Back when Mercy had first reached Jade, uncle Fury had taken her to see the Trackless Sea as a nice present. She had made him take Pride too as she couldn't ignore the sad puppy eyes of her little brother. While the journey there was enjoyable, made less exhilarating when Charity portal dropped them near their destination, the actual Sea itself had been awe-inspiring. So big, so wide, so endless and containing so much within, according to her uncle's stories at the time.
She remembered that trip now, only this time the horizon-spanning body of water was vertical and coming her way very quickly. There was work to do.
She looked around, and saw the hopelessness and defeat on some of the faces around her, same as she herself had felt the day a destroyer in bone armor had come to Cradle. But she also saw determined faces, and frantic movement near the shore.
[Experienced capes are coordinating defensive efforts.] Suu informed her.
Let's go and see how we can help. Mercy said to Suu and jumped off the roof.
She had been moving around constantly to be in a position to support Yerin and take aim at the Endbringer. A brand-new technique of hers still hovered above the clouds, almost ready to surprise Leviathan but not quite complete and needing her attention. She asked Suu to keep the technique alive in the background – her Presence could multi-task much more effectively and the technique would be useful later. The fight wasn't finished yet because the beast needed to die.
Mercy gave her full attention towards defending the city from the tsunami.
She was close to the shore and reached the defensive wall quickly. It was being built on the beach just in front of what looked like the city center, about a couple hundred feet in height and four times as long.
Every cape who could was working on this barrier that was supposed to protect the city; walls of stone formed up, sheets and columns of metal sprung up from the ground and other surfaces and every color of forcefield was in view.
There weren't any injured in sight and most of the capes who could not contribute to the building of the wall had either gone into the shelters, retreated deep into the city or flown high to keep away from the inevitable water.
[The barrier is being built as structurally sound as possible considering the materials they are working with. Someone knows what they are doing.] Suu didn't sound impressed but Mercy was. There was hope left for the people of this city.
There's no time to talk to anyone. Tell me where I can help and I will. She said to her Presence.
Suu identified the areas where Mercy could shore up and strengthen the wall. With Strings of Shadow she added further support to different materials and stabilized other areas with choice addition of the crystal armor from her bloodline ability. The crystalized sections would dissipate by themselves in a few hours, but the tide would be here before that so they would do.
Before long, before so much could still have been done to make the defensive barrier sturdier, the water struck.
Mercy grabbed hold of a couple of non-flying capes and was about to fly when one of them, a girl, struggled to get free. "Stop, wait," the youngster in green costume said before running a couple of steps towards the incoming tsunami.
"What are you doing?" Mercy tried to say but the girl raised her hands and did something with her power. The ground distorted and expanded, rippling like water and the stretch of beach between them and the tide became much larger, much bigger in length, with raised breakwaters and troughs.
Mercy could see more of the capes escaping to relative safety behind them in the precious few second the girls had brought them. But she could also see the water hitting the city and crashing onto the wall either side of her where the young hero's power wasn't affecting the ground.
Impressive, why didn't she do this before? Mercy wondered.
[Must have joined the fight late like us.] Suu said.
Mercy nodded. "Hmm, she does sound very young."
The other cape had been carried away by some flier so she walked to the girl and tried to get her attention. "Hey, let's go, you can't keep the water away forever and everyone's escaped already."
The girl was clearly straining herself so Mercy took hold of her and flew up. The young cape sagged once they were both far enough away. The water being held back rushed in and over the barrier.
She could see from the air that the tsunami had caused mayhem everywhere and there were still a few defenders who needed rescue. She mentally saluted those fliers and teleporters who still continued the rescue operations.
"I'm Mercy. What's your name?" Mercy asked, settling them both down on a rooftop a few blocks away from the beachfront. The water had reached this place but not so severely. "You saved some lives there," she added.
"Vista," came the single word reply. A moment the young cape shuffled and said, "Thanks for taking me with you by the way. I was, uh…, I didn't realize..." she mumbled something to finish her sentence, waving a hand towards the ocean.
Mercy smiled. "Hey don't mention it, we both helped how we could," she said. Then asked, "Is this your first Endbringer fight? For me it is." She hoped the girl would share some more information about, well, anything.
