Fourteen hours later, we land at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington, DC. In order to make the non-stop flight, the C-17 I was on had to be refueled mid air four times.

  I guess they mean it when they say they need me.

  By the time I’ve landed, the city has been secure for almost a full day. I’m not sure why they brought me here, honestly. The news paints New York City in a much worse light than Washington. It certainly makes sense, NYC had half again as many ruptures as DC did, and has eight unruptured versus DC’s three. I suppose they know what they’re doing?

  The damage to buildings, at least, is minimal. Ants, rats and pigeons aren’t exactly known for their ability to level buildings, even after being magically enlarged by powers beyond comprehension.

  An officer is waiting for me once I disembark from the landed aircraft. I’m glad that I managed to find a pressure washer before I left Korea. Being covered in monster guts probably wouldn’t have made a bad impression, though. Especially considering what they’re probably bringing me here for.

  The blonde officer introduces herself.

  “I’m Lieutenant McKinley. I’ll be your liaison going forward.”

  “A liaison? Why do I need a liaison? Not that I’m doubting you or anything…”

  She gives me a smile.

  “Well, given your nature, you’ll need some special transport methods to get you from place to place quickly. My job is to make sure that, among other things, is available where and when you need them.”

  “Ah, thank you.”

  “Of course. Mr. Ryans, if you’d please come with me.”

  She walks off to an open top cargo truck while slipping on a pilot headset. She turns it on and points at it.

  “If you would connect to it, please?”

  I splice into it while gingerly stepping into the truck, and it sags with my weight. The truck rumbles off east, towards the city. As we pull away, Lieutenant McKinley talks to me over the short range radio.

  “I’m glad you decided on returning home, Mr. Ryans. While we held our own well enough these last few days, people like yourself have proven themselves to be extremely valuable.”

  “What do you mean, ‘valuable’?”

  “The monsters that came out of the Fractures were more durable then they should have been. Small arms used by the average person did not always make the cut, unfortunately. The same weapons wielded by the Empowered were far more effective, strangely enough.”

  I watch as hundreds of soldiers and dozens of vehicles organize themselves before moving into the city with us. Traffic going into the city is slow, but we’ve been given a priority lane.

  “What does this have to do with me?”

  “We’re aware of your effectiveness during your defense of Seoul. Without your help it would have certainly been a far costlier victory. People with powers of similar magnitude are extremely rare. There’s less than thirty known people like that, and three of them are in the process of reshaping an entire continent.”

  “What?”

  “Africa so far has eight Ascended, the term for people like yourself. Three of them are currently fighting to establish a new empire.”

  “It’s been four days!”

  “When I say people like you will reshape the future of the world, I’m not kidding. Despite the crisis at hand, the powers that be are continuing their usual games. They just have new toys to fight over. That includes you.”

  “Look, I’m just here to kill monsters and save people.”

  I’m gonna make you proud, Mom.

  “And I’m very glad to hear that, I promise you. It’s my job to make sure you can be as effective as possible.”

  “And I’m all for it. I just have one question, though?”

  “Of course, Mr. Ryans.”

  “Why here? Why DC? New York has more Fractures.”

  I can see her shift uncomfortably through the truck’s metal cabin. The benefits of complete electromagnetic spectrum sensors, I suppose.

  “…President Drayson and Congress were adamant that you were to be brought here to defend the nation’s capital. You’ll be assisting another Ascended, in the defense, Sorceress Morgan le Fay.”

  “Does there really need to be two of us here? There’s only three Fractures, right?”

  She shares a look with the driver.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Like I said, President Drayson and Congress were adamant that you were to be brought here to defend the nation’s capital. You’ll specifically be deployed to defend the White House. There’s a Fracture on its lawn.”

  “Um, alright, I guess. What about New York?”

  “We’ve deployed as many units as we can. There’s plenty of Empowered there to assist. We’re well prepared. Anything else?”

  “Ah, no, I guess not.”

  “Before we get to the White House Fracture, we’ll be stopping by City Hall. General Cooper would like a word with you, regarding your place in the defense.”

  “Alright. Sounds good.”

  I spend the rest of the short drive in silence, listening to Lieutenant McKinley arrange the meeting. There are apparently quite a few logistical challenges when dealing with someone who has more in common with tanks, IFVs, and APCs than people. I just hope this meeting isn’t the first of the power games people are playing. All I want to do kill is monsters and save people.

  It’s what Mom and Dad would have done.

