The first thing we did was return to Taylor's home. Her dad was already gone, most likely evacuated to a shelter. I finally bore witness to Taylor's blood, sweat, and tears: Hive's hive.
Innumerable insects crawled from the ground, squirming through cracks in the foundation of the nearby homes. The earth rippled like black and red water, blotted out by a sea of ants amassing in the street around us. Flying bugs buzzed around us, drowning out what little light was left for us in Brockton.
We took them to the coast. Empire, Protectorate, New Wave, and plenty of out-of-town capes were here. Lung was absent, suspiciously so. And, of course, the Akatsuki were here. All two of us. We stood alone, Taylor's unholy swarm drawing uncomfortable looks. Our detour meant we missed Legend's
Days like this reminded me why I hated this world. We finally made some progress in fixing Brockton Bay and Leviathan comes to destroy it early. Did this happen because we captured Bakuda? Maybe it was early because I killed Coil?
The only tolerable thing about this world is the people, to an extent. I enjoyed fucking around with Alec, and having Taylor behind my back is excellent.
It was almost certainly Leviathan. A storm was moving in, darker and more thunderous than I'd ever seen come to Brockton Bay. Lightning flashed in the distance as the sun set behind us.
Dragon took over, her draconic metal drone projecting her voice from a speaker. "I will begin distributing armbands and directing you into groups. Wear it above the elbow; It will track your vital signs and location for search and rescue. I'll give instructions when I can, but I'll be busy with Leviathan. If you're able to damage or survive Leviathan, alert me of your powers. Otherwise, you're in search and rescue."
Taylor and I ended up in search and rescue. It was a group of four, matched with Rune and Clockblocker.
"Rune will manage rubble, Pain will collect people, Clockblocker will freeze them for stabilization, and Hive will find people," Dragon decided. "You can see through your bugs, right?" Dragon asked Taylor, who simply nodded. "Good, I've just been assuming. Head over to the medical site. Panacea will make sure you're as ready as you can be."
"Great, we're with the Nazis," Clockblocker grumbled.
He wasn't wrong. Rune was the only Nazi in our group, but our group was tasked with being backup for mostly Empire capes. Rune glared at Clockblocker and shot me a challenging look, no doubt because of my ethnicity. I deadpanned back, sent an illusory shiver down her spine, and waited for her to look away.
"Not important right now," I decided. "I don't think Levithan cares much about our skin, unless it's to tear it off."
"You're right," the clock-themed hero sighed. "Shame Othalla isn't here. Would've appreciated some support, in case it's my skin we're talking about."
Panacea stepped out of a tent, touching capes one after another. Her eyes had heavy bags and her hair was a mess. Blatantly sleep-deprived and exhausted, yet still doing her job. As she reached us, I pulled off my glove and exposed my bare skin. The mousy girl absentmindedly took it, then froze.
"Huh," she blinked. "What the hell is wrong with your body? You've got fucking tubes running through you."
"Don't bodies usually have tubes? Isn't that how the circulatory system works?" I asked.
"Yeah, but... Whatever. A lot in your brain, too. Anyway, try not to damage them. There's some weird biology to it that I don't quite get. I can do anything else, though."
I felt a shift in my body, all the exhaustion from earlier vanishing. Then I felt something else, a tingling in my whole body. My still-recovering chakra grew slightly thicker as my muscles grew slightly more defined, the little excess fat I had converting into actionable material.
"Oh, it's bioenergy," Panacea muttered under her breath, seemingly satisfied. She moved on to the rest of my group, giving everyone a quick touch-up.
We set up shops a few blocks from the coast. Just far enough that Taylor could get a good view of the beach through her insects, her innumerable bugs granting her near omniscience wherever she chose to focus.
The plan was simple: do nothing. As search and rescue, we wait until the fighting starts and come in to pick up the pieces. The pieces of people.
Dragon's voice crackled out of our armbands. "First wave incoming! Teleport the first responders out!"
The first Tsunami set the tone of the fight. A wave blotted out the horizon, a force of nature beyond anything I'd ever seen before. I learned firsthand how dangerous water is as I watched the waves engulf the buildings on the coast.
Capes teleported out onto the street as the water rushed back out to see. Many ground-bound capes stumbled and tripped as the force of the returning water surprised them. Flying capes headed towards the coast unimpeded, and as the tide pulled back, Leviathan was revealed, his massive body towering taller than the wave that just devastated the coast.
