AN: This is a work of fanfiction.
I suppose, since the Giant will be the primary POV character, knowledge of worm is not needed. Knowledge of the Iron Giant is not needed.

What if Earth Bet was the Earth where the Iron Giant landed? If now, 54 years later, the legacy of the Iron Giant was held solely in the little town of Rockwell by those grateful few? This is the story of his reawakening in a darker world where he is needed once again.

This will probably contain lots of OC on the Giant's side and will deviate from canon plotwise. Taylor may be a major POV character.

Prologue

Entombed beneath fathoms of ice, deep in the Icelandic Highlands, a Giant stirred. First, his fingers wagged inside the ice, making it creak and groan, and a metallic limb extruded from atop his domed, silver head. The antenna shifted this way and that, carving circles in the ice sheet as it reached for the signal. That piercing signal, that beckoning had wrenched him out of his decades-long hibernation. His lidded eyes snapped open, panning left and right. He could see, pierce through even the opaque glacier. Immediately lucid, the Giant shifted his colossal torso and tilted his head back, fracturing more of the dense ice.

The signal came clearly to him now, much like the one he had used to reassemble himself, and with the same purpose. To bring him back to his comrades, the body in which he was a single bolt. The Giant didn't know how long he'd been trapped in the Glacier, somewhere on the large, desolate northern island. He did remember the missile, his last moments as Superman. As the hero that he had chosen to be, expecting to signal still probed, trying to comb his Memory for information, any and all, about Earth. He resisted. That, in itself, probably tipped off his comrades that something was wrong.

"Hogarth…" The Giant rumbled in his deep bass, the very ice around him quaking. Speed of thought returned to him, little by little until he remembered all with clarity. He remembered his decision to stay buried, encased in ice, his calling completed. The world hadn't needed something like him, another weapon among countless others. No, he'd have inflamed jealousy, his actions would be closely scrutinized although his heart was pure, and even then, he couldn't take all the shells in the world, couldn't fly headlong into each missile. The Giant decided to be a leader, then, by example. He'd just hoped his brothers wouldn't come here and strip yet another world of its life. Only, it had been fifty-four years, and he had been a scout.

The Giant gripped a chunk of ice, striking and widening the sides of the chasm he had created. With the ease of a mole in a sandpit, he scrabbled up the icy strata, erupting through the surface and throwing clear chunks high into the air. He threw one leg from the chasm, the then the other, standing to his full, fifteen-meter height. Though he didn't breathe, the Giant tasted the clear glacial air, feeling it flow past his metal shell. All around him, a field of ice stretched to the horizon, occasionally marked by chasms and hills, broken by a black expanse of mountains to the west. Certainly a long way from Rockwell, he mused.

The day had come. The Giant leaped, his fusion rockets propelling him skyward. He would defend Earth from the wrath of his comrades.

1.1

Skitter pushed through the crowd, with Tattletale in tow, in her mind if not literally. There were dozens of capes present in the room, more than she'd ever seen at once. Several armies worth in one room. Capes of all kinds- hero, villain, rogue- gathered here, clustered protectively in their gangs or teams. Kaiser stood to the side with Fenja and Menja, the Brutes/Changers, flanking him, Hookwolf against the wall with his arms crossed.

She turned her attention to the Wards and New Wave, adhering loosely to each other. The chatter appeared nervously sparse, some turning to glare at her and Tattletale, some giving solemn nods. Panacea especially glared death at Tattletale.

The Protectorate stood, somewhat more orderly, along the east side of the room. They were arrayed around the Triumvirate, who seemed to be in intense discussion. Armsmaster talked in his silent way with Legend and Miss Militia. It took all of Skitter's will not to gawk, even with intense weeks of villainy- or covert heroism- under her belt.

The only capes not present within the room, in fact, were the teleporters and Dragon, still staring eastward at the stirring storm and winds. Even Strider, who'd teleported Alexandria in, was now gathered with the heroes. He was lucky, Skitter thought, to have such a power, to have an excuse not to face Leviathan head-on.

"Hey," Tattletale called to Grue and Regent as Skitter neared them. She glanced Skitter's way before crossing the room to meet them. The guys ignored her. Skitter forced down that stinging feeling, focusing on the dire circumstances. That thought grew relevant as Legend's voice cut through the low din.

He spoke without a microphone. Maybe it was his ethos or his experience as an orator, but the room grew quiet, capes stopped and turned towards him intently, even those who Skitter knew to be killers and thieves. She turned, a brew of emotions within her. She was excited at the opportunity for heroism, at Legend addressing her, even though she was grim most of all. On the surface though, Skitter was calm, calmer than she knew possible, like everyone in the room seemed.

