Bab 158: The Thing That Harms Souls

Shortly after the final battle with Wish...

"Yeah, there's no fixing this. Dude's brain dead." Doc shrugged.

"You didn't even take a look at him!" Red Ape argued.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm blind."

"Exactly! So how do you know you can't save him!"

"Because his head feels like a deflated balloon," Doc snorted. He rubbed his hand on his lab coat, smearing flakes of skull and brain matter across it.

"Why do you even care if he can save Green Wolf or not?" White Lamb questioned, letting out a sigh. "We should be more focused on what we're going to do next." The rest of Zoo was locked up. They no longer held an alliance with the Bad Timers either. It was just the three of them—four if you counted Doc, also known as Doctor Blue. They were back in Oleander, having escaped from the battlefield, while all the heroes were distracted by the return of the Emperor. Now they were back in one of Red Ape's dirty labs, discussing what to do next. "If you ask me, it serves Green Wolf right being in this state. He got what he wanted in the end, so I'm sure he doesn't mind."

Like all of his labs, Red Ape's base was a mess. Zoo operated off of colors and animals. If you held the color white, you were the role of support; black meant you were a field agent who would carry out team missions, and red was the color Green Wolf gave out when he either trusted you to handle things alone or just wanted you to get yourself killed. All red members of Zoo had their own base. This one was one he shared with his brother, Red Monkey.

It used to be an observatory near the middle part of Oleander city. It fell right on the border of a street that had been hit with toxic waste and was no longer in use; the rest of the city was simply building around it. The observatory had been horribly gutted and had most of its supplies taken out. It was also split in two, with one half of the building being filled with gym equipment and walls of weapons that Red Monkey owned. The other half was Red Ape's side and looked like a hospital straight out of a horror movie. Cages were filled with dead animals since he had forgotten to feed them, and all the beds were stained red. On one of the beds, the leader of Zoo, Green Wolf, was sprawled out.

The man's mask had been removed from his face, but it didn't really matter, as his head sort of looked like a crushed watermelon. The only reason the villain was still somehow alive was that his power was working even without his consciousness, forcing his heart and blood to keep pumping, though for how much longer something like this would last was unknown. Green Wolf was truly one foot into the grave already.

"And there's really nothing you can do?" Red Ape questioned as he pulled his ape mask off. He had shaved all of his hair off after receiving a bad haircut from his brother Red Monkey, so he was currently bald. He slipped on a pair of round glasses and also placed the damaged helmet that Cinder had worn on the table.

"I doubt even Wish could fix this." Doc leaned against a wall and folded his arms. He wasn't tied up anymore, but his coat full of gadgets had been taken from him. "How about we cut straight to the point? I don't really think the two of you can keep me here."

"Agreed." White Lamb reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a handgun, which she pointed at Doc. She took off her lamb mask and smiled. She was only about fourteen, and she had long blonde hair and dull green eyes. An obvious fake smile clung to her lips as she used her power to silence her gun and fired into the wall next to Doc. No sound was made as a bullet hole appeared inches from the Mental Super's head. "I think we should just kill him."

Doc raised an eyebrow. "Did you do something?"

"Oh, right, blind." White Lamb muttered and took aim again. "Then I guess I'm going to have to shoot you in the leg or something, this time."

"Now, now, let's not be hasty." Red Ape called out.

"Don't act like you're the boss of me." White Lamb turned back to him, her fake smile growing as she pointed her gun at Red Ape, who let out a yelp and threw his arms into the air.

"Whoa, whoa, let's calm down! I'm like an older brother to you, aren't I?"

"More like the creepy uncle we all want to disappear." The girl responded flatly.

"Ouch!" Red Ape shook his head and looked back to Doc. "Listen, Lamb, we can fix this situation. I know it looks bad with most of our forces being locked up and our boss being less than useful right now, but I have an idea."

"And what's that?" White Lamb asked.

"We're going to clone Cinder!" Red Ape announced proudly. White Lamb tilted her head for a moment. Then she pulled the trigger. Silently, a hole appeared in Red Ape's foot, causing the pathetic man to cry out and fall over as blood began to gush out. "W- What was that for?!"

White Lamb turned to look back at Doc. "Can you actually clone that Cinder girl?"

"Nope." Doc stated, simply. White Lamb nodded and then shot Red Ape in the other foot.

"Who gave you a gun? You're still in middle school!" The villain sobbed out. He was on his back, rolling back and forth as he clutched both of his feet, which were rapidly staining the ground around him. Red Ape managed to glare up at the blind man, who was silently tapping his foot down. "Why'd you tell her you can't make clones?"

"Because I can't." Doc scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner. "If I could make an army of clones, don't you think I would? I'm a Mental-Based user who specializes in biology, the same as you. The only difference is that whereas you specialize in improving animals, I specialize in many different fields, mainly around alchemy and the creation of new life, such as airborne diseases or drugs. Most of what I was able to create was thanks only to the people I had helping me. With the help of my old lab partner Alma, I was able to create potions that could heal Supers, and with the help of Wish, we were able to create many of the drugs that the Wandering Coin had. Without her, I doubt I can remake any of them. I can't even make new Supers without her either, as we used her to implant powers into humans. Cloning used to be my dream, but sadly, it just isn't possible." The man said the last part in a sad tone.

Red Ape slowly crawled onto his stomach and made his way over to the table Green Wolf rested on. He pushed himself up on shaking feet and gritted his teeth. "We had spies in your ranks—low-life grunts with no powers. I know that Wish was defeated, and her body was destroyed, yet you were able to rebuild both her and that Mars King lookalike. Explain that!"

Doc let out a low chuckle. "Oh, that? I see why you thought that was cloning, but it wasn't. In a way, I guess you could say it was similar, but I wouldn't say it was actually making a clone. Thanks to my power, if I have someone's DNA, then it is possible for me to recreate a human body. It's actually not as hard as you think. Humans are shockingly easy to make."

"So, then you can make a body!" Red Ape announced. He scrambled for Cinder's helmet and held it up. It was still caked with some of her blood and strands of hair. "So, could you use this to make a copy of Cinder!"