He rose from the water, saw the capes heading his way, crouched down to all fours, and moved. I watched from a distance, using my Sharingan to absorb whatever information I could, and was disgusted. Leviathan moved without finesse, without skill, with only pure might and speed. There wasn't a single thing I could learn from Leviathan, because he didn't need to do anything other than move to win.
I couldn't make anything of his power. I knew he had a core in his chest, somewhere, but there was no visual indication of it. His entire body was completely flooded with energy, to the point that all I could understand was that he was powerful.
Purity was the first to fire, signaling Legend and a few others to do the same. Leviathan practically ignored the cape artillery, darting around lasers and other attacks. Occasionally he was clipped, but just didn't matter.
The flying bricks hit next. Alexandria was at the front, ramming into Leviathan with the force of a freight train. Leviathan barely noticed it.
He flicked his tail, sending a spray of high-speed water at Alexandria and knocking her away. Glory Girl came in with a punch of her own, only to get immediately punted into a building by him.
Capes kept coming and Leviathan kept moving. Some died instantly, others got knocked around with ease. There was no dignity in facing Leviathan, only a desperate struggle to survive and get a few good hits in. Our Armbands continually listed off casualties and deaths, the only sound that we made in our shelter.
And they did get some good hits in. Eidolon finally showed, having been doing something I didn't really understand to reduce the tidal waves, nicking Leviathan with a blade of warped energy. Following that hit, Kaiser sprouted a pillar of blades from the earth, spearing into the exposed wound.
Leviathan didn't like that. He tore through the metal, rushed down Kaiser, and grabbed him by the head. Then, Leviathan squeezed.
Rune made a choking noise, and then Purity's laser punched into Leviathan with unprecedented force. For the first time, Leviathan was slightly pushed back.
The second wave hit. The casualties slowed, but didn't stop. Leviathan wasn't killing anyone right now, but the Tsunami was. People were crushed by the waves or dragged out to sea, never to be seen again.
Leviathan was gone. Casualties began again, now from a different section of the coast. That meant it was our turn.
We found Glory Girl. She was half-drowned, bleeding from her head, and lying on the ground. One hit from Leviathan had done a number on her. She took the punt, but couldn't handle the wall that stopped her. Her spine was almost certainly broken.
Clockblocker darted forward, pulling her up. He turned to me. "Get her to the closest squad, as fast as you can. Not gonna hold on for long."
I picked her up and Taylor pointed in a direction, guiding me to my location with her local omniscience. I took off running, darting through the soaked streets with the broken and frozen Glory Girl over my shoulder.
The PRT squad I encountered was non-cape support for search and rescue, who took Glory Girl from my arms without a question. By the time I made it back to our group, Rune was pulling rubble off of some capes, allowing Clockblocker to freeze it in place, dart under, freeze, and retrieve more injured capes. They passed them off to me and I repeated the processes.
I saw another Tsunami crash into Brockton near the center of the city, and Dragon's voice spoke from our armbands. "Leviathan has moved further away. Head into the last battle site."
We departed, trusting the PRT support to clean up what we missed. The place we went to was in an even worse state. If I'd walked these streets before, I wouldn't be able to tell, because they'd been visually warped beyond recognition and any signage was washed away. If this kept up, it would be Leviathan's tidal waves eliminating most people, not the Endbringer himself.
I fell into a routine. There was always a cape or two to take to safety, so I was constantly on the move. That said, I was feeling the strain of constant effort. I could only move at high speeds for so long. But I could keep going, for now.
"Warning to all capes in the central Brockton coast, Leviathan is on the move again! He's returning to the last site!"
I got Dragon's warning on my return to the field. I didn't turn around, continuing to head towards my team. I landed between the three of them, Rune holding up three capes on a floating chunk of a billboard.
"Scatter!" I yelled at them. "If he sees you, you're dead! Rune, get the survivors to safety!"
Rune flew off towards the PRT while Clockblocker and Hive split off together, all heading deeper into the city. I began to leave as well, and gave one last glance behind me before I left.
Leviathan was there, turning around a corner, and facing my direction.