"...But you all 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 people in this room will most likely die before this day is done."

Rain -torrents of rain-battered the eastern window of the building as the clouded sky grew more menacing and opaque. The waters of the Bay swelled in a high tide, most of the beach and boardwalk already submerged. A quarter, dead. The heroes began to distribute armbands, which would communicate with each other during the fight.

Skitter felt the fast waterbugs in her armored pockets, anticipating her plan. She'd use them to tag capes, find any that were in trouble, and stay out of the conflict zone. Those armbands couldn't be foolproof, and she doubted her ability to harm Leviathan.

Legend continued to brief them about Leviathan's capabilities, Skitter duly noting each detail. His control over water. His immense speed and strength. But he did bleed, he did feel pain. Legend noted past failures. Kyushu. Newfoundland.

And perhaps most disconcerting was that Brockton Bay could meet that same fate, collapsing, buried under tons of seawater as it sank into its aquifer.

_

The Giant savored that power surging through his valves. He'd consumed a pile of hematite boulders on the southern coast of Iceland, needing a nice breakfast after a long -fifty-four year- sleep. Now, he soared over the Atlantic, his fusion thrusters carrying him at four times the speed of sound, watching the terminator sweep towards him from the east.

Even with his supercomputer thinking speed, the Giant hadn't quite known what to do. He recalled that fateful day when he had flown with Hogarth for the first time. Those primitive jet fighters had shown the beginnings of potential, detecting him with some sort of non-visual sensor. A half century, the Giant decided, was a long time for Humanity to advance, even if they didn't yet match the Legions or the countless worlds the Legions had pillaged.

The Giant lowered his jaw, scooping in cold air. He was relieved, proud even, that he detected no traces of nuclear fallout from where he flew, that as he barreled along at high altitude, the landmasses of Earth had remained the same as Hogarth had shown him. He had passed Greenland, and he now shot along the eastern coast of Canada. The Giant would be in Rockwell within the hour. He'd see Hogarth again! And Dean, and Annie, even the General.

The coast was jagged, more so than the stretch in Rockwell where the Giant had crashed decades ago. The Giant scoured his memory for the globe that Hogarth had shown him. There. That's Labrador, he thought. To the west, he saw a barren rock that he knew to be George Island and a drastic turn in the coast's slope.

Impossible, the Giant thought. The coast had receded -or the ocean had advanced- some fifty kilometers from what he remembered, the shape irregular and almost unnatural. Like a cataclysm had struck that shore.

Zooming in on the affected areas, the Giant noted large portions where soft soil had probably washed away, leaving dull, shallow scars even where the water didn't reach. Only a few trees ventured out towards shore. Jagged chunks were carved out of the seaside cliffs.

Severe erosion. Natural, caused by rapid water flow. A sudden event. The Giant shrugged internally. Severe weather was common on planets with such thick atmospheres. This was a catastrophic event, but certainly natural. Humanity had no such weapons.

The Giant fused iron, kicking his speed up more and more. He couldn't wait to see Hogarth! He'd thank him first, for teaching him peace, for telling him that he had a choice. Yet, the thought struck him that maybe the people of Rockwell had forgotten him, or Hogarth had moved- in that case he would not be welcome. Not in the least. The Giant's instincts poked at him, telling him to observe, to gather intelligence. This time he succumbed- it made sense. His antenna extended from his head, scanning the radio spectrum.

-

Chaos. A cacophony as walls of water struck the hilltop building, punching through the array of forcefields and glass, splashing in torrents from the stairwell. Shouts from a dozen capes were drowned out by debris coming loose, breaking free of the lobby's walls. Glass, metal, brick, flying west, pushed by the wave. The ceiling even began to sag and groan despite the shielders' attempt to bolster it. Skitter dodged a flying window frame, falling to her knees.

"Strider! Get us out of here!" Legend cried.

The world spun, sucked the air out of Skitter's lungs.

She gasped, sputtering as torrential rain ran into her mask. Skitter looked up. She had landed just past an intersection on Ash Street which sloped downhill as it ran all the way to the Boardwalk. The rain struck, millions of dark tracer bullets against a darker sky. It was nearly impossible to see wave after wave pound the storefronts, eviscerating their innards. Skitter released the waterbugs, tough and fast, she sent several to tag each nearby cape.

