Downsizing 2

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I couldn't help but try to purge everything in my body.

I had no clue what had happened after I blacked out, or how I got to wherever I was, but my body was insistent; everything needed to go.

Bizarrely, I found that nothing came up. None of the water I remembered inhaling, not even bits of my breakfast or yesterday's supper. Nothing.

Still, for a minute I found myself dry-heaving, trying to evacuate something that wasn't there.

After that, luckily, the instinct tapered off, and I rose shakily. I found Apparition before me, Alert at her side. A look around me revealed I was in some sort of empty apartment, with Tattletale and Grue also present in the dim light of the room. The sound of rain striking the windows and patio doors was the only thing I could hear at the moment.

"Taylor?" Tattletale asked, breaking the silence, sounding unsure for some reason.

I tried answering, then coughed twice as something caught in my throat. I simply nodded, taking deep breaths.

You never realize how good breathing feels until you can't do it anymore.

I then found myself with arms full of parahuman as Alert jumped forward and hugged me tight. For a moment, I could barely move, stuck in place, immobile under her strength. Looking around once more, I could see Apparition relaxing for some reason, and there was a hesitant smile completely different from Tattletale's usual smirks on the Thinker's lips. Even Grue's body language changed, although with his suit I couldn't get anything detailed.

How had I gotten here, anyway?

"Did… Did I get teleported?" I asked the group, not seeing any other possibility, hugging Alert back automatically. I could still remember being stuck in my suit a few seconds ago, and the rising waters. I had to hold myself back as the image threatened to make me choke once more, and I focused on the present.

A trio of shaken heads was my answer. "You're a clone, Taylor," Tattletale added, completely serious.

My eyes went wide, and I turned to Apparition who confirmed with a nod. "What?!" I said out loud, then focused inside.

With all the changes T had made, combining powers, Clone took a moment to find. I quickly realized she'd merged it with a number of other sparks. It also wasn't active, though by focusing on it I felt something quickly counting down, like a timer.

That's new, I noted.

There was a moment of silence as I digested the news, after which Alert released me and stepped back. Tattletale instantly smirked as something obviously crossed her mind. Grue then turned his back and faced away from me for some reason.

Do I have something… I started thinking, then looked down and instantly understood.

I wasn't wearing anything.

I did the only thing I could think of, sinking into the ground as a shadow.

Tattletale's grin only got larger at the sight, before it vanished under a serious face. "So, what happened?" she asked after a moment, clearly trying to change the subject to what was really important.

While I could hear in shadow state, I couldn't answer. And I didn't want to return to normal naked before everybody, regardless of the fact that everyone looking was female. I suddenly realized that I'd flashed Brian for a good minute, and thanked whoever was listening that shadows couldn't blush.

I then pushed back those thoughts as far away as I could. We were still in the middle of an Endbringer fight, and there was work to be done.

As such, I pushed myself into solidity, but while trying to shape myself into the smallest possible shadow dragon I possibly could. I'd not used that power much, and hadn't tried for size. At worst, I'd tower over everyone.

Things didn't go as planned. While I did fade back into three dimensions, it was in a shadowy body much closer to my human form than I'd expected. I still had the wings and tail, though, as I could feel them at my back.

"That's new," Apparition said.

"I'm not surprised," Tattletale added, "considering how many sparks you mixed together."

I nodded at that. My mixed Shadow spark had doubled in size compared to this morning, and it had already been the largest I'd possessed.

"Leviathan is what happened," I explained, to which the Thinker before me winced. "It came straight for me, full speed, ignoring everything else, even buildings." Her eyes went wide at the implications. "And once I was in close range, it didn't let go and kept attacking, not stopping until I was down."

"That's… that's worrying," Tattletale replied, to which Alert and Apparition nodded.

"And it's not all," I added with a scowl. "Leviathan's playing us. He caught Armsmaster and I when he stopped pretending his water shadow actually had to imitate him. It came from the opposite direction it should have." I then forced myself not to think of what had happened after that as thunder rang in the distance.

Tattletale turned to Alert at that, who studied me briefly and grimly. "She's telling the truth," she confirmed. "And worse, she's still being targeted," she added with a scowl.

The Thinker blanched. "Anybody else?"

The former Case 53 quickly looked around the room at everyone. "Apparition here also," she noted.

Everyone tensed at that. "You need to get out of here pronto, then," Grue said, turning to look straight at my face and not anywhere else. He'd clearly been following the discussion.

I wondered for a moment how much detail one could pick up on my new Shadow state.

Still, I nodded in agreement. With the number of powers we had, either T or me was stuck immobile. Having the both of us in a single place was an extra risk that we couldn't take, since that way both of us could be taken out at the same time.

I looked straight at my doppelganger. "I'm going back to base. I'll build a zone once there, so you know when you can move. Build it back when you're in a safer location, one out of the city if possible. I don't think this place will remain safe for very long."

Alert nodded at that, confirming my words.

Grue stepped forward. "Take care and be careful, Taylor," he said as he reached for a handshake.

His hand passed through mine when he tried it, but I managed to grab it without issue and shook. Tattletale beside me gave a thumbs up, and both Alert and Apparition nodded. The latter handed me her armband, since I'd lost mine. She wouldn't need it, not if she stayed close to Alert as she had.

Apparition deceased, D-3, it supplied unhelpfully. I just kept it in hand, not putting it on.

The next second, I was a shadow on the ground, speeding down the building and out into the streets.

For some reason, I was noticeably faster, even counting the fact that I was technically being boosted by Apparition and the darkness all around from the storm clouds. It was especially evident while I was going in straight lines, where over short distances it felt more like teleportation than anything else.

As such, I arrived in my base much faster than I'd expected, turned back to human form, then instantly formed a zone around me.

Then I started thinking. Now what?

It wasn't like I could do much more while I was the one in the zone. And I needed to plan things, especially with all the new information I'd learned.

I could stay here and wait the battle out, or simply escape. With the powers I had, it would even be easy. Just turn into shadow and not turn back. And I'd done my part already, anyone would agree.

But I'd feel guilty anyway, especially since the Undersiders were still out there. Not to mention Dad and the Wards.

I then cringed, realizing that my death had probably been broadcast all over the place by those armbands. I scowled at Apparition's armband at the realization. I understood the use of having such communications available, but it had been nothing but a morale drain in my case.

Kid Win down, J-9, the armband spat out, as if to confirm my words.

Definitely going back out, I swore inside.

Unfortunately, I was still naked, and going out that way wasn't an option, unless you're Narwhal. I could try my new and improved shadow power, but relying on something untested while possibly in battle with an Endbringer seemed like a good way to end up dying.

