"I can't believe they actually ditched us," Ashley said with a deadpan expression.
Lily folded her arms and sighed. "Boys will be boys, I guess."
"Who cares?" Sky rolled her eyes. "We don't need them anyway."
"So, then, what do we do now?" Sera asked.
"No clue," Sky admitted. "Lily, what do you think?"
"Good question. Hope, what do we do?"
Hope stepped back, taken off guard as all the girls turned to look at her. They were out in the parking lot of the mall now, having watched Kenny and the other boys run off with Kyle. Their leaving had basically thrown Lily off her flow, and she no longer knew what to do for the day. "Why do I have to be the one to pick?" She sighed and rubbed her chin when the other girls just shrugged. "Well, they said they were going off to have a guy's night. Why don't we just do the reverse, then?"
"Like a girl's night?" Sky questioned.
"Exactly!"
Silence hung around them. "So, what's a girl's night?" Sera asked awkwardly.
"Huh! What do you mean by 'what's a girl's night?' Have you never had a sleepover?" Ashley said in shock.
Lily chuckled and shook her head. "None of us really got to do normal stuff growing up. Sera is like me and Sky. The three of us all had hero parents. Ashley, you and Hope are the first people to get superpowers in your family, but for people like us, we mostly had to keep to ourselves since the parents didn't want to worry about their kids in the hands of some other hero. I guess it would be like a doctor wishing to be there for their child if they got hurt instead of some other doctor."
"I never got to do a sleepover either," Hope said sheepishly. "Well, I mean a girl's sleepover. Armin and I hung out all the time when we were kids, but I never had any girls my age that I could be friends with."
"Are you and Armin dating?" Sera asked, surprised.
"Ew! No! Just ew!"
Sky tapped her foot down in annoyance. "I guess that means you're in charge, Ashley. What do we do?!"
This time, it was Ashley's turn to shrink back as everyone looked at her. She let out a nervous laugh, trying to come up with something. "Well, to start with, we need to decide whose house we're staying at."
Lily snapped her fingers and smirked. "That should be pretty obvious!"
"I'm not taking you guys to my house." Ashley said flatly.
"Damn. New plan then." Lily announced.
That was how the five of them found themselves crossing the bridge connecting Oleander and Lillian. Lillian was almost nothing like Oleander. The buildings were way smaller, and the city looked far richer. Every house was practically a manor, and it was wide and open. A steady stream of traffic was present at all times down below, and even as the sun was reaching its peak, turning into the evening soon, people seemed to be going to and from work.
Thanks to the watches Boy Genius made, all of them were able to find a spot out of sight in Oleander and change into their costumes. They got into Lillian thanks to a mix of Oxide's and Poseidon's powers. Oxide created a large metal ramp with railings across it and seats they could hold onto. Poseidon wrapped it up in a bubble of water and used her power over gravity to cause the thing to rise up, and she carried it, almost seeming to fly.
Hope had to admit she was a bit jealous. Part of her still really wanted to learn how to fly, something that still seemed to keep itself just out of her grasp. Sure, she could boost herself through the air thanks to her explosions, but it wasn't the same. Of course, she was still learning new tricks to her power every day, so maybe one day soon she'd be able to soar through the skies.
As they flew through the air, they saw a few other heroes. Lillian didn't have a Sub Enforcer team. Besides Rose, it was the only other city that did not have one. It did have its own hero team, though—the Reservoir. They saw a few members of this mighty team. Namely, Doctor Kraken, who stood on some big metal machine that phased through the ground, letting him swim through the dirt, and Hydro Cannon, who flew through the air being carried by two powerful jet streams of water that she used to fly. Hope didn't get too good a look at either of them, but she knew enough of Ocean Empress's team to know that both of them were no joke.
Finally, though, Poseidon came down to the ground, where a large manor loomed over the street. Hope openly gawked at it and shot Sky a look. "You didn't tell me you were rich!"
"I'm rich," Sky said dryly. "There, I told you."
The manor was one of the biggest ones she had seen so far. Even bigger than Kyle's. It had a large, vast field of green that stretched out and a house so big that Hope was sure she could fit her entire extended family in one room and not even take up half the space. A massive garden was off to the side, wrapping around part of the house, and dozens of machines, the same kind that were in the Nightshade prison, worked on the field. In front of the manor, a large statue stood. It was one that was clearly taken care of often.
It showed off a tall man—one dressed in armor shaped like a knight and wielding a massive great sword on his back—the hero known as Shark Knight. Husband of Ocean Empress, he died two years ago during the Beast attack. He is said to have gone toe to toe with the legendary villain himself. He held the Beast off long enough, buying time for the entire city to evacuate and escape.
"Not to be rude or anything," Ashley piped up. "But how is it that no one knows you guys are superheroes?" You have a literal statue of one in your front yard and actual robots working on your house as butlers."
Lily pointed up to the sky above, and Ashley and Hope looked up. Above them, the air almost seemed to shimmer a bit, a weird dome of see-through energy going around the house.
"Boy Genius created a massive field of illusions that he installs under most heroes' homes," Sera explained casually. "Although illusion isn't the right word exactly. It causes normal people to not be able to really pay attention to the spot, letting heroes leave their homes in full costume and return without being spotted by normies. It doesn't really work on other Supers, though, and so the field also provides services to create fake images. If a Super were to fly over this spot, they'd just see a normal manor, no robots or anything like that. It isn't until you pass through you can see everything."
"I really need to get one of those things built at my house." Ashley whistled.
"That's sort of like something Mr. Larison also has." Hope nodded. "He can create a barrier that does the same thing."
Lily stepped off the metal platform and waved her arms out. "Anyways, this is our home! So what do we do now?"
Hope stepped forward and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I know we came straight here, but would it be cool if we actually walked around the city a bit more?"
"Huh? Why?" Lily asked.
"The same reason you and Sky explored Oleander. I haven't been to Lillian before." She explained.
"Me neither!" Sera and Ashley both stated.
Sky shrugged. "Well, we're all in costume. It could be a good chance to walk around and patrol a bit."
"Myth told me to not do any crime fighting, but I'm sure he won't mind!" She said sheepishly, throwing her arms behind her head.
They were all already in their hero outfits, so Poseidon nodded her head and smirked. "Okay then. I bet the boys are going to be doing something similar also. We should show off how cool we are and do something epic in the city!"