Only then, she noticed that the waves had pushed uphill and were now receding, pulling debris with it and tripping a few unlucky capes. The battlefield had been cleanly arrayed. A broad front line of brutes edged forward, peering into the rain for a visual of Leviathan. Fliers had spread out, gaining altitude, while some ferried blasters up to the rooftops. Alexandria hovered, before dashing forward. Legend, leading the long ranged attackers, jumped and hovered from his own rooftop.

"Leviathan sighted, CB-6!" Skitter's armband called.

There he was. Riding the crest of another wave, then dropping onto splintered concrete where Ash Street met the sea. A dark silhouette. Thirty feet of uncanny muscle, the limbs impossibly lithe, a torso that tapered from bulky at the shoulders to slim at the waist. Pairs of massive claws were his hands, like those of a velociraptor. Leviathan moved with a perfect balance, striding while his arms swept back and forth, his tail moving left and right, skimming the water's surface.

His tail was a whip, longer than he was tall, ending in a brutal spike. At once, he seemed to halt, whipping his head back and forth. Skitter was too far to make out his face as she peered, frozen.

Leviathan halted, a wave twice his height sweeping in. He charged.

"-Reports have not yet been confirmed of a possible ongo-***** attack on Brockton Bay this morning. It appears **** -ing system provided an **** Multiple sources say *that the*** ********- safely evacuated to shelters-"

No. No! That was it, then. War had broken out. Brockton Bay. Only several hundred kilometers from Rockwell. Not an attack from the Legions, he ruled that out immediately. But a war among humans themselves. The Giant cursed internally. Time to be a hero- again. He wouldn't dive headlong into a situation he knew nothing of, switching frequencies once more.

"-confirmed attack by the Endbringer Leviathan on Brockton Bay, 7am local time…"

This signal came with visuals, so the Giant watched. He watched, and horror began to grow within him. A man in a suit and tie -like Dean had worn once- spoke, the screen behind him displaying waves. Destructive, high waves, battering an urban area. Long wooden structures, destroyed, littered the shore while debris was pushed inland by the water. Trees toppled, and the ground seemed to give away at some spots.

Severe erosion.

"The city's protectorate heroes and the Triumvirate has gathered to defend the city as well as many unaffiliated parahuman organizations. If you are in the area, get to safety now at the nearest designated shelter…"

The view cut to an aerial vantage of a road, where many people were gathered. A thick front line stood in a vague V-shape, while others flew -flew?!- and clustered on rooftops. The Giant thought of what he knew first. A battle formation, a hasty defensive effort like he'd seen so many times before.

Again, the viewpoint switched. The shore was devastated, a much taller wave breaking. But there, in the middle of it, he saw something. Impossibly huge, inhuman, a dark silhouette. And it dashed forwards, gone. The Giant noticed a lone figure engulfed, barely a speck. And with that, the camera cut back to the man, his stoic features now downcast.

Ahead, the Giant glimpsed Belle Isle, and Newfoundland was beginning to-

Great Stars! The Giant checked his bearing and coordinates, according to Hogarth's globe. This was indeed the northern shore of Newfoundland… but it wasn't there. Not a trace remained to be seen underneath the waves. Unease struck him, and the Battle-State edged into his consciousness- he resisted for now.

The Giant could not conclude on the disturbing events he had just seen, but he changed course five degrees and flared his rockets, headed straight for Brockton Bay.

Chubster down, CD-5. Good Neighbor deceased, CD-5. Hallow deceased, CD-5.

Skitter slipped again on the slick street, falling to one knee. The line had broken. Shattered. She was following her bugs to a downed cape, the taste of blood fresh in her senses. Leviathan had moved deeper into the commercial district, his afterimage splashing buildings and defenders alike. A ring of a dozen capes circled him. Skitter felt lucky indeed to have her particular power.

The man she'd tagged cried out as he saw her, and Skitter could see his leg was split open, blood in the water. She ran, or tried to, in the thigh-deep water.

"I need a teleporter, high priority!" She called into the armband.

She approached the man, who extended an arm.

"H..help prop me up, please," He rasped, and Skitter did so. His eyes were wide beneath the silver mask, his body covered in wrecked armor. The plates seemed to have molded on his figure, smaller interlocking plates covering joints. It all looked so sturdy, yet Leviathan had pierced the costume catastrophically. Five more fallen capes were nearby, one that the armband has failed to announce.

Alexandria crossed the battlefield in a second, slamming into Leviathan at arrow-speed. Leviathan spun and lunged, then halted. His afterimage slammed into Alexandria with a resounding crack, arresting her flight.