Vista opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Suu had got Mercy's attention, [Yerin is tracking Leviathan. I have his path, let's go.] Her Presence said.
Mercy had sensed Yerin moving through the city earlier. She must have been itching for a rematch with Leviathan after their earlier battle.
She looked to where the sounds of crashes were coming from, Suu had also indicated Leviathan's location, and noticed the beast for a split second. Vista, who had been watching her, broke the momentary silence. "You're going to fight him, right? Take me too. You know I can help." She almost pleaded.
Mercy knew what she wanted in response but she asked Suu anyway. What do you think? Her technique is formidable, could be useful.
[We don't know her limits but I can see a few scenarios where she might be useful against Leviathan. I will need more information for a complete accounting of her in the battle plan.]
She is a hero I believe, if these people allow youngsters to fight then she must have some experience keeping her head down when needed. I'll take her.
Mercy turned to Vista. "Alright, but on one condition, you will tell me all about your powers. Agreed?" she asked.
"Deal," the girl didn't hesitate for a second and offered her hand, which Mercy shook.
Water was everywhere; seawater, rainwater, muddy water, bloody water. The tsunami had wrecked the entire coast line as far as Yerin could see. The rain had also started again, which at least washed away the salt from the air and her lips.
She was following Leviathan's trail after losing the beast initially when the titanic wave engulfed everything and he slipped away from her with the water. She had to spend precious few seconds shielding a few other capes from the impact of that mountain of water.
Meanwhile Leviathan had waded further into the city with every passing second and tried to lose her by zigzagging between buildings and through the ranks of scattered capes. Most of them were no match for the Endbringer even without the improved speed and fighting intelligence which had both increased drastically since the start of the battle. The Endbringer, in his progress towards the aquifer – as she was led to understand by her Presence – had left bodies behind, some dead, others injured, which meant his path hadn't been entirely uncontested, these defenders had true courage.
She turned a few more times but the beast was nowhere to be seen.
"Bleed me, he is slippery." Yerin said in frustration, stopping. She activated the Moonlight Bridge and flashed high above the city. The tall buildings looked tiny from here. The rain hampered visibility but not for her.
She kept hovering and asked, "Alright where is he supposed to be headed?"
Ruby showed her the spot beneath which there was a large body of water.
"And there's Leviathan" Yerin pointed with her sword. She could see the beast and the path he had taken.
[At the current rate he will reach his target destination in one minute.] Ruby chimed in.
"Let's stop him then. You tell these capes near Leviathan to take care, don't want them to get hurt do we."
[Most of them are the type who are durable enough as I understand but I'll relay your message. Mercy and Lindon will join you soon by the way.]
"About time." Yerin said before plummeting rapidly with her Flowing Sword technique active. She burned soulfire to increase her speed and continuously strengthened her technique as she flew down, all the while keeping her perception fixed on Leviathan.
There was a moment he stopped to change directions – just for an instant – that's when Yerin materialized right in front of him and swung her sword with all her strength and channeled the Endless Sword right after. Leviathan was in no position to avoid the blow so he tried to parry and deflect with his newly healed arm. The arm flew away in a spray of ichor, separated from his shoulder, and he lost another few newly healed outer layers of his body.
[Next up, his tail.] Ruby reminded Yerin.
Leviathan was bringing his long tail around in a curving arc to attack her from behind, but she was not playing that game anymore. They were still in a residential area and their fight would annihilate it. That wouldn't do. This time she flashed right at the side of Leviathan's head and punched. The Endbringer tilted hard and having just lost an arm, brought his tail around under him to support his bulk.
Just as Ruby had predicted, the Presence could now read Leviathan and his water echo's movement with much greater accuracy and Yerin had not been drenched by the beast's magic water in this most recent encounter, so far. Rain was a different matter.
Yerin sheathed her sword and activated the Moonlight bridge. In an instant, she appeared behind Leviathan and got a hold of his tail in both hands at its base, copying what she had seen Alexandria do earlier, she sunk her fingers in the Endbringer's flesh and heaved him towards a clearing Ruby had identified for her before – a large park completely abandoned at this moment.
