{}{}{}{} 2 AM

"Legacy." I rolled over trying to avoid the voice. "Come on, Legacy you need to get up." With a groan I rolled over to give the speaker my best death glare.

"If this isn't an emergency you are going to want to run."

"It's not an emergency," Dead man walking said, "but your father is on the sat phone."

I was up, helmet on and arm through one sleeve of my jacket in a couple of seconds and already sprinting for the command tent. The lieutenant on duty said something to me, but I missed it as I pulled the phone out of his hands and put it to my ear.

"Dad?"

"Taylor!"

Then I was babbling, and Dad was babbling, and I don't think either of us understood a word the other was saying, and it didn't matter at all. But finally, we stopped talking over one another and I managed to get the first word in.

"Dad, where are you? Where were you? I left a note on the kitchen table, and I grabbed what I could, and I've looked through all the camps around Captains hill. I wanted to check everywhere else, but I couldn't, they needed me Dad, and I'm sorry I couldn't find you, and that I wasn't here sooner, and-"

"Taylor, breath!" Dad cut me off. "Just take a few breaths, Taylor. Calm down. It's ok, I'm alright, and never apologize for that. The only thing that kept me sane in that shelter was knowing you were miles away."

"It nearly drove me insane." I choked out as I collapsed into a chair the Lieutenant pulled out for me. "My team was gone to fight that thing, you were still here, and I was miles away in New York, useless, when I could have been blasting the son of a bitch from a mile away with weapons that break reality." I all but spat, finally letting some of the guilt spill out.

"Taylor…"

"I could have! I know it would be dangerous, and I don't know how well they would have worked, and hitting him would be hard when he could just duck down another street at his speeds. But I could have done something!" Dad just sighed sounding even more tired than I felt.

"...Maybe you could have. And in the future maybe you will, but right now the more important question is what on earth are you doing in Brockton Bay?"

"... I had to find you. You were missing and some of the shelters were wiped out, and no one knew if you made it or not. I had to find you... But Legend wouldn't approve my transfer, so I found a black trucker doing an aid run, and reminded him he was headed to the Nazi capitol of the east cost…"

Dad's amused snort lifted my mood more than anything else had in the past week.

"Great minds think alike I suppose. It took me a few days to make sure as many of the dockworkers were ok and accounted for as I could. Then I spent a day finding out the PRT didn't really have time to talk with civilians about their secret Ward daughters who live in another city. Apparently, it's a fairly common scam for people trying to get rushed out of a disaster area."

I clapped a hand over my visor and groaned. That was just so damn typical of my entire experience with the PRT.

"By then the gangs had mostly taken over outside the camps. I didn't want to risk a trip to the house. It took me another day or so to bum a ride out of the city which fell apart when their car broke down. I managed to get into Boston tonight around eleven. Then it took them a few hours to verify everything with New York and finally track down a way to call you."

I sagged even further into my chair and resolutely ignored the two wet tracks working their way down my face. Just knowing he was safe and out of danger made everything seem easier. There was some murmuring I couldn't make out from the other end of the line followed by what sounded like Dad telling someone to 'fuck off'. Though I couldn't be sure. I think he covered the mic with his hand first.

"Taylor, I'm sorry, but the idiots are insisting I ask you to come back. Honestly, much as I want to tell them to shove it, I want to see you again too."

"I… Dad, I can't. The Protectorate has abandoned Captains Hill; it's just me and the National Guard here. New Wave are supposed to be helping out too now, but they're barely doing anything except flying a few patrols a day, and the Merchants are pushing. I sent them packing last time, but if they come back, they're going to want revenge now too. I can't leave these people defenseless."

"Taylor…" Dad sounded so lost in that moment I wanted to reassure him. To explain why it had to be me because no one else would do it…

And then the tents radio crackled to life.

"Invisible vehicle just busted into camp three! Merchants poured out and made off with a lot of supplies, and a number of female civvies!" The radio announced. "We have multiple wounded and several fatalities!"

I closed my eyes, and breathed out.

"Dad, I have to go. I love you."

"...I love you too, Taylor. Come back safe."

"I will."

{}{}{}{}

The camp was a wreck, tents were flattened, there were numerous bloody puddles, and a fair few sheet covered bodies, Merchants, National Guard, and Civilians. At least three times as many injured as well. Glory Girl was scowling over the scene twenty feet of the ground and I'd heard mutters about Panacea tending to the wounded.

