The moment where Starburst and Leviathan stared at each other, a terrified Ward looking into the malevolent gaze of an Endbringer seemed to have stretched on for ages...
Until Alexandria slammed a right hook into Leviathan's face and knocked it back.
The sudden action snapped Starburst out of her fear-filled trance and she quickly took flight. Despite the various capes allaying against it, Leviathan shrugged off their attacks and gave chase to the fleeing Ward.
"Starburst, don't climb up!" Miss Militia warned over the armband. "Leviathan can hit you with thrown objects!"
Frantically, Starburst dipped back down below the skyline, just in time to avoid getting pegged by a thrown car. With a thought, her Radar outlined a flight path line that twist and turned through the city. As she flew over a wreckage of an emitter vehicle, a part of her idly noted the rise of the local thaumaturgic energy levels in the area being registered in her Radar environmental readouts. It looks like whenever Leviathan destroys one, the thaumaturgic energy instead discharges into the air and lingers a bit.
An alert and a sudden alteration to her flight path line brought Starburst back into the moment, to dodge a twister of water lancing down from above. Leviathan took advantage of a very momentary gap in the shifting emitter coverage to try to hit her. The next few moments were filled with near misses of cutting streamers of water punching through buildings, lances of ice raining down from above and punishing geysers of water erupting from below, before Starburst entered another anti-hydrokinesis zone.
"Leviathan is toying with us!" Was that Tattletale? "He's wants to kill Starburst but he's playing with us!"
'Fuck!' Starburst thought as she sped through the streets. A quick glance back and she blanched. Despite attacks from the defenders and her own speed, Leviathan was slowing closing in on her! She dodged around a charging Eidolon who was flying in the opposite direction and hitting the Endbringer with some sort of glowing Blaster power.
That bought some relief, as whatever it was, it knocked Leviathan back and gave Starburst a bit of breathing room.
Then, to Starburst's immerse relief, she felt the familiar sensation of a new power appearing in grasp, only to blink in shock;
[HARMONY]: Systematic Constantly Expanding and Self Evolving Enhancement Matrix Module increasing Comprehension and Physiological and Psychological Capacity of Target CenteRed on Altruistic Virtues of IntEgrity, Compassion, Charity, Faithfulness, JOy and Companionship with StRengthened Nurturing and Increased Inclination of InduceMent of Benevolent BehAvioral PatTerns towards Individual Sapient Beings and Societies.
Starburst could barely stop herself from cursing at her power as she frantically flew. Of all times for her power to give her something weird! Enhance?! She doesn't want a power that will upgrade the Endbringers of all things-
A blare of warning from her Radar cut off her mental rant and she quickly swerved aside to dodge a car sized rubble that Leviathan had thrown at her. As she stabilized her flight, she bit her lip before pressing down on the button on her armband. "Starburst here. The new power is ready, but its' weird and I'm worried about using it!" she reported quickly.
"No matter." Alexandria answered. "Just use it. We're taking heavy losses."
"But, Leviathan is moving around too fast." Starburst argued as she flew around a corner. "And I only got enough energy for one shot!"
"Hard Override. All forces, pin Leviathan down!" Alexandria commanded. "Starburst, just use the power!" she insisted.
"Hard Override. Leviathan's core is in the torso, towards the chest!" Tattletale cut in.
How?! If Starburst start to charge up the energy for the new power, she'll have to divert some away from her Flight and Radar, and those two were what keeping her from being killed by the Endbringer pursuing her. How to get more-
Her thoughts cut off as a realization hit her. The energy from the destroyed emitters!
A thought, and a new flight path line appeared, looping and winding around the city. Six vehicles down, one disable, two active. If she goes fast enough, she'll minimize the time outside the anti-hydrokinesis zones...
Starburst poured more energy into her Flight power and she sped up.
"Leviathan has shifted targets! It's after a shelter on 3rd and 5th!" a woman cried out over the armband.
Got to go to faster-
"Brutes! On me! We'll hit him from the North!" Alexandria declared.
Go faster-
She sped over a wreckage of a mobile emitter, the thaumaturgic energy from the batteries practically fountaining into the air outlined in her Radar. Her body greedily absorbed the excess energy as she pass the site.
Faster-
The anti air shear bubble around her began to distort into a conical shape.
"Blasters fire on my mark!" Legend barked.
Faster-
Streamers of lightning danced along her form as she accelerated further.
"Pin him down!" A male voice said.
Faster-
"Armsmaster is hit!"
She turned the last corner, Leviathan was just down the street, a straight line stretch. The Endbringer was now missing an arm and there were a few craters on its face. The cone of air and shield around cackled as she further accelerated.
Faster-
Starburst poured the energy into the new power, it forming a ball of coalescing rainbow light in her out stretched palms. The tension in the cone around her seemed to be nearing breaking point.
Faster-
Her Flight path jinked under an outstretched arm, and the large ball of energy in her hands slammed into Leviathan's chest-
And the tension snapped.
Impact.
And Starburst's sight was filled with light and rainbows.
"KAABOOM!"
**************************
"Starburst down. S-09"