- Pronouns
- They/Them
Tomorrow! It's only a day away!
Wolf Spider (Worm) (Complete)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Location
- Australia
I'm in Australia, so that means I already have it right?
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
It got shipped, but someone forgot to attach the magnets and so it fell off into the sun, so you'll have to wait with the rest of us for the regular release.
- Location
- Australia
What are you talking about, I coulda sworn that was the other way around.
Rabid 4.1
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Rabid 4.1
They don't really prepare you for something like this. I just stared for a moment, as if somehow the alarm would turn into a recording saying that this was all just an elaborate test, and that everyone could go back to their lives, the ones that weren't about to be ruined by a giant monster rampaging through their city.
But of course, that's not how it worked at all.
A part of me wanted to run and hide. I had control over bugs, not a power to inspire much fear in something like an Endbringer. I didn't even know which one, but that didn't matter at all. It probably said something bad about me that my first instinct was cowardice, but my second instinct was to call my Dad, tell him to get clear, move and protect him, and nobody else.
But I couldn't actually protect him either, even if I could call him at this very moment. He was already warned, and going with him to one of the Endbringer shelters--where he'd surely be hurrying--wouldn't make him any safer, at least while the attack was going on.
At the same time, as I breathed in and out, and Rachel looked at me, I wasn't sure how much good I could do, showing up? I could… I could use my bugs, though. To track them. The Simurgh flew, so maybe she wasn't hard to see or keep track of, but… it was something, right? And I could bug some capes, so that I'd know if they were in danger. I didn't know how Endbringer battles went at all. It was something they kept under wraps, something that nobody talked about.
My breath caught in my throat as I thought about something. "Rachel," I said, "that's an Endbringer siren."
Rachel frowned, looking almost as if she wanted to question it.
"I'm going to go. I need to. I'm not sure where it is, but surely we can find it out. I want you to come with me," I said.
Already an idea was starting to form, slowly but surely. I was inventing new ways that we could help out as I spoke, and they did make sense.
"For what? Not going to throw my dogs against a fucking Endbringer," Rachel said, with finality. I knew there was no way I could convince her, but then, that's not what I had in mind. I understood perfectly what she meant. It was cruel to send dogs after something like that, and I knew that any losses at all would be devastating.
Not just for her. I knew these dogs: they weren't people, not the way they were to Rachel, but I'd miss every single one of them.
"Search and rescue. Power up one of your dogs, and we can grab people who are downed, and get out of here. Neither of us have to fight," I said, firmly. "But if we save people, that's something, right? And if we see the Endbringer, we just need to run away. There's no use risking our dogs on something like that."
Rachel frowned, considering my words as I hurried over. The dogs were barking now, and outside there were sounds of chaos and panic. People were the same everywhere. They ran, they hid, they gathered in crowds. I could imagine cars being abandoned as people sprung out of them, racing for the nearest shelter.
I could imagine a lot of things, but I didn't know where Dad would be. He'd be at work, and that was pretty close to the waterline, if we had a Leviathan attack. But then again, if it was the Simurgh, than nobody was safe anywhere. And Behemoth? I had no idea where he'd come from, what he would attack.
All I knew was that I would hate myself if I failed to show up, failed to try to defend my own city. I also knew that I wanted Rachel to be there, wanted to… I couldn't imagine her not being there, worrying about whether she was in some danger I didn't know about, whether she hadn't been killed in some accident, or trapped in a quarantine after being too near the Simurgh.
There were just too many possibilities, and all of them were bad.
"Maybe," she said. I threw off my clothes, and turned away from her. I could almost feel her eyes on me as she watched me strip and begin to get dressed in my costume. I wasn't an expert at quick-changing, but I was going as fast as I could to get it all on, because Endbringers always came as a surprise.
The fight had probably already begun, and I needed to get in it. Rachel and I would just search for downed people, and that'd be that.
"Answer soon, please," I said. "I can't wait for you too long. Please, I promise that this is going to be okay."
"What about the others?" Rachel asked, and when I turned she was looking at me, her eyes soft and worried. Of course, if she left with two dogs, one for each of us, then that'd mean that all of the rest would have to sit and stay.
"We can keep track of where the Endbringer is. If they're moving in this direction, we can retreat, try to save them." I wasn't sure if we'd actually be able to, it'd depend on the Endbringer, but it was at least in theory possible.
Did the Simurgh's scream work on dogs or not? I didn't actually know.
"Okay…" Rachel said. Then she nodded, a little more firmly. "Fuck it." I didn't smile beneath my mask, too trained by being around her, but I was really happy that she was coming along. I knew that Endbringer fights were dangerous, but having her there would be a comfort. I… I wasn't sure what else to do, as I took out my phone.
"Make sure to keep the doors closed, and…" I frowned, looking around. "Is there anywhere higher to put the dogs? If it's Leviathan?"
"No," Rachel said, turning to look at them. "Okay, I'll get into the costume. Brutus! Angelica! Come!" The dogs perked up, stopping their barking immediately as they trotted over to her obediently.
I nodded, as I gathered up bugs of my own, spreading them out. It was chaos outside, but there was no Endbringer within a few blocks, at least. That really wasn't saying much, I thought, nervously.
Rachel began to get dressed, and I watched her as the costume came on. My costume. Of course, all the spider silk in the world wouldn't save her from the kinds of attacks Endbringers threw around like they were nothing, but I still felt better, knowing that she was in my costume.
It took a little time, and I began to pace, before I stopped and started petting the barking dogs as the siren kept on screaming onward. By now everyone in the entire city had to know about it, but it kept up. I knew that every Endbringer attack, there were at least a few stories of someone who didn't hear the sirens, and got caught out and either killed--some tabloids, grotesque things that they were, ran stories about the last words of such people, shouted into a phone--or survived and spoke about how terrifying it was.
I had no idea how anyone could, but that was people, wasn't it? They surprised you. I frowned, and then called Dad just as Rachel started getting your mask on.
It went to voicemail at his office, and at home. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding in, since of course if he was running for a shelter, he wouldn't return the call. He didn't have a cell-phone, and so I assumed he was long gone, and as safe as he was likely to be.
I felt horrible, just leaving him to huddle somewhere, not sure what his daughter was doing. Or all too sure.
But I couldn't do anything else, I thought. My mouth felt dry, and I was sweating pretty badly already. My only idea was to start running and see if there were any signs of an Endbringer. That's how it worked, you just threw yourself into the fight. Or, in this case, kept away from it and waited for someone to get hurt that we could potentially save without getting in range.
"Bitch," I said, as she began to slowly pump up her dogs. "I'll ride one, you ride the other. How long will they keep amped up?"
"Long enough," she said, firmly, looking at me thoughtfully, starting to get into it. "I'll tell you if we get close to hitting the limit."
"Alright," I said, frowning. I grabbed a pocket knife that Bitch had in the other room. It wouldn't help much, but perhaps if we needed it, it'd help just a little with getting the dogs out of their meat-suits if we had to do it in a hurry.
Endbringers wouldn't give us time to do anything else. Then I grabbed a box of cereal, pouring some down my mouth, chewing and swallowing without tasting it. I didn't want to eat too much, but… just a little bit, to tide me over through to whatever happened.
I was panicking, and I knew that if given enough time to worry, I'd brush my teeth just to make sure my corpse had a minty-white smile.
Rachel was the one who knocked on the door. "Taylor, come on," she said, firmly.
"But I… I mean, what if I need something here or--" I began, taking a breath. There was just so much at stake that I couldn't help but imagine what would happen if I fucked up again, the way I'd done before.
"You have everything. It's okay," Rachel assured me, her voice quieting down some. "You sure you don't want to just run? We could take the dogs, clear out, see what happens in the meantime."
I could imagine it. Honestly, it'd be pretty fun to go on a roadtrip with Rachel, but… dozens of dogs, tons of money, way too much to take and my Dad in the line of fire while I ran off again. I couldn't always run away from all of my problems, even if running away from Dad hadn't gone that badly so far.