Again, I added inside my own head, cringing all the while.

Which meant I had only a single choice.

Since the area below me was still active, I focused back inside on the many powers now present. The only times before that I had so many sparks I could use was when I was testing, and never such big ones.

Still, I went over all of them. I wasn't going to test them, not in a situation like this, but I might get some clues here and there.

Then I noticed that I had a power active which shouldn't have been.

Sure, Area was active, but that was a given. The massive Tinker spark was also, but that wasn't a surprise, since it tended to activate depending on what I thought or looked at.

But another of the big sparks was currently working, and not one I'd tested before.

I focused on it, trying to figure out its component parts one by one. It was much more difficult than I'd expected, but I managed to get a name after a moment of concentration.

Gravity.

My eyes went wide. You mean, as in… I thought, then focused on that particular spark and pushed myself up, just a bit. Just like T had when she tested her flight devices.

And, as if I was wearing one of them, my feet left the ground, leaving me hovering an inch above the floor.

I couldn't help but smile at that. It might be the wrong time for feeling like that, but the simple idea of flight raised my spirits.

I was barely in the air for a minute when the zone below me vanished. I could still feel my powers being boosted and no headache coming, so Apparition had rebuilt her own zone in a safer place. I didn't wait, diving to the ground and turning into shadow, leaving the armband behind. I couldn't allow myself to be tracked, not with the face I was going as. I then slithered inside my only remaining suit, and returned to human form there.

It wasn't comfortable, since I wasn't wearing an undersuit, but I'd have to deal with it. I didn't have any more spares after Dad took the last, and this was the only way I could see me able to rejoin the battle.

If Leviathan was after the both Apparition and I, then better I be the one to draw attention. T had managed to regenerate me, or so it seemed, and I had no clue if I could do the same for her anymore. Better that I take the risks, then.

Hopefully, Slenderman's presence wouldn't throw everything in disarray.

With my increased speed while in shadow state, I quickly returned to where I'd fallen, looking for the Endbringer. I forced myself not to look at my downed suit and searched for signs of continuing battle. I first went by shadow, travelling from place to place, but then I had a better idea.

While I was fast as a shadow, I couldn't see much with all the water on the ground disrupting my line-of-sight, not unless I turned back to physical form. My new flight ability might be slower, but it gave me a much better vantage point.

And with Leviathan being mainly ground-bound, it gave me a much better chance at evading whatever it could throw at me.

What he could throw at me ended up being very literal less than a minute later, as I approached the battlefield itself, following the sounds of buildings crumbling in the rain. The moment I got close enough to the action, the Endbringer turned straight toward me. He then rammed a building as he dodged both Alexandria and Legend's attacks, pushing up in such a way that the roof came straight for me.

I didn't dodge, not trusting my speed in the air. I simply turned to shadow as the rain-slick stone reached me, and reformed on the other side.

The two Triumvirate members, being the only ones still there, hadn't missed the opportunity and took the fight to the beast. At least it seemed that, in the current situation, Slenderman's presence wasn't hindering anything.

A wide swipe from Leviathan fired more projectiles at me while forcing the flying brick back. Legend's attack did punch through the water shadow, generating a short-lived cloud of steam, but didn't do much more than that. I dropped straight down, letting Leviathan's hurled projectiles pass overhead, then resumed my previous position, as if to taunt the Endbringer.

That pattern repeated itself for the next few minutes. Alexandria aborted every attempt by Leviathan to get closer to me, coordinating perfectly with Legend using only short phrases and hand signs, while I simply stood there and drew in the attacks. There might have been offensive sparks in my new ones, but I wasn't going to try them, especially not when I could take out others with the collateral damage.

This pattern at least had the advantage that the Endbringer stayed in pretty much the same place, which limited the damage to the city. It also allowed the remaining others to catch up, and more and more Blasters started pouring fire on the beast whenever the Triumvirate members called for support, screaming war cries and exclamations of rage all the while.

It was, unfortunately, too easy for it to last. Tired of all the attacks, the beast changed tracks and, in a blur of speed faster than before, managed to smash Legend to the ground in a single strike, a geyser rising then and there. Alexandria then punched through the water shadow with a yell, only to find herself meeting the beast's tail right as she came out. She joined her partner in the watery ground an instant later.

It then picked her up from where she was sprawled and didn't let go this time, rushing the grouped Blasters with her in his oversized hand.

There wasn't much I could do. Untrained powers could do more harm than good, and the rest of what I had didn't have any offensive potential. I had hoped before that I could depower it like I did other capes, but Leviathan didn't shine in my sight, and without that I wasn't going to take the risk.

So I did the only thing I could think to try. I stopped hanging far above in the air, landed on a building closer to the battlefield, and waited in the rain.

Leviathan reacted instantly. It fired Alexandria like a javelin at a building close to the bunched Blasters, then turned on a dime to rush me, asphalt and water flying under its feet.

I simply stood there, focusing on the Endbringer through the downpour, ready to turn to shadow at any moment. I could take his charge more easily than the others.

The beast took two blurring steps, crushing a car on the street, then launched itself straight at me, claws first.

They never landed.

Instead, a beam of golden light erupted from somewhere behind me, passing barely a foot to my left, clipping the Endbringer in the shoulder. Unlike Legend's earlier attacks, this one had great effect: the beam twisted the beast in the air, and Leviathan fell back onto the street in a heap.

Everyone on the battlefield froze for a moment.

I saw light creeping up on me, and for a second I wondered what it could be. Still, I didn't take my eyes off Leviathan, who'd risen from his prone position. Behind him, I saw the remaining parahumans, and for some reason I could see relief in their faces and stances. A cheer even started, slowly.

That was when it clicked.

Scion was here.

The city was saved.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

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Scion's appearance didn't mean that Leviathan was giving up. On the contrary, the Endbringer rushed forward once more, even faster this time. The beast jumped claws first, aiming straight for Scion instead of going for me.

It didn't get any farther than it had in its first attempt.

Once again, Scion blasted the Endbringer back, launching him straight into a building on the other side of the street. This time I even caught the instant the beam appeared beside me.

Leviathan's water shadow came next, but barely got any further than the Endbringer. Less than five meters from Scion, its momentum suddenly halted and it splashed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. It fell with a great splash that overpowered the sounds of the rain for an instant.

As it seemed I was safe, I turned to look at the world's first cape. I found him looking me up and down, then nodding, as if I was doing something right. I felt like he was approving of what I was doing. I simply nodded back on instinct.