A soft target. Skitter wondered how much longer they could last before parts of the city collapsed into the aquifer. The beach was certainly gone, some buildings reduced to individual steel beams poking out of the water.

"I'll take him from here," A flier announced, swooping down to carry the injured man. Skitter recognized her from the past five rescues, and her look seemed to say 'Good work'. She was gone in an instant, tattered green cloak fluttering in the wind. At the same time, a strange vibration sounded, like loud, reverberating words spoken in an incredibly deep voice. She couldn't make out what it said. Some sort of voice power?

Skitter ducked out of the alley, half swimming. She turned- and a blur almost hit her. The mover charged, his steps churning water as he collided with Leviathan, knocking him into the first floor of an apartment. Capes fell on the building, boxing him in. Skitter scrambled back. Leviathan was only half a block from her.

Leviathan spun, beheading the mover who'd charged at him with a flick of his tail. He whipped his afterimage at five other capes.

Strapping Lad down, CD-5. Intrepid down, CD-5. Tortoise deceased, CD-5.

And then he charged straight at Skitter.

Oh, Shi-

A roaring clash of water and concrete, a wave struck Skitter, throwing her against the street amid chunks of debris. Armor plating crunched, flares of pain erupted as she tumbled around in the foam.

Another burst of water, a frantic jerk of motion. Skitter groaned, curled into a ball. She was being lifted. Her eyelids fluttered. Behind the wet lenses, she glimpsed something massive, something metallic. A torso and dome shaped head, intense, solemn eyes shining. The hand that held her released her gently on a nearby rooftop.

She rolled over to see her rescuer leap down, a gargantuan blur, blotting out the sun for a fraction of a second. It dove, slamming into Leviathan.

Skitter fought, but unconsciousness grasped her.

The Giant rocketed forward, right fist held in front of him, slowing from his frantic dash. Brockton Bay lay before him. He dipped down below the lowest cloud layer. A catastrophe had happened here. As he shed altitude, he saw the fresh ruins, buildings many stories tall now piles of rubble. Water rushed up a mild incline, the ocean pushed by an unnatural force to destroy this place.

Not far from the shore, he saw that figure again, a scaly, faceless creature with a vicious tail. The water seemed to meld around him as he whipped it at a flock of humans-35 immediately visible- some flying, hurling blasts of light and energy. Each wore elaborate, colorful armor, diverse and without uniformity except for the identical devices strapped to either arm.

The creature had left a trail of destruction, bodies littered amid the rubble.

Though he had only been a scout, the Giant knew what a losing battle looked like. He had to do something. He slowed, drawing nearer, scanning the city. There. An isolated hill, with people constantly leaving and arriving. A command center?

It took the Giant barely 30.2 seconds to arrive there. A lone, battered building stood. Wounded humans in decorated, damaged armor lay, while everyone jolted at his landing, turning, stumbling back, gasping.

The Giant spoke for the first time in 54.4 years. "What is going on?" He rumbled, peering down.

Nobody spoke. Some were frozen, an expression the Giant knew as fear displayed on the faces he could see.

"I can help. Tell me." Some of the humans cringed back.

A man in blue, full body armor stepped forward. "Identify yourself!" He commanded, gesturing with his weapon.

Weapon. Engaging Order 5436- No.

"I am Superman," The Giant said, setting his hands on his hips. The man -seemingly in charge- uncrossed his arms, shaking his head. Most of his face covered, the Giant couldn't read him.

"No time to waste. What is the enemy?" The Giant spoke, but the Commander mounted a matching blue vehicle, speeding away to the battle. The Giant shrugged, blasting off again.

Many brave defenders had already fallen, it seemed. He would stop this. He had to.

Building speed, the Giant adopted Superman's mannerism once again. He imagined a cape flowing from his shoulders, an "S" sigil like they'd found in Dean's junkyard. As he blasted towards the battlefield, the Giant contemplated. The creature was certainly alive in a way he wasn't. It seemed organic. Maybe it could be reasoned with. Roads blurred past and the Giant reached the battlefield where he hovered.

A defender in green armor whipped bolts of energy at the creature, only for it to deftly dodge each one. Others barely managed to hit, but each strike earned only a singe.

"WHY FIGHT?" The Giant bellowed at the thing. "WHY CHOOSE THIS?" He landed heavily on a road, standing at his full height.
"YOU... DO NOT HAVE TO."

