… Elias Mercer
'Shit… shit… SHIT—' The word kept pounding in my head in sync with the impact.
Lung's arm came down like a demolition hammer and slammed into my Force Field.
It felt like the entire universe had decided to compress my existence into a cube of burning iron and throw it against a wall… and the wall was the fucking Lung!
The hit was direct and heavy. The Force Field held… more or less. The pressure punched through the barrier like a drumbeat inside my skull. I felt the impact ripple through my throat, my sternum, my knees...
But somehow, I stayed standing. And I also learned that the Force Field was pretty damn tough… even if testing it for the first time against Lung was a hell of a leap of faith.
The problem was that the dragon was still ramping up.
Every second that passed, Lung got stronger, faster, and more… unstoppable.
And I was just some hoodie-wearing idiot with two cool powers and an incredible talent for sticking my nose where it didn't belong.
I sighed in resignation. Lung was already laughing again.
"Seriously…?" I muttered, feeling the vibration in my ribs.
The universe really loved screwing me over…!
CLAP.
I swapped places with a dented trash can behind him. Reappeared at his side with my hands already ready. Another CLAP and I vanished from his attack line just before his arm passed where my head had been, reappearing on top of a stack of wood.
Lung roared as his head started to change. Scales covered part of his face while his eyes locked onto me.
"You have an interesting power, brat!" he said, his voice dragging like his vocal cords were turning into metal.
"You think so? Then how about you shut up and pass out?"
Yeah, I know… like that was even remotely possible!
Taylor —or rather, the swarm girl— was on her feet now. Breathing hard, but conscious and hopefully exhausted.
I shouted without looking at her, making sure my voice sounded different from normal. "Can we run now?!"
With the Force Field buying time and Boogie Woogie… I was at least fifty percent sure we could get out!
"I can't!" she shot back, struggling between breaths. "There are kids! He said he'd kill them!"
"Ah… shit!" I couldn't hold back the complaint.
Kids and a promise of massacre… the hero bingo card was complete.
"Do you know where those kids are?!"
It would suck to try, but maybe I could save them before I died.
Unfortunately, my answer was silence.
"…you didn't see those kids?" I felt my heart skip. "Hell… you've gotta be kidding me!"
The swarm girl still didn't answer.
'Well… Lung looks way more interested in killing us now than any kids…'
But I couldn't risk it, right?
Because this messed-up sense of morality wouldn't let me pretend I didn't know.
'…Is it the same for her?' I wondered, but quickly went back to moving.
Lung attacked again, his arm swinging like a burning tree falling over.
CLAP.
I swapped with a stacked tire. The impact blew the rubber apart and sent dust flying where I'd been half a second earlier.
Then I swapped again and again, because Lung just didn't stop.
My body started protesting fast. My stamina drained with every use of Boogie Woogie, on top of the Force Field still active as a precaution.
'…At this rate, I won't last long…' I thought, already wondering if the Force Field curse had hit me.
I considered swapping and throwing ABB goons at Lung… but apparently I wasn't as ruthless as I thought.
Luckily or unluckily, the swarm girl wasn't as exhausted as I'd hoped, and she sent her swarm back in.
She launched her insects in waves, but most of them got burned by the heat coming off Lung's body before they even reached him.
Still, a few lasted long enough to latch onto him… and that made Lung snap his head toward Taylor, claws blazing as he lunged.
"Shit!"
CLAP.
I swapped her with Lung, sending Lung charging straight into a wall.
"How about you try not dying while we fight?" I muttered— just in time to see Lung's fist slam into my Force Field.
'…When?!' The barrier held the impact, but I saw a crack spread across it.
Of course, the worst part was that I still dropped to my knees, blood spilling from my mouth and my head ringing.
Lung laughed as he stretched to his full height in front of me. "Too weak!"
"…And you stink, but we're not talking about that!"
The monster was now over three meters tall and with his skin covered in flames and metal.
But our little exchange got interrupted by the swarm crashing down again.
The "swarm girl" had gone back on the offensive.
Cockroaches climbed the dragon's legs, wasps aimed for his eyes, and bees tried to slip between his scales.
