Orb Weaver: Storm, Aftermath

Even as powerful as Leviathan was, once he fled, the weather quickly shifted back to normal, clouds vanishing into a blue sky.

I supposed it was comforting in a way, that even an Endbringer could not shift the weather on a long-term basis.

Strange. If he’d just kept swimming off the coast, sending in waves and rain, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything. I wonder if it’s just that he wants a fight? I shook my head. We had other things to deal with.

Madison was the first. We’d lost contact with her, and Eidolon quickly returned. I wouldn’t say I liked her—even with her change, there were too many terrible memories, but she’d gone down there to rescue people, and I hoped she hadn’t been rewarded with an ugly death.

But no. My insects sensed her, and she was moving, along with some others.

Eidolon stretched out his hand and the rubble started to…

Turn to dust and vanish? We were gathered to rescue her and then we saw her. Madison had moved to the rear of the shelter, and was crouched over where she’d shielded four people from the crushing weight of the collapsing shelter. As the rebar and concrete turned to dust, there was a shiver and suddenly Madison, complete with hair clips, was standing among the two adults and two small children, looking vulnerable and lost, in addition to being covered in sludge.

“I—I heard them,” she said, wringing her hands. “I know I was supposed to hold the opening, but everyone else was gone and I couldn’t ask anyone for permission—“

“Let’s get you to the medical section,” Alexandria said, as other medics moved to the family. One kid timidly waved at Madison. “We need to make certain you weren’t injured.”

“I—okay.” Madison let herself be picked up and then Alexandria shot off for the medical section.

But we had work to do. For the rest of the day, we searched. I confessed that my thinker ability sometimes gave me hints about people in need.

In reality, I used my bugs. Kid Win and Gallant were also searching. Kid Win with drones and Gallant with some kind of sensor that wasn’t obvious. The rest assisted with their own abilities. Clockblocker and Reina teamed up, her paper formed into structural members, before he froze it, refreezing it until the structures were evacuated. Other Parahumans were moving into the area, along with conventional relief forces, helicopters roaring overhead, firefighters with picks and axes working in areas a parahuman pointed out as having survivors. I saw several firefighting trucks with legs go stomping forward, picking up wreckage in claws—ah, Sherral’s work. Bulwark was also there, the wreckage counting as garbage evidently as he ran his power through it, knitting damaged buildings together so that rescuers could go in safely.

We hadn’t saved everyone. I looked down at a woman, her empty eyes staring at the blue sky. She was wearing a business suit with a silly clown lapel pin, the oddly untouched metal gleaming in the sun. I expected I’d remember that.

“This is Investigator, I have a corpse. Marking its location.”

“Understood. Investigator, you have completed your check of the region and we’ve moved from rescue to recovery. The Wards are being withdrawn.”

“I can—“ There was a click and another voice sounded. “Investigator, this is Dragon. You have done a great deal, but stressing yourself over the dead… won’t help. The Wards are being withdrawn for mental health reasons, and I suggest you join them.”

I looked down at the woman. Did I fail her? I thought about it.

No. I’d done everything I could. And… She was beyond any pain the world could give.

“Understood.” I said. A few minutes later, a jeep pulled up by me and I got in.

Once, the process of finding the lost would have taken days, people dying waiting for rescue, but parahuman abilities, tinker tools, advanced mundane tech, and just the extra funding you got when not simply Endbringers, but parahuman brawls could knock buildings down had changed the equation. Now, it took an average of four hours per sector to confirm the absence of any trapped survivors.

And over our heads, flying capes moved, notably among them the triumvirate. Legend was limited in what he could do, he could still tune his lasers to vaporize water—heatlessly, while leaving everything else intact. Alexandria and Eidolon seemed to be everywhere to the point where I wondered if Eidolon had busted out an Oni-Lee style power, working like there were demons behind him.

People died. As I got onto the transport to the rally area, I saw houses, some with Red X’s with numbers.

