Part Twenty-Four: Boss Fight
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Another Way
Part Twenty-Four: Boss Fight
[A/N: This chapter commissioned by GW_Yoda and beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]
Marchioness
Claire entered the room alongside Jonas, with Abigail bringing up the rear. All eyes turned to her, and she raised her chin. "Okay, then. I've heard the news. I'm going. Who's coming with, and who's minding the store while we're out?"
Kayden was the first to step forward, but only by a fraction of a second. Everyone began speaking at once, with each person stating that of course they were coming along. Claire knew that wouldn't fly, but she waited for her father to bring order to the chaos.
He did so, stepping forward and clapping his hands together once. "Thank you for your support. You cannot all go, of course. As my dear Claire has stated, some have to stay behind." Turning, he glanced at Abigail. "Your talents do not lend themselves to fighting an Endbringer. Would you do me the honour of guarding my household while I am away?"
As Claire had known she would, the Irish cape nodded gracefully and stepped forward. "Indeed, and so I will. Leviathan has no pockets to be picked nor valuables to be liberated, so he is of no interest to me."
Earl chuckled with the others at the release of tension in the room. "Thank you. Marcus, you'll also be staying."
"What?" protested the teenage boy. "But—"
"An Endbringer fight is no place for someone as young as you," Earl said gravely. "I'll be taking half the Mercia along to act as search and rescue. The other half will need direction, as our interests in Brockton Bay will need to be protected. Will you stand alongside Abigail in this?"
Marcus, clearly torn, looked at his 'uncle' then at Abigail. Drawing a deep breath, he made his decision. "Yes. Yes, I will."
"Good." Earl's tone was brisk. "Jonas, Robert, you will guard Claire with your life. She will be the most important person there. Do you understand me?"
Jonas merely nodded slightly while Robert lifted his chin. "She'll be safe with us, sir."
"That's the general idea," Earl agreed. "Legionnaire, I doubt your power will be able to put a dent in Leviathan, but your ghosts will be useful for search and rescue. Palatina, you're our biggest hitter. If either of you chose not to go, I would understand; merely sharing a battlefield with an Endbringer is dangerous. But I'm asking."
Kayden and Justin shared a glance, then both stepped forward.
"If Claire got hurt because I wasn't there to hit Leviathan hard enough, I'd never forgive myself," Kayden said softly. "I'm going."
"Me too," Justin added hastily. "I mean, you're not wrong about my power only being good for search and rescue, but I'm trying to be better these days. So, count me in."
Earl smiled and dusted off his hands. "Good to hear. Jonas, we're going to need to equip the men. I've had supplies put away for this occasion. Main storeroom, first closet. Meet us at the cars."
The big man nodded. "Right you are, sir."
PRT Building
Fifteen Minutes Later
Emily Piggot had heard the term 'ass-deep in alligators' before, but she'd never applied it to herself. The state the local PRT had been in on the day she hobbled into the office would have fit the bill, but after years of her personal leadership, nobody dared push too hard. Because she pushed back.
However, today could almost meet the description. Leviathan had already made landfall near Orlando, and the only thing stopping him from advancing on the city were the skills of the villainous tinker known as Stinger. Brought over from the West Coast, he'd made use of the facilities of the Kennedy Space Centre to create anti-Endbringer missiles on the fly. There wouldn't be much of the Space Centre left by the time he or Leviathan were finished, but he was buying Orlando valuable time. She'd heard intercity missiles were being prepped next, to be used when Stinger either retreated or was killed.
The message had gone out to Marquis that Marchioness' offer was being taken up, but she hadn't heard back since his acknowledgement of her call. Her cynicism told her that the girl would find some reason not to go, though she had doubts on that matter. Right now, she had no time to worry about that, as she was trying to link in with several other Directors to coordinate reinforcements for the capes in Orlando.
The kid had healed thousands of people in Brockton General over the last few months, after all. And the hands-off situation with her father would only last so long as they knew she would contribute in that fashion. If she reneged, he'd be back in the sights of the PRT as a valid target.
Her office door opened just as she reached for yet another ringing phone. It was Renick, looking more than a little frazzled. "Emily, you need to see this. Check out the security camera in the lobby."
Paul Renick was the quintessential subordinate; though not so great at leadership, he always gave her the information she needed when she needed it. She didn't waste a second clicking her mouse on the appropriate tab.
The image of the lobby downstairs opened on her computer screen. There, standing before the guards, was Marquis, with Marchioness next to him. Also in the frame were Palatina (hah!), Legionnaire (double hah!), Knight Errant (she didn't actually have an opinion on him), and a huge guy in a leather jacket and a simple domino mask. And behind them, the lobby was filling up with men in dark long-coats.
She knew who the latter were; Marquis' Mercia had been building a solid reputation for themselves over the last couple of months. They were his leg-men, his enforcers. Where he said he would protect, they protected, often to far better effect than the cops.
Emily had no idea where he was finding so many low-level capes, but the reports on them universally spoke about Brute-level strength and Mover-level speed. The few times any of them had been arrested, they'd submitted quietly. Through the grapevine, she'd heard that trying to sweat them for information on Marquis was a lost cause; that they'd just sit there, waiting. Invariably, the charges had been dropped due to a lack of credible evidence.
She wasn't sure what was more worrying. That a powerful supervillain had a small army of capes at his beck and call, and that they moved around freely during the day to public approval, or that someone was apparently trying to frame the Mercia for crimes (and failing). Emily believed strongly in the rule of law and that criminals needed to be punished. But there was a right way and a wrong way to do it, and going off the reservation like that was the wrong way.
"He's here for the Leviathan fight?" It was the glaringly obvious conclusion, but she'd been wrong with those before.
"That's what he says." Renick seemed to be having a slightly better time accepting this. "And I'll deny saying this if you tell anyone but from my understanding of the man, he doesn't bother lying about his motives."
"I've looked through his file." Emily shook her head. "He's a stone killer. Implicated in the murders of at least five heroes and several villains. And you're saying we can trust him?"
Renick shrugged. "You were there for the aftermath of the bank thing. My take on him is that he's got an ego roughly the size of Greenland. Put simply, his image is more important to him than the profit motive. If he says he's going to do something, he does it, even if it's only to spite anyone who says he can't."
"And Marchioness said she'd show up for Endbringer fights. He'll be there to protect her and make sure nobody tries anything hinky with his daughter." Emily pursed her lips. "Can't say I blame him. Any idea on who the big guy is?"
"He gave his name as Watchman. We've had reports of a big guy working with Marquis before, but we've never gotten a good look at him before now. I'm pretty sure this is him." Renick tilted his head. "If it's the same guy, he's the one witnesses saw beating the snot out of Hookwolf."
"And with a name like that, he's specifically there to protect her as well." Emily nodded in satisfaction. "Good. It means we don't have to detach troops to do the same thing. Okay, get them all up to the roof. Strider should be coming by in about two minutes."
"Can he handle that many in a single jump?" Renick couldn't see her screen, but he'd clearly gauged the size of the group from his own office.
"If he can't, he's just going to have to come back." Emily slapped the desk. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get them up there, now! Villain's daughter or not, she's our best chance of keeping as many capes on the battlefield as possible!"
"Ma'am!" he vanished from the doorway, heading back to his own office. Her door slowly swung closed, then clicked shut.
Leaning back in her chair, Emily closed her eyes and sighed. She truly hated having to call on parahuman resources to deal with a rampaging menace, but it was very much a case of 'no other options available'. Her every instinct shouted at her that one day the capes would cut and run at precisely the wrong time, leaving unpowered troops facing the Endbringers … but hopefully, today would not be that day.
Grimly, she leaned forward again, watching as the Marquis contingent funneled into the elevators that would take them to the roof exit. On one level, she was obscurely pleased that Marchioness was actually coming through with the promise that had been keeping the heat off Marquis. On quite another, she wanted them all the hell away from her building, right the fuck now.
A click of the mouse brought up the roof cameras, and she watched as the villain gang prepped themselves to be teleported into a war zone. Each of the long-coated Mercia appeared to be carrying a basic first-aid kit on his belt, which probably wasn't a bad idea now that she came to think of it. On the other hip, each of them had something she couldn't quite make out, other than that it had a cylindrical shape. Fire extinguishers? Maybe they're kitted out for a Behemoth fight?
Whatever; it wasn't her problem. They were going to a battle at the far end of the east coast. If the gods of ill luck and destruction were smiling on her, fewer villains would return than went down there.
There was a disturbance on the image, and she realised Strider had arrived. He looked a little taken aback at the number of people waiting for him, but he gestured for them to gather around all the same. A flash of light, and he was gone; the rooftop was now clear of everyone apart from PRT troopers. The only Protectorate capes in the city right now were the Wards (she'd refused to send any down to the fight) and Velocity, who'd twisted his ankle the previous morning and was still on the sick list.
Now, let's hope the villains are smart enough to keep their heads down until this is over. Because she fully intended to Birdcage the fuck out of anyone pulling shit during an Endbringer situation.
