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71.28% Spectacular World / Chapter 144: The New Paragon

Chapter 144: The New Paragon

Everything was dark...

Kyle felt his mind gradually click back into place as his thoughts began to restart. His head ached, but he supposed that was a good thing. After all, he was still alive... His body was screaming at him, but he fought through it. His eyes slowly began to open as he stared up at the stone roof above him.

He groaned and tried to sit up. His stomach hurt, but the pain wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. His ears rang a bit, and he heard the sound of people talking all around him. It was as if he was in a crowd or something.

"Oh! Are you awake?" Kyle jumped a bit when he heard the voice. "Hey, try not to move around so much. She wasn't able to fully heal your stomach, so you need to take it easy, got that kid?"

Kyle winced and clutched at his gut. His eyes finally settled, and he was able to look down at his body. His jacket had been cut open; the same for his shirt, showing off his stomach. He didn't know how long he had been knocked out, but small, tiny scars littered his flesh. He had been healed despite how close to death he was. There was only one Super he knew of who had healing this good. "Paragon saved me?"

"Yep."

He looked around, taking everything in. The floor was cold stone, and he had been placed down on it in a sleeping bag. Above him was a stone roof as well. There was a series of curtains set up around them, forming a makeshift tent, and lights hung above them. It sort of reminded him of the medical tents people would set up during a war. Outside of the tent, he could hear dozens of people talking as well as the sounds of children laughing and playing. It all felt so weird.

A man was in the tent with him and had been the one speaking to him. It was an older guy in his early to late forties. He was dressed in a thrown-together outfit, a long-sleeved shirt, and baggy pants. The man was bald and very skinny but had large laugh lines on his face and a few flakes of red that were growing in forming a small beard. The man gently pushed up his glasses and placed his book down when he saw Kyle was trying to stand up.

"What did I say?" The man argued, softly pushing Kyle back down. "Your stomach hasn't fully healed on the inside yet. You'll cause something to pop if you keep moving around."

"I need to get up-"

"No. You need to rest." The man said, shaking his head. He grabbed a cup of water that had been resting on a nearby table and brought it up to Kyle's lips. Kyle silently drank it, feeling the burning sensation in his throat fade away. "Trust me, I was once in a similar position as you." The man said, giving a sad smile. "I know how frustrating it can be to have to rest when you just want to do something. You were trying to save some people, right? Went and got yourself injured, and now you want to go back out there and do it all over again."

"No," Kyle said, shaking his head. "It isn't about that." He needed to get back to the base. He was sure of what he saw. Hope Lauren. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but it was her. Or at least it looked and sounded like her, but something was wrong. He needed to tell Myth or Battery or someone.

The man placed the cup down and stood up. "Well, until Paragon can fix your stomach, you're in no condition to move around. She got a bit distracted with something, so it could be a bit until she comes to get you-"

"Mr. Lauren!" A voice cried out. The curtain to the area they were in opened up slightly, and a young boy ran in, clinging to the man's leg. "My brother took my toy again!"

"Oh, did he now?" The man asked, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, I'll go and talk to him then!"

"Wait? Lauren?" Kyle asked, easing himself up to a sitting position.

The man looked back at him and nodded. "I guess I forgot to give my name, huh? I'm Alexander Lauren." The bullets he had taken were nothing compared to the gut punch he just got. He stared at the man in shock, feeling a chill go through him. This was Hope's father. Her dad was the one in front of him. First, he had run into someone who looked like Hope, and now her father was standing before him? What were the chances? "Hey, I got to step out for a bit, so stay here, okay? I'll be right back." He didn't get time to say anything to Mr. Lauren as the man stepped out, following after the child.

Kyle forced himself to stand and groaned, clutching his stomach. He had a lot more envy for heroes that had bulletproof skin. Slowly, he managed to hobble to the entrance of the makeshift tent he was in and pushed the cloth to the side, stepping out. He looked around, taking in the sight of the small society that had formed during these harsh times.

They were underground in what he guessed used to be a train station. The rails lead down to a dark tunnel, though parts of the roof collapsed from the battle with the Beast in some areas. Other parts, however, were lifted and supported by large trees that had sprouted from the stone, wrapping their vines and branches into the roof above. There was a set of stairs that led up and would likely take him out into the streets of Oleander. There weren't any Hero Branch members, but he did notice a few cops were standing next to the entrance, seemingly guarding it.

There were about a dozen or so people walking around the underground area. Some wore the clothing they had on the day the Beast attacked, while others were wearing stitched-together outfits or leaves and vines woven together into jackets or dresses. Some had wooden spears, and everyone seemed to be doing something. There were kids playing with whatever toys were able to be found and adults walking back and forth, setting up tents and clearing the rubble in one of the tunnels, gradually expanding the area. More of those trees were scattered about growing fruit or being cut open, allowing small streams of water to spill out that some women were collecting.

Oleander had become a wasteland of ruins barely holding itself together. Despite all of that, though, these people had found a way to survive by closing themselves off from the villains up top. Paragon had created her own secret society.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Kyle didn't have much time to process everything, and a second later, he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder, which began to shake him. A man stood in front of him, giving him a look he had never seen before. "My family would be... I can't thank you enough! You saved our lives. I'm so glad you're not hurt."

His mind finally clicked in place, and he realized who this was. "You're the guy?" It was the father in that family of three. The one who had been shot in the shoulder, though the man seemed to have been fully healed and no longer had a shoulder wound.

"Yes! You saved my daughter. I can't thank you enough," the man said, gesturing out with his hand. Kyle followed where he pointed and saw the little girl standing next to her mother near the other side of the station they were in. A wooden table had been carved out from a tree, and the two were cutting some apples they had picked. She no longer had a fever and had a wide, happy grin on her face as she said something to her mom.

It was a strange feeling knowing he had saved someone's life. After all, he wasn't a superhero—not like Hope or Armin had been.

"I thought I told you to stay put." A hand clasped him on the back, and he looked up, finding Alexander had wandered back over. The man still had a smile on his face and winked, showing he wasn't actually annoyed. "You should say thanks back to this guy, kid. His family was the one that managed to flag down Paragon and is the reason we were able to find you in time."

He rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Thanks... Hey, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but can I speak to Paragon? If she's around here, that is? It's really important. I'm a friend of hers."

