Chapter 10-5

When I was little and still had a cell phone of my own, I'd been no stranger to prank calls. Emma and I had done our fair share of jokes over the years. Mostly harmless, of course. Just small stuff, like 'oh, there're no Walls here, then what keeps the roof up'. Kids can do stuff like that, and I suppose grownups can do it to, if people like Clockblocker and Assault were to be believed.

But there were some things that you just didn't joke about.

Leviathan inbound, 45 minutes. Go to PRT headquarters and wait for instructions.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself not to crush the cell phone in my grip. Did anyone think this was funny? Honestly, whoever sent this was going to…

Suddenly, sirens started blaring. The Endbringer alarms.

Oh god, this was real.

My hands were trembling. This was real. An Endbringer was coming here. One of three city-destroying monsters in the world was coming here? What did I…How did I…

No.

Calm. I wasn't going to freak out. I was better than that. Leviathan. Hydrokinetic on a ridiculous scale. More or less unkillable, even to people that were a hell of a lot stronger than I was. First priority: survival. Can't kill something if you're dead. I still needed to breath, I think, so drowning could an issue if I couldn't swim to safety fast enough. However, my toughness gave me an edge. I could survive being thrown through a wall. Unless Leviathan focused on me directly, I should be fine.

How many other brutes thought the same thing, I though morosely? How many of them are still alive?

"Taylor!" My dad cried out. "Taylor, come on! We have to get to the shelters."

Dad. Of course, he'd have to run. Even with his fancy shotgun, there's no way he could fight an Endbringer. The shelters were probably his only option. Unfortunately, knowing him, he'd want me to be there too. I looked him in the eye and said: "I…I have to go."

Recognition dawned on his face. "No…No you're not."

"Dad…"

"You're not going out there. You're not fighting that thing. I'll pull you out of the Wards if you try."

"Dad…"

"It's a fucking Endbringer, Taylor!" He screamed in my face. "I know the numbers and it's always bad. This isn't just another patrol. You go out there, you could die." Tears started to streak from his face. "I can't let you go. I can't lose you too."

"I can't let you stop me." I replied. At the end of the day, no matter what I felt for my father, I was still a hero. There was no way in hell I'd sit out an Endbringer attack on my own home town, no matter how badly he wanted to stop me. I knew he wouldn't understand, but that didn't matter. One way or another, I had to fight. "Dad, the others are waiting. I have to go."

"No, you don't. I know the contract, I know our rights. They can't force you to do this."

"They don't have to, dad. If I…If I don't go now…I'll never be able to look myself in the mirror again."

I could see it in his eyes. Rage. Despair. Heartbreak. "Taylor…"

"I'm just as vulnerable in a shelter as I am out there. If I don't make it, at least I'll go down swinging." My father tried to say something in response, but I shushed him. "Please. If something happens and we don't meet again…I don't want our last conversation to be a fight."

Something seemed to snap in my father. I'd hit a sore note, though I wasn't entirely sure how. "Just…Just come back to me. Stay safe. Promise me you'll come back."

I looked him in the eye, desperately trying to hold back my own tears. I couldn't promise that. It was Leviathan. An Endbringer. I could die and there was nothing I could do to stop that. "I love you, Dad."

And then I ran off before he could stop me. Before he'd look me in the eye and begged me to come with him. I didn't know if I could have refused him. Probably yes, but it'd break the both of us.

Can't think about that. Can't afford to hesitate. I had to be strong for the both of us, because God knows, my father wasn't.

Part of me wondered if it had been better if he hadn't known about my cape career at all. If it had been better if he could just convince himself that I was in some other shelter, instead of the front lines. A pointless train of thought, but still…

No, irrelevant. I had bigger problems. What-ifs would have to wait. I hid in an alley away from the running masses, climbed up a rooftop, and changed into my armor. The civilians could become a problem if they didn't get out of the way, I just realized. Normally, they'd run to the shelters in an orderly/chaotic fashion, but with Outbreak specifically targeting shelters, there's no telling what would happen. A stampede of panicked normals out in the open would be disastrous. If we had to divert manpower to rescue them…

I clamped down on that thought. This was bigger than I was. The Protectorate's best Thinkers would be here. The Triumvirate would be here. Seasoned veterans who'd been fighting these monsters from the beginning. They knew what they were doing. They had to, because God knows I didn't.

