34

Chapter Thirty-four—Leviathan Rises

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

AN: Okay, here it is. We are approaching what I would call the end of the first arc. You'll understand why, when you read this chapter and the next.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

"JARVIS, is everyone at the meeting site?"

"Yes, Miss. The last of the capes from Australia have arrived."

Taylor blew through the air at speeds that pushed her armor's limits. Arriving at the rendezvous point, she went from more than ten thousand miles an hour to zero in less than fifty feet, this time actually redlining her inertial compensator while creating a G force that she felt almost like a blow. But she didn't care. She finally had the fight she wanted. That she'd needed for so long.

Her arrival startled everyone present, even those who had been expecting her. It was but one of the reasons that she'd come in so hot. Shock and awe. Plus, it was fun.

Raising her external speaker volume, Taylor boomed out, "Welcome, everyone, to the last day of Leviathan's existence!"

There was a chorus of cheers, especially from the younger heroes present. Even the older ones made the gesture, but Taylor noted the shadows in the eyes of Lady Photon and Blaze. They'd been around long enough to know that it took more than words to bring down an Endbringer. Not that she cared. Whatever price it took to destroy Leviathan, she'd pay it.

"We've planned for this. The main job of everyone except our heaviest hitters is to work search and rescue. So, Lady Photon, Blaze, Hammer, Anvil, Glory Girl; you are the sword and the shield. You will work to slow Leviathan, blunting his charge, and doing as much damage as possible. Try to keep him contained within the drones' forcefields. Manpower, Brandish, Adamant, Freefall, Summoner, Shielder; you will be back up to them, ready to step in if anyone is injured. Knockout, Safeguard, War Machine; you're with me. We'll be maintaining contact with Leviathan as much as possible, while also attempting to shield any of heroes or villains who came in from outside Brockton Bay.

"Panacea and Uptick; you will managing the field hospital that's been set up at the PRT HQ. I have twenty portable doctors that can do the bulk of healing and stabilizing patients. I've also assigned fifty drones for defense. They're tied to your virtual HUDs, so be ready for the extra input.

"The rest of you will work search and rescue. Make sure to manage your forcefields when anywhere near Leviathan. And your flight units. Basically, what I'm saying here is be ready to move out of his range on a second's notice. Any questions?"

One of the Australian capes, Velociraptor, from the team out of Brisbane, asked, "What about civilian search and rescue? If Leviathan breaches a shelter, the casualties..."

Taylor nodded. "Good question. However, within thirty minutes, well before the time he makes landfall, there won't be a civilian within fifteen miles of Brockton Bay. They're being moved out of the city right now into prepared camps until the all clear sounds."

Her statements were greeted with silence, but no one wanted to gainsay something that their leader, who had already done so much, indicated was a fact. No matter how unlikely that fact might seem to be.

Brandish asked, "Do you have a plan for keeping track of Leviathan? He's the fastest of the Endbringers and has shown himself capable of evading groups of capes before."

Taylor said, "For those of you not yet in the know, the so-called nanoplague which has infested Brockton Bay is nothing of the sort. It's my creation. Using it, I can keep track of every single item bigger than a grain of sand with ease. Understand, Leviathan won't be able to hide from us, so there shouldn't be any surprises."

There were a few mutters when she revealed that she was behind the nanomachines that had infested and rebuilt the city, but they sputtered into silence almost immediately.

Waving her arms, Taylor said, "All of you have your jobs. For now, go ahead and join the meeting that the Protectorate is hosting near the Boardwalk. However, understand that we will be operating in parallel with them, not under their instructions. Is that understood?"

There was a chorus of ayes. Then people began to scatter. Before he left, Taylor called out, "Billabong, can I talk to you a moment?"

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Jim jerked at the sound of the Endbringer sirens. He turned toward Karen, whose eyes widened in horror as she looked back at him. Then they both reacted.

″Let's go! We need to get to a shelter!″

″But what about-″

Jim pulled her against him hard, staring deeply into the eyes of the woman whom he'd loved since high school. ″Everything's going to be okay. But we need to get to a shelter now. So grab your purse and let's go.″

She nodded mutely, the fear in her eyes dimmed, but not gone. Grabbing her purse, she hurried to where Jim stood by the front door. Bravely, she said, ″I'm ready.″

He took her arm and led her outside. But as they hit the first step of their home, the ground dropped out from under them.

Desperately, Jim hung on to his wife's arm as the world seemed to flash by, a blur of shades of gray. It was all he could do not to scream, but Karen was already doing enough of that for the both of them. Still, he expected to die any second now, torn apart by one of the abominations of the world.

After a few minutes had gone by, Karen's screams had faded, as had most of his panic. Clutching his arm at least as tightly as he was clutching hers, she began to pray. Jim didn't have her spiritual side, and, if anything, wanted to curse that imaginary god for what was happening.

He was also, if he had to be completely honest, starting to get bored. Finally, something new happened as the sensation of motion began to fade. Suddenly they were standing there more or less motionless, then they were rising through the gray to find themselves standing in somewhere outside.

Next to him, Karen fell to her hands and knees and vomited. He forced himself to stay standing no matter how much he wanted to join her in regurgitating the contents of his stomach. He looked around to take him mind off of his nausea.

Around them were endless thousands of tents, a sight that took Jim's breath away. Then he noticed the drone hovering a few feet away. He watched with trepidation as a sheet of paper floated through the air from it toward him.

Glancing over the words written on the page, he could feel a great deal of the tension leaving his body. It didn't hurt that even as he watched, an entire family of four came out of the ground just as he and Karen had, with the adults being 'handed' a sheet of paper identical to his own by the same drone.

He knelt next to Karen and pulled her long hair away from the threat of falling into the pool of vomit. Then he noticed that there wasn't any on the ground beneath his wife. Somehow, it had disappeared.

Rubbing his hand gently over his wife's back, Jim asked, ″Feeling better?″

Karen looked up and gave him one of those looks, then spat. For a moment he feared she was going to vomit again, but this time she managed to keep herself together. There was only a hint of sarcasm as she asked, ″What do you think?″

Gently pulling her to her feet, he slid an arm around her waist. ″I think we're both going to be okay. Follow me and I'll show you the note that I just received.″

Taking her hand in his, he led the way deeper into the camp so that they could grab a tent before all of the best ones were gone. As they walked, he talked and Karen listened. When he was done, she hugged him, something which he returned with interest.

