“Took you long enough,” Clockblocker commented as we joined the heroes in the plaza outside headquarters. He wasn’t looking at me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, surveying who was here. Kid Win, Vista, Amy as Pandora, Crucible, Adamant, and Miss Militia. Everyone else must already be there, or weren’t coming.

  “Behemoth has surface several kilometers outside Rawatbhata, India,” Miss Militia explained tersely. She was eyeing the Undersiders too. “It’s also known as ‘Nuclear City’.” I heard a squeak from Autumn. “We were caught of guard, but there are capes coming from all over the planet. As soon as Bifrost comes back, we’ll move to the staging area. Undersiders, I expect you to stick to the truce this time.”

  “Best behaviour, promise,” Tattletale said with a note of sarcasm. “Let me guess, not enough radiation suits for everyone?”

  “Currently the reactors are safe, Behemoth surfaced to the south,” she replied. “Preventing their destruction is our primary objective, obviously. We are—” A multi-coloured flash and crackle of thunder interrupted her.

  “Next!” a cape with a weird looking helmet bellowed. It covered much of his upper face, with holes for his eyes, glowing bright blue. A long, blonde beard spilled from his chin, braided with bits of metal jewelry throughout. A fur mantle covered his shoulders, kept with a large pin displaying a wolfsangel. “Come on, hurry up!”

  “We’re teaming up with the fucking Nazis?” I hissed to Miss Militia. She shot me a look.

  “Bifrost offered his services before we reached out,” she retorted. “Considering the suddenness of the attack, we accepted to make sure we reached the front quicker. Come on.”

  I swore under my breath and joined Pandora and the others as they gathered around Bifrost. Who the fuck was he? A Nazi, no shit, but where had he come from? I eyed him as we gathered in a circle, though he seemed to be distracted. When everyone had circled him, he muttered something foreign-sounding under his breath, then the world lit up in rainbow hues. A second later a loud thunderclap echoed and in the distance under a thick cloud of ash was...

  “Fuck he’s huge,” Autumn spoke first, her voice shaky. “Holy fuck, holy fuck.”

  Even this far away, I could see flashes of lightning from the cloud above, and a deeper red glow lighting the rocky plain below. Half a dozen of Dragon’s mechs were already engaged, bombarding Behemoth with all manner of weapons conventional and Tinker-made. I could see other dots flitting around, occasionally throwing blasts of light, ice, and more. A kilometer at best.

  “Brockton Bay, here!” Chevalier called, raising an arm. More than a dozen heroes were gathered around, many I didn’t recognize. Vala was among them, as was Defiant. They stood beside Dragon’s futuristic ship.

  “Sir,” Miss Militia greeted him as we ran over, a crackle of thunder on our heels as Bifrost vanished again. “Apologies for the delay, we were gathering allies.”

  “I see,” he said, glancing at the Undersiders. “Good you’re here now.”

  “Amaranth,” Defiant said gravely.

  “I fucking know okay?” I snapped, my hands balling into fists. “Can we deal with this after the fat fugly fuck is dead or driven off?”

  “Hey, chill,” Clockblocker said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

  “I was only going to offer my thanks,” Defiant continued. “Even though this location was a surprise, it matches your description to a degree.”

  “And it’s early,” I retorted, then took a deep breath. “Whatever, you’re welcome, let’s just deal with him.”

  “Agreed,” he said, nodding at Chevalier.

  “This is, obviously, a soft target,” Chevalier explained. “We absolutely cannot afford Behemoth to approach the reactors. The city itself, further north, was evacuated an hour ago because of the earthquakes. Still, between the river and airborne fallout, any breach of the cores would be disastrous. We’ve seen him attack targets like this before, we know the consequences.”

  “There won’t be a second chance to prevent this,” he continued, pointing at the cooling towers in the distance behind us. “Attendance is high, and more capes are coming as we speak. The local teams are out in force, they know as well as we do what happens if we fail here. We hit Behemoth with everything we have, and if it doesn’t stop him, we pray.”

