章節 19: A Team Would Be Nice
The story of Green Wolf was one that most people in Oleander knew. Christopher Lyn had been a pro gamer and streamer who played the hit game FOF (Federation of Family) for a living. However, the man harbored a great evil within him, as it turned out.
During a tournament that was held live, it was revealed that Christopher had been hacking. That was when the man's powers awakened as Christopher became a Super and began to hack in a different way. As in hacking everyone around him up into tiny pieces.
Green Wolf was a powerful Super, one who was able to control and absorb kinetic energy and unleash it in devastating ways. The villain didn't need to worry about how short their knives were, as thanks to his power he could cut you to ribbons on the other side of the city. People, cars, buildings—none of it mattered to this man. He would simply cut through it all.
The thought of facing this renowned villain caused Hope to take a step back. She raised her arms like a shield, but she doubted it'd help. Just from one glance, she could tell that Green Wolf was far scarier than anything she had seen before.
She jumped a bit when a hand landed on her shoulder, but it was just Battery. The man's skin was already glowing, and lightning poured out of his fingertips, eyes focused on the leader of Zoo.
"Who are they?" White Lamb asked, head cocked to the side.
Green Wolf took a step forward, and it took all her willpower to not take one back. "These two? Oh, they're going to be my newest entertainment." The villain flicked his knife into the air, letting it spin before catching it. "Right, you two."
She didn't like him. Green Wolf was strong. Almost everyone knew that. At such a young age, the man had managed to take over part of the city and swallow up several of the stronger groups. Despite only being in his twenties, people already considered him to be the next big bad. A villain that if you were to kill, most people would throw you a party.
"Let him go." She almost shocked herself as she somehow managed to speak up. She nodded her head to the man in the chair, which Green Wolf stood next to. They were on the other side of the room away from the villain, but that really didn't matter when it came to his powerset. "Turn yourself in, too."
The villain actually let out a snort. "No."
"Why are you doing this?" She demanded. "You're the same as Red Ape."
"I'm the same as that loser?" The bad guy sounded pretty offended when compared to the madman.
"Yeah." She nodded, gripping her hand into a fist. "You're hurting someone for no reason. You kill people for no reason. I don't get it. You have powers like me. Why would you ever decide not to use them to help people? What do you get out of being a villain?"
The man seemed to pause for a moment, actually pondering the question, humming quietly. "It's fun."
White Lamb giggled a bit, still on the table. "I've gone ahead and made everything silent, Green Wolf. Feel free to cut loose, no sound will escape this warehouse."
"Good." Green Wolf looked down at a wristwatch. "Then I'll give you both… let's say five minutes of my time. That sounds fair, right-"
Battery moved faster than any of them could react to. Green Wolf's power allowed the villain to absorb and negate kinetic energy, and since basically everything required kinetic energy, that meant the villain could make themselves untouchable. This power was rumored to have even allowed the leader of Zoo to take a single punch from the Victorian. Knowing this, Battery made a different choice.
Flight won out as opposed to fight.
She let out a yelp as the older man wrapped an arm around her and jumped to the side just in time to avoid one of the unseen slashes the villain sent at them. The attack flew through the air and hit the wall at the spot Battery had stood, tearing through it. Not skipping a beat, Battery kicked off of the ground and blasted through another wall, shoulder-tackling through it. The hero didn't stop there either. The man literally ran through the warehouse, using speed and strength to bash his way through.
"What about the man?" She shouted through all the debris that was kicked up as her mentor tore them out of the building.
"Sorry, kid, but nothing we can do." Battery grunted. "That guy is way too dangerous for us to fight against. Only option is to run-" The man came to a sudden stop and let out a low curse. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
She was tucked directly under his arm, being held like a bag of potatoes. She had to look up to see what he complained about. They had made it outside of the warehouse, but there was nowhere else to go. The rest of Spider Street was gone. Or at least she couldn't see it anymore.
Directly in front of them, as well as above them, below them, behind them, and on either of them, was a wall of pure green energy. It sort of looked like one of the barriers Mr. Larison had created in the hospital. It stretched out around the warehouse, only allowing them to go about ten feet outside of the building before it blocked their path.
