"My name—my real name, that is—is Hope Lauren. And I'm proud to say that I'm working alongside the Hero Branch-"
Myth squeezed down on the phone, causing it to shatter and explode.
"Well, there goes my phone..." Kyle muttered.
"I'll build you a new one." Metal Ronin promised sheepishly.
"So, I'm judging by your reaction that you didn't know about that, Myth?" Paragon questioned the new Sub Enforcer leader, barely hiding her own blinding rage.
Myth was in his human form but seemed to have almost grown in size, fists clenched and teeth ground together. "No," he said, doing his best to hold back his anger. "I had no idea the Hero Branch would go this far."
After saving Kyle, Paragon and the boy had watched the recording one of her people had discovered. The one where 'Cinder' revealed herself to the world and even gave away her identity. It caused Sky's anger to flare up a bit. It was targeted at her. The way that Ward smiled into the camera. She just knew that the bastard had thrown Hope under the bus just to get one last kick in at her for disobeying his direct orders. It was the kind of thing a sick man like him would do.
They had made their way over to Myth's tower and now stood in the destroyed building that held the Sub Enforcers' base. They weren't in the realm; the Sub Enforcers had just gotten back from a patrol, so instead, they all scattered around the destroyed lobby room.
Outside, hundreds of tents had been set up where Oleander's people tried to set up some sort of semblance of normal life; all the while, the 'Giants' walked the street patrolling the entire city, looking for any bit of crime. At first, the Giants had only stayed near the destroyed bridge. The Cleanup Squad Giants were putting buildings in place and slowly moving out across the city to repair them, but they hadn't made much progress. The roaming soldier Giants had stayed near that area, keeping all the humans that camped around it safe.
Battery had left, though. That was the reason she picked now to find Myth. She still remembered the way he acted. The changes that had consumed him. She didn't know what he was plotting, but after he left the city, the Giants began to move quicker, and their patrol area grew further.
"We all know it's a fake." Oxide pointed out. "We could tell people, right? Make a video or a post or something calling it out."
"It wouldn't work." Wasp Nest said, shaking his head. "Back in the day, videos and stuff could be posted instantly, but after Boy Genius joined the Enforcers last year, everything goes through his systems first. If he's sided with the Hero Branch, then any video or piece of media we created would just be deleted without actually being posted. It's one of the reasons you don't see a lot of videos or articles speaking negatively of the Branch. They tend to get rid of them before they even pop up."
Drake rubbed the back of his neck, wincing a bit. "The Branch doesn't always do that." He had worked the most with the Enforcers and felt kind of guilty for the situation they were facing now. "Boy Genius mainly created that system to stop villains from sending secret messages or videos to each other. That said, even if we did get the word out, would people believe us? Sure, a lot of people might, but most of the general population wouldn't."
"Drake's right." Metal Ronin folded his arms. "The people like finding the light in the dark tunnel. Now that they know the next Lord of the Sun has arrived, they'd carry on believing she will save them even if they discover Cinder's dead. It's easier to go on living thinking Full Monarch has returned rather than consider the fact he died before he even did anything this time around."
"Don't say it like that," Paragon said, clenching her fist. "She did something."
"Right." Metal Ronin let out a wince. "Sorry, that came out wrong. What I'm saying is that even if we prove it's a fake, more people would choose to believe in the icon she is instead of accepting her death."
"The Enforcers will just stop this, won't they?" Oxide asked, looking at Drake.
The dragon-themed hero looked away, not meeting her eyes. "Well... It's not the first time they've done something like this."
"Seriously!"
"It's the Victorian," he tried to explain. "My sister is never a fan when the Branch pulls stunts like this, but the Branch has the Victorian, and she is strangely loyal to them, bordering on obsession. If any of the Enforcers tried to speak out, she or Boy Genius would stop them before it happened."
"Boy Genius is in on it, too?" Metal Ronin asked, sounding a little hurt.
"Maybe." Drake shrugged. "He isn't loyal to the Branch, but he does believe in the greater good. If he thinks this will help more people, he'll stick to it, and the fact that nothing has happened yet leaves me to believe he considers it a worthy sacrifice. On top of that, there's Beta. He and Boy Genius are close, and he was built to literally make sure the Enforcers stay on the side of humans, AKA keep obeying the Hero Branch. That basically means at least three members of the Enforcers will go along with this plan, and they happen to be the three strongest heroes."
