Chapter 3
"TIMES UP!"
The roar echoed across the city, shattering windows and driving those close to the epicenter to their knees. People watched, awestruck from in side their houses as a terrifying black scaled dragon, the ground rumbling with each step, made its way towards the PRT headquarters, Its sulfur yellow eyes glowing as it took in its surroundings.
Car alarms were triggered as the moved, each step a chorus of electronic scores and shattering pavement. The dragon's head turned towards the sky, its mouth opened to reveal saber like teeth dripping with a greenish-yellow oily gunk, and then the dragon roared, forcing broken English through an inhuman throat, past a mouth the size of a truck, and through teeth built for ripping, tearing, and killing.
"TIME IS UP BROCKTON BAY! YOUR DEATH COMES CLAD IN SCALE AND FLAME!"
Anyone outside screamed in terror as a palpable wave of rage and terror was blasted alongside his declaration.
"I AM NIDHOG! I AM YOUR END! I-"
Nidhog stopped suddenly as a shape blurred out in front of him. The corpse eater stopped and regarded the person floating in front of his nose with an affronted expression that morphed into distaste and resignation.
"Hello Alexandria."
The figure bowed her head in greeting, her cape flowing gently in the wind.
"Nidhog. What can I do to reduce casualties?"
Nidhog shook his head, snorting like a horse, its hot breath washing over Alexandria In a humid wave.
"Have my demands been met? Does Sophia Hess languish in prison?"
Alexandria shook her head, causing the dragon to narrow its eyes, the hate contained within the yellow orbs taking her breath away.
"Has Panacea been brought to my daughters bedside in order to heal what your ward and her friends did to my child?"
She shook her head again, harder this time, ashamed of the actions of a so called superhero. Her hair was blown back in another warm breath gusted over her, Nidhog's tone when he spoke next was deceptively soft, letting Alexandria know that whatever she said it better be good.
"So, you are saying that I should just stop? That I should break my word?"
Alexandria shook her head carefully, she knew from prior dealings that the dragon considered his word to be sacred, and that he never, ever, broke it.
"No, of course not, but what I am saying is that you give us just a little more time, Shadowstalker neglected to ditch her personal cell phone and we are in the processes of tracking it, and Panacea was delayed by a group of super villains, she is now back on track to arrive at Brockton general in just over an hour."
Nidhog considered what she was saying briefly, almost wanting to say yes, and leave the city untouched, but then he thought of his daughter again, and his inner fire screamed in fury. He shook his head.
"I cannot." Nidhog paused, and shook his head again. "No, I will not. Prepare yourself."
Alexandria's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something as one taloned foot smacked into the hero, sending her rocketing into, and through a building.
And the next three buildings as well.
And a large 18 wheeler.
She finally came to a rest buried in the wall of an office building over a block of away.
"Owww…"
She groaned halfheartedly as the dust settled.
She looked through the holes and towards where she had just been launched. She really hoped that they could have his daughter healed and Shadowstalker trussed before Nidhog got there, because now that he had stopped talking, the Corpse Eater would bat her around Brockton like a damn tennis ball.
What was worse was because of his Trump ability, she couldn't deal any damage, having faced Nidhog many times in the past.
Alexandria sighed, got to her feet, and charged back towards the dragon.
PRT lobby
Director Piggot gazed out at the sea of capes, what she had too say would almost certainly drive most of them off, but she hoped the smarter ones would realize where Nidhog would go afterwards.
She stepped up to the podium and coughed into the microphone, getting the attention the milling capes.
"Good afternoon, and thank you, to all assembled. In approximately 30 minutes, the villain known as Nidhog will arrive, he has declared his intention to destroy PRT and kill everyone inside it and anyone who gets in his way in revenge for his daughters hospitalization at the hand of Shadow Stalker. Nidhog stated that if his daughter was healed by Panacea and Shadow Stalker imprisoned or delivered to him. We were unable to fulfill his demands."
