Editing Summary:Firefight

This page contains a chapter by chapter summary of '''''[[Firefight]].''''' We hope this summary will make it easier to find specific areas of the book, as well as providing a quick plot refresher for anyone who doesn't want to take the time to reread the entire book.

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== Prologue ==

David gives an account of the appearance of [[Calamity_(Epic)|Calamity]], the new heavenly body that precipitated the advent of the Epics.

He was six years old, eating a popsicle on the balcony of his apartment.  David's father is crying in the background, mourning the recent passing of David's mother.

As Calamity rises, David describes its aberrant appearance: too red, too large, too bright.  It bathes the city in a corrupted radiance, and panic ensues.

== Part One ==

=== Chapter 1 ===

David brings the narrative back to the present, thirteen years after the rise of Calamity.

David and the Reckoners are engaged in an operation to take down [[Sourcefield]], a powerful Epic who just moved into Newcago.  Sourcefield can fire electrical projectiles and transform herself into electrical energy.  While in her energy form, she can use anything she touches as a conduit to travel to another location.  This translocation ability works better and allows further movement if the thing she is touching is a better conductor of electricity.  This gives her a great advantage in Newcago, since the city has been transmuted into steel.

David manages to dodge a few of Sourcefield's energy blasts, and then arms himself with what he hopes is Sourcefield's weakness: a water balloon full of Kool-Aid.  With Tia's warning over his earpiece, he barely avoids Sourcefield as she teleports into the room where he is waiting.  He throws the balloon, hitting her in the chest.  As expected, the Kool-Aid appears to negate Sourcefield's power.

Unfortunately, she's still protected by her energy field, and David's attempt to shoot her just makes her very angry.  Her temporarily suppressed powers roar back to full strength.

=== Chapter 2 ===

David retreats into a hallway but an explosion flings him into a wall. Prof gets trapped in an energy bubble and Tia orders the mission aborted, but David says that Sourcefield is afraid of the Kool-Aid. David lures Sourcefield into chasing him, then rides a zip-line from a balcony but ends up dropping to the street since Sourcefield blasts the zip-line. They lose track of Sourcefield but David deduces that she went underground.

=== Chapter 3 ===

Sourcefield chases David, yelling that she doesn't believe that he killed Steelheart. Sourcefield then runs after him blindly, while having backup Enforcement officers nearby as a contingency. David heads for their primary trap inside a building, and Sourcefield stops following, so they order some of the officers to chase Sourcefield with balloons to urge her onward. Sourcefield is able to elude the balloons and fight off the officers, but David throws a balloon at her back, making her turn. David spits at her feet and gets her to chase him again, and he goes to a residential building, and enters one of the apartments and goes into the bathroom, closing the door. Sourcefield enters through the wall, and David triggers the trap, a barrage of Kool-Aid from the ceiling, and showers spraying the beverage throughout the small room. David rips her mask off, revealing a middle-aged woman, and shoots her at point-blank range, killing her.

=== Chapter 4 ===

David exits the building, and [[Roy]], one of the enforcement officers, along with his Core, bring out Sourcefield's body as onlookers gawk out in the street. David goes to a separate building to meet Prof and Cody. Prof says that he sees a pattern in the three Epics that they have fought recently, and that he thinks he is being targeted by someone familiar with him, and that he has a suspect but he doesn't want to discuss it further. David suggests that Prof try to use his powers but he refuses to since he would then be corrupted. Prof also says that Megan is evil and corrupted, despite what David believes. The mayor and city council show up, and Prof tells David to talk to them.

=== Chapter 5 ===

Mayor [[Briggs]] compliments David on defeating Sourcefield, and offers to have David's rifle replaced, and asks him to walk with her. She presses him for the Reckoner's long term plans, now that they have essentially declared war on the Epics, and David says they have a strategy but declines to elaborate on specifics. Roy hands over some flower petals that were on Sourcefield's body, which come from [[Babilar]], formerly known as New York City, which was also where [[Mitosis]] was working, lending credence to Prof's theory about an Epic conspiracy.

=== Chapter 6 ===

David returns to the hidden Reckoners base, which they all live in to avoid constant attacks by Epics. Tia leaves a file on Epics for David to review, which contains a message from [[Jori]] with background information on Steelheart's pre-Calamity life. Tia added a note inquiring about David's interest in the past of a dead Epic. David eavesdrops on Prof and Tia talk about [[Regalia]] and [[Megan Tarash]] and barges in on them. Prof says that Megan murdered a Reckoner in Babilar, and that if another Epic shows up
on a killing spree that it is David's fault, but Tia disputes this. Prof says that he is going to Babilar to deal with Regalia who he apparently knows, and that David can go along as point man, but not to recruit Megan.

=== Chapter 7 ===

David has misgivings about going to Babilar since he had never left Newcago. Abraham gives him a replacement Gottschalk rifle for the one that broke when fighting Sourcefield.  Prof says that some Reckoner's led by Devin are coming from St. Louis to Newcago to hold it in his absence. Abraham gives David a necklace with a symbol of the Faithful on it, and David accepts it though he does not follow that religion. David asks Edmund about his Epic weakness but he replies that he doesn't know, and that he thinks he will always serve more powerful Epics. Abraham and Cody stay, while Prof, David and Tia leave by Jeep.

