"They will have to remainder the action figures and ship them to at-risk children."

"They won't even have collectible value like the toys that got through the PRT's review process with Clockblocker's name still on them."

"No? Too big a production run to be exciting as rarities?"

"Alas, my name's all over the place. The merchandising money seemed worth it to me at the time."

"Fair enough."

Life goes back to normal afterwards for a time.

A very short time.

Three days later, the Endbringer sirens go off.

Here? Fuck.

Lorica suits up.

Lorica is one of the first to arrive at the gathering point, a PRT command center between the docks and downtown - HQ was far too exposed to the ocean for this.

Legend and Eidolon are both already present as well as most of the Brockton Bay Protectorate and wards.

Lucien taps his leg impatiently.

Bots disperse themselves throughout the city except for one that stays on Lorica's shoulder.

Lucien notices Lorica and has an idea.

"Could your bots clear people out in front of trenches I dig? Vista and I are waiting on confirmation for setting up a system of storm trenches to divert the waves."

"It can shoo them, I don't know how good they'll be at shooing on command."

"Better than nothing," says Lucien, walking over to argue with Legend some more.

Lorica's already much better suited for sheltering coordination than for direct confrontation with Leviathan. Her robots herd people away from traffic jams and escort them to bunkers, fly back for somebody's dropped go-bag, tell Transit where to find anyone who's managed to twist an ankle.

Lucien returns, annoyed.

"Legend says he'll give permission if the PRT doesn't give an answer in three. In the meantime your bots should focus on evaccing streets we're going to wreck," he says, listing streets around the edge of the docks.

"On it." Bots make their way to the relevant area.

"Fuck the PRT caring about property damage now,"

"They might be on the hook for fixing it if it's us doing it and not if it's Leviathan." Sigh.

"If villains did it now they'd get away with it." mutters Lucien.

Legend floats over.

"Are the streets clear?"

"Maynard Ave has some stragglers."

Legend flashes out the door, moving the stragglers out of the way in seconds and returning. 

"You have permission to preemptively trench those streets. I told them they don't get to make calls once Leviathan hits and Armsmaster says he trusts your instincts," he says addressing the three of Lucien, Lorica, and Vista, "so react as appropriate then."

Really the PRT shouldn't be making input now, active battles are outside their supervision, but they've never had this much warning and the PRT argued that this wasn't yet an active fight. He'll talk to Alexandria later.

"Understood."

Lucien leads the three of them onto the street outside - close enough to hear what's happening inside with the side exit door propped open.

"Still clear?" he asks Lorica.

"Oh, there's always somebody, but you will not directly kill anyone if you trench those streets right now."

A crack in the pavement shoots out from in front of Lucien, followed swiftly by crumbling asphalt and dirt getting thrown into the air on ither side of the crack as a trench is dug, tall enough for someone to shelter in if they crouch. The trench streaks outwards, reaching an intersection in moments. Without stopping it splits, radiating outwards across both streets at the intersection, spreading across the city streets Lucien had indicated.