Heroes, Villains all the same... right? [Wiki Warrior] (2025)

[Taylor Hebert/Summoner]

I ran down the quickly flooding streets, I had to get back and warn the others about malware, and no sudden flash storm was going to stop me. I could only speculate on why the rain started coming down this hard so fast. It was unusual, to say the least. Apparently, one of my past Summon messed with Bay's climate, making it summer permanently, so a sudden rainstorm was definitely unusual.

That's when I heard it. A whining noise, like you might hear from a particularly large baby preparing to scream. The nasal 'wa' sound stretched out, so loud it was painful to listen to. A siren? Why? Did that bomb tinker finally show up? No, that couldn't be it. Xanatos couldn't find the tinker when he went to New York, guessing that they didn't trigger till March.

That's when a second sound started going off, less loud, though more a 'bvvvv' noise going off. I grabbed out my phone - the one Arceus gave me to be exact. I just moved all my data over to this one instead of using two different ones at the same time. I took a look at the screen it was Dad, and I answered it. The screen lit up to show Dad, who was clearly panicking. His screen was blurry and shaking as if he were running.

"Dad, what's going on," I said, maybe a bit snappy, but she was in a rush. I had to warn everyone about malware, and I couldn't do that if I was on a call... fuck I forgot I could just call Scrooge and he could warn the others.

"Taylor, get to a shelter. There should be a note or something on your phone with instructions. Just get to a shelter, please." Dad's face brightened when he saw me before turning to a shell-shocked expression.

"Dad, what's going on," I repeated, but before he had the chance to continue, he was interrupted by a tsunami.

It's not an actual tsunami, but a horde of panicking civilians coming in like an oncoming wave, bumping and crashing into each other, hoping that they wouldn't be a part of the ones who would be a part of the casualties. There were a thousand or more scared people in the immediate area. I was slowly piecing together what was going on, but Dad confirmed it.

"Endbr--ger. --'s Lev--than." Dad spoke, his voice blending into the frightened shouts of the oncoming crowd. I hung up after that, focusing on getting to the fight.

Sorry, Dad, but I wasn't sitting this out.

Everybody had been informed in the pamphlets that came in the mail and schools about emergency procedures. The drills were the only thing Winslow handled with any sense of professionalism. Even the Trio shut up during the drills. No one took the Endbringers lightly. As I slowly pushed my way through against the tide of people.

I couldn't use my moth form with this rain, thanks Happosai. So I parted the sea of people with walls of bones. I tried to shout out a stream of apologies, but I certainly couldn't hear even my voice over the shouts or car horns. I reached a trio of police officers, who had used their cars and yellow tape to cordon off the area and guide people to the shelters.

The one closest officer tried saying something, but his voice blended into the background alongside the people. The officer next to him put and handed on his shoulder, tugging him backwards slightly. The last officer reached in the window of the police car. He pushed a piece of paper into my hands.

I glanced over it and found what I needed. I gave him a curt nod before running off, my Aura fueling my speed. The paper, labelled at the top with the words 'Parahuman Response', contained a picture of our destination in black and white and directions on how to get there. It was the bin surprisingly. I guess it made sense before the Raid, and they just didn't have the time to change it afterwards.

The closer I got to the Bin, the more the crowd thinned out. It made sense that the Bin was on the coast, and everyone could tell which Endbringer was up from the rain that was hammering down. By the time I reached the bin, I saw Dragon assumably in a mechanical suit that was as large as two PRT vans put together, four-legged, with what looked like a single jet engine on top.

I looked forward past the bin and saw it on the horizon, a stormcloud larger than a small building even at this distance, rain descending down from it. It was coming closer, slowly. As I came closer, a squad of PRT officers blocked my path. I didn't recognise them with their armour and helmets. They took one look at me and let me in with a domino mask, guess capes showing up without their costume was common.