Marchioness
To a man (or woman), every hero who'd been transported to Orlando with them dropped to a knee or even to all fours. Claire saw Assault discreetly trying not to retch, while she and her comrades stood firm. This was due in part to the subtle adjustments she'd long ago made to their vestibular systems, improving their balance and reducing the chance of motion sickness. The other part was based in how her power reached out to every one of them, bolstering their ability to overcome what little nausea they felt.
It was pouring rain, and they were standing in a broad parking lot. A Dragon suit was crouched at the side of the parking lot, with PRT troopers milling around it. Claire looked around as a trooper carrying a cardboard box came over to where she stood with her father.
"Locator armbands!" the trooper explained, having to raise his voice as thunder rolled. A moment later, she realised it hadn't been thunder as a brief, brilliant light shone through the clouds from the east, and the asphalt under their feet jittered and threw water droplets into the air. This was followed by a tremendous BOOM that would've half-deafened her if she'd let it.
A blue-and-white figure flashed into sight then came to a dead stop, hovering over the collected capes. Claire recognised him as Legend, the leader of the Protectorate. "Stinger's down!" he shouted. "All heavy hitters to the barricade! This way!" He flashed off again, to the east; a motley assortment of capes followed him. Unfolding its wings, the Dragon suit powered up its turbines and lifted off in a spray of water. Kayden snatched an armband from the box, lit up her powers, and flew off in that direction as well.
Taking one of the armbands from the box, Claire fitted it onto her forearm. She listened to the instructions for using it, then spoke her name clearly for the microphone. "Where's the medical area?" she shouted toward the PRT trooper, because the rain was only getting heavier and explosions had already started from the east.
"Over there!" the trooper replied, pointing to the southwest, and a cluster of buildings. "We're slightly higher up than the surrounding area, so we won't flood as easily!"
From what Claire knew of Florida, 'slightly higher up' meant 'occasionally above sea level', so she wasn't optimistic about that. Her father jerked his chin to catch her eye; his expression mirrored her thoughts. "This area is a collection of lakes vaguely separated by land," he snapped. "Leviathan won't even have to exert himself to flood us out."
"I'm sorry!" shouted the trooper. "It's what we've got to work with!"
"Well, we're just going to have to do better!" he snapped back. "Marchioness?"
"On it, Dad," she called back, looking around for something that she could repurpose. Why did they have to pave over everything? "Someone get me a piece of plant life, stat!"
Several of the Mercia darted off in different directions, while she kept moving toward where the medical setup was with her father. Jonas and Robert flanked her, each with their head on a swivel for potential threats. More explosions came from the east, noticeably closer than before.
"They're not holding him," she said, more as a matter-of-fact observation than a statement of worry.
"I didn't expect them to," her father answered. "They're all used to just piling on willy-nilly. Nothing but the most basic of organisation. No strategy, barely any tactics. Unfortunately, that describes the majority of capes today."
A long-coated figure dashed up to Claire and handed her a freshly broken-off branch from a bush. "Is this good enough, miss?" he asked.
She smiled at him and took the branch. "Thank you." He was an ex-Empire member who'd seen the writing on the wall, relinquished his old ways, and approached them to see if he could join. Absolutely loyal to Marquis and Claire both, he had proven his worth to the Mercia several times over.
A moment later, she felt the rumbling in the ground, but initially dismissed it as another explosion. But it kept on building. "Warning," her armband said. "Tsunami. Get to high ground."
"There is no high ground!" yelled Robert in frustration. "This place is a sponge full of water!"
Yes, thought Claire. It is, isn't it? Peering through the sweeping curtains of rain, she thought she saw the approaching line of the wave; even several miles away, it seemed to tower over the buildings. The rumbling grew more intense, and she instinctively added several adaptations; larger eyes for seeing underwater, dolphin-sonar for murky water, heavy-duty gills for silt-laden water, and pop-out fins on her arms and legs in case she had to go swimming.
"No cover, no high ground!" shouted Marquis. "We'll have to bunker down!" Bone shot from his hands, forming a dome over the top of them, while Jonas wrapped his arms protectively around Claire and Robert stood before them. What he intended to do if the flood breached the dome she didn't know, but she was happy to let him do his thing.
The rumbling came ever closer, and then it washed over them. A few cracks developed in the dome, spraying water, but Marquis shored those weak points up, adding more and more layers of bone. Claire's armband, echoed by everyone else's, began listing a litany of people's names, both downed and deceased. "We need to get to the medical area," she said out loud, as the water finally began draining away, gurgling noisily past the exterior of the dome.
"I doubt there's a medical area left now," her father said grimly. "If they were on the first or even the second floor, that probably wiped them out."
The list of those taken out by the tsunami came to an end. Justin sighed in relief. "Kayden's still okay. I've got my ghosts doing search and rescue, alongside the Mercia."
"Find us a hospital," Marquis ordered. "They're typically more than two stories tall, and they have beds."
"On it," Justin responded.
When Marquis cracked the dome and opened it like a flower, the landscape had been ravaged almost beyond recognition. Every building within sight had been either flattened or suffered noticeable damage. The water was still ankle-deep as it sluggishly flowed away; Claire kicked off her shoes and adjusted her feet for greater traction and the potential for stepping on sharp objects.
The piece of greenery in her hand was still alive; she broke off a leafy twig and forced it through a dramatic change, forming it into a seed. As they headed for the building that had held the medical area, she dropped the seed into the water then stepped on it, forcing it into the mud beneath her feet. A vine sprouted almost immediately and followed her footsteps, maintaining contact with her. More twigs were broken from the branch and more seeds formed as she followed her father. If she was going to do more than the required minimum here, she was going to need the tools of her trade.
"Found a college dorm," Justin said, pointing toward a slightly taller building within easy walking distance. "The doctors and stuff at the medical setup are alive, but they're pretty beat up. All their gear's wrecked, though."
"Have them meet us at the college dorm," Marquis ordered, quickening his pace and changing direction. "Marchioness, we're going to need to fortify that place against further waves. What can you do?"
Claire looked over at the building. "I figure I can lift it twenty, thirty feet. But it'll be mainly sitting on earth. A wave will wash that away."
"I'll deal with that part. But the waves will still be hitting us with considerable force."
He wasn't wrong. The local terrain was both waterlogged and flat; neither aspect conducive to slowing down wave action. "Guess I'm going to have to do something about that, too."
The seed she'd buried still had a vine wrapped around her ankle, below water level. It had already been growing and expanding underground, sucking up water for mass and sending roots burrowing in all directions. Usually plants extended roots or branches at a rate of inches per week; with her thumb on the scales and her power pushing hard, this plant's expansion rate could be measured in feet per second.
Now, she gave it specific orders. At preselected points toward the east, hillocks started bulging up out of the ground, lifted and reinforced by writhing root systems. Along with this increase in activity came a sudden drop in the local water level, as the plant sent rootlets to the surface and began to siphon it down. Even nearby lakes saw a similar reduction. There was no sense in giving Leviathan more ammunition, after all.
"Wounded incoming," Robert announced, gesturing with his free hand. Claire wasn't sure why he had a sword formed, but she wasn't going to second-guess him. A major part of the training they'd been giving him was to encourage him to use initiative, after all.
She looked around and saw members of the Mercia coming toward them, carrying injured capes. Even over the damaged and waterlogged landscape, they were running at speeds not even a fully kitted-out all-wheel drive could have managed. It was no wonder Director Piggot had been heard to ask where all these new capes in her city had come from.
"I'm bringing the medical volunteers over as well," Justin said. "Some of them are in pretty bad shape."
"Just get them in around me." Claire looked up at the dormitory. "The worst cases closest."
Dropping another seed on the muddy ground, she stepped on it, making firm contact. As with the first seed, it exploded downward into the waterlogged ground, sucking up the moisture and expanding in all directions. Coiling around the foundations of the dorm building, the plant gathered in as much earth as it could, then started to expand upward.
The ground bulged all around the building, cracks opening to show the writhing plant life below as the building inexorably rose. Like a vastly sped-up film about trees overtaking a ghost town, enormous woody trunks hoisted the dorm building into the air while wrapping thick branches around the outside for support. Claire nodded to herself in satisfaction; that was high enough to be above most of the wave action.
"Marchioness!" The voice was high-pitched and desperate. More to the point, it was someone she knew. She turned and looked up, just as Mega Girl swooped down toward her. Cradled in the teen's arms was another familiar figure; Lady Photon.
The older Brockton Bay Brigade member was badly injured, blood staining her white costume. She had gash across the side of her head, her ribcage was stove in, and her left arm was only hanging on by a shred. Hastily applied bandages, equally stained red, were all that had kept her alive up until now.
"You've got to help her!" pleaded Mega Girl. "Please! She's dying!"
"Give her to me!" Claire reached upward to accept the burden. Most of the other wounded weren't as badly off, in that they wouldn't die before her power took hold, but Lady Photon was in a different situation altogether.
The moment she made physical contact with the hero, her healing power kicked into high gear. She could already see the considerable internal damage that could still kill Lady Photon, so she guided her power to fix the heart and lungs first. There was a little brain damage, but she reversed that with barely a thought. It helped, she mused absently, that she'd met Lady Photon already and respected her quite a bit.