Alexander rubbed his chin, running his hands through his beard as he thought about it for a moment. "Well, you're in luck. She just came back." He grabbed Kyle and allowed the boy to lean on him. "She seemed to know who you were and asked to see you once you were up, so let's say hi, shall we?"

"Right."

They walked through the train station, and he couldn't help but stare at all the people as they went about their day. In only two months, they formed a new society that was seemingly thriving. He'd have to tell Wasp Nest about it when he next got the chance. They had been looking for Paragon for weeks now. No one knew what happened to the hero or if she had even stayed in Oleander. All they knew was that Poseidon was worried sick looking for her.

They reached the section of the station that dipped down to where the tracks were. One of the tunnels at one end of the track was covered in rubble. Several men were slowly using wooden tools or whatever else they had to try and dig through it, but they weren't making a lot of progress. The other tunnel, on the other hand, kept going further into the Oleander underground stations. These places, even before the Beast, had stopped being in use due to all the villains that claimed them or the number of collapsed areas. At the entrance to the tunnel, a group of men and women were holding fashioned spears or swords. In the middle of them, though, stood Sky.

It looked like they had just gotten back from a trip, all of them covered in sweat. Several of the men that walked with Sky had a large stretcher out, which held the body of what looked almost like a bear, but the creature was far larger and covered in thick metal hide. He was a little shocked to see Sky talking so casually to the people around her.

He had met the girl a few times since he was friends with Metal Ronin, who in turn was friends with Wasp Nest, who was dating Sky's sister. In the past, Sky was always quiet and always wore her baggy clothes or covered her face with a plain mask. She always slouched down and never did much. Now, though, the girl was walking and had a wooden sword slung over her shoulder. She wasn't wearing her mask and didn't have her sunglasses as well. He had heard she wasn't blind anymore, but he really didn't get to talk to her about that with everything that had happened. Her hair was long and flowing down her back, and it was the color of white now. She had changed her outfit as well. She wore a pair of long sweatpants and a tank top, with her white lab coat open.

She turned toward them and nodded to her group before she made her way over toward them. The others lifted the dead bear onto the station and let out a loud yell to everyone. "We brought back food!" One of the men announced, causing everyone in the station to cheer. "We're going to be eating good tonight!"

Kyle couldn't help but snort. They were doing way better than anyone up top. On the surface, many stores had been taken over by low-level villains or random thugs. Myth's team tried to stop them and reclaim some of them, but the Hero Branch had decided to start air-dropping food, which other villains would then try to snatch up and take. This meant that Myth's Sub Enforcers had to instead focus on making sure the supplies went to the people that needed them most, so the stores got taken over and were now unused.

The only people doing well in Oleander besides Sky's group were the people who camped out near the bridge. Battery's Giants were most active near there and seemingly couldn't travel through the entire city alone. Battery seemed more focused on rebuilding the bridge and streets instead of stopping all the crime, which had made his makeshift soldiers into a weird Cleanup Squad.

"Hi, Mr. Lauren," Sky spoke once she reached them and nodded her head. "How's Mrs. Lauren?"

Alexander let out a small wince and shuffled a bit. "She's still not eating that much," he admitted. "I tried to get Jane to walk around like you suggested, but she didn't want to leave her bed."

Sky gave a slow nod. "I'll try to speak to her again. We just finished our hunt, so I should be good to use my powers if I need to sustain her."

"Hunt?" Kyle questioned.

Sky turned to him and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Brenner."

"You can just call me Kyle."

She nodded and reached out, placing a hand on his stomach. He felt a strange tickling sensation shoot through his body, and the pain inside of him slowly faded as his body eased back up. "Sorry, I couldn't heal you sooner. I was a bit distracted when I heard those guys ran into a monster and had to rush off to help." She explained, shooting a thumb in the direction of the men that carried the dead bear.

"Monster? Paragon, what's going on?" He asked.

"I'll let you two catch up." Alexander cut in. "I need to check on Jane."

The man walked away, leaving the two of them standing there. Sky looked out to all the people that were in the station, watching them for a moment. "Do you think Hope would have been able to save more people?"

"Huh?"

"I think she would have." Sky placed her sword down and slowly climbed back up onto the station floor. She sat down, dangling her legs above the track. She patted the place next to her, and Kyle copied her, taking a seat. "After the Beast attack, I wanted to help people. A lot of citizens got injured. I'm a healer. It was all I was ever good for in the past. At first, I picked this place because it was a good hiding spot. I hid here and used my power to heal some people. Those people then came back days later with more people. Eventually, I guess this sort of became a place where we could all stay. The streets were filled with a ton of fighting, you know? So, it was nice to stay down here."

"I'm guessing you created the trees?"

"Yeah." She looked down at her hands. "I plan on making more soon, and hopefully we can start getting some to the people above ground. I'm still getting the hang of my powers, and it takes a lot of energy to make these trees and allow them to be strong enough to dig their roots so far into the ground that they can get the water they need. They die fast also. I'm barely able to keep everyone fed with them, so we've taken to hunting."

"You guys are starting to sound like cavemen." Kyle snorted.

"Well, cavemen never had to deal with monsters," Sky sighed. "You know the rumors that these tunnels used to belong to Zoo? Well, it turns out they aren't just rumors. I don't know where, but somewhere down here, Zoo is hanging out."

"Even after Green Wolf's death?" He asked, shocked. Armin had told him what happened to Green Wolf. Apparently, Battery had caved the man's skull in. Not even Green Wolf could bounce back from something like that.

"Do you remember the group that was called the Wandering Coin?" Sky questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Well, in that group was a man named Doctor Blue. He used to be some big-shot Hero Branch Doctor. It was thanks to him that the Wandering Coin was able to make its drugs and manmade Supers with the help of the previous Lord of Life, Wish. During the incident in the Wasteland, he vanished. I'm pretty sure Zoo took him. Or, well, actually, I'm certain Zoo has him. These animals, or actually monsters, as we've started calling them, were created by Red Ape and Doctor Blue. They're all over the underground area."

"Are they planning on using them to attack the city?"

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Paragon said, shaking her head. "I think they just placed them all over the place to stop people from snooping around. A lot of these tunnels collapsed or merged with the sewers after the Beast attack. Zoo's base doesn't have as many options as they used to, so I think this is a way to keep the general public out. None of these creatures are that strong. I think instead they have another plan, and it's taking them some time."