"So, it's hopeless?" Wasp Nest asked, slumping down. "We just have to watch as they use Cinder's image. All because they want to milk her being a Lord for a little bit longer?"
Myth stayed silent, not saying anything as his teammates discussed what should be done. It was Paragon who stepped up and spoke for the group. "We can't think like that. We might not have any idea what we should do now, but we'll come up with something. I'm sure of it. The Branch can't just get away with this. They're throwing Hope's legacy away!" The girl took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Until we figure it out fully, though, there's another reason I came to you, Myth."
"What is it?" The dark-skinned man asked, folding his arms.
"It's about Zoo," Paragon explained. "I want your help to take them out for good this time."
"Zoo?" Myth gave a heavy frown as he processed her words. "They haven't made a move since the Beast attack?"
"That's not true." Sky shook her head and looked the man in the eyes. "I've been living in the underground stations beneath the city, keeping a group of survivors safe. Recently, though, we've been running into creatures I'm sure were created by Red Ape. At first, it was just one or two every few days; now, we're running into several of them daily. They're getting closer to my camp and might eventually break out onto the surface."
Myth nodded and looked at the members of his team. His eyes roamed over Metal Ronin, Wasp Nest, Oxide, and Drake. The Bad Timers and the Wandering Coin were gone, so that just left one more team that he hadn't destroyed yet. "Well then. I think it's time the Sub Enforcers face off against Zoo." The only group left that endangered Oleander was Zoo. For the first time in years, he hoped that Oleander would be free.
***
"My name—my real name, that is—is Hope Lauren. And I'm proud to say that I'm working alongside the Hero Branch-"
The TV shut off, and Pretty Face found himself staring at his own reflection. He slowly processed what he had just seen. Ward and another director of the Hero Branch had been up on stage with a Cinder lookalike. He knew it was a lookalike because the Enforcers, or really Boy Genius, had discovered what was left of her corpse up in space. Even knowing how fake it was, though, the lookalike really did pull off the image of Cinder.
She had the same golden hair, those bright, fiery red eyes that held a naive light in them, and a sly yet innocent grin. Even the way the girl spoke was the same as Cinder, at least from what little he had heard of both girls. It was a cursed sight, seeing the dead smile like that.
"Are you sure doing that was a wise idea?" Pretty Face finally asked. He was seated in Ward's office. Now that he was a member of the Enforcers, Lillian had been assigned to him. That meant, effectively, Ward was his new boss, and unlike with the late Ocean Empress, Ward seemed like he wanted to take a very hands-on approach this time around with the team.
Ward tapped his finger on the desk and gave a fake smile. "To be honest, it wasn't actually me who came up with it. The fat-ass director in Daisy was the one that planned all of this out, so if you want to blame anyone, then blame him and the Ros family. I'm sure you're aware now, but Cinder is the Lord of the Sun. We decided it was best to make the other villains hesitate to look for the next Lord. It, of course, won't be long before they put it together that she isn't with us anymore, but it buys us more time for Boy Genius to scout the new pods out."
"Pods?"
"Oh, I forgot that information is classified and kept from most of your kind. No need to worry about it." Ward clasped his hands together. "The important thing is that we're taking some of the credit for work that the other Enforcer members are doing and announcing that it was Cinder who actually did it. So, assume that twenty percent of crimes you prevent are swept under the rug and given to her for the time being."
Pretty Face felt a frown appear on his lips. He messed with his shades, peering over them to look at the Hero Branch leader. "This will, of course, be a temporary thing, correct?" He had joined the Enforcers simply for fame. He had never been a powerful Super, but he was blessed with an ability that made people have a hard time looking away from him. He used that gift, as well as his good looks and voice, to make it big as an idol. The Beast incident had been his claim to fame. Fan favorite Pretty Face throwing hands with the worst villain in history!
They left out the part about how he ran away and hid in a bunker after one attack.
"Just remember that I'm the reason you're on the Enforcers in the first place." Ward smirked and leaned back in his chair. His office had been cleaned up, and he had gotten a big fat bonus after the Cinder incident, allowing him to add more important-looking junk around the room.