The sound of thunder echoed, filling the bridge, as a group of half a dozen various capes arrived. I recognised some, fewer I could name two stood out Xanatos in full Goliath armour(who sure took his sweet time coming back, "Tomorrow" my ass) and F wearing a cloak and face mask covering the bottom half of her face, Gastly was floating above her shoulder with an only smile I could see. F immediately walked away from new arrivals, disappearing into the crowd, Gastly following.

Legend stood at the head of the crowd that had just arrived. He turned his scanning through the crowd before. I followed his gaze, catching sight of Alexandria and Scyther at her side. The two Triumvirate members walked up to each other. A second later, with another crack and woosh, a second group arrived led by Eidolon, who didn't even bother looking around before joining the other triumvirate members.

I clutched my head, grunting in pain. Really, power now was not a good time. I tried, really tried to hold it back as long as I could, but it wouldn't give up; plus, maybe it would be helpful? <![if !ie]> [B]<Hahaha>[/B] <![endif]>

Fuck... ok, this is fiiiiine. They were all capes, so they're probably going to be fine. I took a look around no one paid attention to the sudden arrival, probably thought they were here on purpose for the –

"GLAISTIG!? How are you free? Dragon!?"

Oh, yeah, that's honestly worse than I thought. I recognised the newly summoned person, The Faerie Queen, the cape that's on par with the triumvirate and probably the second most known Trump in the world. All of this was forgotten when Eidolon dashed in teleporting in front of The Faerie Queen while shouting at Dragon in her mech. The other nearby capes all got on guard. I vaguely recognised both Kaiser and Lung alongside most of the local capes aside from Malware.

"I don't know. All my sensors show that she should still be within the Birdcage." Dragon said, her voice distorted.

"Please, High Priest, calm yourself. I have no wish to cause any harm to your gathered court, yet I also do wonder how I arrived here. It certainly doesn't feel like the action of a Faerie." Faerie Queen spoke her voice, sounding young, younger than me despite the fact she was imprisoned before I was born. She looked out to the ocean, towards the oncoming storm and Endbringer. "Ahh, now I understand. This is to be a battle against a beast of destruction then. Very well, High Priest, you will have my aid, this once."

Eidolon looked calm, his mask hiding any obvious reactions. Before he could speak, Legend walked, placing a hand on the other capes' shoulder and turning to face the Faerie Queen, her cloak fluttering in the non-existent wind untouched by the rain.

"Not that your help isn't appreciated, but I'm sure you understand why we can't just accept your help without discussion first, correct?" Legend said, picking every word carefully. He was trying to avoid aggravating her, I noticed.

"Very well, Knave, yet you would do well to not order around a royal so brazenly next time. But as long as I'm here, the dead shall be added to my court, even if I restrain myself from participating."

Legend smiled yet, even though she could tell it was a forced one. I spotted Alexandria passing me a glance over his shoulder. She knew I was at fault, didn't she? I clenched my fist. After a few more groups arrived and pleasantries, everyone was led by the Triumvirate, which was led into the Bin, and I followed along. We passed through the lobby into a large room that was baren normally. Scrooge had called this a spare room when I had asked about the room before.

But today, it was packed. Folding chairs had been set into rows and columns in the centre of the lobby, facing a trio of widescreen television sets, which in turn were backed by a series of large windows overlooking the beach. Through the windows, we had the perfect view of the looming storm, but what drew my attention was the crowd. People were filling the room. Only a few were local.

Empire Eighty-Eight was here, at the back corner of the room. I saw Hookwolf there half covered in various hooks and barbs, Kaiser was leading the pact, his armour different than I had looked him up, but that was normal for him from what I read, the usual Nazi imagery was missing though, actually every part of Nazi imagery on the E88 Capes was gone, even those with the tattoo had them covered. Were they trying to avoid attention from out of town capes? I also noticed Kreig(who did have his Nazi imagery on display) was standing far away from the other glareing at Kaiser.

The Asian Bad Boyz were also present. Lung towering above most capes in the room, his mask hiding his reactions. Was he talking to some redhead girl in a red silk shirt and domino mask, Oni Lee, at his side as motionless as he was in the picture I found of him.