I ignored as much of that as I could heading resolutely for the command tent. This was the last straw, they needed to be dealt with.

Throwing aside the tent flap I found Mrs. Pelham nursing a cup of coffee off to one side as several officers from the National Guard, Police, and PRT argued with one another. I didn't acknowledge any of them, instead my focus lasered in on the map table spread out between them. The latest data on the gang territories was marked out and I immediately began pouring over the orange striped zone looking for what I was praying I might find. A large gathering place fit to hold everyone they might have sucked in. That would appeal to their general needs. Low and behold there was a shopping mall about a block from where I remembered a used car dealer and a couple of mechanic shops.

"Bingo."

"They're most likely here." I tapped the map. "Easy access to the kind of supplies Squealer needs, food, clothing, and a bunch of shiny crap for them to loot. Plus, enough space to fit a couple thousand anarchistic crack heads."

Conversation in the tent died as those gathered turned to look at me.

"We should probably get confirmation before we move, but it's the obvious choice and the Merchants aren't smart enough to think that might be a bad thing. I think I have an idea about neutralizing them, but this is going to take a bit of stealth and preparation... I'll need to check if my power will let me actually pull it off... but I think we can swing shutting them down."

"Legacy," The trooper spoke up first, "we don't have the manpower to take them all. We don't have the supplies, hell we don't even have the firepower."

"We have more than enough firepower. I could level the place on my own if I wasn't worried about killing their captives. I doubt even one in ten has a gun." I dismissed, "I can make barricades, force them to go where we want. Numbers don't mean shit if they have to come single file into a killing field."

"We can't just gun them down." Lady photon cut in harshly.

"We don't have to. They just have to see dozens of rifles aimed at them and be smart enough to get on their knees. If they're too stupid to stop… People are already dying. Let's just make sure it's only the criminals."

"The PRT won't-" the trooper started to speak up, and my patience snapped.

"Forget the PRT! We've got at least a dozen dead outside this tent!" I snapped an arm out towards the entrance, "They've stolen supplies they'd have been given freely if they just joined one of the camps, depriving people of food and water!" I smacked the table with my fist, "And worst of all they have abducted multiple women, including a young teen if the story I heard on my way here is true!" I blew out a harsh breath. "And we all know why they took them... If none of that is enough then I'd like to point out the PRT has left us on our own, and that makes this the National Guards jurisdiction."

I turned to face Colonel Potter.

"What is the military response to an attack by domestic terrorist raiders?"

And just like that everyone but the old Colonel froze. He didn't respond immediately, but he did give me a weighted stare as he contemplated his response

"Military regulations in regard to what action should be taken in such a situation are left extremely, and intentionally, loose. The reason being situations like this are never identical. The opposition, and support we can call on, is never a sure thing."

"You can't be considering-" Lady Photon tried to speak up only to be shouted down.

"My men are dead! People under my protection are dead, or worse, and it's all because a drugged up lunatic wants a live reenactment of some post apocalypse movie! Complete with tacky, overly armored cars, and screaming lunatics! The only thing missing from this set is a group of cultists, and it's only a matter of time until the Fallen decide to make a God damn pilgrimage!"

The Colonel swept a stern frown across everyone present.

"So, yes, I am considering any course of action that will make sure no more of my men get run over like squirrels."

The Colonel grunted as he studied the spot I'd indicated on the map.

"Lady Photon, if you could see to it that one of your family's fliers does a reconnaissance mission to discreetly confirm the Merchants presence? I need confirmation before we can act, and the faster we act the less the abductees will suffer."

She looked like she wanted to object, but only nodded before exiting the tent at a brisk pace. I had no doubt she would be back shortly.

The Colonel turned his gaze to the various LEO's in the tent.

"Gentlemen, given that this is likely going to require as much manpower and resources as we can bring to bear, I need up to date information on supplies, vehicles and personnel. Check in on any of your people who might have been injured and get back to me in fifteen minutes." The Police officer and a Guard lieutenant nodded and headed out of the tent immediately. The PRT trooper hesitated before moving off with a grimace.