I threw myself to the side, recognizing Leviathan's reckless charge before the monster was off his feet. He tore through the space I was in a second ago, his head turning and following me as he passed, water splashing to the ground in his wake. Once his feet hit the ground, Leviathan used the momentum to twist around and lash his tail at me, sending a whip of water to carve me in two.
I was already in the air. I jumped up and back, landed on a wall of a building, and held myself in a horizontal crouch with my feet firmly adhered to the surface. The whip of water tore through the foundation of the building I was on, and the wall began to collapse under my feet.
The one benefit to Leviathan's complete lack of form was that he was easy to interpret. He launched at me, body spread wide enough to ensure his tackle would either crush me or I would be forced to go up. It was an obvious trap, but he was too close for me to do anything but spring it.
I leaped into the air, clapping my hands together and praying this would work. I transformed into a paper airplane.
Leviathan crushed the building with his body, instantly spinning around and launching up in the air after me. Leviathan's storm worked against him, when a howl of wind caught my transformed body, sending me flying away with just enough momentum to barely avert my demise. The sheer speed he passed by me was enough to send my paper airplane body spinning to the ground, especially once the rain soaked me enough to lose rigidity.
I dispersed my henge as I hit the ground, landing in a crouch. Leviathan came crashing down onto another building, demolishing it under his weight and size alone. He didn't have proper facial expressions, but I knew a glare when I saw one, and he had five eyes to do it with.
Alexandria and Dragon rammed into the titan at the same time. Dragon's suit immediately self-destructed in a glorious explosion, Alexandria weathered the detonation to continue harassing Leviathan with punches.
This was my chance to get away! I survived Leviathan. I've distracted him long enough to get my teammates out, and now I could go. I nearly—
The tidal wave hit me from behind. It didn't dash me against a wall, spelling my instant demise. I was lucky enough to be drawn along with it, dulled by the distance from the shore, but I was helplessly whirled out of my control.
It was my henge, I realized in my last moments of clarity. I couldn't get any signal while transformed a sheet of paper, and because of that, I missed the warning about the tidal wave. Then, my left leg smashed into something solid and shattered, and I was barely able to think of anything outside of my agony.
Some of the air in my lungs was lost, so I clung to what I had, directing all the focus and chakra I could on just holding my breath as I tried to curl up. It worked to some extent. Despite the sensation of losing consciousness slowly growing, I knew that if I just held on: I would be all right.
My right arm hit something else, breaking my forearm and crushing my hand. I still held on. It was when the impact spun my body around again, crushing my already broken leg that I lost some control. I accidentally opened my eyes.
Grime, muck, gravel, and whatever else composed the streets of Brockton Bay were washed into my already sore eyes, engulfing them in a burning sensation. My body seized up, the three points of agony overwhelming me.
I hit the ground and stayed there. The water pulled back, leaving me battered and gasping for breath in a puddle. I desperately tried to clean the filth and rocks from my eyes, knowing Leviathan could be anywhere.
I fucking needed to see.
My armband somehow survived, enough to start listing names off again. I froze when I heard something... off.
"Hive: Deceased."
What? But I distracted him? He was after me!? I fucked up this badly?
My eyes pulsed, and I could see once again. Seeing hurt way more than blindness, which completely distracted me. I still had the gravel and filth crusted into my eyes, but now it didn't stop me from seeing whatsoever. But I could still feel it, and my newfound sight only compounded that pain.
I took a moment to steady myself, rising enough to kneel while I tried to scrub the filth out of my eyes with my still-functioning hand. I couldn't walk anymore, but as long as I kept the weight on my knee and off my leg, it was only agonizing, not unbearable. Off the ground, I looked around.
I don't know where I am.
I got pushed farther into the city by the wave and the abandoned and flooded streets of Brockton were completely unfamiliar to me in my haggard state. I continued to breathe deeply, trying to fortify myself.
My chakra was still draining at a rapid pace, I realized. I need to—
Leviathan crashed down in front of me. He looked down at my broken form, and he seemed amused. That, or the oxygen deprivation was fucking with drew his arm back, winding up another shitty yet overwhelmingly effective punch.
I couldn't run. I couldn't transform. I needed to defend myself.
Something clicked in my head as the punch came down, and I did just that.
Suddenly, my injuries no longer mattered. My broken arm, my legs, my eyes. I could now say that the pain was meaningless.