The local heroes were present in force. Armsmaster was standing side by side with Messenger doing some maintenance on his red arm with not one but two halberds on his back and his armour even bulkier than it was normally his mouth completely covered I recalled why Messenger needed the out of place arm, Malware, I scanned to see if he was here. If he was, I didn't see him. The local wards were led in by Aegis, who was talking with some blonde girl wearing a domino mask and a headband with horns on it. Did she have hearts on her cheeks? The girl was somehow despite the circumstances excitedly chattering on with the other teenagers. I could feel Aegis collapse into himself from over here.

The kids from New Wave were near the Wards - Glory Girl(in her boy mode, unfortunately for her), Panacea, Laserdream, and Shielder- but they weren't joining in instead keeping to themselves as the adults of New Wave had pulled the folding chairs into a rough circle so they could sit while they talked in a bit of a huddle.

The Faerie Queen sat right at the front calmly, sipping a cup of tea she got from somewhere? As a trio of ghosts were surrounding her pouring said tea. Eidolon was standing right in front of her, watching her. I vaguely wonder whether or not she'd be willing to share.

I tried looking for the other members of the triumvirate after seeing one of them. I scanned past the room, catching note of other various heroes, I even spotted Mettaton, Chester, and Penny chatting with each other. Independent and otherwise. After searching, I found the two other Triumvirate members. They were having a quiet conversation with Scrooge and Ozpin behind the TV monitors. It was strange the leader of the largest hero team in the world talking with the guy I worked for. Ridiculous as that sounded, it affected me.

I tried looking for the Undersiders, but the only one I could find was Grue, who was sporting a Scrooge armband, so it must have been the one I summoned. They were small enough that no one would fault them for not showing up. The other me, in full Skitter regalia, was standing next to him, her gaze avoiding him.

F was sitting on the floor. I moved around in the crowd and tried to get a better angle. Mace was with her as they meditated in the back of the room, their larger robes removed down, leaving them in their regular ones. A few of Haven's heroes were with them praying near them. A few others were giving the nasty looks.

The rest of Haven was standing up at the front. Alastor was standing right next to them, mocking them with his presence, a shit eating grin on his face, that felt like a genuine one instead of the fake one he usually had. Alastor had his first broadcast about a day or two ago and was very upfront about calling himself a demon. Haven didn't like that and tried to get him cancelled.

The lights flickerd off, and TV screens lighted up the room, a signal to take a seat if you haven't. I found one next to Jason who had sat down setting that massive bone hook he had taken to carrying around laying against his legs, a hand on the hilt.

Legend walked up to the front of the room, followed by Alexandria and Scyther. Eidolon decidedly not move from watching Faerie Queen.
Legend cleared his throat. "I won't lie to you. This isn't looking good, but thanks to Dragon and Armsmaster, we have a unique opportunity of an early warning. With this and various other advantages, I hope today will be a good day."

I wondered on every one I summoned here. Other Me, Scrooge, Ozpin, Jason, Mettaton, Penny, Chester, even those that I didn't know well enough to remember their names and even Alastor and the Corpse in the basement who were probably just as evil as the devil himself.

"But you should know your chances going in. Given the statistics from our previous encounters with this beast, a 'good day' still means that one in four of the people in this room will probably be dead before this day is done."

There was a quiet murmur through the room at Legend's words. One in four dead. And that didn't mean the rest of us would get away unscathed. I knew the rates were bad, Endbringer wouldn't be as infamous as they were if it they were tragedies, but thanks to me, those who had never even heard of Endbringers were now in the frying pan. Hell, if the other Taylor was right, if it wasn't for me, Leviathan wouldn't have attacked here.

"I'm telling you your chances now because you deserve to know, and we so rarely get the chance to inform those individuals brave enough to step up and fight these monsters. The primary message I want to convey, even more than briefing you on the particulars of his abilities, organizing formations and battle plans, is that I do not want you to underestimate the Leviathan. I have seen too many good heroes," he paused for a fraction of a second, "And villains, too, die because they let their guard down. And for, the Case 65 who have never heard of the Endbringers don't undestmate Leviathan, it and its siblings are incomparable to anything you have seen here before."

