Chapter 35: Call For Reinforcements

-Taylor POV-

Taylor walked, shoulders sagging from both the weight of her troubles and her school backpack. She had taken to carrying everything in it after the bullying started, if she didn’t she would only find things missing.

She scowled lightly at that, kicking an empty can.

It still didn’t make any sense, it had been months now and there she was still no closer to figuring out what had gone wrong. After summer camp Emma had changed, becoming crueller than Taylor ever imagined Emma could become. Where once they had been sisters in all but blood now Emma used her knowledge of Taylor to torment her.

The walk back home from her bus station was a short one, the faint smell of sea breeze lingered. The ocean breeze flitted past her, shielding her from the sweltering heat of the summer sun. The radiant light of that star bathing Brockton Bay in a faintly golden hue, the beams reflecting off the few skyscrapers Brockton bay had managed to scrounge together before the bad times.

Taylor stopped, feeling a rare moment of genuine peace as she looked upon the cracked and broken city before her. The Ship Graveyard loomed in the distance, barely visible from her position. The graveyard was much like the rest of the bay, rusted and beaten down – but also still standing in spite of everything.

The sunken container ship could barely be seen peaking from the water, the rusted red of the bow looming over the waves. Taylor couldn’t deny that that boat was responsible for no small amount of her woes, for all of Brockton Bay’s woes – she should know, her dad wouldn’t shut up about it.

Back when he talked more, anyway.

Still, there was something comforting about that rotting edifice. It had been there for such a long time that it had become a fixture in her life. It made her current problems with Emma and Sophia not seem so big.

Taylor let out a sigh, taking in the sight. Feeling just a little better.

Which was exactly when the sirens started howling.

Because of course they did, the universe loved to screw with her.

But these were no ordinary sirens, Taylor realised with a paling face. The pitch that sent shivers down the world’s spine was unmistakable. It was the Endbringer Alarm.

Freezing in place, Taylor could only wait.

One Shriek of the alarm meant the Endbringer was attacking.

Two meant it was attacking somewhere in your country.

Three meant it was likely to hit your city.

‘Please don’t be here!’ Taylor almost prayed, the same prayer she gave every three months.

The siren blared once, and then fell silent.

A moment of silence passed before Taylor let out a long sigh of relief, her face regaining some colour. But the moment was gone. Taylor had no wish to enjoy the moment knowing that one of those monsters was out there destroying a city, it felt wrong – disrespectful even.

So Taylor continued home, her pace a little quicker. Spared from the horrors of an Endbringer, for now.

-Alexandria POV-

This was rapidly becoming untenable.

Well over half the parahumans they had brought with them had been killed or horribly maimed. One unfortunately memorable example of the latter was a Striker by the name Thrasher, someone capable of preventing nerves from functioning correctly if he touched you. It made him ideal for nonlethally capturing high value targets.

That power did little against a monster that spat living ammunition, a type of worm that rapidly burrowed into a target. Using his power in panic on the worm had only caused it to thrash around in his body, rupturing several organs.

He was thankfully still alive, if barely.

Out of the thirty casualties there were only two others that were so fortunate.

The swarm had gone through the rest like a harvester’s blade went through wheat, utterly cut down.

Eidolon and herself were making a difference, but that was only just enough to keep them in the fight.

She bulldozed through another thirty in less than a second. Forty more took their place.

She grit her teeth in frustration.

Should she use Doormaker to evacuate the rest of the protectorate forces present? It would cause questions if she revealed such a powerful asset. People would wonder why she hadn’t used him before instead of relying on Strider. The more canny would understand that she had been using him for a long time, and would wonder what she actually used him for.

But she could come up with excuses, or outright lies. With Contessa’s support it would be possible. Above all else senselessly losing parahumans for no gain couldn’t be allowed.

She opened her mouth, about to order Doormaker to begin opening portals – before she was cut off by blinding lights.

Pillars of light thundered down upon the creatures, reducing them to naught but ash. The ground cracked, froze and melted under the apocalyptic volley of lasers, and the air was briefly filled with the fog of evaporated water caused by the strikes. Others might have felt fear when faced with such a biblical show of might, but for Rebecca all she could do was offer a slight smile of relief as she looked upon the man responsible.

“Your timing is impeccable Legend,” She said, looking at the man as he slowly floated down towards her.

Legend meanwhile was looking upon the sea of ash and blood that now coated this portion of Hyderabad, his lips curled into a frown.

“Alexandria,” he offered back, still staring at the carnage. Then he turned to look at her, expression becoming pained. “Another one then?”

At those words Alexandria’s faint smile died on her face.

“Yes, there is indeed another,” the anger in her voice as she spoke was left unhidden.

Because now there was a fourth. Another Endbringer here to sow destruction, one that had already done so and lured them into a horrible trap. It never got easier, discovering that the universe wasn’t done throwing curveballs at them.

Sometimes, despite her powers, Alexandria felt so tired.

The moment passed, and Alexandria allowed the tired and pained expression to melt off of her face. “Are there any others with you?” The question was met with the shake of his head, drawing a faint grimace from her.

“No, I left as soon as I heard the news from Dragon. I flew straight across the Atlantic, may or may not have violated a few countries airspace,” Legend said, ending with a sheepish expression.

Great, that was going to cause a lot of paperwork.

Legend’s expression once more turned serious. “I only got a rough idea on what it’s capable of, care to fill me in on any other details before we’re knee deep in monsters again?”

“It’s a matter manipulator, one with enough fine control to create technology and living creatures. I’ll need you to focus on keeping the minions down so we can actually start focusing on the Endbringer.”

Legend gives a wry smile. “I think I can do that.”