All around her, broken bones knitted and cuts closed without any fuss at all. Unconscious capes blinked themselves awake, feeling for injuries that no longer existed. The volunteer medical staff, supported by Justin's ghosts, were soon able to stand on their own two feet.
"-out!" shouted Lady Photon, waking up suddenly and flying ten feet straight up. Her protective force field snapped into place, then she blinked and looked down at her arm. "What? How …?"
"It was Marchioness," Mega Girl explained rapidly. "She fixed you."
"Oh." Lady Photon looked down at Claire. "Thank you. I mean it."
Claire nodded. "I know." She watched as the heroes flew away, back toward the battlefield. Explosions and other power effects lit up the area, even through the teeming rain. Orlando, it seemed, was not having a good time of it.
"Have you finished with your construction?" asked Marquis. "Or did you wish to make it higher?"
"No, that should be good for now," Claire decided.
"Good." Marquis stretched out his hand, and bone erupted from it. When it hit the front face of the impromptu hill, it spread, plating the earth and wood beneath with layer after layer of gleaming white. As an encore, he added a set of wide stairs up the side, to where a doorway had once let out onto ground level.
As she hurried up the steps, Claire pressed the buttons on her armband in the way she'd been instructed. "New medical post has been set up at my location," she stated. "It's on a white hill. You can't miss us."
"Understood, and thank you," Dragon answered. The armband's screen flickered, then flashed red. "Warning. Tsunami incoming."
When Robert opened the door at the top of the stairs, water poured out. Knee-deep at first, it gushed down around their feet, then ran off to the sides as Marquis adjusted channels on the steps.
But Claire could feel the rumbling under her feet again. Looking out at the horizon, she could see the incoming wave, even through the rain. She didn't want to get caught out in the open again, and this one looked even higher. "Dad …?"
Bone flared, and the staircase continued, in through the doorway. The water kept running out, via drains to either side. They climbed upward until the second floor pressed down on their heads from above. Marquis turned to Jonas and raised an eyebrow.
"Right you are, sir." Bracing himself, the brawny South African drew back his fist and punched a hole straight up through the ceiling and the floor of the room above. Several more blows saw an entire chunk of concrete broken away and sent tumbling down to the side. Rebar got into the way occasionally, but Jonas simply snapped that off and tossed it aside as well.
By the time the rumbling was too close to ignore, they had all climbed out onto the second floor. It was a lot drier up here; while the windows had broken due to the impact of the wave, all the water seemed to have run downstairs. Claire opened a door—it was locked, but she didn't let that stop her—and stared out the window at the onrushing wave.
It was tall and menacing, looking set to sweep away everything before it … right up until it hit her wave-breakers. Placed in staggered formation, they disrupted the incoming mass of water, robbing it of power and momentum. Claire watched the spray fly out from each one as it was run under by the mass of water, and saw that the wave was rapidly losing ground. Putting a hand on one of her plant tendrils as it curved past the window, she sent orders for the plants to start drawing in all the water they could, and to keep on expanding.
Finally, the wave hit the base of the building; it shuddered, but only a little. The very last of it splashed upward against the side of the repurposed dormitory, then receded. "We did it," she said with satisfaction.
"That we did, chick," rumbled Jonas from behind her.
More names sounded from her arm-band, of capes downed and dead. None of them were of the Mercia—they had identified themselves as just that; 'Mercia' followed by a number—which didn't surprise her. She'd designed their modifications for survival above all else, after all.
"We'll have incoming in a minute!" she called out, and was answered with a shattering crash. No shouts of alarm sounded, so she went to see what was going on.
In a moment, she saw and understood; Robert and a couple of members of the Mercia were breaking down interior walls to make a wider area for her to receive patients in. At her nod, Jonas joined in. The sheer destructive power inherent in his repurposed frame was impressive to behold as he tore out entire wall panels at a time.
When the next wave of injured arrived, beds had been arranged so she could walk between them with all the patients within her range. Robert and Jonas still stuck to her side, just in case anyone did anything stupid; fortunately for all concerned, nobody did. Most of the casualties were ferried in by the Mercia and Justin's ghosts working in tandem, but a few came in assisted by other capes.
Parahumans wearing brightly coloured (though waterlogged) costumes came in broken and left whole again, invigorated and ready to rejoin the battle. From the chatter she heard, Palatina was right in the middle of the fray, hammering the monster as hard as she could. Claire was concerned about that; while powerful, Kayden recharged her abilities from sunlight, and there was precious little of that wherever the thick clouds overlaid the land.
But there wasn't much she could do about it, right then. Kayden knew her own limitations even better than Claire did; as much as Claire adored her, she wasn't Kayden's mother. It was up to Claire to provide the healing she'd promised, and up to Kayden to come home safely.
Two more tsunamis came and went while Leviathan rampaged through downtown Orlando and then Disney World (because apparently nothing was sacred). Each wave was more powerful than the last, but Claire had anticipated that, building her network of wave-spoilers higher and wider with every iteration. Either the Endbringer was determined to murder heroes or they were just getting tired, as the number of casualties was gradually increasing.
Fortunately, more were coming in injured than dying in the field, thanks to the Mercia and the ghosts. Even more fortunately, Claire's version of healing meant she didn't have to focus on one patient at a time; they were getting off the beds and making their way back to the battle just a little faster than they came in. Even those with potentially fatal injuries were surviving and recovering within minutes; there were only so many ways a person could be brought almost to death's door, after all.
So then, of course, Leviathan noticed that capes he'd put down were coming back into the battle, ready for another round.
Or perhaps he simply became aware of the anomalous building surrounded by dry land where there should be knee-deep flooding, impervious to the worst tsunamis that came at it. Claire didn't know what went on inside the brain of an Endbringer, or even if there was a brain in there. She certainly didn't want to be the first to try to find out.
But whatever the reasoning, she wasn't entirely surprised when the armband gave its warning.
"Leviathan breaking contact and moving toward grid E-7. I say again, Leviathan is moving toward the medical aid station. Marchioness, you need to evacuate. Do you copy?"
By now, Claire's plant system had spread far enough, with the special communication fibre incorporated into it, that she could treat it as a vastly distributed nervous system all of its own. The first slow thoughts were starting to travel across it as awareness began to awaken. She hadn't been intending to do that here at all, but Leviathan wasn't going away, so she had to plan for the worst.
"Thank you, Mr. Bloom," she murmured without moving her lips as the plant tendril network registered Leviathan's movement. He was moving fast—not as quickly as he'd been measured in water, but still speedy enough to outpace the Mercia, and in fact some light aircraft.
She had less than a minute before he reached the location of the repurposed dormitory. In the back of her mind was the plan she'd evolved to carry out in case he decided to directly attack this area. She began to make her preparations to carry it out, while at the same time leaning hard into her powers in other directions. Most people couldn't multi-task effectively; she was capable of splitting her mind into several sections and letting each area deal with a specific problem.
Lifting the armband to her mouth, she pressed the button. "Marchioness copies. I invite all ranged blasters to this location. We're going to have a skeet party. Marchioness, out."
In the meantime, she decided, there would be a distraction. Leviathan was fast, but her power was faster. Striking upward from the water in front of the monster came thorny vines, distantly related to the irritating 'wait-a-minute' vines that can hook an unwary hiker in deep woods. Only, these were cored with carbon fibre and attached to root balls buried deep underground. Whipping around Leviathan's legs, some tore free but others latched on. With even a temporary purchase, they disrupted his balance so that he had to come to a halt or find himself 'face' down in the mud.
He retaliated, of course; his water shadow, moving as fast as he was and capable of flaying the meat off a person's bones, lashed forward along Leviathan's path, gouging into the earth and tearing up more of the thorny cables. One leg at a time, he ripped himself free of his botanical attackers, then leaped high and wide to avoid more of the thorny vines.
The trap was quickly overcome, of course, but it still cost him valuable time and allowed some of the pursuing capes to catch up. However, he was intent on his goal. No matter how they poured on the damage, he kept powering toward the anomalous dormitory on its singular white hill.
And then Kayden dropped into Leviathan's path, not a hundred yards before the dormitory. Even from that distance, Claire could tell how weary she was, how deeply she was digging into her reserves. She'd given her all in this battle, and the ongoing marks on Leviathan's hide were testament to that. But the battle was not yet over, and she still had more to give.
Refusing to take another step back, Kayden opened up on Leviathan with everything she had. Actinic light flared as her coiling blast slammed into his chest, enough damage to destroy whole buildings smashing chunks off him. Once more he slowed, but this time he did not stop. Stride by stride, he bore down on her, green eyes flaring, claws flexing.
Her blast faltered as her powers reached the bottom of her reserves. She fell to one knee and summoned up more energy from somewhere, smashing Leviathan with another burst of energy. But it was her last gasp; her power flickered and went out, leaving her facing the Endbringer unprotected.
Watching from the dormitory window, Claire gasped in horror as Leviathan blurred forward, claws seeking to shred Kayden for the sheer effrontery of having opposed him. But as they slashed downward, they encountered instead a dome of pure bone, that had formed in a fraction of a second. The Endbringer gouged at the protective housing, tearing large sections away, intent on reaching his intended prey within.