Later, the two of them would go find some food. Plus, Jim was pretty sure that Karen probably wanted to brush her teeth more than anything. For now, though, he was just glad that they were alive and safe.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

As the location of the Endbringer alert was announced, Saint turned toward Mags, eyes blazing with a madness that had taken hold some time ago. "It's time."

She felt very uneasy, the idea of their team entering a city which an Endbringer was attacking filling her with trepidation. "Are you sure, Saint? Maybe we should wait until afterward to step in?"

The man who they had all come to depend upon no matter the state of his sanity, shook his head. "No, we need to go now. This is our one chance to eliminate our opponent. He'll be focused upon Leviathan, so we'll be able to get close. Then..." He shrugged.

Saint was talking about nothing less than violating the Endbringer truce. It was a huge step, and no matter what else happened, it would spell the end of the Dragonslayers. They would no longer be tolerated, and would likely even receive Kill Orders. But Mags and the others had tied their fates to Saint's, so if he said this was how it had to go down, so be it.

"Mags, I want you to stay here."

She immediately protested, "But who'll pilot my armor? Lola's mine-"

He interrupted her. "Byron can take your suit. I need you to be ready to pull the trigger on Dragon. Once Iron Man is eliminated, she needs to go next. Use Richter's failsafe. Then drop out of sight. There's no reason that we all need to go down for this."

Trembling, Mags reached out a hand toward her friend and leader. "You know I'll do it, Saint. For you. But please, whatever you do, don't die. Promise me."

The manic energy that had filled him faded, and it was as if Saint aged years before her eyes. Tired eyes that almost held the appearance of sanity looked into hers. "You know I can't promise that. This is our final battle. What I created the Dragonslayers for. However, live or die, the human race will be safe. That I do promise you."

Mags smiled and nodded, but inside, she was dying. She'd always known this day was coming. She had just hoped that it would be later. That they could use Dragon for at least a little while longer. That when it was finally done, they could all gone on with their lives.

But the advent of discovering that Iron Man was an AI, that the threat level for the world had just increased phenomenally, put paid to all of that. It was the last days before the death of the gods.

Almost as if he could read her mind, Saint whispered, "Ragnorak."

Icy shivers running up and down her spine, Mags repeated, "Ragnorak."

When the suits of armor began taking off fifteen minutes later, Mags couldn't help the smile of pride that creased her lips. It didn't touch her heart, which was still filled with dread. Because no matter what, life would never again be the same.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

How did he find himself in these situations, Jere wondered? As the rogue named Billabong, he'd always avoided confrontations with other Parahumans. Instead of fighting, acting as some kind of hero, he'd focused upon using his power to move water across the dry Outback to farms and ranches as needed. In doing so, he'd discovered a deep and abiding satisfaction that he'd never imagined feeling.

He'd encountered other Parahumans, of course. Over the course of doing his work, he'd run into both heroes and villains. But he'd avoided taking sides whenever possible. And by doing so, he'd become a kind of neutral party who could avoid most cape politics.

Then there had been the attack upon Canberra by the Simurgh. Jere had never even considered not going. When somebody came to your home and kicked in your door, you had to either fight back or just lie there and die. So he had gone to the capitol, prepared to do his best.

Of course, he'd discovered almost immediately that his best was laughable in comparison to what was needed to fight off an Endbringer, even one as physically weak as the Simurgh. He'd seen real heroes while he was there.

Heroes like Eidolon, Alexandria, and Legend. Living legends who had fought Endbringers for almost two decades, as they struggled to save humanity from their greatest foes.

Like Iron Man, a little voice in the back of his mind stated firmly. The armored Tinker had been impressive from the first moment he'd encountered him. The sheer professionalism he'd shown when dealing with a threat on the order of an Endbringer, even when teamed with a bunch of rookie heroes and villains, had set him apart.

Jere had been as surprised as the others when Iron Man had tagged the Simurgh, bypassing her vaunted precognition as if it didn't exist. In turn, she'd abandoned any other strategic goals and attacked him, and he'd fled, drawing her away, and thereby saving Canberra and the thousands of people who had not had time to evacuate. Also very likely saving the lives of their little group.

Finding out that the man had somehow survived the ensuing battle out at sea had shocked him. Learning that he wanted to form a new multinational team of heroes in direct competition to the Protectorate had done much the same. Being asked to be part of that same team of heroes had nearly given Jere a heart attack.

He'd thought long and hard about what to do. In the end, he knew there could only be one answer. After all, he now knew just what was out there. Hiding his head in the sand just wasn't something he was capable of.

So Jere had become part of the Southern Stars, the Human Defense Initiative Canberra. With membership had come responsibility, but nothing that was too daunting. It had also brought gifts in the form of gauntlets that had increased his powers tenfold.

Instead of being able to create waterspouts that were a hundred feet tall, now he could create ones that towered more than a thousand, containing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of gallons of water. He could carry water so much further than before, getting it all the way into the driest, dustiest areas of the Outback. So things on the financial end, even beyond the salary he got for being a member of the group, had been going great.

But always in the back of his mind, Jere knew that there would be a price for all of this. One that he would eventually have to pay. That the due date for that payment was today had now become evident. After all, he'd volunteered to take point here.

It was just that here was currently a platform hovering two hundred feet above the Atlantic Ocean, about three miles off shore. His back to the shoreline, he stood there holding onto the handles of a machine that Iron Man had promised would magnify his powers not tenfold, or even a hundredfold.

No, the device, which was as large as a small jet, promised to magnify his powers ten thousandfold. Even now, Jere could feel the ocean below him all the way to its bottom and almost fifty miles outward. Every movement of water, whether wave-driven, or from the fish within, sent corresponding tremors through his senses. It also filled him with a visceral terror unlike anything he had ever imagine.

Because he, Jere Winterfeld, was about to go into battle against an Endbringer, denying the creature the use of its very own element. It was something that had never been done before, or if it had, it had failed so spectacularly that the very existence of the attempt had been hidden.

Could he win, somehow keep the great rolling waves that he even now sensed far off in the distance from crashing into the nearby shore? That was something Jere didn't know. However, the one thing he did know was that if Leviathan was coming to kick in their door, he'd do his damnedest to win. Or die trying.

There was a sudden shiver that ran through his entire form, almost making him release his hold on the machine as a large form traveled through the ocean beneath him. Jere could feel the way the waters parted before Leviathan, allowing it to travel as fast as it wanted in the element it controlled.