"So why exactly did you guys reveal her name?" Pretty Face questioned. "I get you wanted the villains to think she was still alive, but what was the point of throwing her name out there? That just puts targets on her family, doesn't it?"
"Who cares? They're a bunch of nobodies." Ward snickered. In truth, he still remembered that smug look Jane Lauren had shot him after Paragon had left. "As for why I had Hope's name come out, she seemed close to Paragon. It'll serve that healer bitch right. Exposing her little girlfriend like that is the only way I had left that I could hurt her."
"Is it smart to anger her? Poseidon is still somewhere in the city after all and is a Lord."
"The Lords are all perfectly under my control."
"Right, and I'm gay for the fashion." Pretty Face said sarcastically. "What exactly is your game plan when the public finds out she's dead? You said it yourself: This won't fool the villains for very long."
Ward rubbed his chin. "The masses will believe whatever the hell I tell them. It's actually simple, though. The Emperor's being back is something only you Enforcers know. Once Boy Genius locates the next Lord pod, or we discover the next baby with fire powers that has the highest chance of being the Lord, we'll swoop in and claim that poor Cinder died just like Full Monarch in a battle with the Emperor."
"So not only are you pissing off the Lord, you're also pissing off the Emperor?" Pretty Face stared at the insane man in front of him. "How are you alive right now?"
"I'm alive because that golden bitch is following in her daddy's footsteps." Ward threw his legs up on the table and chuckled. "The Victorian is trapped in her father's shadow. She's talked herself into thinking she has to follow our orders because that's what her dad did. Full Monarch was an obedient little pawn that we aimed at our enemies. The Victorian is just like that. As long as she is on our side, the other heroes won't dare step out of line and disobey us. All it takes is labeling them as villains and throwing her at them. She might not be able to save planet Earth, but she sure as hell will slow down its destruction until after I'm dead."
Yes...
As long as the Victorian did everything she could to be half the hero her father was, then every high-ranking member of the Hero Branch was untouchable. All she had to do was remain the number-one hero, and he'd be just fine.
He was truly untouchable-
The entire building suddenly shook. All of the expensive trinkets and cigar boxes he had scattered on his desk dropped to the floor in a loud thud, and he saw Pretty Face's eyes go wide in shock. A second later, the window of his office was covered by a thick shadow as something smashed directly into the building. Glass flew out in all directions and almost stabbed him, but Pretty Face saved his life.
The hero was fast and jumped up, creating some of his colorful energy clones and using them as makeshift shields to block the glass. Cracks appeared along the floor, and the two men found themselves staring into the eyes of something massive.
It was formed out of crackling black energy that almost looked like living darkness. It wore no armor but was in the shape of some sort of humanoid-like figure. It had a massive beard that looked like it was made out of storm clouds and a big pot belly. It cracked a smile, showing off rows of jagged teeth. As Ward stared at this thing in terror, only one thought truly came to his mind.
Giant...
Sixteen years ago, during the war with the Emperor, an army of massive monsters and man-eating Giants had flooded the world. In all the stories, even before the time of the Supers, Giants were viewed as chaotic, dark creatures that could bring about the end of the world. He didn't get to think about that for very long, though, as the next thing he knew, a pair of sharp, jagged claws were pressed to his throat, and he felt someone's breath against the back of his ear.
"The Boss wants to have a little chat with you." Behind Ward, Purrfect stood. She was dressed in a black catsuit with larger ears and a long tail that flicked back and forth, forged from metal. She looked more like a panther than a housecat thanks to her new costume, and she had even dyed her hair black. Her claws drew some of Ward's blood as they ran along his neck.
"B—Boss?" The Giant from outside had rammed its large fist into the building, which caused all the destruction in his office. That same hand opened, revealing a familiar hero. Ward felt his teeth grind together as his eyes met Battery's. The same hero he had allowed to join the Enforcers had just blown part of his building up.
"I wasn't sure how to schedule a meeting with you, so I hope you don't mind the sudden drop-in." The hero said in a cool tone.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ward screamed. He glared at Battery with pure rage. "Do you have any idea who the fuck I am?"
"Do you know who I am?" The hero responded. "Because if you do, you'd know how little I truly care for ants like you."