Because now I understand what pain truly felt like. Every inch of my body felt like it was disintegrating and regenerating just to hurt me more. My chakra pool felt like it had a hole punched into it, draining faster than I could imagine.
My eyes hurt the most, and even though they instinctively clamped down as Leviathan's fist approached, I could still see the punch heading my way.
A deep green, ethereal ribcage grew around me. It was the same green as Leviathan's, encrusted in barnacles and hung with seaweed. It seemed to be eternally soaked, though was hard to say if it dripped because of the constant downpour or the Susanoo itself.
Leviathan's fist hit, and the single blow sent cracks and fractures throughout the entire front of the structure, rendering it immediately useless. I dropped the ribcage as Leviathan pulled his fist back, my body experiencing sweet release. The agony of Susanoo left me and I was left with the comparably minor pain of broken bones and eyes rubbed raw.
My chakra still drained from me and I still saw without opening my eyes. My reserves were almost empty, nearing a mere tenth of my regular power. Blood dribbled from my eyes, trailing down my face.
Leviathan's arm pulled back again, and something subtly changed about Leviathan. This punch wasn't good by any means, but it had something resembling technique on its draw. Leviathan was finally throwing a genuine and vaguely competent punch.
I pushed the last of my chakra back into reforming my Susanoo as Leviathan's fist crashed down upon me again. The ribcage flared into existence, meeting the punch and delaying it for a hint of a moment. Cracks spread from the impact, spreading out and engulfing the entire construct as I watch my death approach in relative slow motion. My Susanoo shattered, and the fist kept moving.
It stopped a foot above me. Leviathan stood frozen, locked midway into a punch. I glanced at his feet, where Clockblocker was pressing his hand onto the back of the Endbringer's foot.
My chakra ran out. Everything went black.
I didn't feel much better when I woke. My eyes still stung, my body burned, and my leg and arms were still broken, but I was alive.
I'm in a cot. The bedding isn't particularly comfortable, but it's better than asphalt. I tried to open my eyes, hissing as light blinded them.
"Indra!" a voice hissed in surprise. I froze. Who knew my name? Other than…
"Taylor?" I hesitantly asked.
"Shh! Not so loud. There are people nearby." The voice, now almost certainly Taylor's, shushed me.
"You're… alive?" I croaked.
"Yeah. Just… just wait until you can see."
After a moment, my eyes adjusted to the light. Some asshole put my cot right under a bright lamp, the reason for my blurry vision. I looked around, trying to move my body as little as possible.
Taylor was the first person I saw, lying in a cot to my right. She was still dressed as Hive, her costume covered in grime and blood. Her left arm was missing, torn off from just below the shoulder. It was heavily bandaged and had a tourniquet, even the band of rubber was unable to completely stop the blood from staining the bandages.
She caught my gaze and immediately tried to assuage me. "It's alright. It hurts, but I'll survive. Panacea will be here soon she'll fix us both up."
I looked around, realizing exactly where we were. A medical tent. Doctors busied themselves with patients nearby, doing their best to stabilize as many people as they could before Panacea arrived, so she could still have living people to fix.
I laid my head back, closing my eyes. It was tempting to copy the doctors and learn some impromptu surgery, but it was hurt enough to see with my regular eyes. I'm not trying to activate the Sharingan right now. "What happened?"
I let Taylor's voice wash over me as I breathed deeply, doing my best to gather my thoughts.
"The fight is over," Taylor informed me. "Scion showed up about ten minutes ago, that's what I've heard over PRT comms. I've been keeping an ear out for all the information I can around here. Leviathan didn't destroy the city, but it's not looking too good. A few Endbringer shelters were sunk and casualties are high. After Clockblocker got his lucky long time-out, he gave up on using the underground aquifer and just focused on casualties. Knocked out a couple of shelters."
"As for me? Once you told us to scatter, Clockblocker and I ran. We got to safety from the tidal wave that came after, but then we ran into Leviathan," her voice cracked slightly, "I blocked his vision with bugs and we tried to run. I don't know how he knew where we were, but he flicked his tail and it sent water at us. Took off my arm. Clock froze me for a bit, enough for a medic to arrive and stop the bleeding before we got out of there."
Holy shit. Clockblocker, you are my favorite person today. Saved both of our sorry asses.