Picking up my pace, I ran over the rooftops. The rain was worsening. How would that come into play? Leviathan could control water; did that mean that he could weaponize the weather? Turn the water droplets into tiny, little knives, bombarding every living soul in the city?

No.

I needed to stop.

I needed to stop coming up with horror scenarios.

"Need a lift?" Someone called out behind me. Aegis. I held out my hand and he pulled me off the roof.

"How long?" I asked. I doubt I'd have to clarify what.

"Thirty-two minutes, last I heard. Plenty of time." He replied, clearly trying to sound more confident than he was feeling. "Does your dad know?"

"Yes."

Aegis winched. "How did he take it?"

"Make an educated guess."

That pretty much ended the conversation. The moment we arrived at the PRT headquarters, I ran down to the armory. I looked at my weapons locker and felt my heart sink in my shoes. The sum total of my arsenal: A bow with some fancy arrows, Kid Win's pistol, and a few other gadgets. Not enough. Not nearly enough. The bow was essentially useless, even more so than it was against Outbreak. Tranquilizers aren't going to faze an Endbringer and the lethal ones are little better. I had a few arrows tipped with flares for signaling, though. I'd never used them before, but they might come in handy. The pistol, on the other hand... It was powerful, but I didn't seriously believe it could hurt an Endbringer. Worse, I had to get close in order to use it effectively. While I did have a brute rating, walking up to Leviathan and shooting it in the face did not seem like a good idea. Especially with a pistol that might as well fire spit-balls.

I sighed and took everything with me. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't. Either way, I wouldn't have to fight empty-handed.

Missy walked past me, grabbed her gear and left without saying a word. I couldn't help but notice how she tried very hard to look away from me. Like she didn't want me to know how scared she was. Pointless, of course: her heart was a dead giveaway.

My phone rang again. A message telling me to get to the roof. Apparently the PRT had arranged a chopper to take us to a staging area. I didn't even know the PRT had a helicopter. Turned out, they didn't. They just commandeered a helicopter from a news station. Fair enough, I guess.

The ride to the staging ground was quiet. Nothing except the sound of the helicopter, the increasingly worsening weather, and the silence of my teammates. I guessed no one really knew what to say in a situation like this. Even Clockblocker kept his mouth shut. No jokes, not even gallows humor. Then again, gallows humor isn't nearly as funny when death is a real possibility. Not a possibility, a certainty. Fifty percent or higher casualty rates were expected with Endbringer fights. At least one of us would die today, maybe even more. Maybe even me.

I looked outside. Waves were starting to beat against the city wall. Nothing major, for now. How long would that last? No wall has ever held an Endbringer at bay for long. Why would this be any different?

Part of me wanted to lash out. Punch Aegis. Yell at someone. Tell a rude joke. Punch Aegis some more. Anything to break the damn silence. Would it help? Maybe for a moment. Then, I'd be shouted down and stuck in my seat like a lamb to the slaughter.

The helicopter stopped and I walked into the largest collection of capes I'd ever seen in my life. A sea of masks, right in front of me. Must have been dozens, maybe even a hundred and more were coming every minute.

How many would be dead before morning?

Immediately, Battery motioned us to come over. It was the first time I've seen her after she'd been infected and to my surprise, she looked almost normal. Almost being the key word: one of her arms was slightly swollen, her skin color had turned an unnatural shade of grey, and her eyes… Two solid red orbs that seemed to glow a little. I had to suppress a shiver. Some of my team members were less successful.

Battery just smiled and said: "Oh, you think I'm ugly? You should see the other guy." Well, at least she's taking her condition better than I thought. "Here, armbands. Start handing them out."

We each grabbed a box of the things and went out. Tension faded, if only slightly. At least we had something to do now. Something that distracted us from the imminent doom that was rapidly approaching. I picked up smatterings of conversation as I walked by.

"…you're going to thank her."

"Victoria…"

"Not a word, Mom. Amy put a lot of work in those suits you and Dad are wearing. When all this is over, you're gonna do something nice for her, okay? I can't be the only one in this family treating her like a human being."