Hesitating, he allowed it to continue onward unopposed. Iron Man had said not to attempt to fight it when it was on its way in. Or the first wave with which it would mark its arrival.

That, too, Jere felt, like a thunder in his bones, as the water began to bow upward in a tsunami. Behind that first wave, he could feel more forming, each larger than the last, as Leviathan created pulsing pressures within the ocean's depths. Those were what he was destined to fight, to attempt to stop. Otherwise, the city behind him would drown.

Taking a deep breath, and wishing for more courage that he ever had before, Billabong readied himself for a long, lonely battle.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Danny stood within the grouping of capes that represented the Human Defense Initiative, only half listening as Legend expounded upon Leviathan's strengths and weaknesses. Instead, his eyes were upon the black and silver form of his daughter.

She stood, still and quiet, just outside their group, both a part of it and apart from it. Danny had seen the looks that most of their members sent Taylor's way, even the ones who knew she was just a fifteen-year-old girl. The ones that ought to know better. Those looks spoke of awe, of an almost superstitious belief that somehow she'd bring them all through this alive. And he hated it.

Who were these people to put so much pressure on his daughter? Why did she have to be the person who sacrificed every remaining vestige of her childhood in order to somehow save the world?

It was almost worse than the looks that the other capes, those who were either Protectorate, independent heroes, or villains, gave her. Those looks assessed Taylor, wondering where her vulnerabilities lay. As well as how to take advantage of those selfsame vulnerabilities. From the members of the Triumvirate, to the local Protectorate heroes, all the way to those members of Empire 88 that had decided to show, each cape gave at least some attention to the armored figure that led the second largest contingent there.

The only thing that made Danny feel the tiniest bit better was the showing the Human Defense Initiative had made. There were sixteen capes not including his daughter present from the local scene, and another twenty from Australia. That put them at thirty-seven members total.

Not that a lot of them would be that useful in the coming fight. The Mysterious Fellas out of Sydney simply weren't combat oriented, instead made up of a bunch of capes with Stranger and technology oriented powers. Buckley's Chance, out of Perth, also didn't have much in the way of heavy hitters, Hard Left being their one and only Brute.

He was the most impressed by the Southern Stars. At least their leader, Adamant, did his damnedest to integrate the tech that Taylor had slipped his way to not only improve his own, but that of his team. Their gear was top notch, some of it coming from their Tinker leader, while other parts came directly from his daughter.

Absently, he noted Taylor leave the room, moving fast. He winced, because as one of the inner circle, he knew exactly what that portended.

Legend's speech was winding down, and Danny knew that the moment he most dreaded was rapidly approaching. He knew he should be paying attention, but truth be told, they had at least as good of intel on Leviathan as the Protectorate did, thanks to Trish, and likely better. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crashing sound from in front of him. Looking that way, he was conscious of a huge surge of water pouring in through the doors, windows, and even rents in the walls themselves.

Danny was about to launch himself into the air when there was a second of disorientation and they were all standing outside in knee deep water. Behind him, he could hear the sound of the building slowly crumbling, while ahead of him, his sensor suite detected a large form heading up out of the water.

The time was now.

Rising into the air, War Machine readied his weapons.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor rose high into the air as a large number of capes appeared on the beach behind her, impressed despite herself by the sheer number of people that the Protectorate teleporter was able to take with him at one time. She'd seen the wave come in, but had done nothing to stop it. After all, she didn't want to scare Leviathan off.

"JARVIS, are the drones ready?"

"Yes, Miss."

"Then let's go and impress the tourists."

She rose to about three hundred feet in the air, while around her, several thousand drones rose as well from where they'd been hiding. Locking into a pattern that looked like nothing so much as an enormous netted dome, with her at the center, hazy blue forcefields appeared.

A targeting reticule appeared, and Taylor used it to sight in on where Leviathan was slowly wading ashore. Then she linked her weapons systems with those of the drones. A half smile creased her lips, as she studied the Endbringer's figure a few seconds longer. With a gesture of will, every single weapon she was linked to fired as one.

Taylor knew that there was nothing that could truly damage Leviathan that she could safely use on the surface of the world, but she wanted to give the heroes behind her heart. Plus, directed energy fire was the least of the things she was going to be using on the Endbringer.

For a split second, incandescent lines of burning white energy connected the drones and her suit to the tall, powerfully built creature with its forward thrusting head. The particle beams that JARVIS helped direct from the nine thousand, three hundred, and fourteen drones plus one Iron Man suit combined outputted a shade over forty-six thousand petawatts. It was more than enough energy to destroy the entire city behind him, one of the reasons that the drones were spaced the way they were with their forcefields on.

What had a moment before been a beach with water swirling over the torn remains of the boardwalk was now a burning hell, what was visible of it, that is. While every single beam had impacted on an area only a foot across, just the radiant energy from their passage through the atmosphere combined with what wasn't absorbed by Leviathan's body, was more than enough to blow a hole several hundred feet across and more than two hundred feet deep into the beach, as well as glass an area fifty times that.

The shock wave hitting the drones' forcefields had been epic, and even now, the wave of what could only be called plasma occluded the area from sight as the entire area burned while even more energy had blown skyward in a display that would likely be visible for a hundred miles.

Taylor crisply asked, "Effects, JARVIS?"

"Miss, there was burn through of virtually all outer layers. However, that postulated inner layer was not only confirmed, but completely undamaged. I estimate it would take-"

Interrupting him, she said, "I know the numbers, JARVIS. I just wanted to give it a try."

He sounded almost reproving as he said, "While putting the Protectorate on notice of just how powerful you really are?"

"Only for now, JARVIS. Only for now. Give me another two months and I'll make this suit look like something out of a Cracker Jack box."

"No doubt."

Almost idly, Taylor asked, "How deep would you say that the molten surface extends, JARVIS?"

"Approximately twenty meters near the edge of the blast zone all the way down to less than five meters in the area closest to us, Miss. Unfortunately, Leviathan will be far less hindered by the damage done to him and the battlefield than we'd hoped."

Hope. What a funny word, she mused. The truth was that she had nearly zero hope for doing any serious damage to the Endbringer by hitting it even with high energy particle weapons. It hadn't taken complex math to figure out that she was dozens of orders of magnitude away from accomplishing that particular feat.