That's why the armbands said she was deceased, I realized. I recalled my memory of the fight with perfect clarity, particularly focusing on Taylor. Her armband was on her left arm. Lose the arm, no vital signs detected. Declared deceased.
"Glad… you're alive," I struggled to speak, my body still too weak. "Figured I should tell you… when the armband said… you died. Thought I failed. Gave me more power."
It was as good of an explanation as any for the Mangekyo Sharingan. That was the only thing it could be. There was no doubt about it: the only reason I survived Leviathan was a Susanoo ribcage, after the horrible cocktail of loss and self-loathing that dropped like a sledgehammer on my psyche in the middle of a supernatural warzone.
"What!?" Taylor squeaked, then coughed. "I mean, you can trigger again? And I'm glad you're alive, too."
"Show you later," I promised, and returned to breathing. Without adrenaline and shock, broken bones are a lot less manageable. "Get some bugs…for Panacea…"
"Right. I will."
We waited in silence. I let my body rest. It needed it. Taylor shifted around every once in a while, but I couldn't tell what she was doing or thinking without opening my eyes.
"She's here," Taylor announced. "Hey, doctor? Tell Panacea to come over here. She needs mass to heal, and I can provide."
After a few seconds, another voice was heard. Distinctly Panacea's, though even more exhausted and monotone than the last time we heard her. "Wow. Who ran you two through an angry car wash?"
Taylor and I didn't respond. Taylor was probably glaring at her. I had the excuse of being fucked up.
"Tough crowd," she grumbled, and I felt a hand and some bugs on my face. "Wow. That's even worse than I thought. So, that's what overuse of a bioenergy system does? A lot of cellular decay and general damage, but nothing looks cancerous. Thought you'd have more tumors. Plenty of micro-tears throughout the body. Seems to be partially adapting to the overuse. How does it do that? Oh! The system grows as it's used. You channeled too much energy at once and drained it all. A little bit of recent permanent eye damage, but I can fix that. Oh, right, and fix up those broken bones. Forgot about those."
She can fix my eye damage? Nevermind. Sorry, Clockblocker, but Panacea is my new favorite.
"Alright, you're fixed up. I can't adjust your bioenergy system directly, but I've done what I can, so don't use that until it's better. Your body is fine now, though."
I opened my eyes, taking a deep breath through my fresh lungs. There was no moment in my life that I've ever been healthier than right now, so best to enjoy it. Panacea was regrowing Taylor's arm by the time I got up, her bare limb contrasting with her dark costume.
"Alright. You're fixed up. Can you stick around and provide bugs for the rest of the people here?" Panacea asked.
Taylor nodded.
"Great. Makes my job way easier."
The time spent waiting allowed me to focus more on my chakra. I wasn't going to break the doctor's orders and experiment, though. It was already changing, growing thicker. It only took crossing my eyes to see why.
The Mangekyo Sharingan is an incredibly powerful organ capable of powerful Yin release. Spiritual energy and physical energy combined made chakra. The Mangekyo is equal parts physical and spiritual, my chakra would thicken as a result of unlocking it. Panacea giving me a full healing and physical boost earlier probably helped.
That didn't explain something else. Moments ago my system was scraping for dregs of chakra, completely drained and desperate for more. But now it refilled without any issue, refilling faster than I'd ever managed before, with energy heavily tinted the same as my eyes and overwhelming my natural chakra. Did she somehow kickstart my recovery?
This brought me to my next question. What was my Mangekyo ability? In my fight against Leviathan, I was able to see despite my eyes being… obscured. Was there something else to it?
And I can't even test it, because the Mangekyo Sharingan takes an exorbitant amount of chakra. Ah, well. I'll be fine tomorrow.
We had to steal some clothes from the less damaged shops to hide our identities. Neither of us felt too bad stealing from a ruin. We even managed to find some clothes with minimal water damage.
The first stop we made was the PRT. Or rather, their survivor services. Taylor was worried for her father, naturally.
"I'm sorry, dear," the lady at the counter spoke. "Danny Hebert checked into Endbringer Shelter 3A. It was one of the shelters that Leviathan flooded."
Taylor stiffened. I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Follow me."
She walked silently behind me, lost in thought. I wasn't about to take her to her dad's house.