"I'll remind you that I can't see, so I'll assume you're holding up something with Cinder's DNA," Doc said flatly. "Look, yes, it is possible if I got the resources needed to build a machine that could create a body of Cinder, but that's all it would be."

"What do you mean?" White Lamb asked, cocking her head to the side. "Like it wouldn't be alive or something?"

"Not exactly. It would have a heartbeat, but it wouldn't function the same way as you or I do." The man reached up and stroked his chin, letting out a low hum. "The best way to explain this is to bring up something that hasn't been fully proven yet. Do you all believe in the existence of a soul?"

White Lamb placed her gun back and stood up off of the ground from where she had been sitting. "I get it now. You're saying that you could recreate a person's body, but you can't recreate a soul. It's basically just a living corpse at that point, right?"

"What about with Wish and the other members of the Wandering Coin?" Red Ape demanded.

Doc placed his hand over his heart. "When does a person die?"

"What?"

"When does a person die?" The man repeated. "Is it when their heart stops? Or maybe when all brain activity ceases to work. Well, you're wrong if you think that. The Lords hold a power that is passed down when they die. Wish, however, was able to have her body killed off dozens of times, yet she kept coming back. The title didn't pass down because she wasn't actually dying. Her soul was surviving. It was hiding inside all the little cells she scattered around, ready to rebuild her even after all of her pieces died out, though she remained alive because her soul still held a connection to this world. A connection in the form of the hero Paragon. See, Paragon should have been the rightful heir to the Lord of Life when the Emperor died; however, through unknown means, not all of the power went to her. Instead, the power took on a form of its own, becoming Wish. It was through the little power that did make it into Paragon, though, that ensured Wish could keep returning even after her brain or heart was destroyed. It wasn't until her soul was totally destroyed that she was finally unable to keep a foothold in this world, and her power passed on. Do you know what that means?"

"Not really..." Both White Lamb and Red Ape admitted sheepishly.

"It means that through some means, the power is connected to the soul," Doc announced. "Boy Genius once made a theory on this matter when he first joined the Enforcers. He stated that he believed Supers had a supernatural way of discovering one another. Often, they flock together, and even before their powers manifest, they come together in pacts even if they aren't aware that they're doing it. It's why I believe humans can react to them with such fear. Because, on some deep level, Supers are no longer humans. They're different. Something past biology itself—their soul has changed completely. Or I guess their 'Ego,' which is what Boy Genius called it. Kevin, Hannah, and Casey were all connected to Wish. As long as she survived, so would they if their bodies were destroyed. With my power, I was able to recreate bodies for them, and because Wish's soul still clung to this world, and their souls clung to her, they could go back into those bodies, and they'd awaken their powers once more. Their bodies would be fully human up until the point the soul took it over, at which point it would become a Super again. Mr. Grove believed in things like fate and destiny. He wasn't a Super, yet he had a strange amount of luck up until the point of his death. I believe all Supers have this strange 'Ego' inside of us that guides and directs us in ways we can't figure out. Maybe, in a way, we all have a path we follow when it comes to destiny, and even humans follow it as well since they, too, have a soul. Yet it is the difference in our Ego that makes us fight. If this is the case, it makes me wonder what happens to the people the Emperor turned into a monster, or the fate of Kevin and the others. After all, if Supers' powers are tied to the soul in a way, that would mean the Lord of Life isn't just creating new life or twisting an existing one. It's creating brand new souls."

Red Ape nodded slowly, processing the words of Doc. "So, you could create a body, but it couldn't do anything without a soul, and you can't create a new soul without the Lord of Life?"

"That's correct."

"Red Ape, what are you planning..." White Lamb asked nervously when she saw the man looking down at the body of Green Wolf.

"His power is keeping his body alive. That means his power is still working." He looked back at Doc and grinned. "What if you had a soul that no longer needed its body? Would it be possible to recreate a new body for this soul?"

Doc cocked his head to the side. "Well, we'd have to figure out how to extract a soul to do that, which means you'd need to figure out how to pull a person's power out of their body and put it into this new body. If that could be done, then yes. I could create a brand-new body that could house this soul."

"Perfect." Red Ape reached up and messed with the collar of his shirt. The pain in his foot was suddenly gone as he stared down at the remains of Green Wolf's body. "In that case, I have something to confess about how my powers work."

***

Present Day...

Hope Lauren stood before them all.

Metal Ronin and Wasp Nest were put into a stunned silence. Oxide felt confusion and fear seeing a teammate working for the enemy. Drake felt nothing and was more worried about the way everyone around him was reacting. Myth looked as if he had just seen a ghost and had been punched in the stomach at the same time. Alexander felt tears pouring down his face as he stared at the masked girl. Finally, that left Paragon and the white-hot rage that flowed through her veins.

"Hope-" Alexander didn't even get to take a step forward.

"It's not her!" Paragon had already left her spot by Drake's side and was swinging her sword as hard as she could. The Hope lookalike lazily raised her own blade, blocking the strike. "This isn't Hope!"

"There's that name again." Green Wolf taunted, sounding exactly as Cinder did, though with an edge of cruelty. The villain pushed back with her arm, sending her kinetic energy through her blade, which shoved Paragon back, sending the white-haired girl rolling. Green Wolf reached up and pulled her mask off, showing her face off to everyone and further ramming the knife into their hearts as they gazed at the innocent face of Hope, which held the cruelest smile in the world on it. "I guess that's Cinder's real name after all, huh? When I saw it on the news, I didn't want to believe it, but that boy said the same thing to me when I first saw him also. Guess my new civilian name is Hope Lauren!"

Myth gritted his teeth and growled. He was already in his lion form, ready to rip the throat out of any person he got close to. His eyes glared into Green Wolf's, and he took a step forward. "Who the hell are you? Are you the same person who was on the news? Did the Hero Branch put you up to this?"

Green Wolf let out a sickly-sweet giggle. "No, that Cinder on the news isn't me. I had a funny feeling it wasn't the real deal since she didn't seem like the type to work so close to the Branch. I guess that means more than one of us is running around." The girl cocked her head to the side and slowly placed her sword up on her shoulder. "As for who I am. I mean, haven't you figured it out yet? I'm the one and only Green Wolf!" She struck a pose, holding two fingers up in front of her eye, as she did her best to mimic the cover of a magical girl comic she had recently read.