A great tearing sound pulled my attention back to where Leviathan was. It was right in the middle of the street before us, striking the pavement with great blows, all the while looking like a kid that was throwing a tantrum.

That's new, I thought, and prepared myself for the worst.

Within a second, it became evident what Leviathan was attempting. Great geysers of water started surging from where the beast struck, and the next blow crumbled the entire street for hundreds of meters, swallowing the area in an impromptu lake.

And the buildings weren't spared that fate.

The roof under my feet started tilting, shifting down toward the street. I rose instantly using Gravity and found that Scion had preempted me with his own powers, the both of us now standing freely in the air. I heard screams and yells in the distance as the grouped blasters abandoned their position, flyers grabbing non-flyers and evacuating them. I even saw Purity and a recovered Alexandria ferrying people farther from Leviathan's position, each carrying a pair of capes to safety.

Within moments, all that was left below us was a dark expanse of water nearly a kilometer wide and still growing. Leviathan was nowhere to be seen, hiding in the murky depths of the new lake below.

The fight needed to end quick. If Leviathan was given time to grow this watery crater as much as he wanted, Brockton bay would be underwater before long!

Still, Scion showed no urgency. He waited as if he wasn't in any danger, as if his victory was certain and absolute. For my part, I simply stayed where I was; I doubted I could find a safer place to be in this situation.

Jumping out of the water like a dolphin at SeaWorld, Leviathan lunged for our backs, moving at even greater speed than before. Scion was clearly the target as the beast surged toward him, only for the world's first and most powerful parahuman to move so fast that for a second I thought he'd teleported.

The blast he sent this time was twice the size of the previous ones, and caught the Endbringer in mid-air just as gravity had started the creature onto a downward arc.

And this time, no building stopped Leviathan's tumble.

The blast caught it from below, flinging the beast at least a mile toward the ocean, with it landing somewhere in the docks. Scion quickly followed, and I did the same, wanting to see the end of this fight.

It seemed that, by this point, the Endbringer had finally had enough, as it clearly started retreating toward the beach while Scion approached.

Leviathan was barely ten meters from the water when it found itself hammered to the ground as if by a giant invisible weight falling on its shoulders. The ground around it also cratered from the pressure, looking from above like a giant hand in the sand.

And, above it all, Eidolon hovered, arm extended.

Scion slowed twenty meters from the Triumvirate member and scowled at the Protectorate Trump. I could sense disdain and disgust there, and couldn't understand why. Still, Scion's hand came forward and another blast plowed Leviathan straight in the beach's sand.

And again. And again.

By the third blast, Legend was there, and his beams joined those of the golden man. Eidolon's hand was still extended, and I could feel something before me, keeping Leviathan from rising.

A gravity effect, I wondered. That might explain why I could suddenly sense it.

It was clear the two Triumvirate members wanted to keep the Endbringer there and blast it until it was dead and gone. However, a great surge of water rose off the beach, barreling straight for Eidolon and Scion.

The Triumvirate member twitched his hand to the side, flinging the water out of the way, while every drop of liquid the came close enough to Scion stopped and fell instantly. Not a drop even came near me.

But, of course, Leviathan had vanished during that instant.

Scion continued straight on, going past the beach and coast to hover over the ocean, showing no sign of stopping soon. Legend, however, came to a stop before me, followed by Eidolon a second later.

"Slenderman, I presume?" he asked.

He wasn't making any offensive move, so I simply nodded in answer. I had no clue what else I could do.

I looked over to Eidolon and, now that the fight was over and Leviathan was gone, noticed that his aura was bronze instead of white. Turning back to Legend revealed the same. Curious, I noted. The Travelers were the only group to date I'd seen with only bronze auras.

The Blaster had quickly looked me over as I'd done so. "I see you do not have an armband, and from what I remember, you weren't present when we capes met before the battle."

I shook my head this time, and indicated for him to continue. I pushed my thoughts on auras back, as it wasn't the time for such things. I'd need to talk to T and Lisa anyway before I did anything with this information.

He was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking of what to say. "Are you aware of the Endbringer truce, then?" he finally asked.

So, that's what they were afraid of! I realized. It was true that there were dozens of capes grouped together, a prime target for a villainous power negater like me.

At least, if one were to base his assumptions on the rumors around my Slenderman persona.

I nodded, and I could see Eidolon relax somewhat in the background.

Legend lowered himself to land on the beach sands, and I followed suit. Eidolon did not, however, remaining in the air, though he was barely a meter above sea level.

The heroic Blaster then pressed both buttons on his armband, and spoke out with a clear voice. "Endbringer Gone. Scion has also left." I heard the message echo from Eidolon's armband, and guessed that this message had gone to everyone.

Legend then nodded to Eidolon, who flew away, before turning toward me. "Thank you for the help," he said. He started extending his hand instinctively, then realized what he was doing and turned it into a salute. "You may have saved dozens of lives by drawing Leviathan's attention like that. Any idea why Leviathan went directly for you? Any clue you might have on his motivation could be of great help in the battles against him."

I had a lot I could say, but this clearly wasn't the time. A good part of Slenderman's power was his mystique, and answering questions here would ruin it. More than that, this suit wasn't equipped with a voice modulator, and Endbringer truce or not, I wasn't going to trust that I wasn't giving more information than expected.

As such, I did the only thing I could constitute as a valid answer. A flick on a switch in my suit started my soundtrack of laughing children, and I was rewarded with a small flinch from the Protectorate leader, who rose an inch from the ground.

Now, for a suitable exit, I said to myself, and started thinking. Then I smiled inside my suit and started walking.

Straight in the direction Scion, and probably Leviathan, had gone.

"What are you planning?" Legend asked.

I pushed my soundtrack two notches higher, drowning the sounds of the rain, and stepped forward until I was ankle-deep in the water. Then, I turned to shadow, quickly rushing forward to hide what could still be seen of my presence. While Legend was known as the ultimate Blaster and Mover, he wasn't known for any special senses, but that was no reason to take any risks. Between the gloom of Leviathan's storm and the murky water, he'd probably seen nothing of my transformation. Hopefully he'd think I was still going after Scion or Leviathan and go for something more urgent.

I didn't stay and check, though. After taking a second to orient myself, I dashed for one of the storm drains that littered the beach. While I didn't know where they all lead, I knew where some did after my studies for the bank run. The overflowing water wasn't an issue in shadow state, and even if the pipe I took had partially crumbled, I could still force my way through without much issue. This specific drain lead under the bank, and from there I had no issue finding the path home. And with my newfound speed, I was there within minutes.