== Part Two ==

=== Chapter 8 ===

David reviews notes on the Epics as they traverse the broken landscape heading to Babilar. David notices a possible pattern in the weaknesses of the Epics they defeated, and asks Tia to get more information from Jori. They arrive on the outskirts of Babilar after two days of travel, and stop at a Reckoner's hideout in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which is nominally separated from Babilar by the Hudson River.

=== Chapter 9 ===

They enter the hideout, which has the appearance of a workshop, and meet several other Reckoners, including [[Mizzy]] and [[Valentine]]. Mizzy is enthused to meet two of her heroes, David and Prof. They leave the hideout and walk a short distance to the riverfront, and look across to Babilar Restored. At the dock, they meet [[Exel]], who is seated on a motorboat. They all board the boat and disembark towards Babilar, and Prof asks David what he knows about Regalia, but tells him not to say her name since she has the ability to spy anywhere there is standing water, and saying her name could draw her attention. David soon realizes that Regalia had raised the sea level around Babilar and most of the city is underwater. He also notices lights on the exposed skyscrapers that is caused by glowing graffitti paint. They arrive in Babilar.

=== Chapter 10 ===

Valentine turns off the engine, and they row between the buildings to be less conspicuous. Val explains that Regalia is letting people live their lives normally, and she controls the gangs who once terrorized the city, and that there is an abundance of food due to trees growing inside the buildings thanks to an entity named [[Dawnslight]], who is believed to be an Epic. Prof disputes the accounts of Regalia being benevolent, and says they are there to take down Regalia and her allies. As Exel speaks up for the improvements in life under Regalia, they suddenly note a series of explosions nearby, and decide to help in secret so as to not reveal their presence. They go to a nearby building to provide first aid with the harmsway. David and Mizzy stay in the boat, and suddenly an avatar of Regalia appears, addressing Prof. David shoots at the image of the Epic.

=== Chapter 11 ===

Regalia's projection disperses and reforms. Regalia and Prof address each other by their first names as if they are old acquaintances, and Regalia said she was using a rogue Epic named [[Obliteration]] to cause the explosions to draw Prof into the open, just as she lured him to Babilar by sending Epics to Newcago. David tells Prof that Obliteration's weakness is unknown, but he is near-sighted and a theorized cooldown in his auto-teleportation power can be potentially exploited. They decide to try to stop the Epic from causing further destruction.  They break into separate groups to try to hit Obliteration from different sides.

=== Chapter 12 ===

David and Mizzy cross a rope bridge between buildings, passing people who proclaim the protection of Dawnslight. They approach Obliteration, and David takes a shot at him but he teleports away, vanishing for a few moments before reappearing next to David. David shoots again and misses, and finds out the hard way that Obliteration has a very short cooldown period for his teleport ability. Obliteration then enters a building where it would be more difficult to sneak up on him. David enters the building, which is overgrown with plants. Obliteration attacks Prof with a sword, then ports away. Obliteration then addresses them, thanking them for killing Steelheart, and saying that he will kill Regalia eventually, something that doesn't seem to concern her. David shoots the ceiling above the Epic to get dust on him and test if it would teleport with him while Prof shoots at his feet to see if he auto-teleports when not in danger. David takes a bomb that Mizzy prepared with adhesive and goes to find Obliteration. Mizzy gets distracted while she is supposed to be covering David, and Obliteration suddenly appears besides him.

=== Chapter 13 ===

David tries to aim his rifle but Obliteration knocks it aside and grabs David by the throat. David manages to stick the bomb to the Epic, but he ignores it, removing David's phone and ear piece and kicking his gun away. He then questions David about killing Steelheart and David said that he did and will kill Obliteration also. Obliteration recites a poem that ends with a death threat, and removes his shirt that has the bomb stuck to it, revealing a bandage. Obliteration throws David into the water and leaves, but as David climbs out, the Epic reappears to chain a heavy iron ball to David to make him sink, then shoves him fully into the water. As he sinks, something appears in the water near him and the weight vanishes. David emerges from the water and finds Tia, but she doesn't know who saved him, though she does say that Prof drove off Obliteration. As they leave, the townspeople emerge, and David spots Megan among the crowd briefly, realizing it was her who removed the chain.

=== Chapter 14 ===

Val berates Mizzy for abandoning David, and she says she went to rescue some people who were trapped in a burning building. They discuss the attack, and Regalia's projection appears saying she recruited Obliteration by offering to let him destroy Babilar. Tia snaps at her, and Regalia threatens to destroy the boat they are in, before relenting at the mention of Prof. She says that she doesn't know how much longer she can hold back from wiping out the city and vanishes. They go to another building and dump soap in the water to obscure it and prevent Regalia from scrying through or manipulating it. They then surface a submarine.