"She- He- It's telling the truth." Paragon spat out. Her eyes had seen through it the moment this 'thing' stepped forward. It might have had the same body as Hope; it was actually a perfect match, down to the very last detail. What was off, though, was what her eyes saw past the cells that made up the human body. All Lords had a form of extra senses. The most extreme case was the Lord of the Sky, who could view the Paths of time, but her eyes also could view something amazing. The thing that made up a person. The very will of existence. In other words, since she had become a Lord, she was seeing the Egos that resided within all living things. "Hope's soul is bright. It's like looking into the sun. Sometimes, I feel that if I stare at it for too long, it'll burn my eyes. I first saw it when she and I fought the Beast together. This person's soul is nothing more than a shriveled-up vile mess of a being that is lucky to be clinging to life. It's just a poor excuse for a person!"

"That's one hell of an insult." Metal Ronin muttered.

"So, she—they're actually Green Wolf?" Oxide asked in shock.

"You can go ahead and use female pronouns if you want." Green Wolf called out. She boxed the air a bit, feeling the muscles in her arm. "I've gotten real used to this body and think I might prefer it to my old one. It's truly unfair how lucky some people are. This Hope Lauren girl was born to be a Super! It's like her body was literally made to hold a power! I feel ten- No, twenty times stronger than I ever did when I was some middle-aged man! Did you know that my real name used to be Christopher? I used to be a real good gamer before I got my powers. It was hella boring compared to being a villain! When I first awakened my powers, I got such a high and ended up slaughtering a room full of people. I haven't felt that good in a long time. This body, though," She gave a grin and lowered her mask back down. "This body gives me that high I crave. It truly is the best. I could even beat Battery or the Victorian, I bet!"

"We'll see about that!" Myth roared. "Sub Enforcers! With me!" He shattered the ground as he blasted toward Green Wolf, swinging out with his claws. He was followed by the rest of his team and Paragon.

Green Wolf simply let out an innocent schoolgirl laugh and ran forward. She was followed by Black Crow, who took to the air and expanded his wings. Green Wolf met Myth head-on, and the hero swung out with his claws. The attack bounced completely off of the young girl's body, not even harming her in the slightest. With a light punch, she rammed her fist into Myth's gut, hitting him so hard that he was sent flying back.

His teammates scrambled to avoid him, though Drake wasn't so lucky, still recovering from his injury, and felt Myth ram into him, sending the two of them flying back and crashing into one of the pillars of the station, shaking the entire place. Wasp Nest threw himself at Green Wolf next, but his bugs simply rammed into an invisible skintight barrier that was around her, stopping him from getting closer. He reformed several meters away, gritting his teeth. Oxide tried next, slamming a person-sized metal hammer into Green Wolf's head, but like Myth, her attack bounced off. Finally, that left Paragon, who tried to grab Green Wolf. She reached forward, pressing her hand to Green Wolf's chest, and flared her power out, but nothing happened. The hero realized too late she wasn't actually making contact with Green Wolf as, just like with Wasp Nest, an impossibly thin barrier of kinetic energy blocked the touch.

"Sorry, but you're not going to get to feel me up today." The girl taunted, flicking Paragon on the forehead and hitting the girl with so much force that it bounced Paragon back just like with Myth. "Did you all forget what my power is? None of you can actually harm me-"

"Take this!" Metal Ronin was the final one to attack. During all the confusion, he had switched his armor out once more, now dressed in a much slimmer suit that had wheels and various thrusters all along it. He swung his weapon out, which was the handle of a sword that had pure compressed plasma forming its blade. Green Wolf ducked down at the last second, avoiding the strike, which sliced into the top part of her wolf mask, cutting the ears off. "Ha! I did something!" He jumped back, his thrusters boosting him away just in time as Green Wolf swung her weapon at him.

Wasp Nest reformed in time, tackling his friend to the ground as seconds later the spot Metal Ronin had been standing at was hit by a thin line of kinetic energy, which sliced the area apart.

"I forgot how bullshit Green Wolf's powers are." Wasp Nest cursed out. "They absorb kinetic energy and can send it right back at us. We can't lay a finger on them unless we have other energy-based attacks!"

"You mean we have to rely on Metal Ronin!" Oxide groaned.

"Can you give us more of those beam blades?" Drake called out, shoving Myth off of him.

"Sorry." Metal Ronin said, letting out a wince. "This suit is still a prototype, and can only create one at a time!"

"Seriously, man!" Wasp Nest punched his friend in the shoulder.

Green Wolf just giggled and leaned back, sheathing her sword. "Did you guys forget that I'm not alone either?" Before any of them could even react, black arrows rained from above as Black Crow launched an attack. Wasp Nest's body dispersed into hundreds of bugs, avoiding the attack, while Oxide and Metal Ronin used their suits to keep themselves safe. Drake, Paragon, and Myth were simply durable enough to take the attacks, though small bruises would be left across their skin for later. Alexander, meanwhile, let out a yelp of panic and dove back behind his pillar. The arrows stabbed into the stone around them, shattering bits of it as they kept coming. "Isn't this fun?!" Green Wolf called out.

Paragon gritted her teeth and fought through the rain of arrows, forcing herself forward. She reached Green Wolf and swung her weapon out, but again, it bounced off. Green Wolf drew her own sword and swung it out, but Paragon blocked it with her blade, using her power to force the sword to stay together. The two danced for a moment, swinging back and forth at each other, trying to hit the other one but having no success. While that happened, Drake decided it was time to take out Black Crow.

The teen's wings expanded out, and he jumped into the air, spinning around, smashing into the roof. He stabbed his feet into it and stood on the roof, inhaling. Black Crow had wings of his own, which twisted and grew out, forming a barrier just in time to block the wave of fire Drake sent his way. Black Crow grunted and felt himself be blasted back by the force of the attack as he was sent crashing into the floor below. He created a pair of black swords and raised them just in time to block Oxide's own blade as the girl made a claymore and swung it out at him.

The animals he had with him also charged into the fray, but they were quickly dealt with by Myth, who grabbed the lion's both by the throat and rammed them down into the station so hard it shook everything around them and caused some rubble to rain from the sky.