But Claire had not been idle. The instant Kayden was out of sight, the packed root systems beneath her opened to form a tunnel, dropping her into it. There was more plant matter than earth beneath the surface mud now; by the time Leviathan tore away the last of the dome, the roots had closed over again to leave no sign of where Kayden had gotten to.
Within the dormitory, the last of Claire's patients were healed. As none of them were capable of facing Leviathan one-on-one, they opted to take the proffered exit along with the medical volunteers, escaping via the far end of the building. Those who could not fly were floated to the ground by Justin's ghosts. They were just in time, as Leviathan charged the dormitory again, bringing his water-shadow into play to crash against the walls.
Buttressed by the network of branches reinforcing the building, the sturdy brickwork held out against the hammer-blows of water, but were unable to stand up to Leviathan's claws. Claire saw the wall torn away, then Jonas shielded her behind his massive body as another burst of water smashed in through the hole. Some of the water blast was deflected by a shield put up by Marquis, but the rest was handled by Robert.
Fully eight feet tall by now and growing by the second, the clone renamed as Knight Errant held a sword in one hand and bore a shield on the other arm. Both were covered in flames hot enough to literally evaporate the water that struck them as Robert strode toward Leviathan. "You will not!" he bellowed, growing even larger and slashing at a reaching claw, severing two of the talons. "You will not! You will not!"
With each bellow, he grew larger and swung his sword again and again. The white-hot metal carved smoking channels across Leviathan's body. A slash across the monster's oddly truncated 'face' left one of the green eyes blank and dead. Another sliced a chunk out of Leviathan's neck.
Just for a moment, Claire dared to hope that this would drive Leviathan away. But the Endbringer had other plans. A twitch of the body was all the warning they got before the massively long tail came lashing around, demolishing what was left of the wall and striking Robert from the side. Had he been anyone else, the appendage would have cut him in half; as it was, he went down hard.
"Dad!" yelled Claire, and the dome of bone covered them an instant before Leviathan would have struck again. All of Justin's ghosts—the controller hiding behind Marquis—cooperated to bring a rapidly-shrinking Robert back to them, as Claire opened up the escape hatch.
As she'd done with Kayden, she pulled aside the branches and roots that made up part of the floor beneath them, and dropped them all down as if riding a particularly fast elevator. Above them, even as the dome shattered beneath Leviathan's determined assault, the living wood closed off the escape route. The building went next as Leviathan sought to tear into their refuge, but they were below ground level by then.
She deposited them into the same undergound chamber as Kayden was recovering in. Bioluminescent fungi—not there by accident—lit the space, albeit dimly. Marquis took two fast steps and gathered the exhausted woman in his arms. "Are you alright?" he queried anxiously.
"I'll … I'll be fine," she murmured. "I've never gone that far down before."
"Which reminds me," Justin said, a little nervously. "We're still down here, and Leviathan's still up there, and now Claire can't heal anyone because she's stuck down here with us."
"It'll be fine," Claire assured him. "I thought it might come to this." Stepping back, she leaned against the rough interlocking roots that made up the wall of the chamber. "How's Robert?"
"Robert is fine," grunted Robert, sitting up and feeling at his side. "I'll never complain again about learning to roll with a hit."
"Good. I'm just going to finish this." Closing her eyes, Claire let her hands merge with the wood. This was not something she'd ever tried before, but she'd figured it was theoretically possible, so why not give it a shot?
Hello?
The vast slow consciousness seemed to loom over her.
Hello
Hello, Mr. Bloom.
Are you Maker
I am. Can you help me?
What help need
With each exchange with the gigantic plant entity, Claire felt her consciousness expanding in ways she'd never thought possible. She could have taken him over in his entirety, but it would take time to settle herself into the new massive body, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to separate herself down into a single human form again. So she hovered at the edge, watching and learning but not invading.
I need to make Leviathan go away. Can we do that? Claire sent a mental image of her intention.
Make big damage water go away
Yes, exactly.
Can do that
Claire smiled.
Alexandria
Rebecca came flashing in at speed and hammered a double-fisted punch into where Leviathan's ribcage would be if he had one. The Endbringer staggered sideways and tried to snare her, but his clawed hand hadn't finished growing its fingers back. Beyond him, the bone-covered hill had been mostly demolished, with no sign of where Marchioness and her entourage had gone. There hadn't been any notification from the wristbands, which would usually have meant they were okay, but she couldn't be sure.
The part of her mind that kept track of such things noted that the villain's daughter had absolutely turned the tide (so to speak) for this fight. Injuries which would normally have put capes out of the fight permanently had been healed in minutes, allowing them to keep pouring on the heat and hold Leviathan back from doing far more damage than he could have.
It was a pity about Disney World, though. She hoped they had good insurance.
Still, as damaged as he was, he seemed determined to locate Marchioness and put an end to her. Either this was the usual Endbringer vindictiveness turned up to eleven, or she'd been his target all along. But in that case, why didn't he attack Brockton Bay? For that reason, she was going with 'vindictiveness'.
Legend and Eidolon hammered Leviathan with another couple of shots … then the landscape shifted. Rebecca blinked, wondering if she was seeing things, but in the next second a dozen trees seemed to explode out of the ground, all around Leviathan. No, not trees.
Fingers.
Leviathan went nuts, trying to move or cut his way out of the trap that had sprung up around him, but the thick woody stems seemed to absorb the water, and regenerate the damage he did to them before he could make any headway.
A mountain sat up, or so it seemed. Huge eyes, vaguely reflective, blinked open and looked at her. And then, with a rumbling crash that echoed across the land, the figure tore itself upward out of the surrounding terrain. Five hundred feet tall if it was an inch, it was mostly humanoid though immensely thick in the legs. And with it came Leviathan.
Caged between the tree-trunk fingers, Leviathan sprayed water in all directions in a frenzied attempt at escaping, making no further headway than he had before. Rebecca held up a hand to stop any blasters from trying to hit him where he was; she recalled Marchioness' earlier words, and didn't want to spoil the plan.
Rearing back, the monstrous figure cocked its arm in an unmistakeable pose. A mouth more akin to a primordial cave opened, and a voice louder than any foghorn announced, "PULL!" Then it threw.
Rebecca considered herself well-read, and to have an understanding of how material strength worked. The speed with which that gigantic arm whipped forward broke a couple of laws of physics as she knew them, and bent several others. But then, she broke the law of physics every day just by existing, so what did she know?
Appropriately warned, the flying blasters were waiting; when Leviathan was sent flying, he passed through a hellish gauntlet that knocked pieces off him all over again. As he disappeared over the horizon, the rain began to slow and then stop. Rebecca watched a beam of sunlight pierce through the overhead clouds, and then another.
Slowly, the gigantic homunculus lay down in the depression it had made when it stood up. Rebecca was still wondering exactly what was going on there when the ground opened up and five perfectly normal capes emerged. As normal as capes got, anyway.
"Attention." Dragon's voice sounded very pleased. "Leviathan just landed in the Atlantic Ocean, seventy-three miles offshore. He is swimming for deep water. We've won, team."
As the other capes raised a cheer, Rebecca drifted down to ground level, in front of the capes. Marquis and Marchioness, she recognized from PRT reports. Palatina and Legionnaire, from their powersets, were rebranded capes from the now-defunct Empire Eighty-Eight. From their performance during this battle, she was willing to leave them be. She didn't recognise the young man in the armour with the sword, but new capes came along all the time.
"Congratulations." She deliberately addressed her words to Marchioness. "Was that all your doing?" If it was, she knew, the PRT would have to drastically upgrade their analysis of her powers. Just a ranged healer, my muscular left butt-cheek.
"Thank you," the girl—no mask, evening gown, and barefoot, though somehow she made it work—said with a smile and a hint of a curtsey. There was a glint in her eye that hinted she knew what Rebecca was thinking. "It wasn't all me, though. A lot of it was Mr. Bloom."
Rebecca blinked. "Mr … Bloom?"
Marchioness nodded. "Yeah. He lives under the city. He doesn't do much, though. Except when he feels like it. I wouldn't bother him, if I were you."
"I … see." The girl had remarkably few tells, but she appeared sincere. "Well, thank you for your exemplary healing capabilities. Our casualty list is far lower than it would be, because of you."
"Well, not just me." Marchioness gestured toward the long-coated figures emerging from the surrounding area and converging on the small party. They were all bedraggled and showed marks of the travails they'd been through, but they each moved with purpose and capability. "The Mercia did a lot of the search and rescue. They deserve credit, too."
Rebecca nodded. She'd seen them doing just that, and had been impressed with their dedication to the job. "I will ensure Director Piggot gets a glowing report for your assistance here, today."
"Thank you." Although Marquis' voice remained steady, a smile quirked the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure she will appreciate that."
And I'm just as sure she won't. Emily Piggot's attitude toward capes was well-known to Rebecca.
With a single polite nod directed at all of them, she lifted off again, surveying the devastated landscape. The vast majority of the citizens had survived, as had all but a few of the capes who had answered the call. That was cause for celebration.
But now, it was time to rebuild.
