The Kaiser's New Clothes
Prologue: Kaiser Gets Wet
"Fenja deceased, CC-6."
Kaiser's heart clenched, but he didn't pause the attack, instead continuing to spear blades from the sodden ground around Leviathan while Nessa let out a strangled scream. Leviathan carelessly threw her sister's now normal-sized body aside, which landed with a splash in the knee-deep floodwater, and then lunged for her. His tail whipped around, shattering through another row of Kaiser's blades, and knocking him back through the water.
A bright beam rained down from the dark sky, striking Leviathan in the back and temporarily distracting him.
Purity?
No, the Wards' tinker, Kid Win, buying them a moment's reprieve as Leviathan scrambled up the side of a building and launched himself skywards.
Kaiser sat up, looking over to Nessa as the giantess tried to fish Jessica's body out of the water.
Stupid.
He wanted to shout at her, tell her that this was no time for sentiment, to focus on the battle at hand before mourning the dead, but the words never reached his lips before Leviathan came crashing down again, pieces of Kid Win's tinkertech cannon following him.
"Kid Win down, CC-6," Dragon's armband helpfully provided.
The monster's three glowing green eyes met Kaiser's.
"Menja!" he shouted.
With fire in her eyes, the remaining valkyrie lifted her spear and charged at Leviathan with a warcry, slamming into his side and redirecting his attention at the critical moment.
Taking advantage, Kaiser shifted some more iron out of his blood and into the outer layer of his skin, which he then shed in an imperceptibly fine flurry. The iron-bearing skin cells pushed out through his armour, directed to their intended destinations through the careful placement of the gaps between the blades. Some found surfaces, new locations to grow his blades and to keep dealing damage to Leviathan, but most simply washed away. It was difficult to find purchase on anything with Leviathan throwing waves everywhere, but he had to keep trying.
"Skitter deceased, CC-6."
The incongruous announcement gave Kaiser pause. He had been watching Leviathan for the past several minutes, and he definitely hadn't seen Skitter anywhere. Where was she? Was it a delayed announcement? He was fairly sure she had been fine when he last saw her. Had she been near Kid Win when Leviathan brought his cannon down? What killed her?
Something was wrong.
It suddenly ceased to matter, as a low sweep of Leviathan's claws cut through Nessa's ankle, and she dropped to the ground with a scream, landing face-first in the water. He followed up with several swipes across her back, which Kaiser interrupted with a long blade shooting out from the side of a nearby building, just as she began to shrink.
"Menja down, CC-6."
Leviathan turned his attention to Kaiser once more, and lowered himself to charge. Now alone, all Kaiser could do was prepare another set of blades to rise in front of him, try to dodge, and hope that he'd survive this. But somehow he knew he wouldn't.
As he stared death in the face, a lifetime of memories flashed before him. Past loves. Past mistakes. The company and the empire he'd helped build. The people who'd followed him, had died for him. Those who'd trusted him, whom he used and threw away. The father he'd hated. The mother and sister he missed. His son, who he had never quite connected with. His daughter, who he would never see grow up. The hollow words he had used to justify it all. And for just a moment, he stopped and considered what it had all been for, now that he knew it all just led to this.
In his final moments facing down that monster, the last thoughts that went through Kaiser's head were...
...What a fucking waste.
The other last thing that went through his head was Leviathan's water echo.
"Kaiser down, CC-6."
Author's notes:
Chapter theme:
Mikky Ekko - Who Are You, Really?
This story is available on [THIS SITE] under the profile Three Rejects, and Archive of Our Own under the profile DannyJ.
This story was made in collaboration with my good friend Oliver, who hates Worm. I dedicate this long-form shitpost to him and his many hours of assistance.
Leviathan did nothing wrong. Yes, he may have destroyed Brockton Bay and killed millions of people over the years he's been active, however I argue that these were all justified actions, and necessary to his ultimate purpose, which was to kill Mr. Gladly. In this essay I will—