"Legacy," The Colonel finally turned his attention on me. I found myself standing straighter without any conscious thought. "You mentioned needing to confirm something about your power. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"...My power lets me make more than just weapons. Weapons, especially bladed weapons, are just the easiest things to reproduce." A moment's concentration and I traced a scrap of cloth. "It takes more focus, and I can't reproduce most things without a chance to study them. But I'm hoping tear gas and confoam will be possible. But I've never tried making them before."

"You're planning to flood the building?"

"Confoam would take too long, but the gas? It might work. At the very least it would flush them out and soften them up."

"...Get going. Requisition whatever you need from whoever has it and find out if you can make this work. Then get back here. I'm putting in a call to the PRT when we've got all our ducks in a row and seeing if we can't shake some assistance out of them." The Colonel growled.

{}{}{}{}

The tinker tech radio for secure communications oddly enough had a speakerphone setting. I wasn't entirely sure why the Colonel decided to use it instead of speaking more confidentially. That being said I appreciated the transparency. With all the run around we'd been getting from the PRT I wanted to hear what they had to say. I'm sure I wasn't the only one either.

Blinking I reassessed the Colonel.

Maybe he knew that. Would that be enough to justify letting us all in on this conversation? With the way the rumor mill worked everyone would know what was said in a few hours at most. If we were really on our own out here? Knowing we didn't have any backup coming could be bad for morale… but it might serve to galvanize people as well.

"In death ground fight." I thought to myself more than Shirou.

This wasn't death ground. Not by any means. This was the first real defeat the Merchants had handed us. If it weren't for Squealer, we could just tighten our defenses and gun them down as they threw themselves against us. If it weren't for the refugees, we could pull up the stakes and fall back outside of the city to a place we could centralize everyone. Then I could just blow her damn cars to bits until they ran out. But we were scattered stationary targets, and the Merchants armored cars were something only I and Glory Girl could easily deal with, maybe Shielder could pin one down but I doubted he could outright break them. Even if nothing changed, we could hold the line for a good long while. It would cost us, but we could do it.

But that was looking at it from a command perspective. For the average soldier? This had to be terrifying. The Merchants could blow through our defenses and unless Glory Girl or I was there with them they would be in a lot of trouble. So, if we weren't getting any support, it might very well feel like death ground to them. And if the soldiers felt it was us or them?

If I was right the Colonel was a much cannier individual than I'd realized.

"Colonel Potter," a man's voice crackled over the radio, "I'm surprised to be hearing from you so late. Has there been some new development?"

"I'm afraid so, Deputy Director Rennick. The Merchants finally got lucky. Or maybe they knew where our cape support was and decided to avoid them this time. They made off with a number of supplies and ten female civilians. I've got seven dead civilians, six dead merchants, and five of my men were KIA. Three of them are going to need closed casket services. The only reason it wasn't worse is Panacea's prompt response."

"... I'm sorry for your losses Colonel."

Colonel Potter grunted.

"I'm not calling you for condolences. I'm calling to demand whatever support your people can scrape up on short notice for a push to shut down this threat and rescue their victims."

"Colonel?"

"We have their location, we have the beginnings of a plan, and we can't afford to let them have their way any longer. All I need is to know what resources you can contribute to the effort."

"... Sir, I don't… even our most conservative estimates place their swell in membership to be at least a thousand people. We don't have evidence to convict or hold them. Just association wouldn't be enough to-"

"Deputy Director Rennick," Colonel Potter barked, "I don't believe you understand the severity of the situation. The Merchants have launched several attacks on the United States Military and those under our protection. Until now we have successfully repelled those attacks and so have been content to maintain the current situation. That is no longer the case. I will not sit back and suffer attacks by terrorists simply because sorting out who is guilty of what will take time after things in what's left of this city have finally settled!"

"Sir you are suggesting an all out attack. An escalation like that could incite the remaining gangs to stop holding back all together. And that's assuming the Merchants don't escape and retaliate in force."

"In case it has escaped your notice, the Gangs have already escalated. They are willing to gun down my men, and aid trucks. They're rioting across the whole of the city. The only thing clinging to this stance shows is that you aren't willing to rise to the occasion!"

"... I'm sorry, Colonel. I have my orders, and they are to hold the city together as best as I can without causing the whole mess to boil over."

The Colonel silently glared at the speaker for a time, along with a number of others in the tent.

"Fine then. If the PRT is unwilling, or unable, to act in the defense of citizens of the United States, then as the ranking member of the military present I am deeming this the jurisdiction of the National Guard and will act accordingly."