Their conversation wouldn’t last however, as the ground beneath them began to break apart and unfold. The concrete and water transforming into a fleshy hand as it reached out to grab them. A dozen laser beams reduced the arm to a bubbling wreck, yet the ground continued to shake.

Alexandria peered across the city, flying higher up to get a better view. It wasn’t just where they were, a 400 meter area was being effected, slowly transforming into a living breathing creature. Ribs tore through the ground, piercing through the sky before they were quickly covered by bright angry red flesh.

Limbs quickly followed the formation of the torso, branching out like tree trunks as the skeleton formed first, before swiftly being covered by nerves and muscle. Then there was the head, It formed just as quickly as the rest, the exposed brain and eyes making for a ghastly sight before they were covered.

The eyes twitched and a horrible beating was heard.

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

The noise was impossible to drown out, the beating of it’s heart pumping blood throughout the body audible to everyone.

Legend raised an eyebrow at the sight.

The next hundred laser beams flew like bolts fired from a god, each cratering the flesh and splitting bone apart.

Yet none of the cataclysmic beams fully pierced through the body, instead leaving rapidly regenerating wounds.

Plumes of dust and water shot up throughout the city, and Alexandria could just barely make out the growth of similar beings rapidly eating up the surrounding buildings as they were converted into more engines of death.

The Endbringer was clearly no longer content to throw chaff at them.

“Think that’ll be a problem?” Alexandria asked Legend.

“If I only have to defend the remaining capes, then no,” Legend replied, clearly having done the math and come to a favourable outcome. “Though that’s only if they have no more surprises to throw at us.”

Alexandria withheld a scowl. Both she and Legend knew that was almost guaranteed, but what other choice did they have? Staying on the defensive would just ensure loss.

“Eidolon! With me!” At those words Alexandria cut through the air like a bullet from a fired gun, rapidly advancing towards the Endbringer. Eidolon wasn’t far behind, a glowing green aura now enveloping him.

But the monster wasn’t going to let them come close that easily. Matter flowed like water, and next to the walking engine of destruction structures began to form. Cannons, massive and glowing bright with exotic energy.

Alexandria banked left, barely dodging a pillar of blue light. She winced, the sound alone would have been enough to kill any ordinary human and while she wasn’t harmed it definitely wasn’t pleasant.

Eidolon, for his part, simply didn’t bother to dodge the shot that came for him. He waded through the light, only slowing slightly as he fought against the apocalyptic force hat assailed him.

They pushed further ahead.

Looking ahead Alexandria could see the barrels cannons had warped and melted simply from firing. Given that they weren’t being repaired, which Alexandria knew the Endbringer could do if it wanted, the enigmatic being had clearly wrote them off as an option for hurting the two of them.

Instead Alexandria felt the air once more lock into place around her.

This time she was ready.

Instead of flailing in surprise, she pushed.

Air held in place met her frozen body, and the air lost.

The world around her bloomed into flames as the abused atmosphere ignited around her.

Then Alexandria’s fist landed upon the Endbringers face, sending it reeling back with a cracked and blackened cheek. The eyes never left her, even as Eidolon’s aura smashed into her and began peeling sections of its skin off.

A blur struck her then and Alexandria abruptly found herself held in the monsters grip, as it attempted to choke the life out of her.

“AleXAndRiA!”

The distorted monstrous declaration of her name caused her to slacken slightly in surprise, something she quickly regretted as the monster used the opportunity to tighten its grip, placing its thumb and index finger around her neck to squeeze.

Alexandria choked, and began to try to force her way out of its grip.

She beat on the fingers holding her in place, but they remained clamped around her, as immovable as mountains

Her heart beat faster in her chest.

Off to the side she could see Eidolon blasting the monster, forcing it to one knee from the sheer power of the blow. Yet, throughout all of that, the beasts eyes remained locked on her and the grip never wavered.

Black spots began to dance in front of her eyes.

‘Am I going to die?’

The thought snuck its way into her thoughts, polluting her calm and centred mind with raw animal panic.

The blows came faster now, more desperate.

Eidolon’s powers changed as he bent and twisted the fundamental force of gravity in an attempt to make the monster relent, to make it let go.

It didn’t.

It took all of those many blows from Eidolon, receiving enough damage that any other Endbringer would have fled by now, and all the while it stared at her with bared teeth.

That was the worst part.

This wasn’t like the others, she realised. Even when fighting the other Endbringers there had always been a callousness to them, and indifference. Even during the few times she had nearly been drowned by Leviathan there was always a disregard for her, it would remove her from the fight, however temporarily, and move on to the next victim. That used to burn, it used to hurt to be treated with such little thought.

Not anymore, for she had found something so much worse.

There was nothing indifferent about this thing.

It was watching as she died, staring straight in her eyes.

Somehow Alexandria knew it would even enjoy watching her die.

‘Because it hates us.’

Something so human, so mundane to Alexandria shouldn’t have scared her. She had fought mass murderers and the worst humanity had to offer before and never felt an ounce of terror. She had stood against the Slaughterhouse 9, and while that was bad it was nothing like this.

Her panicked eyes stared into pitiless blue eyes as she silently begged.

‘Please, I don’t want to die!’

‘Please!’

‘PLEASE!’

‘P l e a s e.’

‘P…l…e’

Darkness.

AN: Well…that got dark.

Taylor is currently suffering, not much difference there. Legend is here! Hooray! Just in time for Alexandria to die! …Hooray? And yes, Alexandria is very dead. No copout. She was always going to die here as it serves a certain plot thread I’m hoping to go down, and will set up certain decisions Cauldron will make.

Unfortunately for Becky Alexander got just enough control back, while still being utterly inundated with pain from Eidolon and running on mostly animal instinct, that he wasn’t going to be holding back.

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!