Re-Write for Second Archon War Chapter 1 (Patreon)

I don't normally do re-writes, but I wasn't very happy with the Bubba scene from about the day after I wrote it. Thinking about it, I really should have used the Heberts to show that scene, especially Danny as he was destined to be a minor character. So, I re-wrote it. This obviously takes place during Raiden's initial appearance. 

“Reports are still coming in of the two unnamed parahumans that are battling Levithan. They seem to have left the city after over half an hour of fighting, and reports indicate that the Endbringer may be successfully driven off.”

Sighing, Daniel looked out the window at the gloomy morning. It was time for another shift. Some days, he just felt defeated though. Nagasaki seemed like it might be spared, but their docks and shipping would be wrecked. He felt for his fellow longshoremen, but also for his own brothers, and his own family. Another blow to the global shipping industry. How much longer could they hang on? How many ships had been destroyed in this attack?

“Honey, can you help Taylor? She had an accident and I need to wash her sheets,” his wife, Annette called from upstairs.

“Sure thing, babe,” Daniel called, standing up from his breakfast and suppressing a groan. Not again. Taylor was four now, wasn't this supposed to stop happening? Well, it had been awhile, and she'd been scared when she went to bed with the talk of the impending attack of Leviathan.

He found his daughter sitting on the toilet and looking guilty, but he smiled at her as he turned on the show. "It's OK, kiddo. Accidents happen. Were you scared?"

"I had nightmares," Taylor admitted. "The fish monster."

That made Daniel wince and feel like this was his fault. Taylor didn't need to be having nightmares about Endbringers. He helped Taylor into the shower, then stepped out into the hall to listen to the TV. He felt slightly guilty, but he did need to know.

“-Japanese officials continue to state that the evacuation proceeds as planned, with the two parahumans buying the city of Nagasaki time. At last word, fighting had left the city proper and was now in Nagasaki Bay.”

Annette walked by, looking tired and slightly frazzled. "Thanks. Thought you'd be gone by now."

Gesturing to the TV, Daniel said, "Just listening to the news. I was right, it was any day now. I just thank God it wasn't us."

"Live to fight another day," Annette said tiredly as she moved into the kitchen. "Hey, will you be able to pick up Taylor from preschool today? I need to do office hours and help a few of my students with their end of term reports."

"That's not for a few weeks right?" Daniel asked, then added, "I'll try. Things are gonna be crazy with people all worried about another port destroyed."

He glanced out the window, watching the faint glow of the sunrise. Then he blinked. They sky had gone purple.

Just then, the power went off, and Taylor screamed. Daniel half moved to get her, but his jaw dropped as what looked like the aurora borealis spread across the discolored sky, and then...something. There was a loud bang, and he winced.

Annette gasped and moved to the window, then cried out. "Oh my God! There's a car crash!" She bolted for the door, rushing to see to the accident.

Daniel tore his gaze away and got his crying daughter out of the shower, though by the time he'd wrapped her in a towel the lights had come back on.

"Danny! Danny, call 911!" Annette shouted from outside, and Daniel ran to the phone by the window. He looked out to see Annette by a sedan that had run right into a light pole, with a bloodied and dazed looking woman in the driver's seat. He tried to call 911, but the line was busy. How could that happen?

"Daddy, daddy, look! It's dead!"

Daniel turned to the TV, where an astonished reporter was speaking. "-appologize for the interruption in the broadcast, we had a short power outage, but it looks like Leviathan has been defeated. Initial reports are skeptical, but we go live to footage from Japan."

The image was fuzzy and distorted by rain, and was at a far distance. But something was floating on the water. The camera zoomed in first to the body of what looked like a dragon, which was rapidly shrinking. A purple streak flew down, and the dragon vanished, but the camera panned over to show the other object.

"Oh my God," Daniel gasped as Taylor began to clap and cheer.

The head of Leviathan floated in the waves, eyes sightless and dull, with it's midsection floating not far away, the waters stained with some dark fluid that must have been blood.

"We won! The good guys one! Daddy, was it Alexandria!?" Taylor asked excitedly.

Daniel slowly picked up Taylor, hugging her tightly as tears filled his eyes. "Yes. I think things just changed for us, Tay-Tay."

But outside, Annette held a stranger's hand as her life bled away.

And the world changed course forever.