[] Blaster group – You have Solar Wrath. You even have Ragnarök. Join the capes heading out to bombard Leviathan and give him a taste of nuclear fire.
Thunderstorm 12.2
A bell dinging behind you distracts you from your cloud-watching, and you turn around to proceed down the stairs into the top floor of the building.
The Protectorate and PRT are international organizations, but only by dint of spanning across the U.S. and Canada. There are no branches anywhere else in the world. That does not, of course, mean that those two countries are the only ones with national, government-funded hero organizations. Most of the developed world has something similar. The United Kingdom has the King's Men; Spain's own organization, Los Caballeros, proved so successful in the mid-nineties that most of the nations of Western Europe allowed the group to expand over their territories as well. Australia is no exception, and the building on which you stand is the main headquarters of their own official heroes, the Champions of Oz. It was a logical rally point, really.
The top floor of the building is centered around a giant stage, most likely meant for large press conferences, but today it works well to organize the capes from all around the world who have come to fight Leviathan. Your 'hosts' are easy to find since they are on the main stage talking with Legend and Alexandria and the floating steel sphere that Dragon has taken to using lately. The press portion of the room is filled with more capes than you could possible recognize, though you recognize those few who are closer to your home. Myrddin and what you assume are other Chicago heroes over there, joined by a blonde teenager in a purple trench coat that you are highly suspicious is a rebranded Tattletale. Almost in the opposite direction is Chevalier and Miss Militia, though you do not see Vista standing with them.
You are starting to wonder if they even know she came to the fight.
You could continue looking around, but Legend chooses this moment to walk to the front of the stage. Those right in front of him quiet down, and that silence washes over the crowd like a wave.
"Thank you all for coming," he says, his eyes sweeping over the assembled capes. "For those of you like me who came from the Americas, I am well aware of how early it is, so special thanks to you. I'm sure your spouses were as upset with your departures as mine was."
That earns a few light chuckles.
"Sadly, this is not a social call. We stand together today to fight an Endbringer. Specifically, Leviathan. As a stroke of luck, or more likely skill, Dragon and her allies were able to predict his arrival. Normally we have no choice but to jump in the fray as it happens, but thanks to their efforts, we have roughly twenty minutes to prepare for his arrival. With this advantage, some luck, teamwork, and hard effort from everyone, I hold out hope that this could be one of the good days.
"But even good days are not truly good. For the last several years, our battles against Leviathan have never had less than a twenty-five percent mortality. That is due to one very big mistake: too many good heroes – and villains, too – underestimate him. They think that because he is not as physically powerful as Behemoth or as cunning as the Simurgh, he is not as dangerous. That is not the case."
Legend folds his arms behind him. "Most of you, I am sure, have seen videos of his previous attacks on the internet or the news. In case you need a reminder, he has three attributes that you need to worry about. First is that while he may not hit as hard as Behemoth, he is by far the fastest of his siblings. Behemoth can ignore attacks thrown at him, and the Simurgh could predict where they would go and not be in the way, but Leviathan dodges. Not only is his speed defensive, he can and will use it to close the distance to anyone or anything he wants to attack. I don't care how fast you think you are. Leviathan is faster.
"Second is his afterimage, a mass of water that follows him across the battlefield. This is his most obvious threat. Taking his speed into account, that water will be as hard and as heavy as twenty-three tons of concrete. You will not drown within it; you will be turned into a smear when it crushes you.
"Despite all this, neither of these are his most dangerous weapon. That title belongs to his hydrokinesis. You have to watch not only him but the battlefield. He will bring in tidal waves from the sea, and the more water he has on the ground, the faster he will move and the more options he has with which to attack. His choice of target today makes that an even bigger risk than it normally is."
Dragon's projector sphere floats forward and displays a map of a coastal city. Streaks of blue reach inwards from the bay or harbor adjacent to the city. "We classify Leviathan's targets as hard or soft. Hard targets have no innate vulnerability, and on these days we can be more careful and defensive, working to outlast him. Soft targets, on the other hand, have some quality that makes them more exposed. Kyushu and Newfoundland, Leviathan's greatest tragedies, were both soft targets. It is these fights where we have to drive him off as quickly as we can.
"Dragon's projections indicate that the most likely target is Sydney. A soft target. Not only does it have a small aquifer beneath it that Leviathan can target in an attempt to sink the city, it has a robust storm sewer system due to the storms that routinely arrive. That system normally drains stormwater from the city to the harbor, but with the strength of his hydrokinesis, Leviathan can force water backwards and flood the city. Not only does this put the citizens at risk, it will also expand his preferred battlefield faster than almost any fight against him before."
Legend shakes his head. "I wish this was the end of the bad news. As many of you know, Dragon and her team were able to kill the Simurgh several weeks ago. We have no idea how he will react to this. He may attack as he normally does, or he may change his strategy entirely. I want all of you to be as careful as you possibly can. Do not take foolhardy risks," he warns.