  “Inspiring,” Tattletale drawled. “Do you have an actual plan, or are you frog-marching us into a death sentence?”

  “Right now, it’s mostly locals and Dragon’s mechs engaged,” Chevalier said, seeming to ignore her. “If you have the ability to stand toe-to-toe with Behemoth, we need you on the front. If you have the ability to do any kind of damage, we need you dealing it. If you can heal, you’ll go with Vala to the forward triage station. If you can’t do any of that, support the rest of us however you can. We need people recovering the wounded, strengthening the lines, fortifying.” Defiant began passing out armbands.

  “This is going to be a hell of a fight,” Chevalier said, hefting his weird hybrid weapon thing. “Each and every one of you have my greatest respect for coming. This may not be your home, but I hope you’ll fight as if it is.”

  Defiant explained how to work the armbands, for anyone that hadn’t used them I supposed. I clicked mine into place, pressed the two buttons, and spoke my name. Amy beside me did the same, nodding when the band blinked green; guess that cinched it. I nudged her and took her hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

  “Be safe,” Amy said quietly, her voice shaking. “Please.”

  “I’ll try,” I promised. “You too.” She nodded and leaned against me.

  “Are we going to be okay?” she asked. “I mean...do you remember—”

  “I was already wrong about where and when,” I cut her off. “But...I hope we will. Lots of capes here, we can do something.”

  “Okay,” Amy replied, swallowing hard. “I’ll...I think so too.” I stretched up and pressed my mask against hers.

  “You’re Pandora?” I started and pulled away as Vala interrupted. “A healer?”

  “That’s right,” she said, nodding.

  “With me,” Vala said, then looked at me. “And you are?”

  “Amaranth, I uh...I guess I’ll do recovery?” She frowned.

  “Powers?”

  “Skintight force-field, not perfect but pretty good,” I explained. “No extra strength, no range, no flight…” I offered a shrug.

  “I see,” she said, glancing around. “You, hellhound girl.”

  “It’s Bitch,” Bitch snapped. Vala blinked, then shrugged.

  “Bitch,” Vala tried again. “Your dogs, will they be fighting?”

  “They’d die,” Tattletale answered in her place. “Transport maybe, moving the less mobile capes around… You want Amaranth to borrow one, don’t you?”

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  “Fuck that,” Bitch said instantly. “Bad enough giving her a lift back to the heroes.”

  “I’m not exactly qualified to ride one,” I added. “Also I’m pretty sure Bitch would try and kill me, because of Skitter. Am I wrong?” Bitch grunted and Tattletale just shrugged.

  “She’s badly socialized, not stupid,” Grue came to her defense. “Bitch, truce rules. Save it til we get home.” She growled.

  “If she can’t be trusted, she can’t be trusted,” Vala said with an air of finality. “We’ll find an alternative.”

  The Undersiders turned away, joining another group of heroes. Vala led Amy and I away, and I couldn’t help wondering if I could have handled that better. Maybe next time...no, I couldn’t start thinking like that. They’d never trust me, and that was whatever, kind of a pain since it made cooperating here difficult but oh well. Like Vala said, there’d be an alternative, and if not at least the Wards had me doing cardio regularly.

  “Neonium,” Vala said, approaching a cape in bright green armour. He looked like one of those old Japanese Sentai heroes. His boots were double the size of his thighs, faintly glowing at the base. “Good to see you. How’s Seattle treating you?”

  “Well enough,” he replied, his tone clipped. “Catch up later, what do you need?”

  “Smallest pair of boots you have,” she replied, gesturing to me. “Good defense, no offense, no mobility. Hoping you can fix one of those.” He studied me silently for a second, then looked to the distant, but approaching Behemoth.

  “Poor timing,” Neonium said dryly. “Rush job’s dangerous, you know this.”

  “If the danger’s wiping out or blowing up, I’ll be okay,” I said, stepping forward. I could guess what his boots did… “Skintight force-field, it’ll keep me safe.” He cocked his head.