Alexander gulped a bit as he peeked back out of his hiding spot and watched the different fights that were happening. "So, these guys are friends with Hope? I guess this was her team, huh? They're a little destructive and intense."

Both Black Crow and Green Wolf managed to force their attackers back. Black Crow launched a wave of black coal dust into Oxide, blasting her through one of the pillars and sending her sprawling on the ground. Green Wolf simply expanded her force field, pushing Paragon back, who was forced to jump away.

"You're better than I thought you'd be with a sword," Green Wolf cheerfully noted as she stared into Paragon's anger-filled eyes.

"I've been practicing." Paragon spat out.

"I can tell. I was there at the hospital and also when Wish grabbed you. I remember how helpless and scared you were, relying on Cinder to come and save you. I keep forgetting that the body I'm in is hers." The villain teasingly reached up under her mask and stroked her face almost lovingly. "It's kind of funny, isn't it? Oh, did you have feelings for this body? Sorry, but you're too young for me. I still prefer older women, so I'll have to pass."

"I'm going to kill you!" Paragon yelled.

Green Wolf only laughed at the threat. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that one? I've stopped counting." Snickering, the girl pulled her sword back up and pointed it toward the heroes. She moved it from person to person, her eyes roaming over them all as Black Crow landed next to her. No one moved an inch, all waiting for the right moment to dodge the invisible slash that was about to no doubt come their way. "There was a reason I came out here, you know." The girl admitted. "There's someone I need to bring back." She pointed her blade at Myth, then moved it to Metal Ronin, then to Oxide.

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" Myth growled, showing off his fangs. "And bring to who?"

Green Wolf giggled. "Aw. Look how scared all of you are. Big, tough heroes forgot how weak they actually were, didn't they? You thought that just because you fought the Beast, you wouldn't have to worry about anything else. That you'd have no more issues or concerns. Oh, how wrong you all are. We saw you guys entering our area through some of our stationed cameras. We also saw that one person with you wasn't like the rest." Slowly, her sword pointed at a pillar. "That one."

Paragon's eyes went wide, and she spun around screaming. "Mr. Lauren!" She threw herself in front of the pillar, ready to take the slash head on, but it never came. Instead, the ground began to bubble. It was as if it were the surface of a lake, and before any of them could react, something phased through the ground, coming up! It was a large man in a suit wearing a shark mask. Black Shark wrapped his arms around Alexander, who barely had time to yell before the two suddenly sank back down into the ground. The Super used his power to swim through the floor and made his escape. "No!" Paragon yelled.

The ground bubbled and shifted as the villain swam through it, heading into the tunnel behind Green Wolf and Black Crow. The two villains stood in the way, blocking the tunnel as Green Wolf raised her sword and Black Crow expanded his wings.

"Drake!" Myth roared. "Take the bird out!"

"You got it!" Drake flew forward, moving at his top speed right as Black Crow flew back into the air. The two entered a battle in the sky, launching fire and coal at one another as they wove in and out of the way of pillars.

Myth charged Green Wolf, taking one of the slashes head-on, which cut into his fur hide as he roared. He swung out, but his claws stopped inches away from Green Wolf's body as her barrier came back on. Myth only smirked, though, as from the side, Metal Ronin jumped out from behind Myth and swung his blade, slamming it into Green Wolf's sword as the girl barely had time to block it. "Metal Ronin, you're with me!" Myth announced. "We're taking Green Wolf out! Paragon, Oxide, Wasp Nest! Go!"

Paragon took off running past Green Wolf as she entered the tunnel and used her enhanced body to move at super speed after the bubbles that held Black Shark and Alexander. Green Wolf flung herself away from Myth and Metal Ronin and swung her sword out, but her attack was blocked by Oxide, who held her shield up, blocking it and reforming her metal's shape as the cut tore into it. Oxide moved backward into the tunnel, making more of her shields, which flowed off of her costume and floated in the air around her. Wasp Nest also followed, turning himself into a massive swarm of his wasps, blocking out most of the view of the tunnel, and causing Green Wolf to be unable to aim at her slashes.

The villain cursed and was forced to give up and block again as Metal Ronin swung his sword out. Myth charged forward, swinging out again, but he knew his attacks wouldn't land. He was just trying to create openings for Metal Ronin. The tech-based hero jumped back, and his costume shifted and changed, switching into his standard suit as he pointed his blade at Green Wolf. "I don't know if I can beat her." He admitted. "If I had some of my other gadgets or suits, I could easily do it, but this suit wasn't made for fighting someone this strong yet. I'm sorry for not thinking about the chance of something like this happening."

"It's fine." Myth stepped in front of his young teammate and glared at Green Wolf, who stood several meters away, her sword at the ready. "I'll be the one to take her out. You just back me up."

"You're going to take me out?" Green Wolf threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, please. You can't even touch me. What can you possibly do?"

"Sir," Metal Ronin winced a bit. "Are you going to 'use' that?"

"I am."

"Are you sure? You know you can't control it that well!"

"We have no choice!" Myth hissed. "Besides, I've been training with it. I think I can manage. It's now or never."

"Oh?" Green Wolf cocked her head to the side and sheathed her sword. "What's this? Did you get some new trick up your sleeve? Hey! I know this is cheesy, but I recently started reading some comics. I think this body is into them. I'll let you go ahead and bust out whatever you want! Go ahead, big guy! Show me something cool."

"You're an idiot." Myth said in a blunt tone.

"Am I? Or am I just that much stronger than you."

"Your barrier is strong, but it has a weakness. It can't absorb every attack fully. Only the kinetic energy within. That means if an attack is strong enough or formed from various types of energy, you won't be able to stop it fully." Myth took a deep breath and focused his power. He gritted his teeth as he felt something inside of him begin to change. Something inside of him was screaming and howling.

"What are you blabbering about?" Green Wolf found herself actually stepping back as Myth began to transform into a form she hadn't seen yet.