Green Wolf had seemingly used his power to create a kinetic wall of energy to trap them inside. She heard the man liked to hunt down his food. To trap them and make them see how powerless they truly were. It was her first time seeing it up close, and already she decided that this was her least favorite villain.
A scraping sound came from behind them, and Battery spun around, still holding her. Standing at the entrance of the warehouse, surrounded by all the dead bodies, Green Wolf stood, holding two knives. "Come on, pal. A big guy like you looks strong. Why not go a few rounds with me?" Green Wolf asked, cocking his head to the side. "I'm sure you'll be a fun mini boss worth some EXP."
"EXP?"
"It's a gamer term. Get with the times, boomer." Green Wolf said, letting out a snort.
"You're just one of those people who made gaming their whole personality and now only repeats game things to sound cool and edgy, aren't you?" She said, frowning.
"I'm going to kill you both now." Green Wolf said in a tone that she completely believed.
"New plan. Break the walls of the barrier." Battery instructed her.
"Right! Um? How?"
Battery lifted her up with one arm and stepped forward. "Go long, kid!" She let out a scream as the man threw her into the air. She came down fast, ramming into the roof on the other side of the warehouse and breaking through. Green Wolf's gaze followed her, and the moment the villain looked away, Battery struck. The hero made a gun with his hand and fired out a golden beam of energy. "Bang!"
Green Wolf didn't even budge as the energy rammed into them. It slipped directly off of their body, twisting around their form like a liquid, and tore apart the floor and roof of the warehouse. Battery didn't stop though and kept firing out the lasers, hitting the villain over and over again. Green Wolf began to calmly walk closer.
"You have bad luck." The man noted. "Your lasers are all made of pure kinetic energy. Kinetic energy does exist in nearly everything, but my power can't stop other forms of energy, only slow them down. Yet your lasers are just purely kinetic in nature. You have the worst power to fight me with." The man giggled.
"Is that so?" Battery grunted out. Already the chest pain was starting to return, but he squashed it down and focused on blasting until Green Wolf stood directly in front of him.
"That's right. You can't hurt me-"
This time, the beam came out like a crackling wave of energy, smashing directly into Green Wolf's gut and making the man gasp as his nerves ignited. "Can't hurt you, huh?" Battery rammed a fist directly into the villain's face. The punch's force vanished and faded, but the energy in his fist zapped out like lightning and lit the villains' nerves up even more. "Looks like I'm doing just fine!"
Green Wolf gritted his teeth and dodged the next strike, slicing out with his knife, ripping into Battery's side, and cutting the man badly. "You cheated! What the hell was that! Your energy switched! That wasn't kinetic energy! That was potential energy! You can change what your energy is?"
"Seems like it." Battery chuckled and clutched at his side. Despite being cut open, no blood flowed from the wound. "Alright, heart. Just a bit more."
Back inside the warehouse, Cinder came crashing down hard. Green Wolf was outside fighting Battery, so it was up to her. She quickly picked herself up, about to run to the back and start punching at the wall of energy in an attempt to break it, but stopped when she saw the man in the chair.
The one Green Wolf had been torturing. The man was barely conscious yet stared at her with pleading eyes. "Please! Save me!"
It was the first time someone had said those words. The first time anyone had looked at her and requested her help in such a way. It didn't matter who they used to be or what they had done once. Right now, this was a person in trouble. She balled her hand into a fist and nodded. "I'll save you-"
She felt pain shoot through her as something suddenly rammed into her from behind. She gasped and was lifted off of her feet, smashing into the wall. The force of the attack vibrated through her and caused her ears to pop. The world spun, and she felt dizzy as she looked up. White Lamb was no longer sitting.
The young girl stood and held a white megaphone. The girl brought it up to the mask's lips and let out a simple word. "Boom."
No sound came out, but she felt it. A wave of unseen force smashed directly into her. It was just like with Green Wolf's slashes. White Lamb was using the power of sound to attack. The girl was making the sound totally silent but also increasing its force and power. It caused her bones to vibrate and her body to shake as she was pressed up against the wall and then, in an instant, shoved through it. Again, her ears popped, and she gasped as she rolled across the ground in another room of the warehouse.