Perhaps I'd come to regret my decision sooner rather than later. I couldn't know, and in the absence of knowledge, I tried to be positive. "No, let's do this," I said, stepping towards her and reaching my hand out to squeeze hers.
I got on Angelica, she got on Brutus, each of them amped up to be large enough that another person could fit on the back of each dog. There was some rope, if we actually had to tie down some people, and after a moment's indecision, I grabbed that first-aid kit and decided to bring that along. I wasn't sure how much help it'd be when we were talking about Endbringers, but better safe than sorry.
And finally, after way too much dithering, we were off.
*******
Outside, it was absolute chaos, but there was something to be said for people on the back of giant dogs. We urged them forward at a moderate pace, no sprinting here at all, but it was enough that the panicked crowd dodged aside as we moved. It was amazing what horrible dog monsters could do.
In many ways, since we also got more glares and nervous looks from police than you would ever imagine. They were directing the panicked crowd, armed and clearly nervous, and each of them kitted out in riot gear.
Was this the Simurgh? That would almost fit, what with the way that her screams could mess with people's minds. There could be riots breaking out, especially if the police had to secure an area after an attack.
I couldn't guess what horrors awaited. So we hurried onward, until we stopped in front of a police line.
The police shifted, and one of them, in riot gear, looked up at me. He was short, with greying hair and a goatee, and his face was twisted into distaste as I dismounted. "Excuse me," I said. "Which way to… well." I took a breath, "The Endbringer."
He frowned, and pulled out a piece of paper, thrusting it into my hands. I glanced down, and saw that they were directions. Was the Endbringer not here yet? It was to a place between the Docks and Downtown, an area which had been contested territory between the ABB and the E88 for as long as I could remember.
It wasn't a bad part of town, it wasn't a good part of town, but it was a crime-adjacent part of town. Not that that mattered right now, I thought, as we hurried off. I was able to use my bugs to chart a clear way around the lines of cars and the crowds of pedestrians, all of whom got out of our way pretty quickly.
We were pretty intimidating, all things considered. The crowd was thinning out anyways by the time we got near the building, and I could begin to see people streaking through the sky, headed towards the building. Capes were clustering, though I had no idea how many there had to be.
We had to be late, but for what? Wasn't there usually no warning at all?
The building itself was pretty unremarkable, six stories tall in brown brick, and guarded by PRT officers, who also looked as if they were kitted out for a real fight. There were vans all around, and the fact that the meeting place was on a raised hill offered some protection, maybe. I hurried forward, dismounting smoothly when we reached the parking lot.
To the left, behind the hill, was Dragon, the famous Tinker, in a huge suit. It was almost as big as any three cars put together, and was covered in bristling weapons, as well as an odd electric pulse. When my bugs sat down on the robot-suit, they stopped transmitting signals quite as well, as if there was some sort of static fuzz going on. I wasn't sure if it was intentional, or part of some sort of blockage.
The suit itself was black, and looked, to be honest, really, really cool. And somewhere inside there was the most skilled Tinker in the world.
Missiles, what looked like spears that glistened steel blue… it looked like it was made for… something? Definitely long-range.
Which could mean nothing or everything, I thought, biting my lip as Rachel and I walked forward, and our dogs followed. The capes too gave us a wide berth, perhaps because they weren't sure what to make of Brutus and Angelica.
I supposed I could understand that.
We headed inside as fast as we could. For all I knew, the Endbringer would attack at any moment. Leviathan, if it was them, could be in the ocean right now, racing for us. We could be about to be dropped in on by the Simurgh. Nervously I headed forward, until we got into the meeting room.
It was a lobby, filled with folding chairs and more than that, capes, including the Triumvirate. They were the most powerful capes in the world, and they were just one among the many here, clustered in such clumps that it took a lot of effort to track them all, even as I spread out with the bugs in order to view all of them.
It was so much I almost wanted to not even try, but it was going to be very necessary, very soon.
Brockton Bay was pretty well represented, including by… what the fuck.
Lung. Lung was standing there, arms crossed, dressed in a prison jumpsuit. There were multiple guards facing him, armed with nozzled guns that seemed to attach to a large container of something or other.
Was this some sort of deal to let him out to fight the enemy in exchange for some kind of leniency? I didn't even know, but if it was, then Oni Lee wasn't included in the deal, which could mean many things. He didn't look like someone who had been horribly injured by me. He was alive and well, though the moment he saw me, he glared, and if it wasn't for the other people in the way, I knew he'd probably stalk over to me.
As it was, I almost wanted to go up to talk to him to make sure he wasn't going to just veer off to murder me the moment nobody else was paying attention.
He wasn't the only one there, though. The Undersiders were in a corner, and there was another confrontation that I'd have to have. Rachel was with me. Rachel had been planning on ditching the Undersiders to be with me long-term (a thought that still felt magical despite the panic) and so eventually it'd all have to collide.
On top of them, there were others. No Merchants, which said a lot about their priorities, but I recognized a local rogue, Parian, who was involved with fashion, and one or two of the independent villains. One, Smash N Grab, was a pretty simple brute who was also surprisingly fast. He did just what his name said he did, and little more. Another, Aerial, was involved in a number of heists, and seemed to be some sort of variation on the Alexandria Package.
Alexandria was one of the Triumvirate, a flying bruiser who was all but invincible, and there were many capes that had a similar sort of power set, such as Glory Girl. Alexandria herself was off to the side, watching everything, right next to Eidolon, who was often called the most powerful cape in the world.
He deserved it. Both of them had a darker color scheme, the sort of thing that you didn't expect from heroes, though when they'd made their costumes, there hadn't been nearly as many people to copy, or try not to copy.
There was an entire contingent of out of town Wards and Protectorate members, including Myrridin, a strange cape from Chicago, who was wearing a robe and carrying a staff. He thought he was a wizard, and that his powers were magic. He was powerful enough that people were willing to tolerate his quirks.
He was talking with Chevalier, the leader of the Philadelphia Protectorate. He had a knight aesthetic going on, silver and gold armor and a giant sword, a cannonblade, that apparently was far lighter than it looked. Or he was far stronger, the specifics were always hard to find.
The Wards were an even stranger collection of people, including a man who seemed to be made of metal, and they were trying to mingle with the Brockton Bay Wards, who were talking to them as well.
Then there was Shadow Stalker, sticking off to the side. I almost wanted to approach her, and would have if I wasn't with Rachel, because asking her questions might help with a few issues I'd been imagining with Rachel's image. Surely someone who was more than a little bit violent at times could know how to not cross the line. Or not be shown crossing the line.
I stuck close to Rachel as I took in everyone. New Wave, out in force, every single one of them, looking like a model set of families, Faultline, a mercenary who ran a nightclub with her crew, the Undersiders of course, and a corporate team.
It was so many people my head spun trying to keep track of and remember who all of them were. I knew that all of them would be important, whoever the monster was. Or however they'd figured it out.
The E88 were there was well. Kaiser… wait, how did Hookwolf get out? Or the other valkyrie? Another deal. There was hat new cape of theirs, Othala, and quite a few others… an impressive clump of fascists indeed, many of them glaring in my direction. Though it seemed that besides Hookwolf and the Valkyrie, anyone still in prison was being kept there. Night and Fog weren't, though, instead looking around at the scene with a vague air of menace. Just looking at any of them made my skin want to crawl off and die.
I nervously made my way towards the Undersiders, almost wanting to hold Rachel's hand for comfort. But I didn't know what people would say, and this was the largest gathering of heroes and capes I'd probably ever see unless I went to another Endbringer fight, which wasn't all that likely, considering that my powers weren't always that useful. But I didn't know.
I moved through the crowd rather easily, and people got out of the way of the dogs. We took up a lot of room, but what other choice was there? We'd had to get there in a hurry, because we hadn't known when the fight was going to start.
Regent looked up and waved lazily at us. "Yo, bitch," he said.
Bitch nodded, and I bit my lip, looking at Grue and Tattletale, as I'd have to think of them right now. "Uh, hello," I said. "Do you know which Endbringer it is?"