"Have you told Myth about this?"

"Not yet. I haven't been able to."

"What do you mean?"

The girl looked around before leaning forward slowly. "Battery's out to get me."

"Huh?"

"Something changed with him. I don't know what exactly, but he's no longer human. My eyes can see things now. His DNA has been replaced by something. Whatever brought him back to life didn't do so by simply reviving him from the dead. I'm the Lord of Life, and not even I can bring a dead corpse back. It brought back what it could and filled in the gaps with itself. The look in his eyes... That's why I'm hiding down here. I've been trying to get my people to get a hold of Myth, but we haven't had a lot of luck with it yet."

He took a second to process all of that. "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"Battery became a member of the Enforcers."

"Seriously?" Sky hissed and clenched her hands into fists. "Just my luck."

"Are you sure he's out to get you? He's been rebuilding the city." Battery was one of the people Hope looked up to. He found it hard to believe the man was suddenly evil.

Sky rubbed her chin and crossed her legs. She hummed and closed her eyes, thinking. "I guess it's possible he became himself again after cooling off. I don't want to risk whatever is inside of him getting out again. I don't think it likes me very much. Maybe because I'm his sibling?"

"You're his sibling?"

"Sadly." She stood up and folded her arms. "Should I risk it? If it comes down to it, and this is some sort of trap, I don't think I can beat him. I doubt my powers would work on him. I'm still not that strong of a fighter."

"You've been fighting?" He felt like all he was good for was just asking questions. There was a lot he was discovering had changed.

"I've been fighting some of the monsters and figuring out how to use my powers. I'm sort of like Hope when she first started out. My strength has been steadily increasing, and I'm getting the hang of everything." She grabbed some of her hair, messing with it. "My hair also has changed, so I guess I figured out how to enter my battle mode, but I have no idea how to turn it off. I wish Hope was here."

That suddenly reminded him... He slowly stood up and grabbed Sky by her shoulders, looking down at her with wide eyes. "I almost forgot!" He said in shock. "Paragon, I- I know this is going to sound insane! I know Myth and Metal Ronin said she didn't make it out of the Beast fight alive, but I'm sure that I saw her!" He said, shaking Paragon. "I saw Hope! She's alive!"

Sky stared up at him and simply said two words that stunned him. "I know."

***

It started long ago, all from a lone seed.

A single seed that would go on to sprout into a large tree. One that a man was born under. This man's name was lost to time, but many agreed that he was the first of a brand-new species. What wasn't lost to time, though, was the man's stories. He had seemingly been born with only one purpose in life. To speak of those that came before.

This human, whose name has been forgotten by history, wandered the world and told his fellow men, women, and children the grand stories of the people who saved planet Earth. He spoke of the four Lords. He spoke of the first-ever beings with powers. He told the world of their abilities and of their sacrifice. And so the world would come to live in an era of peace, right? The four Lords died for our sins, keeping planet Earth safe from all disasters and slaying the Shadow. Therefore, humans had nothing to worry about, right?

That is incorrect.

The wandering man was simply the start of it all. He was the first Super born after the death of the Lords. Slowly but surely, rumors began to rise of people wielding dangerous abilities—powers mankind should have never seen. An outbreak that would sweep the planet, they possessed strength that was far beyond anything a kingdom or government could hope to match.

The world entered a new age. One of war and conflict that would last hundreds of years. One in which Supers should have ruled, yet something stood in their way. In a single year, a Super forced the war to come to an end and caused both sides to alter the way they would do things. Born with Godlike power, the strongest Super the world had ever seen rose to the top of the food chain and single-handedly changed how powers would be viewed forever. This man called himself Full Monarch, and he had a simple goal.

He was going to save the world.

"Is something wrong, mister?"

Nier snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head slowly, forcing a smile on his face. "Why would you think that there was something wrong?"

"You had an angry look on your face."

"Ah? Did I? Sorry if I scared you. I was just deep in thought." He chuckled. He took the arm of the woman that was in front of him and placed two of his fingers on it. He could feel the embers of his old power flare up. The ego in his head screamed and howled like a mad beast, but it reluctantly faded to silence. "There. That should be better."

The woman's eyes went wide, and she began to move her arm back and forth, staring at it. "Yeah! It's not broken anymore! You're amazing, sir!"

"Goodness, no." Nier chuckled as his tired eyes glanced at the crowd of people that were in his alleyway. "Trust me. I'm not amazing. The real amazing people are the ones who survived this great disaster." He felt his smile fade for a moment before he forced it back on his face. "Next." He called out.

The woman stepped out of line, now fully healed, allowing the next person in the crowd to step forward and receive healing from the kind stranger who had appeared.

Oleander City was in utter ruins. The battle with the Beast was not an easy one. It left the city scarred and torn to bits. Many people hadn't been able to escape in time, with dozens losing their lives and more being gravely injured. The Hero Branch wasn't fast enough to rescue people, and Paragon's feathers no longer rained from the sky. It was in the darkest moment that a man had set up a little clinic in an alleyway. However, calling it a clinic was rather generous. It was, in fact, just a simple wooden chair, one that Nier sat in, allowing people to come up to him where he would use his gift to heal them all.

The savior of Oleander's people, the one who took care of its people, was not one in a cape or one who fought the Beast. It was this golden man who decided to bless the world with his efforts.

"You're the best!"

"Thank you so much, sir!"

"You saved my child!"

"How can I ever repay you?"

"You're a real hero!"

The edges of Nier's lips raised slightly, and he looked up at the dark sky above. "A hero, huh? Yes. That's a nice ring to it. I am the one who will save this planet, after all. Nier... Me. I am a hero. Just me."

"Yeah. That's it. That's my father's power. Cinder has become a true Lord of the Sun."

Nier snapped his head in the direction of where the sound came from. A group of teens were on their phones as they waited in line to be healed. It had been playing all over the internet for the past few hours. A simple clip that had been taken from a live stream. One in which the daughter of Full Monarch claimed that some hero no one had ever heard of was the new number one hero.