She forced herself back up to her feet and tried to charge White Lamb, but the girl just giggled into the megaphone, attacking her with laughter. The force threw her back again, and she cried out in pain. "You don't really think you can move faster than sound, do you?" White Lamb asked, chuckling. "Maybe if you were Max Lightning or the Victorian, you'd be able to dodge this, but judging from your outfit, you're a total nobody."
"I'm not a nobody." She placed her hands back on the ground and began to push herself up. "I'm a superhero!" Battery was fighting someone way stronger than her. Not to mention the tied-up man. Both of them were counting on her. She charged forward again, moving at blinding speeds. Maybe if she had trained more or practiced with her powers, she'd be able to outspeed sound, but as it stood right now, it was simply too fast for her. So instead she focused on defense.
White Lamb made a popping sound into the megaphone and blasted out another wave of intense force. She came close to reaching the girl when she felt it hit her. As soon as it brushed her skin, she dug her heels into the ground and lifted her arms, attempting to block the attack with her arms. Her entire body shook, and it was some of the worst pain she ever felt, but she stood through it all.
That was until White Lamb began to talk. "Oh, my," each word was a blinding attack, smashing into her over and over again. "It seems you're a bit more durable than I thought," her arms shook, and she began to get pushed back slowly. "That said, it doesn't matter how tough your skin is. This is pure vibration. Your organs might be tougher than normal humans', but they're shaken up inside that cute body of yours." She couldn't see it, but she knew White Lamb was smiling. "Fall."
This one was stronger than the others, and she screamed out as it blasted through, once again ripping her up off of her feet. She was slammed all the way through the warehouse and smashed back first into the kinetic barrier, where she crashed to the ground.
Green Wolf's laughter bounced around the energy box as the man unleashed his unseen slashes into Battery's body, cutting the man again and again.
Green Wolf didn't just sit still, though. That would have been at least a little fair. Instead, the villain danced across the floor following Battery, who only had the smallest chance of dodging, trying to judge the way the knife pointed as when to move. Invisible waves of damage tore everything apart around him as Green Wolf attempted to slice the hero apart.
Battery moved fast, zooming across the field, and placed a palm on Green Wolf's back while the villain got ready to unleash another slash. Golden energy grew out, and the leader of Zoo found himself trapped in a barrier of sunlight. The barrier rapidly began to shrink, but Green Wolf simply flexed, and it shattered to pieces, blowing Battery back.
Green Wolf threw a knife at Battery, but the hero blasted it out of the air, the golden energy coursing through his body. Golden electricity seemed to almost dance on his hands and feet. Battery brought the fight to the villain, practically gliding across the floor in a second and reaching the man. Green met Gold as the villain blocked the hero's punch with a bare hand.
Green Wolf kicked up, and despite not reaching Battery, the force of the attack still carried and slammed into Battery's gut, knocking the man over. From a sleeve, Green Wolf produced a new knife, this one a simple switchblade, which he flicked open, causing the floor to tear up all the way to Battery, who had a large slash appear across his chest. Again though, no blood fell from his body. The attack kept going, and one of Battery's arms was torn clean off, but the red-haired man barely blinked at the damage.
Casually, Battery grabbed the limb as it fell and jammed it back in place. The thing somehow reattached, and the hero shoved himself forward, shoulder tackling Green Wolf and unleashing waves of golden energy. Several orbs of light filled the air and blasted down into Green Wolf, who tried to dodge them but wasn't fast enough.
They were made of light after all.
The villain once again gasped and spasmed. The ability to halt all the kinetic energy allowed him to stop most of the attack, since almost every form of energy still held some kinetic force in it, but the rest that didn't still affected and harmed him. The only other person who had been able to hurt him had been the Victorian.
"Be honest." Green Wolf grunted. "Are you related to the Victorian in some way? I mean, that golden energy is-"
Battery rammed a fist into the man's face, coating his arm in lightning so it wouldn't be absorbed, but sadly, it didn't matter. Green Wolf stood there, likely smirking as a skintight barrier formed around them. The man had created a force field.