  “Hmm, you ever skate before, little girl?”

  “On ice, sure,” I said with a shrug. “Went down to the Oval every weekend last winter.”

  “Fine,” Neonium sighed. “Come with me.”

  I followed as Vala and Pandora left, probably heading to the field hospital. Neonium headed towards a team of heroes who all seemed to be coloured similarly. They had a variety of costumes, one with flowing, hooded robes and a crown of flowers, another in tight spandex that showed off his frankly ridiculously ripped figure...and other, less palatable stuff.

  “Who’s the kid?” Big-Guy-Small-Dick asked.

  “Amaranth,” I said tersely. “And who’s the steroid junkie here?” That drew a cackling laugh from a girl in a costume that was oddly reminiscent of Vista’s, though with a cape and a mask that covered her lower face, leaving her thick, black hair exposed.

  “I like her,” she said, her voice rough. “The lunk’s Hercule, ‘cause Hercules was taken, isn’t that right?”

  “Piss off, Ten.”

  “Yeah he’s still sore about that one,” she said, shaking her head as Neonium walked past them and into a tent. “I’m Ten, real creative I know. You already met Neonium, and the hippy’s—”

  “I can introduce myself,” a musical voice cut her off. The robed cape turned to me, though their face was still shrouded by their hood. “Mab is what they call me. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Uh, you too,” I replied with the weirdest sense of deja vu. “So...who are you guys?”

  “Rangers North-West,” Ten said. “Based out of Seattle but we cover all through Canada and stuff, remote areas usually, or rural places the Protectorate leaves empty. They got problems too.”

  “Problems that need heroes?” That seemed hard to believe, but she nodded.

  “And you? Some pipsqueak Ward is my bet, brand new too.”

  “I’m a Ward, Brockton Bay.” Hercule clicked his tongue.

  “Hell of a place for a rookie,” he said gravely.

  “You’re telling me,” I said dryly. “So Neonium’s what, a rocket boot Tinker?” That got a snort of laughter from Ten.

  “Yeah basically spot on,” she said as he walked out of the tent, a pair of metal boots in hand.

  “They are not rocket boots,” Neonium said firmly as he approached me. “For lack of time, they are anti-gravity propulsors. Put them on your bare feet.”

  “Uh, it’s all one piece, except the hood.”

  “Ten,” he snapped. “Six.”

  “Sure boss,” she said, then her body twisted. A second later, a six-eyed, six-limbed feline with wicked claws approached. It rumbled: “Cut them off.” I squeaked and heard my alarm faintly blaring.

  “Your force-field, skintight or suit tight?” Neonium asked.

  “S-suit,” I stuttered. I swallowed and took a deep breath. Had to do this because it was all I could do. “I’ll move it. Uh, Ten? Be careful.”

  It made a throaty rumble that sounded like laughter, or the earthquakes Behemoth made. I sat down, shifted my projection off my costume, and shut my eyes; I knew if I watched I’d flinch. Not a second later, I felt a kick on my foot. On my bare foot.

  “The hell?” I opened my eyes and looked. The boots of my costume had been shredded off, but there wasn’t a nick on me.

  “Scaredy cat,” Ten said, human again.

  “Feet,” Neonium demanded. I held them out and he clamped the two boots over them. They were far slimmer than his, but went up near to my knee. “Smallest I had. Stand.” I did, then wobbled until he grabbed my shoulder. “Like ice skating. Balance, smooth movements. Go slow, let the boots calibrate.”

  He let me go and I stuck out my hands, taking slow, deep breaths. Like ice skating, except on dirt and rock. Easy… I tentatively pushed off with my left foot, finding I slid forward as easy as on fresh ice. I did it again, right foot, and found myself falling back into the rhythm of skating around the Oval, hand in hand with--

  “Fuck!” I swore as I slipped sideways and wiped out. My projection kept me from getting hurt, at least.

  “Slow!” Neonium bellowed. “You break them, you won’t get another.”

