Sitting in the command center, which was located on the elevated position of Brockton Bay’s southern hills, and watching several dozen monitors, is a petrified Lisa Wilbourn. Not because of Leviathan, as crazy as that sounds. Not because of a new Endbringer-sized creature that is somehow contending with the macro-hydrokinetic in the water. Rather, because she was witnessing a scene that had, until this moment, only belonged in her nightmares.

  An unhinged Seraph.

  Much like Taylor, Lisa has noticed changes in Alfred’s behavior since returning from the first meeting with the PRT. She had hoped that it was temporary, as after a day of keeping to himself, he became communicative again. But it quickly became clear that this wasn’t the case.

  He held everyone at arm’s length, even her and Taylor.

  Questions would be answered. Requests would be fulfilled. But that solid, tireless sentiment of almost protective instinct was muted, somehow.

  The feeling was difficult to put into words, but its absence was like the loss of a limb. Unmistakable and a blow to the senses. Both girls resolved to speak with him after dealing with Leviathan, but it’s now clear that this had been a mistake. If Alfred’s sudden manic laughter and screaming were of any indication, something has definitely gone wrong with the Trump.

  “Tattletale!” Dragon’s voice came over the comms, making Lisa jump in her chair. “What’s going on with Seraph?”

  As the Tinker was using the command channel, everyone in the room heard the question. Taylor, who was sitting in the next row over with her own set of monitors and equipment, looked over. And even through the full coverage of her mask, her alarm was clear.

  “I don’t know!” she responded. “He’s never acted like this before!”

  “He’s not responding to us,” Dragon informed everyone in the command node. “Tattletale, Imago, can you try contacting him? He might listen to you.”

  Lisa looked over to Taylor, who gave a sharp nod. “We can try,” she told the Tinker before switching over to Alfred’s wristband. “Seraph, this is Tattletale. Can you hear me?”

  She watched the footage from Dragon’s drone out at sea while speaking and saw Eidolon and Legend bombarding the Endbringer, while Alexandria played support for the aquatic creature that Alfred brought forth.

  “Oh, hey Tats!” came the response, and it was almost ridiculous how chilling the cheer in his words felt to her ears. “I’m a little busy right now. Can we talk later?”

  “No, we can’t talk later!” Some part of Lisa realized that she probably shouldn’t be snarking at Alfred, but her ingrained response won out. “What the hell are you doing?! You’re supposed to stick to the plan!”

  “I am, though?” The Thinker almost couldn’t believe how genuinely confused he sounded. “You can see it through Dragon’s peeper tech, can’t you? Levi’s all nice and contained!”

  Oh, she could see it, all right. By all rights, Leviathan should have shredded Alfred’s minion (which will now give him a freaking Master rating!) to pieces, but the Endbringer was having trouble with it. Her power could only get snippets from the fight, but it gave her a clear enough picture to figure out what was going on.

  Leviathan, nonstandard cardiac, nervous systems; irregular biology. No standard organs or weak points.

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  New creature is I*^&(*&. Not a projection. Not a result of Tinkertech. Not natural. Is natural. Completely *&^(*)&. Is a powerful hydrokinetic. Has better microcontrol over water particles.

  Leviathan suffering superficial damage. Skin is hard as aluminium. Skin is layered. Multiple layers. No conventional organs. No standard weak points.

  New creature is an animal. New creature is dead. New creature is alive. New creature has conventional physiology. Eyes, ears, mouth, fins, tail…

  Lisa had to pull back because she was starting to get a lot of useless information. Even so, she figured out enough to know that whatever this thing was, Leviathan couldn’t easily overpower it with his control over water. The Endbringer’s power might cover a wider area, but Alfred’s minion has significantly more influence over the water in its immediate vicinity.

  “Seraph, what is that thing?” Lisa asked.

  “Silly, Tattletale!” Alfred giggled. He’s fucking giggling! “It’s a dragon, duh! The Blue Sea Dragon, to be more specific.”

  What the hell is a Blue Sea Dragon?