Battery jumped away and took a deep breath, trying to push down the pain in his chest. Thanks to Nick's potion, he was able to give more energy than normal, but he was starting to reach the limit of the potion. "Come on, kid." He muttered. "Hurry up."
Back inside the warehouse, White Lamb let out a loud laugh. Cinder ignored it and tried to push herself back up. Once again, a wave of force smashed into her, shoving her back against the barrier. Most of the warehouse was coming down, and Battery didn't sound like he was doing any better.
She wasn't ready to give up, though. She smashed her fist into the ground, breaking part of it as she stood back up. She was bruised, and her insides were a mess. She felt like she had been run over twice now. And through all the struggle, White Lamb just kept laughing at her. Her enhanced durability wasn't enough to keep taking attacks like this. Her strength was also useless if she couldn't actually land the blow.
She'd need something else. Something more.
'I like the colors.'
White Lamb raised the megaphone again and spoke into it, sending out a wave of force. The hero twisted her body just in time and used her strength to jump to the side. The barrier hissed as the force slammed into it, but she was fine. She had dodged it.
"H- Hey!" White Lamb yelled again, firing out another attack, but once again she sidestepped it, moving fast. "How are you doing this!" Again and again and again, she moved around the attacks, avoiding the force. She began to get closer to White Lamb, dodging every blast that came her way. "What is going on!"
"I had almost forgotten about this." She said softly. "Now that I think about it, have I always had powers?" She wondered.
"What are you babbling about, you freak!" White Lamb demanded.
She casually waved her hand at the girl. "I'm not faster than sound, but I guess it doesn't matter in the end. I can see the buildup and move out of the way in time before it reaches me."
"You can see the buildup?"
The unseen force wasn't unseen anymore. Her eyes gazed upon the megaphone, watching a swirling mass of colors that were rapidly unleashed. It was still faster than her, but it was obvious when it was about to happen. Like playing a video game and dodging a boss's attack. Once again, she stepped out of the way, now only a few feet away from the panicking White Lamb.
When she was a kid, she used to love looking at all the colors. A swirling mass of them. She had told her father about it once. That had been the day of the accident. She hadn't even realized that she had been seeing things she shouldn't have. During the fight, in a moment of pure desperation, she had cranked her senses up as hard as she could. Not in her ears, though. This was for her eyes.
Her eyesight had been so good earlier that she had been able to see cracks on the moon. This was one step further. This was seeing sound. A mass of colors. At least that was the closest thing her eyes processed as sound. White Lamb didn't get rid of sound. It still existed, just in a state that it made no noise that could be heard or felt unless the girl wished for it to. White Lamb could increase the level, making it a blinding force, but the villain couldn't totally get rid of it. Doing that would be more in terms of Green Wolf's powers, as that would be completely nullifying the vibrations of the sound.
With her new sight, it was all too easy to spot all of White Lamb's flaws. Unfortunately, though, she made one small error. White Lamb was a villain.
White Lamb twisted their body and pointed the megaphone away from her. Her eyes went wide when she watched the mass of colors buildup as the girl got ready to blast the man in the chair.
She flung herself forward and shoulder-tackled the man just in time as the attack came out. It was amped up as much as White Lamb could force it to be, cracking the ground and breaking some of her bones as it rammed into her harder than any other attack. She felt part of her body snap back, and she was flung across the ground, smashing head first into the barrier, her metal helmet shaking and rattling her brain. White Lamb didn't stop there either.
The cruel girl kept the attacks coming, each as bad as the previous, until soon White Lamb was a panting mess, their throat burned badly. She didn't get back up.
On the other side of the barrier, Green Wolf whipped a knife out and stabbed it directly into Battery's throat. The villain twisted and tore the weapon out, ripping the hero's neck open, but already Battery's golden light was putting the flesh back together.
Battery rammed his fist into Green Wolf's head, hitting the man hard, but the villain countered with another slash that gutted Battery's stomach. Green Wolf didn't just have control over kinetic energy; he was also built with a superhuman body able to take and dish out tons of damage, with or without a great supply of energy.