"You heard it here, folks!" The voice of Alice came out of the phone. "That clip showed off the true hero that beat the Beast! Not the Victorian, not Max Lightning, and not whoever that guy in red was! No! It was all the hero known as Cinder!" The teens weren't the only ones on their phones. Nearly everyone had pulled it out when they heard the alert. "I was saved by her once!" Alice announced proudly. "She's been in this city for a while! It was she who stopped Zoo and the Bad Timers! She took down some of Oleander's greatest foes and even teamed up with heroes from other cities! Without a doubt, she truly is-"

Whatever Alice was about to say, it was suddenly cut off as loud static echoed out of all the phones. He looked down at a phone one of his patients had, watching as the screen flashed and changed into the symbol of the Hero Branch logo. It was a circle with the letters H and B in the center. Fairly boring, but a thing most people recognized. It seemed someone in the Hero Branch decided to hijack Alice's stream. The logo flashed once, then suddenly changed the screen, showing someone that caused everyone in the crowd around him to gasp.

A hero in a red outfit with the symbol of a butterfly across her chest stood on a stage, staring out at the camera that was pointed at her. She wore a metal helmet that covered her face, and fire flicked around her. Cinder, the hero that had taken down the Beast, had just gone live. She wasn't alone either. Standing next to her was a large older man in a suit who was shaking her hand, the Hero Branch director of Daisy, and on Cinder's other side was Dean Ward, the Lillian director. He had his hand on Cinder's shoulder and smiled at the camera.

Nier felt his eyes narrow as he stared down at the phone. Instantly, he knew what was about to happen. That wasn't the real Cinder. After all, the real Cinder was...

"Yo!" The girl dressed up as Cinder announced. "My name's Cinder, but I'm sure many of you knew that already." The fake hero flashed a smile at the camera. "I know some people were wondering where I've been. Well, to tell you the truth, I've been busy. As many of you likely know by now, I am in fact the next Full Monarch. I'm the newest Lord of the Sun and Cosmos. The Hero Branch and I have been working hard trying to clean up the disaster that was the Beast fight. I sort of messed up space during my clash." The girl gave an innocent giggle before suddenly growing serious. "There's more to it than that, though. I want to be honest with everyone, just as Full Monarch was." Slowly she reached up and took off her helmet.

The crowd in the alleyway all began to mutter more as they stared at the person on their screen. It was a young girl only about sixteen years old with long blonde hair and bright red eyes. She gave a sly smile to the camera and spoke once more.

"My name, my real name that is, is Hope Lauren." The girl stated. "And I'm proud to say that I'm working alongside the Hero Branch-"

Nier turned away, no longer able to keep himself calm. "It's always the same, isn't it? Always using us for your own motives when it best suits you." Nier ran his hand through his blonde hair and stood up, turning away. "I'm remembering just why I despise humans."

Black armor danced across his flesh, suddenly appearing out of thin air as the Emperor turned away from the stunned people in the crowd. None of them had time to even move; as a second later, all the people he healed suddenly began to twitch and change their limbs, exploding out and growing in size as his newborn monsters began to tear into the rest of the crowd.

He walked away, not looking back, and his metal boots echoed throughout the alleyway that quickly became stained in red. He still had an army to build. He was starting from practically scratch after his defeat at the hands of Full Monarch several years ago.

As he stepped out of the alleyway, his gaze found itself on top of a nearby building that was falling apart. A billboard hung on the side of it, one that depicted the number one hero, the Victorian, in all her glory.

He stared at the picture, and for just a moment, he found himself taken back to simpler times. He wouldn't say they were exactly happy or even good, but the world truly had been better when Full Monarch had been around. Slowly, he looked up at the moon, and his mind began to wander.

The past seemed like it was so long ago...


Chapter 145: Fate

"What do you mean you know Hope is alive?" Kyle asked, stumbling back. That had been the last thing he expected the hero to claim. He stared at Sky in shock as the girl's head cocked to the side. "What are you saying?"

"I guess you wouldn't know, would you?"

"Know what?"

The hero reached into the pocket of her lab coat and fished around for something. Slowly, she pulled out a small metal ball barely bigger than a golf ball. "Do you know what this is?" She questioned him.

"No?" He looked around at all the other people that moved around the underground station Paragon had forged into her base, but none of them seemed to be paying any mind to the conversation that was going on. "I'm guessing you're going to tell me that it's something really important, though?" This was just getting weirder and weirder.

Sky raised her hand up and brought the orb closer to her face, staring into it. The thing was extremely shiny and clean, bouncing her reflection back at her. Whatever the orb she held was, it let out a soft humming sound, and a faint blue light seeped out of the metal, flickering several times. "This is... Well, I really don't know what you would call it." She admitted sheepishly. "The point is this thing belonged to Wish. It was how she kept coming back to life. I don't know how much Cinder told you, but Wish respawned no matter how many times she was killed. It was thanks to a connection she had within me, due to me being an offspring of the previous Lord of Life. This Pod sort of works as a connector, I think. It holds the power of the Lords within it, and it used to be a lot bigger, but I guess it shrank when I wanted to carry it around. When a Lord dies, the power has two places it can go. The first is to a descendant. My sister got her power from her great-grandfather. I never met the man, but Mr. Sini had his power passed down to Poseidon. Originally he wanted it to go to my mother, but she wasn't close enough."

"There's a range limit?"

"Yeah." Sky nodded. "I think that's why the Victorian didn't become the Lord when Full Monarch died. When a Lord dies and they don't have someone in their bloodline, they can pass the power down, or the power will instead go into one of these pods, where it will later birth a new Lord. My father wanted his power to go to me when he died but wasn't able to reach me fully. Only a sliver of his energy found itself within me. This is mainly due to the Prettiest Flower, though. She had been looking for a body she wanted to take over for years and used her host, the Emperor, to create me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"The long and short of it is I was too far away from the Emperor when he died, so I couldn't become the next Lord, and that power went into this metal orb I'm holding that later created Wish," Paragon explained. "When Wish died, though, that power was finally able to fully pass back down to me, and in turn, her Pod now became my Pod. Just as the title of Lords can be passed down, so too can these strange machines." She tossed the orb back up into the air and caught it, repocketing it.

"How do you know all of this?" Kyle questioned with a frown.