Now what?

Looking at the time, it wasn't even ten. It had barely been an hour since the sirens had started ringing, and everything was done. The city still stood, regardless of the damage and the cape deaths. I put back my Slenderman suit in the closet, and dressed in some of the clothes I'd left here for T.

One thing quickly came to mind.

My father.

I rushed for my phone. The call had gone out that I'd died, and the same happened for about Apparition. Knowing him, he was stressing horribly, and that was the best case scenario. Grabbing it, I entered for the number of his work phone, which he'd started keeping on him ever since he'd learned about my cape identity.

I was answered by his shirt vibrating on my work table. Of course, dressed as he was, he hadn't taken it with him. I hung up.

Only for my phone to ring in turn.

"Hello," I answered.

"You fine, Taylor?" Lisa asked from the other side of the line. There was quite a bit of interference of the line, probably due to the remains of Leviathan's storm.

"Not a single hit. I'm fine," I quickly replied, hoping the message would go through.

"She's fine," Lisa relayed to whoever was with her, putting the phone aside for a moment. "Glad to hear it."

"You?" I returned the question.

"Wet. The worst thing I can see is getting a cold," the Thinker quickly replied. "Back at the base?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Mind building a zone there?" Lisa asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "T might want to move back home also."

"Right," I said, feeling stupid. I then dropped the phone on my table for a moment. I quickly drew a zone at my feet, then returned to Lisa's call. "Done."

"I noticed," Lisa pointed out. Brian then said something that I didn't catch, to which Lisa agreed. "We're on our way," Lisa added. "You should see T and Sveta soon, since they're taking the shadows together. We'll be behind them somewhat."

Message understood.

"Catch you later!" Lisa finished.

"See you," I replied, and hung up.

Dad was the last one left, and the one I was the least worried over. He'd vanished with Armsmaster, and I suspected he was somewhere safe at least. I doubted the Protectorate would have him anywhere close to the from lines.

That was when the door slammed open.

For a moment, I thought it was T and Sveta, then I realized there would have been no reason for them to appear outside instead of inside.

"TAYLOR!" Dad's voice rang out.

"I'm here!" I cried out in reply, suddenly feeling very small. I moved for the door, then realized that I was currently stuck inside my zone if I didn't want to go over my limit.

I didn't need to wait long; dad rushed toward me with loud strides. He took off his mask just as he entered my workshop, then rushed and grabbing me in his arms. I could see the tear trails on his face.

"You're okay!" he yelled out, heedless of his volume. "I thought… I thought…"

I hugged back. "I know, I know," I replied. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I didn't think about…"

"Shhhht…" he whispered in my ear. "It's fine, I understand. You don't have to say anything…"

Tears started coming out of my own eyes.

Both T and Sveta rose out of a shadow on the floor at the door of my workshop. "Is everything okay? Dad? Taylor?"

Both dad and I said nothing. He did, however, release me to hug both Sveta and T. "Everything's fine now," he replied.

"Everyone's fine," he continued. "And that's all I need."

The four of us ended up in a group hug for long minutes, simply hugging and holding on. Now that the adrenalin had passed, I nearly crumbled to the ground, and T seemed in the same situation; only Sveta and my dad kept us from ending up on the floor.

I didn't even notice Lisa had arrived before she spoke up. "Sorry to interrupt the moment," she said, a bizarre smile on her face. It was nothing like her usual ones; it was somehow sad, happy and envious at the same time. "But you might want to hurry and get your suit back, before the Protectorate finds something they shouldn't."

I blanched, and T did the same. It was still where I'd fallen, and I had no clue what was left inside. There might be more than enough to identify me there, and I needed it back if I wanted to keep my identity as Arsenal. I wasn't ready to abandon it, not with everything that was attached to that name.

"What's in there that they shouldn't find?" My father asked.

Both T and I gulped in sync. That wasn't a discussion I was looking forward to.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I gained some time by directing everyone to a chair. T stayed behind in my zone, at least until I transferred it under my own seat, at which point she joined the rest of us.

How could I explain? Regardless of the fact that I was still there, I'd died. I'd drowned inside my own armor, and might even have left a corpse behind. If I was lucky, whatever had been left had turned to dust like Oni Lee's clones did, but I couldn't count on that.

And I didn't want to lie, either.

A look to the people around me didn't particularly help. Brian was still in his suit and clearly had nothing to say, both T and Sveta looked just as uncertain as I was, and Lisa shrugged when I glanced at her.

No help there.

"Well, it's kinda like this…" I started, only to be interrupted by the doors to the base opening. Regent strolled inside, followed by a grumpy soaked Bitch and her dogs, who were shaking water out of their fur. The young playboy went straight for the table, falling into his commonly-used beanbag chair, then looked right at me.

"Well, I like twins as much as the next man, but there's clearly something going on here," he smirked. "I mean, Spandex Geezer comes out of nowhere, Blondie-the-Return appears and no-one's surprised, and now this business about power zones and sparks. I'm all for live and let live, but this is getting ridiculous!"

Behind him, Rachel grunted and nodded, still standing.

Great, another discussion I'm not ready for! I noted sarcastically.

"No time like the present," Lisa countered, having evidently read my thoughts in my facial expressions.

I took a deep breath to center myself, then realized the best way to tackle at least Regent's question. A quick look to Sveta got me a nod, which I took to mean there wasn't any danger in what I was about to do. "Take over the zone?" I asked T beside me, and before a minute was over I was free to move.

Sneaking back into my Slenderman suit barely took ten seconds by turning into shadow, and appearing behind Regent didn't take much more than that. I said nothing and stayed silent, waiting for him to react to my presence. Based on what he'd told me about his power, he knew I was there. Seem like he didn't fear something right behind him he could detect.

Perfect.

Lisa's grin grew as I did so, and Brian lowered his head to put his hand on his face mask. T echoed the Thinker beside her, and even Sveta smiled somewhat. Even dad understood what was happening, and I could see his lips curl.

Bitch's reaction was clearly more aggressive, however.

She jumped back to put more space between us, falling farther from the table, and was about to send her dogs forward against me when she stopped, unsure. Her canines growled and took position beside her, visibly reacting to her tension.

Regent paid no more attention to the dogs than he usually did, ignoring them.

"What are you all smiling for? Did Blondie put a 'free and easy' panel over me or something? Bondage gear?" he asked, looking from Lisa to Sveta. Brian rose to grab a soda, unconcerned about what was happening.

Well, I wasn't going to be getting a better opening. I dropped an ungloved hand on his shoulder, and thumbed my soundtrack up at the exact same moment.