Family drama. Interesting, but irrelevant. I looked around, eavesdropping on people as I handed out armbands. It was funny, really, how mundane everyone's conversations were. Was it denial? Maybe.

Before long, I spotted someone whom I really didn't want to see here: Sam, in her horrible looking fashion-disaster costume, looking lost and completely out of place. Probably because she was. I stormed towards her and hissed: "What the hell are you doing here?!"

She looked shocked for a moment before composing herself. "Helping."

"Helping? Are you insane? You're going to get yourself killed."

"Yeah, well, so are you. Thought I might join in the fun, right?" Her bravado might have been a lot more convincing if she wasn't shaking like a reed.

"It's an Endbringer, why…"

"I'm not sitting out another S-class, okay?" She said. "I'm not watching my friend run off and get herself killed. Not if I could have done something."

I wanted to yell at her. Tell her to turn around and hide in a shelter. If I did, though…I'd choke on my own hypocrisy.

Fuck, this is what Dad was feeling like, wasn't it?

I grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to one of my team mates. Vista. Acceptable. "Vista, meet…let's go with Rookie for now. Rookie, meet Vista."

"Hi." Vista said. "You're Banshee's mystery friend, right?"

"Like to think so, though she gets a bit overprotective sometimes." Sam replied.

"I'm not…" Well, I was, but that wasn't the point. "Look, you both specialize in mobility and battlefield control, so, Vista, can she tag along with you?"

The girl inspected Sam for a moment before saying: "Sure, but no promises. She better be good, though."

"Fair enough. Rookie, Vista's now your commanding officer. She says jump, you jump. She says move, you move. She says run, you run like the goddamn Devil's on your ass, got it? I don't care if you're two years older; she's the most experienced Ward on our team and knows what she's doing. You will follow her orders."

"Uh, yes, Ma'm." Sam replied, while offering a mock salute. I looked at Vista, who seemed to be smiling for some reason. Good enough.

I nodded and started handing out more armbands while looking for something or someone to keep my brain occupied. Now that my best non-Ward friend was also here… No, couldn't think like that. Looking for something…there: the assassins, standing silently in a corner, away from everyone else. All four of them, this time.

I walked up to them and froze.

The fourth member was the Grim Reaper. Or at least, someone dressed like the personification of Death. I stared at him. He stared back at me. We were locked eye-to-eye. Or at least, that was the assumption, since neither of us had eyes, but…

"Are you going to give me a bracelet, child?" The Grim Reaper wannabe said. Oh, god, he even had a scythe. Seriously, who brings a scythe to a warzone?

Eventually, my mouth started working again and I said: "Why the hell are you dressed up like the personification of death in the middle of an Endbringer battle?"

He tilted his head ever so slightly. "I'm not sure I understand…" In the back, Nyx shifted oddly. It looked like she was either trying to say something or suppress a laugh.

"You're dressed up like the Grim Reaper. Right before an Endbringer fight. Where lots of people are going to die. Probably by drowning. Which is bad."

From his empty expression, as much as his masked allowed it, I was getting the impression that he had no idea what I was talking about. Then, it seemed to hit him. "I don't know about drowning. Burning to death is worse, if you ask me."

What.

"Getting hacked apart by machetes isn't pleasant either." Nyx chimed in.

What.

"I've never been partial to explosions myself." Vauban said.

"Those are usually quick."

"Not when you only lose your legs and slowly bleed to death because a certain someone is too busy raiding the supply cabinet to save you." The Tinker assassin shot a nasty glare at Nekros, who actually shifted a little.

Okay, that's enough distractions for today. "Right. Here're your bracelets, I'm getting out of here." Before I caught the loony too, I mentally added. Nyx just watched me go, swaying slightly. I think she might be laughing at me. Or at Nekros. Couldn't tell. Didn't want to know anymore.

I needed a distraction.

The Triumvirate. Legend, Alexandria, and Eidolon. The three most powerful heroes on the planet, and I was standing in the same room. Well, on the opposite side of a hangar, but still… I should be star-struck. I probably was. Even people like Armsmaster didn't have the sheer presence that these three had. I looked at the downpour outside and wondered if it'd be enough.

