of course not, they were needed for the city and the shelters.

"Fine. If you're strong enough, help move the cars. Then keep up with the people. Remember that if Leviathan moves he'll move fast so—" Jim's throat constricted on the words he was about to say about not being trapped with the civilians. "—be careful."

"Lightmaster down, ZA-7. Greaser Deceased, ZA-8. Leviathan is continuing to engage the offshore installations. Warning, tidal waves inbound to New Orleans. Eidolon and Merlin moving to defend the city."

"Let's go!" Jim snapped. There were higher places down the road. They had to hope that was enough. He leaped into action, jumping and helping tear the cars open, pulling people out, whether or not they wanted to. "Walk!" Jim shouted. "The cars are deathtraps!"

Some of the cars were tossed to the left or right by Vicky, others were dropped into portals by Claire once they were cleared.

"Get to the center!" Jim said. "The center of the road is clear!" People were starting to listen, moving to the center of the interstate in a crying, sobbing mass.

Jim picked up an older man in one arm, a crying toddler in the other and then gestured.

Rune stopped, two… flatbeds floating by her. There were already people on them.

"There are too many!" she said. "What are you going to do?"

"Get as many as we can, and then go back for more," Jim said. "Keep going."

Rune's right, a traitorous voice said. There were more people running down, and if the crowd was thinning, it wasn't thinning enough. The waters to the side of the interstate were rising, rising unnaturally fast and once they crested…

He shook his head. Thinking about it wouldn't help.

"Claire!" Jim said as he jumped to her. "Can you open a portal?"

"I—" Claire nodded. "But not for long, not for this many people. I—" She stopped. "I'm an idiot." Claire said.

"What?"

"I don't have any real strong connections here, but I do back at the Bay!" Claire looked at Jim. "I can get an evacuation point set up, but I'll need time to prepare. I might be able to… to get them all out. Maybe."

"Where are they coming out?" Jim remembered how Claire had almost killed herself the last time she'd tried something like this. But he couldn't tell her to just ignore these people. Not any more than she could tell him to do it.

"Where I bought you your umbrella," Claire said.

Jim stared. Holy… "Set it up at the interchange." Jim said. "It's as high above water as we can get, and we can give you time."

"Okay," Claire said. She kissed him on the cheek and then turned. "Vicky!" Claire shouted. "You'll have to get the rest of the cars!

Vicky gave a quick thumbs-up as Claire vanished into her portal. Jim moved as fast as he could, checking cars, pulling people out of them, then pushing them to the side. The rush of people were growing more frantic, as the thunder grew louder.

"Leviathan moving to Lake Borgne. Mermaid Deceased, FC-14. Wasteland Down, FC-15"

"That's close," a fat man said as he picked up a car and chucked it over the lanes and into the foliage on the side. "What's the plan?"

"Claire's going to try to open a portal to Brockton Bay. We send all these people out, or as many as we can," Jim said, as he pulled open a door. "That way, Ma'am," Jim said.

"I can't—" the well-dressed woman said, clutching her steering wheel like a holy talisman. Next to her a little girl held on to a unicorn, her eyes tightly closed.

"I know it's scary," Jim said. "But you have to try. We're doing everything we can, but we can't do it all." He glanced over at the girl. "What's his name?" Jim asked.

The girl looked up at him. "It's her. Princess Truffles." She was sniffling.

"Can you help your mom? You both need to run as fast as you can." Over him, Laserdream swooped down and picked up someone who had fallen in the crowd before they could be crushed.

"I…" the mother looked at her daughter and nodded. "Okay. Janice, can you help Mommy?"

"Okay," the girl said. And soon they were out of the car, joining the tide.

The guy threw the car aside, opening up more room. "You're good with people."

"I'm… I'm sort of winging it."

"Aren't we all. Chubster."

"Trollhunter, but everyone calls me Jim."

"Good name. Don't die. We need people like you."

"Likewise."

Chubster laughed. "Me? Given how much I eat, you bet people need me—the hamburger industry would go broke in a day if I died."

It was a shitty joke. Jim found himself laughing anyway.

"Leviathan has entered the city. Merlin has injured him. Leviathan seems to be focusing on Merlin." There was more, notes of capes injured and killed.

"This is Tattletale. Leviathan may be feigning injury."

Feigning? The hell? Jim shook his head. Whatever it was, his job was here. It wasn't like hitting the creature with a sword could kill it.

"Dragon, put me in touch with Emily Piggot, now!" Claire said. Hopefully the hero could do that…

"Shadowdancer, this is Piggot. What are you—"

"I'm about to open a big portal onto the water front and there will be a lot of people coming through. I don't know how long I can hold it. If Leviathan comes close I'll have to close it. Get people down there. Shadowdancer out!" Claire looked over at Chris who had summoned up some absolutely huge gun on a platform and was staring down the road.

She'd practiced stuff like this, on a minor level. She'd done something like it during the riots. But now…

Claire gestured and people got out of her way. They were on a little island where the interstates merged, the curving ramps covered with people and the overpasses offering some shield from the rain. She carved out a circle with her staff, the circle glowing a deep purple.

Once, she'd done something close to this and almost died, to say nothing of being possessed. But now… Now she wasn't just trying to force it through will and desperation. Merlin might be an asshole, but he was a good teacher.

"Hear me," Claire said, the high draconic hard on her throat. The incantation was hard, but she felt the staff start to vibrate as she focused on it, pulling power into it. Willing the two places to become one. And behind her, the portal started to form. Dimly beyond it, Claire could sense the beach, police cars pulling up and officers running out setting up cones and tape. There were capes there. She couldn't tell who. But the portal wanted to stop and Claire…

Refused it. Her eyes turned dark purple, an eerie glow rising around her. "Go!" she said. "To the Bay! To safety!" People started moving, at first slowly, then faster. Claire hoped that they had enough crowd control on the other side.

"Move, move, move!" Jim said. The people were starting to trail off. The road behind them was flooded—anyone in the city had no choice but to try and ride it out now. The reports were coming hot and heavy and the sound of collapsing buildings was loud even over the thunder.

"She's got the portal open!" Glory Girl said. "It's…" Vicky sounded amazed. "People are just running through. We're going to get them, we're going to get them all—"

"Hard override!" Leviathan has changed course. He's entered Lake Pont—Alert! All parahumans on the Ten, evacuate immediately, repeat, evacuate immediately!"

Jim barely had a chance to turn when he saw a tide of water roaring over the side of the interstate tossing people and cars like they were nothing.

Suddenly, some kind of energy field rose up, blocking some of the tidal wave. Eidolon was there, standing against the waves while Legend soared above, along with other capes, unleashing a torrent of fire against something that was moving far too fast for its size. Ahead him, the water managed to curl around the shield and reached out for a fleeing figure. Rune.

She had two flatbeds loaded with people. Rune didn't drop them, and Jim saw her turn and look at the tidal wave, mouth open in a scream.

And then it caught her.

"Rune Deceased, ZT-5."

I told her to do that.

And Leviathan was still paralleling the road. Still…

There's nothing here. The next city is miles away, and New Orleans…

He's not going for a city. He's going for…

Claire.

And then Jim charged, leaving Chubster behind as he leaped to come to grips with his foe.

But Leviathan was faster.