"Not yet," Grue said, firmly, when Tattletale opened her mouth. I guessed that her power had somehow told her, but she wasn't going to share? Or perhaps she just had speculations. "Tattletale wants to make us guess. Bitch, are you going to be sticking with us?"
"You'd said you weren't interested if an Endbringer ever attacked," Tattletale said, her voice filled with enough teasing that I knew she'd figured out why she'd come. Our friendship was strong enough, I knew, that I could convince her to do things that she wasn't at all sure of.
"Changed my mind," Rachel said, and then she reached a hand out to grip mine, so firmly it was as if she was afraid I'd run away. I flushed, glad my mask was hiding it.
"Ohhh," Regent said, and his voice sounded like he was about to make a joke before Tattletale elbowed him in the ribs. "So, that's where you've been this whole time. Neat."
"Neat?" I asked.
"Yeah," Regent shrugged.
"So, are you?" Grue asked.
"Arachne said that we could act as search and rescue," Rachel said, firmly, turning towards me as she kept on holding my hand. I wanted to squirm away somewhere, because it just wasn't the time for it. This was an Endbringer fight, no PDAs allowed.
But I wasn't sure how to say it, how to set the limit there, in a way that wouldn't come off as rude, especially since I eventually wanted to actually be dating her. So I took a breath and squeezed her hand back, trying not to admit to myself that despite the feeling like every eye was on me, I was comforted by the presence of her gloved hand in mine.
"Oh, alright then," Tattletale said. "It makes sense. After the fight is over, if we're all in one piece, we can talk about other matters." She nodded. "Arachne, make sure Bitch stays safe."
I expected Rachel to growl something about how she didn't need any help, but instead she said nothing and, a little awkwardly, I said, "I'll… try."
"That's all that's required," Tattletale said, quietly. "And all that's asked."
Rachel shifted, tensing a little, but said nothing as I said, "Angelica, Brutus, follow."
We turned, ready to leave, and Regent whistled as we did and said, almost out of my range of hearing, except of course for the fact that I had him bugged, "Since when did she let other people order around her dogs."
Since when? Since me, I thought, feeling something like pride. People had to see what we were doing, and it was dangerous, of course. I was Arachne and Taylor Hebert, whereas Rachel didn't actually have a secret identity worth having, so if Arachne was seen with Bitch, and Taylor Hebert with Rachel… weil, there would be a lot of questions.
A whole lot. It was why capes had to be careful, though I'd heard rumors online that at least some of the Wards and Protectorate were dating each other. The most common rumor was about Assault and Battery, of course, owing both to their names and the way they seemed to treat each other.
Still, nobody commented, too caught up in things, as we tried to find a corner that wasn't taken. On the way, I passed a cape I didn't know. She looked as if she were a Ward, maybe, wearing a rather tight looking dark purple body-suit. She had a visor covering her face, and like Shadow Stalker, her weapon of choice was a crossbow. It looked tinker-made, complicated and high-tech, and her whole costume was extremely well done, which increased the chance that it was a Wards costume.
They had a budget, for one. She stopped in front of me, and I could imagine her staring, considering whether to say anything.
Homophobia wasn't exactly popular anymore, but that didn't mean it didn't exist, and from the way she was tensing, I all but knew what to expect.
Rachel felt my own fears, and tensed in reply, but she just looked up at the dogs, and then after a moment said, her voice surprisingly breezy and offhand, with a slight New York accent that immediately allayed a lot of my fears--Legend was leader of the New York Protectorate, after all. "Hey," she said.
"Uh, hey," I said. I took a breath, trying to relax, and glancing over at Rachel, who was remaining tensed, as if ready to strike at any moment. "I'm Arachne, what's your name?"
"Flechette," she said. "I'm a New York Ward. And who is this?" She pointed at Bitch.
"Bitch," I said. She flinched for a moment, and I quickly said, "Well, that's her name. I think the Protectorate calls her Hellhound, but it's not a name she likes."
"No," Rachel said, bluntly. If one could see her face, I had no doubt one would see bared teeth.
"Alright then… Bitch. It's nice to meet both of you. What are your powers?"
"Bugs," I said. Then, as if I needed to explain. "I control bugs. And her? Well, look at the dogs." Which wasn't a full explanation, but was a very quick demonstration.
"Ah, local heroes?"
"Trying to be," I said, absently. "I think that it's harder than it should be. Plus there's the whole thing with Bitch."
"What thing?" Flechette asked.
It wasn't really her business, and so I shrugged, glancing over at Rachel, still hand in hand. "What's it like, working under Legend?"
"I don't meet him much, but he's pretty great. The real deal," Flechette said, stiffly. "Oh, I think he's going to speak. We should probably listen."
I pointed to the far wall, "Bitch, I'll be right over there in a sec."
She nodded, and she said, "Angelica, Brutus, come." She glanced back at me as she did, and I knew she was wondering what was going on.
Legend indeed was headed up towards the front of the room, where a television was placed, as well as a platform. We had only a minute to talk, so I said, "She's… well, she's going to be a hero, and that's that. Sorry if either of us were a little stiff."
"It's fine," she said, in a distracted sort of way. Then she let out a breath. "Don't worry about it, I understand. I mean…"
What she meant, I didn't learn, because Legend began speaking the next moment.
He was a tall, handsome man in a blue costume, the kind of person that just screamed superhero. It was the jawline, and the way he spoke, it was in every movement. It just was, in a way that impressed me as I stepped back, edging towards Bitch as I listened to the speech.
"We owe thanks both to Dragon, Armsmaster, and a number of other capes for this early warning, as well as the previously obscured results of the last Endbringer fight, in which we were able to successfully predicted Leviathan's target an hour before it hit."
I hadn't heard much about the Taiwan fight, except that many capes had seen it as a chance to save Kyushu from Leviathan all over again, but doing it right this time. I'd heard, in a vague way, that we'd won, but the details were of course never released.
People started murmuring, and I was one of them. If they could predict when the Endbringers would strike…
"We've had time to gather and prepare for the arrival of the Endbringer, through a modified seismographic record. Our reports seem to indicate that Behemoth will strike somewhere within a fifty mile radius of this area, and the only target worth attacking within that range is Brockton Bay."
Behemoth. The Hero-Killer.
"But thanks to this warning, we have an advantage. With good luck and your hard work, this could turn out to be a good day. But you should know your chances coming in. Given the results of previous encounters with Behemoth, a 'good day' will mean that one in three of the people in this room will probably be dead before this day is done."
Oh shit.
"I'm telling you your chances now because you deserve to know, and we so rarely get the chance to inform those individuals brave enough to step up and fight these monsters. The primary message I want to convey, even more than briefing you on the particulars of his abilities, organizing formations and battle plans, is just how dangerous Behemoth is. I have seen too many good heroes," he paused, "and villains die from lack of understanding of his strengths and limitations."
"Behemoth was the first to arrive, and to whatever extent that matters, it does mean that we know more about how he operates than the others. The oldest child, his primary power is dynakinesis on a truly impressive micro and macro scale, capable of hitting both individual targets and broad swathes of enemies, depending on what he needs. He has an aura of energy precisely thirty-two feet in diameter around him that he can activate. Getting within this range is not an instant death sentence in theory, but in practice he only refrains from killing a cape if he's trying to lull them forward for some other purpose. There are several capes here that can grant or possess invulnerability, but even if you are very tough, do not assume you can survive this Kill Aura."
He looked around, and I glanced at Rachel's dogs, not sure what would happen to them if they got close, and knowing that neither of us would like to try that if we could help it. It was bad enough, imagining them sacrificed in a fight, but sacrificed for nothing?
"Even those who can get close find that he's a physical powerhouse, and his manipulation of energy can include the energy of attacks, as well as lightning bolts, fire, sound, radiation, heat… the only limitation he has consistently shown is that he rarely uses more than one form of energy manipulation at a time, and only breaks this rule for short periods. That is to say, if he's giving off radiation, then he is not usually shooting lightning. All of his attacks are highly lethal and dangerous, and thus a fight against him involves caution and careful countermeasures. But he can be made to feel pain, he can be driven off with enough force, and we have done so before."