I smiled myself as he instantly tensed, releasing something of a girlish scream. "You're shitting me!" he exclaimed, turning his head around to see better. He found himself face right next to mine, as I twisted my 'head' in his direction.

"Motherf…" he screamed, falling off his chair. He didn't stop there, crawling back to put more space between us.

Then he seemingly realized something. "It's a joke, right?" he finally said. "You're somehow using your shadow power to get one over me, right?"

I simply raised the sound higher, and glided forward. Even with Regent crawling backwards, I easily reached him, poking him in the face with a single finger and taking his power. Puppet, I noted.

"Well, that's easy to test," Lisa added, clearly appreciating the spectacle. "Try using your power."

He clearly did so, then blanched at the result. "It's the real thing!"

I smiled inside my suit, then poked him again, giving him back his power. "You can take it back," I said in my normal voice, shutting down the laughter of children.

"Bwhat?" he exclaimed eloquently, still on the floor.

I quickly shadow-travelled behind my chair, then shed the suit to retake my seat. Lisa was snickering beside me, and I could even see hints of a smile on Brian's lips, who'd finally removed his helmet. Danny shook his head from side to side as if disagreeing, but I could still he'd found this funny.

Everyone waited until Regent had crawled back into his seat before turning to serious things. "Brian, you want to start?" Lisa said, turning to the Shaker.

He simply nodded. "The Undersiders are done," he exclaimed solemnly. "Regent said it best, last time. We're burned, and the boss let us hang to dry. We go back to him after that, and it'll only get worse."

"Knew he couldn't be trusted," Rachel growled. My dad nodded at that, having made his opinion clear long before now. Regent made a comment about nobody explaining this 'Slenderman' thing, but no one paid attention to it.

Lisa continued, ignoring Bitch's interruption. "Thing is, the boss isn't one to let go. We stay in Brockton Bay, he's gonna come after us, force us back in line."

"So we flee the city," Regent pointed out.

Lisa nodded, "That's one possibility. However, some of us can't pack our bags and leave any time we want." She looked at Rachel, who scowled and nodded in agreement. "As such, Brian and I have been discussing things with Taylor here, and we might have another gig set up instead."

"Pays well?" Regent asked.

"As much as our previous one, at least." I inclined my head in confirmation at my father, who'd turned to look at me.

"I'm listening," he said, putting both elbows on the table.

Lisa nodded in my direction, and I understood the meaning clearly. "I'm Slenderman," I said, putting all the cards on the table. "And my power is more like transferring powers than straight up removing them. With all those abilities, I've been working under different names for different powersets. I've been part of the Undersiders as Apparition, but I've also been working alone under the name Arsenal."

"Which is the source of those nifty Tinker tools you keep pulling out," Regent pointed out.

"Yes," I replied.

Bitch brought something else to the table. "Fought Lung."

"Among others," Danny added, scowling a little.

I nodded. "Yes. Alongside the Protectorate, I helped take out Lung."

Regent whistled. "Nice. Fried yourself some lizard?"

I ignored him. "Lisa and Brian have persuaded me to build a team under Arsenal after the attention he's started drawing. The Undersiders would have to fake their deaths to keep the Boss from coming after us, but after that you'd have a stable job ready. The new team would be vigilantes instead of villains, but considering the most we'd done was fight the other gangs, I don't see an issue there."

Brian nodded in confirmation, and Sveta gave me a thumbs up at that.

"Yeah, I see one," Regent pointed out. "We're pretty distinctive as a group. Like, no one would be fooled by the dogs or Grue's shadow."

"As Slenderman I can mix and match powers to change them. That's not an issue," I pointed out.

Regent's eyes went wide at that. "New powers? Sign me up! I always wanted to be a flier or something like that." The next second, I saw something click in his eyes. "She's your Shadow Clone Wonder Twin!" he yelled, pointing at T. "That explains everything!"

"Specific powers are not that easy, but I'll see what I can do. Bitch?" I said, turning to the last member of the team.

She was clearly not as easily convinced, looking down at her dogs uncertainly.

I had a good idea what she was afraid of. "I'm not going to completely take out your power and replace it," I said. "Just add to it until it's different enough. You'll still have your dogs, I can assure you."

She nodded at that, then seemed to decide on something. "Fight me."

"What?"

"Fight me!" she snarled, pointing to the wide area beside her. "Strong leads! Show me your strength!"

I shrugged, then shadow-travelled where she was pointing. My father, who'd kept silent during the entire discussion, chose that moment to rise. "Taylor, that's…"

Lisa interrupted him with a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine," she said, and T nodded in agreement.

I had to agree this wasn't a fair battle. There was nothing either Rachel or her dogs could do to me in shadow form, and that wasn't even counting the rest of my powers. Still, it was clearly important to her, so I did as she asked. "Ready when you are."

"Brutus, Angelica, bite!" She instantly yelled, her two dogs growing as she ordered them forward, her third one staying as a guard. I was in shadow state the next instant, then back as a dragon of darkness as big as I could fit in the room a second later.

Rachel didn't hesitate, and neither did her dogs, Brutus jumping to try biting one of my wings. He simply went through without affecting me, and Angelica had no more luck when she tried biting my knee. The two of them then jumped back and growled.

I answered them with a loud roar of my own, making the entire building shake. The two dogs jumped backward instinctively, and I started advancing toward Bitch. It was clear that she wanted to retreat, but forced herself to stand her ground.

Judas, now a meter high, stood before his mistress, barking and clearly intending to defend her. I simply bent down my draconic head and grabbed him by the skin of his neck, heedless of the bony spikes there. Bitch couldn't help but back up a few steps as I lifted Judas from the ground, the giant dog now growling pitifully. The other two still tried attacking me, but had no more success than before.

"Had enough?" I asked, the sound coming clearly even with a mouth full of dog.

Rachel visibly didn't think so. She jumped, grabbing onto Judas' back, then flung herself straight at my face. She didn't hesitate, ramming her fist right into my left eye.

It had no more effect than any of the previous attacks.

Worse, she'd put all her momentum into it, and as such fell face first to the ground. She pushed herself into a roll, trying at rise once more, but I didn't let her, pushing her back into the floor with my left leg.

"Call the dogs back," I said, putting enough weight on her to keep her down. Still, she tried forcing herself up, and her dogs rushed to help her, trying to bite my limb off.

She simply snarled and continued pushing up.

I could see Lisa explaining to dad how Rachel thought, keeping him from interfering. Brian was scowling, but said nothing. I think he understood that there wasn't any other way this could go.

