Firefight

Prof and Tia introduce David to the Babilar Reckoners—Exel, Mizzy, and Val. The team crosses the Hudson River into Babilar, and on the way, Prof updates David about Regalia, the Epic ruler of Babilar, who holds power over water and can control the liquid, project her image, and spy through any surface where water touches air. David is momentarily relieved that they will be far from open water, but he soon realizes that Regalia has sunk the entirety of Babilar, and only the tops of the skyscrapers now stand above the surface. Strange, glowing plants grow within the buildings, and Prof tells David, “Welcome to Babylon Restored […] the world’s greatest enigma” (69).

David is amazed at the city but also marvels at the people’s ability to enjoy themselves without living in fear of the Epics like the people of Newcago did under Steelheart. Exel thinks that Regalia has turned good and wants to care for the people, but no one agrees with him. A fiery explosion on a nearby rooftop ends the debate as the team rushes to help, unsure of what caused the blasts. Suddenly, Regalia appears and addresses Prof by his real name. David doesn’t hesitate to plant “a bullet in the side of her head” (77).

Regalia’s head explodes into water before reforming, and David realizes that the figure before them is only a projection. The explosions continue, and without sounding regretful at all, Regalia announces her regret that a dangerous Epic named Obliteration (who has power over heat) is the cause of the disturbance. Her projection then disappears. In addition to controlling heat, Obliteration also has a reactive teleportation power that allows him to instinctively remove himself from danger. Though his weakness is unknown, the team knows that he is nearsighted and speculates that he may have a cooldown time on his teleportation. With this information, Prof mobilizes the whole team except for Mizzy. David recognizes that Prof is skeptical about her abilities, so he volunteers her to cover him. When Prof agrees, Mizzy thanks David, who says that she might want to hold off with the thanks until they survive the battle.

David quickly realizes that Obliteration’s powers don’t have a cooldown time, and he barely keeps ahead of the Epic as the team scrambles to come up with a plan. Obliteration brings the fight into a building that is overgrown with glowing plants, and David hunts for Obliteration while Mizzy builds an explosive to stick to their foe, hoping to take him out when his power is triggered. During the battle, Obliteration calmly thanks David for killing Steelheart, and David intentionally misses a shot in order to gain information about the man’s teleportation power. When Obliteration disappears, Mizzy gives David the explosive and runs to investigate the sound of screams coming from another rooftop. Suddenly, Obliteration appears next to David.

David adheres the bomb to Obliteration just before the Epic clamps a ball and chain around David’s ankle and throws him into the water. David grabs a window ledge as he sinks. Just as his strength gives out, someone frees his leg, allowing him to haul himself up to the surface. Prof used his powers to fight off Obliteration, and though the Epic is now gone, David cannot help but feel that the team has failed. As the group heads back to headquarters, David sees Megan in the crowd, dripping wet. He realizes that she is the one who saved his life.

Mizzy is reprimanded for leaving David without backup, but David commends her for saving people. As David questions how Regalia convinced Obliteration to side with her, Regalia’s projection appears and tells them that she agreed to let Obliteration destroy Babilar. When the team questions her on this point, she brings up watery vines to trap them and their boat. Tia knows that Regalia fears Prof, and when she says as much, Regalia lets them all go. However, she doesn’t deviate from her story, and she declares, “I will destroy everyone in Babylon Restored. I do not know…how long I can hold back” (106). The team continues to their base, where they flood the water with dish soap to block Regalia’s spying abilities and then board a submarine.

Regalia can’t look beneath the water, and while she could rip apart the submarine if she found it, the group concludes that they are safe for the moment since Regalia let them go while they were still on the surface. As they travel, David bonds with Mizzy over badly constructed metaphors and learns that Exel is the people-person of the group. Because only Tia and David know that Prof is an Epic, Tia explains that Prof let Obliteration hit him, healed himself, and stole Obliteration’s glasses. Obliteration got spooked and disappeared, and Tia is thankful for David, saying, “The tip about Obliteration being nearsighted? Turns out it was a good one” (117).

The Babilar Reckoner base is an underwater bunker that is outfitted as though it were a mansion. Though it is supposedly beyond Regalia’s influence, the group takes no chances and only allows water in the bathroom; they also avoid turning on lights in that room. Mizzy tells David about Reckoner life in Babilar, explaining that the group has integrated into the community and has been spying on Regalia for years. David doesn’t understand why Babilar is the only city where Reckoners have built regular lives, and he is convinced that Prof is looking for a way to “get around the powers ruining the people who use them” (124).