End of Part Twenty-Four
Part Twenty-Four: Boss Fight
[A/N: This chapter commissioned by GW_Yoda and beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]
Marchioness
Claire entered the room alongside Jonas, with Abigail bringing up the rear. All eyes turned to her, and she raised her chin. "Okay, then. I've heard the news. I'm going. Who's coming with, and who's minding the store while we're out?"
Kayden was the first to step forward, but only by a fraction of a second. Everyone began speaking at once, with each person stating that of course they were coming along. Claire knew that wouldn't fly, but she waited for her father to bring order to the chaos.
He did so, stepping forward and clapping his hands together once. "Thank you for your support. You cannot all go, of course. As my dear Claire has stated, some have to stay behind." Turning, he glanced at Abigail. "Your talents do not lend themselves to fighting an Endbringer. Would you do me the honour of guarding my household while I am away?"
As Claire had known she would, the Irish cape nodded gracefully and stepped forward. "Indeed, and so I will. Leviathan has no pockets to be picked nor valuables to be liberated, so he is of no interest to me."
Earl chuckled with the others at the release of tension in the room. "Thank you. Marcus, you'll also be staying."
"What?" protested the teenage boy. "But—"
"An Endbringer fight is no place for someone as young as you," Earl said gravely. "I'll be taking half the Mercia along to act as search and rescue. The other half will need direction, as our interests in Brockton Bay will need to be protected. Will you stand alongside Abigail in this?"
Marcus, clearly torn, looked at his 'uncle' then at Abigail. Drawing a deep breath, he made his decision. "Yes. Yes, I will."
"Good." Earl's tone was brisk. "Jonas, Robert, you will guard Claire with your life. She will be the most important person there. Do you understand me?"
Jonas merely nodded slightly while Robert lifted his chin. "She'll be safe with us, sir."
"That's the general idea," Earl agreed. "Legionnaire, I doubt your power will be able to put a dent in Leviathan, but your ghosts will be useful for search and rescue. Palatina, you're our biggest hitter. If either of you chose not to go, I would understand; merely sharing a battlefield with an Endbringer is dangerous. But I'm asking."
Kayden and Justin shared a glance, then both stepped forward.
"If Claire got hurt because I wasn't there to hit Leviathan hard enough, I'd never forgive myself," Kayden said softly. "I'm going."
"Me too," Justin added hastily. "I mean, you're not wrong about my power only being good for search and rescue, but I'm trying to be better these days. So, count me in."
Earl smiled and dusted off his hands. "Good to hear. Jonas, we're going to need to equip the men. I've had supplies put away for this occasion. Main storeroom, first closet. Meet us at the cars."
The big man nodded. "Right you are, sir."
<><>
PRT Building
Fifteen Minutes Later
Emily Piggot had heard the term 'ass-deep in alligators' before, but she'd never applied it to herself. The state the local PRT had been in on the day she hobbled into the office would have fit the bill, but after years of her personal leadership, nobody dared push too hard. Because she pushed back.
However, today could almost meet the description. Leviathan had already made landfall near Orlando, and the only thing stopping him from advancing on the city were the skills of the villainous tinker known as Stinger. Brought over from the West Coast, he'd made use of the facilities of the Kennedy Space Centre to create anti-Endbringer missiles on the fly. There wouldn't be much of the Space Centre left by the time he or Leviathan were finished, but he was buying Orlando valuable time. She'd heard intercity missiles were being prepped next, to be used when Stinger either retreated or was killed.
The message had gone out to Marquis that Marchioness' offer was being taken up, but she hadn't heard back since his acknowledgement of her call. Her cynicism told her that the girl would find some reason not to go, though she had doubts on that matter. Right now, she had no time to worry about that, as she was trying to link in with several other Directors to coordinate reinforcements for the capes in Orlando.
The kid had healed thousands of people in Brockton General over the last few months, after all. And the hands-off situation with her father would only last so long as they knew she would contribute in that fashion. If she reneged, he'd be back in the sights of the PRT as a valid target.
Her office door opened just as she reached for yet another ringing phone. It was Renick, looking more than a little frazzled. "Emily, you need to see this. Check out the security camera in the lobby."
Paul Renick was the quintessential subordinate; though not so great at leadership, he always gave her the information she needed when she needed it. She didn't waste a second clicking her mouse on the appropriate tab.
The image of the lobby downstairs opened on her computer screen. There, standing before the guards, was Marquis, with Marchioness next to him. Also in the frame were Palatina (hah!), Legionnaire (double hah!), Knight Errant (she didn't actually have an opinion on him), and a huge guy in a leather jacket and a simple domino mask. And behind them, the lobby was filling up with men in dark long-coats.
She knew who the latter were; Marquis' Mercia had been building a solid reputation for themselves over the last couple of months. They were his leg-men, his enforcers. Where he said he would protect, they protected, often to far better effect than the cops.
Emily had no idea where he was finding so many low-level capes, but the reports on them universally spoke about Brute-level strength and Mover-level speed. The few times any of them had been arrested, they'd submitted quietly. Through the grapevine, she'd heard that trying to sweat them for information on Marquis was a lost cause; that they'd just sit there, waiting. Invariably, the charges had been dropped due to a lack of credible evidence.
She wasn't sure what was more worrying. That a powerful supervillain had a small army of capes at his beck and call, and that they moved around freely during the day to public approval, or that someone was apparently trying to frame the Mercia for crimes (and failing). Emily believed strongly in the rule of law and that criminals needed to be punished. But there was a right way and a wrong way to do it, and going off the reservation like that was the wrong way.
"He's here for the Leviathan fight?" It was the glaringly obvious conclusion, but she'd been wrong with those before.
"That's what he says." Renick seemed to be having a slightly better time accepting this. "And I'll deny saying this if you tell anyone but from my understanding of the man, he doesn't bother lying about his motives."
"I've looked through his file." Emily shook her head. "He's a stone killer. Implicated in the murders of at least five heroes and several villains. And you're saying we can trust him?"
Renick shrugged. "You were there for the aftermath of the bank thing. My take on him is that he's got an ego roughly the size of Greenland. Put simply, his image is more important to him than the profit motive. If he says he's going to do something, he does it, even if it's only to spite anyone who says he can't."
"And Marchioness said she'd show up for Endbringer fights. He'll be there to protect her and make sure nobody tries anything hinky with his daughter." Emily pursed her lips. "Can't say I blame him. Any idea on who the big guy is?"
"He gave his name as Watchman. We've had reports of a big guy working with Marquis before, but we've never gotten a good look at him before now. I'm pretty sure this is him." Renick tilted his head. "If it's the same guy, he's the one witnesses saw beating the snot out of Hookwolf."
"And with a name like that, he's specifically there to protect her as well." Emily nodded in satisfaction. "Good. It means we don't have to detach troops to do the same thing. Okay, get them all up to the roof. Strider should be coming by in about two minutes."
"Can he handle that many in a single jump?" Renick couldn't see her screen, but he'd clearly gauged the size of the group from his own office.
"If he can't, he's just going to have to come back." Emily slapped the desk. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get them up there, now! Villain's daughter or not, she's our best chance of keeping as many capes on the battlefield as possible!"
"Ma'am!" he vanished from the doorway, heading back to his own office. Her door slowly swung closed, then clicked shut.
Leaning back in her chair, Emily closed her eyes and sighed. She truly hated having to call on parahuman resources to deal with a rampaging menace, but it was very much a case of 'no other options available'. Her every instinct shouted at her that one day the capes would cut and run at precisely the wrong time, leaving unpowered troops facing the Endbringers … but hopefully, today would not be that day.
Grimly, she leaned forward again, watching as the Marquis contingent funneled into the elevators that would take them to the roof exit. On one level, she was obscurely pleased that Marchioness was actually coming through with the promise that had been keeping the heat off Marquis. On quite another, she wanted them all the hell away from her building, right the fuck now.
A click of the mouse brought up the roof cameras, and she watched as the villain gang prepped themselves to be teleported into a war zone. Each of the long-coated Mercia appeared to be carrying a basic first-aid kit on his belt, which probably wasn't a bad idea now that she came to think of it. On the other hip, each of them had something she couldn't quite make out, other than that it had a cylindrical shape. Fire extinguishers? Maybe they're kitted out for a Behemoth fight?
Whatever; it wasn't her problem. They were going to a battle at the far end of the east coast. If the gods of ill luck and destruction were smiling on her, fewer villains would return than went down there.
There was a disturbance on the image, and she realised Strider had arrived. He looked a little taken aback at the number of people waiting for him, but he gestured for them to gather around all the same. A flash of light, and he was gone; the rooftop was now clear of everyone apart from PRT troopers. The only Protectorate capes in the city right now were the Wards (she'd refused to send any down to the fight) and Velocity, who'd twisted his ankle the previous morning and was still on the sick list.
Now, let's hope the villains are smart enough to keep their heads down until this is over. Because she fully intended to Birdcage the fuck out of anyone pulling shit during an Endbringer situation.