Everyone brightened a little bit at that, but the fact was, my bugs wouldn't be able to do much if that's what he had, at least not to him. And if he hit anyone, it'd also fry my bugs in the vicinity. Still, I had to try at least, and maybe it'd give me an idea of what was going on.
"Behemoth is very slow in movement, but he devastates and destroys the environment around him. This city is a soft target, with old, decaying industry, as well as an aquifer that could be damaged by the earthquakes that herald his arrival. We cannot stand back and allow him to set this city ablaze, or worse, and so we will have to divide into active squads of capes capable of harming or redirecting him, creating circles of defense that keep the damage he does as localized as possible."
Earthquakes, fires, radiation. Even if we won a total victory here, Brockton Bay would be devastated.
"That is our first priority, our second is hurting him. Those with long-ranged powers would probably be the most useful, and those with close-up powers who cannot survive incredible punishment are encouraged to keep away and wait for opportunities, or request assistance from capes that can grant the ability to survive his attacks. Be careful not to throw yourself at him unnecessarily. You are doing a good thing, the best thing that a cape can do, in fighting against the seemingly inevitable, the dangerous. It is for this reason that society tolerates us, allows us to fight on their streets and walk in costume. Because we are needed. Thank you for coming, and I turn it over to Armsmaster."
I wasn't sure how to feel. We'd learned a decent amount, but it'd also been disheartening, and Armsmaster's dry delivery of an explanation of some sort of armband system didn't help. I listened, noting down what he was saying, but no more than that. It was important. There was a grid system in place that I didn't quite understand, but which would be very important when it came to trying to save downed capes, though I knew as deadly as Behemoth was, this would be a difficult task.
The ping in case of emergencies was important, I thought to myself.
Suddenly, in the middle of the speech, Legend called out, "Capes! Those of you who have fought an Endbringer, stand up."
Half of the Protectorate, a third of the Wards, Bambina, a villain, about half of a commercial team, and one or two others stood up. And Lung stepped forward, drawing attention to himself. I frowned, noting them.
"When in doubt, look first to the Protectorate for orders and advice, and second to veterans, whose instincts might be useful. Now, in addition to the Wards being sent around," Legend continued, "we are going to send around Protectorate members, who will ask if you have a power capable of either hitting him long range, navigating a ruined city, or hitting him close up if in conjunction with another power or your own. I ask all of you not to stick together in squads that cannot work merely because you know the other members. Instead, we will be breaking it up into teams. Flyers, as well, should make themselves known, since they might be needed to transport people to or from the battle…"
He continued to talk, and I noted it down. We were going to encircle him with teams, and push forward or back based on his actions. It all seemed pretty complicated, and I had to assume that somewhere there was an official plan for all sorts of scenarios, as soon as they knew that they could predict the attacks of an Endbringer to some small extent.
It couldn't be a long warning, but we listened as people starting to break into groups, talking fast, trying to find teams and combinations. We stayed there, and Armsmaster approached us.
"The dogs could be used to attack Behemoth," Armsmaster said, without preamble.
"Nice to meet you too," I said.
"Fuck you," Rachel said, with feeling, as she leaned forward.
I felt about the same way, and my own teeth were bared beneath the mask. "There's no guarantee they wouldn't be killed immediately like anyone else, and they're not expendable attackers. They're dogs, you jerk," I said. "We can use them to ferry people to and from the combat zone, if you need to do it a little lower to the ground."
I'd thought about how lightning bolts and throwing fire all meant that flyers might be obvious targets. "And we can serve as search and rescue," I said. "My bugs can help me note down where civilians are, and if any are in harms way, though the armbands sorta… get rid of one of my ideas."
I'd thought through this, even though I was angry enough to spit.
Armsmaster nodded, not even apologizing. "Very well, I will note that down when the armbands come around."
"Yes, note that two heroes are here to help out," I said, acid in my voice. "And then tell me why the hell you let Hookwolf and the other Valkyrie go? Let alone Lung?"
"They could be useful," Armsmaster said. "It wasn't my idea." He seemed frustrated as well, which made me blink. Than whose idea? The Director's? Kaiser's, as an offer they couldn't refuse?
"Oh," I said. "Sorry to hear that. Hope they don't get loose."
Which was to say I was honestly hoping that the Endbringer killed them. It was cruel, but… the world was better off without the E88 and ABB, and if a third of everyone here was going to die, then why not them?
Armsmaster nodded. "Understood. I'll pass along the information." He was gruff, terse, and nervous as he walked off, and a Ward finally passed us armbands.
They were pretty cool looking things, high tech. A flat, square screen on them showed a satellite view of our location, and when I put it on, a display read 'State name.'
"Arachne," I said, at the same time as Rachel said, "Bitch."
I confirmed it as correct when prompted, and looked around for others that we could group with. We were on our own, yes, but it looked as if most teams were starting to come together, and if we waited too long, we'd lose out. The main problem, of course, was that most of the teams were four to six capes large, which meant that we couldn't really carry all of them anyways.
"Strider," Legend said, still talking about strategy, "will be bringing some teams in. This will make them a target, and therefore we will transport others by foot, or using fliers. Those who can fly are advised to be careful, as Behemoth has been known to send massive attacks to clear the air, and you are to keep as low as possible in order to minimize the chance of being hit."
Alright, then, I said, looking around. Flechette was talking to that doll-girl, Parian, and they were both moving towards a short, grey-haired woman who was floating in the air. The woman, talking to a man who looked like he spent all his life lifting weights, shook her head.
I thought for a moment, and said, "Rachel. Do you think you could move Flechette and Parian? And…" I looked to see who was joining in. There was a short, stout young man with dark-brown skin and a costume that looked vaguely house-shaped, who after a moment nodded and gestured around animatedly.
"Whoever that is."
"I can," Rachel said after a moment, glancing at her dogs. Three others was pushing it, but they could fit on well enough.
So I began to stride over towards them, ready to offer arguments and counter-arguments, when a mechanical voice said. "Behemoth has arrived at the following coordinates."
I glanced down at my armband, as everyone suddenly stared, and in the space of a moment, as I looked down at the icon centered around the hills of Brockton Bay, the place erupted into absolute chaos.
******
A/N: Thanks to @NemoMarx
They don't really prepare you for something like this. I just stared for a moment, as if somehow the alarm would turn into a recording saying that this was all just an elaborate test, and that everyone could go back to their lives, the ones that weren't about to be ruined by a giant monster rampaging through their city.
But of course, that's not how it worked at all.
A part of me wanted to run and hide. I had control over bugs, not a power to inspire much fear in something like an Endbringer. I didn't even know which one, but that didn't matter at all. It probably said something bad about me that my first instinct was cowardice, but my second instinct was to call my Dad, tell him to get clear, move and protect him, and nobody else.
But I couldn't actually protect him either, even if I could call him at this very moment. He was already warned, and going with him to one of the Endbringer shelters--where he'd surely be hurrying--wouldn't make him any safer, at least while the attack was going on.
At the same time, as I breathed in and out, and Rachel looked at me, I wasn't sure how much good I could do, showing up? I could… I could use my bugs, though. To track them. The Simurgh flew, so maybe she wasn't hard to see or keep track of, but… it was something, right? And I could bug some capes, so that I'd know if they were in danger. I didn't know how Endbringer battles went at all. It was something they kept under wraps, something that nobody talked about.
My breath caught in my throat as I thought about something. "Rachel," I said, "that's an Endbringer siren."
Rachel frowned, looking almost as if she wanted to question it.
"I'm going to go. I need to. I'm not sure where it is, but surely we can find it out. I want you to come with me," I said.
Already an idea was starting to form, slowly but surely. I was inventing new ways that we could help out as I spoke, and they did make sense.
"For what? Not going to throw my dogs against a fucking Endbringer," Rachel said, with finality. I knew there was no way I could convince her, but then, that's not what I had in mind. I understood perfectly what she meant. It was cruel to send dogs after something like that, and I knew that any losses at all would be devastating.
Not just for her. I knew these dogs: they weren't people, not the way they were to Rachel, but I'd miss every single one of them.