Then again, that wasn't what this was mainly about. Taylor's main goal during this fight was to learn more about the mechanism by which Endbringers were able to renew their mass via transdimensional transference. She already had a handle on how they were able to use their powers whether it be telekinesis, hydrokinesis, or the dynakinesis of Behemoth. She could also block some of the effects via shielding, so as to prevent, for example, the Simurgh from reaching in past a shield and tearing someone apart, or Leviathan from ripping the water from a person's body.

Oddly, Behemoth, arguably the most powerful of the Endbringers worried her the least. He was too slow, too deliberate and methodical, despite all of his power, for her not to be confident she could deal with him. No, that worry was reserved for the Simurgh, especially since her only defense against the creature was that she could not see Taylor. Unfortunately, that wasn't something you could build a strategy upon, or supply your allies with.

Leviathan, on the other hand, was not only incredibly strong, but ridiculously fast. Maybe not quite as fast on land as someone like Pietro, but fast enough. It was that very speed which would make dealing with him problematic, especially once he took off the kid gloves.

Of course, that was one of the reasons why Taylor had come up with the strategy she had. Now it was time to see how it worked.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Legend had been aware of the disappearance of the armored Tinker from the briefing just as soon he ducked out. Iron Man was such an imposing figure that it was pretty much impossible to ignore him. Or for him not to be the center of attention to at least some degree. It didn't hurt that he'd brought more than thirty capes, the entire strength of the so-called Human Defense Initiative.

His leaving didn't really bother Legend. If the man felt like he had a grasp on Leviathan's abilities and tactics, so be it. No, what put a frown on his face at the thought of the other man was the fact that he had refused to put his people at the disposal of the Protectorate and Dragon, who were in charge of the defense.

He hadn't had time to personally talk to Iron Man, and Alexandria, who had exchanged words with the man, wasn't talking. But there had been something almost off about the way things had gone down. Almost as if he knew about...

He dismissed the thought out of hand. No matter how advanced the other's Tinker abilities were, they were not able to penetrate Cauldron. No, it was far more likely Iron Man simply thought he knew better than the people who had been fighting Endbringers for nearly two decades.

Refusing to allow himself to feel bitter, he finished his speech, aware that his words had put a pall upon the proceedings. But if he saved even one cape's life by being so harsh in his pre-fight speech, then he'd take it.

Listening to Armsmaster explain about the armbands as they were passed out, he noted that the members of the Human Defense Initiative did take bands. He wondered if that might indicate that they weren't wholly against working together. Noticing Alexandria making a subtle gesture to one side, Legend headed that way.

"What's going on?"

The woman, tall and majestic in her mostly black uniform, said, "The talk I had with Iron Man, just now? He revealed to me several things which are going to play pretty negatively when this is all over."

"What did he say?"

As Alexandria spoke, Legend felt the blood in his veins turn to ice, leaving him feeling cold. He couldn't wait to get out of here, to race through the sky if for just an instant, in order that the energy he absorbed renew him. Because he didn't think there was a single other thing that would ever make him feel warm again.

Iron Man was the source behind the nanoplague. He'd told Alexandria, just like that. Because apparently, it was going to play a significant role in the coming battle.

Legend had to admit that he'd wondered if whoever the mysterious Tinker was who was behind the infestation of nanotechnology would show themselves. This was apparently their city, after all. But what he hadn't known was that the one new hero who so much depended upon was the source.

Briefly, he wondered if the Simurgh had gotten to Iron Man all those months ago after all. Then he dismissed the thought. It wasn't possible. He'd run the exposure numbers himself.

No, it had to be some form of power play that was behind what he'd done. Whether he was another Nilbog, or something even worse, would wait to be discovered after the fight.

"Wait, what?"

"I said, Iron Man asked me to relay to Dragon, so that she could relay it to everyone else, to stay back from when Leviathan initially makes landfall. He plans to hit it with something. Something big. His words."

Just then, a surge of water hit the room, flooding it and eliciting a groan from the overstressed structure around them. Whatever he might have said was lost as Strider put them all outside, although well short of the potential combat zone. He must have received the news already from Dragon.

A second later, a synthesized voice sounded from the armband he wore, "Maintain your distance for twenty seconds. I repeat, maintain your distance for twenty seconds."

Suddenly, there were drones everywhere, spherical objects that appeared slightly flattened in the middle. Almost like the earth itself, he absently noted, only more so. They were forming some kind of pattern in front of the Parahumans.

Legend quickly rose into the torrential rainfall, shedding the water that tried to soak him, his eyes seeking their enemy. He could see Leviathan wading out of the surf, moving with his usual languid grace, his claws just brushing against the water's surface. He frowned as he took in the Endbringer's figure. The thing even looked wrong, calves and forearms too long and disproportionate to his body length, while his whiplike tail lashed behind him for almost fifty feet.

He knew that at any second, the Endbringer would race forward, bringing death and destruction to all of those gathered here, and then to the people beyond. Legend ached to take the fight to him, to try once again to tear completely through the beast's limbs and torso, despite the many futile attempts he'd already made to do the same thing.

It was at that moment, when his fighting urges was at their peak, that something happened. From the drones ahead of him, pale blue forcefields snapped into place, linking one to another. They surrounded the Endbringer with their strangely symmetrical organization. Then, with almost no lag, a series of blazing white beams burst from them, every single one of them impacting the same exact spot on the Endbringer: the joint of its left shoulder.

He doubted that any other Parahuman there saw exactly what happened with the precision that he did. None of them likely had the ability to see past the discharge of energy and visible light to see the strike itself. To see how the ridiculously tough material that made up the Endbringer's integument momentarily attenuated the blow before surrendering. How layer upon layer, each tougher than the last, exploded outward, becoming nothing more than plasma.

For just in instant, Legend wondered if Iron Man had succeeded in blowing off an entire limb for the first time ever in a single strike, when he saw that it was still attached, the innermost layers simply too tough to damaged even by that incredible outlay of energy.

Then the world in front of him become utterly occluded as a shock wave hammered into the forcefields in front of him, momentarily dimming several of them before they slowly came back to full power.

A handful of seconds later, the water all around him, from what was on the ground, to that falling from the sky turned blue. Some of the material landed upon his head and shoulders with a splat. Holding out a hand in disbelief, Legend noted that instead of it being filled with water, the material more closely resembled blue gelatin. Gazing outward, he saw that even the distant water in the bay, what he could see of it past the blast effects still expanding in front of him, had turned the same unnatural shade of blue.