The Endbringer didn't give up without a fight, his intact arm tried to batter her but she weathered the barrage of punches and slaps and used her sword arms to deal damage to Leviathan's limb. She threw him and he sailed over the vehicles and the trees and crashed into the ground.
He was welcomed by a midnight black arrow that wedged deep into his midriff, followed by a ball of compressed energy so dense that it created a deep crater in the park and shredded Leviathan's remaining limbs to tatters.
Yerin, following after the Endbringer had to brace for the shockwave and the hail of water, mud and debris the attack had generated. She nodded in approval at the hooded man with the staff, now slowly retreating in the air. Next, she turned her attention to the prone Leviathan, who was being peppered by arrows from Mercy on the other side of the park and unsheathed her sword.
[He cannot go back into the sea.] Dross said.
"I know, that was the plan." Lindon replied.
[What's to stop him from sending these tsunamis one after the other. These people would be helpless, unable to do anything!] Dross exclaimed.
Lindon continued the thought, "one coastal city after another, all from under the sea."
[I have shared the updated model with the others. We will keep him on land and then land a fatal blow hahaha.] Dross laughed at his own pun.
[Not that killing him in the sea should be impossible. Just too much effort we don't need to make.] He said after a moment.
Lindon had been flying back from the sea towards the city. The unfathomable quantity of water and the remains of the ice wall had caused the temperature to drop substantially, not that it would be a hindrance for most of the fighters but for the city's residents it was yet another problem.
Dross had helped Ruby when she was working with Eidolon on the sea wall, he had told Lindon earlier, and if not for that wall, there would be no sign of the city.
But still, everywhere he looked, Lindon saw the death and destruction that Leviathan had brought to Brockton Bay. From his vantage point, the entire coastline was a terrible ruin, and the adjacent areas a complete mess.
When being sent to this world, Lindon had never thought this mission would be easy but he also didn't expect to face something reminiscent of a dreadgod disaster within his first few hours on a new world.
He sensed Yerin and Mercy converging deeper in the city. The time to end this was coming, Lindon upped his speed.
Vista couldn't believe her eyes. Not that she could see the battle in any clarity but she understood what was happening. Leviathan was in a cordon of sorts that was as big as the park and try as he might he was unable to escape.
The cape Mercy had dropped her off at a rooftop a few hundred feet away from the park she and another cape were fighting Leviathan in. She had claimed to be a new cape but that was hard to believe going by how she was fighting against the Endbringer.
They had a little discussion on their way here; not wanting to be left behind, Vista had told her how she could contribute to the fight and Mercy had shared how she was a long-range and melee-range cape with a lot of versatility. How both those things were true, Vista was unsure as Mercy wasn't very forthcoming about the details, but there was no doubt about her long-range prowess.
Mercy, and her teammate, Vista couldn't catch the name, weren't the only ones holding off Leviathan; the brilliant glow of many lasers meant Legend was here, she had seen Alexandria herself flying in and many others were at a distance like Vista, either waiting for their chance or further directives from Dragon. Right now, they were supposed to stay behind resting and ready to offer support when called upon.
The park looked like a lake, so much water from Leviathan's water echo had been accumulated, it made Leviathan ridiculously fast. She could only catch broad strokes of the fight and individual actions were a flurry of movement interspersed with sounds of explosions, crashes and capes shouting.
That was when Eidolon decided to make his move, a brief red glow surrounded the entire park and all the water on the ground lessened significantly. It even removed the rain from the air for a brief moment and Vista could see Leviathan in his entirety, fighting against the female sword-wielding cape.
Leviathan changed his strategy. Instead of defending himself from the capes attacking him and fighting back, he let the hits land and formed powerful geysers of water from his water echo and the remaining water on the ground and directed them towards the capes watching the battle. People like herself, Kid Win and Clockblocker a couple of buildings over, and others. Many of them scrambled for cover, some retreated in the air, others were washed away. At least she was saf… one of the water jets was coming her way fast.
She tried to backtrack but the water was too fast for that.