Unfortunately, my house wasn't in a good state. The half facing the bay was caved in. Fuck. That was my bedroom gone.
I walked into my living room, leading Taylor to the couch. My family sword and Mei's urn were thankfully in my living room and undestroyed, so I took them. Half of my kitchen and thankfully my pantry remained. I snagged a protein bar and tossed it to Taylor.
"I'm sorry. I hoped we could stay here for now. I understand what you're going through. But we need to get to shelter."
"Where?" She asked robotically.
"Lisa's home is far enough away from the city. It'll be intact. She'll house us. Hop onto my back. I'll run us there. There's no need to hold it together. I lost my parents to Leviathan as well."
As I hopped from a ruined building to a nearly collapsed roof, Taylor began to sob. Her arms were wrapped around me to hold on, so I reached up and held one, using my other to swing from a pole. Her sobs lessened slightly.
She recovered a bit by the time we made it to Lisa's. The door opened before we knocked. It was Grue, in full civilian identity.
The man spoke. "Lisa said you'd come by if you were still alive. She's focusing on work right now and is going to be out of commission for the day. We've only got one bedroom open, so you'll have to share. Already moved in a couch in for you. She'll talk to you tomorrow morning. Regent is in if you want to be with him."
I looked at Taylor. "Not today."
He didn't comment on it, leading us to the room. Brian's a decent guy.
The first thing we did was take showers. We were filthy and exhausted. Now we're just exhausted. If I heard some crying mixed in with the running water, I didn't comment on it. Taylor craved control. If she didn't want to cry in front of me, I wouldn't make her.
I took the couch. As Taylor left the bathroom, she paused on her way to the bed. Hurriedly, she walked over and hugged me. I hugged back.
She let go and walked to the bed. I laid down, closed my eyes, and focused on my chakra. I ran it through myself, forcibly relaxing my body to try and calm down from the stress of the day.
Exhaustion flooded through me as the effort of the day took its toll, and sleep took me in moments.
Interlude - Taylor
Indra fell asleep quickly. She wished she could do the same.
Taylor didn't know what time it was, but it was nightfall when Leviathan attacked. It had to be well past midnight, now.
One day had changed so much. This morning she was preparing to take out the biggest threat to the city she could remember, and then a new biggest threat to the city decided to show up, and everything just went so wrong. She... She...
She wouldn't think about herself right now. She focused on Indra, instead.
He triggered again over her 'death.' She didn't even know she'd been reported dead. How was she supposed to react to that? That meant something, at the very least. She still didn't know much about triggers, but it meant that her death was at least something significant to him.
It was hard to tell with him. He was blatantly manipulative to everyone around him, and she didn't think he even noticed. It was something she only noticed after plenty of observation. Most of his faces are practiced, and some are more obviously practiced than others.
It was one of the things she could tell he genuinely loved: learning new things. Copying actions, expressions, and skills.
His manipulation tended to be… positive? At least for her, and even when he didn't want her to do something, he didn't stop her. He acted to support her, as was expected from a partner in crime fighting. She'd be lying if she didn't say she appreciated it.
Her look around his home gave her a better picture. He lived incredibly simply. All he'd grabbed from his home was a sword and urn. He had a picture with the urn, one of him as a child with his parents, but he didn't take that.
Did he not care about his parents like she did? It was a possibility. But taking an urn implied he did genuinely care for some things. Which implied he genuinely cared about her, if he triggered again over it.
Another thing she noticed was the pot in the crushed part of the house. She scoured the place to take her mind off the situation, and found a fair bit of weed. She didn't like any drugs, but she understood that a lot of people turned to it out of desperation.
Was that who he was? A desperate person, looking to make the world better? A man who ignored what he wanted to try his best to make Brockton Bay safe, for his or others' sake? Who turned to drugs at night to cope with living every day as an actor?
Maybe she's just overthinking it.
Even if he was just doing it to make Brockton safe for himself, there was no denying he was a positive influence. And it's not like she doesn't appreciate the support. And the way he just got things done when he put his mind to it? She had to admit it was impressive, and he didn't fit the bill as a crazed drug fiend. Maybe just a regular fiend.
She certainly didn't like everything about him. His apparent drug use most of all. He could also try being a bit more natural.
"Whatever," she muttered, "He's still here with me. That's enough."
A/N: I love reviews!