And so they ended up leaving Lily and Sky's house. They walked down the streets of Lillian, and instantly several people were staring at them. Many people knew who Poseidon was; the girl was extremely famous; the same went for Paragon, but you almost never got to see the healer actually walk around and look at all the different sites. That was until today. Not to mention two Sub Enforcer heroes and a member of Pantheon, followed behind the famous sisters. They were all bound to get stares.
She didn't really focus on that, though. Instead, her eyes were wide as she looked at the city. It didn't have as many skyscrapers as Oleander and instead seemed to be filled with way more open parks and restaurants. It was spacious and filled with a lot more people that roamed the streets. Dozens of different heroes flew through the air, and there were many billboards promoting various different products. She didn't really know what she should have been on the lookout for, so she just followed Poseidon and Paragon.
Poseidon seemed to have a destination in mind. One that caused Paragon to groan a bit. Up ahead of them, a large corner of the street had seemingly been turned into a makeshift stage, and it was filled with dozens of drones that would fly back and forth.
"This is a spot in Lillian where any Super can come and be featured on live TV." Poseidon explained. "It always has a bunch of Hero Branch drones, which are running. It's mostly used by the hero Golden Weaver nowadays."
"Golden Weaver?" Cinder cocked her head and looked up onto the stage where the spider-themed hero resided. She heard a lot about the man. He used to be an Enforcer member but, due to a leg injury, had to put those days behind him. He was her father's favorite hero back in the day.
Golden Weaver was up on the stage hanging upside down, clutching onto one of his golden threads. "I'm telling you true believers! He challenged me! Yellow Kobold will be here, and when he does show up, I'll personally stop him, just like I used to do! I might have gotten a lot older, but I'm still a well-respected hero!"
Several of the Hero Branch drones flew around the area, constantly filming what was going on as the ex-famous hero swung on his thread. Golden Weaver noticed them approaching the stage, and he swung off, awkwardly landing in front of them. She noticed one of his legs was a prosthetic. A plastic leg. The other was twisted in an odd way, but the hero managed. From what she remembered, both his legs had been totally destroyed by the Emperor fifteen years ago.
"Well, well, well! What brings you here, Poseidon?" Golden Weaver announced, high-fiving the water girl who gave a grin. All the drones eagerly turned to film them, wanting to catch the interaction between the two heroes.
"I'm showing my friends around the city." Poseidon waved for the drone, then pointed at the other girls. "These are Oxide, BB, and Cinder! They're from Oleander! Anyone following my Hero Hub page will likely have seen them before and know that they're all crazy strong! Of course you also have my sister Paragon here! For more exciting news, follow me on Hero Hub! It's @therealPoseidon!"
She awkwardly looked away as the drones flashed and took several pictures of them all. Some of them began to fire off questions at them.
"BB, is it true that you and the hero Money Tree are in a relationship?" One of the drones asked.
"No comment!" BB poked her tongue out and then shrunk down and flew into Cinder's suit, hiding away.
"Ms. Oxide, I heard you were badly injured by the villain Ghost and have been MIA! Are you finally making a return?"
"I guess?" The metal girl said lazily, shrugging. "I'm back to working for the Sub Enforcers, if that's what you mean."
"Cinder, are you aware that you saved Madam Ros of the Ros company from the villain Cybercroc? I heard the woman made a huge donation to a local charity in your name!"
"She did! That's pretty cool!" She folded her arms and hummed. "I had no idea about that." It was likely that one rich lady that she and Snowdawn had protected. It was nice answering drone questions that weren't from Alice Ward. She didn't have to worry about the news lady butting in over at Lillian.
"Paragon, I heard you recently got your own action figure that has been placed alongside the Cinder model! How does this make you feel?"
Paragon lazily shrugged. "We've teamed up several times now. It makes sense."
"The next toy that should be sold alongside the Cinder action figures should be Baggy!" She announced.
"Baggy?" Everyone turned and stared at her. She flicked her hand out, causing her fire to flow and take shape into a backpack with arms and legs. It began to flex and pose for the camera as all the drones stared down at it.
"H- How the hell can she do that?" BB muttered. "That's just straight up creating life out of fire? It's just a flame golem or something?"
Baggy jumped up onto Paragon's shoulder and hung off of the girl's body, still flexing for the camera. His fire didn't seem to burn the girl, who hesitantly reached out and patted the weird creature. Poseidon was also able to make living constructs; the girl had made sharks out of water a few times after all, but a flexing backpack was still pretty weird.
Poseidon giggled a bit before turning back to Golden Weaver. "So what brings you out here, Golden Weaver?"
"Well, true believers, I'm on a quest!" The hero announced.
"A quest?" BB finished whatever it was she was doing inside Cinder's costume and flew out of the girl's sleeve, lazily landing on Oxide's head. "What sort of quest?"
Golden Weaver turned and pointed back at the drones. "I used to be a big shot hero back in the day and had a rival! His name was Yellow Kobold! I thought he died fifteen years ago, yet today I discovered that he was not only alive, but he also challenged me to a rematch to finish what we started fifteen years ago! He demanded I meet him here and engage him! I naturally said yes, since Ocean Empress isn't here to protect the city at the moment!"
"Wait, you told him my mom wasn't here!" Poseidon asked with wide eyes.
"Yes!"
"Golden Weaver! That means a villain knows that there isn't an Enforcer here! And he told you to meet him at this location!"
"Yes!"
Cinder rubbed her neck. "Pretty sure he's going to attack a different location and was just using you to distract everyone with your commotion." As if on cue, her enhanced senses picked up a loud blast somewhere on the other side of the city. "I hear a bank being robbed."
"Away I go!" Golden Weaver flicked his arm out and launched a wave of golden thread out. He used it to swing on the buildings and quickly headed in the direction of where the blast was.
"We should probably help him." Oxide said flatly.
The metal-based girl created a large sled for them to stand on, and Poseidon used her anti-gravity to lift it up. Cinder stood in the back and held her hand out, firing a stream of fire out that caused the sled to go flying down the street like a jet. She was joined by Baggy, who stood under her, also shooting his own beam out.
Despite how fast they were moving, Golden Weaver somehow stayed one step ahead of them. The spider-themed hero web-slinged from building to building, moving forward until they eventually arrived at a zoo. Not the evil group, an actual zoo. The kind that held animals. They had all been expecting a bank or something, but nope. That would have made sense.