=== Chapter 15 ===

David is nervous as the submarine submerges into the water. Tia explains that Regalia can't view them underwater, saying that she uses the surface of water like a viewscreen but is unable to see anywhere that screen doesn't face, so that they can hide from her for now, and that apparently she doesn't want them dead at this time anyway. David gives his broken mobile to Mizzy to be fixed or replaced. David learns the roles of the Babilar Reckoners crew and fits in well with them. After they arrive at their destination, Tia tells David that Prof took Obliteration's glasses which spooked him and made him teleport away, and that Prof is otherwise ok. They exit the sub into the bolt-hole that turns out to be a mansion.

=== Chapter 16 ===

== Part Three ==

=== Chapter 17 ===

David wakes up somewhat disoriented, and after passing through the atrium which seems to be under fifty feet of water above the skylight, follows distant voices to find Prof and Tia talking about Regalia. Tia and David think that Regalia is trying to resist acting evil, but Prof thinks it is a ploy. David argues in favor of saving Regalia, but Prof thinks that David is really thinking of Megan instead, and Prof says that despite his former friendship with Regalia that she doesn't deserve mercy for all the death she has caused despite the personality warping that is inflicted on Epics who use their powers. Prof says that he will put Regalia down one way or the other and leave.

The Reckoners convene in another room with a glass wall facing the water of Long Island Sound to plan the battle to bring down Regalia. She isn't a High Epic, so they think that their main obstacle to killing her is mainly locating her using triangulation based on their estimates of five miles for the range of her abilities. Tia reveals that she and Prof knew Regalia in the past and Valentine is upset that they never mentioned this before. Prof says that Regalia probably keeps one base and stays there, unlike Steelheart who moved around a lot to elude his enemies. They decide to try to lure out Regalia to pinpoint her location by going after Obliteration and [[Newton]], the Epic gang leader and Regalia's lieutenant. Valentine mentions that they had a plan for taking out Newton, but it involved a device called a [[spyril]] that is now broken. Prof disperses the crew except David to remind him to focus on Regalia as the primary target. David ponders that his attitude toward Epics has changed after meeting Prof, [[Conflux]] and Megan, and thinks about trying to capture and keep an Epic's powers neutralized to restore their personality as a proof of concept for saving Regalia or Megan at a future time.

=== Chapter 18 ===

David, Exel and Mizzy return to Babilar two days after their planning session, sailing over under cover of darkness, arriving in the bustling city. David notices that a lot of the citizens seem carefree, and Exel attributes this attitude to the religion of Dawnslight, though there is considerable argument over who or what Dawnslight is. David asks about the spyril, and Mizzy explains that it is essentially a water jet pack that was invented by the Knighthawk Foundry, and derived from a water based Epic's powers. She says that Sam, the Reckoner who was killed by Megan, had the spyril, and that it was missing its [[motivator]], the interface component that makes Epic technology function, and that they need to receive a replacement from the manufacturer. David says he wants to try out the spyril once it is repaired despite his lack of swimming ability and fear of sharks. They arrive at their destination which turns out to be a party where they plan to mingle and get the pulse of the city.

=== Chapter 19 ===

David is nervous about joining the party, lingering on the outskirts until Mizzy takes him by the hand and drags him to a group of teenaged Babilarans named [[Calaka]], [[Infinity]], [[Marco]] and [[Lulu]], and introduces him to them. Infinity tries to spray paint David's clothing to make them less boring but David declines. David and Mizzy mingle, and when Mizzy mentions how the Reckoners fought back against Obliteration, the Babilarans complain that they make things worse. Eventually, Lulu invites David to dance and they join a crowd of partiers dancing. David feels awkward when, after a while, Lulu leaves him to dance with a different guy, but relaxes when he sees Newton at the edge of the dance floor, and goes to spy on her.

=== Chapter 20 ===

David tries to spy on Newton but Mizzy dissuades him from drawing Newton's attention and they discuss the Epic while dancing. David speaks of his research into Epic weaknesses and how it felt to kill Steelheart.  Mizzy says she admires David's dedication and that she wants to kill Megan for killing her friend Sam, and David doesn't reply but he does decide he needs to clear Megan's name as soon as possible. Mizzy says she heard that Regalia is bringing scientists into town for some unknown purpose and David asks her to see if she is bringing other types of experts in as well. David ends up lingering on the edges of the party again instead of mingling.

=== Chapter 21 ===

David leaves the party to stroll around the vicinity, contemplating the Epic power structure in Babilar and Regalia's purpose in unleashing Obliteration. He sees Newton leave the party and follows her, stopping in a building when he loses track of her. He stops in a room when he gets distracted by a glowing, blinking fruit, then hears people talking and listens in as Newton tells Obliteration that she was following David but lost him. David spies on as Obliteration shoots at Newton though her ability protects 
her. David accidentally makes some noise, alerting the two Epics, but they are unable to see him, and Obliteration teleports them out. David realizes that Megan is concealing him, and draws her out by threatening to throw her gun into the water.