<><>
Marchioness
To a man (or woman), every hero who'd been transported to Orlando with them dropped to a knee or even to all fours. Claire saw Assault discreetly trying not to retch, while she and her comrades stood firm. This was due in part to the subtle adjustments she'd long ago made to their vestibular systems, improving their balance and reducing the chance of motion sickness. The other part was based in how her power reached out to every one of them, bolstering their ability to overcome what little nausea they felt.
It was pouring rain, and they were standing in a broad parking lot. A Dragon suit was crouched at the side of the parking lot, with PRT troopers milling around it. Claire looked around as a trooper carrying a cardboard box came over to where she stood with her father.
"Locator armbands!" the trooper explained, having to raise his voice as thunder rolled. A moment later, she realised it hadn't been thunder as a brief, brilliant light shone through the clouds from the east, and the asphalt under their feet jittered and threw water droplets into the air. This was followed by a tremendous BOOM that would've half-deafened her if she'd let it.
A blue-and-white figure flashed into sight then came to a dead stop, hovering over the collected capes. Claire recognised him as Legend, the leader of the Protectorate. "Stinger's down!" he shouted. "All heavy hitters to the barricade! This way!" He flashed off again, to the east; a motley assortment of capes followed him. Unfolding its wings, the Dragon suit powered up its turbines and lifted off in a spray of water. Kayden snatched an armband from the box, lit up her powers, and flew off in that direction as well.
Taking one of the armbands from the box, Claire fitted it onto her forearm. She listened to the instructions for using it, then spoke her name clearly for the microphone. "Where's the medical area?" she shouted toward the PRT trooper, because the rain was only getting heavier and explosions had already started from the east.
"Over there!" the trooper replied, pointing to the southwest, and a cluster of buildings. "We're slightly higher up than the surrounding area, so we won't flood as easily!"
From what Claire knew of Florida, 'slightly higher up' meant 'occasionally above sea level', so she wasn't optimistic about that. Her father jerked his chin to catch her eye; his expression mirrored her thoughts. "This area is a collection of lakes vaguely separated by land," he snapped. "Leviathan won't even have to exert himself to flood us out."
"I'm sorry!" shouted the trooper. "It's what we've got to work with!"
"Well, we're just going to have to do better!" he snapped back. "Marchioness?"
"On it, Dad," she called back, looking around for something that she could repurpose. Why did they have to pave over everything? "Someone get me a piece of plant life, stat!"
Several of the Mercia darted off in different directions, while she kept moving toward where the medical setup was with her father. Jonas and Robert flanked her, each with their head on a swivel for potential threats. More explosions came from the east, noticeably closer than before.
"They're not holding him," she said, more as a matter-of-fact observation than a statement of worry.
"I didn't expect them to," her father answered. "They're all used to just piling on willy-nilly. Nothing but the most basic of organisation. No strategy, barely any tactics. Unfortunately, that describes the majority of capes today."
A long-coated figure dashed up to Claire and handed her a freshly broken-off branch from a bush. "Is this good enough, miss?" he asked.
She smiled at him and took the branch. "Thank you." He was an ex-Empire member who'd seen the writing on the wall, relinquished his old ways, and approached them to see if he could join. Absolutely loyal to Marquis and Claire both, he had proven his worth to the Mercia several times over.
A moment later, she felt the rumbling in the ground, but initially dismissed it as another explosion. But it kept on building. "Warning," her armband said. "Tsunami. Get to high ground."
"There is no high ground!" yelled Robert in frustration. "This place is a sponge full of water!"
Yes, thought Claire. It is, isn't it? Peering through the sweeping curtains of rain, she thought she saw the approaching line of the wave; even several miles away, it seemed to tower over the buildings. The rumbling grew more intense, and she instinctively added several adaptations; larger eyes for seeing underwater, dolphin-sonar for murky water, heavy-duty gills for silt-laden water, and pop-out fins on her arms and legs in case she had to go swimming.
"No cover, no high ground!" shouted Marquis. "We'll have to bunker down!" Bone shot from his hands, forming a dome over the top of them, while Jonas wrapped his arms protectively around Claire and Robert stood before them. What he intended to do if the flood breached the dome she didn't know, but she was happy to let him do his thing.
The rumbling came ever closer, and then it washed over them. A few cracks developed in the dome, spraying water, but Marquis shored those weak points up, adding more and more layers of bone. Claire's armband, echoed by everyone else's, began listing a litany of people's names, both downed and deceased. "We need to get to the medical area," she said out loud, as the water finally began draining away, gurgling noisily past the exterior of the dome.
"I doubt there's a medical area left now," her father said grimly. "If they were on the first or even the second floor, that probably wiped them out."
The list of those taken out by the tsunami came to an end. Justin sighed in relief. "Kayden's still okay. I've got my ghosts doing search and rescue, alongside the Mercia."
"Find us a hospital," Marquis ordered. "They're typically more than two stories tall, and they have beds."
"On it," Justin responded.
When Marquis cracked the dome and opened it like a flower, the landscape had been ravaged almost beyond recognition. Every building within sight had been either flattened or suffered noticeable damage. The water was still ankle-deep as it sluggishly flowed away; Claire kicked off her shoes and adjusted her feet for greater traction and the potential for stepping on sharp objects.
The piece of greenery in her hand was still alive; she broke off a leafy twig and forced it through a dramatic change, forming it into a seed. As they headed for the building that had held the medical area, she dropped the seed into the water then stepped on it, forcing it into the mud beneath her feet. A vine sprouted almost immediately and followed her footsteps, maintaining contact with her. More twigs were broken from the branch and more seeds formed as she followed her father. If she was going to do more than the required minimum here, she was going to need the tools of her trade.
"Found a college dorm," Justin said, pointing toward a slightly taller building within easy walking distance. "The doctors and stuff at the medical setup are alive, but they're pretty beat up. All their gear's wrecked, though."
"Have them meet us at the college dorm," Marquis ordered, quickening his pace and changing direction. "Marchioness, we're going to need to fortify that place against further waves. What can you do?"
Claire looked over at the building. "I figure I can lift it twenty, thirty feet. But it'll be mainly sitting on earth. A wave will wash that away."
"I'll deal with that part. But the waves will still be hitting us with considerable force."
He wasn't wrong. The local terrain was both waterlogged and flat; neither aspect conducive to slowing down wave action. "Guess I'm going to have to do something about that, too."
The seed she'd buried still had a vine wrapped around her ankle, below water level. It had already been growing and expanding underground, sucking up water for mass and sending roots burrowing in all directions. Usually plants extended roots or branches at a rate of inches per week; with her thumb on the scales and her power pushing hard, this plant's expansion rate could be measured in feet per second.
Now, she gave it specific orders. At preselected points toward the east, hillocks started bulging up out of the ground, lifted and reinforced by writhing root systems. Along with this increase in activity came a sudden drop in the local water level, as the plant sent rootlets to the surface and began to siphon it down. Even nearby lakes saw a similar reduction. There was no sense in giving Leviathan more ammunition, after all.
"Wounded incoming," Robert announced, gesturing with his free hand. Claire wasn't sure why he had a sword formed, but she wasn't going to second-guess him. A major part of the training they'd been giving him was to encourage him to use initiative, after all.
She looked around and saw members of the Mercia coming toward them, carrying injured capes. Even over the damaged and waterlogged landscape, they were running at speeds not even a fully kitted-out all-wheel drive could have managed. It was no wonder Director Piggot had been heard to ask where all these new capes in her city had come from.
"I'm bringing the medical volunteers over as well," Justin said. "Some of them are in pretty bad shape."
"Just get them in around me." Claire looked up at the dormitory. "The worst cases closest."
Dropping another seed on the muddy ground, she stepped on it, making firm contact. As with the first seed, it exploded downward into the waterlogged ground, sucking up the moisture and expanding in all directions. Coiling around the foundations of the dorm building, the plant gathered in as much earth as it could, then started to expand upward.
The ground bulged all around the building, cracks opening to show the writhing plant life below as the building inexorably rose. Like a vastly sped-up film about trees overtaking a ghost town, enormous woody trunks hoisted the dorm building into the air while wrapping thick branches around the outside for support. Claire nodded to herself in satisfaction; that was high enough to be above most of the wave action.
"Marchioness!" The voice was high-pitched and desperate. More to the point, it was someone she knew. She turned and looked up, just as Mega Girl swooped down toward her. Cradled in the teen's arms was another familiar figure; Lady Photon.
The older Brockton Bay Brigade member was badly injured, blood staining her white costume. She had gash across the side of her head, her ribcage was stove in, and her left arm was only hanging on by a shred. Hastily applied bandages, equally stained red, were all that had kept her alive up until now.
"You've got to help her!" pleaded Mega Girl. "Please! She's dying!"
"Give her to me!" Claire reached upward to accept the burden. Most of the other wounded weren't as badly off, in that they wouldn't die before her power took hold, but Lady Photon was in a different situation altogether.
The moment she made physical contact with the hero, her healing power kicked into high gear. She could already see the considerable internal damage that could still kill Lady Photon, so she guided her power to fix the heart and lungs first. There was a little brain damage, but she reversed that with barely a thought. It helped, she mused absently, that she'd met Lady Photon already and respected her quite a bit.