He had no idea just what the hell Iron Man had done, but if he had managed to remove most, or all, of the water from the battlefield, it was a huge tactical advantage to their side. Deciding to waste no time, Legend moved up and over the forcefields to attack.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Once the blow was struck, both her armor and the drones' energy recovery systems worked to reabsorb the hellish power that had been unleashed. Taylor already knew that she hadn't succeeded in truly damaging the Endbringer. Equally important, she needed to get the temperature down inside of the forcefield barrier as quickly as possible so that it wouldn't kill all of the unshielded capes who ventured within.

Taylor didn't have to wait long before she found out Leviathan's reaction to what she'd done. The creature, its shoulder still glowing a sickly reddish-white, charged forward at hundreds of miles an hour and struck the forcefield directly in front of a group of capes. It flickered, but held, while the Endbringer was sent flying back. The Parahumans who had been standing there trying to see what was happening, mostly search and rescue types, scattered backward as the impact shook the ground they were standing upon.

Leviathan didn't waste an instant getting back to his feet and hitting the same spot again. This time, there was a momentary dimming of the field, and the creature burst through, accompanied by a blast of superheated air. Hammer, Anvil, and Glory Girl were already moving forward to engage it, when a black blur came in from high up and hammered Leviathan back against the recharging forcefield behind him, where he burst back through it.

Alexandria rose high into the air above the line of slowly retreating forcefields, then darted forward and down, striking blows that were so loud they sounded like thunder. Grimly, Taylor watched as the Protectorate cape smashed into Leviathan over and over, before finally being sent flying straight at the forcefield barrier by a flashing blow of the creature's tail. But instead of impacting, the forcefields parted and allowed her body to harmlessly pass through. She was quickly cushioned by yet another forcefield, before recovering and flying back up.

A second later, flickers of potential movement bloomed over her HUD's display even as Leviathan raged against the energy beams impacting it from Legend. Taylor knew JARVIS was analyzing the Endbringer's movements, attempting to create a predictive index that would show how it fought. There had apparently been something similar on Armsmaster's computer, but it had been too hopelessly simplistic to actually be effective against Leviathan.

To one side of her HUD, there was yet another esoteric display in shades of red, orange, and yellow. Taylor noted the displayed fluctuations in dimensional energy as the creature's tail lashed, water splashing violently from his every move. Then the Endbringer was gone, swarmed under by untold trillions of nanobots.

She had no real belief that nanotechnology would be able to kill it, although perhaps if given enough time, they might make a significant dent in its mass. After all, they would be using the material from which it was made to create untold numbers, many of which would grow increasingly harder and stronger as they penetrated ever deeper into the material of which it was composed.

The only problem lay in that almost nothing could penetrate that innermost layer. Certainly not a tiny machine made of material from a layer that lay further from that core. Plus, even if you destroyed the entire exterior, you'd only discover that the outer material had been essentially useless, mere camouflage. The Endbringer would still be able to use all of its powers even if nothing more than a skeleton.

JARVIS had dozens of search programs analyzing different Parahuman attacks in real time in the hopes that there would be a cape present who could actually damage the creature's core. Taylor didn't really think it likely, but there were a few possibilities, including that one Ward out of New York.

No, she'd already decided that the answer lay in cutting the creature off from the source of its power, just as she had with certain members of Empire 88. But the wavelengths it used were fundamentally different from a Parahuman, the channels deeper and wider. She needed better information and more advanced tech if she was to accomplish her task. And, as always, more power.

Noting that the creature was moving again, Taylor threw herself into battle.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Chris felt his bowels turn to water after the display he'd just seen. He fought his fear as he forced his board to take him high enough up that he see over the edge of the line of forcefields.

The heat up here was suffocating, as if he was facing into a huge oven that had just had its door opened. He pressed with trembling fingers on the buttons of the control interface on his forearm.

Around him appeared the various pieces of his Alternator Cannon as the built in teleporter brought it to him. The fifteen foot barrel extended down and past the edge of the forcefield he was hovering above, and Chris quickly got into the turret and took over the controls.

He immediately ran into what might turn out to be an insurmountable problem. Between the heat, smoke, and what was almost certainly plasma, despite how unlikely something like that could exist just above the actual surface of the planet, he couldn't see Leviathan. Or at least almost couldn't.

Chris caught glimpses of the Endbringer as it darted around, first hammering into the forcefield barrier, then being struck by Alexandria. Energy beams hammered into it from several capes, Legend prominent among them, further stirring the occluding mists.

Finally, though, he saw the smoke and steam part enough for him to target Leviathan. But he was simply unable to attain a target lock as the Endbringer darted around rapidly. That was when Chris heard the voice in his ear.

"Kid Win, if you would allow me?"

It was the same British accented voice he'd heard coming from mid air right before Taylor had run through the walls of his lab as if they didn't exist. He'd pushed those thoughts and memories to the back of his mind for the duration of the fight and being reminded of them momentarily threatened to overwhelm him.

"Kid Win, are you quite alright?"

Damn that voice, he thought, then almost laughed as the targeting firmed up and began tracking Leviathan in real time. Okay, everything's going to be fine, he told himself. Aloud, he said, "I'm fine, I think. Jarvis, right?"

"Yes, sir. My name is JARVIS. Now let's see if we can't hit Leviathan before he manages to escape."

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Theo flew forward, fast and low, his hand playing across the material that composed the chest of his costume. Ahead of him, the downed cape flailed helplessly in the blue slime, as if unable to breathe.

Of course, he knew that to be a lie, his briefing from Iron Man indicating that the blue material, which looked a lot like gel or some kind of pudding, could actually be breathed. Highly oxygenated, it would sustain even an unconscious person so long as they weren't too badly injured. No, the cape ahead of him wouldn't suffocate, although he might be boiled alive as the temperature down here was nearly unbearable.

So Theo created a hand about two feet across and just managed to push the cape up and out of the blue 'jello'. The cape ahead of struggled to breath as he huddled in the cup of the hand holding him up. A moment's effort had another forming, and together the two hands moved to shield the young cape still struggling weakly.

Seconds later, like an apparition, a blurred shape that could only be Leviathan appeared out of the steam and smoke that occluded more than half the beach. His gorge rose as the cape that Theo had been helping didn't even have a chance to scream as his protection was ripped apart, while he was picked up in blunt hands and and twisted and squeezed. Like a dirty washcloth, Theo thought numbly, as blood burst out of the dead cape and showered the beach below. A second later, the creature turned toward him, discarding the rent remains, then abruptly spun away, tail now flashing his way.