=== Chapter 22 ===

Megan draws a gun on David, but he responds by returning her handgun to her and asking to talk. She says that David is dangerous because of his infectious beliefs, and that the Epics will never be overthrown or trustworthy, and that even Prof will eventually turn on them. Megan stalks off angry, but David compares her to a potato, and she stops to sit down and have a laughing fit. David asks her to share her feelings and she says being an Epic makes her feel like an self-centered unruly child who sees others only as impediments. She says that being around David makes it easier for her to control her emotions but she isn't sure why, though she does dispute his assertion that it is related to her weakness. She complains that she doesn't have very good powers, and that she has to rely on a handgun in lieu of offensive powers to kill, a fact that she has to keep secret from the other Epics. Megan gives a small object to David and tells him to ask Prof what it is. David tries to kiss Megan but she discourages him by pulling a gun on
him, then walks off saying she might not be a very sociable person by nature, though David noticed that she had the safety on, and thinks it must be love.

=== Chapter 23 ===

David gets fitted with a now-working spyril, since the object that David got from Megan turns out to be a motivator, though he claims it was dropped by Newton. Mizzy gives a brief lesson on how to use the device, but is cut off as David accidentally activates it and jets into the water, though he recovers quickly thanks to some swimming lessons that Mizzy gave him. They give him some safety pointers to avoid serious injury or death, which he listens to, even though his force field provides him with a good amount of protection.

=== Chapter 24 ===

David practices with the spyril, which requires a high degree of coordination to master due to the separate controls for propulsion and balance. He manages to jet just above the water at high speeds and shows off this ability though Mizzy jokes that he looked like a porpoise when doing this. They stop to eat lunch, and talk about fighting Epics. David reviews a photo of Obliteration, and calls Val to keep an eye out if he starts sitting out in the sun, which may be how he charges up to nuke cities. Mizzy changes the subject to Firefight, saying she got information from Prof indicating that she is a Fire Epic, even though Prof knows that isn't true, which confuses David. David then practices more with the spyril, hoping to master it as quickly as possible. Taking a short break, Regalia suddenly appears.

=== Chapter 25 ===

Regalia's image sits down in a water chair and holds a watery cup of tea. She asks how Prof killed the Epic to power the spyril but David doesn't respond. She accuses the Reckoners of epicide, and David replies that she is the one who is a mass murderer since she invited Obliteration into Babilar. Regalia asks if David knows that Prof is an Epic, and David replies that he does, and that Prof is able to control his darker side by not using his powers and asks her to do the same though she declines. She says that David should be imprisoned or killed for slaying Steelheart, and he responds by asking if she lured Prof there so that he could kill her. 

David then takes off using the spyril but she follows him, not knowing that David is trying to figure out her location by triangulation. He stops, then Regalia tells him of [[Waterlog]], an Epic she created with water powers, on whom the spyril is based, and of Obliteration, whose powers have grown thanks to her. She issues a warning to David then vanishes. David returns to the others.

=== Chapter 26 ===

David is in the Reckoner's library, reviewing the map of Regalia sightings with satisfaction. Bored, he wanders through the mansion until Tia calls out to him. She questions him about his knowledge about Sourcefield's weakness, revealing that she found out that when the Epic was a child, her grandparents were in a cult and tried to kill her with a generic Kool-aid drink mixed into water. David realizes this is an important clue to discovering Epic weaknesses. Tia concedes that the lorists may have overlooked this possible pattern, but tells David that she can't allow him access to more of their knowledge unless he gives up field work which puts him at too much risk of capture and interrogation. 

David wanders off, eventually stopping to visit Exel who is tinkering with a radio, scanning for interesting signals to eavesdrop on, and taking notes. Exel says that radios mysteriously work in Babilar, and seems to be focusing on chatter about Regalia. He tells David that he was a CIA mortician, and that he taught mortuary science in Seoul, South Korea, and that he is motivated to let people live normal lives. David reads some notes on Dawnslight and inquires if Exel thinks that Dawnslight is a real person, even though people worship him as a divinity. David says that he wants to convert some Epics to their side, and Exel says this is a worthy goal. Exel then hears someone named Miles saying that he sees Obliteration sitting motionless in sunlight on a roof, which David thinks is his way of storing energy to blow up the city, and says he needs to tell Prof.

=== Chapter 27 ===

David finds Prof and reports on Obliteration's behavior, and Prof says that they should go observe the fire Epic firsthand. David takes the spyril along and they get into the submarine, heading to Turtle Bay, an area on the mid-eastern side of pre-Regalia Manhattan. As they sail, Prof asks about David's proficiency with the spyril, and David carries on a secret text conversation with Megan, who asks him to meet up with her, and he replies that he will try. Prof says he is thinking about sending David back to Newcago, since he is too brash and seems likely to not follow orders and stick to their plan to kill Regalia, and demands that David reveal his secrets and objectives before they go any further, so that Prof can decide what to do.

=== Chapter 28 ===

David tells part of the truth, saying he wants to capture one of Regalia's Epics for study and interrogation, since it would be unexpected and possibly help determine Regalia's ultimate plan or reveal her location. Prof says he thinks this is connected to David's plans for Megan and David concedes this is the case, but then lies and says this is his only secret plan. Prof says that David must be a team player without his own agenda, which David acknowledges. Prof says David can stay but that he hasn't decided if his presence is good for the Reckoners or not. 