Battery, on the other hand, was a constant source of power. The man was getting stronger and faster, but in turn so was his heart. Every second, his body produced more energy that he shifted and transformed however he wanted. The golden energy was his to shape, and like a battery, he was getting more charged up.
His blows came out faster, hitting Green Wolf more and more. The villain's barrier kept holding up though and canceled out the force of all the punches that had kinetic energy in them. The hero knew that he'd have to hit the villain hard enough to shatter that barrier, using an attack with so much energy that it wouldn't matter if the kinetic energy was drained.
Green Wolf dodged another strike and brought two of his knives up in an 'X' shape, causing the wound to appear across Battery's chest and tearing through most of the man's clothes.
Already though, the surge of golden light caused the flesh wounds to fade as Battery shoved his way forward through the attack. There was so much gold energy radiating out that his entire flesh had practically ignited and his hair was blonde. Battery unleashed a powerful punch that slammed into Green Wolf's skin-tight shield.
"You can't hurt me, idiot!" Green Wolf spat out.
An explosion of golden light blasted out of Battery as the man became as bright as the sun. Green Wolf's eyes instantly closed on instinct. Battery launched forward with godlike speed and rammed a fist into Green Wolf's face. The punch was still absorbed and the energy in it was blocked, but it did send the leader of Zoo flying back into the wall of the warehouse, giving Battery the distance he needed.
The hero panted, chest shaking and limbs aching, as a thought grew in Battery's head. "Should I?" The man considered something, looking down at the many tears in his costume from Green Wolf's attacks. "How long would I survive it?"
The leader of Zoo pushed off from the barrier wall, dusting away some dust. "What, you going crazy? Is this the second phase where the boss goes nuts and lets go of whatever's holding them back?" Green Wolf taunted.
Battery didn't respond. In the golden energy pulsing out, a faint blue light flickered. Before Green Wolf could even process the change in the hero's light show, the blue energy faded into the gold, and Battery shook his head.
"Nah, not for this guy." The hero sighed as the golden energy flared up. "I'll beat him with this borrowed power." Battery clutched both of his hands together, golden light gathering. Green Wolf raised an eyebrow and cackled.
"This has got to be your ultimate. Come on, fire away. Let's see if I can I-frame this bi-"
Before the villain could finish the sentence, Battery rammed the golden light out as hard as he could, unleashing a powerful wave of energy. It was so bright that it blinded the villain, as if he were looking at the sun itself. Most of the warehouse was blown to bits instantly and burned up as the beam rammed into Green Wolf, who let out a loud scream as it washed over them and began to burn through their barrier. It was pure sunlight itself turned into a powerful laser beam.
The entire area shook and was bathed in yellow from the blast as the beam washed over the villain before it began to die out.
Smoke poured out of Battery's palm, and he breathed heavily, dripping sweat. Slowly, he lowered his arms. The ground in the direction of Green Wolf had melted and turned into molten rock. "Take that, asshole."
"That ruined my jacket!" Battery's eyes went wide, and he turned as the smoke faded. Green Wolf still stood, and besides the fact that the coat of his suit had melted into his white dress shirt, the man was fine, putting out a simple shoulder fire. There was no way the villain's power could have blocked the force of that attack-
That was when Battery saw it.
In Green Wolf's hands, the man held a sword. One he hadn't had earlier. It was a longsword, the kind you'd see in a story about knights. It was pure white, and all along the blade, runes seemed to glow. The word 'Storymaker' was etched into the metal.
Green Wolf clutched the sword and then simply vanished. One moment the man was there, and then the next he wasn't. He was simply gone. That was until Battery felt a powerful stabbing pain in his gut, looking down to see the sword piercing through.
Green Wolf could teleport. Or at least the sword they now held allowed them to. That was how the man had survived that last attack. Green Wolf gave a mad laugh and twisted the sword.
"To think you'd actually make me pull out my trump card! I had this item in my back pocket for a while now!" The man taunted. "Red Ape got those dumbass hands from the lab we attacked. But me? I got the SSR Pull on my loot drop!"
"Will you stop it with the gamer terms? I don't get them." Battery grunted.