"My strongest form is a gigantic monster able to shape even the mountains themselves." Myth grunted. His lion fur vanished, replaced with stretched-out black skin. "This is a close second, though. It has a power, one that goes beyond anything my other forms have. It was what wounded Demonica. Despite her healing factor, I was able to render a wound so powerful it stopped her from healing." Myth's head seemed to almost turn dog light, harsh red eyes glowing out of him, and dark fire dripped down his maws. His voice grew deeper, and he started to howl. "The same thing happened with Polaron, you know. He was wiped out by Cinder. He also could heal. Most of the Emperor's monsters could. Haven't you ever wondered how Full Monarch was able to beat those monsters so easily? It's because he didn't just attack their body. He hit them in a way that couldn't be recovered from. He hit them directly in the soul. He used fire so hot it burned the very soul. My father, Legend, would do something similar as well! As it turns out, this form of mine can do what both of them could as well!"

"I don't like where this is going." Green Wolf drew her sword and swung it out, sending a slash, but it was too late. The attack slammed into Myth and barely left a shallow cut.

Myth's hands changed, turning into a pair of dog heads as well, both of which also gushed red flames out, and a jagged tail slapped at the ground hard enough to shatter the stone. The three-headed beast let out a loud howl, the same form that had beaten Demonica during the mall attack. It was a little different, though. Myth's eyes glared out, fully under control as he charged forward.

"Get ready!" Myth roared. "I'll show you the wrath of Legend's firstborn son! I am Myth! Brother of Fable!"

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Bab 159: Doctor White Egg

Shortly before the battle with the Beast...

"Do you think you could use your new power to heal Mr. Larison?" Hope asked softly as she folded her arms.

"I don't know," Sky admitted. The healer leaned against the wall, standing next to the Lord of the Sun. The two of them stood directly outside of the room where the other girls were. Lily was currently watching some cheesy horror movie with Sera and Ashley when the two of them decided they needed some alone time to talk. Sky glanced down at her hand, feeling the power that resided in it. A power that had appeared ever since the defeat of Wish. "I don't think I could fix him. I'm sorry."

Hope closed her eyes and let out a sigh she had been holding. It was a girls' night, one she was spending with all of her new friends, and she had waited the entire day to build up the courage to ask Sky that question regarding the future of Mr. Larison. It was an answer she had expected yet still hated. "You're sure?" She finally asked, opening her eyes.

Sky nodded slowly. "It's his power. He's too strong. I think he would cancel out any changes I tried to make."

"What do you mean by that?" Hope questioned.

Sky held up two fingers. "There are two kinds of effects my power can cause in a person. The first is an effect that a person wants. Let's say you get injured and want me to heal you. I'd touch you and patch you up, and because you wanted that to happen, your power would let me. The second kind of effect, however, is one you don't want. Wish made contact with you several times yet wasn't able to change or twist your form."

"Yeah, I noticed that. The first time I fought her, she kept trying to blow me up, but it wouldn't work. I assumed it was because I was a Lord since she was able to destroy Money Tree's hand with one touch."

"That's sort of right." Sky nodded. "The stronger a person is, the better they're able to negate powers on their level or lower. Wish was only really strong due to the number of lives and healing she had. In the grand scheme of things, you are way stronger than she'll ever be, so anytime she wanted to use her power on you, she'd have to compete with your level of strength, which she couldn't match up to. It isn't just a Lord thing, though. All Supers have this trait. People like the Victorian are rumored to be able to move in frozen time due to how strong they are. The closer to someone's level of power you are, the less their powers can work on you if you don't want them to. It's even the case with durability. Attacks won't harm you simply because you're so strong."

Hope nodded her head but held a small frown. "I get what you're saying, but doesn't that mean you should be able to heal Mr. Larison? The reason you can heal me despite the power difference was because I'd allow it, right? So, if a Super is crazy strong, they can still be affected by weaker powers if they allow them to work. So, all he needs to do is let your power work on him, right?"

"And that right there is the main issue." Sky turned away from Hope and stared out the window. The sun had long since set, and the moon hung high up in the sky. "Do you think he'd let me heal him?"

Hope bit her tongue in order to stop herself from saying a remark she would regret. She had heard Mr. Larison's words to the Victorian after the battle with the Emperor. It was like he had given up a long time ago. It tore her up inside watching that fake smile on his lips earlier today when he had allowed her to drive his car.

"I don't think it matters in the end, though." Sky's words caused Hope's thoughts to cease as the healer looked back down at her hand. "I'm still not sure if I'm actually the Lord of Life yet."

"Of course you are!"

"I could be. There's something I'll need to try first to confirm it, though."

"Oh? What's that?"

Sky just gave a sly smile and brought a finger to her lip. "It's secret."

"Aw! Come on, tell me!" Hope whined.

"Nope." Sky turned her head away, ignoring Hope's puppy dog stare. "Still though, it does make me curious about the nature of powers now that I've inherited Wish's ability."

"What do you mean by that?" Hope asked, perking up.

"The Emperor back in the day tried to create a world of only Supers." Sky practically spat out her father's title as a look of disgust came onto her face. "He wasn't able to create new Supers, though. Instead, the things he made were Monsters. They had powers like Supers, but whereas Supers look exactly like humans, Monsters kept changing and growing. Most died out, some became mindless creatures that still roam the planet to this day, and fewer managed to somehow keep their sanity and form. It wasn't just humans he would change. Golden God and Fairy Queen both used to be Supers until he changed them. He placed new powers inside of them and managed to cause their bodies to twist and change. I'm sure there were others in his army that were also like that, such as Hell Hound."

"Wish did something similar, too." Hope nodded. "Kevin wasn't a Super before, yet he changed."

"I don't think it was the same thing though." Sky shook her head. "See, that's what I've been thinking about. Previous Lords usually share powers, but they always have one thing above all else that makes them unique. Sini was a Mental-based user on top of being a Lord, Max Lightning was able to create realms, something no other Lord of the Sky showed; and Full Monarch had strength that went past anything any other Lord had. Wish and the Emperor also had powers that other Lords of Life didn't have. The Emperor was able to create his monsters, but he couldn't heal as well as Wish could. He could repair his body, but he never showed anything on the same level as Wish, who could literally send her cells out as weapons. I don't think her way of making Monsters was the same as the Emperor's. Not to mention those people she did change looked very human."

"Some Monsters can keep a sort of human form, though. Avalon looked pretty human until he became a sword." Poseidon looked human yet had the same blood as a Monster, though Hope decided not to say that last part out loud.