She used her power to stretch the space between herself and the oncoming torrent so it wouldn't reach her, but she had underestimated the force of the pressurized water. She dived for cover and barely avoided being washed away off the rooftop.
She cautiously looked up but no more geysers of water were coming her way. A huge cape, however, was walking towards her, he must have only just arrived. He came to a stop near her and held out a hand which she grabbed and was promptly yanked to her feet.
"You must be Vista." He said as she had patted herself and her costume free of mud, as much as she could.
She nodded an affirmation and asked in return, "and you are?"
"Call me Lindon, I am with Mercy, …and Yerin." He gestured towards the park.
"Oh...", she was quiet for a moment, then asked, "so what do you do? Your friends take hits from Leviathan like it's nothing and are as fast as him. Don't tell me you can, I don't know, juggle one in your hands." She waved her finger at his massive build and strange eyes.
"Nothing like that." He answered with a chuckle. Then continued a bit more seriously, "Mercy shared with me your abilities, I think they can be very important in this fight if we are smart about using them."
Her heart rate increased hearing that, there was no sign of Aegis or any of the other higher ups nearby, nobody to tell her she was too young to fight an Endbringer from this close.
She prompted, "why do you think that? How I mean?" She corrected herself.
He walked towards the ledge while answering her, "Leviathan is fighting much more efficiently now than he was, let's say, half an hour ago. He is getting faster and more efficient as we press him more and more. In the past couple of minutes as we've been speaking, his movements have gotten more intelligent and there is room for him to get better according to my, uh, analysis."
Lindon looked at her intensely, radiating authority like he was a member of the triumvirate, "If we continue like this and do nothing else, soon he'll escape and probably sink the city or something… then the next time he comes out from the sea, another city will face the same."
Vista liked to think she had known all that, but hearing it from someone else, the horridness of it all let a bitter taste in her mouth.
She steeled herself and asked, "what do you want me to do?"
"You can manipulate ground yes?" That's what she had told Mercy. His question was rhetorical and he kept speaking, "what are your limitations? I know you said it was easier when no living person is around. But can you still expand and manipulate earth if someone, if people are nearby?" He looked at her expectantly.
"I guess, it'd be much easier if no one was around but I can use my powers regardless, just becomes harder." She replied, pondering on the question. They did all types of testing as part of their training and she was still proficient enough when living beings interfered with her power but training was different from actively fighting an Endbringer.
"You want me to stretch the park or make it shorter? If you are planning to take the fight somewhere else it's better if I am there before, makes it easier to work." She explained a little more.
"I am not certain we can afford taking this fight to another place of our choosing, we may not be able to stop Leviathan from escaping and killing more people. Whatever happens, it must be here." Lindon answered after a moment.
He looked at her "You should rest for now, build up your strength. When the time comes you will have to exert yourself to your limits." She could almost imagine him smiling.
He straightened slightly, "Also, not to doubt your valor but if you are worried about your own safety in any way, it's only natural after all, then I should let you know that it's my responsibility to keep you safe when you are helping us out. You will not be harmed." He pressed his fists together and bowed slightly.
She scoffed, part at his gesture but also feeling affronted, "when we become wards we make a vow, we are all in. If my life is the price for saving this city then I would happily give it." Brave words, let's see if you follow them up, the thought came to her.
"You didn't answer my question, what are you going to do? Are you a thinker?" She asked a little forcefully.
"I'm just waiting for the right moment."
Cryptic replies were the worst.
The right moment, when it came, didn't take long. One moment Leviathan was running around and the next there was an explosion and his leg was wounded with crystalized gashes in it. Another explosion and half of Leviathan and his echo moved much slower than the rest of him. Someone had managed to hit Leviathan with Bakuda's bombs, Vista remembered reading something about these time distortion bubbles.
Vista felt heat at her side and looked at Lindon who covered in a cloak of red and black fire. The aura it was giving was unsettling to say the least. He suddenly vanished from beside her, she only later realized that he had appeared within Leviathan's guard, now shining a pale blue.
A large hand made of some kind of forcefields slapped Leviathan in his midsection and the Endbringer stopped dead in his tracks. In an astonishing sight, he appeared to be… trembling?
