CHAPTER FOUR - REBECCA

Rebecca Costa-Brown hovered above the shattered skyline of Brockton Bay, her perfect memory cataloguing every detail: the splintered remains of buildings, the frothing waters surging through the streets, the distant cries of fear and pain—all processed with brutal efficiency, filled away as yet another chapter in humanity’s struggle against the impossible.

And then she saw him. Leviathan.

The Endbringer moved with terrible grace, its every motion sending shockwaves rippling through the city, collapsing buildings, and scattering even the bravest capes. It was a sight she had seen too many times, and yet Alexandria felt no fear.

Confidence. Control. Resolve. These were the tools she wielded, the armor she wore alongside her indestructible body. She descended into the fray, her presence demanding attention and respect even in the face of annihilation.

“Hold the line!” she bellowed, her voice cutting through the cacophony. Capes scrambled to obey, some even straightening under her gaze. They didn't have to like her, but they would listen. Not because of her strength or her reputation, but her aura—the undeniable authority she carried that made people believe they could succeed, even against an Endbringer.

She didn’t waste time. Leviathan was already turning toward a cluster of capes who had dared to attack him head-on. Alexandria accelerated, a blur of motion, slamming into the side of the beast with enough force to shatter bones.

Leviathan reeled, his massive tail whipping out in retaliation. The impact sent her hurtling through the air, crashing into the side of a crumbling building. Dust and debris cascaded around her, but she emerged unscathed, as it always did, but her thoughts churned.

Leviathan was faster than she remembered. Smarter, too, it seemed, with how he adjusted his movements to bait her into attacks that left others vulnerable. It wasn’t fear that gnawed at her—it was doubt, the cold knowledge that the odds were stacked against them. But doubt was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

She darted back into the fight, intercepting another attack meant for a group of capes. Leviathan’s claws raked against her, the force sending shockwaves through the ground, but she held firm. Unyielding.

“Focus your fire!” she shouted, gesturing toward the ranged capes who were still holding back. “Aim for its joints! Slow him down!”

They obeyed, though she could see the fear in their eyes. She didn't fault them for it. She had felt that same fear once, facing Behemoth for the first time. But fear had no place here, not when lives hung in the balance.

Leviathan surged forward, faster than she anticipated. His tail lashed out again, aiming not for her but for the capes she had just rallied. Alexandria moved to intercept, her mind calculating vectors and timing.

But she wasn’t fast enough.

A streak of red and blue cut across her vision, faster even than she could react, intercepting the tail with a deafening crack. The ground trembled as an unfamiliar figure caught the massive appendage mid-swing.

Alexandria froze for the briefest of moments, her perfect memory scrambling to identify the unknown. Every file, conversation, and briefing was brought up, but nothing matched the man standing before her. The red and blue uniform, the cape, the symbol emblazoned on his chest—none of it aligned with anything she had encountered in her years of service.

He wasn’t from the Protectorate, the Wards, or any other sanctioned group. Not a rogue, not an independent hero she’d heard whispers about. A complete blank. That alone set her on edge.

Her mind cycled faster, trying to piece together an explanation, any clue. A forgotten Cauldron project? A hidden trump card the Triumvirate hadn’t been briefed on? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had intercepted Leviathan’s attack with ease, and that gave her a moment of hesitation she didn’t like.

“Who—” she began, but the man didn’t so much as glance her way.

“Get the others to safety,” he said instead, voice calm and commanding. “I’ll keep him busy.”

Her jaw tightened. The audacity. The sheer arrogance of thinking he could hold Leviathan at bay alone. But before she could challenge him, he moved.

Faster than her eyes could track, he became a blur of motion, colliding with Leviathan in a thunderous impact that shook the earth and the air alike. Alexandria’s vision adjusted just in time to see the Endbringer be sent hurtling back, his massive form lifted into the air by the force of the strike.

She stared, the sight at odds with every known fact. Barring Scion, no one she knew could hit like that, not even Eidolon.

So what did that say about the newcomer?

But there was no time to question.

Shaking herself, Alexandria turned back to the capes, rallying them once more. “Regroup!” she barked at the gathered capes. “Follow my lead!”

They hesitated, their eyes drawn to the stranger trading blows with Leviathan. Alexandria’s presence was usually enough to command instant obedience, but now even her authority was overshadowed by this unknown figure.

With a growl of frustration, she surged forward, grabbing the nearest cape and shoving them toward safety. “Now!” she repeated, her voice like a whip crack.

Leviathan roared, his claws slashing out, only for the man to intercept them again. Alexandria watched in disbelief as the impact created a shockwave, but the man didn’t flinch. He countered with a strike of his own, a focused, devastating blow to Leviathan’s side that sent it toppling again.

Alexandria hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty breaking through her polished exterior. This was no fluke. Whoever this was, he was beyond anything she had encountered. Stronger than Eidolon? Faster than herself? It defied reason, but there he stood, meeting the Endbringer blow for blow, holding the line in a way Alexandria had never seen before.

She shook her head free of the spell and turned back to her task. Her mission wasn't to gawk. It was to lead, to protect, to minimise the casualties. Whatever—or whoever—this cape was, it didn't matter. 

What mattered was that, for the first time in the fight, Leviathan wasn't advancing.

And for the first time in years, despite herself, Alexandria felt the faint stirrings of something she had almost forgotten.

Hope.