Green Wolf shrugged and ripped the blade out of Battery's gut, causing the man to drop to his knees. The Zoo leader went to bring the weapon down again but stopped when he saw blood gushing from the man's nose and the fact that the guy was gripping his arm. He couldn't help but snort. "Holy shit, are you having a heart attack while we're fighting? Am I so badass I made your heart give out?"
"Sorry. It gets that way when I'm around men trying to overcompensate for their tiny peckers." Battery collapsed on the ground, gasping. The hero had reached their limit.
Green Wolf nudged the man with a foot, but the hero didn't respond. "Well, you're clearly having a moment." He shrugged and stepped by, only for Battery to kick up with his golden leg right into Green Wolf's junk. The villain gasped a little and stumbled, only absorbing most of that energy.
"Knew it was small."
"You'll die for that!"
"No, I won't." Battery spat out and smirked even as his heart began to beat faster and faster and his vision started to blur. "My teammate's going to save me. Unlike me, she's a real superhero."
Back inside what was left of the warehouse, White Lamb glared down at the young girl. "You called yourself a superhero. How pathetic. I hate girls like you. I hope you die a painful death."
"I- I am a superhero." Cinder clutched her stomach and slowly stood back up on wobbling legs. This was her first real fight all alone. In all her other battles she had help, but not here. It was all up to her to save the day. "I'm not just any normal hero either."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I'm Cinder!" She saw the buildup of colors, and she faced it head-on. She didn't move from her spot though. She had been so scared of using it again, but it was do or die time. She opened her mouth and unleashed everything she had.
Fire blasted out as an intense beam, ripping forward. The force of the attack slammed into the mass of colors that shot out of the megaphone that White Lamb held. The villain let out a scream of rage and fear as her sound was burned away by the hot fire which came directly for them. At the last second, White Lamb managed to twist the sound and form a barrier around herself that caused the beam to twist and miss her.
That was White Lamb's final move, though.
She was on the girl in an instant, her mouth closed. The last thing White Lamb saw was the image of Cinder as a fist was rammed right into her head. White Lamb was smashed down so hard the ground shook. If not for the fact the girl was also a Super, that attack would have killed her. As it stood, though, it simply knocked the child out. Instantly, the sound of loud sirens from outside hit their ears since White Lamb was unconscious.
She stood there feeling her power still flare up. She had managed to beat the younger villain. Her first actual win.
She didn't have time to celebrate, though. Her lips were a little black, and her throat burned. Blood was pouring down her mouth, but she fought through the pain and willed herself to not black out. She could see Green Wolf about to stab Mr. Larison. The villain stopped though when he heard the sirens and looked toward her as she did the only thing she could think of in that moment.
"Oh, don't you freaking dare!"
Green Wolf wasn't fast enough. "Help!" She screamed, using all her super strength in her lungs to really scream it, the noise rippling out, pushing away the nearby dust and even shattering a nearby window.
She, however, made one little mistake. Her ears nearly exploded from the force of the yell, and her enhanced senses were not doing her any favors for this. All the noise cut out, and she could even feel blood running down part of her face as Green Wolf jumped towards her, luckily never reaching her.
The green barrier around them was blown to bits instantly, water crashing down in waves, and the gravity in the room seemed to double, triple, and get so bad it forced them all to kneel. Three figures floated down.
She was glad she was wearing a helmet because her eyes were shining with joy when Ocean Empress, followed by Poseidon carrying Paragon, came down. She struggled to speak, hearing nothing but a loud ringing. "We- We're heroes! We called the cops." The ringing in her head got worse, but she did her best to point at Mr. Larison.
She could see the three heroes all looking at each other and discussing something, and then the gravity seemed to let up on her and Mr. Larison. As for Green Wolf, the wolf mask covered his mouth, so she couldn't tell what the villain was saying, but whatever it was caused the gravity to shove him further into the ground. She looked up when Mr. Larison placed a hand on her shoulder, struggling to stand and still clutching at his heart. The red-haired man said something, and she had to shake her head and point at her ears.
Frowning, Battery let some of the golden glow seep out, and she winced as a loud pop went off in her ears and the sound came blasting back. "I asked if you were alright."