But not as many. In fact the atmosphere was positively jubilant.

I passed a reporter speaking for the cameras. “While the 2000 confirmed dead is a tragedy, compared to the losses of other Leviathan attacks we can only see this as a victory, especially given that of all capes involved, around four percent were permanently incapacitated or killed, and even the billions of dollars in damage pale in comparison to other attacks…”

That is a victory… Assuming the prediction system, whatever it was, kept working, it might change Leviathan from a nation-ending catastrophe to simply a natural disaster.

If it kept working.

As the jeep drove out of the region of heaviest devastation, we started to move through more intact neighborhoods. Vista and the other parahumans had kept the waves from moving too far inland. Here, windows had been shattered, yards flooded…

But no worse than the aftermath of a big storm back home. We passed houses, the jeep splashing through the flood.

“We’re not going on 7th” the driver told me. “Vista.”

I blinked, and then looked over to the street in question. It was…

Somehow tilting down towards the ocean, a steady stream of water flowing down it. There were cops and PRT troopers keeping watch, probably to keep some idiot from trying to use an inner tube for a ride to the ocean.

“We don’t worry much about looting. Not here. Eidolon’s home zone?” The trooper shook his head. “Also, ‘cause we got early warning we were able to get FEMA and National Guard people ready.”

I nodded. I saw a few empty lots, already being filled with the boxy FEMA emergency shelters. The city was in good enough shape that they wouldn’t need to use the grid-independent solar panels and water purification systems, but they beat the tents and cargo containers I’d read about. In one region, they were being locked together into a boxy shape, dozens of units, emblazoned with the Red Cross—an emergency hospital to take the place of the ones that had been destroyed or damaged.

The parahuman transport and rest region was fenced off. Large signs were everywhere with warnings such as:

PHOTOGRAPHY ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN.

DO NOT REMOVE YOUR MASKS SAVE IN SECURE REGIONS.

VIOLENCE WILL BE SEEN AS A TRUCE VIOLATION.

Many of the villains had already left, as had some heroes and rogues, but there were still people talking. I had a specific place to be.

“Investigator?” A young woman said. “I’m Patricia Stevens, I’m assigned to be your escort.” She paused, then started talking, a memorized spiel. “The Truce is still in effect, and regardless of your relationship at other times, any violence towards any other parahuman who participated will be seen as a violation. In addition, while the Truce is in effect, no attempts to arrest you or any other parahuman who participated will be made. The Truce will be in effect for 72 hours after Leviathan was driven off, or after medical care is completed for injured parahumans.” She took a breath. “While the Truce is in effect here, you are reminded that we have no control over what may be done with information regarding your identity, and so suggest that you remain masked at all times. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I am seeking the medical tent with Glory Girl and Krewe.”

“Right.” She consulted a tablet. “You’re on the list, come with me.”

It didn’t take long to get to Glory Girl, or hear her mother. Ms. Stevens stayed outside.

“You attacked Leviathan.” Carol was shouting, her husband by her. Panacea was touching Vicky’s arm… and it looked like my glimpse had been in error. One of her legs was still attached. Well it had been dark and I had other things to worry about.

“He was stuck—“

“He was playing possum,” I said. I sighed. “Brandish, Flashbang, I apologize. If I’d been quicker to see that Leviathan was luring Vicky in…” I shook my head. “I couldn’t believe that he’d just wait like that, after being impaled.”

“Endbringers are not like anything you’ve ever encountered,” Carol said. “Which is why I told you to avoid Leviathan.”

“Well, I survived,” Vicky said, looking mulish.

“Because of Krewe,” her father told her. “And only because of Krewe.” He glanced at me. “We’ve heard good things about you from the S&R people.”

“I had people helping me,” I told him. “Your daughter, Krewe… they deserve much of the praise.” And if it lets me fade into the background, all the better. “How, ah… long?”

“At least a week,” Panacea said.