"Search and rescue. Power up one of your dogs, and we can grab people who are downed, and get out of here. Neither of us have to fight," I said, firmly. "But if we save people, that's something, right? And if we see the Endbringer, we just need to run away. There's no use risking our dogs on something like that."
Rachel frowned, considering my words as I hurried over. The dogs were barking now, and outside there were sounds of chaos and panic. People were the same everywhere. They ran, they hid, they gathered in crowds. I could imagine cars being abandoned as people sprung out of them, racing for the nearest shelter.
I could imagine a lot of things, but I didn't know where Dad would be. He'd be at work, and that was pretty close to the waterline, if we had a Leviathan attack. But then again, if it was the Simurgh, than nobody was safe anywhere. And Behemoth? I had no idea where he'd come from, what he would attack.
All I knew was that I would hate myself if I failed to show up, failed to try to defend my own city. I also knew that I wanted Rachel to be there, wanted to… I couldn't imagine her not being there, worrying about whether she was in some danger I didn't know about, whether she hadn't been killed in some accident, or trapped in a quarantine after being too near the Simurgh.
There were just too many possibilities, and all of them were bad.
"Maybe," she said. I threw off my clothes, and turned away from her. I could almost feel her eyes on me as she watched me strip and begin to get dressed in my costume. I wasn't an expert at quick-changing, but I was going as fast as I could to get it all on, because Endbringers always came as a surprise.
The fight had probably already begun, and I needed to get in it. Rachel and I would just search for downed people, and that'd be that.
"Answer soon, please," I said. "I can't wait for you too long. Please, I promise that this is going to be okay."
"What about the others?" Rachel asked, and when I turned she was looking at me, her eyes soft and worried. Of course, if she left with two dogs, one for each of us, then that'd mean that all of the rest would have to sit and stay.
"We can keep track of where the Endbringer is. If they're moving in this direction, we can retreat, try to save them." I wasn't sure if we'd actually be able to, it'd depend on the Endbringer, but it was at least in theory possible.
Did the Simurgh's scream work on dogs or not? I didn't actually know.
"Okay…" Rachel said. Then she nodded, a little more firmly. "Fuck it." I didn't smile beneath my mask, too trained by being around her, but I was really happy that she was coming along. I knew that Endbringer fights were dangerous, but having her there would be a comfort. I… I wasn't sure what else to do, as I took out my phone.
"Make sure to keep the doors closed, and…" I frowned, looking around. "Is there anywhere higher to put the dogs? If it's Leviathan?"
"No," Rachel said, turning to look at them. "Okay, I'll get into the costume. Brutus! Angelica! Come!" The dogs perked up, stopping their barking immediately as they trotted over to her obediently.
I nodded, as I gathered up bugs of my own, spreading them out. It was chaos outside, but there was no Endbringer within a few blocks, at least. That really wasn't saying much, I thought, nervously.
Rachel began to get dressed, and I watched her as the costume came on. My costume. Of course, all the spider silk in the world wouldn't save her from the kinds of attacks Endbringers threw around like they were nothing, but I still felt better, knowing that she was in my costume.
It took a little time, and I began to pace, before I stopped and started petting the barking dogs as the siren kept on screaming onward. By now everyone in the entire city had to know about it, but it kept up. I knew that every Endbringer attack, there were at least a few stories of someone who didn't hear the sirens, and got caught out and either killed--some tabloids, grotesque things that they were, ran stories about the last words of such people, shouted into a phone--or survived and spoke about how terrifying it was.
I had no idea how anyone could, but that was people, wasn't it? They surprised you. I frowned, and then called Dad just as Rachel started getting your mask on.
It went to voicemail at his office, and at home. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding in, since of course if he was running for a shelter, he wouldn't return the call. He didn't have a cell-phone, and so I assumed he was long gone, and as safe as he was likely to be.
I felt horrible, just leaving him to huddle somewhere, not sure what his daughter was doing. Or all too sure.
But I couldn't do anything else, I thought. My mouth felt dry, and I was sweating pretty badly already. My only idea was to start running and see if there were any signs of an Endbringer. That's how it worked, you just threw yourself into the fight. Or, in this case, kept away from it and waited for someone to get hurt that we could potentially save without getting in range.
"Bitch," I said, as she began to slowly pump up her dogs. "I'll ride one, you ride the other. How long will they keep amped up?"
"Long enough," she said, firmly, looking at me thoughtfully, starting to get into it. "I'll tell you if we get close to hitting the limit."
"Alright," I said, frowning. I grabbed a pocket knife that Bitch had in the other room. It wouldn't help much, but perhaps if we needed it, it'd help just a little with getting the dogs out of their meat-suits if we had to do it in a hurry.
Endbringers wouldn't give us time to do anything else. Then I grabbed a box of cereal, pouring some down my mouth, chewing and swallowing without tasting it. I didn't want to eat too much, but… just a little bit, to tide me over through to whatever happened.
I was panicking, and I knew that if given enough time to worry, I'd brush my teeth just to make sure my corpse had a minty-white smile.
Rachel was the one who knocked on the door. "Taylor, come on," she said, firmly.
"But I… I mean, what if I need something here or--" I began, taking a breath. There was just so much at stake that I couldn't help but imagine what would happen if I fucked up again, the way I'd done before.
"You have everything. It's okay," Rachel assured me, her voice quieting down some. "You sure you don't want to just run? We could take the dogs, clear out, see what happens in the meantime."
I could imagine it. Honestly, it'd be pretty fun to go on a roadtrip with Rachel, but… dozens of dogs, tons of money, way too much to take and my Dad in the line of fire while I ran off again. I couldn't always run away from all of my problems, even if running away from Dad hadn't gone that badly so far.
Perhaps I'd come to regret my decision sooner rather than later. I couldn't know, and in the absence of knowledge, I tried to be positive. "No, let's do this," I said, stepping towards her and reaching my hand out to squeeze hers.
I got on Angelica, she got on Brutus, each of them amped up to be large enough that another person could fit on the back of each dog. There was some rope, if we actually had to tie down some people, and after a moment's indecision, I grabbed that first-aid kit and decided to bring that along. I wasn't sure how much help it'd be when we were talking about Endbringers, but better safe than sorry.
And finally, after way too much dithering, we were off.
*******
Outside, it was absolute chaos, but there was something to be said for people on the back of giant dogs. We urged them forward at a moderate pace, no sprinting here at all, but it was enough that the panicked crowd dodged aside as we moved. It was amazing what horrible dog monsters could do.
In many ways, since we also got more glares and nervous looks from police than you would ever imagine. They were directing the panicked crowd, armed and clearly nervous, and each of them kitted out in riot gear.
Was this the Simurgh? That would almost fit, what with the way that her screams could mess with people's minds. There could be riots breaking out, especially if the police had to secure an area after an attack.
I couldn't guess what horrors awaited. So we hurried onward, until we stopped in front of a police line.
The police shifted, and one of them, in riot gear, looked up at me. He was short, with greying hair and a goatee, and his face was twisted into distaste as I dismounted. "Excuse me," I said. "Which way to… well." I took a breath, "The Endbringer."
He frowned, and pulled out a piece of paper, thrusting it into my hands. I glanced down, and saw that they were directions. Was the Endbringer not here yet? It was to a place between the Docks and Downtown, an area which had been contested territory between the ABB and the E88 for as long as I could remember.
It wasn't a bad part of town, it wasn't a good part of town, but it was a crime-adjacent part of town. Not that that mattered right now, I thought, as we hurried off. I was able to use my bugs to chart a clear way around the lines of cars and the crowds of pedestrians, all of whom got out of our way pretty quickly.
We were pretty intimidating, all things considered. The crowd was thinning out anyways by the time we got near the building, and I could begin to see people streaking through the sky, headed towards the building. Capes were clustering, though I had no idea how many there had to be.
We had to be late, but for what? Wasn't there usually no warning at all?