"I guess, but I still think it's different. We won't know until we ask one of them, though, and I doubt something like that will ever happen." Sky let out a soft snort and balled her hand into a fist, digging her nails into her palm. "What are powers exactly? Where did they come from? We still know so little. What is Inversion, and why do some people have more than one power while others are born only with a single ability? I was born with two different powers, both my Realm ability and my healing power, and now I might have a third power in the form of the Lord of Life."

"Who knows." Hope threw her arms behind her head and looked back into the room the other girls were in. A jump scare had just happened, and Lily practically chucked her bowl of popcorn into the air, causing it to spill down. "Do you think I could get another power?"

"What? Not happy with fire?"

"Well, I'd like flight, but I know I'll likely unlock that eventually. I don't even know how to Invert my power, so I'm sort of stuck with fire." The Lord of the Sun hummed softly. "Another power could be kind of cool."

"Oh yeah, what would you want? Besides flight, I mean."

"I've actually thought about it a lot, believe it or not."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Hope smiled and looked back at Sky. "If I could have any other power..." She opened her mouth and spoke, saying her answer. Sky's eyes went wide for a moment, and then the girl giggled. "Is it really that funny of an answer?" Hope questioned.

"No. It's just that I didn't expect it. It isn't anything as crazy as I thought it'd be." Sky admitted. "Is there a reason you picked that one specifically?"

Hope just shrugged. "I just think it would be cool."

Slowly, the memory of that day faded away as Sky found herself back in the present, running through the tunnel. She remembered that night constantly. It would always come back to her mind and cause her to curse herself.

She had brushed the question off so easily. She hadn't bothered trying to save Battery at all. She didn't even consider it, simply deciding he wouldn't have wanted to be saved. Maybe if she had tried, maybe if she had reached out to him and healed him, things could have been different. He wouldn't have changed so much; he could have teamed up with the Victorian, and the two of them could have slayed the Beast. Her mother and sister would have never gotten harmed, and Hope would still be here, being the hero she was meant to be.

But it wasn't the time for what-ifs and half-baked ideas. So instead, Sky forced herself to focus on the here and now. She was Paragon; she was a hero, and right now, someone was in trouble.

Black Shark caused ripples and bubbles to lift off of the floor that he swam in. A shark fin stabbed out of the ground, phasing through anything that got in its way as the villain's power allowed him to swim through the earth around him. He had been under there for almost a full minute now, pushing forward at fast speeds. It was starting to make her worry. After all, he might not need to come up for air, but Mr. Lauren certainly would.

"Paragon!" A voice yelled behind her. The healer turned back just in time to see a fast-moving silver blur coming at her. "Hop on!"

Paragon jumped up just in time and came down directly next to Oxide, landing on a platform that the hero had created. They stood on a long silver disk that was about the size of a car. It was completely flat and floated off of the ground by several meters. Under it, millions of wasps formed, picking the thing up and carrying it forward at incredible speeds.

"Good thinking." Paragon gave a nod to Oxide and turned to look back at the fin that poked out of the ground. Black Shark was only a few meters ahead of them, but they were quickly losing ground. "He's too fast!"

The metal-based hero created a bow forged from pure metal and an arrow, which she launched out at the shark fin. Chains attached to the arrow, turning it into a sort of harpoon, but it sadly didn't work, simply phasing through the fin and crashing to the ground. "His power is similar to Mister Man's." Oxide cursed. "Any plan to get him out of the ground?"

"I have one." Paragon sheathed her sword and crouched on the metal platform. She poked her hand beneath it, feeling the wasps that buzzed. "Wasp Nest, do you trust me?"

A loud buzzing noise came from beneath them, gradually distorting into a single word. "Trust."

Breathing deeply, Paragon closed her eyes and began to focus on her power. It wasn't just healing that she could do now. She was the Lord of the Land and Life. She had done it before with Destiny, though he had been created to literally merge with her powers. Wasp Nest was able to turn himself into billions of bugs and reform over and over again, negating the damage done to him. Yet Wish had still been able to harm and negate his power due to the sheer strength and control the villain had over life. She wasn't planning on forcing him back into his human form like Wish had done, though. Instead, she began to do exactly what she did to Destiny.

Suddenly, all the wasps began to twitch, and they started to reform, coming together just like when the hero would turn his power off. He didn't turn back into his human form, though. Instead, the wasps began to grow and get bigger as they absorbed each other. Again and again until finally, only one wasp was left. Wasp Nest gasped, feeling his new body. He looked down at his hands in shock. It was like he had taken on some strange hybrid form between his human form and his wasp form.

He was the size of a normal person, but instead of flesh, he was covered in a thick black carapace that formed strong armor along his body. Jagged wings stabbed out of his back, flapping so fast they looked as if they were moving in slow motion. He had arms and legs like a human, and his head looked mostly humanoid. Paragon had forced his power to change, or at the very least she had tweaked it.

"What did you do?" Oxide asked in shock. The platform they stood on crashed to the ground now that they didn't have the hundreds of wasps to carry it, but Oxide simply changed its design, turning it into a sled and attaching metal tendrils to Wasp Nest's waist as the hero flew forward much faster than he had been a moment ago. Sparks were kicked up as the metal board the two of them stood on scraped against the stone floor at rapid speeds.

"His consciousness was spread out across millions of different tiny forms," Paragon explained. "Normally, changing how a person's power works would be impossible for me, but I can use my ability to control Life to change a person's physical form to an extent. For anyone else, doing something like this wouldn't work, but Wasp Nest is unique since there were so many of him. I simply merged all that biomass into a single entity. His power involves changing his form already, so in a way, I guess you can say it's like tweaking a single line of code. Instead of splitting off to change, I just had him connect together."

"Will I be able to change back to normal?" Wasp Nest called out. The hero reached up to feel his throat, a little shocked that he was getting to talk in his transformed state so well. He felt strong—crazy strong. He had always been a little jealous at how weak he was in the grand scheme of things, yet now he was sure he could do a lot more with this body than he ever had.

"We'll figure that out later," Paragon said sheepishly.

"What! You mean you haven't tested something like this out before!"

The healer just shrugged. "After that shark!"

