The sun rose over Brockton Bay, golden light streaming over skyscrapers and trees.
Taylor jogged a little faster. She had two hours before the meeting with Lisa and the Undersiders.
She reached her house and slowed down, taking the steps up to the door at a much slower pace. She was young, fit, and had access to very good healers, but there was a finite amount of exercise that could be done before she got tired.
Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and closed it behind her. She looked around at her house. No more sharing a loft or a PRT building, no more probation, no more troopers and capes watching her every move. There was a nice fireplace, the mantle above it adorned with pictures. A large flat screen TV sat mounted on the wall, a couch and several chairs arrayed to face it. The next room over was the dining room, and next to that was the kitchen. Her house, and hers alone.
Well, not entirely hers alone.
"Honey, I'm home!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
A sort of muted grumbling came from the bundle of blankets on the couch.
"Wake up! We have a meeting in less than two hours Everett!" she said as she walked over to the pile and smacked it.
"Fine, fine. I'm getting up. Just five minutes." Everett grumbled, looking up at her.
This was a mistake, because she was currently glaring at him.
Someone who had not been on the receiving end of a glare from Taylor Anne Hebert, Skitter, former Warlord of Brockton Bay, Weaver, the one-time General of the Defense of Earth, and current leader of Wardens NE would possibly not understand why Everett immediately jumped up and started towards his room where his costume lay.
Those who had would understand perfectly.
"Nevermind, getting dressed ma'am!" he said, rushing towards his room.
"That's right!" she said playfully, starting off towards the shower to wash off the accumulated sweat from her run. As she did so she glanced at the mantle she had passed, her eyes catching on one frame in particular.
Panic and hysteria reigned as Scion began laying waste to the world. But not all were gripped by it.
A medal. Awarded for services to the United States of America and Humanity. They had almost given her the Medal of Honor, but then decided that that simply wasn't grand enough- they had made a whole new one and called it the Weaver Medal. She was the only living recipient- the only other person to ever receive one being Eidolon, posthumously.
The Protectorate, Haven, the Ambassadors, the Undersiders, the Elite, Cauldron, the Yangban, The Elitnaya Armiya, the Irregulars- all gathered to fight this threat to the very existence to humanity. They bickered and squabbled and debated about who was to lead.
She hadn't gotten it for fighting directly- she had fought directly, but she was only able to do so because of Doormaker's portals, and the bugs hadn't had any great effect.
Eidolon tried to assert control, but failed as the Irregulars utterly refused to work under him.
As the meeting spiralled further and further out of control, one person stepped forwards and took the lead.
"SILENCE!" she shouted.
The room obeyed.
No, she got that medal for leadership. She took charge when no one else could or would. She rallied the forces of humanity against the great evil of Scion and won. Part of the award was also the disappearance of the Endbringers; they had vanished when Scion had died.
A scrap of green cape fluttered to the ground. Legend bent down and picked it up, his face grim.
"He held Scion for three hours. No matter what else he may have done, he died a hero."
She still thought they had given her too much credit. She had led the army, yes, but they had done the work.
A dozen tinkers worked frantically on a massive device, vaguely cannon-shaped. This weapon would reach across dimensions to strike at Scion's true form. Out of all of them, Defiant and Dragon worked the fastest, mechanical might surpassing human frailty in this race against time.
Elsewhere, Foil readied herself. Her power was thought to be able to harm Scion. She was duty bound to try.
For Sabah.
And tens of millions had still been lost. She doubted anyone could have really stopped that, but it still burned that she couldn't save everyone.
Washington was enveloped in golden light. Nothing of strategic value against Scion was lost, but it was a powerful blow to the morale of the American capes.
Even as the immense stress from running a planetary defense began taking its toll, Weaver rallied them with a rousing speech promising revenge against Scion and preventing this from happening to more cities and nations.
Still, in the end, victory had been theirs. Scion had fallen, and the surviving soldiers cheered.
Scion's golden body stood stock still for a moment before disappearing entirely. The army watched with bated breath, weapons and powers at the ready.
Nothing happened for ten minutes.
Then the cheering started.
"Weaver! Weaver! Weaver!"
It was picked up by the news broadcasts Dragon had been sending out, and the entire world took up the chant.
"WEAVER! WEAVER! WEAVER!"
Then the world began to pick up the pieces.
...Rebuilding efforts are still ongoing across the eastern seaboard, with extensive progress being made in Atlanta and New York…
...Protectorate and PRT being dissolved and reformed into single organization by the name of "Wardens"...
...Ambassadors granted pardon for services rendered during Gold Morning...
But not everyone celebrated.
...South African government collapsed on Tuesday after a newly triggered parahuman blew up their parliament building…
...new cult based around Scion, much like the Fallen, called The Golden…
...Golden assault on New London Suits team temporary headquarters repelled with massive casualties…
That was the purpose of this meeting with her old teammates. A Fallen sect had been sniffing around the newly rebuilt Docks recently and that probably meant they were up to no good. The Fallen enjoyed trying to do the Endbringers' jobs for them after they disappeared- wrecking ports, attacking power plants, releasing mental patients…
None of these had anywhere near the effect the Endbringers had had on the cities, but it definitely wasn't helping, and there were a finite amount of resources to commit to rebuilding and the Fallen and Golden were forcing people to waste it.
Taylor finished her shower quickly and slipped off her wedding ring before she slipped on her costume. It hadn't changed since Gold Morning, still the white, blue, and gray with the insect theme. She left their room to find Tecton waiting for her in the living room.
For most capes, dressing into costume and then walking to the Wardens Regional Headquarters from their house would be a problem, but Taylor had been outed years ago and Everett decided that he didn't much care anymore.
They both piled into their SUV and drove off towards Headquarters where the Undersiders would be waiting for her. The trip was peaceful…
Or would have been if half the street hadn't exploded.