The building itself was pretty unremarkable, six stories tall in brown brick, and guarded by PRT officers, who also looked as if they were kitted out for a real fight. There were vans all around, and the fact that the meeting place was on a raised hill offered some protection, maybe. I hurried forward, dismounting smoothly when we reached the parking lot.
To the left, behind the hill, was Dragon, the famous Tinker, in a huge suit. It was almost as big as any three cars put together, and was covered in bristling weapons, as well as an odd electric pulse. When my bugs sat down on the robot-suit, they stopped transmitting signals quite as well, as if there was some sort of static fuzz going on. I wasn't sure if it was intentional, or part of some sort of blockage.
The suit itself was black, and looked, to be honest, really, really cool. And somewhere inside there was the most skilled Tinker in the world.
Missiles, what looked like spears that glistened steel blue… it looked like it was made for… something? Definitely long-range.
Which could mean nothing or everything, I thought, biting my lip as Rachel and I walked forward, and our dogs followed. The capes too gave us a wide berth, perhaps because they weren't sure what to make of Brutus and Angelica.
I supposed I could understand that.
We headed inside as fast as we could. For all I knew, the Endbringer would attack at any moment. Leviathan, if it was them, could be in the ocean right now, racing for us. We could be about to be dropped in on by the Simurgh. Nervously I headed forward, until we got into the meeting room.
It was a lobby, filled with folding chairs and more than that, capes, including the Triumvirate. They were the most powerful capes in the world, and they were just one among the many here, clustered in such clumps that it took a lot of effort to track them all, even as I spread out with the bugs in order to view all of them.
It was so much I almost wanted to not even try, but it was going to be very necessary, very soon.
Brockton Bay was pretty well represented, including by… what the fuck.
Lung. Lung was standing there, arms crossed, dressed in a prison jumpsuit. There were multiple guards facing him, armed with nozzled guns that seemed to attach to a large container of something or other.
Was this some sort of deal to let him out to fight the enemy in exchange for some kind of leniency? I didn't even know, but if it was, then Oni Lee wasn't included in the deal, which could mean many things. He didn't look like someone who had been horribly injured by me. He was alive and well, though the moment he saw me, he glared, and if it wasn't for the other people in the way, I knew he'd probably stalk over to me.
As it was, I almost wanted to go up to talk to him to make sure he wasn't going to just veer off to murder me the moment nobody else was paying attention.
He wasn't the only one there, though. The Undersiders were in a corner, and there was another confrontation that I'd have to have. Rachel was with me. Rachel had been planning on ditching the Undersiders to be with me long-term (a thought that still felt magical despite the panic) and so eventually it'd all have to collide.
On top of them, there were others. No Merchants, which said a lot about their priorities, but I recognized a local rogue, Parian, who was involved with fashion, and one or two of the independent villains. One, Smash N Grab, was a pretty simple brute who was also surprisingly fast. He did just what his name said he did, and little more. Another, Aerial, was involved in a number of heists, and seemed to be some sort of variation on the Alexandria Package.
Alexandria was one of the Triumvirate, a flying bruiser who was all but invincible, and there were many capes that had a similar sort of power set, such as Glory Girl. Alexandria herself was off to the side, watching everything, right next to Eidolon, who was often called the most powerful cape in the world.
He deserved it. Both of them had a darker color scheme, the sort of thing that you didn't expect from heroes, though when they'd made their costumes, there hadn't been nearly as many people to copy, or try not to copy.
There was an entire contingent of out of town Wards and Protectorate members, including Myrridin, a strange cape from Chicago, who was wearing a robe and carrying a staff. He thought he was a wizard, and that his powers were magic. He was powerful enough that people were willing to tolerate his quirks.
He was talking with Chevalier, the leader of the Philadelphia Protectorate. He had a knight aesthetic going on, silver and gold armor and a giant sword, a cannonblade, that apparently was far lighter than it looked. Or he was far stronger, the specifics were always hard to find.
The Wards were an even stranger collection of people, including a man who seemed to be made of metal, and they were trying to mingle with the Brockton Bay Wards, who were talking to them as well.
Then there was Shadow Stalker, sticking off to the side. I almost wanted to approach her, and would have if I wasn't with Rachel, because asking her questions might help with a few issues I'd been imagining with Rachel's image. Surely someone who was more than a little bit violent at times could know how to not cross the line. Or not be shown crossing the line.
I stuck close to Rachel as I took in everyone. New Wave, out in force, every single one of them, looking like a model set of families, Faultline, a mercenary who ran a nightclub with her crew, the Undersiders of course, and a corporate team.
It was so many people my head spun trying to keep track of and remember who all of them were. I knew that all of them would be important, whoever the monster was. Or however they'd figured it out.
The E88 were there was well. Kaiser… wait, how did Hookwolf get out? Or the other valkyrie? Another deal. There was hat new cape of theirs, Othala, and quite a few others… an impressive clump of fascists indeed, many of them glaring in my direction. Though it seemed that besides Hookwolf and the Valkyrie, anyone still in prison was being kept there. Night and Fog weren't, though, instead looking around at the scene with a vague air of menace. Just looking at any of them made my skin want to crawl off and die.
I nervously made my way towards the Undersiders, almost wanting to hold Rachel's hand for comfort. But I didn't know what people would say, and this was the largest gathering of heroes and capes I'd probably ever see unless I went to another Endbringer fight, which wasn't all that likely, considering that my powers weren't always that useful. But I didn't know.
I moved through the crowd rather easily, and people got out of the way of the dogs. We took up a lot of room, but what other choice was there? We'd had to get there in a hurry, because we hadn't known when the fight was going to start.
Regent looked up and waved lazily at us. "Yo, bitch," he said.
Bitch nodded, and I bit my lip, looking at Grue and Tattletale, as I'd have to think of them right now. "Uh, hello," I said. "Do you know which Endbringer it is?"
"Not yet," Grue said, firmly, when Tattletale opened her mouth. I guessed that her power had somehow told her, but she wasn't going to share? Or perhaps she just had speculations. "Tattletale wants to make us guess. Bitch, are you going to be sticking with us?"
"You'd said you weren't interested if an Endbringer ever attacked," Tattletale said, her voice filled with enough teasing that I knew she'd figured out why she'd come. Our friendship was strong enough, I knew, that I could convince her to do things that she wasn't at all sure of.
"Changed my mind," Rachel said, and then she reached a hand out to grip mine, so firmly it was as if she was afraid I'd run away. I flushed, glad my mask was hiding it.
"Ohhh," Regent said, and his voice sounded like he was about to make a joke before Tattletale elbowed him in the ribs. "So, that's where you've been this whole time. Neat."
"Neat?" I asked.
"Yeah," Regent shrugged.
"So, are you?" Grue asked.
"Arachne said that we could act as search and rescue," Rachel said, firmly, turning towards me as she kept on holding my hand. I wanted to squirm away somewhere, because it just wasn't the time for it. This was an Endbringer fight, no PDAs allowed.
But I wasn't sure how to say it, how to set the limit there, in a way that wouldn't come off as rude, especially since I eventually wanted to actually be dating her. So I took a breath and squeezed her hand back, trying not to admit to myself that despite the feeling like every eye was on me, I was comforted by the presence of her gloved hand in mine.
"Oh, alright then," Tattletale said. "It makes sense. After the fight is over, if we're all in one piece, we can talk about other matters." She nodded. "Arachne, make sure Bitch stays safe."
I expected Rachel to growl something about how she didn't need any help, but instead she said nothing and, a little awkwardly, I said, "I'll… try."
"That's all that's required," Tattletale said, quietly. "And all that's asked."
Rachel shifted, tensing a little, but said nothing as I said, "Angelica, Brutus, follow."
We turned, ready to leave, and Regent whistled as we did and said, almost out of my range of hearing, except of course for the fact that I had him bugged, "Since when did she let other people order around her dogs."
Since when? Since me, I thought, feeling something like pride. People had to see what we were doing, and it was dangerous, of course. I was Arachne and Taylor Hebert, whereas Rachel didn't actually have a secret identity worth having, so if Arachne was seen with Bitch, and Taylor Hebert with Rachel… weil, there would be a lot of questions.