They arrive at their destination at night, and David enters a building and ascend higher up to scout Obliteration, with Prof remaining at the submarine ready to move out quickly if necessary. As he walks, David notices fortune cookies growing out of the plants, and takes fortune slips from several cookies that say "help me" or "she has me captive". David reports this oddity and Prof says to take a sample and move on. David finds a window facing the right direction and uses his rifle scope to spot Obliteration.

=== Chapter 29 ===

David activates a video camera on the rifle scope and sends the feed of Obliteration to Tia. Tia sends photos of Obliteration taken in Houston before he destroyed that city, showing him also glowing and sitting in the same posture. Tia and David explain the ramifications to Prof. They estimate that their timetable is reduced to days now, before Obliteration explodes, but decide to still go after Newton to draw out Regalia. David notices one of Newton's thugs, [[Knoxx]], watching Obliteration. Suddenly Knoxx vanishes and changes into a pigeon, and David realizes he is an Epic. David also spots Newton, who is on a building adjacent to the one Obliteration is on. She cuts down some rope bridges and throws some objects on the roof and down the stairs and leaves, and David realizes she is blowing up that building.

=== Chapter 30 ===
David decides to try to save the people that would be killed by the building's destruction. Prof points out that Regalia is using them as an example to keep people away from Obliteration while he soaks up energy from the sun and that if these people are saved she'll just kill others to make her point. Tia doesn't think Abigail (Regalia) would do something like that but Prof is convinced the Abigail they knew is dead. David uses the spyril to cross the water to the building. One of the spyril's jets fails but David is able to make it to an adjacent building, albeit slowly. David is only able to watch as the top half of the building is swallowed by flames and the water returns and rushes up the lower levels of the building. David receives a call from Prof and learns that Prof is using his force fields to protect the people in the building from the flames and water. Prof tells David he'll bring the people to him via the ocean floor and a tunnel of force fields and David can use the sub to take them to safety. Prof delivers the people to David then flees to avoid killing the people for inconveniencing him.

=== Chapter 31 ===
David and the Babilaran refugees are in a warehouse the day after Prof rescued them. The refugees have agreed not to say they didn't see anything and not to return to the city for at least a month.

David lies to Val about how the people were saved to hide the fact that Prof is an epic. He tries to engage her in friendly conversation but fails repeatedly before getting her to talk about a prior operation he'd heard rumors of. After finally having a successful conversation with Val, David goes to the supply shed to check on Prof, who has been hiding in it.

=== Chapter 32 ===
Prof performs some experiments that remind him of when he was a teacher which helps him push back the darkness. He also looks at old photographs from pre-Calamity to reminisce. One photo shows Prof as a tourist visiting a NASA Center where Tia worked, while another shows Prof, Regalia, Tia and an unnamed older man who Prof refuses to identify. Prof asks if he can trust David who replies yes, then decides that he will head into the city after David leaves and that his excuse for leaving has been resolved. 

David and Val unload supplies into the base. 

David tells Tia Prof's message. David and Tia speculate about Knoxx, an Epic who only recently started displaying powers though he had been an associate of Newton's for years, and about whether Regalia can somehow create Epics. David asks if Tia doesn't like being in charge, and compares her response to ketchup being hair gel. Tia agrees with David's assessment, and says that she needs Prof's oversight to make sure that they don't overlook any important details. Tia tells how she had to invite Prof to visit her at NASA because he was afraid to enter a contest to be a mock astronaut, which one of his fellow teachers won. 

David leaves and sees Mizzy unloading boxes and smiles. Megan appears and comments on David's ogling of Mizzy.

=== Chapter 33 ===
David and Megan go into the storage room to talk, and David comments that Megan is jealous but she denies that. They relocate to David's room. Megan says that she reached the base by using bugs planted on some of the Reckoner's phones, then sneaking onto the sub without using her powers. She says that not using her powers helps keep the darkness away, which manifests as irritability, apathy, and selfishness. David shares his findings on Epic weaknesses with her and thinks that they are not random but rather that there is a pattern to them. Megan says she is willing to try to work with David to figure out how to fight the darkness. David kisses Megan and she reciprocates, but they are interrupted as someone knocks on his door then enters his room.

=== Chapter 34 ===
Megan is able to avoid detection by hiding under David's bed, while Tia enters the room to ask David to accompany Val and plant a spy camera. David wants to talk to Tia to plead Megan's innocence, but Megan declines, and asks David to help her escape to the submarine. Megan thanks David for being her friend. David distracts Val by asking her to check the spyril for defects while Megan sneaks past. David and Val enter the sub and travel to Babilar. David changes to a wetsuit while Val exits the sub, and Megan watches. David then distracts Val again so that Megan can depart the sub undetected. David activates the spyril and leaves the sub. He is able to use the spyril with Megan holding onto him and they travel to one of the buildings. They flirt then David asks Megan to spy with him on Obliteration and she says yes.