Fire spread out across the road, and people were running around in a panic. A villain hovered over the zoo, letting out a mad cackle. It was an older-looking man who wore some sort of plastic lizard mask and a skintight, scaly costume. They stood on a large floating board that hovered in the air and had a belt filled with several bombs on it.
"You're too late, Golden Weaver!" Yellow Kobold announced. "I've already freed all the animals!"
"Nooo!" Golden Weaver announced.
She looked around awkwardly as their board stopped. Most of the animals were just chilling out, not doing much. Fire was still spreading, but she had been able to control Demonica's flame, so this was nothing for her. With a wave of her hand, all the fire suddenly went out and instead formed into more Baggy's that didn't burn anything and instead just kept flexing.
Yellow Kobold narrowed his eyes when he saw what she did. "How dare you!"
"Good work, Cinder!" Golden Weaver swung through the air and rammed into Yellow Kobold, knocking the guy off of the board. "I'll take it from here!"
"I don't… What is going on? Are we in some sort of goofy golden age comic or something?" She asked.
The other girls just shrugged. They awkwardly stood on the sidelines and used their powers to make sure none of the civilians got hurt in the crossfire. Yellow Kobold kept throwing his bombs out at Golden Weaver as the two old men engaged in what could only be described as slap fighting.
'Pow!'
'Bang!'
'Wham!'
And other onomatopoeia sounds filled the air as the two Super's fought back and forth. Golden Weaver managed to duck under a strike Yellow Kobold threw at him, and he unleashed his strongest punch.
'Bam!'
Yellow Kobold flew back and crashed down into the snake exhibit, slowly trying to pick his old body up, which kept shaking. "The rest of you also saw the sound effects, right?" BB asked. "Like, I'm not crazy; the words 'Bam!' actually appeared?"
Yellow Kobold gasped and picked himself up. "Still just as strong as ever, old chum! But don't think for a moment that these old bones are ready to give up. I'll keep pounding away at you until I've finished!"
"The meaning of that word has seriously changed since you last used it…"
"I didn't come alone!" Yellow Kobold announced. Golden Weaver swung out of the way just in time, thanks to his Golden-Sense, as a large metal tendril blasted down from above. Unlike the fight with Yellow Kobold, this strike wasn't goofy and instead shattered the ground, kicking up a wave of debris that fired out. Cinder appeared in front of several people, using her shield to block the jagged rocks as a new villain appeared. "I've formed a group known as the Terrible Twosome!" Yellow Kobold called out. "Behold the evil might of Squid M.D!"
The new villain that arrived reminded her of Cybercroc in a way. They had long metal legs, and their head was beneath a massive squid helmet that stabbed up like a spear. Their body couldn't be seen due to eight massive metal tendrils that ripped out in the air. The tendrils expanded out, forming jagged blades and hummed with energy, each one firing out a wave of deadly lasers.
"Okay!" Paragon said with wide eyes. "This guy looks like an actual bad guy!"
Poseidon fired out a wave of gravity onto Squid M.D., but the villain grunted and blasted forward with inhuman speed. He appeared next to Cinder, and four of his metal limbs struck out, smashing into the girl and throwing her back.
"Cinder!" Paragon cried out.
She flipped over, landing on her feet, and wiped at her mouth. "I'm fine! He didn't really hurt me all that much!" She was in her Lord form still, since she couldn't turn it off, so her body was way more durable than it normally was. That didn't mean she could be reckless, though, as Squid M.D.'s tendrils expanded out and eight red beams of energy blasted out in all directions towards the civilians that were still in the area.
"Oh no, you don't! Let's stop this guy from hurting anyone, girls!" BB announced blasting forward with a wave of wind. The girl threw out a mini tornado that formed a wall of air, which blocked two of the lasers. Poseidon created a shark made out of water, which blasted forward, blocking another two. Oxide's metal flowed out and formed into walls, blocking two more as well. Finally, that left her. She jumped in front of one of the lasers and used her shield to block it, while the mini Baggy's all ran toward the one on Paragon's shoulder. All the Baggy's fused together into a large, eight-foot-tall backpack that jumped in front of the eighth laser, blocking it while still flexing. "We're doing it!" BB announced. "Let's beat this sucker!"
While they did that, Paragon awkwardly stood off to the side, watching. The girl bit her lip. Even with an enhanced body and upgraded powers, she really didn't know what to do. She also was unsure who to cheer for more between her sister and Cinder.
The lasers died out, and Squid M.D. jumped back, his tendrils slapping out at the ground. "What's this!" A new voice announced. "Poseidon, I see you're engaging a villain. Want some help?"
"Fisherman! You made it just in time!" Poseidon announced. "I see you've brought back up!"
Making this weird situation even odder were three more heroes that arrived. Two of them they had already seen. Hydro Cannon wore metal armor just like Metal Ronin, and she had two large guns on her shoulder that allowed her to fly. It was the same tech Cybercroc had used. Doctor Kraken, on the other hand, was a tall buff man in a lab coat who had the head of an octopus and eight tiny tentacles that came off of his face. The final member, though, was the second-strongest member on Team Reservoir. Fisherman just looked like a normal man dressed in a fishing outfit. He even stood in a rowboat and held a fishing rod.
The man had a sly smile on his lips and tilted his fishing hat down. "Team Reservoir. Let's do this. You kids sit back and watch the pros at work."
Doctor Kraken reached into his coat, firing out a red beam of energy. Squid M.D.'s tendrils curled together and blocked it, but seconds later he was forced to jump back as Hydro Cannon appeared in the air above him. The girl fired out a wave of compressed water that tore three of Squid MD's limbs clean off.
Fisherman raised his fishing pole up and twirled it around, forming a circle with the line. It glowed and formed into a portal. Like Sky, some heroes were naturally born with an ability to open a realm. In Fisherman's case, he opened one connected to an endless sea. A massive shark blasted out and flew through the air, ramming into Squid M.D. and forcing the villain back against a wall. "Now, Poseidon!"
The tendrils of Squid M.D. tore into the shark, ripping it apart, but it was too late. As soon as the shark was gone, Poseidon appeared in front of the metal villain and rammed her fist directly into his face, knocking him out instantly. Squid M.D. crashed to the floor, totally knocked out.