It wasn't enough... but it was something. And thank God… they avoided me perfectly.
"You think you can keep this up forever?!" I asked, hopeful, backing away in the opposite direction from Taylor.
After all, I couldn't let Lung have just one direction to focus on!
"Not even if I had a million of them!"
'Looks like I still need to work…!' I thought, watching the swarm get roasted by Lung's flames.
But from his muffled roars… something was still working in our favor.
Considering he had scales all over his body… I didn't even want to think about what exactly was happening there.
"Alright, bug queen," I said, wiping the blood under my disposable face mask with the back of my hand. "Let's do our best!"
I brought the Force Field back up, feeling sweat and blood sticking to my skin.
'Maximum effort…!'
CLAP.
Ladies and gentlemen… it's time to play with a fucking dragon…!
...
That's what I wanted to say… but nothing about that fight looked even remotely coordinated. There was no plan, no synergy, not even a damn battle cry.
Just me and the swarm girl, throwing hits and hoping something would stick.
But Lung… was getting way too big.
The scales now covered almost his entire body, reflecting the streetlights. His claws could tear through a car like it was a soda can, something he proved over and over while trying to hit us and I tried to keep us alive. His mouth spat fireballs between guttural laughs.
And the wings, fuck! They were starting to come out!
"If he starts flying, we're screwed," I muttered, pulling my disposable face mask up just enough to spit out the blood pooling in my mouth. "It's gonna be a nightmare trying to get out."
"He won't," Taylor said through clenched teeth, her eyes locked on him.
"Based on what, exactly?" I asked. More than ever, I needed an answer that gave me something resembling a winning path.
"Based on poison," she pointed with her chin. "Lung's been stung and bitten by a bunch of red ants, stingers, spiders, and a few bees that definitely shouldn't exist in this hemisphere."
"All that venom has to kick in at some point," she added.
I blinked, picturing that in my head, my stomach twisting.
"Have you been collecting an apocalypse starter kit or something?"
Suddenly, controlling insects sounded a lot more terrifying. And then something else clicked into place in my head with that same uncomfortable clarity.
She didn't start this today… not even close.
Taylor didn't answer, just extending her arms as a new swarm spread out like an aggressive veil of collective fury.
Lung roared and swung his arm, burning half the swarm in a wave of heat that made the air ripple. But some of the insects still clung under his scales, forcing their way into the cracks.
And then… Lung stumbled. Just half a step back, but it felt like a massive win.
Taylor saw it too and, like any good amateur with too much power and zero self-preservation instinct, she rushed forward.
"No, no—wait—!" I shouted, but it was too late.
The swarm came down like a focused tsunami, targeting his head, eyes, ears... everything at once.
Lung roared in fury, slamming into walls and the ground. The flames started spreading, almost out of control.
And there it was the opening I'd been waiting for. Even if just for a second, Lung was vulnerable.
CLAP.
I swapped with one of the thousands of insects in Taylor's swarm, not caring that they were basically crawling all over me.
Feet planted, Force Field up, I put every ounce of strength I had into something that might actually matter against that monster.
"Hey, scales! Surprise!"
With the best timing I could manage, I threw two punches into Lung. One at the base of his spine, the other into his kidney.
I didn't have the strength to actually hurt him, but smashing my Force Field into him along with the punches might do something.
It was like punching an oven. Pain shot up from my elbow to my teeth... but Lung staggered.
…The problem was, now he knew exactly where I was.
He turned, arm swinging in a wide arc, claws burning, eyes glowing.
Using Boogie Woogie was obvious, of course it was… but my body hesitated. The exhaustion from nonstop power use hit me at the worst possible moment.
But then Taylor used her swarm to form a barrier, blocking the attack for a single second.
'…Nice.'
CLAP.
I swapped with a twisted piece of metal grating on the ground. Lung smashed into it, roaring.
'His scales are… cracking?' I thought, staring at his body.
Taylor dropped beside me, rolling across the ground before stopping and catching her breath.
"Did we… actually do it?!"
"No idea," I said, trying to decide if I should go for another suicidal move. "Maybe he's just allergic to bee stings."
