From her position on top of a high-rise in the middle of downtown Brockton Bay, Miss Militia had a pretty good view of the city’s waterline. The storm that typically preceded Leviathan’s arrival had long since drenched the area in rain for miles around. However, the deluge was significantly lighter than the weather effect is known to be.

  The Thinkers being fed a constant stream of data, both locally and beyond, have concluded that this was due to Seraph. First, with his alleged dragon, which sent analysts into a frenzy. Second, with his continued siphoning of the Endbringer’s power.

  No one can seem to agree on exactly how he was doing so, what it could mean, or what to do about it. One thing was clear, though. Without Seraph, this attack would have already resulted in a bloodbath.

  Leviathan’s true range was terrifying to hear about, and the same went for its implications. The Endbringer could have sunk entire coastlines. So, why hasn’t he?

  There were already hints as to exactly what these monsters could do, of course. Kyushu and Newfoundland proved how far-reaching the devastation of the attacks could be. But if Seraph was right, entire continents should have been sunk already. That the inhuman creatures have only been targeting cities, thus far, speaks of an intelligence guiding their movements.

  And they truly were inhuman. Seraph said it himself. Leviathan wasn’t human. He never was. If so, the same could be said of Behemoth and the Simurgh.

  But questions on exactly what they were dealing with could wait. Right at that moment, Imago had just volunteered to try and slow Leviathan down with her creatures. This was an aspect of the girl’s abilities that the PRT as a whole has been intensely curious about. It simply didn’t make sense, much like Seraph didn’t make sense.

  As far as they have been able to tell, Tattletale is exactly as she appears: a Thinker. A powerful one, but a Thinker all the same. She makes sense. The same went for Grue, Hellhound, and Regent.

  The same went for Vates, whom the PRT only became aware of due to Seraph.

  She is an extremely powerful precog with a high rate of predictive accuracy. With that said, she does share one oddity along with Tattletale. Neither seems to experience Thinker migraines. As a result, they are able to use their powers as much as they want, with the only limitation being associated with normal human fatigue.

  Vates could even predict Endbringer attacks, and as the whole world just learned today, Tattletale can find their weakness.

  After decades of losing fights and slowly bleeding manpower against the forces of destruction, hope has come in spectacular fashion. Several Parahumans that posed a genuine threat against seemingly indestructible forces of nature appearing in such a short period of time? If Miss Militia didn’t know better, she would be tempted to call it a miracle.

  “Dragon, give her the coordinates,” she heard Legend say over the comms, and the heroine’s blood began pumping faster in her veins.

  Seeing Imago’s near-mythical minions with her own eyes is bound to be different compared to seeing them in video format. Oh, how right she was.

  It began with a violent churning of the already tempestuous ocean. As far as the eye could see, it was like the entire bay and beyond had become filled with seafoam. It was a frothing film that extended over the horizon, where every inch of seawater was suddenly subjected to the incessant, forceful roiling of a giant blender.

  What came next made it nearly impossible to breathe.

  Tentacles the length of trains. Claws the size of buses. Eyes, teeth, and scales in impossible places. It was a scene right out of a space horror movie, and the full scale of the sight was unfathomable. Miss Militia had already been wary of using her ability to perfectly recall memories when she slept.

  After witnessing what Imago called from the depths, she was more sure than ever that she would never voluntarily go to sleep ever again.

  All at once, the creatures rushed toward the horizon in a tidal wave of exoskeletons, alien extremities, and gurgling screeches. The heroine tried to remind herself that these beasts were on her side. That they were under the control of an ally. But she simply couldn’t fully bring herself to believe it.

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  “Holy shit…” The expletive expressing both awe and fear came from the cape beside Miss Militia.

  Looking over, what covering protected Victor’s identity was utterly inadequate at masking the pure, unadulterated dread suffusing his features. The same went for his teenage companion, who was supposed to act as their mode of transport and escape. Rune was shaking like a leaf in the wind, shivering from the top of her head to the toes of her boots.

  The Noctis cape had never been given to thinking ungenerous thoughts, even of villains, but she’s even more unlikely to do so in the here and now. No one who witnessed the same event would.

  “My minions are engaging Leviathan now,” came Imago’s voice over the comms. She sounded so distressingly young, yet held such profound power.

  “Good,” Legend replied. “See if you can force him to surface so we can get a clean shot.”

  “I’ll do my best,” the Master replied.

  “We’re fucking screwed,” a voice suddenly spoke up. It was almost shocking how small and piteous it sounded.

  “Rune,” Victor said with a warning tone.

  “Fuck off, Victor!” the girl screamed, gesticulating wildly. “You’re seeing the same thing I see, right? How the fuck are we supposed to fight that?!”