"And that's why Team Reservoir is the best team around!" Poseidon announced.
Off to the side BB sheepishly rubbed her chin. "Seriously, what the hell is even going on-"
"Anyone moves and the girl gets it!" They all spun around and found Paragon holding her arms up lazily. Yellow Kobold stood behind the girl holding up a bomb, ready to pull the pin. "I ain't losing to you guys! I came to beat Golden Weaver, and that's what I'm doing—wait, where is Golden Weaver!"
"Up here, true believers!" Golden Weaver dropped from the sky and hit the ground, causing another wave of onomatopoeia to appear out of thin air. The spider-themed hero wrapped his arms around one and rammed the series of letters directly into Yellow Kobold's face, knocking the villain out.
'Bam!'
"Wait, those things were real!" BB asked in shock. "Is that like his power? Seriously, what the hell is going on? Cinder, this is your fault!"
"How?" Cinder asked.
"You're the one that wanted to patrol! Let's just head back or something! This has gotten too dumb!"
More drones appeared quickly filming the battle that happened. They all agreed with BB though and decided it was best to sneak off. They hopped back onto the sled, and she saluted as Baggy blew himself up, creating a mini dust cloud for them to escape the sight of the drones. They flew away and soon arrived back at Lily and Sky's house.
Poseidon stepped off of the sled and removed her costume, changing back into her civilian clothes with the press of a button. The rest of them followed suit, and the metal slowly sank into the ground, vanishing once they were all off. The girl turned to them all and placed her hands on her hips, giving a large smile. "We're going to pretend like whatever that was didn't happen. Agreed?"
"Agreed!" They all said.
"Alright, then." Lily announced loudly. "Who wants to watch a movie?"
The inside of Sky and Lily's house was just as impressive. It had a large entryway that led further into the manner, massive stairs that went up several floors, and it had a large dining hall and a kitchen instead of a combination of the two like her mother's apartment had. There were a few pictures hanging up on the walls showing off more old heroes like Mr. Sini and the like. One was a group photo that held the Sini family all out of costume. It was just River and her daughters at that point, though. Sky was very young in the picture and had a large smile on her face.
Hope glanced at the picture and then turned back to Sky. "Huh."
"What?" Sky asked.
"Nothing. It's just that I've never seen you smile like that. It was adorable." Sky whacked her on the back of the head and turned away with a huff.
They soon found themselves in the movie room. Yes, a movie room—a thing totally normal people have. The back wall had a massive TV hung up on it, and just turning it on was enough to flood the place with blue light. The room had a large couch, which they all piled onto. They were all shoulder to shoulder, and Lily put on some sort of horror movie.
The movie took place in some cabin out near a lake where a masked man ran around trying to kill everyone. Even if she had been a kid, she doubted it would have scared her all that much. After all, a hero would have shown up to stop whatever the monster was. Now that she was a Super, though, the movie was sort of boring. Even as the sun got close to setting and it became dark, none of them really took it seriously, making fun of the bad effects and design.
It was fun, though. She couldn't help but look at the others. Ashley seemed a little bored, while Lily and Sera kept joking about how they could see the strings. Sky paid attention, though. Now that the girl had her eyes back, she didn't take her sight for granted. Even a bad movie like this kept her attention.
"Do you think the others are having any fun?" Sky asked her.
"You mean the boys?"
"Yeah."
She shrugged her shoulders and watched as the main female lead in the movie discovered all the dead bodies of her friends and ran around screaming as the killer slowly chased her. "I guess they'd be having fun. I wonder what they're up to."
"Guy stuff, probably."
Over in the Pantheon base, Armin banged his arms down on the table. They had decided to hang out there when they started their guy's night and were now doing one of the most important things ever.
"Alright, Asmon, the unbreakable. This is it. Daimon has just finished his dark summoning magic! However, due to your abilities, you get a single attack of opportunity. It all comes to this. Roll!"
Kyle gulped and picked up his dice. "Don't let me down." He threw them out, and they rolled across the table. Slowly, they came to a stop.
"NAT TWENTY!" Rowan and Kenny cheered out, kicking up the table and causing it to crash back down.
"Asmon swings his sword, and in one swift motion, he beheads the dark wizard, finally taking revenge for his lost family!"
"YEAH!"
Hope snorted, resting back on the couch as she tried to imagine what the guys did when they hung out. "I bet they're playing DnD or something like that."
"DnD?"
"Oh my God, do you guys not know what that is? Grab some dice!"
***
Thaddeus threw the ball out as hard as he could. It rolled across the lane and smashed through the pins with ease, knocking them down.
Lois sighed, and her eye twitched a bit. Even with the ability to see the future, she was losing. "Geez. How are you so good at this?"
"Years of practice." Thaddeus readied another ball and tossed it out. They were back in the abandoned bowling arena. The one he had taken his team to when he needed to reward them with a day off. It was just him and Lois this time, though. "My dad used to take my brother and me here all the time when we were kids. After I joined the Sub Enforcers, we had a leader called Red Iron who also took us out to places like this every once in a while. Money Tree and I would always try to outdo each other. I never liked using my powers to get an edge, so I just practiced until I was so good I could get a strike first try every time." He looked down at the bowling ball he held and couldn't help the faint smile that came onto his face. "What about you?"
"I mean, I've bowled a couple of times." Lois shrugged, throwing her own ball down the lane and watching it take out half the pins. "I never really had any crazy hobbies. Now that I've bought that bike, though, I've been having a blast riding around on it."
"You've only had it for less than a day?"
"And I've never been happier."
Thaddeus chuckled and rolled his ball, getting a perfect strike again. It was all but certain he was winning this match. "If you don't mind me asking, did your dad ever take you out to do things like this?" Lois's smile faded, and she nearly dropped the ball but managed to catch it thanks to her sight. "Sorry. I guess that's a sore topic." He winced a bit and looked away.
Lois sighed and shook her head. "No. It's fine. To answer your question, hell no! My dad never bothered taking me out anywhere, and my mom was even worse. Ms. River would sometimes take me to the park, though, whenever she was in town, so that was fun."