And I wasn't going to stop now. "Call them back!" I ordered, my voice coming out as a roar, making the room vibrate. I increased the pressure second by second, and before long she didn't even have the leverage to push. She was also probably staring to lack oxygen.

"Brutus, Angelica, back," she finally whimpered, and only then did I release the pressure, moving my foot to the side.

The two dogs rushed to their mistress, abandoning their attempts to hurt me. I lowered Judas to the ground and let him go, and he rejoined the rest of the canines.

I turned back to human shape. "Didn't like doing that," I said as I did so. It felt too much like bullying. Still, she had asked for it. "You're gonna be okay?"

"Fine," she growled. She then walked to the table and stood there. "I'll follow," she grunted, clearly not liking her defeat.

"Everyone's in, then?" I asked once I was back at my seat.

There were nods and exclamations of agreement all around the table, including from a source I hadn't expected. "Dad?" I asked, turning toward him.

"It's not like I could leave the both of you doing this alone, right?" he said with a slight smile. "I may not be as young and full of energy as everyone else around this table, but everyone needs support sometime. And, anyway, the PRT already thinks I'm part of your team. Might as well make the best of it."

"You don't need to do this," I countered.

"Need?" He replied, then shook his head. "I want to. You're pretty much all I've got, especially after an Endbringer battle like this one. I have no clue if the Dockworker's Union is still standing, or if there's going to be work for me tomorrow."

"Scion dropped Leviathan in the middle of the docks, so you may very well be right," Lisa added.

"Anyway, I tried supporting you as best I could before, and I'm not gonna stop now," he exclaimed, and it was clear his mind was made up. "If I'm going to be an official cape, might as well be in your group."

Brian nodded, smiling. "Welcome aboard, Danny," he said, extending his hand. I noticed clearly that Brian was looking straight at my father, clearly focusing on his face and not on his current costume.

"Reinforce, actually," he corrected with a smile. "Seems that's going to be my official name around here."

There was a moment of silence as I digested everything around me, only to be interrupted by Danny. "I still haven't gotten an answer to my original question, actually."

I drew a blank at that.

Lisa came to my rescue. "The contents of Arsenal's armor, in case you've forgotten."

I had. Thing was, there was only one person who could realistically go and gather it in the current situation. "Dad? Can I ask a favour?"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[T]

Danny didn't like finding out his daughter's dead body might be inside the suit he was driving to get, but still didn't argue much about it. He did need confirmation that everything was fine with Taylor from both Lisa and Sveta, and made sure to hug her and me tightly.

As the only known member of Arsenal's team, Reinforce was the only person who had any right to grab Arsenal's suit. Sure, Taylor could have tinkered a temporary one, but that would have taken more time than anyone was happy with. Lisa had pointed out that the Endbringer Truce was still in effect, and as such the armor was supposedly safe, but no one wanted to rely too much on that.

Which was why Reinforce was currently driving the Undersiders' van toward the vacant lot where Arsenal had fallen. I was there as support in case things went south, mainly because I could hide within dad's shadow near-invisibly. The fact that, while the rain has largely stopped, the sky was still heavily overcast, meant there was very little light to reveal my presence.

I was surprised to find that Miss Militia was present at the street corner when dad stopped the car. Judging by his reaction, he was as well, although he continued forward as if everything was normal.

"Reinforce, I suppose?" The female cape asked as dad came forward. The rifle in her hand became a knife at her side the moment she turned toward him.

"Indeed."

"Miss Militia, although I think you might already know that," she reached for her armband, pressing a button. "Reinforce present to gather Arsenal's remains," she spoke clearly. "My condolences," she added to dad.

He shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm just here for the armor. Arsenal made it through, though not unscathed." That was the story Lisa, Taylor and I had agreed on.

"Really?" The Protectorate member asked in surprise.

Reinforce nodded. "An experimental teleportation-based 'ejection seat', from what I heard. It mostly worked."

"With that much blood?"

Danny winced. "Like I said, mostly. Parts were left behind."

Miss Militia winced in sympathy. "I could see why it isn't him that's present right now," she added. "Will he be fine?"

Danny nodded. "Give him a few days with a healing beacon and my powers bolstering his own, and he'll be good as new. It seems like nothing keeps him down, some days."

"And… will this technology be available to the PRT?" she asked.

Reinforce simply shook his head. "I have no clue; I'm lousy at this kind of thing. I suppose he'll need to figure out how come his device couldn't grab all of him before he makes that kind of decision."

"True."

"Can I… go in?" he asked, pointing toward the vacant lot, which was surrounded by PRT tape.

"Wait a moment," Miss Militia answered. "There's someone coming to verify your identity."

"My identity?" Danny repeated, to which the Protectorate member nodded.

Danny and I didn't have to wait long, as Eidolon dropped out of the sky not a minute later. "Reinforce, Miss Militia," he said with a polite bow of the head. I was surprised to see him here; I would have supposed he'd have better things to do than conduct identity checks.

"Eidolon," Danny replied, emulating the Triumvirate member. Miss Militia saluted instead. "I suppose you're the one to confirm my identity?"

From what I could see of his body language, the Trump smiled at that. He also looked less tired than I'd have expected from someone who'd fought waves for nearly an hour. "More like your power, but for capes it tends to be one and the same. I won't deny that another hit of your ability would be useful. My current powers might have been useful curtailing Leviathan's waves, but they aren't nearly as useful for cleanup duty."

"Glad to help, then," Reinforce said, extending his hand.

The two men shook, and Eidolon nodded, relaxing at the same time. "That's Reinforce alright," he said to Miss Militia, who also nodded.

"You can go in," she said, walking to the side and untying the tape protecting the scene.

"Let me," Eidolon interrupted. Arsenal's suit rose up from the ground, clearly levitated by Eidolon. He brought it forward next to the van in an instant. "One good turn deserves another," he pointed out.

With Eidolon and Miss Militia's help, it took barely a minute for the armor to be strapped down in the back of the van. A good thing, since the armor was solid and heavy enough that wrestling the thing off the ground and into the van wouldn't have been particularly easy or dignified. The three of them shook once more and exchanged pleasantries as dad left, Eidolon flying back to wherever he was needed.

As we were headed back, I found myself finally relaxing. My presence hadn't been necessary, which was great, and the battles were over and done with.

With the way the last few weeks had gone, we could use some downtime.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Hannah]

I sat down in my chair, right in front of my computer, the night sky shining through my window. Protectorate rules were clear: Capes could not be deployed for more than twelve hours in a row without at least four consecutive hours of downtime. Even after an Endbringer battle.