Sky gave a sad smile and tapped her forehead. "You've noticed my new hair color, right? Well, let's just say that ever since I gained my title, I've had a new person force their way into my life. One who has a bad habit of not shutting up. She tends to ramble about all sorts of things."

'-the soul is a physical object, able to be mended and changed thanks to our power! Just think what will happen if we truly become one Sky! I'd get my body back, and you-'

Sky went back to tuning the voice of the Prettiest Flower out. With something like this rattling around in her head, she was starting to understand why Wish had gone off the deep end so easily.

Kyle quietly processed everything he was hearing. The Pods and their existence were kept secret from the public. Almost everything about how the Lords came back was something the Hero Branch tried to keep secret, so this was all very new information to him. "So, these Pods," he began. "They are connected to a Lord's power? I guess I get that, but how does that tell you that Hope is alive?"

Sky's smile faded a bit, and slowly, she began to walk in the direction of a series of tents that had been set up. Kyle silently followed after her as she began to speak once more. "My sister also has a Pod. All Lords do. Her Pod had been gifted to Harrison Avalon back when he was pretending to work for the Hero Branch. That was how he got his hands on the strange metal he used for a lot of his inventions, like my sister's armor and weapon or Hope's shield and helmet. Though Battery made those... They're all created and forged from the metal that belongs to my sister. Do you know what this means?" She asked, reaching one of the tents.

"Not really?"

"It means Cinder; Hope also has a Pod." Sky moved the cover of the tent off, allowing him to see inside of it.

He had seen Hope's mother a few times. Jane Lauren was a slim woman with tangled hair and heavy bags under her eyes. She was always working hard, taking up long shifts, and always seemed tired. Somehow, though, she looked even worse. The woman's raven hair was being brushed by her husband, who rested in a chair next to the mattress she was on. Her skin had become extremely pale, and she looked like she hadn't gotten any proper rest in days. She was even more thin, and her once beautiful hair was scattered with grays. She barely looked like she was paying attention to the world, and she was seated on the mattress, her body wrapped around something.

It took him a moment to figure out what it was.

It was made out of the same sort of metal Sky had been showing him. It wasn't in the shape of a ball, though. Not anymore. It looked almost like a living liquid, forming large tendrils that waved back and forth and wrapped themselves around Jane, hugging her tightly. She was as much wrapped around the strange machine as it was of her. As if both of them were trying to comfort one another in a weird hug.

Alexander looked down at his wife, with dozens of emotions coursing over his face. His hand moved back and forth in slow motion as he brushed some of the tangled knots out of her hair and did his best to wash her. "I used to be a fisherman." He explained quietly. He hadn't looked up when they entered but didn't seem surprised by them either. "Not for any big company or anything like that. It made enough to get by, though. One day... One day, I was out at sea, and I saw something floating there in the water."

"The Pod?" Kyle asked quietly.

"Yeah." Alexander gave a slow nod. "I couldn't figure out how to open the damn thing, so I just loaded it in the back of my truck and took it home. When I did get home, the blasted thing opened on its own, and we finally saw 'her' for the first time." He gave a slight chuckle and wiped at his eyes. "The smart thing would have been to tell someone, I'm sure. We didn't, though. Hope was kind of hard to take care of in the beginning. We knew right away she was a Super. She went and blasted a hole in our roof. Still, she was ours. Just by looking at her, I saw Jane and me in her. We didn't want to give her up. I had a friend named Marcus who knew a guy who knew a guy that—well, you get the picture. Marcus was able to get his hands on some old tech the new up-and-coming hero, Little Genius, had made. This was before LG had taken up the name Boy Genius and joined the Enforcer. LG had made this glass that worked really well at masking a Super's power. I always knew it wouldn't be enough. I knew that eventually something would happen, and she'd discover who she really was. Still, part of me prayed that a day like this would never come. I never wanted her to be a Super. I just wanted her to be normal..."

"If your daughter was born as a Lord, then I don't think there was ever a chance for something like that to happen." Kyle winced and shook his head a bit. "Even if she wasn't, though, even if for some reason Hope had been a normal child and she never gained powers, I don't think she'd sit on the sidelines and do nothing. I think, somehow, she'd have found a way to be a hero. She was just amazing like that. Jumping in to save people was never even a consideration for her. Also, for what it's worse, I think your daughter was normal. Powers and all. She laughed, she cried, she had fun... She was a good friend."

"Don't speak as if she's gone." Sky cut in. "That Pod is proof that somehow, someway, Hope has to still be out there."

"It does?"

"It never created a new Lord," Paragon explained. "When the Emperor died, it took a bit of time before Wish was created because Harrison Avalon went out of his way to hide her Pod and make sure it didn't get the DNA it needed. The Pod has to look for humans it can 'borrow' from in order to create the child. I don't really know how it works, but it hasn't tried to make a new Lord of the Sun."

"Because Hope isn't dead?"

"Exactly!" Paragon nodded. "She has to be out there somewhere!"

"If she was, don't you think the other heroes would have said something?" Alexander asked quietly. "Everyone knows she has the power of Full Monarch now. Someone would have-"

"Mr. Lauren!" They were suddenly cut off by a loud yell. They all turned and saw an older man rushing toward them with a shocked look on his face. He was covered in sweat and looked like he had just gotten done running a mile. He nearly collapsed, breathing heavily. "T- The news- Did you- See?"

"See what?" Sky asked.

The man's breathing slowed as he calmed down and handed his phone over to the hero. "I went out to the streets—I found a spot with internet, and this was broadcasting." He gasped.

Sky stared down at the screen and felt her eyes go wide. It was a video, one that was stuck in an endless loop of buffering now that the phone was outside of Boy Genius's drones. On the screen, it showed a hero standing up on a stage with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips. Cinder stared out into the camera…

"My name, my real name that is, is Hope Lauren. And I'm proud to say that I'm working alongside the Hero Branch-" Then the video would replay.

An awkward silence filled the tent, and Kyle felt his face pale slightly as he stared down at the screen. "W- What just happened?"

***

Hope felt the vibrations of the various monitors as her back pressed up against the screen. She had never really been all that scared of Harrison Avalon before, but now she could barely get her heart to settle down.

Her form was so much smaller, and her muscles felt underdeveloped. He towered over her even on his knees, and his eyes were wild and crazy looking. It didn't help that she felt even more exposed in the hospital gown he had her in. Red Ape had been at the top of her list for creepiest scientist, but Avalon had somehow dethroned the Zoo member.