Thaddeus nodded his head. Ocean Empress was the definition of a good person if you were to ask him. She dropped out of the war to take care of dozens of kids who lost their parents to the Emperor. She not only raised her own kid by herself but also took care of the children who belonged to Supers. Even the villain's kids. She had adopted Sky, the daughter of the Emperor, willingly and took care of Wyvern, who was forced to turn into a monster at a young age. It was thanks to her that people like Bad Wolf and a few other monsters were able to turn over a new leaf and join hero teams.
By comparison, the Victorian was nearly the total opposite. She was almost like a machine. She saved those who best helped society and did so without emotion. Truly, she was the number one hero due to her overwhelming power and drive to save the world.
"I can't imagine what your life must have been like."
"It really wasn't that bad," Lois grumbled. "That's what makes me really mad more than anything. Compared to someone like Armin, who lost his mother, you, who lost both your parents, or Hope, who is losing her father, my life wasn't all that difficult."
"Just because it could have been worse doesn't mean you have to accept it."
"Oh, I know." She threw her ball once more and, this time, knocked over only a single pin, causing her to grit her teeth a bit. "Dad was around sometimes. When he wasn't in costume, he tried. He really did. He spent more time chasing after Mom than he spent with me, though. I don't even know how the two of them ended up together. Part of me wonders if she ever even loved him or just wanted to have a child with a Lord. I think she expected me to be strong. To be as strong, or even stronger than her. She was around a lot in the beginning. It's so hard to remember, but sometimes I can recall her smiling, always looking at me with a grin. But as the years passed and my powers didn't make me stronger, she spent less time with me. Then, when it became clear that my powers simply reached their peak, she stopped showing up altogether. I think she forgot she even had a kid. She barely even pays attention to her ex-husband. Too busy shacking up with Lady Time or Mister Man. Sorry for ranting."
"It's fine." Thaddeus gripped down on his bowling ball, his fingers digging into it and nearly cracking it. Slowly, though, he managed to calm down. "Heroes... Heroes often make bad parents, I think. Ocean Empress might be the exception. She's human. Something I think most Supers give up when they get their powers."
"Your dad wasn't bad, though, was he?"
"No. I guess not. He was a good man."
"Was he a good parent?"
"He was a damn good man. Good men are allowed to be shit fathers. That's what my brother always said. My dad was around. Sometimes. More than yours, that's for sure. Hero work took most of his attention, though. That and his library." Dust sprinkled onto the floor as the bowling ball he threw nearly shattered. "I think that's why I liked this place so much. Here he was able to unwind. Here, he was able to just be my dad."
Lois quietly placed her ball down and walked over, setting a hand on his shoulder. Silence hung in the air for a moment. "Your brother. Do you remember what he said about the Beast?"
He thought back and found himself back on the Enforcer's ship, staring at his tall sibling. "It's about the Beast," his brother said quietly.
Myth's eyes instantly narrowed. "Alright. Go on." Snowdawn and Whisper both stood shocked, their ears ringing. First the Emperor, and now this.
Fable slowly moved his lion pelt to the side, showing off his chest. Despite being tall and skinny, he had some muscle on him, as well as very large abs. He also had one of the worst scars Snowdawn had ever seen: a nasty black mark on the side of a basketball placed directly above the man's stomach and below his chest. It circled around Fable's entire body and looked painful and fresh despite being old.
"Two years ago, when I fought the Beast, my gut was punctured. I would have died that day if not for Paragon's powers awakening. However, this mark was unable to be fully healed. It still clings to me and aches. Every now and then, though, it truly burns. Recently, it's felt like it's on fire. It's nothing more than a gut feeling, but I believe that the Beast could be paying Earth a visit once more. As to what city, I do not know."
Myth gritted his teeth and balled his hand into a fist. "Do the others know?"
"I informed Boy Genius. If the Beast is truly on the way, it will take months. In the past, we usually had three to four months before we had to worry about it when it got moving. He is going to look into it when we get back and make sure we don't need to get ready for war. The people will be stressed enough when they learn of the Emperor. This is another matter altogether."
Myth nodded slowly. "I understand. I'll do what I can-"
"That's why I wanted to speak to you." Fable cut his older brother off and stared down at the smaller man. "If it is true and my hunch of the Beast does turn out to be real, I'd like to ask you a favor."
"What is it?"
"Don't show up."
The memory ended, and he found himself back in the present, his bowling ball finally shattering and breaking to bits. "Are you going to listen to him?" Lois asked quietly. "Are you going to stay out of the fight with the Beast if it does turn out he's heading our way?"
"He's my little brother." Thaddeus hummed. "It is the job of an older brother to ignore the requests from the younger sibling."
"-it seems Lillian had an odd mix of heroes, as Poseidon and Paragon of team Reservoir arrived on scene, along with Oxide and BB of team Sub Enforcers, and Cinder of team Pantheon. Seen here engaging the villain Squid M.D, I have to wonder if they plan to create their own team. It is speculated that the heroes Poseidon and Cinder could be in a relationship after all-"
"What was that!" Sky stared at the TV with wide eyes as it suddenly showed the clip where Poseidon had kissed Cinder on the cheek shortly after the battle with Red Raptor in the sewers.
"T- That was nothing." Lily said awkwardly.
Hope shrunk down a bit in her chair and hit the TV remote, shutting it off. Sky was staring at her with narrowed eyes now. "L- Let's just get back to focusing on the game. You were running a bard, right, Sky?"
"You just picked a bard so you could try and flirt with Hope, didn't you?" Sera asked, letting out a snort.
Sky just let out an innocent whistle and rolled her dice, trying to seduce the barmaid. "Is a nine good?"
"No," Hope said, shaking her head.
"Damn it!"
"There's a lot of math and talking in this game," Ashley muttered, looking down at her character sheet and trying to figure out what each number meant.
"Oh, sweet!" Sera said, reading over her spells. "This says I can make stuff small or big. I basically get my powers in my made-up dude!"
They were all seated around the dining room table now as Hope did her best to teach them the wonders of tabletop gaming. Sadly, it wasn't going that well. The only one who even seemed to get a good idea of how things worked was Sera, who was very chaotic and actively burning everything down. She was still somehow better than the other girls, who were just sort of picking stuff and going with the flow. It didn't help that she didn't really know what she was doing herself. They had none of the books, and Armin was always the one who would come up with the plot and monsters when she and him played.
The sound of the front door opening echoed down the manner, and Lily stood up, dropping her sheet. "Looks like mom is back. I'm going to go check on her. We sort of ditched her and forgot her at the mall. I'm sure she's wondering what happened to us."