  I try to cut that thought off, but my new nature sabotages me. Rather than thinking about killing monsters instead of my lost parents, I’m stuck thinking about both simultaneously.

  I miss you, Mom and Dad. The crunch of ants beneath my boots. I wish I could have said goodbye. Breaking the sound barrier just by jumping. How am I supposed to do this without you? Falling like a bomb on hordes of monsters. I’m not good enough. Watching Lieutenant Jang die. Watching dozens, hundreds of people die. How did you do this every day? A thousand feet in the air, watching monsters tear Seoul apart. I don’t know if I can do this. Hammering a crater into the road with an ant. So many people are looking up to me. Covered in viscera and crushed asphalt. I’m so scared of letting them down.

  My head hits the back of the cabin with a dull thunk. I wish I could forget. My new nature sabotaging me further, I suppose.

  The remnants of a family, torn apart. Mom coming home from the station, the smell of smoke still whispering around her, a brittle smile on her lips. A screaming crowd, desperate to get away from a pack of wolves made of trash. Dad coming home, blood on his collar.

  The memories of my parents, tarnished by violence and bloodshed.

  A Glass Spider leaping on a retreating soldier, once clear glass now stained by blood. Dad, crying in the bathroom. I can hear him over the shower. A little kid, tugging on his mother’s corpse. I was a few seconds too slow. The sound of Mom laying into her punching bag in the garage.

  I guess I understand their fake smiles now. But there’s a new feeling now, deep inside. Something burns.

  A scream from the garage. The sound of something heavy hitting the floor. A soldier on a mounted gun, screaming his last at the horde of Trash Zombies overrunning his position. Dad chopping wood for hours on end. We had enough firewood hours ago. A mother defending her son, armed with nothing but a bat and a snarl on her lips. A soldier, blood pouring from his ripped out throat, pulling a pin. He hugs a metal wolf the size of a car close. A student tossing a Molotov cocktail. An Ant Queen screeches in pain as she burns. A Glass Spider shatters under my boot with a squeal. Scream for me. I kick a Trash Wolf so hard it explodes. It died too fast. A floating jellyfish made of balloons pops in my fist. I hope it hurt.

  I like this feeling. It’s easier, simpler, comforting. It brings clarity, boiling down the world to a single statement. There are monsters, and I kill them. Clarity of action, purpose.

  I’m roused from my thoughts when the truck stops. McKinley speaks to me over the radio.

  “We’re here.”

  I clamber out of the truck, and I drop down, leaving a spider web of cracks in the parking lot. A dozen gray-green tents have sprouted around City Hall like militaristic flowers. They’re reminiscent of the command center in Seoul.

  I wonder how Captain Hwang is doing?

  Dozens of military personnel scramble around the area, and Lieutenant McKinley guides me through the throng. I step into something closer to a pavilion rather than a tent. A huge table is in the center, though it’s barely large enough for the two dozen people crowded around it. A short, balding man on the far side is snapping out orders at the various officers around him, directing the position of incoming reinforcements. He looks up at me as I step in.

  “Ah… Mr. Ryans. It’s good to have you here. Please, over here if you would?”

  I step gingerly around the table, careful not to step on anyone or anything. I move slowly, telegraphing each over-exaggerated movement. People give me a wide berth, and I lean over the table to see where the General is pointing at.

  “There’s three Fractures in DC. One on the White House Lawn, one in front of the Capitol building, and one in Lincoln Park. Sorceress Morgan le Fay will be defending the one in Lincoln Park, and I want you defending the White House. With me so far?”

  “Yes, sir. Who’ll be defending the Capitol Building?”

  “They’ll be reinforced with additional heavy armor. You’ll have two tanks for support with two Bradley IFVs. They’ll get four each.”

  “Alright.”

  “Once you’re done defending the Fracture, you’ll be reinforcing the Capitol Building if necessary. Any questions?”

  “What about all the vehicles we saw coming in?”

  “Those will be elsewhere in the city, to reinforce areas as necessary. They’re also carrying out evacuation orders. Anything else?”

  “Ah, no sir.”

  “Good, if anything comes up, you can get in touch with me or my command staff through Lieutenant McKinley.”

  I nod, and carefully make my way out of the encampment, McKinley in tow. Before I get in, she taps my elbow to get my attention.

  “Mr. Ryans, I’ll be staying here to help coordinate. If you need anything, I’ll have my headset on. Feel free to contact me.”

  “Sounds good, Lieutenant.”

  I clamber into the truck, and it rumbles off towards the White House.