"Iron Falcon deceased, CD-5. Mavin down, CD-5. Ironhide down, CD-5."

Theo braced himself for impact as the tail swung around, hoping against hope that what Iron Man had told them about the new forcefields was true, that they could take at least two blows from an Endbringer. But right before the blurring object impacted him, he was abruptly pulled upward.

Once clear of the blow, he rose further into the air, spinning around. Almost immediately, he saw the grinning face of Steph- Orbit, that was. She had used her new area effect power to pull him out of harm's way.

Staring at him, she shouted, "Dammit, Element, you don't get to get killed. So be more careful. That bastard's all over the place, despite whatever the hell the boss is doing to it."

Theo nodded his agreement to Orbit's somewhat pithy observation and took off. He'd thank her later. That is, if they both survived.

Shivering slightly, he wondered just what the hell the girl had been going on about. What was Iron Man doing to Leviathan? All he'd seen was the occasional flashing blow from the black and silver form, but even as close as the Endbringer had just been, he'd barely been able to see it.

Theo was intently studying the area where he had last seen Leviathan when he got his first clear look at the Endbringer, as a hard wind blew the smoke and steam completely away for just an instant. He flinched slightly, then tried to figure out just what the hell he was seeing.

The Endbringer appeared misshapen as it writhed in the grip of a seething mass of what looked more like dust than anything else. Yet the 'dust' didn't wash away with its water echo. Instead, the water seemed to just flow away without affecting it, turning into blue sludge within a few seconds of it leaving the Endbringer's immediate presence.

Theo wasn't too sure how much the stuff was actually affecting Leviathan, as the Endbringer knocked another flying cape out of the sky, sending them hurtling into mass of scattered wreckage. He headed that way as his armband sounded.

"Blue Finch down, CD-5. Jack of all Trades deceased, CD-5. Barren down, CD-5."

Moving as fast as he could, Theo headed to try to do whatever he could for the downed capes.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor hovered over the battlefield, studying Leviathan's movements. So far, they'd managed to keep it isolated on a relatively small section of the beach, but she could already tell it wasn't going to last.

The Endbringer was simply too strong and fast for the drones' forcefields to be able to hold him. Although, between the numerous capes and the her own people, they had whittled it down. Or so it appeared to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, the data being transmitted told the real tale. Even with trillions of nanobots constantly replicating using the Endbringer's own material against it, and all of the Parahumans combined, it wasn't really being damaged, its body seeming to repair itself at breakneck speed. And she still hadn't pushed it to the point it exhibited atypical behavior.

Then again, she had yet to attempt to use the nanobots to slow it down physically. By linking trillions of them together, they were able to create shackles that might lock down even Leviathan. Or so she theorized. To be truthful, Taylor was not entirely sure that even something that would easily hold the Hulk would hold the Endbringer.

It had more to do with the strange physics breaking abilities Leviathan exhibited rather than pure strength. Whether it was because the thing was using an n-dimensional pocket of micro-verses or something even more exotic, it was able to push far past the limitations of most material beings.

Taylor's train of thought was interrupted at the Endbringer suddenly tore deep into the ground, emulating its big brother, Behemoth. Despite the fact that the water table was completely locked down for more than a mile straight down, it was able to burrow through first the nanobot layer, then deep into the bedrock beneath.

Projecting calmness, Taylor keyed her communicator to send a message directly to Dragon. "Iron Man here. Leviathan is moving due west directly toward the downtown area. He is moving approximately fifteen kilometers per hour at a depth of approximately two hundred meters. I am tracking him in real time. Please notify the Triumvirate and other appropriate assets."

With that, Taylor cut off the communication. Her next message was for her teams. "Okay, folks, Leviathan's broken out of the first trap. Follow me, but maintain your distance and spacing. I am projecting that he will stay underground at least until he reaches Downtown. Expect him to surface for maximum damage there. Remember your roles. Iron Man out."

What are you doing, monster? Was it really smart enough to know just how limited its option had become on the beach? Maybe, or maybe it had just grown frustrated at the lack of available water. So far, Billabong was holding strong. The last Taylor had checked on him, he was with Eidolon, who was assisting him in keeping the waves at bay. At least for now.

All she just had to figure out a way to get the damn thing out of the ground.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Jere could feel it all the way into his bones as the next massive wall of water began to mount. He sent a desperate glance over to where one of the Triumvirate, Eidolon, hovered nearby. The other Parahuman did not acknowledge him in any way, but he did do something which reduced the enormous pressure considerable, allowing him to dispel the wave's harmonic, sending it sloshing aimlessly as it dissipated.

But behind it, he could already feel another wave coming in, this one from further out, and even larger than the last.

Why had he ever thought he could do this, Jere wondered, despair coloring his thinking. He'd already been pushed to nearly his limits, despite all of the power magnification in the world. What would he do if he defeated the wave that he could feel coming when the one that followed it was even larger? When he was pushed past his limits?

Jere cleared his nose and throat and spat, then did it again. Must be something in the air affecting his sinuses, he decided, refusing to dwell on the fear that steadily mounted within him. He gritted his teeth for several minutes until his jaw ached and spots flickered before his eyes. That's when he felt yet another wave approaching.

They're coming faster, he thought dully. How fast, he wasn't sure. He was starting to lose track of time now. All he could do was find a way to endure.

Again it was Eidolon who saved him, as the wave's height visibly lessened under some arcane power from the other Parahuman that had nothing to do with water control. Jere pushed his own power out and tore the wave apart.

But this time, when he cleared his nose and throat, his spit was tinged with red where it landed on the deck at his feet. Jere could taste blood now, draining into his throat from his nose. It was accompanied by a spike of pain.

With trembling fingers, Jere managed to toggle the switch of the IV that Iron Man had given him. Almost immediately, the pain faded away and much of his despair with it. QT in a saline solution was flowing through his veins now, soothing him in the best of ways.

Of course that just made him aware of the empty pit of his stomach. Raising one hand, he took a bite of the energy bar he was holding. He chewed a moment before swallowing their remnants without water, an irony that was not lost upon him. Soon enough he was finished eating, hoping the food would help sustain him. Because there was simply no room for failure out here on the open sea.