Wasp Nest just sighed before smirking. As he sped up, he got even faster. Black Shark had been gaining a lot of distance, but now they were rapidly catching up to the villain. The air around Wasp Nest began to heat up as he pushed himself forward, his wings kicking up the wind just as BB once did. The villain was only meters away now. "Go long!" He turned and spun himself around, causing the sled that he had been dragging to fly past him. "Get him!"

Oxide caused the chain she had connected to Wasp Nest to vanish right as they passed him. The force of his spin had sent them flying forward, and she forced the metal they stood on to rise up a bit and wrap around both her and Paragon's feet to ensure they didn't go flying off. They went so fast that they actually went flying past Black Shark, and as soon as they passed by the fin, Paragon dropped back down to her knees and slammed her palm into the ground.

The Lord felt her power flare up, and she forced it to Invert just as she had done in the battle with the Beast and in the belly of the Tallest Wave. The ground around them shifted and changed as her realm was layered over reality, changing it. All around her, in a ten-meter radius, the tunnel they were in became a field of grass that tore itself open and lifted the swimming body of Black Shark out, throwing the villain into the air. The villain spun around in the air, clearly disoriented for a moment as the field around them began to fade.

In Black Shark's arm, he held the body of Alexander Lauren, who was quickly taking a gulp of air before they crashed back down. Black Shark began to fall toward the ground again, about to sink into it, but right before he could, Oxide swung out, forming a massive hammer that she rammed directly into the villain's head. Unlike Mister Man, the Zoo member could only phase through objects when he was swimming.

The hammer cracked him upside the head and caused most of his mask to come off and shatter as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he hit the ground back first, completely unconscious. For good measure, Wasp Nest roughly landed on the villain's gut, using his new super strength to break any ribs as he kicked down.

"Mr. Laruen, are you okay?!" Paragon didn't miss a beat and ran forward to the downed man, who was coughing up a storm.

The older man grimaced a bit, making a sour face as he shook his head. "That was not a fun experience. I never thought I'd almost drown in stone."

Paragon let out a sigh of relief as her eyes roamed over the man. She didn't see any serious injuries on him. "I'm glad you're okay-"

"It's not over yet!" Wasp Nest yelled. "Watch out!"

Oxide acted fast, throwing herself in front of all of them and holding her arms out just in time. A massive metal dome appeared around them, blocking a wave of red energy that fired down the tunnel they were in, bathing everything in crimson. Paragon felt her eyes narrow when she saw the energy. It was one she had seen before. She had seen Red Ape use the same attack, firing that laser out of the helmet he had gotten from Avalon. It wasn't Red Ape that shot at them, though. Oxide's barrier slowly crumbled as the energy died out, and they all came face to face with two more familiar Zoo members.

"First Black Crow, then Black Shark, and now you two show up." Wasp Nest called out, folding his arms. "I'm going to need to have serious words with Boy Genius about why none of you are in Nightshade!"

Across from them, standing several feet away, Red Monkey pointed two of his revolvers at them. The guns smoked and billowed out fumes as the lasers that came from them died out. It seemed that creating a new body for Green Wolf wasn't the only thing Doc and Red Ape had done in their spare time. They had somehow created another one of Avalon's laser weapons, ones that Red Monkey now trained on them. Next to him, dressed in a pure white suit, White Spider stood. The woman didn't bother wearing her mask and instead held a wild and almost insane grin on her face.

"Aw. You're wondering why Boy Genius didn't tell you about us?" The woman asked in a mocking tone. "Maybe he just didn't trust you guys enough."

Before any of them could make a remark, a loud groan came from behind them as Black Shark suddenly jumped back up to his feet, no longer injured. "He heals fast!" Paragon yelled out. The villain swung out with a mighty fist, but Wasp Nest caught it easily and used his new body to shatter the palm and break Black Shark's arm. Instantly, though, Black Shark ripped the limb out of the hero's grasp and forcefully snapped it back into place as the limb healed once again. "Really fast!"

"Since when can he heal?" Oxide asked in shock. She was then forced to throw up another barrier as Red Monkey fired at them again with both his guns, two lasers firing out of the barrels and combining into one big one, which started to push Oxide back.

Black Shark shoved his way past Wasp Nest, who unloaded several powerful punches into the man's body that literally left dents in the flesh, but it barely slowed the bad guy down, who made a mad grab for Mr. Lauren. The arm never reached its target, though, as Paragon swung her sword up and easily sliced the limb clean off. Blood didn't come out of the wound, and the villain simply jumped back and clutched at his wound, which was already starting to bubble up and heal.

"What the hell? He's like a zombie or something." Wasp Nest stared at the regeneration in horror. Even Black Shark's clothes were repairing themselves. "I'm pretty sure this wasn't a power he used to have. Did Red Ape or Doc do this?"

"Maybe, but I don't think so." Paragon winced. "Whatever's going on doesn't matter. They're clearly targeting Mr. Lauren, and I'll be damned if I let them lay a finger on him!"

The energy behind them died out as Red Monkey's guns stopped firing and began to recharge. Oxide let out a sigh of relief and dropped her barrier, catching her breath. White Spider's grin only grew, and the woman casually lifted her hand up. All along the tips of her fingers, tiny white spiders danced, weaving their webbing, which drifted down her arm. "It's so cute how you all think you can stop us. You didn't even notice it, though, did you? You already fell right into my web." The woman's eyes met Paragon's, which only caused White Spider's smile to grow. "You know what happens next, right?"

Paragon felt a chill run up her spine, and she yelled, but it was already too late. In a flash, White Spider's power went off, causing Oxide, Paragon, and Wasp Nest to vanish out of the tunnel. Alexander stood there, surrounded by three villains, as he felt a wave of fear hit him.

"Uh oh." He managed to give a sheepish laugh and reached up to tug at his shirt. "I don't suppose you guys just want to- Sneak attack!" He pulled out a can of pepper spray and pointed it at Black Shark, unloading it into the man's eyes.

Black Shark didn't even flinch as the villain approached Mr. Lauren and pulled his fist back, smashing it into Alexander's face and knocking the man out with one punch.