=== Chapter 35 ===
Megan shows David their destination on a map, and they walk to avoid drawing notice. Megan says she was asked by Regalia to seduce David but tells him that she isn't going to work against the Reckoners. She tells him she came to Babilar because she heard that Regalia can enhance Epics' powers so she theorizes that Regalia can also remove them. David suggests that Megan try to use her powers sparingly to avoid the side effects of excessive usage and she agrees, and explains that she isn't really an illusion epic but rather that she has the ability to reach into alternate universes. Megan gives a demonstration that includes briefly summoning Firefight, an epic from one of the alternate universes. She creates an illusion to disguise his wetsuit, and grows just a bit irritable, and asks David to distract her by explaining his plans, which involve kidnapping and experimenting on epics to determine their weaknesses. As they walk, Megan explains her worry that when she dies, a different version of her reincarnates, but David disagrees. David asks if Megan knows what her weakness is, and she says yes but doesn't reveal it. They reach their destination which is a building with a sightline to where Obliteration is.

=== Chapter 36 ===

David and Megan spy on Obliteration as the Epic glows from absorbed energy. Megan and David argue over whether it was right to kill Steelheart, but Megan agrees that Regalia must be stopped. David goes to plant a camera near Obliteration while Megan covers him with a rifle.

David enters Obliteration's building and starts climbing up. Megan reports a sighting of a shapeshifting Epic, Knoxx. Megan also spots Prof checking on Obliteration. David says that he believes that Megan can fight the darkness by following the example that Prof set, and she tells David her weakness, which is fire, because of a traumatic childhood incident, and that Firefight is her alternate universe counterpart.

David finds another fortune cookie with a note asking if this is a dream, and responds audibly, then gets a different note from Dawnslight, and converses with him for awhile. David accidentally alerts Knoxx who goes looking for him as David plants the camera by Obliteration. David comes up with a plan to capture Knoxx to interrogate him.

=== Chapter 37 ===
David plans a trap for Knoxx since he thinks that he isn't really disobeying Prof's orders. David makes some noise, luring Knoxx toward his location. David punches and disarms Knoxx, who transforms into a pigeon. Megan takes shots as Knoxx tries to escape to try to slow him down. Knoxx transforms into a large dog and attacks David, but is momentarily injured when David sprays some paint on him, and then Megan shoots him in the shoulder. Knoxx changes back to a pigeon and tries to escape but David catches up to him when he passes out due to blood loss and reverts to human form. Megan says she will join David.

As David waits for Megan, Val shows up and tells David to drop his gun and mobile, and asks how long he has been working for Regalia, and says she knows he is meeting with Firefight. She shoots David in the thigh and Knoxx in the forehead. She says that David was never a Reckoner and blames Sam's death on him. David says they were lying on Prof's orders and says to not do anything else rash and to check with Tia. Val aims her gun and fires.

=== Chapter 38 ===
David isn't harmed as the bullets are blocked by a forcefield from Prof, and he tells Val to stand down. Prof says that he knows David was talking with Firefight and tells Val to text Megan a lie about what happened and for Megan to not approach since Prof is there. Prof says he is disappointed in David, and reveals that he has been eavesdropping on David's conversations since he bugged David's mobile. Prof heals David's leg and says that he used David as bait for Megan and that he has a recording of Firefight shooting Sam. David tries to flee to warn Megan but isn't able to escape using the spyril since Prof removed the motivator.

=== Chapter 39 ===
David spends a day brooding that he will be kicked out of the Reckoners. The following day, David talks with Prof as the others plan to go on a mission to take down Newton. David wants to join the mission, but Prof says it will take time for the Reckoners to regain trust in David, and acknowledges that David may not be ready to trust him after being used as bait. Prof says that he plans to use a forcefield to deal with Obliteration, and that he will have to deal with the side effects of great usage of his power to do so. David implores Prof to verify if Megan was telling the truth about her weakness to show that she is trustworthy. Prof loses his temper and attacks David, choking him. He says that David shouldn't have concealed his communication with Megan and that he sees this as a personal betrayal. David speculates that Regalia may be resisting the darkness and urges Prof to reconsider his plans. Prof replies that kind of optimistic talk is bad for him because it encourages him to use his powers carelessly. Prof tells David about the team of superheroes he and Regalia attempted to form during the early days of Calamity. He explains that none of them other than himself were able to hold back the darkness and that he eventually was forced to kill one of his former friends. Prof then says that the Reckoners are going to trap and kill Megan. David begs him not to go through with it and tries to explain his theory about a pattern among Epic weaknesses. Prof ignores this and traps David in the conference room using a forcefield. A few minutes later, David sees the sub leave the base.

== Part Four ==

=== Chapter 40 ===
David worries that the Reckoners will kill Megan. He finds a gun, and a datapad outlining the agenda to trap and kill Newton. The datapad also has a video showing Sam trying to shoot Megan while she isn't threatening him, and her drawing her gun quickly enough to shoot Sam first, in self-defense. David realizes that Regalia witnessed this incident. David review all the recent events in his mind, trying to figure out what Regalia is up to, and thinks that she has manipulated events for some time and may have set a trap for Prof. David decides to shoot a hole in the  underwater plate glass window.