The creature paused, suddenly very still. It stared at the Giant, who got his first good look at the thing. Whatever its origin, it seemed... almost too perfect. The proportions were set in a deceiving way, probably providing excellent balance. It might have been natural, but the Giant knew a predator when he saw one. The defenders had paused, if only for a second. One sprinted from the south faster than the Giant had observed, but he was still easy to track. He slammed into the creature, knocking him into a structure-

The creature lashed out. His water whipped at the defender who'd charged, beheading him.

Target locked. Distance 500 meters. Secondary weapons active.

No. The Giant charged, boosters at full flare. The creature headed back east, where a lone figure crouched in black armor. He dove for them, closing his hand around the defender, depositing him -her- on an eight-story rooftop. Her full armor made it impossible to check for injuries. He could only hope.

The Giant then leapt off the roof, tackling the creature to the ground. It showed no pain, reacting immediately, wrapping its tail around the Giant's torso. Through raw strength, the Giant reached with his right arm, locking the creature's neck. It was pinned, and the Giant delivered a punch to its featureless face with his left. "Stop. No. More. Fighting."

His words had no effect. The creature squirmed and rocked, water materializing out of the space he'd just been, its face dented by the punch. Its tail whipped around, wrapped around the Giant's lower left leg. By now, the other defenders had started firing again, barking orders. The Giant shifted to give them a larger target while still holding the creature with most of his weight. Its four beady eyes shone through chasms in its face as it struggled vainly.

The Giant's head snapped up. A massive tidal wave was sweeping inland, its crest level with the midsections of the seven-story buildings nearby, moving fast as a speeding jeep.

Impact time: 30.23 seconds. Survivable. Battle-State would prevent scattering.

The Giant briefly considered transforming, but he knew the cold, ruthless form wouldn't help him here.

That brief distraction allowed the creature some purchase, and it struggled out of the Giant's grasp, moving at lightning speed through water. Defenders were shouting, all congregating into a few tight groups. Why? They need evacuation, not to hold!

25.34 seconds. Object accelerating.

The answer came soon enough. One group sprang a dome of blue tinted energy over themselves, but the Giant doubted its security.

The Giant's engines roared. He'd seen that trail of fallen, and now they'd be consumed by the wave. Weaving around buildings and climbing, he dove and snatched everyone he saw in his hands, now growing full. Pockets opened on the Giant's back as he extruded the plate slightly, allowing the ten defenders some safety. Groans of the wounded filled the Giant's sensors.

He dashed back to the assembly of defenders, one cluster unshielded. The arc of energy sprang up, but a man one step too late slammed into it, the wave just behind him.

1.87 seconds.

The Giant scooped the man up with his foot, flaring his boosters above the crest of the wave. He halted and caught the man, gently as he could.

Carnage unfolded below. The wave enveloped smaller buildings, shattering windows. Entire floors swept away. It was impossible for the Giant's eyes to pierce the murky, frothing water to see if the shields held.

Waves broke just above the clusters of defenders, millions of tons of seawater collapsing on what looked like meager defense. The Giant acted fast, laying his wounded on the same rooftop as the girl before he dropped into the churning water.

The water pushed the Giant in every direction, but he anchored himself to buildings, searching with his sensors for any signs of life. He saw two shields intact. In the shallowing water, he detected many parts of bodies, many fragments of armor or weapons, and armbands, drifting among the litter.

Why? Why does the creature fight, the Giant seethed. It was unlike any weapon he'd seen before. Organic in appearance, but not ability. And manipulation, creation of matter? That was rare indeed.

There! A whole body. The Giant grasped it, bringing it to the surface. The creature would be defeated, if not by the others, then by him.

For the next six minutes, the Giant brought five defenders to safety, most sputtering up water but unconscious. The seawater from the tidal wave had shallowed, spreading out but still moving inland under the creature's power.

The Giant emerged again from the water, clutching a man who'd lost his hand. He surveyed the battlefield --nobody was there- and in desperation, he roared: "HELP!"

He flew higher still until he spotted the defenders, a ways to the west.

The armbands, he thought.

Tapping his innate ability, he channeled his current vision from his Memory, turning to stare at the rooftop full of wounded. And he broadcasted, the scene sent at light speed to potential rescuers. Within five seconds, a defender appeared on the roof in a flash of light, before disappearing and taking three wounded with him. Another came, and the Giant sighed in relief.

"Hello!" a voice called. The Giant turned, saw a hovering woman waving to him. She wore a heavy black cape, a tower displayed on her chest.

"Leviathan is on the move. To the southwest, follow the rest of us!" With that, she shot off, her cape billowing behind her.