"I am not. Yelling with enhanced lungs is something I shall never do again."
Ocean Empress landed softly on the floor, hair swirling around. The Enforcer glanced at the young female hero, then at the older male hero, who collapsed and grabbed his heart. Then, finally, in the center of the room, at the man who was chained to the chair. "You two shouldn't have fought this villain. You should have gotten the hostage out of there as soon as possible."
"He teleports." Battery grunted just in time for Green Wolf to vanish from where he was standing.
The Zoo leader appeared next to White Lamb and grabbed the girl. "Warp us home." He called out, and before they could even move, the two villains suddenly vanished.
"Damn it!" All the girls screamed, while Ocean Empress and Battery just sighed.
"Since when can he teleport?" Paragon muttered. The girl stopped when her sister nudged her, and she turned to stare at the new hero, who was helping the man off the floor. "Right. Destiny, can you heal them?"
"No." Paragon and her family seemed taken aback when the red hero spoke. He was covered in stab wounds, which weren't bleeding all that badly, but was breathing heavily and had to be practically carried by the young girl.
"What do you mean, no?" Paragon snapped, and even the other new hero seemed confused.
"I mean, no. My name is Battery. This is Cinder. We're new heroes, and I am using my right to refuse service. Legally speaking, a person has the ability to turn down assistance from a doctor, and this is no different. I don't want your healing."
"Dude, you're covered in holes, and your daughter doesn't look much better," Poseidon said, a little ticked off. "I'm guessing this is your first day, right? Your costumes are a mess, and you two got in over your head. It's fine. You're not in trouble. Why, on my first day, I tried to take on a Calamity and nearly-"
"I refuse your help."
Poseidon's eyes twitched, and Ocean Empress couldn't help but give a slight snort. "Okay, sir. We won't help you."
"Mom?"
"If he doesn't want help, then we won't. The last thing I want is a lawsuit on our hands because we healed him." The hero folded her arms. "That said, just because he is refusing help doesn't mean you have to." It took Hope a second to realize the question was directed at her. Once again, she was talking to one of her childhood heroes. "You said your name was Cinder, right? Do you want my daughter to heal you?"
She was about to answer but stopped. Paragon was silently staring at her, and for a moment, she couldn't help but remember her father's state. She clenched her fist but took a breath. "I'm good." Battery's healing might not have been the best, but she'd take it over owing Paragon a favor any day.
"Seriously!" Poseidon threw her hands up. "God, you two are idiots. No wonder you tried fighting a freaking supervillain like Green Wolf!"
"Fine." Paragon turned away. "I won't heal you."
She couldn't help but notice Battery let out a sigh of relief at that, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The man had seemingly gone more tense than ever as soon as Paragon entered the building, and she noticed his eyes never left the girl, as if waiting for the hero to strike or something.
"So, what's up with him?" Poseidon asked, letting out a sigh and poking the man in the chair. He had fallen unconscious a while ago.
"He's in worse shape." Paragon shrugged.
"He was the leader of this base," She explained. "Those two guys in the alleyway told us about him. They're part of the Wandering Coin, so we came to try and interrogate him. Turns out that villain beat us here." She winced.
Ocean Empress gave a nod. "We heard the Wandering Coin was nearby. The other Sub Enforcers were busy dealing with a villain they captured the other night, so we came instead. I should ask. Are you two interested in joining a team?"
"Doesn't Reservoir only offer spots to heroes with water abilities?" Battery asked, awkwardly resting in her arms, clearly giving up on dignity.
"I wasn't talking about our team." The Enforcer stated. "Though we have let others in ever since my other daughter awakened her power, I more thought your daughter could join the Sub Enforcers." Clearly, Ocean Empress didn't know that they were the same people the woman had saved. That meant they didn't know she was Hope Lauren, which was good. "It's safer, and you'll have access to more resources."
"I'm good," She said, a stubborn look on her face. Sure, the Sub Enforcers were cool and all, but they were kids only, so Mr. Larison wouldn't be allowed in.
"You two are so frustrating." Poseidon complained.