Setting his feet, he squared his shoulders to face the center of the oncoming waves. Staring out at the horizon, Jere made the decision that he would either win or die here. Accompanying that decision was a sense of peace. No matter what happened, he would be remembered.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Danny watched his daughter as she landed on Leviathan's back, great blazing circles of white plasma extending from her arms as she drove them into the Endbringer's back. Without even consciously thinking about it, he fired off a two petawatt repulsor beam, that, with JARVIS' help, impacted Leviathan's tail just as it was about to strike Taylor's suit, knocking it off course.

He groaned almost in frustration as Taylor was already out of the way, having launched herself skyward so quickly that it almost spoofed his armor's sensors. So he hadn't needed to fire at all.

He'd been constantly on edge, trying to be ready at an instant's notice to rescue his daughter or one of the other children for whom he felt responsible in the event they got into trouble. But so far, despite the intensity of his fears, Danny hadn't been needed.

A needle-thin beam of white light so bright it pushed his HUD's light dampening ability to its limits struck Leviathan, as Blaze finally came into play. The blast knocked Leviathan over onto his back, driving him into the ground, while it blew divots from his strange grayish flesh.

At her side, Lady Photon fired off blazing yellow beams that constantly tore at the hole that had already been blown into the Endbringer's shoulder, trying to tear it wider.

Dropping down in a burning line of fire, Lady Photon next to her, Blaze fired her beam constantly, hammering the Endbringer deeper and deeper into the beach. Danny started to move forward as he saw the mistake the two women were making, but before he'd traveled twenty feet, the situation was over.

The water whip that blasted through where Blaze and Lady Photon had been a split second earlier just missed as their bodies jinked first to one side, then were launched skyward once more. Brow furrowed, Danny pondered what had just happened before realizing that it could only have been JARVIS who'd saved them. The implications were staggering.

If JARVIS was somehow not only helping he, Trish, and Sherrel to fly their suits, while at the same time monitoring all of other capes affiliated with the Human Defense Initiative, helping them to avoid harm as required, it was an amazing feat even for an AI.

Danny knew that JARVIS had abilities that were far beyond a 'mere' human when it came to the sheer amount of information that he could process, but he'd never been nearly as impressed by the AI's intellect as he was by his own daughter's. Part of that was that JARVIS just wasn't creative, despite all of his other talents. The rest lay in the AI's inability when it came to hunches and intuition.

But the incredible amount of processing power that JARVIS was showing at that moment beggared the imagination, especially as he was also working on literally dozens of different simulations for Taylor. It was-

Danny's head jerked as Leviathan made an odd move and suddenly disappeared into the ground. A moment later, he heard Taylor's synthesized voice explaining what was going on. Along with the rest of the Human Defense Initiative and the Protectorate, he made his way toward Downtown.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

JARVIS sent a drone to intercept a blow aimed at Chubster, noting the drone's demise four point two seconds later as its shields failed under additional blows, before replacing it from the store of other units that were ready to deploy. The Parahuman survived the multitude of blows as he dodged up and back.

So far, he had managed to save the lives of thirty-five capes, while being unable to do the same for six others. Another person might have pondered the implications of the fact that five of those capes whose lives he had saved were villains, while all of those he'd been unable to save were heroes, but not JARVIS.

The AI was only aware that they were human beings and needed to survive per his protocols.

One part of JARVIS was continuing to run the predictive algorithm on the movements of the anomaly known as 'Leviathan', while another attempted a brute force analysis of the dimensional pathways used by both its water echo and material transference. As important as the latter information was, he'd been steadily pulling resources from a variety of sources, ranging from Project Farsight to monitoring Parahuman threats from around the world.

There was a statistical possibility that if he managed to find the exactly amplitudes of the dimensional pathways that were being used by the anomaly, his Principal would be able to rig a piece of equipment designed to block those pathways on the spot. It wasn't what would be termed 'likely' but it was a possibility, so JARVIS persevered. Additionally, his Principal had requested it.

He noted the way that Orbit pulled Element out of the path of anomaly's strike point one three seconds before he planned to do the same thing. Then he helped guide one of Danny's weapons as he fired off a particle beam that knocked the anomaly's tail off target despite the fact that he was aware the blow would miss. Fourteen point six two seconds later, he activated both Lady Photon and Blaze's flight systems, pulling them to the side out of the path of one of the anomaly's strikes after their own attacks had finished.

When the anomaly disappeared into the ground twelve point six five seconds later, JARVIS used the freed up resources to push harder on his dimensional pathway mapping. At the same time, he kept cycles idling in the event of something unexpected happening, many of them centered upon his Principal's welfare.

Because, no matter what else happened, Taylor Hebert would survive today's battle..

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Spitting out the strangely minty taste of the blue gel, Alexandria cursed under her breath as the Endbringer disappeared into the ground. Rising in a fast spiral, she heard the message relayed from Iron Man in its entirety. A second later, she rocketed off. Ahead of her lay the person with whom she wanted to speak.

Hovering next to him, she barked, "Legend, what do you think about the tactics shown here? Can Iron Man succeed in defeating or driving Leviathan off?"

Despite the look of consideration on her teammate's face, Legend ultimately shook his head. "I can't see how. Despite how well Eidolon's doing in keeping the waves off of us, we don't have forever. That nanotech isn't having any real effect upon Leviathan other than stripping off a few cosmetic layers. The energy weapons he used earlier were more effective, but if he uses them Downtown, he risks destroying the city despite the forcefields his drones have."

Alexandria kept herself from deflating. This wasn't her first Endbringer fight and she knew better than to allow her hopes to rest upon any one person or strategy. Still, she'd hoped that the armored Tinker might be able to make a real difference.

Legend spoke again, "However, at the same time, I doubt that we've seen all of the arrows in Iron Man's quiver just yet. I doubt he would have revealed himself to us if this was all he was capable of."

There was a certain irony in Alexandria's voice as she asked, "You mean, you don't think that petawatt-level energy beams are enough to keep the Protectorate from confronting him at the end of this?"

"Maybe. Then again, maybe not. Even combined with the nanotech he's shown and the persistent rumors of power interference, I doubt that Director Costa-Brown will take this lying down."

It was a jibe, but not an unkind one. Alexandria smiled faintly as she said, "No, I don't suppose she will. For now, though, I think we need to head over to where Leviathan is set to surface."

"Agreed."