A whole lot. It was why capes had to be careful, though I'd heard rumors online that at least some of the Wards and Protectorate were dating each other. The most common rumor was about Assault and Battery, of course, owing both to their names and the way they seemed to treat each other.
Still, nobody commented, too caught up in things, as we tried to find a corner that wasn't taken. On the way, I passed a cape I didn't know. She looked as if she were a Ward, maybe, wearing a rather tight looking dark purple body-suit. She had a visor covering her face, and like Shadow Stalker, her weapon of choice was a crossbow. It looked tinker-made, complicated and high-tech, and her whole costume was extremely well done, which increased the chance that it was a Wards costume.
They had a budget, for one. She stopped in front of me, and I could imagine her staring, considering whether to say anything.
Homophobia wasn't exactly popular anymore, but that didn't mean it didn't exist, and from the way she was tensing, I all but knew what to expect.
Rachel felt my own fears, and tensed in reply, but she just looked up at the dogs, and then after a moment said, her voice surprisingly breezy and offhand, with a slight New York accent that immediately allayed a lot of my fears--Legend was leader of the New York Protectorate, after all. "Hey," she said.
"Uh, hey," I said. I took a breath, trying to relax, and glancing over at Rachel, who was remaining tensed, as if ready to strike at any moment. "I'm Arachne, what's your name?"
"Flechette," she said. "I'm a New York Ward. And who is this?" She pointed at Bitch.
"Bitch," I said. She flinched for a moment, and I quickly said, "Well, that's her name. I think the Protectorate calls her Hellhound, but it's not a name she likes."
"No," Rachel said, bluntly. If one could see her face, I had no doubt one would see bared teeth.
"Alright then… Bitch. It's nice to meet both of you. What are your powers?"
"Bugs," I said. Then, as if I needed to explain. "I control bugs. And her? Well, look at the dogs." Which wasn't a full explanation, but was a very quick demonstration.
"Ah, local heroes?"
"Trying to be," I said, absently. "I think that it's harder than it should be. Plus there's the whole thing with Bitch."
"What thing?" Flechette asked.
It wasn't really her business, and so I shrugged, glancing over at Rachel, still hand in hand. "What's it like, working under Legend?"
"I don't meet him much, but he's pretty great. The real deal," Flechette said, stiffly. "Oh, I think he's going to speak. We should probably listen."
I pointed to the far wall, "Bitch, I'll be right over there in a sec."
She nodded, and she said, "Angelica, Brutus, come." She glanced back at me as she did, and I knew she was wondering what was going on.
Legend indeed was headed up towards the front of the room, where a television was placed, as well as a platform. We had only a minute to talk, so I said, "She's… well, she's going to be a hero, and that's that. Sorry if either of us were a little stiff."
"It's fine," she said, in a distracted sort of way. Then she let out a breath. "Don't worry about it, I understand. I mean…"
What she meant, I didn't learn, because Legend began speaking the next moment.
He was a tall, handsome man in a blue costume, the kind of person that just screamed superhero. It was the jawline, and the way he spoke, it was in every movement. It just was, in a way that impressed me as I stepped back, edging towards Bitch as I listened to the speech.
"We owe thanks both to Dragon, Armsmaster, and a number of other capes for this early warning, as well as the previously obscured results of the last Endbringer fight, in which we were able to successfully predicted Leviathan's target an hour before it hit."
I hadn't heard much about the Taiwan fight, except that many capes had seen it as a chance to save Kyushu from Leviathan all over again, but doing it right this time. I'd heard, in a vague way, that we'd won, but the details were of course never released.
People started murmuring, and I was one of them. If they could predict when the Endbringers would strike…
"We've had time to gather and prepare for the arrival of the Endbringer, through a modified seismographic record. Our reports seem to indicate that Behemoth will strike somewhere within a fifty mile radius of this area, and the only target worth attacking within that range is Brockton Bay."
Behemoth. The Hero-Killer.
"But thanks to this warning, we have an advantage. With good luck and your hard work, this could turn out to be a good day. But you should know your chances coming in. Given the results of previous encounters with Behemoth, a 'good day' will mean that one in three of the people in this room will probably be dead before this day is done."
Oh shit.
"I'm telling you your chances now because you deserve to know, and we so rarely get the chance to inform those individuals brave enough to step up and fight these monsters. The primary message I want to convey, even more than briefing you on the particulars of his abilities, organizing formations and battle plans, is just how dangerous Behemoth is. I have seen too many good heroes," he paused, "and villains die from lack of understanding of his strengths and limitations."
"Behemoth was the first to arrive, and to whatever extent that matters, it does mean that we know more about how he operates than the others. The oldest child, his primary power is dynakinesis on a truly impressive micro and macro scale, capable of hitting both individual targets and broad swathes of enemies, depending on what he needs. He has an aura of energy precisely thirty-two feet in diameter around him that he can activate. Getting within this range is not an instant death sentence in theory, but in practice he only refrains from killing a cape if he's trying to lull them forward for some other purpose. There are several capes here that can grant or possess invulnerability, but even if you are very tough, do not assume you can survive this Kill Aura."
He looked around, and I glanced at Rachel's dogs, not sure what would happen to them if they got close, and knowing that neither of us would like to try that if we could help it. It was bad enough, imagining them sacrificed in a fight, but sacrificed for nothing?
"Even those who can get close find that he's a physical powerhouse, and his manipulation of energy can include the energy of attacks, as well as lightning bolts, fire, sound, radiation, heat… the only limitation he has consistently shown is that he rarely uses more than one form of energy manipulation at a time, and only breaks this rule for short periods. That is to say, if he's giving off radiation, then he is not usually shooting lightning. All of his attacks are highly lethal and dangerous, and thus a fight against him involves caution and careful countermeasures. But he can be made to feel pain, he can be driven off with enough force, and we have done so before."
Everyone brightened a little bit at that, but the fact was, my bugs wouldn't be able to do much if that's what he had, at least not to him. And if he hit anyone, it'd also fry my bugs in the vicinity. Still, I had to try at least, and maybe it'd give me an idea of what was going on.
"Behemoth is very slow in movement, but he devastates and destroys the environment around him. This city is a soft target, with old, decaying industry, as well as an aquifer that could be damaged by the earthquakes that herald his arrival. We cannot stand back and allow him to set this city ablaze, or worse, and so we will have to divide into active squads of capes capable of harming or redirecting him, creating circles of defense that keep the damage he does as localized as possible."
Earthquakes, fires, radiation. Even if we won a total victory here, Brockton Bay would be devastated.
"That is our first priority, our second is hurting him. Those with long-ranged powers would probably be the most useful, and those with close-up powers who cannot survive incredible punishment are encouraged to keep away and wait for opportunities, or request assistance from capes that can grant the ability to survive his attacks. Be careful not to throw yourself at him unnecessarily. You are doing a good thing, the best thing that a cape can do, in fighting against the seemingly inevitable, the dangerous. It is for this reason that society tolerates us, allows us to fight on their streets and walk in costume. Because we are needed. Thank you for coming, and I turn it over to Armsmaster."
I wasn't sure how to feel. We'd learned a decent amount, but it'd also been disheartening, and Armsmaster's dry delivery of an explanation of some sort of armband system didn't help. I listened, noting down what he was saying, but no more than that. It was important. There was a grid system in place that I didn't quite understand, but which would be very important when it came to trying to save downed capes, though I knew as deadly as Behemoth was, this would be a difficult task.
The ping in case of emergencies was important, I thought to myself.
Suddenly, in the middle of the speech, Legend called out, "Capes! Those of you who have fought an Endbringer, stand up."
Half of the Protectorate, a third of the Wards, Bambina, a villain, about half of a commercial team, and one or two others stood up. And Lung stepped forward, drawing attention to himself. I frowned, noting them.