Even if one didn't actually need any sleep or rest.

Still, I couldn't deny that some time to center myself wouldn't be amiss. Today had been one of the roughest days in my life, and I was still kind of in shock. It wasn't my first Endbringer battle, and it probably wouldn't be my last, but the emotional toll meant it would likely be the most unpleasantly memorable.

Even compared to that one time Behemoth had nearly fried me.

Losing comrades was always the worst.

Given the nature and length of my career, it was natural that losses among my peers added up to a monstrous total. Of all the Wards I'd served alongside during my time in that organization, the vast majority were no longer alive today.

But never had so many fallen on the same day.

While the media were already crowning this morning's battle as the greatest victory against the Endbringers in a decade, it didn't change the death toll among those I'd personally known. People I'd worked with for years, if not more.

People I'd seen grow.

Triumph hadn't even been out of the Wards a year. Aegis had been but a few months away from the Protectorate position he'd always wanted. Browbeat had barely been a rookie, facing something he had no clue how to deal with. And Vista…

Vista made me think of myself. So young and so driven. I thanked God she never had to face the things I had, but we'd both had our childhoods stripped from us far too soon.

And now she was gone.

Still, I couldn't deny what the late news on the web were saying. While cape deaths had been, if not the norm for Endbringer battles, a little lower, the civilian casualties were more than an order of magnitude lower than after one of Leviathan's usual attacks. None of the shelters had flooded or sunk, and Leviathan had visibly focused on capes instead of going after people on the sidelines. The city itself had taken damage, but nothing compared to the usual levels of carnage that followed an Endbringer attack. A good part of the region didn't have power, and most of the Boardwalk was a loss, but outside that and the new lake, very few spots had taken more than cosmetic damage.

"Miss Militia?" A voice rang out from my computer. "Are you available?"

Dragon. "I am."

My screen flashed open without my input, showing the Canadian woman in front of her own machine. "Am I interrupting anything?"

I shook my head. "No, you aren't." Something then came to mind. "My condolences," I added.

Her face fell somewhat. "The same," she replied, though it was clear this was by rote. "Armsmaster fought at your side for years. I'm not the only one who lost him."

It was the truth, but Armsmaster's passing didn't have the same impact on me. Compared to the people I'd already buried, Colin was simply another comrade who'd laid down his life for the job. Dragon, however… "You were the closest to him, at the very least. There was always a distance between him and the rest of us." Arsenal might have become another exception, in time. Had Armsmaster lived.

I might have thought it was a Tinker thing, but Kid Win hadn't had any success there either.

She tried smiling at that, but it was a sad little thing. "Kind of you to say so."

I nodded. "Now, what can I do for you?"

A sound rang out in my room; a chime from my inbox informed me I had a new message. "After today's casualties, there have been some changes in the local organizational structure."

"Right," I answered. I'd been expecting that.

"Congratulations, Protectorate leader," Dragon continued.

"What!?" I stuttered, grabbing my mouse. Dragon's screen shrunk to the side, letting me reach my inbox and read the message there. All the papers were in order, signed by the very head of the PRT herself, Rebecca Costa-Brown.

"It is of course temporary, pending the approval of Brockton Bay's new PRT director, but that should only be a formality," Dragon explained.

"Director Piggot didn't make it?" I'd heard the shelter under the PRT headquarters had been damaged when Leviathan destroyed the building, but nothing about losses there.

Dragon nodded. "I'm afraid not. By the time rescuers managed to remove the rubble, she'd already succumbed to internal bleeding."

"How many?" I asked. I'd worked with the PRT for long years, and while I'd never been close to Emily Piggot, I had numerous acquaintances in the unpowered auxiliary forces.

"Nineteen, most of them office workers," Dragon replied. "Most PRT soldiers were in armor at the time, and survived the short period under the debris without significant injury."

I'll check the roster later, then, I thought, then realized something. "That means…"

Dragon nodded, having guessed what I'd just noticed. "Yes. The PRT East-North-East lost every level of senior leadership today."

I cringed. While replacing the Wards' leadership didn't tend to cause issues, the same couldn't be said of the other two posts. Villain gangs had a tendency to test new Protectorate leaders, and changes in the PRT hierarchy had repercussions at every level.

"Will one of the current Brockton Bay PRT managers be promoted?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I can't say," Dragon quickly answered. "With the loss of the PRT Headquarters, it may take some time before anything more than a temporary appointment is made."

Which meant I was currently the leader of all the cape forces in the city.

Business called, then.

"Thank you for the information," I replied, intending to dive directly in the reports. I had a lot of work to do.

"Would you appreciate some assistance?" Dragon asked.

I wasn't going to deny I could use it. Still… "I'm pretty sure you have better things to do than help a single cape on the other side of the continent."

The Canadian Tinker shook her head. "Not really. I'm not going to get the last batch of components I need today, not at this hour, and Vancouver is much calmer than Brockton Bay," she explained.

I smiled. "Then I would very much appreciate your help," I replied. "I suppose you have an updated list of casualties?"

"Yes," she said, the relevant document appearing on my screen. A second later, names highlighted themselves.

"Brockton Bay capes," Dragon explained.

I nodded, then cringed. In front of me, black on white, were the names of the youths I'd lost.

"Any... Information on how it happened?" I asked, my cursor indicating a pair of names. I'd seen what happened to Triumph and Aegis, but not how the other two had been lost.

Dragon shook her head. "There is little I can say. Based on positioning data, Vista and Browbeat were separated from the rest of the Wards in the initial rush, and as such missed being teleported out. When Leviathan broke through, they ended up in close range with the beast, and neither were able to disengage in time. Browbeat may have tried shielding Vista in his last moments, as indicated by his final movements, but we will never know for sure."

"God," I exclaimed, and took a minute to center myself once again. Dragon stayed silent, understanding.

Then I went back to work.

"I see we're not the only ones with serious losses," I pointed out, face grim. New Wave also hadn't gotten through unscathed; the public hero team had lost nearly half their number.

"No," Dragon said, then added more. "Every organized group in Brockton Bay lost at least one of their number. The Undersiders and the Travelers took the least damage, with only a single loss each. Empire 88 lost three confirmed along with Fog, who has yet to reappear."

"This member of the Undersiders is also unconfirmed," I pointed out.

"Yes," the Canadian Tinker confirmed. "Apparition's armband indicated her death, but no body has been found at her last known coordinates, and the largely intact state of the area is proof that Leviathan was never at that location. And since the peculiarities of her shadow power aren't known, it may simply be that the armband misreported her status."