The Giant followed, flaring his boosters to keep up with the woman. They tore over waterlogged ruins, street after street of demolished structures, until they spotted Leviathan, surrounded again by a ring of defenders. Here, the buildings were shorter, only a story or two high, and water was rushing onto dry land.

Ever since Hogarth had taught him, the Giant had never wished to kill. Killing this Leviathan would be no different than ramming the missile. Only, it probably wouldn't be that easy.

Locking on, the Giant fired his eyebeams. Twin scorches appeared on Leviathan's torso, too shallow.

He needed to transform.

The Giant reluctantly allowed his eyes to glaze red. Battle-State allowed him unrivaled focus on a task that he determined beforehand. For now, with an enemy to attack, he hoped he wouldn't lose his humanity.

First, his right arm morphed into a cannon, the panels parting, his hand folding underneath. He fired, once, twice, three times, each round throwing Leviathan into the air.

Shallow wounds. Armor gets thicker near the center of Leviathan.

Distance from target: 65.54 meters.

The Giant scanned the battlefield again. The black-caped woman seemed to favor diving runs, slamming into Leviathan at incredible speeds -412.34 meters per second- and throwing him back. Other defenders -54 left active, but only 25 currently attacking- fired projectiles. One bolt hit Leviathan in his eyehole, making his rear back, ichor flowing out. The strategy here was clear: hem Leviathan in, deal maximum damage to make him flee, abandon his assault, but prevent him from escaping fire and recovering in the process.

1.56 seconds spent assessing. Time to attack.

The Giant transformed fully. His head receded into his shoulders, a clear dome covering it. Three limbs sprouted from his back, each ended with a heat-ray. His left arm's panels parted, the coil-like barrel of the disintegrator forming. Finally, the plating of his chest opened, revealing the circular hub of his chest cannon. Flashing lights circled it, while three prongs held the unformed projectile.

"Danger!" He cried. He opened fire. All three heat rays roared while the disintegrator charged.

Target unharmed.

An enormous man with blades emerging from his back tackled Leviathan. This gave him pause -0.35 seconds- and the Giant fired his disintegrator. As Leviathan pursued the man, the bubble of writhing energy missed, striking the building behind. It expanded rapidly, gripping a wide chunk of the brick- and erasing it from existence. A gaping hole meters wide appeared in the wall, part of the ceiling and roof eaten away. The Giant mumbled an apology.

The Giant tried again, blasting away with his standard cannon.

Another painfully slow bubble shot at Leviathan, barely catching the edge of his right leg, but it latched on, just as he dodged a rocket launcher. With familiar whirring, the projectile enveloped Leviathan's leg and lower torso in an instant, before popping out of existence.

Leviathan fell limp, crashing to his left knee in a kneeling position. Ichor poured out of the massive missing chunk.

Target appears to be wounded. Damage is more than superficial, inner parts may contain vitals. No moving parts detected. Inner layers impossibly dense. Method unknown.

"Attack, now!" The Giant bellowed, shaking the defenders out of their stupor. They obliged, Flinging a mass of glowing energy and matter into the open wound.

Target repairing. Regeneration ability, unknown source, Battle-State informed him. Indeed, the flesh was rapidly growing back, the inner layers reappearing. Still, the defenders fired, one bolt fired from a crossbow making Leviathan rear back. The bolt had embedded itself in the very center of Leviathan's chest.

Again, the Giant fired his disintegrator. This time the bubble captured Leviathan's head and neck, popping out of reality, the outer layers of his leg still reappearing.

Leviathan scrabbled against the street, regaining his balance. He dashed from side to side, creating masses of water and shoving the ambient seawater much faster than he had before. In an instant -0.023 seconds- the headless Leviathan plunged into a rising wave. That same wave crashed with enormous force into the people still assembled, knocking them back.

The Giant pursued immediately, peering into the dark water. He flew upwards, scanning fitfully.

Leviathan was gone.

Nowhere to be seen, even as the Giant strained his sensors. Gradually, the seawater rose less aggressively, less artificially, and as a whole, it began to flow eastward toward the Bay.

The red in his eyes flickered, before shutting off. the Giant folded his weapons within himself, panels clanking shut, parts whirring. One minute later, he returned to the defenders, facing them.

As lone cheers began to escape in the morning air, the Giant felt a wall of fatigue setting on. He groaned.

Every one of the now ragged defenders looked at him, yet he didn't miss the unreadable stares of three flying defenders. The Woman in black, the Man in green, and the Man in blue.