"It isn't like her not to text us." Sky checked her phone but still had no notification from her mom. "Maybe she ran out of battery on her phone? Who knows? I'll let Destiny play your character while you're gone. He's been staring down at us, wanting to play for a while now."
As if on cue, the red bird landed down on the table and pecked at Lily's dice, squawking. Hope shrugged. "Yeah, I don't speak, bird; I have no idea what you're trying to do."
Sky shivered a bit. "Turns out Sera's playing a saint compared to what Destiny wants to do to the people in this bar."
That was the last thing Lily heard as she left the room and headed for the front of the house. "Mom!" She heard a loud crash up ahead and turned around the corner just in time to see her mother standing straight in front of the door with wide eyes. She looked almost like a deer caught in the headlights. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah! I am fine! Just fine! Just me!" Her mother said, obviously lying.
Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Right. Hey, I'm sorry we left without saying anything. A lot happened, and I got totally distracted. I hope you didn't have to wait outside for too long before you realized we ditched you."
"Ditched me?" Realization suddenly dawned in the woman's eyes. "Oh, that's right! I was supposed to pick you up, wasn't I?"
"You forgot?"
"I got a bit distracted, myself." The woman admitted.
Lily raised an eyebrow. Her mom was acting weird all of a sudden. "I invited some of my friends over. Is it okay if they stay the night?"
"Sure? I didn't know you had friends."
"Mom!"
"I'm kidding. Mostly. But yeah, I don't mind. Just try not to be too loud and get to bed on time, okay?"
"Yeah, I will." Lily turned away, waving her hand. "Thanks, Mom."
River watched her daughter leave before she slowly stepped back out onto the front porch of the manor. "You can stop hiding, now."
"No, I can't." She looked down and found Jack's legs were poking up out of a thorn bush. "You shoved me into this!"
"I didn't think anyone would be home! I panicked and had to stop her from seeing you!"
"Is it really that bad to be seen with me?"
"Yes."
"Ouch! I can't tell what hurts more! This bush or your words!"
"Keep your voice down." She waved her hand, and a tendril of water picked the man up, dragging him out and setting him down. Jack dusted off a few drops of blood from his shirt. "So, I guess you'll be heading home?" She asked.
"Yeah, it looks like it." He turned away, giving a lazy wave. "I'm guessing the kid is in there. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."
"Will do." He stepped off the porch and was about to leave, but she called out to him, "Wait. Lari—Jack."
He turned to look back at her. "Yeah?"
"This day was fun. We should do it again sometime."
'Two weeks left to live.'
Jack turned away, not meeting her eyes. "Yeah. We should."
***
He allowed his power to activate, letting it take him over for a moment, thanks to his skill with Inverting. The scale changed, and his ability began to work once more.
His power allowed him to see and hear things he shouldn't have known. Things that he would never get to see—all of them flashed through his mind, battles not yet fought, and tears that had yet to be shed.
He couldn't see it all. He saw enough, though—enough to get a clear idea of what he should do and to know that the part he played in this story was soon going to come to an end. That wasn't the end of the story—just his part. At last, his part would have an ending—one that should have occurred fifteen years ago.
"It would seem that fate has decided I go on ahead, Battery. Soon, the Tallest Wave, The Prettiest Flower, the Loudest Thunder, and the Brightest Star, will take the stage." Max Lightning brushed some of his long hair back and looked up at the night sky. Stars littered it, casting everything in an almost ethereal glow. He liked Oleander more than he did his own city. His city had failed to stop an attack from Lucifer and was still left broken and damaged. Oleander was nice. It had nasty scars, but ones that were clear. Even without using his powers, the city didn't try to hide anything.
With his powers, though, he saw more. He saw the Paths constantly twitch and form throughout the air, constantly changing as people lived their lives and told new stories. It was almost beautiful despite those ever-present ugly marks that clung to it.
It had started off as a hobby at first. In his city, he was expected to keep himself clean. To stand tall and save everyone, no matter how hard that was. He had to shave constantly, do up his hair, and make sure he was spotless. Even if he no longer held the title of the husband of Victorian, his city expected him to fulfill the noble role he once held. Oleander didn't ask the same thing of him.
The city, in fact, never asked anything of him.
In Oleander, he was allowed to be outside of his costume and wear what he wanted. He could go days, or even weeks, without bathing. He was free to eat any food he wanted, even if it was from a dumpster or rotten, and he never had to do his hair up or shave his beard. In Oleander, he was truly free.
To the people of the city, he wasn't Max Lightning. He was just another homeless man. Being homeless and having no expectations of him made him truly happy.
Max Lightning stared out across the city, watching the colorful lights as cars passed under lamps and stores got ready to close down for the night. He stood atop a building, or rather, he sat right at the edge, allowing his feet to dangle off.
He looked back up at the night sky, watching the stars for one last time. Slowly, he leaned over the edge and allowed himself to fall. It wasn't a tall building. It was in the middle-class section of the city and had once been a place where people could go to bowl. Right before he hit the ground, the wind came to life and stopped his fall, halting him in place. It wrapped around him like a hand and placed him on the ground just in time as the door to the building opened.
Thaddeus stepped out, chuckling at a joke Lois told him, but he stopped when he saw the man on the other side of the door standing in the parking lot waiting for them. The man had a bushy beard as well as long blonde hair that had become a tangled mess. He was covered in dirt and mud and wore a dirty green coat and baggy pants that hid his costume beneath.
"Max Lightning," Thaddeus said slowly.
"Dad!" Lois stepped out from behind her boss and looked at her dad with wide eyes. She hadn't seen him since the mall incident. That felt like it was so long ago.
Max Lightning stuffed his hands into his pockets. He had a serious look on his face—the kind that said he wasn't here to be a father. "Lois, I'd like to speak to you about something."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to speak to just you." The man's eyes shot a look over toward the dark-skinned man who stood next to his daughter.
Thaddeus turned to Lois and raised an eyebrow. She seemed to debate it for several moments but finally shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. "Alright."
Thaddeus nodded and moved away, heading for the motorbike parked on the other side of the parking lot, getting out of earshot. Max Lightning watched him leave before he turned back to his daughter. He looked her up and down. She had grown.