Legend paused and glanced out the window. The storm clouds had reached the beach, and the rain had doubled in fury at least.

"We think of Leviathan as the middle child; he was the second of the three to arrive. He is not the physical powerhouse Behemoth is, nor the cunning manipulator that the Simurgh so often proves to be. But despite his image, he is not stupid. We believe his target to be the area called Jusenkyo."

The TV's behind him changed from the various images of the Leviathan and a list of its abilities to various images of the rocky terrain of Jusenkyo. It was different when I last saw it. The area was fenced off like it was a military base, barbed wire around the fence. The actual springs were all shut off by metal seals to prevent any accidents or theft. The bamboo shoots were cut down.
The crowd let out either a gasp of realisation or a muttering of confusion, depending on whether or not they knew what was going on. They were all muted when Legend coughed, bringing the attention back to himself.

"Jusenkyo is litany of various hot springs that have the Trump effect to grant anyone who comes in contact with a Changer power to swap between whatever you are and usually an animal but various other creatures including something as small as gender have been noted." Legend paused as their were two high-pitched shouts before continuing on. "However, these changes are involuntary and can only be temporarily reversed with hot water and triggered with cold water, and considering the Leviathan is the most powerful hydrokinetic in the world you can see the problem."

The screen behind him changed to various images of Brockton Bay high lighting various areas. "This means we have three priorities. First, we can not let him out of our sight. From the moment the battle is initiated, we corner him in, sustain an offensive onslaught. If we let him slip past our defensive lines, precious time will be wasted chasing him, getting him in another situation where we can contain his movements."

"Our second priority is that we need to find ways to hurt him. If you cannot, if your attacks are deflected or prove otherwise useless, work to support those who can. It is vain to hope to kill him, but he can be whittled down enough that he will flee back to the ocean, and if we hurt him enough, it may delay the time before he is capable of making another attack elsewhere."

"And, out third and final priority is to keep him far, far away from the Jusenkyo containment site. We do not believe he will risk sinking the city while Jusenkyo is in play, but we do believe he wishes to completely destroy any chances of potentially using it against him or his siblings.

Legend frowned. The windows were rattling with the force of the rain against them. It was almost impossible to see through them with the water that streamed down and the overall gloom beyond. He looked to Armsmaster.

Armsmaster spoke, authoritative, less impassioned, but confident, "The Wards are handing out armbands of Dragon's design. These are adjustable to slide over your arm and should be tightened around your wrist. The screen on the top of the armband notes your position on a grid, as well as Leviathan's last updated location. Use this. You'll also note there is a button. The button lets you send messages to everyone else wearing an armband. It will not, unless you are a member of the Protectorate or otherwise a veteran of these fights, directly communicate what you say to everyone else wearing an armband. Dragon has a program screening messages and passing them on through the network based on priority, to cut down on unnecessary chatter that could distract from crucial information. If you must bypass this three - to five second delay, speak the words 'Hard Override' before conveying your message. Abuse of this feature will lose you the ability to send any further messages."

Legend called out, "Capes! If you have faced an Endbringer before, stand!"

Most of the Protectorate and various others rose, grabbing their armbands and walking forward their armbands. Clockblocker walked down the seats near me before handing both me and Jason our armbands from a bag before walking away. I slid it over my hand and cinched it in place. A flat, square screen showed a satellite view of the building we were in, and the surrounding parking lot and beach. A display read: 'State name'.

I pressed the communicator button and spoke, "Summoner." Grimm didn't fit anymore, and there wasn't any point in having yet another identity. For some reason, my left pocket shook. I spared glance over to Jason, who had attached his own armband. He typed in his own name. I guess Dragon planned for when Cape's were mute.

Legend started directed capes into various groups. When he called up for Brutes. I walked over alongside Jason. I thought on it, and the frontline would be the best case scenario. If I did summon something destructive, then at least Leviathan would be close. I walked forward towards Alexandria and her group.