=== Chapter 41 ===
David shoots a small hole in the window, causing a small leak, but is still locked in the room. He gathers some of the water in a drawer and calls out to Regalia, identifying himself and his location, and she sends an avatar of herself to talk to him, demonstrating that her powers have a greater range than they thought. David offers to serve Regalia and says that in exchange he wants Megan protected. Regalia breaks the plate glass window and tows David to the surface to a solid pedestal of water which carries him toward Babilar.

Regalia says that Calamity is an Epic and that he can be viewed through a telescope. She says that she told Calamity that David would make a great Epic and that she would enjoy watching him transform into something he hates. David is raised up on a pillar of water and Calamity appears there as a bright red light. David feels an electric sensation as Calamity transforms him. David is lowered back to sea level and Regalia says that David will receive thematically appropriate powers, possibly the same as the Epic who powered the spyrils. Regalia demands that David demonstrate his new powers. David vows to kill himself before giving into the darkness and reaches out to the water.

=== Chapter 42 ===
David touches the water and imagines what the city might have been like as it was flooded, and relives his fears of drowning though they are less intense than usual and he dismisses them. A voice tells him to seize his new powers but he refuses and the tingling feeling vanishes. Regalia thinks that David has powers now but he glibly denies that he changed, and asks Regalia if the powers are tied to Epics' fears. Regalia vanishes and he falls into the water, and then swims to a nearby building. 

He ponders the implications of what happened, and thinks that Calamity is a gifter Epic. He asks some Babilarians for directions to Finkle Crossway to where the ambush is taking place, then picks a place along the planned route to intercept the other Reckoners to warn them. David ends up in a bazaar where he trades his sneakers for a cloak, sandals and a knife. David goes to a tavern to wait for Newton and she appears shortly thereafter. A couple of random people threw fruits at Newton, and she sends her henchmen to find them. Looking at the crowd, David spots Mizzy in disguise, standing near him.

=== Chapter 43 ===
David sneaks up behind Mizzy and holds his sheathed knife to her back and tells her to not move. He turns off her earpiece, but she grapples him and throws him to the ground, then punches him in anger. Mizzy goes for her mobile but David knocks it away from her off the rooftop. They stop fighting to hide as Newton searches the area. They overhear a telephone conversation that Newton is having with Regalia which indicates that she may be aware of the Reckoner's trap. David tells Mizzy about his conversation with Regalia and that the Epic already knew about the ambush, and that he is working with Firefight but that Firefight killed Sam in self-defense, and that Firefight saved David from Obliteration. Mizzy says that they are supposed to kill Epics since they are all evil. David thinks that he used to have the same attitude that Mizzy has, before he knew about Prof's powers. David tells Mizzy that they kill criminals, not Epics. David says they need to warn the others, and Mizzy gives him the spyril.

=== Chapter 44 ===
Mizzy questions why she is helping David, and he explains that the mission will go badly if she doesn't. Mizzy tells David where Prof plans to kill Megan, and that no one is currently watching Obliteration. David asks Mizzy to check on Obliteration. Mizzy asks David if Prof is an Epic and he says yes and that he wants to show that Prof can be a good Epic. Mizzy gives David a gun and they each take a walkie-talkie to stay in touch.

=== Chapter 45 ===
David goes upstairs and finds two men who were killed by Newton's gang and left with fruit stuck into their mouths. David sets off over the water using the spyril, and stays in touch with Mizzy via walkie-talkie. Regalia sends an avatar to question David about his ability to refuse his Epic transformation, and says she doesn't like people who upset her plans. She tries to use her water manipulation to stop David from reaching Prof, but he is able to use the spyril to evade her attacks. Eventually, David enters a building to hide, but Regalia starts to flood it. David turns to Dawnslight for assistance, and suddenly the building goes dark as the fruits on the vines stop glowing, allowing David to escape Regalia's notice. Dawnslight sends a note for David to hurry up and stop Regalia. David gets a warning and hides just as Newton appears, using a cup of water to communicate with Regalia, who is having Newton hunt down David. Mizzy radios to David that Obliteration has vanished, and was replaced by a mannequin with floodlights shining on it. David asks Mizzy to turn off the lights to alert the Reckoners, and thanks Dawnslight for his assistance.

=== Chapter 46 ===
David heads for Prof and is again attacked by Regalia. David heads to a building roof and is also attacked by Newton, who is wielding a katana and a gun, but David evades her and heads back to the water and Regalia's grasp. Regalia tries to pull David under, but he uses the spyril to vacuum up the water and escape back to a building. David tries to shoot Newton but the bullets are deflected by her ability. Regalia questions David but he ignores her, and irritates her by draining her tendrils of water with the spyril. Plants then appear, summoned by Dawnslight, draining a lot of Regalia's water tendrils, and Regalia orders Newton to finish off David. David compliments Newton, realizing that is her weakness, and is able to negate her abilities and kill her. Regalia reiterates how annoying David is, and says that Prof already killed Megan while they were fighting to try to make Regalia appear. David says she is lying, but Regalia points out the trap location is on fire.