With that, Legend rocketed off. Alexandria followed at a slower pace, her thoughts concentrated upon what might just turn out to be the most dangerous foe they'd ever faced. Or the salvation they had been looking for. Which one, if either, that Iron Man might ultimately be, remained to be seen.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Hovering over Downtown, Taylor waited for Leviathan to resurface, her eyes focused more on the dimensional index mapping than on the map that showed the Endbringer's location.

Absently, she noted the faint beep that signaled that the predictive algorithm was complete. With a swipe and gesture, Taylor sent it to download into Armsmaster onboard computer system, where it would replace the one he'd developed. Of course, unless things went supremely wrong, he wouldn't get a chance to use it today. If he did, it would only be because every single thing that she tried failed.

Including the time stop grenades she'd developed using Bakuda's technology.

Taylor's lips curved into a humorless smile as she noted the way the buildings below her were starting to tremble as something made its way back to the surface. Then one started to topple as a figure burst from the ground at its base.

It was a slimmer, far more svelte Leviathan that was now visible to Taylor and the other gathered capes. At least fifty percent of the Endbringer's volume had been removed by the nanobots, and even as she watched, they continued to eat away at it. So far they had been somewhat successful, she mused, even if not as much as she would have hoped.

Not that it seemed to slow Leviathan down as it sprang upwards at a flying cape that had drifted too near. The Endbringer bounced off a hovering drone's forcefield, however, before reaching its target, sending that drone tumbling while it slammed back into the ground near the same spot it had jumped from. It was then engulfed in a huge mass of nanobots as the toppling building simply dissolved, most of them landing on Leviathan.

These newest nanobots weren't trying to digest the Endbringer, however. That would be useless as it had been pared down to a level that only a very few substances could affect, most of which were currently attached to it as they continued to eat and reproduce.

Rather, these newest nanobots attempted to form bonds that would hold the Endbringer in place. Huge metallic looking shackles formed around each limb, dragging Leviathan to the ground. It immediately bounced back up, having torn through them, before being dragged down yet again.

A second later, the Endbringer burst out from its bonds, whereupon yet another drone that had been waiting for just such a possibility, fired the first of four time stop grenades at it.

Taylor watched, jaw agape, as the nine ton beast did a complete backflip, moving so fast its body was a blur as it somehow avoided the bullet quick projectile. How the hell did it know the grenade was something to avoid, she wondered? Fortunately, the time stop grenade did a complete loop back around, but even then, the Endbringer's water echo impacted it, making it detonate prematurely, and freezing the entire mass in a sphere roughly fifteen feet in diameter.

Without even thinking about it, Taylor launched herself downward, moving so fast her armor would be a blur to those watching. She hammered a savage blow to Leviathan's head, manifesting the plasma burners once again and tearing at its incredibly tough tissues before doing her own backflip away from a ripping thrust from one of its hands. Then she moved forward again and grabbed that hand near its elbow using the full power of her armor and forcefields.

Her armor straining, she barked, "Now, JARVIS!"

The drone, which had managed to get a great deal closer as Taylor went hand to hand, fired off another grenade, which shot forward just as she released her hold, managing to catch Leviathan's hand just above the wrist, engulfing both within its effects.

Unable to avoid a flashing blow from the Endbringer's tail, Taylor's suit was knocking spinning through the air, the forcefields holding. Even as she spun, she shouted, "Again! Fire both!"

The next time stop grenade hit one of Leviathan's legs, while the last one caught the Endbringer's tail near the tip, freezing both appendages in place. Taylor moved back from where she'd almost been hit by the one that caught the thing's tail, her eyes noting that it was well and truly trapped.

Fighting a mounting sense of exultation, Taylor still cursed the fact that she didn't have more of the time stop grenades and that their area of effect wasn't larger. If any of those things were true, she could have ended this here and now. Instead, the Endbringer was still capable of lethal action. At least with one arm still free and its other abilities fully functional.

A few seconds later, a result that she hadn't expected drew Taylor from her thoughts like a bucketful of ice cold water dumped over her head.

All of the capes who had been watching the hellish fighting, now surged forward to bombard Leviathan with a huge array of different powers. Rays and beams, both hot and cold, causing a myriad of odd effects burst forth from the figures that both hovered overhead and surrounded it on foot.

Taylor ground her teeth as she realized that she should have foreseen this. She should have-

A warning buzzer sounded inside of her helmet as the dimensional frequencies the Endbringer was using abruptly shifted, and she spat out, "Zeta One!"

Amid the hovering capes, all of the members of the Human Defense Initiative had their forcefields change frequency, both blocking out visible light and a great deal of other effects. Including the one that was about to hit the gathered capes.

Taylor screamed into her microphone as what she had feared, happened. "Override command channel! Get back from Leviathan now! Get back! Get back! Get back!"

More than a dozen of the surrounding capes simply exploded as the water within their bodies was torn away to spiral back toward Leviathan. Others just managed to avoid the effects and ran or flew frantically backward. Only the capes belonging to the Human Defense Initiative avoided the fate completely as they flew backward as their forcefields managed to stop the newest effects of the hydrokinetic's power.

Taylor hung there frozen as she listened to a litany of the dead, "Chubster deceased, CD-7. Hew deceased, CD-7. Strapping Lad deceased, CD-7. Intrepid deceased, CD-7. Oaf deceased, CD-7. Vixen-"

She listened as a total of eighteen names eventually sounded, sixteen of them dead. Taylor closed her eyes momentarily, blinking back tears, then reopened them almost immediately as she used her own nanobots to banish her tears. It did nothing to reduce her grief, but she quickly transformed that emotion into rage.

Rising high into the air, Taylor launched herself downward at the Endbringer, firing all the way. The beams from her particle cannons connected the two of them as if with long straight threads of incandescent white light. Absently, she noted the way that JARVIS had reorganized the drones so that their forcefields overlapped more than two deep, keeping her weapons' effects from harming her audience.

In just a few seconds, she was less than three hundred feet away, then two, then-

She never saw the blow that knocked her off course and sent her skidding and bouncing across the pavement more than two blocks away before finally impacting a car and coming to a stop. Her armor rang like she'd been hit by the Hulk, while her forcefields flickered and guttered. As she lay there half stunned, Taylor could taste blood in her mouth where she'd bitten her tongue as her inertial compensator blew out.

Somehow, she managed to mouth, "JARVIS, what the fuck happened?"

When the AI answered, his usual dry tone was absent, "Miss, I believe that Scion has arrived."

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

AN: Next Chapter: Exile