"-we are the ones, most at risk and most likely to die, so listen if you want a chance to live through this." Alexandria continued ignoring our late arrival. I took a look at the assembled group. Mace, Hookwolf, Chevalier, and Lung alongside Alexandria were the ones I could name, but there were at least another three.

"Stay close-" Alexandria was interrupted by shouts as I heard a slow cracking noise as something before the wall behind Legend came crashing down, a tidal wave of water came smashing through.

"Strider!" Alexandria shouted. Her voice ignored the noise and chaos.

Suddenly, the air was taken from my lungs. There was a noise like thunder. My entire body was rattled down to the core. I took a long gasp of air before looking upwards towards the building. Wait buildings? my gaze scanned through the area recogning the area. It was the financial district. The Medhall skyscraper(still under repair from the Kaiju incident) told me that much. It was also close to Jusenkyo. The ground began shaking.

"-did you do it." Alexandria called to someone behind me.

"Yeah, the wave caught us, but everyone in position, now if you dont mind, I'm out of here. Good luck." A man spoke before it sounded like thunder struck.

I lifted myself up onto my legs, leaning against the Medhall building. It seemed only capes were nearby. There were a few fliers hovering above us. Jason and Chevalier were standing side by side their respective weapons out. There was an almost disturbing sense of calm as we waited for him, looking out towards the sea, and Jusenkyo. I couldn't see him...

Then I saw something, a silhouette in the rain. Something misshapen, inhuman. I looked over my allies. Hookwolf was grinning eye to eye metal growing off his skin. Lung looking sullen, Kyushu. I remember. Mace was staring dead ahead as a purple light erupted from his lightsaber. It was rounder than F's looking less like a sword and more like a baton.

Alexandria hovered into the sky, her face out of view. "10...9..-"

As Alexandria started to count down, I noticed something the silhouette started to blur? It looked as if it was fading away like... fog. I saw in the corner of my eye, Mace spinning around and shouting out, but it came too late. The ground shaking like an earthquake.

"It's tunnelling beneath us!" Alexandria bellowed as the smaller buildings collapsed into themselves, and ground began to crack apart, water blasting out from the crevasses fast enough to rip skin off. "Avoid the water. It could be Jusenkyo."

I through up several walls of bones up around me. The water crashed against them, breaching through them like butter. I threw up more and more until the bones had halted the wave of oncoming water. After making sure the sudden storm had stopped, I lowered my walls to see the aftereffects. The street went from pristine to ruins after less than second as it barely past us. It was overwhelming. <![if !ie]> <Ni hao> <![endif]>

"Not even asking what the hell you did." Hookwolf barked out from somewhere nearby.

Well, it wasn't actively unhelpful but not great. The shaking had stopped after the few moments, I took a deap breath of air as I calmed my shaking legs. My gaze was locked on Alexandria. She must have had an idea right.

"We need to find him -" Chevalier started his voice calm but still caried a hint of worry in it, but before he could finish, we were interrupted by a gaiser blasting upwards bare view, it bang echoing like an explosion within the gaiser was barely recognisable figure, Leviathan.

Stormtiger deceased, CD-5. Scrooge McDuck down, CD-5. WCM deceased, CD-5. Kid Win down, CD-5. Tendo down, CD-5. Shielder deceased, CD-5. Triumph down, CD-5...

"Tiger..." Hookwolf muttered, his voice dead oh so different to how it was a minute ago.

But it just didn't stop.

Alastor down, CD-5. Star Princess, down, CD-5. Panacea deceased, CD-5. Hardshell down, CD-5...

"He's targeting the med area. Move it, everyone." Alexandria said, her voice hard.

I vaguely hear the others(aside from Jason obviously) shout out vague agreements, but I couldn't hear them. I let slip my power out of desperation, even Alastor went down. Please, anything. <![if !ie]> <Hahaha> <![endif]>

The ground shook. Oh...hell