Piggot paused briefly as the shocked and terrified mutterings began, as they lulled she continued.
"As such at noon he began his rampage in our direction. Alexandria is currently fighting a stalling action in order to delay him. However she is losing. Our goal is not to defeat Nidhog, our goal is to delay him long enough for the team dispatched after Shadow Stalker to capture or kill her and bring her or her corpse in, we are also buying as much time as possible for the Undersiders to get Panacea to Brockton General."
She took in a deep breath, ignoring the pain in her gut and opened the gates to what she knew would be an awkward series of questions.
"Any questions?"
"Why are Undersider's escorting Panacea?" Came the call from a villain she recognized as Uber.
"They originally ambushed her convoy before they realized who she was and what she was going to do and are now conveying her at all speed on Hellhounds dogs to Brockton general."
"Is this considered an Endbringer truce?"
Piggot nodded, not even caring where the question came from.
"It is. After Nidhog is done with the PRT, he has said he would destroy Winslow high school, and then go after the Empire, The ABB, and the Merchants."
Piggot decided that she would keep the fact that he hadn't actually said that would be something she would keep very close to her chest.
"Now, you are all under the standard End Bringer command structure, time to prepare."
Brockton Bay General Hospital
Panacea gasped as she ran into the hospital, Tattletale close behind her, once Panacea had managed to communicate just how badly the blond had fucked up she had come clean. She had been hired by her boss to delay Panacea for as long as she could, but once she realized what was at stake, she put it aside.
The hero opened the door in the intensive care ward and sprinted to the room where Taylor Herbert lay. She frantically opened the door and stopped as a long knife pricked her throat.
She turned her head fractionally too see a man with stringy black hair and a emotionless face.
"You Panacea?" She nodded slightly, aware of the knife pricking her throat. "Get to work."
The man withdrew the knife back into his sleeve and sat down as Panacea got to work.
He watched her carefully for a few minutes before retrieving a phone from his pocket and sending a message with a few quick taps.
Downtown Brockton
Sophia Hess, otherwise known as Shadow Stalker cursed as she another electrical bolt sent at her by Miss Militia who was currently wielding what looked like a high-powered taser as Aegis and Velocity came at her from both sides.
All this because she had shoved Herbert in a fucking locker!
How the hell was she supposed to know that the weaklings dad was fucking Nidhog?
Sophia screamed as she tried to go phase past a low wall but was tagged by one of Milita's taser blasts, causing her to fall against the low wall, the brick rough against her shoulder. She looked up through darkening eyes as the dusky woman, bedecked in stars and stripes approached her with a thunderous expression that didn't suit the normally kind woman in the least. She stepped up to the downed Shadow Stalker and asked, with hostility in her voice,
"Are you ready to come in now?"
Miss Milita's eyes widened suddenly in shock and then in pain, she looked down too see a crossbow bolt in her stomach, and then collapsed.
Shadow Stalker looking on in satisfaction, her crossbow dropping from numb hand as she spat.
"Now I'm ready to come in. Bitch."
And as she finally passed out, the last thing she heard was Velocity calling for Aegis in a panicked tone as Miss Milita groaned in pain.
Sophia Hess fell unconscious with a smile.
Lobby of the PRT building
Alexandria rocketed through the glass doors of the PRT lobby, plowing a trench into the marble flooring, sending both hero's and villains tumbling in every direction in their haste to get out of the human shaped missiles way.
As the dust settled the gathered capes cautiously clustered around Alexandria as she shakily got to her feet, her costume torn in places, but still whole and uninjured.
She got to her feet and was about to speak when the light coming in from the windows was totally obscured, the lobby falling into almost complete shadow, one glowing sulfur yellow eye gazing into the lobby.
Vista, quivering and terrified, whispered, the girls small voice loud in the utter silence.
"He's here…"
And then a wave of black fire flowed in through the front doors, consuming everything in its path.