It wasn’t mandatory.
Armsmaster had made that very clear when the emergency summons went out, and the same message had been repeated several times since Halle arrived at the PRT headquarters. Wards were minors, and no one could force them to participate in an Endbringer battle. Anyone who wanted to leave could do exactly that, and the PRT would even escort them to a shelter.
Halle understood that. She really, really did. Her feet kept moving anyway.
The hallways around her were busier than she had ever seen them. PRT officials rushed in both directions, while heroes she only recognised from television passed without sparing anyone a second glance. Orders were shouted across rooms, phones rang without pause, and every screen she passed displayed some version of the same emergency broadcast.
Halle kept her eyes forward, focusing instead on Sophia several steps ahead of her.
There was something reassuring about that, although Halle doubted Sophia would appreciate being told. She moved with her usual confidence, shoulders straight and pace steady, barely reacting to the chaos around them as she headed toward the changing rooms.
Halle followed and concentrated on keeping pace with her because thinking about anything else made her stomach hurt.
Leviathan.
Armsmaster had said they were still waiting for final confirmation, though he sounded certain enough that Halle didn’t see much point in hoping he was wrong. Every projection so far had Leviathan heading straight for Brockton Bay.
Halle had seen the footage, just like everyone else. She had watched entire cities flood within minutes and buildings come apart beneath the water. She had seen heroes disappear under the waves and never come back up. There were videos online that Halle had only managed to watch once before deciding she never wanted to see them again.
Now she might see it in person.
Her breathing quickened, and Halle forced herself to slow it, drawing in a breath and releasing it the way Naruto-sensei had taught them. It helped. A little.
Sophia pushed open the changing room door and disappeared inside without looking back. Halle hesitated at the entrance for half a second before following her.
Several Wards were already changing, and almost none of them were talking. That was probably the strangest part.
Halle had spent enough time around the others by now to know that silence was unusual. There was always someone making a joke, complaining, or arguing about something completely pointless, even when things were supposed to be serious.
Today, all Halle heard was the sound of lockers opening and clothing being pulled free.
She found her locker and stared at it for several seconds before something occurred to her.
Tomorrow was supposed to be her unveiling.
There had been plans for it. A press appearance, photographs, and a short introduction where she would smile at cameras and answer prepared questions while someone from the PRT stood nearby to make sure she didn’t say anything stupid.
Her mum had been excited.
Her little brother had been even worse.
Halle had spent nearly an hour listening to him guess what her costume would look like despite her repeatedly telling him she wasn’t allowed to say anything.
She was supposed to become a hero tomorrow.
So much for that.
Halle opened the locker and found her costume waiting inside. She reached for it, then stopped. Her hand remained suspended for several seconds before slowly falling back to her side.
Around her, the others continued getting ready.
Halle swallowed.
She was scared.
Once she admitted it, she found it much harder to stop thinking about everything that could go wrong.
She could die out there. Sophia could die too, and so could anyone else getting ready around her. They could walk out of this room and never come back.
Halle thought of her mum.
She had been evacuated before Halle left for the PRT headquarters. Her brothers were with her, and they should already be heading toward one of the shelters.
Halle could still join them.
She could close the locker, find someone in charge, and tell them she had changed her mind. No one would stop her.
She could go to her family. Her mum would probably cry when she saw her, her little brother would ask a hundred questions, and her older brother would pretend he hadn’t been worried even though everyone would know he had. Then they could sit together in the shelter while Halle put on her headphones and waited for everything to end.
Her fingers moved toward the locker door.
“Five minutes.” Armsmaster’s voice came through the speakers overhead, and the changing room went still. “Final confirmation has been received. Endbringer designation Leviathan. Current projections place arrival within the Brockton Bay metropolitan area.”
Halle’s hand froze.
“For those choosing to participate, transport will depart in five minutes. I will reiterate that Ward participation is entirely voluntary. Any Ward wishing to withdraw may do so now.”
Silence followed.
Halle stared at her costume.
They were giving her another chance to leave.
At the bank, she hadn’t been given a choice. Her mum had been on the floor with one of those monstrous dogs far too close to her, and Halle had moved before she could properly think about what she was doing.
She had spent weeks remembering that moment and telling herself it meant she was brave, that maybe she really could be a hero. Back then, she hadn’t known what would happen after she dropped from the ceiling. Today, she knew exactly what was waiting outside.
Halle’s fingers curled against the edge of the locker.
What would Naruto-sensei do?
The answer came so quickly that Halle almost laughed.
Naruto would go. That was obvious enough.
He would probably grin and say something stupid about having fought worse, although Halle had no idea if that was actually true. Then he would throw himself directly into danger because someone needed help and apparently that was enough reason for him.
Halle closed her eyes.
Her hand rose to the headphones around her neck, and the moment her fingers touched the worn plastic, Halle thought of her dad.
For years, she had reached for them whenever the world became too much. Her fingers had found them again without her even thinking about it.
When she opened her eyes, Sophia was already dressed and standing near the exit. Shadow Stalker looked back at her, and for a few seconds, their eyes met.
She said nothing.
Halle half expected some comment about how long she was taking. The older girl simply turned toward the door and left.
Halle watched her go for a moment, then reached into the locker.
Her hands were shaking as she pulled out her costume. She started getting dressed anyway. The material still felt strange against her skin, and some of the fastenings took longer than they should have because her fingers refused to cooperate.
By the time she finished, her heart was still hammering.
Halle stared at herself in the small mirror attached to the inside of the locker.
Tomorrow, the PRT had planned to introduce her to Brockton Bay as its newest hero.
She supposed this counted as an introduction too.
Halle closed the locker and hurried after Sophia before she could think herself out of it.