Lights from monitors flickered around the room, and Alexandria sighed, taking a long drink from her mug of coffee. It didn't actually do anything for her: she was as immune to the effect of stimulants as she was any other poison, but when she was playing pretend it didn't hurt to affect human weakness.
Besides, this was a good roast, and she liked the flavor.
Around the table sat her friends and teammates, as well as various directors of the PTR that could be assembled on short notice. Others were joining via video or phone.
"Thank you for joining us, Mr. President," Alexandria said, nodding to the haggard face of Bill Bradley on the screen.
"I'd say it's good to see you, Director Costa-Brown, but we both know that isn't the case. What's the situation? An Endbringer is dead, that has to be some good news, right?"
"To a degree," Alexandria said, nodding slowly. A part of her felt seething rage that someone had managed what even she could not, not after her own failed attempts. She did feel a sense of relief, but also dread: What other boot was about to drop?
She nodded to a technician, and a map was put on screen. "This is only preliminary data, based on rather scrambled satellite imagery, and the report of the USS Indianapolis, who just barely avoided complete destruction herself."
The images on screen showed two maps. One showed the East China Sea between the island of Kyushu and Taiwan as normal, with the shallow trench between the two islands following the arc of the Japanese archipelago.
The other showed a massive trench over a kilometer in diameter that cut a chunk out of Kyushu, taking out the Megami bridge and carving a deep path through the ocean floor, and terminating just north-east of Taiwan.
"Jesus," someone breathed, and Alexandria could only purse her lips and nod.
"Again, our data is incomplete, but so far, the Indianapolis is reporting that the bottom is somewhere around 30,000 feet. It's not quite as deep as the Marianas, but most of the East China Sea has, or rather, had, a depth of only about 600 feet."
"They carved a trench nearly five MILES deep into the ocean?!" the Director of PTR Boston gasped.
"Yes," Alexandria said simply. "Based on early speculation, which I personally believe is true, the energy output was somewhere in the neighborhood of all the electrical energy produced on earth for ten seconds."
"That's…that's half a terawatt!" one of the more mathematically inclined people at the table gasped.
"Actually," Eidolon said, his voice as calm as ever. "It was probably substantially more than that. She just drew that much to fuel the attack, and got the rest some other way."
"Ten seconds," President Bradley said, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. "That's the power outage we had globally. And why I need a new vice president."
Alexandria grimaced. She hadn't know that. But a lot of people had died during the power outage. As far as they could tell, everything from the Arctic to the Antarctic and even satellites in low Earth orbit had lost power for 10.2 seconds. People with pacemakers or other critical care components that used electricity had frequently suffered fatal complications. There had been thousands of car crashes, planes had fallen out of the sky, and too many industrial accidents to count had happened.
The death toll would be catastrophic. But it was also somehow less than what it would have been.
"By our calculations, Leviathan was well on its way to sinking the island of Kyushu completely. Estimated death toll is somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 million. After this incident, we're estimating US deaths will be somewhere around the low hundred k range, as it was late night or early morning for most of the country. Europe will be much worse," Alexandria reported grimly.
"So, we're looking at nine million deaths in one place, or several million spread throughout the globe," the president sighed. "And the economic damage?"
"For us, surprisingly light. A tsunami hit Hawaii, but that's nothing new with a Leviathan attack, and…" Alexandria took in a deep breath. "We'll have to wait a few months to have a guess, 10 months for when Levithan comes up in the rotation again…but it looks like it's dead."
A somewhat distant aerial video played, but two halves of a rapidly rotting corpse could be seen floating in Nagasaki bay. The blow had completely bisected Leviathan, cutting at an angle from right shoulder to left hip. The core of the creature had been split exactly in two, utterly destroyed by the devastating blow that had sent earthquakes and tsunamis rocking around the globe, as well as the birth of several volcanoes as lava spewed forth from new cracks in the Earth's crust.
"How many lives does that save? And not just American," Bradley said, shaking his head slowly. He really was a good man, and not a bad president. Even in this worst of times, he acted decisively, but with compassion. Alexandria had even voted for him, twice now.
"The economic benefits of Leviathan being dealt with are also frankly unimaginable. Global shipping was about to collapse utterly," Legend mused. "And don't forget: This will give people hope."
"Do we know who did it?" the President asked, his brows knitting together. "I'm not familiar with many Japanese capes."