"When in doubt, look first to the Protectorate for orders and advice, and second to veterans, whose instincts might be useful. Now, in addition to the Wards being sent around," Legend continued, "we are going to send around Protectorate members, who will ask if you have a power capable of either hitting him long range, navigating a ruined city, or hitting him close up if in conjunction with another power or your own. I ask all of you not to stick together in squads that cannot work merely because you know the other members. Instead, we will be breaking it up into teams. Flyers, as well, should make themselves known, since they might be needed to transport people to or from the battle…"
He continued to talk, and I noted it down. We were going to encircle him with teams, and push forward or back based on his actions. It all seemed pretty complicated, and I had to assume that somewhere there was an official plan for all sorts of scenarios, as soon as they knew that they could predict the attacks of an Endbringer to some small extent.
It couldn't be a long warning, but we listened as people starting to break into groups, talking fast, trying to find teams and combinations. We stayed there, and Armsmaster approached us.
"The dogs could be used to attack Behemoth," Armsmaster said, without preamble.
"Nice to meet you too," I said.
"Fuck you," Rachel said, with feeling, as she leaned forward.
I felt about the same way, and my own teeth were bared beneath the mask. "There's no guarantee they wouldn't be killed immediately like anyone else, and they're not expendable attackers. They're dogs, you jerk," I said. "We can use them to ferry people to and from the combat zone, if you need to do it a little lower to the ground."
I'd thought about how lightning bolts and throwing fire all meant that flyers might be obvious targets. "And we can serve as search and rescue," I said. "My bugs can help me note down where civilians are, and if any are in harms way, though the armbands sorta… get rid of one of my ideas."
I'd thought through this, even though I was angry enough to spit.
Armsmaster nodded, not even apologizing. "Very well, I will note that down when the armbands come around."
"Yes, note that two heroes are here to help out," I said, acid in my voice. "And then tell me why the hell you let Hookwolf and the other Valkyrie go? Let alone Lung?"
"They could be useful," Armsmaster said. "It wasn't my idea." He seemed frustrated as well, which made me blink. Than whose idea? The Director's? Kaiser's, as an offer they couldn't refuse?
"Oh," I said. "Sorry to hear that. Hope they don't get loose."
Which was to say I was honestly hoping that the Endbringer killed them. It was cruel, but… the world was better off without the E88 and ABB, and if a third of everyone here was going to die, then why not them?
Armsmaster nodded. "Understood. I'll pass along the information." He was gruff, terse, and nervous as he walked off, and a Ward finally passed us armbands.
They were pretty cool looking things, high tech. A flat, square screen on them showed a satellite view of our location, and when I put it on, a display read 'State name.'
"Arachne," I said, at the same time as Rachel said, "Bitch."
I confirmed it as correct when prompted, and looked around for others that we could group with. We were on our own, yes, but it looked as if most teams were starting to come together, and if we waited too long, we'd lose out. The main problem, of course, was that most of the teams were four to six capes large, which meant that we couldn't really carry all of them anyways.
"Strider," Legend said, still talking about strategy, "will be bringing some teams in. This will make them a target, and therefore we will transport others by foot, or using fliers. Those who can fly are advised to be careful, as Behemoth has been known to send massive attacks to clear the air, and you are to keep as low as possible in order to minimize the chance of being hit."
Alright, then, I said, looking around. Flechette was talking to that doll-girl, Parian, and they were both moving towards a short, grey-haired woman who was floating in the air. The woman, talking to a man who looked like he spent all his life lifting weights, shook her head.
I thought for a moment, and said, "Rachel. Do you think you could move Flechette and Parian? And…" I looked to see who was joining in. There was a short, stout young man with dark-brown skin and a costume that looked vaguely house-shaped, who after a moment nodded and gestured around animatedly.
"Whoever that is."
"I can," Rachel said after a moment, glancing at her dogs. Three others was pushing it, but they could fit on well enough.
So I began to stride over towards them, ready to offer arguments and counter-arguments, when a mechanical voice said. "Behemoth has arrived at the following coordinates."
I glanced down at my armband, as everyone suddenly stared, and in the space of a moment, as I looked down at the icon centered around the hills of Brockton Bay, the place erupted into absolute chaos.
******
A/N: Thanks to @NemoMarx
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- Location
- United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh, Taylor. Lily is the opposite of Homophobic.
She's just awkward with it.
- Location
- Australia
Huh.
I don't think I've ever seen this be a Behemoth fight. I've seen it be a Simurgh fight (Despite the fact that breaks the rules), but this is definately new.
I don't think I've ever seen this be a Behemoth fight. I've seen it be a Simurgh fight (Despite the fact that breaks the rules), but this is definately new.
Zeuseus
KNEEL BEFORE YOUR GOD!!
On the bright side, we might find out just how durable cockroaches are in regards to radiation.
Need to get Legend on board too...
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- Location
- Australia
- Location
- ⇙
Behemoths coming to Brockton Bay instead of Leviathan is pretty rare, so I'm very interested to see what you do with it.
- Location
- The INTERNET!
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
The only other fic I remember with Behemoth is the ridiculously huge Exalted crossover quest, so this is super neat.
Calling it now, this fic ends with both Taylor and Rachel dying of radiation poisoning in each others arms.
Cause Worm
I don't really think that, and hope that's not the plan.
Calling it now, this fic ends with both Taylor and Rachel dying of radiation poisoning in each others arms.
Cause Worm
I don't really think that, and hope that's not the plan.
- Location
- United States
I'm excited and scared to see how this shakes out, Behemoth killing 1/3 of participants on a good day is pretty spooky. This was a good 'Endbringer Pregame' scene, familiar but still different and interesting to read. I especially want Arachne and Flechette to talk and bond more, that's my jam.
Good chapter, I'm hyped!
Good chapter, I'm hyped!
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
What, no Endbringer drills at school?
Just once, I'd like someone to do that, make us all freaked out, only reveal it was a drill or malfunction.
Maybe Levithan's a arachnophobe?
True, still, leaves a lot of options....
Probably, it sure as hell effected that one bird we saw in Madison.
So what changed?
That or cowering in the fetal position in the house.
Eh, depends on how big the blade is. Some pocket knives..... eesh.
That's not narrowing it down any.
That.... is partially true.
Oh. Well, so much for making that hot dog joke.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd have to find the quote, but in canon Taylor takes a while to recognize the sirens, and while she knows where the shelters in the city roughly are, she doesn't know where capes go. Meeting the police and asking for instructions is pretty much lifted from there, and in fact the police have pamphlets to give out to capes, so it seems like they want to make sure even new independents work out where to go and what the rules are.
They probably don't want to drill too often and make people think about the looming endbringer thing, though. I'm betting they do them as often as we do earthquake drills, and it's probably just filing off to the nearest shelter and being told not to try and take your pets with you or stay behind to look for someone, or something.
Edit: relevant portions of canon:
Of course, in WS the cops aren't seeing Taylor as a notorious villain.
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Callmesalticidae
probably not a spider
- Location
- Burlington, Vermont
- Pronouns
- Any
Woo! First time I've seen Behemoth in a fanfic.
(Actually, this is going to be the first time I've seen Behemoth, period, since I stopped reading Worm before that arc.)
(Actually, this is going to be the first time I've seen Behemoth, period, since I stopped reading Worm before that arc.)
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
He breaks the truce for the first endbringer fight shown in canon, which this is taking the place of. That was against Leviathan, though, and I can't imagine Armsy will try to get in Melee range with Behemoth.
The Behemoth fight is one of the nicer things about post timeskip Worm, honestly. Especially poor Regent.
Bailey Matutine
(Verified Pooka)
- Location
- Pelican Town
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I am excited to see Parian in action. According to WoG, Behemoth is her optimal matchup.
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
It's the time where he breaks the truce, but I suspect he's going to be less interested in going 'You, me, 1v1 solo match' when his opponent has a defense that can be summarized as 'I instagib anyone who comes too close' and he's got all his tinker gear based around being Techno-Paladin melee master.
And in order to find out how, we just need to know her supposed actual power usage. Good luck with that.
- Location
- Space
Exactly. Like a lot of parahumans, Parian never really explores or even understands the full potential of her powers. That's sort of why I always saw her as the could-have-been heroine of Worm. There's a subtly powerful ability in the hands of someone never quite put into the right circumstances to escalate everything.