  “We won’t have to if we die to Leviathan because you’re losing focus!” Victor snapped.

  “That’s enough,” Miss Militia interjected calmly, seeing Rune open her mouth to argue. “Right now, we’re all on the same side. Don’t forget what we’re hoping to achieve today.”

  At the reminder, the Striker settled down, but it was Victor’s turn to stir the pot. “Is it still possible with Seraph acting like a maniac?”

  Miss Militia twitched at the question, mostly because it had been at the back of her mind, as well. While still technically sticking to the rough outlines of the plan, the winged Parahuman’s attitude has been rather unstable since the start of the Endbringer attack. Still, it wouldn’t do to bring down morale now.

  “At the very least, we stand a good chance of driving Leviathan away with minimal casualties.” Well, that was the hope. It’s the reason why Seraph and the Triumvirate were acting as the vanguard in the first place.

  In the distance, a titanic splash put an end to the discussion. Mountainous bodies were tossed into the air, and even at this distance, the scattered limbs and fluids were clear to see. Leviathan had finally claimed some lives. Fortunately, it’s of entirely replaceable creatures.

  More importantly, it left the Endbringer exposed.

  Streaks of light and fire lit up the stormy edge of the world. If Miss Militia squinted, she could barely make out the small blur dipping in and out of the bombarded area, which could only be Alexandria.

  “Keep it up, queenie!” Seraph’s voice came through the broadcast. “You’re kicking his ass!”

  “Stop calling me that!” Imago replied on the same line.

  “Why not?” Seraph asked. “You are a queen!”

  “Could you please be a weirdo when there’s not a literal Endbringer on our doorstep?” Tattletale cut in.

  “Aww, don’t worry, Tats! You’re still my favorite Thinker!”

  “Take your disgusting teen drama off the damn line!” Director Piggot barked.

  “Sorry, Director!”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  “He started it!”

  “I don’t care! I swear to God, if somebody gets hurt because the three of you are messing around, Leviathan will be the least of your problems. Now, get off the line!”

  Miss Militia was left a bit dazed by that interaction. What the hell was that?

  “Your boss is a hardass,” Rune muttered, sounding genuinely impressed.

  She wasn’t exactly wrong to be, either. Emily Piggot had absolutely no compunction about taking powerful Parahumans to task, it would seem. Even ones ostensibly not under her authority.

  “Okay, actual emergency this time,” Tattletale spoke up again. “At the rate Leviathan is shredding through Imago’s minions, we might be left with a huge pileup at the beach. The floating corpses will make it harder to pin him down, and he might start using them as ammunition!”

  “Imago, can you have some of your creatures clean up the larger pieces?” Dragon asked.

  “Already on it,” the Master replied.

  “Shit, Leviathan heard us!” Tattletale warned. “We need shields, now!”

  Just as the Thinker said, numerous fleshy projectiles were suddenly flying through the sky straight toward Brockton Bay. Fliers and dozens of Dragoncraft went to intercept, but there were far too many. As a result, kinetic impacts rocked the city, with a few buildings crumbling as a result.

  Fortunately, they had plenty of time to prepare, so teams were assigned Movers, Brutes, or Strikers that could help either protect capes from falling debris or get them out of the way.

  Unfortunately, the hail of body parts isn’t stopping.

  “The son of a bitch is using his water echo as a slingshot!” Seraph barked through the comms. “I’m not letting him do anything too big, so he’s using actual tactics! Tats, I can’t do this for much longer, give me a target!”

  “Then keep him still!” Tattletale snapped. “I can’t find shit if he keeps diving! Dragon, I need a better angle, I’m getting too much useless information!”

  “Sending more drones,” the Tinker replied.

  “Thank you,” was the breathless reply. “Imago, use your tougher minions that will last the longest against him. Cycle them if you have to. I just need them to keep Leviathan in view!”

  “Got it,” the Master responded with audible strain. It seems controlling so many gigantic creatures was harder than she believed.

  This was never going to be an easy task, but Miss Militia still couldn’t help but feel impatient. In past Endbringer battles that she attended, there was never enough time for introspection. Only action and survival. Only reacting in the moment.

  Behemoth was the most generous in that case because he would appear so far away. But he essentially embodied inevitable destruction. Slow and sure. Leviathan was supposed to be the most energetic of the trio, with swift movements and blindingly fast attacks. That they were successfully stopping him from reaching the shore was perhaps causing incongruence in the Blaster’s mind.

  At least they haven’t yet been subjected to the infamous wristband updates about capes being down or deceased.

  Just as she thought that, the best and worst news came one after the other.

  “I got it!” Tattletale practically cheered.

  The surge of hope in Miss Militia’s chest was then quickly squashed by Seraph.

  “Crap, I think Levi’s done playing around.”