"There were two major players involved. We don't have much information on either," Alexandria admitted, and images of the battle were shown. One was a massive dragon, the other a purple blur. "The first we suspect is a man named Kenta Wang, mixed Chinese and Japanese ancestry. He was affiliated with a local gang, had a run in with an agent a few years back. He's the larger of the two."
"I'm going to hazard that he's not the one that killed Leviathan," the president said, his tone dry as he made a "get on with it" gesture.
"No. He seems to have grappled Leviathan so that his partner could take out the Endbringer with her Blaster abilities," Alexandria admitted. "As for the other…"
A grainy photo of what looked like a young woman in what seemed to be a cape costume of some sort was shown. She stood on a platform amidst a group of Japanese EMS crews and civilians, using a long bladed polearm to direct their efforts.
"We have information on the woman who refers to herself as 'Raiden,'" Alexandria admitted. "PTR crews that have attempted to land and render aid have reported that they have been rebuffed by Japanese officials, and in one case, Raiden."
Another video played, showing PTR troopers in the belly of a cargo plane of some sort, supplies loaded in the bay. Suddenly, there was a purple flash, and a woman appeared in their midst. Various shouts came, and one cape attempted to attack, energy blades appearing on his feet as he lashed out with a kick.
The woman caught the kick with an almost casual block, then flicked the man away so hard he crashed into one of the cargo pallets and slumped down, dead or unconscious.
The woman said something the audio didn't quite pick up Japanese, and got a yelled response. She seemed to process this, even as more capes readied themselves for a fight, and PTR troopers brought weapons to bear.
"Japan needs no foreign intervention. Depart. This is your only warning."
And with that, the woman made a slashing motion with one hand. A rent appeared in the fabric of reality, and she stepped through. It collapsed, and she was gone.
There was silence in the conference room. At least, the president cleared his throat. "And the official Japanese response?"
"No airport in Kyushu allowed any flights to land. They re-routed to the old US military base on Iwakuni, and have been allowed to unload there. However, there is currently an argument among the Japanese officials as to what to do, and the situation is unclear," Alexandria said, her tone returning to its grim cadence.
"Are there any official government statements regarding this?" the president asked.
Alexandria nodded, and the image of a Japanese government official appeared.
"This is the Mayor of Nagasaki, Ichiro Nakamura," Alexandria explained, and then the translator began speaking.
"The people of Japan thank their most excellent and divine savior, the Kami Raiden of Thunder. By her divine grace and will, she has saved the city of Nagasaki from destruction, restored power to our city, and even now by her wisdom and virtue leads reconstruction efforts. She will-"
"It goes on like that at length, but you get the idea," Alexandria said, turning off the video. "The translation is a bit spotty. But they do seem to be calling her some sort of divine spirit, or god."
"Fucking hell. Another one with a god complex?" someone muttered.
"I see. And is she moving to consolidate power?" the President asked.
"She's killed two capes already, though reports indicate that they were trying to exploit the situation for their gain or attacked first, it's unclear. She also ordered the execution of any looters or profiteers. And, well…we have video and photo proof that her orders are being carried out," Alexandria said.
"I don't need to see it, I'll take your word for it," the President said, making a face. "We've all seen enough dead bodies. Is this an Africa situation?"
Making a face, Alexandria shook her head slightly. They all knew about the rampant cape warlords in Africa, who ruled with an iron fist and the might of their powers. "It's too soon to really tell, and Raiden seems to be an order of magnitude more powerful than even Ash Beast. Additionally, she also is working with local capes and using preestablished power structures."
"Tokyo's stance on this?" the President asked.
"They've been quiet. Too quiet. The Diet has been in closed session since shortly after the attack ended. Their only missive in the past few hours is this." Alexandria brought up a single page, which a translator read off.
"The people of Japan express their sincere gratitude to Raiden and Kenta Lung for their heroic actions in saving the people of Nagasaki and the island of Kyushu. We offer thanks to the gods for our deliverance, and will act with all haste to bring relief and succor to those affected by this tragic disaster."
"And that's it," the President mused. He looked around the room. "Alright. So what's our response?"
"We'll continue to offer aid to the Japanese government. We'd like the US navy to step up its activity in the area. And we'll dispatch Alexandria to keep an eye on the situation." That was, of course, herself, but she couldn't simply say that.
"I see. Well, thank you, everyone. Dismissed," the president said, and cut the connection.