The Colonel hung up without giving Deputy Director Rennick a chance to respond. The tent remained silent for a moment before the Colonel turned to face the rest of us looking us each over in turn.

"All right people. We're on our own for this one, that's the bad news. The good news is we handle this our way. Now, we know where they are, we know what resources we have to call on, and we've got the start of a plan. It needs some polish though. Let's get to work.

{}{}{}{}

"We found a workshop." The voice of a soldier who's name I hadn't caught crackled over the radio. "The Mechanic shop, just like we expected. Only three guards. They surrendered pretty damn quick too. We're just placing the thermite charges on the engine blocks now."

"When we get through this, Corporal, I'm tossing your behind back to basic so you can learn military communications properly." Colonel Potter grumbled. "Legacy, are you in position yet?"

As the Colonel asked, I sidled up to an unattended side door and gently tested the lock. A grin split my face as the door slid easily open.

"Just entering now, Colonel." I whispered before slipping inside.

The room I'd entered was the mall's loading dock. It was sparsely lit by a few fluorescent lights and just like I had hoped it housed three of Squealer's monstrosities. Including a modified school bus that matched descriptions of the cloaked car that the Merchants had used in their raid.

"Got eyes on their getaway vehicle. Give me a few minutes." I had to speak up slightly to be sure he could hear me over the slightly muffled rave music blasting from farther inside the building.

Slipping through the ad hoc garage and tinker lab I was relieved to see it unguarded. I was also fairly furious that the missing woman were nowhere to be seen. I buried that though. We would rescue them soon. Rushing in and getting myself killed wouldn't do them any good. Of course, I could just rip through the gang until the only people left were the ones not fighting, but in that kind of chaos… I was mostly certain I could reinforce myself and my costume enough to shrug off small arms fire, mostly. I wasn't in a hurry to put that theory to the test. Even if I could though it would essentially mean maiming or killing an entire mob. Military operation or not, that wouldn't go over well, and there would be too many opportunities for them to take hostages or hit the victims in the confusion. Hell, I might pick the wrong target in that kind of chaos.

This was the best we had been able to cobble together on short notice. It didn't feel like enough. Even knowing we were stopping a massive gang. Even knowing it would make so many people safer after this. I knew what the victims must be going through. How could anything be enough?

I pushed the thoughts away and moved to the set of double doors which separated the garage from the rest of the mall. They were big simple things meant to swing open and let pallet jacks move through easily, cheap and flimsy too. And to properly funnel people I needed to barricade them so nothing got through. I traced a four inch thick steel plate in front of them. Then I buried a few claymores into the floor behind it to properly brace the slab of metal up in front of the door. Escape route blocked, I turned back to the tinker vehicles. I hesitated as I considered how best to deal with them. I could kill them easily enough with my bow and arrow… assuming no one had been alerted to my presence when I drove the claymores into the floor the extra noise might or might not matter… But this was also a chance to test out another idea I'd had. It wasn't something I ever really wanted to use, not on a person… but for a few empty cars?

Shirou had made swords into deadly ranged attacks by altering one attribute when he traced them. Namely their velocity. What if I tweaked something else instead?

Standing next to the driver's door I started tracing swords inside the armored monstrosity then I just raised the temperature of the blades until molten steel dripped loose and slowly began to fill the interior. The heat was unbelievable, and the smell of burning upholstery would have likely been unbearable if not for the borrowed gas mask which had replaced my helmet.

"Taylor, sometimes you scare me." Shirou's comment surprised a genuine laugh from me.

"Creativity is as much a weapon as anything else I suppose. Though to be honest I'm not sure what could ever make a trick this nasty the best option."

Before the conversation could progress any further, I had to jump back as the molten metal melted through the floor of the car and pooled towards me. Apparently, Squealer had skimped out on armoring the underside.

"Well… That worked." I tapped on my comm. "Colonel, the door is blocked. Give me another minute and I'll be finished disabling the cars before moving on."

"Double time it, Legacy. They don't know what's coming yet, but I don't want to bet on luck." The Colonel's voice crackled in my ear.

"Yes, sir."

{}{}{}{}

The roof of the mall was mostly gravel, but there were also a lot of skylights and that was what was going to make this possible. I wasn't crazy about raining glass down on whoever might be in there, given we had no idea where the hostages might be. I just didn't have the time or options to be picky about this though.