At the same time, two boys Vista knew very well flew in range of the glitching Endbringer just above him. Kid Win was carrying Clockblocker with him on his sputtering? hoverboard, flying the fastest she had ever seen him. Vista's mouth hung open as the former dropped the latter on top of the Endbringer's head, or he tried to at least, his aim was off and Vista could see Clockblocker wouldn't be able to reach Leviathan.
The white-clad boy, in an act you would see in action movies from Aleph, created steps with time-locked paper while midair and pushed off from them, adjusting his trajectory. He activated his power as soon as he touched Leviathan, freezing the Endbringer in time, while also managing to cling on to the Endbringer, first with one hand and then with both.
At the same time, a jet-black arrow seemingly made of shadows struck the frozen Endbringer and nothing happened, the attack just… slid off.
Vista realized she hadn't breathed in several seconds, and took a shuddering breath in. That was actually cool, what both her teammates had done. She heard Dragon on the radio coordinating the more durable capes around the park to black off any exits that Leviathan may be able to take once he was unfrozen.
She jumped in surprise as a swordswoman in red and black hair and red eyes appeared in a brilliant flash of light carrying Clockblocker under her arm. She let him go and the boy stumbled back on to his feet.
"Aaahh! Thanks, oh thank god, I was right above the time bubble, that jerk. Fuck, that was close." He gathered himself a little bit – taking a breath – and shouted, "Whoa!"
He noticed Vista and waved, "Oh hey, umm, Vista, did you see that?" His adrenaline rush hadn't receded apparently.
She answered colleague first, "yes, that was, cool."
"Cool? Come on, that was awesome!" He threw both hands towards the Endbringer. Vista only shrugged.
"Yes, cheers and celebrations but what did you do to him?" The red-eyed swordswoman asked, her eyes narrowed at Clockblocker. What was her name… Karen something…?
Vista thoughts were interrupted when she Lindon arrive back on the rooftop too, followed by Alexandria and Legend.
Clockblocker turned to face the cape who had asked the question and was visibly taken aback when he noticed a few more high-profile capes in close proximity than there were a couple of seconds ago.
"It's, you don't know?" He asked, his voice stuttering. "I froze him in time, everybody knows that…" he trailed off.
"For how long?" Lindon asked him, stepping forward.
The leader of the protectorate decided to enter the conversation, "it could be anything from few seconds to a few minutes. That means we don't have much time." He came forward, introducing himself in the process, "I am Legend, leader of the protectorate," he waved his hand at the gathered capes, stopping at Clockblocker, "That was insanely reckless." He said in a stern voice before turning his attention back to Lindon.
"I have met her," he pointed at the sword cape, "and I am assuming you are with her. So, what is our plan? If your two companions are anything to go by, then you must be a heavy hitter too. Together we should be able to drive Leviathan off without too much collateral damage."
"Apologies but we are planning to kill the beast, not drive him off." Lindon replied, shocking pretty much everyone on the rooftop.
"It'll be a tall cliff to climb, but worth every inch." Karen said.
"You don't understand, nothing kills them, even Scion can only run them off." Legend said with a grim chuckle. He was probably trying to manage the newbies' expectations.
Lindon and his friend shared a look before he turned fully towards Legend and Alexandria, "You have the intel on his body, same as we do. We believe it's possible to reach his core, Yerin nearly did a few times, or at least that is what we estimate. Together it more than doable." Yerin, that's what it was.
"My team will take the most risk, those of you who can withstand the physical demands of fighting this beast, and can deal their own damage are welcome to join in." Lindon paused, then pointed at Vista, "and I will be needing her to go beyond her limits, hopefully not, but possibly, if we want to contain the Endbringer to this park. With your permission of course."
Another pause, "She will remain with me at all times, safe." He completed his pitch.
Vista moved closer to the gathering, "I am ready, and if there is a chance to kill an Endbringer, I am sure my seniors wouldn't stand in my way if I can help that along." Her heart beat like a drum but she held Legend's gaze, before doing the same with Alexandria.
"I'll allow it, but the decision doesn't lie with me." Alexandria said after a few moments, folding her arms in front of her.