"Still, that at least gives us a starting point," I replied. "Anyway, the Undersiders haven't yet been a real issue outside simple thievery, and the Travelers haven't done much except hitting a Protectorate event. They aren't the real threat."

"The Empire," Dragon stated.

I nodded at that. "With their identities revealed and the loss of so many of their number, something will clearly give. I'm more concerned over the fact that Kaiser alone was absent. I wouldn't have been surprised if few of the E88 members had shown, or even only select cliques within the organization." I shook my head. "No, only Kaiser was missing, and I wouldn't see him as someone who ran while his troops fought." I'd met Kaiser on the battlefield enough to have a good measure of his personality, especially after last week's reveals. I couldn't say if he truly believed in the cause he was preaching, but I'd bet my life against him running, leaving everything behind.

He just wasn't the kind.

"I concur," Dragon added. "I'd found his absence bizarre myself, but there were other fish to fry."

I couldn't contradict that. "Any Ward or Protectorate cape still wounded?" I asked.

The woman before me shook her head. "None. Between Panacea's presence and Arsenal's beacons, we lost no one at the triage table. A few are still under observation due to head wounds, but no one within the Wards or Protectorate. Kid Win was the worst hit there, and he's already back in his workshop."

"Good," I answered with a nod. "Now, patrols will clearly need changing, especially considering our new landmark. I'll take the earliest patrol tomorrow myself, then…"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Doctor Mother]

"…Slenderman left after Scion without a word. The rest of the day was the usual search and retrieval, without anything outside the norm," Eidolon stated as he finished his report. Both Alexandria and Legend beside him nodded at the summation. He then reached out and drank a shot from his glass.

There had been post-mortem meetings like this one after every Endbringer battle, as Contessa needed to model the behavior instead of relying on her power alone. And this was clearly one of the times where new information would force changes. Of course, Legend didn't know that part.

"So, in short, we have confirmation that the Endbringers are targeting specific capes when showing up somewhere," I stated, and all members of the Triumvirate nodded as an answer. "Along with two of his targets: Scion and Slenderman."

"I'd suggest Arsenal as a possible third target, along with a fourth still in the city," Alexandria added, pointing at the map of Brockton Bay before the group. "Leviathan's first charge now makes sense, given Arsenal's initial location. Positioning data indicates that he was beaten back here," she pointed to another spot, further from Leviathan's position, "only to make his way back to the combat zone. However, when Leviathan disengaged, it didn't go after him, but disappeared to track what I suppose was another target. It was found back here," another point on the map. "Close to none of the capes present. It then resumed targeting Arsenal, and based on GPS information from Arsenal's armband along with the pattern of devastation left in Leviathan's wake, it is a virtual certainty the Endbringer chased the Tinker for several minutes. Arsenal only stopped when Armsmaster arrived, upon which the two of them decided to stand their ground, something which led to both being declared deceased, the Protectorate leader for good. Armsmaster might have been another target, but it wasn't his first Endbringer battle, and I doubt he'd have lasted this long with direct Endbringer attention."

Number Man looked over the top of his laptop to peruse the data, then nodded. "Arsenal. The facts fit. And, agreed, Armsmaster would be a long shot, unless something new changed the data."

"Such intent targeting; a change in their pattern?" Eidolon wondered out loud, glass still in hand.

Number Man's fingers flew over his keyboard as he typed. "Preliminary analysis indicates no. The Brockton Bay encounter was in no way outside the parameters for Leviathan, and even the battle itself was within norms. I'll have to go over past showings with a fine tooth comb, but nothing indicates this was an isolated incident."

There was a moment of silence.

"About Arsenal," Eidolon asked, tapping the display before him. "Should we arrange a visit?"

I shook my head. "Premature. He's a stabilizing influence in Brockton Bay, and shows no indication of going rogue or villain. He can wait, if he's needed."

"Slenderman, then," Legend remarked, serious.

"Indeed," I answered. "This is the second time he comes to our attention, and both the uses we could make of him are crucial."

"Not to mention Scion's reaction to the man," Alexandria added.

"Yes, that point also," I replied. "I doubt the rumors of him being Scion's opposite are true, given what we know, but there is clearly a link there."

"If we're talking of recruitment, there is another cape I want to bring to the table," Eidolon spoke.

"Reinforce, I suppose?" Legend asked, a slight smile on his face.

"Yes," Alexandria said to the Protectorate leader, before turning to the group at large. "Even if temporary, a second trigger at will is something we can't pass by. Boosting Contessa or Number Man's power might give additional insights on the formula's workings, not to mention possibly breaking through the limit on Scion and the Endbringers."

"I was about to suggest the same," Eidolon pointed out.

"It might even be possible to recruit both Arsenal and Reinforce at the same time," Legend pointed out. "Based on their interactions, they are clearly part of the same team, and for a while, at that, judging by the details I noted. And, with what Reinforce said, there should also be another two members who didn't participate in the Endbringer battle, for whatever reason."

"A secondary Cauldron team might be a boon to operations," Eidolon suggested, "and that's not saying what a Tinker could bring to the table on the science side."

"More numbers on the ground could only help compensate for the discrepancy in cape numbers," Number Man added, not looking up from his screen.

"Agreed," Legend replied, only for something to ring on his belt. "Duty calls, it seems," he said sardonically.

"We're mainly done here," I answered, catching a signal from my side. "At least, nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. Recruitment will require planning anyhow, and not one done at this late hour."

The Protectorate leader nodded. "Later, then," he remarked, rising from his chair. "Door! New York Skyline!"

The requisite opening appeared right behind him, and he was gone not a minute later.

I turned to Contessa, who I suspected had engineered the alarm. "Something urgent?" I asked.

"Slenderman's blocked, as he's been for the past few weeks, and he's not the only one," Contessa explained, and everyone leaned forward at those words. "The same is true for Arsenal and Reinforce"

"Any other blocked contacts in Brockton Bay?" I asked after a second of silence. "Battery, Coil?"

The Thinker simply shook her head. "Short goals are working. Anything longer than a few hours starts changing without stopping."

The two remaining members of the Triumvirate looked at each other, clearly unsure. Contessa is such a critical part of Cauldron's inner workings, and now an entire city might be blocked? That was a scenario for a disaster.

"We need better eyes on the city," I ordered. "Between Reinforce, Slenderman and that mystery target, there is too much going on to let our control slip. We need people on the ground, in all positions if possible."

No one argued.

Alexandria nodded and smiled. "Actually, there is some good news there. There is a new opening in Brockton Bay, and we have an agent that's perfect for the position…"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*