Lung staggered as his flames started to die down, his body shaking between movements.
An insect flew out of his ear; another crawled out of his mouth.
I almost threw up, but I also almost smiled.
"Your power is a nightmare," my voice came out… weirdly impressed.
Taylor didn't answer, too busy trying to stay on her feet.
I moved closer to her, stumbling a bit myself. "You still got anything left?"
She looked at me, her mask covered in dust and soot. "Do we really have a choice?"
I shook my head, looking back at Lung. "No... but having a shot at beating Lung is worth it."
She almost laughed. Behind us, Lung roared again, but now he sounded a lot more vulnerable.
… Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale)
Lisa hated surprises, since her power was basically a master at ruining any of them before they even happened.
So when something actually managed to surprise her, it was a pretty clear sign that some serious shit was about to go down.
And this fight— this fight was a catastrophic-level shit.
From the top of a half-collapsed building in the Docks, she watched the scene alongside the other three Undersiders, her eyes half-lidded while her brain buzzed with information.
Down in the alley, between what was left of the street and the swarm that wouldn't stop buzzing, Lung was limping. His infamous scales were stained with dark blood, and his body was moving at an almost human level of exhaustion.
No matter how she looked at it, no matter what her power told her... the conclusion was the same.
This was a fight between two rookie capes… against fucking Lung.
'I don't get it… I can't understand this…'
Lisa looked again, pushing her power further. The stream of data came in a flood of connections.
For the girl…
Skinny. Tight jaw. Curved shoulders. Not a trained fighter, but stubborn down to the bone. Deep insecurity, compensated by near-fanatical focus. Power. Swarm control. Multi-species. Real-time micromanagement.
And the boy… for him, Lisa frowned.
There was… a lot less information, and what she got came in fragments, missing context.
She could see the power is about position-swapping teleportation, limited by range and loose objects. But the usual connections like history, trauma, motivation… all of it came through broken.
Like anything beyond what he was actively showing was just… out of reach for her power.
Lisa bit her lip and muttered, "Okay… that was definitely unexpected."
"What? The fact that two random capes are beating the crap out of Lung?" Regent commented, leaning against a window frame.
"Yes, Regent," she shot back. "Exactly that."
How many people could say they were capable of doing the same?
At least in this city, the number was pretty damn small!
"They're gonna die," Bitch said flatly. "They're tired and stupid. They don't know what they're doing."
"But they did something," Lisa countered.
Grue stepped closer, arms crossed, helmet visor turned toward the battlefield.
"This shouldn't be our problem. We already dealt with Lee… that's more than enough."
"If they take Lung down, it becomes our problem," Lisa replied, already running through plans in her head.
Two powerful, independent capes… she couldn't afford to waste that kind of opportunity.
Grue hesitated, but played along with where Lisa was going. "Why?"
She paused for a second, choosing her words carefully.
"Because nobody wants two rookie, completely independent capes bragging about taking down fucking Lung without any gang backing them," Lisa turned to him. "Those two are gonna draw a lot of attention real fast… and whatever happens next is gonna splash onto all of us."
At least, that was her honest read. She knew Coil would think the same way... and she didn't doubt the Protectorate would too, despite the moral high ground they liked to pretend they stood on.
Regent whistled. "So what do we do with them?"
"Recruiting is the best option," she answered, "or we'll end up dealing with those two later, one way or another."
And if her gut feeling about Coil accelerating things was right… that would happen sooner than any of them expected.
"Suicidal idiots deserve to die," Bitch huffed, shrugging.
Lisa looked at her, toning down the sarcasm. "Maybe… but even they don't deserve to die alone."
Grue let out a slow breath. "Lucky bastards…"
Lisa smiled, satisfied. "Let's kick off our undercover hero act!"
She tapped her communicator and ordered, "Rachel, dogs!"
Bitch whistled, and two of her monstrous dogs were already set.
She pointed toward the fight and gave the command. "Lung. Tear."
The van-sized dogs charged, blasting through the alley and past the two rookies like living projectiles.
Lung barely had time to turn his head before they hit him.
