The conversation with Lisa went about as I expected: the girl being defensive, and me having to remind her that a meeting with heroes about an upcoming Endbringer attack wasn’t the right time to do it. Either way, the damage was done.

  I had to cash in my favor for something I didn’t give a shit about, and Taylor was absolutely fuming with just about everyone. The revelations regarding Canary pushed virtually all of her buttons, which would have set her on a crusade if I hadn’t cut that issue off at the pass.

  Fortunately, Danny was there to soften the edges of her rage, thus stopping the random spikes of buzzing in the walls. He even gave Lisa a piece of his mind, which he did in the most fatherly manner possible, and thus, far worse for the snippy Thinker.

  However, none of us chose to harp on the blatant attempt at manipulation in case it set off the swarm bringer again. Speaking of which, we quickly got to workshopping a name that won’t cause her to lose her shit.

  The final choice was Imago, which is the last stage of an insect’s metamorphosis.

  Taylor liked the implied maturity, Danny liked how harmless it sounded, and the rest of us were just relieved that she didn’t come up with anything stupid. With the time-consuming drama settled, for now, we finally got to the truly important bits: i.e., figuring out how to effectively kill Leviathan.

  Meeting at the PRT headquarters, Lisa scanned for tricks or traps the whole way and found none. The rest of the Undersiders and Taylor were still nervous, though. We were all in costume, of course, with me in my White-Silver Dragoon form. It’s still strong enough to fight, in case anything went wrong today, but it can heal or resurrect members of my group if needed.

  Upon entering the briefing room set aside for the planning session, we found familiar faces among the heroes, new faces with the PRT agents and Weld, as well as the presence of Legend.

  Naturally, being in the same room as Cauldron’s friendliest asset caused the people with me to stiffen, which none of the other attendees missed. Sometimes, I really had to wonder what these assholes were playing at. The secretive cabal of control freaks had to know who I’d told of their existence.

  Well, at least it’s not Alexandria.

  “Legend,” I greeted, striding further inside. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  Despite knowing exactly what I was implying, he merely gave us a welcoming smile. “As Leader of the Protectorate, it’s been decided that my attendance would be helpful.”

  Accepting the explanation, I chose to let it go and started greeting everyone else in the room. The surprise on their faces at my amicable disposition really hammered home how severe my reputation must be in their minds. I left introductions for everyone else to Lisa, who made sure to emphasize Taylor’s chosen cape name, choosing instead to focus on the meeting’s mood.

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  So far, it doesn’t look like anyone was in a hostile enough state of mind to do anything stupid. Both sides were tense, of course, but that’s only to be expected when two WMDs in human form were in a single confined space.

  “With the pleasantries out of the way,” Director Piggot began once everyone was seated, “let’s talk about this plan of yours.”

  “As I told Dragon, Armsmaster, and the heroes present during our initial meeting, I can sense the Endbringer’s current location,” I said without preamble. There’s no point beating around the bush. “Right now, he’s about 1,600 kilometers to the East, zigzagging in the water right towards us.”

  “And you claimed that one of your forms is what allows you to do this?” she clarified.

  “Pretty much,” I shrugged. “As you might have already figured out, my forms correspond to certain elements. Blue or Blue-Sea has a deep connection with the ocean, or any body of water, for that matter. That’s how I’m tracking Leviathan.”

  Confirming what they already knew wouldn’t make a difference, at this point. I’ve already showcased enough of the Dragoon Spirits in public that even an idiot would have some ideas as to what they could do.

  “Can you do this with the other Endbringers?” one of the new faces asked crisply. A woman who looked like a human-shaped disco ball.

  “And, you are?” I asked.

  “Prism,” she answered. “Recent transfer.”

  Indeed, she was. In fact, there seemed to be quite a few heroes in attendance who I was pretty sure weren’t on the canon roster. Lisa had already warned me about the reinforcements flooding into the city, of course, along with the public’s discontent regarding the matter. But it was honestly too bothersome to keep track of.

  “Right, well, I’m afraid I can’t speak about that right now, one way or the other,” I explained patiently.

  Her asking the question was understandable, of course. Who wouldn’t want the ability to track the creatures haunting their nightmares? The truth, however, is I simply don’t know.

  That caused a ripple of disappointment among the room’s other occupants, but it just couldn’t be helped. It’s better not to get their hopes up in case I can’t deliver. This is exactly why I initially wanted to leave the talking to Lisa. Unfortunately, the suggestion was immediately shot down by everyone, with the Thinker almost having a panic attack at the very thought.

  Apparently, I’ve already painted her as some sort of mastermind who held my leash during the post-Echidna briefing. Taylor didn’t want to do it, either, and I asked. So, speaking with the heroes has been left to me. A thoroughly uncomfortable position to be in for someone who avoided public speaking their whole life.

  Soldier on, Alfred. Soldier on.

  “You said you planned to trick Leviathan?” Legend prompted. “How do you plan to do this?”

  “By giving him exactly what he wants at the time of our choosing,” I explained. “When we’re ready to face him, I’ll fly out to sea, flash the metaphorical signal to draw him to my location, and fight him away from populated areas.”

  “Whoa, hang on!” Assault cut in loudly. “You want to fight Leviathan on your own?”

  “I wouldn’t say that I want to,” I replied. “But, what choice do we have?”

  “Absolutely not!” Legend said firmly, with other capes joining their voices with his.

  Wow. Did these people actually enjoy Endbringer fights or something? You’d think I was denying them treats with the way they’re reacting. Taylor and the rest weren’t any better, either. It took a lot of arguing for them to allow this proposal, and even then, it came with a lot of caveats. One of which was playing out right in front of me.

  “Everybody quiet!” Director Piggot roared, instantly slicing through the noise. “You’re all professionals, for Christ’s sake. Act like it!” Once the hubbub died down, she then turned to me. I must say, for a diminutive woman who was also seated, she cut an intimidating figure. “I’m afraid we can’t accept that plan, Seraph.”

  “Oh, come on, why not?!” I demand in a calm and definitely not whiny manner. “You’ve seen me out there! I can take him!”

  I got a raised eyebrow in response. “‘Why not’? How about because you’re barely of legal age? How about because there are no guarantees that you would survive, which would then deprive us of an extremely powerful and versatile healer?” I moved to interrupt, but she kept talking. “Letting you go out to face Leviathan on your own would go against the Spirit of the Endbringer truce. It would also cause massive complications for future Endbringer responses when we start having one point of failure. But most relevant of all,” her voice got louder after she saw me open my mouth. “You’re not Leviathan’s only target, are you?”

  Her question struck me dumb, and for a moment, I couldn’t respond. A sharp intake of breath came from Lisa, followed by one from Taylor.

  Shit.

  Piggot turned to the Master. “Isn’t that right, Imago?”

  Double shit.