  A crack of thunder made me twist my head. ‘Slow’. I couldn’t afford that, neither could the heroes. I rose and pushed off again, starting with slow, steady movements. I worked up speed over a minute of practice, then tried turning. It was far easier than on ice, but sharper. It was an adjustment, but one I had to make quickly. I turned and headed back over to the heroes, pausing by Neonium.

  “Thanks,” I said, a little breathless. “These are great.”

  “You’re doing recovery?” he asked.

  “Yeah I—”

  “No strength, here.” He placed a small brooch in my hand. “Pin that on who you’re helping. It will lighten the load.”

  I thanked him again, then took off towards Behemoth. My heart began racing as I spoke into my armband, letting Dragon know I could recover people from the front, one at a time. I wasn’t going to get my ass killed trying to do more than I physically could. It beeped and an arrow appeared, pointing straight towards the Endbringer. I swallowed dust and picked up speed.

  We were actually slowing him down, it seemed. One of Dragon’s mechs was nothing but scrap, twisted and collapsed over Behemoth’s back, but the others were firing away. More flyers swarmed the skies above, pummeling him with elemental powers, lasers, and what looked like a beam of stardust. The ground beneath the Endbringer crumbled, and as I drew rapidly nearer I saw a cape repeatedly hammering the earth barely a thirty feet from the monster.

  That wasn’t where my arrow was pointing though. The rocky terrain was tough to navigate, especially at speed, but the boots seemed to have adjusted to me like Neonium had said. A bolt of lightning blew a boulder apart ahead of me, and I skidded to a stop as fragments pelted my projection. I took off again a second later, speeding up to make up for lost time.

  I finally found who I’d been pointed towards, a cape in black armour laying in a crater that was still glowing around the edges. Okay maybe he was just a little charred… I checked to make sure Behemoth wasn’t approaching, and fortunately he was busy dealing with Chevalier who was going toe-to-toe with him.

  I shook my head and hopped into the crater, grabbing the brooch and slapping it on the cape’s back. It stuck fast, and when I lifted him up it felt like he barely weighed a thing. I shifted him so I had him carried over one shoulder, then checked my armband. Another arrow, presumably pointing to the field hospital. I took off. It didn’t take long to get there, though I had to be careful with my extra load. When I got there, I helped another cape heft him onto a cot, then took the brooch back. It groaned, but held him.

  “L-- Amaranth!” I turned towards the shout just in time to get wrapped in a tight hug.

  “Hey Pandora,” I replied, embracing her. “I have to go, sorry.”

  “Right, recovery, go, I uh.” Amy cleared her throat and pulled back.. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, letting her go. “Staying safe as I can.” She stiffened, then nodded.

  A shout made her turn her head and she ran over to another tent where a cape was seizing on a stretcher. I sighed and rose, requesting another cape from my wristband. A second later, an arrow appeared and I headed out again.

  It looked like things were getting worse. The ash and soot from the fires Behemoth had set was swirling around, making visibility dire. Lighting was thick in the air, landing all around, scorching earth and cape alike. And I was getting closer, and closer, and closer… I checked my armband but it was still pointing dead ahead, so I continued and tried to ignore how my alarm was blaring louder in my ears.

  I saw them at last, a heap on the ground ahead. Heat pricked my skin and I realized I was just fifty feet away from Behemoth; he could fall on me if he wanted. Capes were still holding him back, but the shock made my stomach flip. I tried to ignore it and slowly skated closer to the fallen cape. They were small, even smaller than me. As I knelt next to them, I saw a hint of green on their skirt, and a familiar, shattered visor.

  “Vista!” I shouted, slipping my arms under her. She groaned as I hefted her, belatedly putting the brooch on her so I didn’t topple over. “Fuck, I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?”

  I backpedaled as quick as I could, trying to hold her gently. Vista whimpered as I turned and began making my way back to the field hospital. I had to go slow, the cloud of ash thickening until I could barely see ten feet in front of me. A blinding flash of light washed out the world around me.

  I flinched.