The first clamped onto his leg while the second tore into his shoulder, pulling and ripping until all of them went over the edge of the rooftop.
They hit the street below with a heavy, echoing crash.
The swarm girl dropped to her knees at the same moment, pulling her insects back.
Lisa crossed her arms as the buzzing in her head started to fade.
She watched the two rookies down there before speaking. "Grue, Regent, Rachel… let's head down!"
After all… some surprises can still be really useful if you know how to use them.
… Elias Mercer
Lung went down. His breathing slowed, his eyes closed, and his body started shrinking, the transformation reversing like an overheated engine finally shutting off.
'…We won.'
We had help, sure. Demon dogs —and I'm not being metaphorical here— came out of nowhere and used the dragon like a chew toy.
But what mattered was that we won.
I mean… "won" is still a strong word, but I was willing to take it!
I slid down the concrete wall until I ended up sitting on the ground. My head throbbed like someone had used my skull as a war drum.
And then—
[Rare achievement acquired]
[Defeat Lung]
[2 rolls granted]
The notification popped up in the corner of my vision like a nightmare pop-up.
'…Ah, my glorious purpose…'
Two rolls at once?
I could practically hear my brain imploding from curiosity, and part of me really wanted to spin that damn roulette right then and there.
But of course, this wouldn't be Brockton Bay if things didn't get worse first.
The warm haze of destruction still lingered over the wreckage when I heard footsteps.
The first thing I saw was a dog, one of the same ones that attacked Lung, about the size of a van, with bone-like plates sticking out of its back. Each step left marks, and the sound coming from its throat was a deep, wet growl.
'…Fuck.' That's how my brain chose to remind me I could still feel fear.
Next to them, four figures started approaching. Capes... but definitely not Protectorate.
Their outfits made that pretty obvious.
The blonde girl in front had a curious smile, looking at me like she was taking my intentions apart piece by piece.
Behind her was a tall guy with a black helmet, another skinny dude with a lazy posture, and the dog girl, with that permanent scowl.
'Undersiders…' I thought, recognizing the group.
They were a bunch of small-time villains who pulled heists every now and then. Nobody really knew what they wanted, but everyone knew they were a pain in the ass.
The blonde was the first to speak.
"Impressive," she said, looking at Lung's unconscious body. "You two managed to get him like this on your own?"
Taylor, who by some miracle was still standing, didn't answer. I wasn't interested either.
The blonde seemed amused by the silence, taking it as an answer.
"I'm Tattletale," she said, pointing at herself. "That's Grue, that one's Regent, and the dog queen over there is Bitch."
Bitch (what a glorious name) growled.
'Another one like Sophia… good to know.'
Bitch took a step forward, and the dog beside her growled, baring its teeth and advancing half a meter.
Even exhausted, I automatically ran through every possible use of Boogie Woogie.
Beside me, I saw Taylor shrink back a little.
'She switches gears fast…' Looking at her now, you'd never guess the kind of shit she just had her bugs do to with Lung.
The guy introduced as Grue raised a hand and said, "Bitch, easy. We're here to talk."
The dog stopped, but its eyes stayed locked on me.
'Looks like I've got a fan…' I thought, finally looking away from it.
Of course, just in case, I still kept the Force Field up around my body.
I saw Tattletale's smile widen.
"So, do you two have cape names or are we gonna have to improvise?" she asked.
"We were a little busy for that," I replied. "I think it can wait."
"So this is the sarcastic one?" Regent cut in. "Nice. The city really needed another one."
"And her? She hasn't picked a name either?" Grue asked, nodding toward Taylor.
Taylor flinched at the attention, but forced her voice out. "I… I haven't chosen one yet."
Grue nodded, taking a few steps closer.
"Look, we stopped to talk because you saved us a lot of trouble today," he said, easily taking control of the conversation. "When we heard Lung was coming after us, we got pretty worried. Spent most of the day talking strategy, but in the end we just said… screw it, we'd meet him halfway. Improvise, you know?"
"Not my usual style, but sometimes it works," he added, letting out a surprisingly normal laugh for someone wearing a skull mask.
