Greg Arc 8, Chapter 14 Outline (Patreon)

Time elapsed: 9 minutes, 34 seconds since Leviathan engagement began.

Cerberus Frame status:

Power core: 58% remaining

Efficiency buffer warning ping: flashing yellow. Armsmaster mentally notes that by his own standards, 58% after 10 minutes is unacceptable, bordering on critical.

Not because the system is failing, but because he’s not being efficient enough.

Internal monologue: “I should be at 71.3%. Too much bleed from non-optimized attack patterns. I miscalculated. Unacceptable.”

The perfectionist in him hates the waste, even as the realist acknowledges Endbringer fights break every rule

Systems Active:

Phantom displacement on cooldown (2m 58s)

Sonic grid flickering at 32% capacity (rain interference)

Nanite patch reserve: 3 remaining

Halberd edge at 91% vibrational integrity

Microswarm drones: 1 recon, 2 active intercept, 1 foam-dispenser deployed on a collapsing overpass

While sprinting through a second-floor hallway partially collapsed from a building split by a tidal gouge:

Magnetic boots clamp-release-clamp through debris field

Metal screams against concrete as his weight tears chunks from weakened surfaces

Each step calculated for maximum grip efficiency, but the building groans under him anyway

Servo-assisted stride compensates for uneven footing, hydraulics hissing with each adjustment

Rainwater cascades through gaping roof holes, creating slick patches that his HUD maps in real-time

Jump jet micro-bursts stabilize balance on crumbling concrete—brief controlled explosions that crack masonry

Internal gyroscope compensates for 15-degree floor tilt, but Colin can feel the building swaying

Heat signatures bloom across his thermal display as stressed metal reaches failure points

The floor gives way beneath him

Magnetic boots lose purchase as reinforced concrete crumbles like wet sand

Jump jets fire—CRACK-BOOM—launching him forward through the collapsing structure

Debris rains around him, chunks of rebar and masonry spinning past his faceplate

He punches through a weakened wall

Lands hard on the street below, knees absorbing impact through servo compression

Concrete spider-webs beneath his boots from the force

Behind him, three stories of apartment building collapse into the flood

Side-feed scrolls:

Brandish (down)

Trickster (down)

Stormtiger (down)

Raymancer (deceased)

Newter (down)

Crusader (deceased)

Armsmaster mentally updates triage probability overlays.

35-40% of current capes in operation have suffered injury or death.

…not the worst numbers, but not good enough. Never good enough.

Statistical analysis: within acceptable parameters for Endbringer engagement

Casualty rate curve still climbing but not exponential

Current projection: 43% total losses if engagement continues at this pace

Armsmaster reaches the edge of the collapsed building and scopes the environment

Kaiser has constructed three dozen massive walls and pillars of iron along Leviathan's path, forming a jagged metal hedge maze in the block surrounding Leviathan

HUD maps metal construct positions in real-time, highlighting stress fractures in red

Structural integrity: 73% average across all barriers

Colin has to admit—the Nazi knows his business when it comes to battlefield control

Tactical assessment: effective channeling, sub-optimal material distribution

Redirecting Leviathan's speed into side-collisions, forcing the Endbringer to break rhythm.

Hookwolf is fighting like an absolute lunatic—a large bladed mass, he's using the shrapnel-slick terrain to launch himself from wall to wall. The man's completely insane, but his harassment pattern is keeping Leviathan occupied

Motion tracking shows 8.3-second intervals between collision impacts

Damage output: minimal but consistent harassment value

Survival probability: 23% and dropping

Othala and Victor stand behind defensive walls, the former granting powers to allies while the latter acts as her protection—Armsmaster's HUD logs temporary resistances on nearby Brutes.

Power enhancement readings spike across multiple allied signatures

Tactical value: force multiplication through temporary upgrades

Current beneficiaries: 37 active capes within 200-meter radius

Out-of-town villains:

Tempestra (NYC): Creating updraft vacuums that slow Leviathan's tailwater arcs.

Wind speed analysis: 40% reduction in hydrokinetic projectile velocity

Atmospheric pressure differential creating tactical advantages

Cardinal Breaker (Chicago): Projects golden 'safe zones' that stabilize building collapses. Already saved a half-dozen civilians.

Structural reinforcement fields registering 340% stability increase

Civilian evacuation efficiency improved by estimated 28%

Deadweight (LA): Gravity anchor tech working as momentary tripwire mines. Leviathan stumbles briefly when one goes off underfoot.

Gravitational distortion detected: 2.3x normal Earth gravity in localized zones

Effect duration: 0.8 seconds average per activation

Armsmaster privately loathes working with them all—but he logs every contribution.

Armsmaster moves rooftop-to-rooftop using magnetic boot propulsion and anchor cable darts, unwilling to use his jump jets right now in an attempt to have his power reserves tick back up first.