Back at the beginning of the tunnel, Paragon suddenly dropped down as she appeared right back where they started. "No!" She yelled out in anger. The sound of battle barely registered to her as Myth and Drake fought their opponents.

"What the hell just happened!" Wasp Nest asked in shock. His form changed, twisting back into his human form as his new enhanced power wore off. "How are we back here?"

"It's White Spider's power!" Oxide hissed.

"I know, but how the hell did she do that!" Wasp Nest said, shaking his head. "Her power doesn't let her just freely teleport people around wherever she wants. She has to set up a zone, and then it stops people from entering or exiting that zone, teleporting them back to the place she set it up at. She doesn't get to control it, and her teammates have to follow the same rules she does. That's not what she just did to us, though. That was actual teleportation. Not to mention, Black Shark's power was also different. I'm sure of that. I watched the footage of his battle with Myth, and he never showed a healing factor on the level he did just now."

"Who cares!" Paragon yelled. "We have to get back there!"

"And do what? They'll just send us back to the start again." Oxide winced.

"That doesn't mean we just give up, though." Wasp Nest replied. "There has to be something we can do."

Paragon gritted her teeth and stepped forward. She got a few feet in the tunnel before she suddenly appeared back at the start next to Oxide and Wasp Nest. "Damn it!" She cursed.

"Looks like the web has been set up." Oxide folded her arms and frowned. "No way we can get through now."

"What are you guys doing back here!" A voice called out. They turned, finding Metal Ronin was making his way over to them. "Did you guys get Hope's dad already?" Directly behind him, most of the train station was in ruins as fire spread out in all directions caused by both Myth and Drake, who were still fighting Green Wolf and Black Crow.

"Nope. We're stuck." Wasp Nest sighed. "White Spider made a web. Also, did Myth get bigger? And get fire powers? What's even happening over there?"

Metal Ronin rubbed his chin. "White Spider? Oh yeah, I remember her. She's that annoying villain that Green Wolf brought with him once when we fought her. Poseidon beat her by destroying her web before it got created all the way."

"Well, we can't do that." Paragon grumbled and stomped her foot down. "It's already been set up. Those bastards still have Mr. Lauren."

"So?" Metal Ronin asked.

"What do you mean 'so'? Obviously, we can't get through it." Oxide yelled, throwing her arms up.

Metal Ronin looked at them oddly. "Yeah. She set up a ton of webs in the tunnel so that if you guys pass into it, you get kicked out. So why not just travel in a different way?"

"Like what?" Wasp Nest questioned. "We could get to the surface, but then we'd have no way of figuring out where Zoo's base is. My wasps can't go through the web either, so we'd be running around up top blindly and might piss one of the Giants up there off."

Metal Ronin cocked his head to the side. "Can't one of you just walk through the tunnel and make it not the tunnel anymore?"

Paragon sighed before face-palming. She felt her power surge back and shift as the area around her changed into her realm once more. White Spider might have placed the webs all over the tunnel, but none had been placed in her realm, which would layer itself over the world around them. In other words, she could just walk through her realm to get to the end of the tunnel.

She was really glad Metal Ronin was on their side...

Meanwhile, all the way at the end of the tunnel, Alexander Lauren let out a soft groan as he felt a hand gently slap at his face. His eyes slowly began to open as he found himself lying in a place that was definitely not in the subway anymore. It looked almost like a surgeon room but was way dirtier and filled with dozens of animal cages.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head." A voice teased. As the light hit Alexander's eyes, he found himself suddenly face to face with a man in a long, dirty lab coat. The man's face was also completely covered by a green cartoon mask that was an ape smoking a cigar. Green Ape, leader of Zoo, stood back up and stared down at Alexander. "You have something I want."

"W- Where am I?" Alexander reached up and clutched at his broken nose, which was still gushing blood. Black Shark's punch had rattled his head and screwed up his thoughts. Everything was still spinning a bit, but he did his best to look around. They weren't alone in the room. Black Shark, Red Monkey, and White Spider all stood near the back of the room, as well as several other people in masks that he didn't recognize. "What's going on?" He asked in a panic, scooting back.

Green Ape hummed and folded his arms. "It seems you might have been more injured than I first thought. Obviously, you've been kidnapped by the one and only Zoo!" The man clasped his hands together, doing his best to speak like how Green Wolf would when the former leader put on a show. "As for where you are... Well, you're in one of our former bases."

"Former?" Alexander felt his ears twitch a bit as he heard a quiet beeping sound, and he turned, finding a wall filled with dozens of bombs. His face paled, and he felt a chill go down his spine. "W- What the hell!"

"As I said. Former base. This place won't be around by the end of the day." Green Ape said, letting out a soft snort. "I wonder how long it'll take people to notice that an entire city block got blown up. After all, with White Lamb, not a single sound will be heard when we blow this place sky high!"

Alexander gritted his teeth and jumped up to his feet, wobbling a bit. He glared at Green Ape and took a step forward. Red Monkey drew his gun and raised it, but Alexander didn't care. "You're a monster! It was you, wasn't it? You're the reason why Green Wolf is running around looking like my daughter!"

"Green Wolf? Damn it, I told her to stop calling herself that." Green Ape sighed and shook his head. "She keeps thinking she'll find some way to take the throne out from under me, but I won it fair and square! She's supposed to be Red Wolf now, you see-"

"Answer me!" Alexander roared.

Green Ape raised his arms, holding them up slightly. "Geesh. Alright, if you really want to know, no. I'm not the one who created that body. It was actually the newest member of Zoo that made it."

As if on cue, soft footsteps came down from a set of stairs that led up to a higher floor in the building they were in. It was followed by a cane that tapped each set of stairs as the person walked down. Even with all the rage he felt, Alexander felt himself be taken aback as he stared at this new person.

"What the hell is this?"

Doc reached the bottom of the stairs dressed in his new costume. "Okay, look, I know it looks bad, but..." The man asked, holding his arms out. "Do I make it work or what?"

He had been Doctor Blue during his time as a member of the Hero Branch. After that, he was Doc and worked under Mr. Grove. Now... Now, he was at the lowest point in his life.

He was an egg... A large egg that had only four holes for his arms and legs, which poked out of the massive shell. White Egg, the newest member of Zoo, had arrived.

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