He hadn't always been there for her. In fact, he wasn't there for most of her life. It wasn't very fair to say that he was her dad. He didn't deserve that title. He had the chance to be a father but instead chased after a woman who likely never actually held any feelings for him—a woman who held no feelings for her own child and had just wanted to recreate the little bit of happiness she held when she worked under her father. Part of him was glad to see that Lois had come so far.
Through efforts that were solely hers, she had reached a point most heroes couldn't even dream of.
"So, what do you want?" Lois asked, cutting her dad's thoughts off. She folded her arms and stared at him. Her ability to read Paths never worked on people like him. Some Supers defied fate and destiny, and the Lords did this the most, not even showing up. It was how she figured out Hope was a Lord so easily. "Make it quick also. I want to get home and go to bed. We're going to have a long day ahead of ourselves dealing with all the paperwork from the Hero Branch."
Max Lightning took her face in. His eyes traced it, roaming over her hair and eyes. Finally, he spoke. "Is there anything you need my help with? Anything you'd like to do with me that we haven't gotten to do yet as father and daughter?"
"No? Why?" Lois asked, narrowing her eyes. That was a super weird question to ask out of the blue. "What gives? What's going on with you?"
Max Lightning gave the smallest hint of a smile as he burned the image of his daughter into his mind. "Soon... Soon, I will be dead."
***
Hope stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. "I really wish I had brought my own pajamas. These ones are a little..."
Night had quickly approached, and they moved upstairs. Lily's bathroom was freaking huge and had nearly every expensive shampoo or conditioner a person could ask for. Each one of them took turns getting cleaned off and was given spare pajamas Lily had grown out of. She was taller than Lily, and the pair of PJs they gave her had been too small for Lily, so for her they were uncomfortable.
The color also wasn't her style. It was a hot pink that hurt the eyes, and it had some old-school cartoon hero on the front. She drew the short straw though, so she was stuck with it.
"Did you guys really not have anything better? I might as well just sleep in my regular clothes. At least then, I wouldn't have to worry about twitching and ripping this shirt." Just moving her arms was enough to make her fear the shirt would tear.
"Sorry?" Lily shrugged. I've been meaning to throw that one out for a while so you can keep it."
"No, thanks."
The other girls were also decked out in pajamas. Sky and Lily both had their own, wearing simple nightgowns, while Sera and Ashley also wore hand-me-downs. Ashley was about Sky's size and wore one of the healer's backup pajamas. As for Sera, she just shrunk or expanded her body in any way she needed to so she could fit in the outfit Lily gave her.
Lily's room was one that was shared with Sky. The room itself was kind of plain. It didn't have a TV, nor did it have any posters. The girl had been homeschooled for her entire life, and the room sort of looked like the kind of place you'd see a kid have in a show where the child had strict parents. It had a bed, a desk, a drawer for clothes, and a shelf filled with books ranging from history to chemistry or math. There were two beds on either side of the room, and the only thing that truly stood out was a small Cinder action figure tucked behind a box of safety glass that was on Sky's side of the room.
She was glad the girl kept her gift.
They set up sleeping bags on the floor around Lily's bed, one for each of them. Sera was already tucked away in hers, looking like a strange caterpillar. Ashley was playing on her phone while Sky rested in a chair, reading one of the books she had pulled off of it. She seemed to be enjoying having her sight back, even if the book was boring. That just left Lily, who dangled her legs off of the bed, looking out the window as the moon slowly rose up.
"So, Ashley," Lily began. "We went skating, agreed on a place to stay, fought crime, watched a movie, played a game, and all got cleaned up. What now?"
Ashley clicked her phone off and laid on the floor, covering herself with the sleeping bag. "Well, it's nighttime, so this is either the part where we gossip or go to sleep," she said.
"Gossip?"
"She means talk about boys," Sera commented. The girl closed her eyes and shrunk down with her power, causing the sleeping bag to fold over her. "Have fun with that; I pick sleep."
Ashley nodded her head. "We don't really have too much to gossip about. I know who Sera is interested in, and you're dating Wasp Nest. Everyone already has their someone."
"What about me?" Hope asked.
Ashley just gave her a deadpan look. "So, what is it like having your sight back, Sky?"
Sky closed the book and tucked the strand of white in her hair behind her ear. "I forgot how much I missed it. I only lost my eyes two years ago, but it's nice having it back. I could see through Destiny or in my dream world, but being in the here and now with them is nice."
Hope walked over to a drawer where her wig rested and picked it up. Steam rose up off of her golden hair, all the water evaporating. She placed the wig on, and it almost seemed to come to life, twisting and bending like a liquid as it molded over her hair before settling down. She didn't bother with the sunglasses since she was indoors, with everyone who knew she was a Super.
"Why do you think he gave you your sight back?" She asked, finally sitting down.
The room went silent as her question was asked. Sky turned away, and Destiny flew in, landing on her shoulder. The girl scratched the bird on his chin, causing him to chirp several times. "I don't know why the Emperor did it," Sky said after some time. "Whatever his reason is, I'm sure he didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart."
"Maybe we should just go to sleep," Lily suggested.
It didn't take them long to turn the lights out and pile into their sleeping bags while Lily claimed the bed for herself. Silence descended upon the room, and with the curtains shut tightly, everything was cast in a pitch-black darkness.
Despite that, though, Hope found herself staring up at the roof of the room, the darkness not hindering her sight at all. A lot had changed since she got her powers. One year ago, she wore glasses and had no friends besides Armin. Now, she was a walking disaster who could see farther than any human should have been able to. It was strange to discover the effects her powers had on her body and, even stranger, the effects they could have on her mind.
How much had she changed? How many times had she done something the old version of her wouldn't have or used a move she never even would have thought of? People like Wasp Nest seemed to use their power even when they weren't conscious. Her own powers apparently took over at one point or another as well. Max Lightning explained the art of inverting as letting the powers take the driver's seat and offer it more control.
Just how sentient were powers and how much control they really had over a person?
Did a Super actually have free will-
She shook her head, squashing the dark thoughts as they surfaced. There was no reason for her to think about it. She wasn't very smart; she'd even say she could be downright dumb at times. She listened to the others, hearing their heartbeats slowly settle down. A lot had happened in the past week, so she wasn't surprised to find that they had all blacked out—all but one.