Magnetic boot cycle: engage-pivot-release in 0.3-second intervals

Cable dart trajectory calculated for maximum swing efficiency

Tungsten tip punches through concrete and steel with satisfying precision

Power draw for equivalent mobility from jump-jets would have taken almost a half-percentage from his reserves

Each anchor point tested for structural integrity before full weight commitment

Rain creates additional friction coefficients requiring constant recalibration

Speed maintained at 87% of optimal despite conservation protocols

Leviathan sweeps past, massive form cutting through Kaiser's barriers like they're paper

Armsmaster times his approach perfectly

Jump jets fire—controlled detonation launching him into striking range

Halberd spins up to full vibrational frequency, the weapon screaming like a banshee

He slashes at Leviathan's foreleg as it sweeps past, putting his full weight behind the strike

The impact travels up through his arms, servos whining under the strain

Sparks shower like welding fire where tungsten-carbide edge meets Endbringer hide

Minor damage. Surface-layer only, but it's something

Penetration depth: 2.3 centimeters into Endbringer hide

Leviathan ignores him for now—fixated on the Empire’s walls.

Tactical opportunity: continue harassment while attention diverted

Window of engagement: estimated 43 seconds before retaliation

Armsmaster slings a disruptor round into a minor wound. Hopes for internal bleed or nerve damage. Registers a reaction, but no limp.

Part of him wanted to waste time wishing the boy was here, White Knight's actions, albeit reckless, still undeniably useful and the closest they've ever come to damaging Leviathan, the large and deep scarring on the Endbringer's right arm clear for all to see, a morale boost as much as one could hope for in this sort of situation.

Armsmaster circles wide, using Kaiser's maze to mask his approach

Identifies weakness: Leviathan's tail drags slightly when turning left

Possible nerve damage from White Knight's earlier assault

He activates a micro-burst from his jump jets, angling for the damaged area

Halberd extends to full reach, vibrational edge humming at maximum frequency

Strike lands clean—drives deep into the existing scar tissue

This time the penetration goes deeper: 4.8 centimeters

The Endbringer spins faster than physics should allow

Tail whip incoming—

HUD flashes red. Combat Predictive Suite fails to parse a tail-spike feint.

Leviathan whips his tail in a tight arc.

Instead of horizontal, the strike goes vertical—a pattern the suite had logged as <1% likely.

Colin sees it coming but can't react fast enough

Time dilates as tons of weaponized water cut through the air toward him

Armsmaster blocks with halberd—shield coming to life in front of his weapon and servo motors screaming as they redirect kinetic force. It's barely enough to keep from being swept away, along with the clamps on his boots keeping him on the ground

The impact drives him to his knees, concrete cracking beneath him

But the kinetic force still hits like a freight train

Side of faceplate cracks, spiderwebbing across his field of vision

Emergency nano-sealant begins to deploy, metallic taste flooding his mouth

Internal diagnostics: "CRANIAL SHIELD LEVEL 1 COMPROMISED. BUFFER 82% STABLE. REDIRECTING POWER FROM SHIELD."

Armsmaster's eyes widen as the wave crashes backward across a rooftop, servos fighting to control the tumble

The hero rolls with the impact, armor plating striking sparks from brick and concrete

Lands on his feet through sheer mechanical advantage

Barely.

His stance skids atop slick brick, gyroscopic stabilizers working overtime

Blood in his mouth tastes like copper and ozone

Bites his cheek hard enough to cut through the post-impact

Leviathan turns toward him, those alien green eyes focusing with predatory intent

Colin's been marked as a threat worth eliminating

No time for subtlety—jump jets fire at maximum thrust

Controlled explosion launches him directly at the Endbringer's center mass

Halberd spins up beyond safe parameters, edge glowing white-hot from friction

He drives the blade toward Leviathan's chest, aiming for the heart equivalent

Impact—the halberd bites deep, deeper than any previous strike

13.7 centimeters of penetration before hitting something harder than diamond

Water erupts around them both in a geyser of superheated steam

Colin triggers his phantom displacement—

Reality warps, space folds, and he's twenty meters away before Leviathan's counter-strike

The Endbringer's claw tears through empty air where he'd been standing

Camera sensor blurs to the right. Something massive moves.

A sound like thunder.

The ground shakes. Not from Leviathan.

The armband flashes. Peripheral cue flashes blue then red:

White Knight: Active.

Armsmaster pivots toward the sea.

Through the rain, wind, and blinding white light, something rises.

From the ocean.

Power signature spiking.

Static cracks.

Then a voice, half-roaring, half-singing, crashes across the comms.

Armsmaster’s HUD filters out reverb:

“LIVING HERE IN BROCKTON—!”