Alexandria nodded, and stepped from the room. She walked down a hallway and into a private room, where she quickly changed, then flew to small building at the corner of the campus. She walked inside, and sat down at the table, then picked up the phone.
"I'm here," she said.
"Right. I'm going to cut right to the chase," the President said. "Doc, I know my stance on this. What's Cauldron's?"
"Raiden Shogun represents the greatest threat any cape has ever posed. On the level of the Endbringer she slew," the softly accented voice of Doctor Mother said.
"Alex?" the President asked, his voice a ragged edge.
"I concur, Bill." The president always did like to be informal during these most dire of circumstances.
"Raiden represents a clear and present danger to the safety and wellbeing of the People of the United States of America, and the world," the President said. "Sign the Kill Order."
"Should we wait? This may be premature. She could take out Behemoth as well," Doctor Mother pointed out.
"Is that Cauldron's position?" the President asked.
Doctor Mother was silent for half a minute, during which Alexandria found she was holding her breath. She forced herself to breathe, even though she didn't really need to.
"No," the doctor said, her voice as cold as death. "I'll sign the order myself."
"Get on station, Alex. After the shit hits the fan, you're Johnny on the spot for the clean up crew," the President ordered.
Alex bowed her head. It was important for the civvies to feel they were in control, after all. "Yes, Mr. President."
The line went dead, and Alex stood. Time to get to work.
"One! Two! THREEEEEE!"
Kenichi grunted and heaved with all his might, pressing down on the board. Slowly, the piece of rubble lifted up, and a courageous man slid forward, grabbing onto a trembling hand under the large piece of rebar and concrete. More hands pulled him back, holding on to a trembling man coated in dust and blood, his clothes ruined, the glasses on his face cracked.
With a sigh, Kenichi and the others relaxed, and the rubble slammed back into place as medics hurried forward to tend to the injured man.
"That's one," Kenichi sighed, looking down the street. Entire mountains of rubble lay in the streets, and the few working floodlamps they had were providing little illumination as rescue efforts continued. How many more to go? They had to work fast: the longer they waited, the more people died.
"You, servant. How goes your efforts?"
Kenichi turned to find Raiden descending from the sky, and immediately bowed, hands going to his knees as he genuflected. "We…we have saved three so far, Lady Raiden."
"I see." Raiden frowned, looking at the rubble strewn former battlefield as her feet touched the ground. "Where are your torches, your lanturns? These lights, the are odd. I can sense the lightning within them. Can more be fashioned?"
"Er," Kenichi frowned, looking up from his bow. How did Raiden not know of electrical lighting?
She made an imperious gesture for him to rise, and Kenichi did. He gestured. "We have only so many generators. More are coming in, but the cities entire electrical grid was destroyed, along with the power plant."
"A plant provides power?" Raiden asked, her brow furrowing. "Did you import one from Sumeru?"
"Uh, no, my lady. It was made here, in Japan. It produces electricity, which is what powers the steet lights. Infrastructure…it's one of the first things the Endbringers tend to target, and it was destroyed in the fighting. We'll be able to restore power eventually, but with the plant destroyed…"
"Where is this plant? If it is fueled by electro, it should be a simple matter for me to repair it," Raiden said.
"It is…located several kilometers outside the city. I'm an electrical engineer, so I understand some of the principles, but I couldn't repair the plant, it was utterly destroyed. It would take skilled engineers weeks, no, months to repair it," Kenichi said, sweat trickling down his back as he politely tried to dissuade Raiden.
"A feat for a mortal is simple as breathing to a god," Raiden said. She looked at the rubble, and anger flashed in her eyes. Kenichi flinched, worried he had angered her.
"These structures. So impermanent. So faulty, They must be remade." Raiden walked forward, gesturing to a pile a crew was working on. The steel girders in the rubble suddenly straightened, then flew up as lightning crackled and arced. They suddenly shot upwards, then stacked themselves neatly to the side, revealing a woman who had been trapped under them. Raiden walked forward, electricity radiating out of her as she casually swept up rubble with a flick of her fingers. Soon, the street was clear as far as the eye could see in the darkness in any direction, with the injured and trapped now free and laying on the asphalt.
In a moment, dozens had been saved. Kenichi felt a surge of hope and joy, and a cry erupted from his throat as he raised both fists: "BANZAI!"
He blushed, looking down and feeling ashamed. That was a blessing reserved for the Emperor, or perhaps at a wedding for the bride and groom. Not for something as simple as this.