"Isn't it amazing? Your body has been mostly fixed up and put back into one piece!" Avalon rambled. His hands dug into her shoulders, and his mad eyes glared down at her with dozens of different emotions. "This is the first time something like this has happened since Wish. Not even the mighty Full Monarch was able to come back from the dead the way you have done! It really must be you, Cinder! You are going to be the one who will kill the Emperor-"

She didn't get long to process what he was saying. The man was just rambling before something forced him to shut up. A metal hand grabbed the man by his hair from behind, and Avalon was suddenly thrown across the room, smashing into his monitors and shattering them, sending glass and sparks flying everywhere. Avalon slumped down and winced, a little banged up but mostly fine. "What was that for, boss?"

She stared up, feeling her legs shake more. Things had suddenly gotten so much worse. The Emperor stared back down at her, his fiery red eyes glaring into her blue ones. His armor was so black it almost blended in the darkroom as the lights flickered on and off. His hand quickly came down toward her, and she couldn't help but let out a whimper and squeeze her eyes shut. Even with her power at its max, she doubted she'd beat this thing in a fight. He was almost as vile as the Beast and nearly as strong as it.

An attack didn't harm her, though. Instead, she opened her eyes to find she was now dressed in a different outfit. Black robes hung off of her, covering her up much more than the gown had. The Emperor turned away from her and began to stalk toward the exit of the room, which had opened up. He stopped and looked back at her. "Follow."

"W- What?"

"I won't ask again."

Quietly, she followed after him. She stopped and looked back down at Avalon, who was still sprawled out on the floor. He looked up at her and winked. Slowly, she pulled her foot back and used all the strength she had to kick him right between the legs. The last thing she heard before the door to the room sealed shut behind her was his screams of agony.

She didn't know where she was, and looking around didn't help. The Emperor walked at a simple pace, but thanks to how small her legs had become, she struggled to keep up with him. They were in a strange metal-looking hallway. The walls, roof, and floor were all forged out of a golden substance, and the entire place vibrated constantly, a 'hum' hanging in the air.

There were many other hallways and turns, but she saw no windows or doors anywhere. Everything looked the same, and it was hard to figure out which way was truly which. It sort of reminded her of Nightshade. Not once did the Emperor speak, nor were there any other people in the halls. The only sounds were his metal boots and the pair of slippers she now wore, slapping against the floor.

Eventually, the hallway expanded, and they finally reached a new room. Like the other parts of the weird building they were in, this room was also made of solid gold, but it actually had some things in it. There were two large round windows on one of the walls, as well as a massive dining table in the center with two chairs at either end. A few portraits hung on the walls showing off pictures of Sky, though they were all things the girl would have hated, like showing her horseback riding, wearing a princess-style dress, or standing atop a mountain of skulls with the Emperor watching as the world around them burned. A large screen also hung on the wall and showed the news, though the volume was all the way down. Finally completing the fancy look was a large chandelier also forged from gold that hung up top.

She risked a look out of one of the windows and raised an eye when she realized it was a view of sharks swimming around. They were somewhere underwater. "Where are we?" She finally asked.

"Inside of Golden God."

"Huh?"

The Emperor didn't bother explaining further and walked to one end of the table and took a seat. He gestured for her, and she stared at him for a moment before finally climbing into her seat. Her head barely went above the table, and she stared down, finding several plates of steak, shrimp, lobster, and other rich food scattered about, along with at least a dozen other spoons. The armor of the Emperor bubbled and twitched and then vanished. Instead of the modern-day devil, she found herself looking at an old, tired man with bags under his eyes and messy blondish hair. Despite how old he truly was, his body was still hanging on, aging slower than most thanks to his dark gifts. Age had still eaten away at part of the mighty warrior though. And with age came experience. It was hard for her to believe this was the same guy she had just seen.

Those memories she lived through. They were still fresh in her mind. Watching the story of Ruby Admiral had been…

Nier took his fork and knife, slowly cutting into his steak, and took a bite out of it. "You know," he said, finally swallowing his food. "I forgot how much I liked the taste of food. I was up in space for years, and let me tell you, they don't have meals like this on Jupiter."

"J- Jupiter?'

"Oh, it's where my corpse ended up after I died. Full Monarch hit me really, really, hard." The man said, shrugging. "Well? What are you looking at me for? Dig in." He snapped. "It's not real food; we're miles under the ocean, but with Fairy Queen's power, it might as well be the real thing."

"I'm not hungry-"

"I wasn't asking." He took another bite, swallowing it. "Eat. Now. How else do you expect to grow big and strong?"

She picked up her fork and knife and silently cut into the food. She had never really felt this helpless before. Part of her wondered if it'd be best to rebel against him and die. It'd at least get it all over with quickly. "H- How am I alive?" She asked after finally taking a bite of her steak. She hated to admit it, but it was pretty good. "And why did I see all those things earlier? I- It was like I was dreaming or something. What the hell is going on!"

The Emperor wiped his mouth clean and grabbed a cup filled with what she was assuming was wine. Her own glass had milk in it. He took a swig and swirled it around, letting out a satisfied 'pop' with his lips. "I thought Avalon told you?"

"I was told my body rebuilt itself like the Beast."

"Sort of." The man placed his glass down and folded his hands on the table, leaning forward to look at her. "That's what makes the Beast so dangerous, you know. I've been telling those dumbasses not to take it so lightly for years, but they never bothered to listen to me. Hopefully, they'll take my warnings more seriously now. Full Monarch would always fight the Beast in space. When it thinks it will lose, it always takes the coward's way out and blows itself up."

"So, it's not dead?"

"Nope." She felt that wave of despair grow. Everyone had fought so hard, and yet it hadn't even mattered. What a bad joke. "The Beast will take a bit to reform, but soon it'll be back. You did better than I thought you would, though. You getting caught in its blast wasn't part of my plan though. If you were to die, I'd have to wait another fifteen or so years before I could do my plan." The man sighed, rubbing his chin. "You actually did die. It wasn't for very long, but it happened. I'm a bit worried about whether the powers of the Lord remained in you fully or not. If not, I'll have to find where the other half of the Lord of the Sun ended up. I bet Full Monarch thinks he was clever, splitting the power in two to make sure both wouldn't end up in the same place. The final laugh to be had, though, will be mine. Oh, and do tell me if your body is feeling okay. I had to put it together with whatever pieces I could."