All around her, broken bones knitted and cuts closed without any fuss at all. Unconscious capes blinked themselves awake, feeling for injuries that no longer existed. The volunteer medical staff, supported by Justin's ghosts, were soon able to stand on their own two feet.
"-out!" shouted Lady Photon, waking up suddenly and flying ten feet straight up. Her protective force field snapped into place, then she blinked and looked down at her arm. "What? How …?"
"It was Marchioness," Mega Girl explained rapidly. "She fixed you."
"Oh." Lady Photon looked down at Claire. "Thank you. I mean it."
Claire nodded. "I know." She watched as the heroes flew away, back toward the battlefield. Explosions and other power effects lit up the area, even through the teeming rain. Orlando, it seemed, was not having a good time of it.
"Have you finished with your construction?" asked Marquis. "Or did you wish to make it higher?"
"No, that should be good for now," Claire decided.
"Good." Marquis stretched out his hand, and bone erupted from it. When it hit the front face of the impromptu hill, it spread, plating the earth and wood beneath with layer after layer of gleaming white. As an encore, he added a set of wide stairs up the side, to where a doorway had once let out onto ground level.
As she hurried up the steps, Claire pressed the buttons on her armband in the way she'd been instructed. "New medical post has been set up at my location," she stated. "It's on a white hill. You can't miss us."
"Understood, and thank you," Dragon answered. The armband's screen flickered, then flashed red. "Warning. Tsunami incoming."
When Robert opened the door at the top of the stairs, water poured out. Knee-deep at first, it gushed down around their feet, then ran off to the sides as Marquis adjusted channels on the steps.
But Claire could feel the rumbling under her feet again. Looking out at the horizon, she could see the incoming wave, even through the rain. She didn't want to get caught out in the open again, and this one looked even higher. "Dad …?"
Bone flared, and the staircase continued, in through the doorway. The water kept running out, via drains to either side. They climbed upward until the second floor pressed down on their heads from above. Marquis turned to Jonas and raised an eyebrow.
"Right you are, sir." Bracing himself, the brawny South African drew back his fist and punched a hole straight up through the ceiling and the floor of the room above. Several more blows saw an entire chunk of concrete broken away and sent tumbling down to the side. Rebar got into the way occasionally, but Jonas simply snapped that off and tossed it aside as well.
By the time the rumbling was too close to ignore, they had all climbed out onto the second floor. It was a lot drier up here; while the windows had broken due to the impact of the wave, all the water seemed to have run downstairs. Claire opened a door—it was locked, but she didn't let that stop her—and stared out the window at the onrushing wave.
It was tall and menacing, looking set to sweep away everything before it … right up until it hit her wave-breakers. Placed in staggered formation, they disrupted the incoming mass of water, robbing it of power and momentum. Claire watched the spray fly out from each one as it was run under by the mass of water, and saw that the wave was rapidly losing ground. Putting a hand on one of her plant tendrils as it curved past the window, she sent orders for the plants to start drawing in all the water they could, and to keep on expanding.
Finally, the wave hit the base of the building; it shuddered, but only a little. The very last of it splashed upward against the side of the repurposed dormitory, then receded. "We did it," she said with satisfaction.
"That we did, chick," rumbled Jonas from behind her.
More names sounded from her arm-band, of capes downed and dead. None of them were of the Mercia—they had identified themselves as just that; 'Mercia' followed by a number—which didn't surprise her. She'd designed their modifications for survival above all else, after all.
"We'll have incoming in a minute!" she called out, and was answered with a shattering crash. No shouts of alarm sounded, so she went to see what was going on.
In a moment, she saw and understood; Robert and a couple of members of the Mercia were breaking down interior walls to make a wider area for her to receive patients in. At her nod, Jonas joined in. The sheer destructive power inherent in his repurposed frame was impressive to behold as he tore out entire wall panels at a time.
When the next wave of injured arrived, beds had been arranged so she could walk between them with all the patients within her range. Robert and Jonas still stuck to her side, just in case anyone did anything stupid; fortunately for all concerned, nobody did. Most of the casualties were ferried in by the Mercia and Justin's ghosts working in tandem, but a few came in assisted by other capes.
Parahumans wearing brightly coloured (though waterlogged) costumes came in broken and left whole again, invigorated and ready to rejoin the battle. From the chatter she heard, Palatina was right in the middle of the fray, hammering the monster as hard as she could. Claire was concerned about that; while powerful, Kayden recharged her abilities from sunlight, and there was precious little of that wherever the thick clouds overlaid the land.
But there wasn't much she could do about it, right then. Kayden knew her own limitations even better than Claire did; as much as Claire adored her, she wasn't Kayden's mother. It was up to Claire to provide the healing she'd promised, and up to Kayden to come home safely.
Two more tsunamis came and went while Leviathan rampaged through downtown Orlando and then Disney World (because apparently nothing was sacred). Each wave was more powerful than the last, but Claire had anticipated that, building her network of wave-spoilers higher and wider with every iteration. Either the Endbringer was determined to murder heroes or they were just getting tired, as the number of casualties was gradually increasing.
Fortunately, more were coming in injured than dying in the field, thanks to the Mercia and the ghosts. Even more fortunately, Claire's version of healing meant she didn't have to focus on one patient at a time; they were getting off the beds and making their way back to the battle just a little faster than they came in. Even those with potentially fatal injuries were surviving and recovering within minutes; there were only so many ways a person could be brought almost to death's door, after all.
So then, of course, Leviathan noticed that capes he'd put down were coming back into the battle, ready for another round.
Or perhaps he simply became aware of the anomalous building surrounded by dry land where there should be knee-deep flooding, impervious to the worst tsunamis that came at it. Claire didn't know what went on inside the brain of an Endbringer, or even if there was a brain in there. She certainly didn't want to be the first to try to find out.
But whatever the reasoning, she wasn't entirely surprised when the armband gave its warning.
"Leviathan breaking contact and moving toward grid E-7. I say again, Leviathan is moving toward the medical aid station. Marchioness, you need to evacuate. Do you copy?"
By now, Claire's plant system had spread far enough, with the special communication fibre incorporated into it, that she could treat it as a vastly distributed nervous system all of its own. The first slow thoughts were starting to travel across it as awareness began to awaken. She hadn't been intending to do that here at all, but Leviathan wasn't going away, so she had to plan for the worst.
"Thank you, Mr. Bloom," she murmured without moving her lips as the plant tendril network registered Leviathan's movement. He was moving fast—not as quickly as he'd been measured in water, but still speedy enough to outpace the Mercia, and in fact some light aircraft.
She had less than a minute before he reached the location of the repurposed dormitory. In the back of her mind was the plan she'd evolved to carry out in case he decided to directly attack this area. She began to make her preparations to carry it out, while at the same time leaning hard into her powers in other directions. Most people couldn't multi-task effectively; she was capable of splitting her mind into several sections and letting each area deal with a specific problem.
Lifting the armband to her mouth, she pressed the button. "Marchioness copies. I invite all ranged blasters to this location. We're going to have a skeet party. Marchioness, out."
In the meantime, she decided, there would be a distraction. Leviathan was fast, but her power was faster. Striking upward from the water in front of the monster came thorny vines, distantly related to the irritating 'wait-a-minute' vines that can hook an unwary hiker in deep woods. Only, these were cored with carbon fibre and attached to root balls buried deep underground. Whipping around Leviathan's legs, some tore free but others latched on. With even a temporary purchase, they disrupted his balance so that he had to come to a halt or find himself 'face' down in the mud.
He retaliated, of course; his water shadow, moving as fast as he was and capable of flaying the meat off a person's bones, lashed forward along Leviathan's path, gouging into the earth and tearing up more of the thorny cables. One leg at a time, he ripped himself free of his botanical attackers, then leaped high and wide to avoid more of the thorny vines.
The trap was quickly overcome, of course, but it still cost him valuable time and allowed some of the pursuing capes to catch up. However, he was intent on his goal. No matter how they poured on the damage, he kept powering toward the anomalous dormitory on its singular white hill.
And then Kayden dropped into Leviathan's path, not a hundred yards before the dormitory. Even from that distance, Claire could tell how weary she was, how deeply she was digging into her reserves. She'd given her all in this battle, and the ongoing marks on Leviathan's hide were testament to that. But the battle was not yet over, and she still had more to give.
Refusing to take another step back, Kayden opened up on Leviathan with everything she had. Actinic light flared as her coiling blast slammed into his chest, enough damage to destroy whole buildings smashing chunks off him. Once more he slowed, but this time he did not stop. Stride by stride, he bore down on her, green eyes flaring, claws flexing.
Her blast faltered as her powers reached the bottom of her reserves. She fell to one knee and summoned up more energy from somewhere, smashing Leviathan with another burst of energy. But it was her last gasp; her power flickered and went out, leaving her facing the Endbringer unprotected.
Watching from the dormitory window, Claire gasped in horror as Leviathan blurred forward, claws seeking to shred Kayden for the sheer effrontery of having opposed him. But as they slashed downward, they encountered instead a dome of pure bone, that had formed in a fraction of a second. The Endbringer gouged at the protective housing, tearing large sections away, intent on reaching his intended prey within.