Legend stepped in front of a television screen and cleared his throat. He was a tall, large man, made even bigger by the way he carried himself. Being able to present yourself mattered in public speaking and the leader of the Protectorate had clearly mastered it. A more cynical part of my mind reminded me that it could all be an act like it was with the rest of the Protectorate, but I banished that thought. You didn't get to be the public face of the Protectorate if you weren't legitimately a capital-H Hero.

"We owe Armsmaster and Dragon for this early warning." Legend began, his voice a deep baritone that simply drew your attention. "With the few minutes we have, we have time to organize and prepare instead of jumping right into the battle. It gives us a chance to tell you all what you're up against.

"Leviathan is a hydrokinetic on a massive scale. If there's water, and there will be water, it will find a way to turn it against you. It is fast, intelligent, and literally capable of sweeping away entire nations. Do not be fooled by its appearance and do not let your guard down, or he will end you."

The television sprang to life. "This city is built on an aquifier. An underwater cavern filled with water. Water that Leviathan will use to erode the surrounding rock and eventually collapse the city into a sinkhole, unless we end this quickly. Still, this is manageable. If that had been the only problem, I might have even called today one of the good days. Unfortunately, things are not that simple. Armsmaster?"

Armsmaster stepped forward, halberd in hand and looking as regal as possible. "Thank you. Over the last few weeks, the city of Brockton Bay has been under attack by a new S-class threat known as Outbreak. For brevity's sake, one can think of Outbreak as what is commonly known as a zombie plague: it is a sentient virus that turns any organic matter, including people, into rampaging monsters connected by some sort of telepathic link. Unless dealt with immediately by parahuman healing, the infection is always lethal and irreversible. Let me be clear about this: the threat Outbreak represents cannot be understated. Our Thinkers believe that if left unchecked, it could overrun all of New England in a matter of months. The only reason we've been able to push Outbreak back is due to an immediate and overwhelming response by the city's heroes..." He glanced at Kaiser and frowned slightly "and villains before it became too powerful to stop."

He took a breath and stepped forward. "I don't know what will happen if Outbreak and Leviathan meet. Maybe they'll join forces, maybe they'll try to kill each other. We simply don't know. I do know this, however: Outbreak is sentient. It is capable of complex strategy and communication and sees our destruction as its holy mission. It won't stop until it's been exterminated to the last cell. Yes, it looks like we've been winning, but that doesn't mean the threat is neutralized. Do not underestimate it and do not allow it to leave the city, or we might have something worse than an Endbringer on our hands."

Legend took the stage again. "Outbreak has the potential to become an existential threat and an Endbringer attack could give it just the opportunity it needs to spread. Coincidence or not, we can't allow that to happen. Our priority, therefore, is to drive Leviathan off as soon as possible while keeping it away from the Docks area, or failing that, ensure that Outbreak stays inside the city walls. Everything else is secondary.

"Our forces will be divided based on their powers and skill set. Long range attackers are with me. If you think you can take a hit from Leviathan and live, go with Alexandria. Close combatants who can't take the hits, go with Chevalier and Armsmaster. Movers and others are on search-and-rescue duty. Pay attention to your armbands, they'll tell you where to go. If you fit in multiple categories, go to the one where you think you can do the most good."

Wait, that's it? That was our plan? No weak points, no strategies, just throw people at the thing and hope for the best? Okay, I couldn't think of a better one right now, but this was the goddamn Triumvirate. They're supposed to have a fucking plan.

And no, throwing people into the meatgrinder is not a plan. It's just fucking stupid.

Suddenly, the earth shook and there was a sound not unlike a roll of thunder, loud enough for others to hear it too. Another followed and a third not a moment later. Guess that was the starting signal.

"Strider, now!" Legend said. Suddenly, we were somewhere else. A wall of rain slammed into my face like a hail of bullets. It didn't matter. Not when I noticed the massive crack in the wall.

Another thunderclap, and the crack deepened. Pieces of rock started falling down and the wall bulged inward. For a few seconds, the world fell silent, as if the entire city was holding its breath.

Then the wall collapsed and everything went to hell.