“Ames you’ve worked faster than that—“

“I want to get this right.” She looked down at her sister. “I’ll need to work hard on your muscles so that they have the same muscle memory... And maybe teach you to not try to get into CQC with an Endbringer.”

“I—“

There was a knock on the door. “Panacea, we have some more injured coming in.”

Panacea huffed, and nodded, turning and leaving with a grumpy expression on her face.

I decided to follow her. I’d verified that Victoria was okay, and despite her pleading look…

I didn’t think I could save her from her parents.

Some battles, neither Orb Weaver nor the Investigator could win.

****

I was stopped twice before I got to Krewe’s room. As a Ward, she had enhanced security, since well, only a fool would break the Truce or try to get a picture, but there were all too many fools and furthermore, she was an open cape.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” I heard Brian’s words before I entered the room. He, Clockblocker, Kid Win and Aegis were around Aisha’s bed.

And there was Aisha…

Slurping a protein shake and Hooked up to a IV? What the hell?

“C’mon,Bro!” she said. “I had everything under control.”

“Says the girl that Panacea said, and I quote, ‘what the fuck, how are you even still conscious?’ before she made you drink that gunk?” Clockblocker asked.

“Well, I was resting, and you know, then Glory Girl decided to face-tank Leviathan and her leg went away.” Aisha shrugged in bed. “And even if you get the tourniquet on, you know, I couldn’t just tell her to wait…”

“Ai—“ Aisha cut Brian off taking a long slurp from her drink. Then she looked at him. “Remember bro, I’m at death’s door, so you can’t stress me.”

“I—“

Another slurp from her drink. Brian looked at Clockblocker.

“Hey, I didn’t tell her to do that.” He looked back at me. “Hey Sherlock. I figured they’d have you out there still.”

“They have transferred from rescue to recovery,” I said. “The casualties are… light.”

“Well, less the morons who stayed in Galveston. I wonder if any of ‘em got the chance to shoot Levi?” Aisha asked.

I shook my head, remembering that tidal wave. “Leviathan didn’t give them the chance.” I gestured at the bed. “I thought your teleports didn’t…”

“Yeah, turns out they don’t take that much out of me, unless I like, do a lot.”

How many people did you help? A lot.

“Yeah, you did good,” Brian said. “But could you try to not… nearly die, for at least the next week?”

“Hey, I didn’t nearly die last week!” Aisha said, offended.

“Maybe two weeks?” Aegis said. “And eventually three?”

I tried not to smile at the underlying plea in his voice.

“No promises!” Aisha said, and then when Brian started to talk, she immediately started slurping down more of her shake.

Clockblocker turned to me. “So… Investigator… I was wondering if you’d take a job.”

I raised a hand. “It depends on what job is it. I value my good relations with Director Piggot.”

“Do you think I’d enlist you in a juvenile prank?”

“Yes,” My voice was not the only one speaking.

“We stood against the Endbringer, and this is what I get for thanks,” he said. “So, Um, Kanshi, she already left.”

I nodded. Villains didn’t always trust the Truce, at least not enough to stick around after the fight, and in any case, the Empire was back in the Bay and Truce or not, might take advantage.

“Well as the remarkable, brave, and photogenic Clockblocker, I was wondering if you could arrange a meeting so that I might lead her into the ways of righteousness.”

I blinked, my bugs went still, and for some reason beyond sanity, I had an image of Clockblocker showing up on her doorstep, wherever it was, wearing a suit with a face mask and Lung answering the door. I drew a merciful curtain over that image.

“Kanshi is one of three of the ABB’s capes,” I said. “She is currently taking a somewhat softer approach, but she has engaged both Hookwolf and Krieg.”

“She didn’t say that!”

“And you had time to talk?”

“Point.”

“I will…” Behind Clockblocker, Aegis made frantic “No!” motions with his head. Aisha was watching the show and Brian was… “Think about it. However, you might consider the Director’s reaction.”

Goddammit, now I was getting the image of Lung and Director Piggot playing chaperones.