  Lisa realized she had spoken the question out loud when Alfred started rattling off details in a casual manner. “The Blue Sea Dragon. It’s the strongest magic attack available to the Blue Sea Dragoon of the Water Element. You need Dragoon Level 5. Requires 80 MP to use. Can only target a single enemy, and can inflict one hundred percent Water Element damage!”

  Magic? Water element? What?

  The terms Alfred had thrown around were in danger of making Lisa’s brain shut down. Even as she was seeing the evidence with her own eyes through the monitor, where the so-called Blue Sea Dragon was tossing Leviathan like a volleyball into the air, and the Triumvirate let the Endbringer have it, which made the whole thing look almost like a game!

  “Seraph, this is Imago!” Taylor cut in. “Can your, uh, dragon stop Leviathan’s control over water?”

  “Oh, hey Imago! How’s my favorite bug mistress? Doing good?”

  “Seraph, focus! Can it stop Leviathan’s macro control over water?”

  “Hmm? Ah, sorry, no. Best girl Blue can only keep him busy. Leviathan basically has the whole Eastern Seaboard in his range. Did you know that? He could flood everywhere from Maine to Florida if he wanted to! Whoo! Craaaazzzeeee!”

  Everyone in the command center froze at Alfred’s almost intoxicated declaration. It confirmed a lot of the theories about what exactly Endbringers could do, specifically Leviathan. Still…

  “How do you know that?” Lisa had to ask, after breaking out of her stupor.

  “Blue’s keeping him from sending waves,” Alfred answered, sounding like he had no care in the world. “Isn’t she great?! Blue is best girl, yes she is!”

  As horrifying as the true range of Leviathan’s power is, the presence of something that can hold him back also sent ripples of relief to everyone in the command center. Some of them even started looking hopeful. Unfortunately, it didn’t last, with Alfred’s next words absolutely crushing that hope to paste.

  “Yeah, too bad she’s on a time limit.”

  “What the hell do you mean?” Lisa and Taylor screamed as one.

  “Well, you can’t expect Blue to hang around, can you?” He shot back, sounding annoyed. “She only has so much energy to play. At some point, she’ll run out and will have to rest! Honestly, how entitled can you guys be?”

  “For God’s sake, Seraph!” Someone else cut in. This time, it was Legend. “How long until your dragon runs out of energy?”

  The Blaster was certainly asking the right questions, even as he sent volley after volley of lasers at Leviathan whenever he was thrown into the air. An Endbringer attack was not the right time to dig into momentarily unnecessary information.

  “About five more minutes.” With the drone also having the Trump in its field of view, everyone in the command center and those with access to monitors saw him shrug.

  “That’s how much time we have until Leviathan can start sending waves all over the East Coast?” Dragon asked. Through her power, Lisa could tell that the Tinker was already sending out warnings.

  “Yep!”

  “Wait a minute!” Taylor shouted. “You have control over water in that form, too, right?”

  “Yes, Mistress Weaver, I do!” Alfred chirped.

  Mistress Wea – no, do not get distracted, Lisa!

  “So, you can stop the waves too, right?” Taylor pressed on, completely ignoring Alfred’s strangeness, as the blonde should be doing.

  “Ha! Nope!”

  “Why the hell not?!” Lisa wasn't sure who had shouted the question in a chorus of loud, angry voices, but it was certainly more than one person.

  “Because I’m not as strong as Blue, obviously. If y’all want me to do what she’s doing, we’re pretty much screwed!”

  “Can your dragon kill Leviathan?!” Was that Director Piggot? How the hell did she get onto this line?

  “Oh, hey Director! Sorry, but Leviathan can’t drown. Or freeze. Or suffocate. Did you know he’s not human? Nor has he ever been? I’m not even sure why I’m calling him a he. Oh, we only have like thirty more seconds before Blue has to say bye-bye, by the way.”

  At the reminder, the command center, which had already been buzzing harder than before when Alfred first revealed the time limit, became even more hectic.

  Lisa was starting to dread that, far from being the day’s worst problem, Leviathan is about to drop down to second place.