"You put me back together?"

"Partially. The blast blew you to bits. I was only able to grab an arm and part of your skull." That made her feel very sick to her stomach. "As I said, you died. Luckily for you, Rulers are good at cheating death. I might not be the Lord of Life anymore, but that control remains inside of me. Your Ego would have shattered and broken, fading away, but it seems the Brightest Star did its best to mend and fix you. Even with my power, though, I wasn't able to restore you back to full. That's why you're so small. Don't worry, though. If you eat plenty of food, your powers and your body should eventually come back. It might be a few months, but you should return to the old you."

That was the first good news she had heard all day. She let out a relieved sigh. Then she remembered who was in front of her. "Why did you save me, though?"

"I had to." The man shrugged his shoulders. "After all, when I called the Beast to Earth, you blowing to bits was never part of the goal."

Her chair fell back as she stood up. She glared at the man, feeling pure hate run through her body. She still didn't feel any of her powers flare up, but that didn't stop her. She grabbed the knife and threw it at him as hard as she could. Lazily, he caught it in between his fingers. "It was you? You did all of that! You killed all those people! You killed Mr. Larison! Wasn't he your son?" She screamed. "You should have taken care of him! Why would you-"

"That traitor isn't dead."

"Huh?"

The man let out a sigh and snapped his fingers. Suddenly sound blared out of the TV, and she jumped a bit, looking up at it. "Introducing the newest members of the Enforcers!" Three people stood in front of the camera. "Pretty Face, Battery, and a new favorite, the daughter of the Victorian, the one and only Lightning Empress!"

"W- What the hell?" She asked, stumbling back. Battery stood in the center, staring at the camera with his typical emotionless face. The one next to him also shocked her, though. It was Lois. Only the girl looked a little different and was covered in lightning. Pretty Face also stood next to them, and all three of them were in front of the Enforcer tower. "I- I saw him die? He's alive?" She couldn't help the slight smile that found its way onto her face. Of course, he was alive. Mr. Larison was amazing like that. If anyone could escape death, it would be him.

"He did die." The Emperor announced in a blunt tone, making her head snap back over to him. "Just like you, he had to be revived. Unlike you, though, he's a Ruler. See, I revived you using my own Ego and my own powers and was only able to do so thanks to you being a Lord and your soul not yet passing on to the afterlife. His power simply revived him all on its own. I wonder how much it took, though. Half? Maybe more? I wonder how much of him is still him."

She looked back at the TV, watching as the camera showed off all three heroes. A second later, though, it changed, suddenly showing off a new scene. One that shocked her. A hero in a red outfit with the symbol of a butterfly across her chest stood on a stage, staring out at the camera that was pointed at her. She wore a metal helmet that covered her face, and fire flicked around her. Cinder, the hero that had taken down the Beast, had just gone live. She wasn't alone either. Standing next to her was a large older man in a suit who was shaking her hand, the Hero Branch director of Daisy, and on Cinder's other side was Dean Ward, the Lillian director. He had his hand on Cinder's shoulder and smiled at the camera.

"T- That's me!" She said in horror. "Oh God, am I a clone?"

"Yo!" The girl dressed up as Cinder announced. "My name's Cinder, but I'm sure many of you knew that already." The fake hero flashed a smile at the camera. "I know some people were wondering where I've been. Well, to tell you the truth, I've been busy. As many of you likely know by now, I am, in fact, the next Full Monarch. I'm the newest Lord of the Sun and Cosmos. The Hero Branch and I have been working hard trying to clean up the disaster that was the Beast fight. I sort of messed up space." The girl gave an innocent giggle before suddenly growing serious. "There's more to it than that, though. I want to be honest with everyone, just as Full Monarch was." Slowly, she reached up and took off her helmet. "My name, my real name that is, is Hope Lauren." The girl stated. "And I'm proud to say that I'm working alongside the Hero Branch-"

"What the fuck!" She started stomping her foot down. "Oh, this is bullshit! Why would other me do that? My identity! I hid it so well!"

"Did you?"

"Well... I still didn't want it to come out like this!" She whined. "Why is other me doing this?"

"Skin Walker." The Emperor said, taking another bite of his food. "That's her name. She was a monster I created during the war. She can shapeshift. When I was beaten, she joined the Hero Branch and now is their pet. She takes on the form of people the Hero Branch wants to use."

"Why is she me, though?"

"They don't want it to be known that you're dead." The man explained. "See, the public all knows that when a Lord dies, they're reborn. Some of the villains, though, know that when a Lord dies, the Pod is created. Villains always go looking for them. Hell, that's why I was drafted into a war when I was a kid. To stop Lucifer from getting his hands on a Lord Pod. By making it look like you're alive, they can try to buy themselves more time to look for your pod to bring you back. Of course, none of them know you survived."

"The heroes wouldn't let something like that happen, though, right?"

"Sure, they would." The man stated. "In fact, I bet it was Boy Genius's idea. They need the time as well. They need to replace you, after all. Sure, some of them would be against it, but what can they do? They could prove it wrong, but doing so would cause panic and harm and risk a villain getting their hands on the Pod. They tried the exact same thing when Hell Hound killed Sini, though back then, they didn't have Skin Walker. Now it's all too easy."

"People will notice I'm not doing anything, though!"

"Will they? Full Monarch was constantly up in space. Sure, he did help out on Earth, but it was never for long. All they have to do is give some of the good deeds the Victorian does to you, and thanks to how fast she moves, no one will be any the wiser. She'd go along with it, too. She's the type to do anything to live up to the shadow of her father, in which she's trapped herself. As it stands, the whole world thinks you're a loyal lap dog of the Hero Branch."

"Then I'll show them I'm still alive!"

"You'll have to get stronger first," the man snapped, and the TV went silent once more. "No one would believe that you're the Lord of the Sun in the state you're in."

"Luckily, that's where I come in!" A voice announced. Harrison Avalon stood in the entrance to the room, flanked by hundreds of his floating metal hands. He gave a sly grin and walked past her, putting her chair back and taking a seat. He began to eat the food on the table. "I'll be doing my best to give you the quick power-up you need, so you catch up to where you were."