But Claire had not been idle. The instant Kayden was out of sight, the packed root systems beneath her opened to form a tunnel, dropping her into it. There was more plant matter than earth beneath the surface mud now; by the time Leviathan tore away the last of the dome, the roots had closed over again to leave no sign of where Kayden had gotten to.
Within the dormitory, the last of Claire's patients were healed. As none of them were capable of facing Leviathan one-on-one, they opted to take the proffered exit along with the medical volunteers, escaping via the far end of the building. Those who could not fly were floated to the ground by Justin's ghosts. They were just in time, as Leviathan charged the dormitory again, bringing his water-shadow into play to crash against the walls.
Buttressed by the network of branches reinforcing the building, the sturdy brickwork held out against the hammer-blows of water, but were unable to stand up to Leviathan's claws. Claire saw the wall torn away, then Jonas shielded her behind his massive body as another burst of water smashed in through the hole. Some of the water blast was deflected by a shield put up by Marquis, but the rest was handled by Robert.
Fully eight feet tall by now and growing by the second, the clone renamed as Knight Errant held a sword in one hand and bore a shield on the other arm. Both were covered in flames hot enough to literally evaporate the water that struck them as Robert strode toward Leviathan. "You will not!" he bellowed, growing even larger and slashing at a reaching claw, severing two of the talons. "You will not! You will not!"
With each bellow, he grew larger and swung his sword again and again. The white-hot metal carved smoking channels across Leviathan's body. A slash across the monster's oddly truncated 'face' left one of the green eyes blank and dead. Another sliced a chunk out of Leviathan's neck.
Just for a moment, Claire dared to hope that this would drive Leviathan away. But the Endbringer had other plans. A twitch of the body was all the warning they got before the massively long tail came lashing around, demolishing what was left of the wall and striking Robert from the side. Had he been anyone else, the appendage would have cut him in half; as it was, he went down hard.
"Dad!" yelled Claire, and the dome of bone covered them an instant before Leviathan would have struck again. All of Justin's ghosts—the controller hiding behind Marquis—cooperated to bring a rapidly-shrinking Robert back to them, as Claire opened up the escape hatch.
As she'd done with Kayden, she pulled aside the branches and roots that made up part of the floor beneath them, and dropped them all down as if riding a particularly fast elevator. Above them, even as the dome shattered beneath Leviathan's determined assault, the living wood closed off the escape route. The building went next as Leviathan sought to tear into their refuge, but they were below ground level by then.
She deposited them into the same undergound chamber as Kayden was recovering in. Bioluminescent fungi—not there by accident—lit the space, albeit dimly. Marquis took two fast steps and gathered the exhausted woman in his arms. "Are you alright?" he queried anxiously.
"I'll … I'll be fine," she murmured. "I've never gone that far down before."
"Which reminds me," Justin said, a little nervously. "We're still down here, and Leviathan's still up there, and now Claire can't heal anyone because she's stuck down here with us."
"It'll be fine," Claire assured him. "I thought it might come to this." Stepping back, she leaned against the rough interlocking roots that made up the wall of the chamber. "How's Robert?"
"Robert is fine," grunted Robert, sitting up and feeling at his side. "I'll never complain again about learning to roll with a hit."
"Good. I'm just going to finish this." Closing her eyes, Claire let her hands merge with the wood. This was not something she'd ever tried before, but she'd figured it was theoretically possible, so why not give it a shot?
Hello?
The vast slow consciousness seemed to loom over her.
Hello
Hello, Mr. Bloom.
Are you Maker
I am. Can you help me?
What help need
With each exchange with the gigantic plant entity, Claire felt her consciousness expanding in ways she'd never thought possible. She could have taken him over in his entirety, but it would take time to settle herself into the new massive body, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to separate herself down into a single human form again. So she hovered at the edge, watching and learning but not invading.
I need to make Leviathan go away. Can we do that? Claire sent a mental image of her intention.
Make big damage water go away
Yes, exactly.
Can do that
Claire smiled.
<><>
Alexandria
Rebecca came flashing in at speed and hammered a double-fisted punch into where Leviathan's ribcage would be if he had one. The Endbringer staggered sideways and tried to snare her, but his clawed hand hadn't finished growing its fingers back. Beyond him, the bone-covered hill had been mostly demolished, with no sign of where Marchioness and her entourage had gone. There hadn't been any notification from the wristbands, which would usually have meant they were okay, but she couldn't be sure.
The part of her mind that kept track of such things noted that the villain's daughter had absolutely turned the tide (so to speak) for this fight. Injuries which would normally have put capes out of the fight permanently had been healed in minutes, allowing them to keep pouring on the heat and hold Leviathan back from doing far more damage than he could have.
It was a pity about Disney World, though. She hoped they had good insurance.
Still, as damaged as he was, he seemed determined to locate Marchioness and put an end to her. Either this was the usual Endbringer vindictiveness turned up to eleven, or she'd been his target all along. But in that case, why didn't he attack Brockton Bay? For that reason, she was going with 'vindictiveness'.
Legend and Eidolon hammered Leviathan with another couple of shots … then the landscape shifted. Rebecca blinked, wondering if she was seeing things, but in the next second a dozen trees seemed to explode out of the ground, all around Leviathan. No, not trees.
Fingers.
Leviathan went nuts, trying to move or cut his way out of the trap that had sprung up around him, but the thick woody stems seemed to absorb the water, and regenerate the damage he did to them before he could make any headway.
A mountain sat up, or so it seemed. Huge eyes, vaguely reflective, blinked open and looked at her. And then, with a rumbling crash that echoed across the land, the figure tore itself upward out of the surrounding terrain. Five hundred feet tall if it was an inch, it was mostly humanoid though immensely thick in the legs. And with it came Leviathan.
Caged between the tree-trunk fingers, Leviathan sprayed water in all directions in a frenzied attempt at escaping, making no further headway than he had before. Rebecca held up a hand to stop any blasters from trying to hit him where he was; she recalled Marchioness' earlier words, and didn't want to spoil the plan.
Rearing back, the monstrous figure cocked its arm in an unmistakeable pose. A mouth more akin to a primordial cave opened, and a voice louder than any foghorn announced, "PULL!" Then it threw.
Rebecca considered herself well-read, and to have an understanding of how material strength worked. The speed with which that gigantic arm whipped forward broke a couple of laws of physics as she knew them, and bent several others. But then, she broke the law of physics every day just by existing, so what did she know?
Appropriately warned, the flying blasters were waiting; when Leviathan was sent flying, he passed through a hellish gauntlet that knocked pieces off him all over again. As he disappeared over the horizon, the rain began to slow and then stop. Rebecca watched a beam of sunlight pierce through the overhead clouds, and then another.
Slowly, the gigantic homunculus lay down in the depression it had made when it stood up. Rebecca was still wondering exactly what was going on there when the ground opened up and five perfectly normal capes emerged. As normal as capes got, anyway.
"Attention." Dragon's voice sounded very pleased. "Leviathan just landed in the Atlantic Ocean, seventy-three miles offshore. He is swimming for deep water. We've won, team."
As the other capes raised a cheer, Rebecca drifted down to ground level, in front of the capes. Marquis and Marchioness, she recognized from PRT reports. Palatina and Legionnaire, from their powersets, were rebranded capes from the now-defunct Empire Eighty-Eight. From their performance during this battle, she was willing to leave them be. She didn't recognise the young man in the armour with the sword, but new capes came along all the time.
"Congratulations." She deliberately addressed her words to Marchioness. "Was that all your doing?" If it was, she knew, the PRT would have to drastically upgrade their analysis of her powers. Just a ranged healer, my muscular left butt-cheek.
"Thank you," the girl—no mask, evening gown, and barefoot, though somehow she made it work—said with a smile and a hint of a curtsey. There was a glint in her eye that hinted she knew what Rebecca was thinking. "It wasn't all me, though. A lot of it was Mr. Bloom."
Rebecca blinked. "Mr … Bloom?"
Marchioness nodded. "Yeah. He lives under the city. He doesn't do much, though. Except when he feels like it. I wouldn't bother him, if I were you."
"I … see." The girl had remarkably few tells, but she appeared sincere. "Well, thank you for your exemplary healing capabilities. Our casualty list is far lower than it would be, because of you."
"Well, not just me." Marchioness gestured toward the long-coated figures emerging from the surrounding area and converging on the small party. They were all bedraggled and showed marks of the travails they'd been through, but they each moved with purpose and capability. "The Mercia did a lot of the search and rescue. They deserve credit, too."
Rebecca nodded. She'd seen them doing just that, and had been impressed with their dedication to the job. "I will ensure Director Piggot gets a glowing report for your assistance here, today."
"Thank you." Although Marquis' voice remained steady, a smile quirked the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure she will appreciate that."
And I'm just as sure she won't. Emily Piggot's attitude toward capes was well-known to Rebecca.
With a single polite nod directed at all of them, she lifted off again, surveying the devastated landscape. The vast majority of the citizens had survived, as had all but a few of the capes who had answered the call. That was cause for celebration.
But now, it was time to rebuild.
End of Part Twenty-Four