“She would—“

“Console. Until the End of the World,” Aegis said.

“But you’ll consider it.”

“Maybe.”

Clockblocker grinned. “Cool, because you can also tell her about her fame—since you’re sharing in it.”

“What?” I said, my voice flat.

“You know the PRT drones that were tracking Levi?”

“Yes?”

“They got a shot of you and Kanshi, and someone leaked ‘em. Already printed. Figured whoever did it thought they needed to show heroes—or you know, they offered him enough to survive getting fired.”

What the fuck is he talking—Clockblocker held up a tablet, the front page of the online edition of the Bay Gazette on it.

The image was washed out, a low light camera. But the scene was clear. Leviathan looming out of the rain—and frozen in mid shot, I and Kanshi, sending shots, paper spears and a paper tiger against the Endbringer. Under it was: Bay Locals Defy Death!

That was bad. What was worse, is that the camera shot was frozen on a particular frame. It didn’t show the way we’d been scrambling back, or freaking out, screaming at the top of our lungs as the Endbringer approached.

No, whatever intern had gone through the video feed to find the single shot that made it look like we were attacking, throwing everything we could at Leviathan.

“And this is… public?”

“Yeah.”

I had crafted the Investigator to be an unassuming, mild, parahuman. Someone who wouldn’t raise suspicion. The kind of parahuman who would walk away from a fight. Sure, the incident with the Thinker had caused some problems, but I could just say I’d been overconfident. But this… Someone had pulled the reverse of what I was trying to do, and I couldn’t even deny it, because people would just say I was being humble.

And then as thunder followed lightning.

Dad read the Bay Gazette.

I exhaled.

“Wonderful.”

I could deal with this later. But before my likely death and/or grounding forever, I had one other person to talk to.

****

Madison was sitting in her room, a little slip of a girl who could probably go toe to toe with Alexandria in her changer form. Even in this form, she was strong. You wouldn’t see it from the way she was huddled in.

“Madison,” I said.

She looked up at me and then recognized me.

“T—“ She scrambled back. “I’m—“ whatever she was about to say caught in her throat.

I reached up and removed my mask, and Madison couldn’t meet my eyes. I sighed. I would never, ever, be able to be her friend. Too many memories. Too much pain. In the back of my mind would be the fear of betrayal, and likely in the back of Madison’s, a desire to keep making restitution.

Not healthy.

“We can’t change the past, Madison,” I said. “It’s fixed. We can only do something in the now.”

“That’s what the doctor said.”

“Wise man.” I looked at her. Banished the sense of not wanting to be in the room, not with my mask off. Not in front of one of the trio. Mush had killed more than her, if for no other reason than helping with the drugs, and now he was Bulwark. Principal Thomas had run with Marquis, and I had seen the old, old regret in his eyes, a man attempting to make restitution, but how did you make restitution to the dead and those who mourned them?

It wasn’t just about stopping bad people, but helping those who wanted to be more.

“There were, not counting the four you ran back to save, 450 people in that shelter. In the now that is past, you held the entrance for them. All of them made it to the building and all of them are alive. No matter what happens now, or in the future, that is fixed. You saved them.” She didn’t say anything, so I continued. “We all have things in our past that we regret. But we also have things we’re proud of. Don’t forget to remember those things, as well.”

I turned.

“Taylor?”

“Yes?”

“When I was in Juvie, Dr. Mattis… I asked about saying sorry, and he said it was… like a demand. I’m sorry, so you need to forget it. And I did that. I did that a lot. Sophia was the mean one, Emma was the one who knew everything, and I was the one… who convinced everyone it wasn’t a big deal and we were sorry if the joke went too far.”

I didn’t say anything.

“I… Can’t say I’m sorry. I don’t… have that right. But if I could go back, if the past wasn’t… stuck. I wouldn’t do those things.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Madison. And for what it’s worth, I think you just did say you’re sorry. And I accept it.”

And then I turned, put my mask on, and left.