"I'm in position, Colonel. Just say the word."

"We're just getting the last of the barricades into place now. Standby."

The mall originally had six entrances not counting the loading dock. The plan was to block off three of them and turn the rest into kill zones. If the Merchants had an ounce of sense they would surrender. If not? Well they weren't trained fighters. With any luck seeing a few of their own go down would be enough to get the message across. The Colonel had distributed capes and Mounted 50cals at each exit just in case. I Just had to flush them out before hunting the stragglers.

"Legacy, go."

"Moving.".

I smashed the first skylights with a few launched weapons. I took a bare moment to properly focus on getting the next bit exactly right. A number of tear gas canisters flew through the new opening, falling into the crowds below. Even over the booming rave music I could clearly hear the shrieks and screams. I took off at a full sprint for the next skylight.

{}{}{}{}

I prowled through the mall as cautiously as I could, riot shield in one hand and Tora-shinai in the other. The gas mask limited my range of vision and the shifting clouds of white gas obscured everything. There were a number of people passed out here and there. Whenever I found someone, I cuffed them then traced a gas mask over their face. Just to help them breath until the gas cleared, or enough people could be spared to help move them.

Considering the risks of long term exposure, I should be rushing to get them out, but that would mean leaving others for even longer. Some of these people seemed to have passed out beforehand, drunk or drugged, in unoccupied corners. Others seemed to have gotten knocked down and trampled in the chaos. I'd seen at least one dead man already.

"Legacy we've got the capes. Shielder and Laserdream tag teamed them when they tried to make a break for it through the crowds. And just about everyone else was too busy trying to breath to put up a real fight. How do things look on your end?"

"Mostly clear. I'm finding people in all kinds of out of the way corners. More than a few injured and at least one dead. I'll keep working, but I could use some help once you can spare it."

"As soon as I can, Legacy." The Colonel responded, "But it's going to be a long night for all of us."

"Yes, sir."

I wanted to be thrilled. To be happy. I wasn't. This was a clear win; we had stopped the Merchants cold with this raid.

But I was directly responsible for who knows how much lung damage and at least one person getting trampled to death. We were lucky no one triggered in the middle of this. I blew out a breath, and tried to shake off my melancholy. I'd done the best I could. We all had. There just wasn't a clean or pretty way to deal with so many people.

{}{}{}{} Noon

New Wave had invited me to eat with them after everything was finally over and I'd accepted. Conversation had been limited. We were all just too tired. I had my head pillowed on my arms leant over the table. Before I put my own head down, I'd seen Amy passed out leaning against her sister, and Crystal's head had been repeatedly dipping only to snap back up. We were all just too worn out.

"Colonel," Mrs. Pelham said, "care to join us?"

I turned my head and cracked one eye open enough to see the approaching officer. He looked just as worn out as the rest of us, but didn't seem willing to give in to that like myself and the younger members of New Wave. Were adults just better at dealing with lack of sleep or was it a military thing? I let the thought slip away as I saw just how serious the Colonel's expression was. The man nodded and sat at the end of the table the only thing in his hands was a cup of coffee.

"I wanted to thank all of you for your work last night. Without your help we never could have pulled that off." Colonel Potter said.

There was a chorus of polite responses to that some of which were more mumbled than others and I forced myself to sit up straight and give the man my as much attention as my exhaustion would allow.

"I wish I was here with good news, but I just got off the radio with the PRT."

Mrs. Pelham frowned. "They can't be that upset by what we did last night. There were injuries and fatalities, but for such a major action…" She trailed off as the Colonel shook his head.

"Director Piggot was more than a little sour with me for acting, and for pulling this off without her organization's help." The Colonel admitted with a shrug. "But she doesn't get a say in that. No, this is unrelated news. They finally got the results back on the drinking water. Or I should say the latest results. They've been testing it regularly in the hopes they were wrong, but there's no denying it anymore. Leviathan's attack contaminated the drinking water. It's all brackish now, and they aren't sure what if anything can be done to repair the damage."

The Colonel gave us all a moment to digest that.

"Without a source of clean drinking water, the city is being declared unsalvageable. We'll begin evacuating the city tomorrow. Starting with our camps here, and then moving on to the downtown camps."