"BANZAI!"
The cry was suddenly taken up, with many of the crowd raising their fists in the air and cheering for Raiden. She seemed to take it as her due, nodding to them.
"We shall rebuild," she said, her voice booming like thunder when the cry finally died down. "I promise you: Japan shall be remade, not as a temporal dream that will wither and die at the first storm, but as the image of Eternity. This is my ideal: a legacy that shall endure 10,000 years and more."
"BANZAI!" Kenichi roared, until his throat was hoarse, tears streaming down his face as he looked upon Raiden in ecstasy. There was something about her, something he had never felt before. It was akin to that feeling the first time he had gone to an idol concert, oh so many years ago as a teenager. A feeling of worship. Of divine ecstasy.
But oh so much more.
"You, engineer. What is your name?" Raiden asked him, coming back towards him.
He bowed low, genuflecting before Raiden. "I am Kenichi Yoshida, Excellency."
The form of address was archaic, as formal as the antiquated mode Raiden herself used. A term one would use for a member of the royal family.
Or a god.
"This power you spoke of. I sense it running under the ground, through the buildings. Yet it is dormant. Is this from the destruction of this…plant?" Raiden inquired.
"Yes, Excellency. The cities power grid runs under our feet. It may have been damaged, but-"
"I see. Then there is no need to go to this plant," Raiden said, closing her eyes. "I shall restore the Lightning to my people."
Again the steel girders rose up, wrapped in a purple glow. They flew together, forming a metallic tree, the metal turning red hot as the massive power flowing through it melted it, forging it. Then Raiden opened her eyes.
"ETERNITY IS IN MY HANDS!"
There was a flash, and Kenichi and the crowd cried out, shying away, many shielding their eyes. When they opened them, a shining tree of silver and purple stood before them, purple flowers blooming from its branches. It hummed and shimmered, roots spreading down into the ground.
And then, the lights came back on. Slowly at first, the streetlights nearest the tree flickering back on. Then more further out, until the entire city was lit up again.
Kenichi fell to his knees, gazing up at Raiden with admiration and wonder. He knew what a parahuman was. What a cape was. Had seen the national Sentai teams. But this? This was no cape. No tinker playing god.
This was the real thing.
"Amteratsu," Kenichi breathed. The spirit of Japan. And he lay on his face in worship.
He could sense Raiden's smile and satisfaction, and something passed from him to her. He did not know what it was, but he sensed that he had forged a connection with Raiden.
"Rise. There is work to be done," Raiden decreed, her voice gentle but firm. Kenichi hastily stood, eager to serve.
Raiden opened her mouth, then cocked her head to one side. She looked up, as a droning sound could be heard.
"Who dares trespass?" Raiden demanded, reaching between her breasts, and drawing forth her glowing blade.
"They are not enemies," Kenichi said, shielding his eyes and looking up. A moment later, he saw it, and a grim smile came over his lips. He could see the familiar markings of an American military copper. They had been common in his childhood, until the American's had left in 1996, no longer able to maintain a global military presence with the incursion of Endbringers and capes. "Not any more."
"Damn yankees," an older man said, spitting to the side. He raised a fist, shaking it at the chopper, even as others raised a ragged cheer. "You destroyed us once, but not this time?"
"Are they foes?" Raiden asked, her eyes glowing violet. "What is a 'yanque?'"
Kenichi was taken aback again. "Do you…do you not know? Once, they destroyed this very city with their atomic bomb. We rebuilt, and became allies, but…they are seen as fair weather friends, these yankees."
"I see. Foreigners. Like the faitu," Raiden spat that last unfamiliar word with venom. "My land shall not be poisoned by foreign 'gifts' again. Where are the guards?"
"Ah, the mayor and his headquarters is that way," Kenichi said, pointing.
Raiden seized his arm, pulling him up into the sky as she ascended. "Guide me there."
Gasping, Kenichi suddenly found a glowing purple platform under his feet, and he gave directions as Raiden zipped through the air to the emergency headquarters set up in the hills at the edge of the city.
There were police and members of JSDF there, along with sandbags pilled around the government building.
"Where is the administrator?" Raiden demanded as she landed.
"Ah, Lady Raiden, Mayor Nakamura is inside, coordinating aid efforts. The Americans are just arriving," a JSDF officer said.