Legend looked conflicted, but decided quickly. "Alright, we will do it your way, you can take Vista to the battle but if anything happens to her, Endbringer or not, I will hold you personally responsible." There was note of warning in his tone.
Lindon inclined his head in acknowledgement.
The others started discussing the tactical details of their formations but Vista tuned that out, she had to collect her own thoughts and feelings.
She felt ready, yes, but she also felt a little afraid – that was supposed to be normal, however. The good thing was she had the protectorate's support and Lindon did look like a powerful cape, it would probably be the most difficult thing she had ever tried, but she wanted to test her power at its limit against an Endbringer.
She focused on taking deep relaxing breaths to calm her nerves.
Yerin walked with Lindon, "He looked shaky as a two-day calf when you empty palmed him. More of the same later?" She referred to Leviathan.
Lindon shook his head, "Something tells me that won't be the case next time I do the same. Not as effective at least."
[It will work, but he will shrug it off faster and we would lose momentum if he isn't on the backfoot.] Dross chimed in with his analysis, Lindon agreed with the assessment.
"I have something else in mind." He said.
"Ah, yes, that." Yerin smiled knowingly.
"I tried consuming, but only got the vaguest of animalistic impressions through the time freeze. It's a formidable power by the way, locking someone in time." Lindon was impressed.
"Yeah some techniques I have seen would fit right in at the high end of sacred arts. I'd bet my spine many Sages and Heralds would kill to learn some of them." Yerin replied.
They were standing on the ledge looking at the frozen Endbringer. Mercy was keeping an eye on the beast while completing her hidden technique.
"You haven't tried the Reaper's Sword yet." Lindon inquired. He suspected why that was the case but prompted Yerin to answer anyway.
"Pretty much all of my Authority is sealed, takes time to build it in this iteration. Cut off from the Way aren't we?" She grumbled. "Was waiting for when I could strike the core before using it all up. Scrapes me raw how weak we are here I'll tell you true."
"Well, no need to hold back, open him up and we'll finish him off." Lindon assured her with a smile.
Yerin nodded and pointed at Leviathan. "It's coming up a more than a couple of minutes since he stopped, you'd contend it's time to finally end this yes?"
"Yes," Lindon agreed, and waved her good bye. She disappeared in flash of white light.
He opened his void key and reach in with his will power to bring out a scripted cloth. Beckoning Vista closer, he gave it to her.
"Climb up on my back and wrap this cloth around, I'll tie it so you are secure."
"What?" The girl's cheeks flushed as she exclaimed.
What? Lindon was confused for a moment, then he understood, in some places on Cradle that's how parents carried around their babies.
"It's practical."
"We don't need a… belt? I can hold on to you without it." Vista spluttered.
"We will be moving very fast."
The girl shook her head slightly, no doubt hardening her resolve.
Her friend, looking on from the sides, wisely did not make any comment.
[Not as stupid as he acts.] Dross commented on Clockblocker's wisdom.
Lindon crouched down, allowing the girl to secure herself on his back, her legs dangling to the sides, then tied the scripted cloth in front of him. The cloth would keep her safe from his blackflame, although his intent to not do her harm would do most of that job. It would also not tear under any circumstances without Lindon knowing about it.
All in all, it ensured safety but there was no time to tell the young cape all that.
Lindon stood up, ready to move at the earliest indication of the Endbringer being free from his imprisonment.
Mercy's technique was finally complete too. A dozen pillars of hardened crystalline madra, as tall as a multistory house and made in the shape of arrows streaked down from the clouds above and impaled themselves on the ground surrounding Leviathan, burying deep and forming a rough circle.
She began weaving Strings of Shadow to connect all the pillars and create an impenetrable barrier.
[Hey, you don't know, she could be layering other techniques on top of that one too. I have to say I am surp…]
Dross was interrupted, as the Endbringer exploded from his position, heading for a gap between the pillars but Yerin was there to meet him, and so was Alexandria.
Lindon activated the Soul Cloak, and disappeared from the rooftop, carrying a powerful young cape as his responsibility and on his way to end a supposed bringer of ends.