Battery had updated his costume a bit. It was still the same red suit he had been gifted from Boy Genius, though all the damage from his previous fights was gone. The young boy had given him a new version of the suit that was fixed and allowed Battery's new energy to swirl through the lines across it. Battery had also added a long black trench coat to the design, placing it over his suit. Behind his mask, one eye sparked with wild black lightning, while the other was like a calm sea of blue fire. They weren't flickering anymore. Now they both stood at full power, both focused on a single goal. Both Ego's wanted the same thing after all. Slowly, he stepped off of the Giant's hand.
Pretty Face felt a snort escape him as he looked Battery up and down. "What's this? Entering your edgy hero phase? Seriously, a black trench coat is so-"
"You're not part of this conversation." Battery had reached the hero faster than Pretty Face could blink and smashed his foot into the man's gut with a lazy kick. It was strong enough to shatter all of Pretty Face's ribs and send the hero ramming into the back of the room, where he smashed into another window and went flying out of the building. Outside, another Giant caught him, lowering Pretty Face to the ground, though it didn't do it gently, and left the idol gasping and vomiting up blood.
Ward glared at the darker hero as Battery stuffed his hands in his pockets and simply stared at him. Purrfect removed her claws and casually jumped up onto the desk, kicking her feet out. "Alrighty, Boss! What do we do with him?" She asked, cocking her head.
"I'm still trying to decide that." Battery looked the man up and down.
Ward stood his ground and glared back up at him. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am a director of Lillian! The only reason you are a member of the Enforcers is because I allowed you to be!"
Battery didn't look impressed, and his dual eyes bore into Ward's. "Here's what's going to happen." He lazily created several more hands out of black energy, which tore the room around them apart. The door nearly burst open as several Hero Branch soldiers tried to run in, but they were blocked off as the hands caused part of the roof to cave in. "I'm going to give you a day or two to reveal who Skin Walker is. You're going to make a public apology. Then you're going to step down as head of Lillian, but not before using what power you have left to convince the other directors to leave Oleander alone. It doesn't need any of your help. I'll fix it myself. It will stay a city, but one you will all leave alone."
Ward's teeth ground together so hard one nearly snapped. "You're actually insane."
"Not as much as you-" Battery lazily brought his arm up just in time to block a stream of water that slammed into the room. He deflected it with his palm, sending it slicing into more of the wall. "I thought you might pop up."
Poseidon stood outside of the window, standing on a large horse made out of water that slowly walked up a tidal wave. She looked between Battery and Ward. "What are you doing here, Battery?" She asked quietly.
"I came to look for you." Battery turned away from Ward, allowing his trench coat to smack the man in the face. Purrfect jumped off of the desk, and together, the two stepped back onto the palm of his awaiting Giant. Poseidon got eye level with him but kept her distance. She stood on the back of the horse and was ready to jump off if she needed to. Keeping her trident aimed at him, she allowed the man to speak. "I'd like for you to come join my team." He said simply.
"Huh?" Poseidon asked, taken aback.
"I'm an Enforcer now." Battery explained casually. "That means I'm allowed to build my own team, and the Hero Branch has to pay for it. I heard you lost all your rights to your team and didn't make it on the Enforcers, so how'd you like to join mine?" He questioned, holding his hand out to her. "I'm starting up my own team. 'My' Pantheon."
"Why are you offering?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
"Mainly because it'll piss him off." Battery lazily pointed his thumb back at Ward. "But more than that..." For a moment, the color in his eyes went out. For a moment, he felt his heart twitch. For a moment, he felt a faint smile on his face. The image of River faded from his mind, and he shook his head as his eyes lit back up. "You don't have any money coming. I'm guessing you've been living on the street."
She didn't stink; she was likely using her powers to wash herself up, but the look in her eyes and the weight she had lost made it clear to him that things hadn't been going well for her at home. She had lost several pounds, became unhealthily pale, and had bags under her eyes. Her hair was messy, and her costume was covered in various cuts and tears. She stabbed her trident out in the direction of Ward. "Only because that asshole took everything away from me! No sponsors, no team; hell, he even cut off my accounts, so I can't even get a hold of my followers!"
"Then kill him if you want." Battery shrugged casually.
"Huh!" Purrfect, Poseidon, and Ward all stared at the hero in shock and mild horror.