Maybe Grue meant for it to sound like some funny, upbeat story, but when I actually processed everything he said, all I felt was my stomach twisting.
I looked at Taylor, and even with the mask covering her whole face, I could picture her reaction.
"The kids you mentioned… were these assholes?" my voice came out low and rough.
I know it wasn't her fault, since she probably really believed she was saving children... but I still couldn't help getting pissed off.
If I risked my life fighting the ABB's leader for a bunch of idiots playing villain…
Maybe… just maybe… I should wake Lung up and help him this time!
Tattletale turned to us, her eyes narrowing as that smug smile disappeared.
"Alright, everyone," her voice turned serious. "We need to get out of here. Now!"
Grue turned toward us and held out an arm. "Hey, you want a ride?"
I looked at the other dogs that had climbed onto the rooftop and shook my head.
"Well, Bug Girl, Clap Boy," Tattletale said, her humor slipping back in despite the urgency. "A Cape's gonna show up here in less than a minute, probably Protectorate. Could be Armsmaster… could be someone worse."
She said that, and I tilted my head, not really seeing her point.
Tattletale must've caught that, because she kept going. "If they see two unregistered Capes standing next to known villains, their report isn't gonna be kind to you, you get that?"
She gave me a meaningful look. "You helped us with Lung, so take my advice now. Let's get out of here!"
Suddenly, I really felt like laughing.
Tattletale was talking like following a group of wanted criminals was the sensible choice.
'Is this really where this city's at now?'
And worse… Taylor actually looked like she was seriously considering it.
'Seriously? How naive are you, Taylor?'
I figured with everything she'd gone through with the Triumvirate of Falsehood, she'd know how to spot a setup like this… but I guess I expected too much from her.
I turned fully toward them, taking a deep breath, still tasting blood in my mouth.
"How stupid do you think I am?" my voice cut through the alley, growing louder. "Did you really think that pitch would work on anyone with half a functioning brain cell?"
Tattletale blinked once. Taylor slowly turned her head toward me, trying not to shrink back.
"Accept a ride from four criminal Capes who just conveniently show up right after a fight with one of the biggest monsters in the city... and then disappear with them while the Protectorate is on the way?"
Despite the urgency Tattletale showed earlier, none of them tried to interrupt me now.
"That's not advice or kindness. You're trying to stick your mess onto us, because if we run with you, we become your accomplices."
I heard a whistle from Bitch and saw the dog beside her react, like it picked up the scent of my attitude.
But that wasn't gonna stop me!
"I'd rather die than do that, got it?" I smiled and gave them my middle finger. "So go fuck yourselves, assholes!"
All four Undersiders stared at me, and I held their gaze.
I might've been exhausted enough that I couldn't handle another fight… but they were short on time too, right?
The silent standoff between us broke when Taylor dragged herself over to stand beside me, which made my grin stretch wider behind the disposable mask.
The tension shot up like a pulled wire. The dogs growled and this time Grue didn't stop them. Regent frowned, probably annoyed at being insulted twice.
Tattletale was still staring at me with that same analytical look that got on my nerves.
But her smile finally faded.
"…Fine," her voice came out low and urgent. "That was a fun read, Clap Boy. Seriously… but now's not the time for this."
She turned her head toward the coast, like she was seeing something the rest of us couldn't. "Armsmaster's coming. Bike at two hundred kilometers per hour. Ten seconds out."
'…Some kind of visual power?' I thought, eyeing her outfit.
But Tattletale was already climbing onto one of the dogs, signaling the others to do the same.
"Move!"
Grue didn't hesitate, and Regent climbed up with him. Bitch gave a short whistle, and the dogs turned like living tanks of flesh and bone.
Only Tattletale lingered for a second longer, glancing back at me over her shoulder, a faint smile returning.
"You've got potential, but this city loves crushing potential," she said with a wave. "Try your best to stay alive as long you can!"
And then they were gone, the monstrous dogs launching into a full sprint.
I stayed where I was, feeling my breathing get heavier. Taylor stood beside me, her body trembling.
Somewhere in the distance, the siren of a motorcycle started echoing.