"Japan needs no tainted foreign gifts," Raiden repeated, and strode within. No one challenged her, nor Kenichi as he hurried in after her. Raiden strode through the building, everyone getting out of her way and bowing, until they came to a conference room. At the door, a Sentai Kenichi recognized as Keiga blocked their way.
"Lady Raiden, what is your business here?" Keiga demanded. She had on her helmet, her blue on blue uniform in the pattern of the local Sentai team. Most of them were dead now, and Keiga's left arm was in a sling. She had water manipulating powers, but those had been as nothing before Leviathan.
"We must turn back these 'yanque.' Japan must embrace eternity without foreign intervention. I will not allow such meddling with in my realm," Raiden stated simply.
"I…Lady Raiden, the city is grateful for your aid, but we cannot-" Keigan began.
There was a snap of faint thunder as Raiden's eyes flashed.
"Do you not know who this is?" Kenichi demanded, stepping forward. "This is her Excellency, Raiden of the Lightning, Slayer of Leviathan, and Savior of Nagasaki. Hear, and obey."
"I…" Keiga licked her lips, and stared into the unsettling eyes of Raiden. What she saw there was the Lightning's Glow.
And it was death.
She bowed and stood aside, crying softly.
"You have not failed in your duty, Samurai," Raiden said as she passed. "Embrace Eternity, and you will fulfill your oaths."
Keiga looked up, stunned, but Raiden had breezed past her and into the room, Kenichi bowing nad hurrying along behind.
Within, they found the mayor and dozens of grim looking officials, along with a man named Sato Kenichi recognized as the director of the power plant, a professional college of his.
"-no idea how the power was restored!" Sato was saying. "And not just in Nagasaki! We're getting reports that power is coming back on all over Kyushu! Those waves took out most of the power plants and damaged the rest. None of our teams have the slightest idea what's happened!"
"Her Excellency has restored power to us, Director Sato," Kenichi said, rudely interrupting and flushing at his forwardness. He gestured to Raiden. "Her Excellency wishes to speak with you."
There were mutters as everyone looked to Raiden, and the mayor stood, bowing. "I have word of your many deeds, Lady Raiden. You have saved countless lives. Thank you."
"Such is the bond between Archon and land, and the land and her people. For the Archon is the land that sustains and guides her subjects," Raiden said, in a cadence that indicated it was a proverb of some sort, though not one that Kenich recognized.
"Er, yes," Mayor said, frowning in befuddlement.
"Mayor Nakamura, is it true that once these 'yanque' destroyed this city?" Raiden asked.
The mayor looked suddenly pained, as did many of the elders around the room. He nodded slowly. "Yes. I was there, on that day. Outside the city, or else I would be dead. I was only eight, but working in my family's rice fields. I had my back turned, and saw the flash. My sister did not. She was blind from that day…that day when Nagasaki was ruined in a single blow…"
"And it is true that the yanque are coming now, at the pretense of offering aid?" Raiden demanded.
Mayor Nakamura bowed his head. "Yes. It shames me to admit it, but we sorely need their aid. So much was lost, destroyed. Food. Medical supplies. Shelter. We have need of the cursed Yankee, of the Americans."
"You do not. Summon the guards. Order them to turn back. If they do not, then I shall show them my displeasure," Raiden stated, and her eyes flashed, bathing the room in a purple glow.
"I…"
"Mayor Nakamura! It's Lady Raiden! She has done a miracle! She restored-" a panting fireman raced into the room. Upon seeing Raiden there, he gasped, then fell to his knees and paid obeisance. "Thank you! Thank you, Lady Raiden! You have saved so many lives once more!"
All eyes turned to Raiden, and she nodded. "As I said. I am the land. And the land cares for its people."
"But…but the Emperor is the land," Nakamura said slowly. "He is…"
"A mortal may be given stewardship for a time. But it is from the divine that authority stems," Raiden said firmly. "I have returned. The people have suffered. I shall mend the land, and bring about Eternity for Japan and her people."
What Raiden said was Emperor WAS divine. But standing in the same room as Raiden…
Nakamura stood up on shaky feet, and bowed deeply. "It shall be as you say, Lady Raiden. We will rely on you, for all things."
"You will learn to stand on your own feet in time. But until such a day, I shall guide you in every step," Raiden decreed.
There were some in the room that did not believe her. But Kenichi had seen. And he, along with many others in Nagasaki, were the first to accept the Dictates of Eternity.