Battery snorted. "But you won't, will you? Because, unlike me, you're a good person. That's why I'm here. Actually, I do have some other reasons." His Giant stretched its arm out, allowing him to reach Poseidon. She didn't flinch as he looked her up and down. He grabbed her by the chin and stared into her eyes. "I bet you haven't gotten much sleep, right? You've been fighting off that 'little buddy' hiding in your brain. You've got an unfair hand, you know. The other Lords can be turned off, but not yours. My father, the Emperor, went and screwed with your body, changed how it worked, and allowed more of the Lord's influence to invade you. I'm sure he did it to save your life; after all, you're important to Paragon, but the downside is that it made that bastard's Ego gain a stronger foothold. Poseidon has been silent. Some people think she left this city. It's because you're afraid of snapping. Scared of letting the Lord take you over? You don't have to be afraid, though."
Battery let go of Poseidon's chin and stepped away from her. She rubbed her jaw a bit. "Why don't I have to be scared? Because you can beat the Tallest Wave?" She asked sarcastically. She still remembered how strong that entity had been. Above even the Beast, the full power of a Lord unleashed was simply Godlike. "No offense; I saw what it did to you. Even if you're a million times stronger than you were in your battle with the Beast, I don't think you could beat the Lord."
"No. I'd lose if it ever came out. That's the thing, though. It won't come out." He looked back at her and smirked. "If you come with me, Poseidon, and join my team, I swear that the moment I even think you might turn, I'll tear your head off your body and stop you before it happens. I'll make sure you won't hurt another person."
She felt her face pale at that. Then she actually thought about it...
Would Sky be able to save her again? If the Tallest Wave got out, would it be so casual with everyone and risk them breaking her free? They had barely even scratched the creature, and yet, in a single attack, it had nearly killed dozens of the greatest heroes in the world. Not to mention, she didn't even know where Sky was anymore. Sky hadn't come home.
Even now, she felt it. The abomination in her head. It yelled, howled, begged to be set free, refused to let her sleep, and constantly pounded away at her skull. Its voice had only grown more prominent since the Beast's attack. In the past, she wouldn't have to worry about it as much, but now, every time she was about to fall asleep, she could feel it bubbling back up. How long did she have until it ate away what was left of her sanity?
How long was she going to be Poseidon?
"Do you promise?" She finally asked in a meek voice.
"I swear on it."
Poseidon slowly nodded her head. "Okay. Well, I haven't agreed to anything yet, just so you know. I'd need to hear more about this team. You'll be building it in Oleander, right?"
"No." Battery shook his head. "Not Oleander. You see-" A series of gunshots rang out. All of the bullets slammed into Battery's head and didn't even make it past his costume before they dropped down into the palm of his Giant. Ward stood, half hanging out of his window, glaring at the man in front of him. He gripped a smoking gun, which clicked, finally running out of bullets. Battery looked back at him. "Did that make you happy, little man?"
"Screw you! Screw all of you! You don't even know who you're fucking with! I'm going to call the Victorian! She's going to kick your ass! I'll order her to throw you into the fucking sun! I know who you are! I'll let the entire world know that you're the Emperor's son, you bastard!"
"That's why you let me on the team." It suddenly clicked with Battery, who let out a snort followed by full-blown laughter. It was a hard chuckle, one in which he covered his face with his hand and threw his head back as if he had just gotten some cosmic joke.
"B- Boss?" Purrfect asked, feeling a little creeped out by the sight of the calm, collected man breaking down into a giggling fit.
"You're just like your dad." Battery's laughter slowly died down, and he looked back at the man, giving a smirk. "You were planning on blackmailing me, weren't you? Going to make me dance in the palm of your hand by holding that information over me, I assume?" He snickered some more. "Man. It would have worked on the old me, I bet. Sorry to say, I don't care now, though."
"You're lying!"
"Am I?"
"E- Even if you're not, I'll still call the Victorian on you!"
Battery's Giant took a thundering step away, now carrying Poseidon on it. His grin only grew as he took one last look at Ward. "Oh, no need. I'm about to pay her a visit myself. After all, I think it's time for the world to discover who the real strongest Super is. You can call me back later once I've become the number one hero."
Ward remained rooted in his tower as the Giant finally left. The man let out a loud curse and slammed his gun down as hard as he could. "God damn it!"