A quiet shuffling came through the room, and the door opened quietly. No one stirred as it closed. She thought about getting up and checking who it was, but her eyes felt heavy. It was probably just someone trying to use the bathroom or something. Slowly, Hope drifted off into a deep slumber. For some reason, she found herself dreaming of her dad.
He always liked to talk about the place where he grew up, its large beach, and how he would always go fishing with his own father. That night, she dreamed, and she got to see it and play in the waters with the other kids. That night, she dreamed she was just a normal person.
Sky stepped out of her sister's room and began to walk through the halls of the manor. Her mother would have gone to bed a while ago, so she didn't need to worry about anything. A few of Boy Genius's robots roamed the halls, cleaning the place and dusting everything off. The young Mental user had lived at this place once long ago. He had been discovered by Old Dog and brought in, and like most young Supers, Ocean Empress took the child in until he was able to go out on his own.
Boy Genius had only stayed for a short amount of time before he packed all his stuff up and left, going on to then become one of the youngest people to ever join the Enforcers, joining with Wyvern, another young hero her mother had taken in at one time.
Sky headed out the door to the manor after grabbing a coat and stepped out onto the lawn. She threw it on over her gown. It was a simple lab coat. She kept a few scattered about in case she was quickly called away to go heal someone. Inside, she was able to pull out one of her spare masks and slip it on. She held her hand out, and from above, a loud bird cry echoed out as Destiny flew down and landed in her palm.
She stared down at the bird in silence. She had no idea where she had gotten him from. She had just woken up one day, and he was there with her, constantly serving and doting on her. It had been thanks to him that she was able to see even after her sister had damaged her eyes. Now that she had her eyes back, she could see without him. Their connection was still strong, though. Maybe even stronger than it had been before.
Her eyes hadn't just come back. They were different. They saw more than they should have—things that made up a person's body, every strand of DNA. Before, her powers were out of control. She could sort of heal with them, but it wouldn't always work, and sometimes she could change a person's body just like she had done to her sister, two years ago. It was a cursed gift from her father. Now, though, she truly felt like she could do anything.
"This must be what my sister and Hope feel like." A constant stream of power that coursed through her body, yet it was a power she didn't need to fear going out of control. It almost acted on its own, guiding itself and following the thoughts she held. "Let's do this."
Her power surged out, and for a moment, Destiny almost seemed to grow. He let out another call, this one much louder, as his body began to grow. He doubled in size, then quadrupled, and then he became as big as her, then even bigger. Soon, he towered over her, standing at nearly twelve feet tall. His wings expanded out, getting much bigger, and he easily scooped her up and tossed her onto his back.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he took off each flap of his wings, twisting and distorting the wind around them, destroying the garden down below. She'd have to apologize later, though. She had a job to do right now.
***
His ankles rested in the water. He allowed himself to dangle off the side of the boat just a bit. The ocean was beautiful. More than beautiful, it was grand. The sun reflected off of the water, lighting it up and reflecting the bright blue sky above.
It had been years since he had seen his hometown. His wife stood behind him, and the two of them watched as their daughter splashed around in the water with the other kids. There was nothing to worry about—no big dangers or monsters—it was just a calm and peaceful world.
All at once, though, the dream came to an end. The sound of the machine's ever-present beeping caused Alexander Lauren to wake up slowly. The pain flooded his body once more—a deep stabbing pain that seemed to never end.
His wife visited him every day, but he had requested his daughter stop coming. The state he was in was one she didn't need to see—not anymore. It had been getting worse—so much worse. He had made Jane promise him not to tell Hope. That had been when he could still talk.
So many tubes were stuffed down his throat, and he had lost the ability to properly eat or digest food. All his hair was gone, and he was practically skin and bones. The doctors had sawed off the limb that had been touched by that damned villain; it had worked to slow down the worse of the infection, but it was already far too late for a treatment like that to save him. He had realized rather quickly there was no way he was going to be saved. The doctors knew it as well. Now, the testing had changed to see what worked, and how long they could keep a human infected with a strand of the Dead Virus alive.
It had been only a portion—just one tiny portion—less than one percent of the stuff Lucifer used on Super, but still enough to utterly destroy his body.
His eyes ached, and each breath caused his lungs to feel as if they were about to explode. His skin almost felt like it was on fire, and his heart beat weakly in his chest, struggling to keep him alive. His ears had a constant ringing in them, and they stopped him from hearing most of the world around him.
That's also what stopped him from noticing the window to his room opened slowly. A light breeze washed over him and felt like knives grinding across his flesh. A hand placed itself on what was left of his missing arm, and he would have jumped, but he didn't have the power to do so. A strong force smashed into his heart instead, and he began to go into shock.
It was stopped in an instant, though. His eyes could barely focus, but the bright light around them began to fade. Slowly, they settled on something white. It was hard to make out, but he could feel something. A strange sensation began to enter his body. He groaned, and some of the tubes pulled their way out of his body. It hurt to breathe, but the pain was getting less intense. All across his body, it was fading. His heartbeat began to calm down, and he could feel his legs once more.
The pain still hurt. The kind he'd never wish on another human, but for the first time in a long while, it felt like something he could manage.
Then he saw red. That white void he looked up at began to rain down a heavy stream of red. His eyes finally focused, and he realized he was staring at a mask. One that covered someone's face fully up. Someone was doing this to him. That white mask began to change to a nasty red, though, as blood poured out from beneath it. The hand moved away from his body, and instantly, the pain hit him head-on once more, causing him to gasp and buckle.
Whoever the person was, they stumbled back as more blood poured down their mask. They jumped out the window, falling. In horror, he stepped up and reached out for them, but it was too late. They never hit the ground, though. Instead, his ears, which were now clear, heard the flapping of wings, and something massive flew past his window carrying the masked figure.
The door to his hospital room burst open as a doctor ran in, and Alex became aware of the fact that the machines in his room were screaming out. "Mr. Lauren-" The doctor stood frozen when he saw the man.
Alexander kept staring out the window where the figure had left. His arm was still outstretched. The very same limb that had been cut off. It was back. He turned to look at the doctor; his body no longer was skin and bones having a small amount of fat to it, and he was able to move, if even only a little, and his throat didn't feel damaged. He cleared it as his mind struggled with the pain that still rose up beneath his flesh.
"I think... I think I'd like to see my wife. I know it's late, but can you please call her?"
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