They all stopped when they heard a loud buzzing, and a series of drones began to come down from the sky, filming everything. It was her first time really getting a look at them. The drones were how most people got footage of heroes in action and were a thing a news group owned by the Hero Branch used in order to talk to heroes and promote them more.
Most obviously began to film Poseidon and Ocean Empress. Poseidon smiled for the camera while Ocean Empress paid them no mind. The woman was mainly focused on Battery, paying attention to the sparks of gold that were around him…
"That's our cue to leave." Battery instructed under his breath.
"Right." She turned and was about to carry the man away but stopped when a drone appeared in front of her.
"Hello. My name is Alice Ward." A voice called out from the drone's speakers. Poseidon frowned when they heard it. It was the same one that had asked a sour question after their fight with Intake. "The two of you just got done with a fight, did you not?"
"Yeah?" She said awkwardly. "We fought Green Wolf."
"I see." The voice hummed, and she felt the camera focus on her. "By any chance, are you the same hero that also fought Intake?"
"Yeah? Why?" She asked.
"No reason." If the drone had arms, it likely would have shrugged. "Do you have a name?"
"I'm Cinder, and this is Battery- Shouldn't you be more focused on Ocean Empress over there. She's an Enforcer member, after all."
"I'll focus on who I want to, thank you." The drone hovered closer. "Are you also the hero that destroyed the hotel during your fight with Intake? I guess you picked the name Cinder due to catching it on fire-"
Battery flicked his finger, and a thin beam of energy cut into the drone, splitting it in two. Ocean Empress snorted while the other drones floated back out of fear. "You shouldn't do that." The woman called out. "These things control the media. Don't want them to make you look bad-"
Battery flipped the hero the bird, then turned it on the drone. He then let out a series of words so foul they'd never have any hope of putting it on the air as he dropped bomb after bomb. She giggled and then finally picked him up just as he did her earlier and took a mighty leap into the air, escaping out of sight.
Once they were away from the drones, Battery began to speak once more. "Ocean Empress did have a point, you know."
"What do you mean she has a point? I don't want to join the Sub Enforcers?" She muttered.
"Who said it had to be the Sub Enforcers?" Battery gave a sly grin. "Someone we know is needing members for their new team, after all..."
***
"This is a new level of humiliation," Jack grumbled.
"I will drop you." Hope threatened.
They were taking the rooftop way, as she liked to put it. It had been the only way to get out of there before the cops and others showed up. Currently, she was holding Jack in her arms in a fireman's carry. The man might have been strong and fast, but golden light powers didn't include crazy hops, plus he looked like hell after the amount of power he'd abused. With her strength, leaping even with the extra weight was no problem.
The heroes seemed content with letting them leave, likely so they could get the glory of capturing a high member of the Wandering Coin, which would boost Team Reservoir's reputation. On top of that, they'd be able to get information on where the gangs were.
That was fine with her, though. She had fun, got some drugs off the street, and came out alive, so that was enough for her. "Is this the place?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as they landed on the roof of a building.
"Yeah. This is the spot." Jack nodded.
They were no longer in their 'hero' clothes, having taken most of them off, and redressed like normal civilians. Most of her wounds were small scars, though she was still very sore, just as Paragon had claimed, and Jack finally got his heart to settle down. The man was lucky to be a Super with some healing because she was pretty sure he'd be long dead with the number of wounds Green Wolf had inflicted.
It took them a bit to climb down to the street, but when they finally did, they stood in front of an old-looking library. Jack was the first to enter, and she followed, pushing her glasses up as her eyes adjusted to the light.
It had a musty smell, and everything seemed to be carved from wood. There were dozens of shelves, as well as two floors and a basement—everything covered in books from all over the world. Oleander Library wasn't a popular place, but it made more than enough money to get by. She used to visit a few times with her dad. It was run by only one person, who stood behind the counter, looking just like he did the last time she saw the man.
Dressed in an old brown suit, his shoulders were slumped, and his head was bowed. He wore a pair of heavy round glasses, and his skin was dark. His hair was wild and untamed, unlike the last time. "Hello. How can I help?" The man stopped writing in what looked like a records book, looking up to see the two of them.
"Hey." She grinned. "So, is the rumor of you starting a new team true, Myth?"
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