Several capes move through the crowd to hand out armbands. The screen above the projector changes to show Dragon's digital avatar, and she explains, "The armbands that are being distributed are different from those used at any Endbringer fight before now. Each of them is equipped with a beacon that, should you be incapacitated, will teleport you back here to the command center. Once you have been treated by a healer and cleared to return to the fight, a second teleportation pad will send you back to Sydney. Otherwise, the button on the left will allow you to communicate concerns or warnings to the group as a whole, the button in the middle will allow you to send a request for assistance, and the screen on the right will display Leviathan's location as well as your own on a grid."
"Thinkers, you will stay here at the command center with the healers," Legend orders. "If you believe you can harm Leviathan in hand to hand combat, can survive hits from him, or can create disposable combatants, go to Alexandria."
Alexandria raised her hand unnecessarily and floated over the crowd to the edge of the crowd.
"If your powers create forcefields or shields, or if you have telekinesis, or you can do anything else that will hold back a tidal wave, you are the wave group. Narwhal will direct you." He pointed at an impossibly tall woman bearing a three-foot horn, a skin-tight layer of tiny forcefields, and nothing else.
"Teleporters. We still have time before Leviathan arrives, which means we can bring more capes to assist. A number of Tinkers have sent word that they needed to get devices that might be able to harm Leviathan. Your job is to bring them here. See Strider for details.
"Long range attackers, you are with me."
«Mistress,» Perfect Storm says, «message from Dragon. Code to log in to armband system received. No need for physical band.»
That makes things simpler. You slip away from the capes now clustering around the people who are handing out the armbands and make your way towards Legend as he finishes directions for the search and rescue team. Samantha, meanwhile, moves to follow you. It could be that she is simply walking this way to get to one of the groups, but you doubt it. "You're planning to stay with me the whole time, aren't you?" you ask with only a little resignation in you voice.
"Calamity, it's an Endbringer. You're crazy if I think I'm going to leave you alone. Can you snag me one of those armbands, while we're here?"
Picking up a band with your telekinesis, you float it over to your Guardian Beast and continue on your way to the other Blasters. Strangely enough, you recognize several capes in this group. Breakdown, the immensely powerful Blaster who eliminated the Slaughterhouse Nine, stands in his golden bodysuit talking to a very familiar woman in a white costume. It is good to see Purity again, and you hope she is doing okay in the Protectorate. A redheaded cape with a white domino mask to match her jacket and half-skirt combination gives you a nod, and it takes you a moment to realize she and the purple-haired man next to her are not actually capes. The Enforcers were able to make it to the fight after all.
Legend turns to the group and lets out a faint sigh. "Before we talk about more detailed tactics, I need to be sure. Even though we will be attacking Leviathan from a distance, our efforts will still draw his attention. If you are having second thoughts about joining this group and instead want to focus on search and rescue or one of the other groups, no one will blame you."
No one moved.
"Very well. Those of you who can fly, you will be pulling double duty both attacking and moving other capes around the battlefield, including those standing next to you who cannot fly. I cannot tell you exactly how to attack Leviathan, but in general we have found three methods to be effective when combined.
"If your power lets you produce a large number of weak attacks, using them on his eyes can work to distract him, which in turn can keep him from being able to kill those in Alexandria's group or whomever he decides to attack on his own. For those of you whose power creates an unusual effect – freezing, liquifying, petrification, what have you – target his arms and legs and hinder his movements as best you can. Finally, anyone who thinks they can actually hurt Leviathan"—he looks at Breakdown and Purity specifically, though you stand up a little straighter when his eyes meet yours as well—"focus on doing that."
Something about the way he says that jogs your memory. Cassiel said something about Leviathan when you questioned her following her conversion to a Unison Device, didn't she? Something about a core. "Dragon and I have been talking," you say, and everyone turns to you. "Some of her models suggest that there may be a weak point near the base of Leviathan's tail. That might be the best place to focus our fire."
"I agree, that is useful information," Legend says. "Obviously, if any of you can both distract and damage or some other combination, use your best judgement about when to do which. You have your target, people. Dragon! Are your teleporters ready to take us to Sydney?"
"They just arrived," she tells him, the orb floating over towards the group. "Proceed to the rooftop and step into the ship. Shipwright will direct you to the appropriate pad."
He nodded. "Alright, people. Let's get moving and into position. No reason to waste time standing around here."
I thought I could start the fight this chapter, but more stuff kept pouring in, so instead we get this vote now rather than after Leviathan actually shows. First pick your overall plan of attack…
[ ] Distraction plan
[ ] Hinder plan
[ ] Damage plan
…and then tack on any specific strategy you want to use as subvotes.
Well, and some exploration and maybe a patrol or two… (hint hint)