=== Chapter 47 ===
David leaves to go to the building where Prof faced down Megan. Prof is there, and says that Megan died trying to save David from a faked threat, and that he now believes that he was wrong about her, and that the attempt to lure Regalia failed. Prof says that he can hold back the darkness if Megan could, and asks David to take away some of his power, and then gifts some power to David. Tia relays a message from Mizzy that Obliteration vanished, and Val says she located him. David says it is a trap, but Prof says he has to stop Obliteration anyway. 

David goes to find Megan, with his gifted forcefield as protection from the fire, though he is confused why the hot air isn't scorching his lungs. David finds Megan's body, beginning to burn from the flames, and carries it out to another building. David thinks that he wants Megan to come back but worries that would mean she was lying. Then he finds a remote control in her hand and uses it, and realizes that she rigged a remote firing gun to kill herself before she burned up, allowing her resurrection power to not be negated. David feels optimistic about getting his Gottschalk back and about Megan being reborn.

=== Chapter 48 ===
David and Mizzy update each other on events. David heads back for the base but runs into Obliteration who quotes scripture and calls David slayer of angels. David tries to shoot Obliteration but misses as the Epic teleports. Obliteration blasts David but his gifted healing ability saves him and Obliteration sees this and teleports away but then returns. David says Regalia is as bad as Steelheart and Obliteration says he will end her eventually as part of their arrangement, and that he wasn't told that David was turned into an Epic also. David tries to distract Obliteration by remotely firing the gun that Megan setup, but it doesn't work. Obliteration teleports next to David again, and David decides to grab him instead of shooting.

=== Chapter 49 ===
David shoots Obliteration while holding onto him, and they both teleport into a dark windowless room. David grabs Obliteration's eyeglasses and backs away as Obliteration draws his sword. David asks about Obliteration's nightmares which gives the Epic pause, and he asks how David knows about the nightmares. David explains his nightmare theory, and Obliteration gets a revelation from this and thanks David for the secret, and tells David to say hi to Regalia, then teleports out. David leaves the room to explore the building that he is in, and finds old posters including one with a band's name and a picture of hands holding a glowing fruit. David finds a room with two hospital beds, one with a sleeping 
man hooked up to tubes and the other with an older woman, Regalia, watching some monitors.  A doctor who was examining the man sees David and leaves. One of the monitors displays Prof, Val and Exel in a glowing room. David says that Obliteration brought him there and that he figured out how Obliteration was getting orders from her to find him. Regalia says she is very sick and that her powers can't save her. David figures out the sleeping man is Dawnslight, and Regalia says she doesn't understand why Calamity granted powers to a man who was comatose since his childhood, and who has turned Babilar into his dream. Regalia says she has cancer and weeks to live, and David asks why she cares about Prof. The monitor shows a device and Regalia explains that other Epics can gift their powers, and David realizes the device is a bomb made from Obliteration's DNA. Regalia says David assumed wrong about her plans for Prof, and detonates the bomb remotely. The bomb blows up but the explosion is contained by Prof who uses a forcefield on it, though he had to expend a great amount of power to do so. Regalia then explains that she wanted a successor.

=== Chapter 50 ===
David yells at Regalia and watches Prof on the monitor as he gives into the darkness and kills Val and Exel with forcefields, as High Epics at first usually go after those who know them best. Angered, David stabs Regalia with Obliteration's sword, killing her. On the monitor, where Prof is, a similar bank of monitors appears, one of which has a map to where Regalia's headquarters in New Jersey is. David notices a video camera and realizes that his location is on a monitor where Prof is, and that Prof would be going after him next.

=== Chapter 51 ===
David tries unsuccessfully to waken Dawnslight. David realizes he will have to face Prof eventually and decides not to put it off. David climbs to the roof of the house he was on, and in the early morning light, sees the water receding from Manhattan. David contemplates his role in Prof turning evil and thinks he isn't totally innocent even though it was Regalia's plan. Prof appears, using a forcefield to levitate himself. David holds out his pendant and says he believes in Prof, but Prof responds by enclosing a forcefield around David to kill him. David is suddenly outside the forcefield before it compresses. A bright light appears and explodes around them, and is revealed to be Megan. Megan puts Prof into his own forcefield twice, and Prof shows fear suddenly. Megan and David teleport to a house nearby, and David watches as Megan collapses and Prof flies off. Megan says that she doesn't feel like killing David and moans that the secret is the power of love. Megan summons some clothing and David explains that she took control over the darkness by facing her fears when she tried to rescue David.

== Epilogue ==
David and Megan return to Babilar, and Megan says the roots from Dawnlights plants are holding up the buildings and keeping them from collapsing. David explains his Epic fears theory, comparing it to oatmeal on pancakes, and Megan says that David has been saying similes, not metaphors. Mizzy shows up, saying she survived due to a message from Dawnslight, and gives another message to David that says to dream good dreams. David implores Mizzy and Megan to not shoot each other, and says they have a lot of work to do.

{{summaries|done}}
{{Reckoners}}
[[Category: The Reckoners|+2]]