"What? Why? How?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

The mad scientist looked back at her and smirked. "Did you know I was a monster? I was in the Emperor's army, after all. Don't you find it a little odd? Why do I look human?"

"I guess I never thought about it before? Mr. Larison was a monster before as well, and he's human now."

"That's not true, actually." Avalon snorted. "I'm sure he thinks that's what happens due to his memory issues, but he was never a monster. Nier couldn't transform him. Just as the Lord of Life can't use her power to change other Lords easily, he was immune to the change." For a moment, she thought back to Wish. Wish was never able to pop her or alter her like the girl could do to everyone else. She had always guessed it had something to do with her being a Lord but never questioned it more. "He got his memory issues from being a Ruler. However, all other monsters actually lose themselves when they change. Did the Brightest Star tell you about Egos?"

"A bit?"

"Good. So, you know the basics, then. Think of them sort of like a soul, I guess." The man hummed. "Supers have their soul, and then the reflection, which is their power. Monsters are different, though. They're created with the Emperor's power. His ability wipes the human Ego, leaving only the Super Ego. And for normal humans, it forces them to convert into a Super Ego. The body isn't able to fully handle it, though, and ends up twisting and morphing as the power goes out of control. I guess in a way the soul controls how the body works. Normal Egos need the human half to keep them in check. Without it, all that's left is a wild reflection that goes mad and mutates the form. This causes memory issues. That's where I come in." He waved his hand, and suddenly she heard a buzzing sound as something landed on his finger. It looked almost like a small fly. "Before I became a monster, I was a Super who had a few powers under my belt. Supers can have more than one Ego inside of them. This is one of the reasons I was able to keep some of my sanity. I had a Mental power that let me make stuff, as well as a power that gave me control over my own memories, which I could then put into people. Those two powers working together allowed me to record things and then shove those recordings into people's heads. Earlier, you experienced it. I have my little drones all over the place, recording nearly every event. Thanks to that, I was able to give you a taste of the life of sweet Ruby."

Her mind raced a bit at what the man said. If had all felt so real. She had actually been totally unaware that she even existed or that she had been watching a memory. It was as if she had woken up as Ruby Admiral one day. She watched the girl's story all the way up until the point Full Monarch began his first ever battle with the Emperor, and Ruby Admiral had suggested Max Lightning have a kid…

It left a bit of a sour taste in her mouth. Knowing all the mistakes the heroes of the past made. People looked up to guys like Full Monarch and the Victorian, yet the Victorian had started off as a villain? It was so weird and bizarre.

"Thanks to Avalon, we can put you through layers of stress without actually having to put you in danger." The Emperor spoke up once more. "Sini, my daughter, and even myself were all Lords that also had another power besides the Lord's Egos. My power is the one to make monsters, which has also managed to snatch a piece of the Prettiest Flower. This power is also what allowed me to take up the mantle of Ruler. By putting you through layers of stress, your body could become a Super once more and gain new powers. This will, in turn, also jump-start the Lord's power within you. Not only will you return to your old self, but you'll also be able to fix the damaged state the Brightest Star was left in and become a true Lord again. Maybe even on the same level as Full Monarch, since your new power would fill in the missing half of the Brightest Star. You wouldn't be the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos anymore; in a way, you'd be something brand new."

She glared back at the man. "Earlier, you said you caused the Beast attack, and that's why I'm in this situation. Why did you do that?"

"I needed Battery to become a Ruler once again."

"What the hell is a Ruler? You guys keep bringing it up!"

Avalon smirked and finished eating the last of the steak. "Just as there are four Lords, there are four Rulers. The Devil, The Angel, The God, and the Giant. The Dark and the Void, Death and Rebirth, Ash and Ruin, and Creation and Destruction. These four powers belonged to an entity long ago. One that called itself the Shadow. Upon its death, it split itself into four pieces. The Rulers are almost like a crude copy of the Lords in a way. The Lords did kill it, so I guess the Shadow decided to steal their gimmick." The man snickered. "When a Lord dies, that power is passed down, but when a Ruler dies, their power forces the body back together, taking over much of the Ego and using it to bring itself back stronger. Alpha was taken in by Nier to be a weapon that could slay Full Monarch. When he became a Ruler, he lost in his battle with Full Monarch, and in turn, the Lord of the Sun somehow sealed the power away. That was why Nier here needed the Beast. After all, he can't kill Alpha himself or-"

"That's enough, Avalon." The Emperor stood up, pushing his chair back. "I first died in my fight with Lucifer. That was when I discovered who I truly was. I was born special, you see. I was both a Lord and a Ruler for a time—the only ever person to hold this title. I had planned for my power to go into my child; however, in the final battle with Full Monarch, I discovered too late that Alpha betrayed me. He had sent my daughter away. By then, it was too late, and I died once more, this time not recovering in time to hold onto the power of the Lord. I spent years waiting for that bitch to mature to the point where she'd bring the power back to what it should have been. I even had to team up with a disgusting human and wait for my precious daughter to get close to that ugly freak calling herself Wish, all so I could fix Alpha's mistake and turn her back into what she was always meant to be. Now that she's a Lord again, I need the Rulers to return. Legend, Lucifer, myself, and even my bastard son. The four of us, and the four Lords. Once you're back to full strength, my plan will finally be possible." His black armor twisted and formed around his body once more. "I waited over sixteen years, but alas, the race is about to finally start. I hope you enjoyed your meal, Ms. Lauren. Soon, we'll be putting you back through those memories of Ruby. There is still so much you must see."

She felt Avalon's hand on her shoulder, and slowly, the man began to guide her toward the hallway once more. She stopped and looked back at the Emperor one last time. "What is it? Your plan? Why are you doing all of this? What could be so important that you'd risk letting me get stronger? You know I'll do everything to stop you, right?"

Those red eyes glanced back at her as the Emperor studied her. "Didn't Avalon already tell you, dear Lord?" He placed his hand up to his chest. "Your power is something that must return to you. After all, you're the one that will kill me."

Avalon hadn't said it as a joke, nor was it a sign that he was a traitor. That was really the Emperor's actual goal…

He wanted to die?


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