Adam hated Lillian. Always had.


    He had been born and raised in the city of Oleander, under the great banner of Full Monarch, and had intended to stay in that city all his life. Even when his wife moved, leaving him behind, Adam refused to budge. Yet now, as he stared up at the ceiling of the fancy hospital he had been placed in, he couldn’t help but wonder how his wife and daughter were doing.


    “Sir, is there anything you would like to watch?” One of the many nurses who tended to the machines that kept him alive asked, holding up the remote.


    “And listen to more bad news? Pass.” Adam barked. “I’d rather die in peace than hear about how the mighty Victorian saved another city. Forget all the damage that was done in the process. No one ever focuses on that, though. We’re all too busy gawking at how stunning she is.”


    “Must you talk bad about my best friend?” Adam felt his eyes narrow, the nurse freezing, when they heard the voice. The window to the hospital was pushed up, and a chilling wave of ice entered, followed by a flow of water. Ocean Empress pulled her way past the frame and softly landed on the hospital floor. She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her head. All the while, her outfit flowed about her body, slowly settling into a dress. “Hey, Dad.”


    Adam, formerly known as Old Dog, the oldest superhero to date and an ex-member of the Enforcers, felt his face soften when he saw his daughter. “River.”


    “Save it.” Ocean Empress held her hand up, silencing her father. “I don’t have time to talk for very long, Dad. I just came to check on you.”


    Adam let out a sick cough, holding onto several of the tubes that stabbed into his flesh. “I’m still dying. Nothing new. A life of saving this ungrateful world, this is my reward.”


    “You lived longer than most heroes.”


    “You make it sound like it’s a good thing.”


    Old Dog was one of the first members of the original Enforcers. He had fought on the front lines when Full Monarch battled the Emperor. He had gone toe to toe with the world’s strongest villain back in the day. Of course, that was so long ago.


    “Why’d you come?” Adam asked, trying to push himself up. “I know it wasn’t to come check on your old man.”


    Ocean Empress shook her head. “Could you give us a moment?” The gaze she shot towards the nurse made the poor worker quickly pack up her things and run out of the room. “I wanted to ask you a question, Dad.”


    “What kind of question?”


    “It’s about a strange girl I happened to see the other day. I saved her from a low-tier villain.”


    “Yeah, what about it, though?”


    “Her father was infected with the Dead Virus, and Sky was unable to fully heal him.”


    The man nodded for a moment. “And? I''m sure there is more if you''re bothering to tell me.”


    “I believe that she''s a Super.” Ocean Empress explained. “I found out the hero Myth had someone with him that fit her description. The thing that worries me is that it looks as if she has a power related to fire.”


    Adam narrowed his eyes for a second. Finally, he patted a nearby chair that was next to his bed. “Take a seat.”


    ***


    Lily was having a fantastic day, all things considered. “Whoa, this is so good! Sky, you have got to try this.” The girl said, trying to force her sister to get a taste of her ice cream cone.


    “I’m not interested.” Sky muttered. She was having a bad day. Things were not going her way.


    It was in the middle of the day, and she and her sister found themselves in Oleander City. Lily’s eyes were wide as they looked at the many sights, amazed by it all.


    They were both from Lillian, and while it had similarities to Oleander, being so close and all, the two were still very different. Oleander was the kind of place that tried to get your attention.


    There was a restaurant on nearly every block and dozens of apartments begging to be bought or rented. They passed by three parks and a few playgrounds. Strip malls lined every end of a block, and there were talks about a water park that was apparently really popular.


    Lily loved it, while she just wanted to go to bed.


    “We still have time until we have to meet Mom. Anything you want to do or see Sky?” Lily asked, cocking her head to look back at her as they walked.


    “See?” She asked slowly.


    “Oh, whoops. Sorry, it slipped my mind again.” Lily winced. Her sister was out of her costume now, dressed to look like a civilian. Lily''s long blonde hair was tied back, and her bright yellow eyes practically sparkled from all the lights of the city. The girl got several looks from everyone, their yellow sundress showing off her fitting form.


    She, on the other hand, looked like she was dressed for the winter. She wore a heavy jacket that hid most of her body, baggy pants, and a set of gloves, and her red hair was crammed into a beanie. She wore a pair of sunglasses that covered her eyes, and in one arm, she carried a bird cage wrapped up in a cloth hiding the bird, while her other was holding her white cane.


    Lily practically danced around the street. “We should go to the mall, Sky—no! We should go see a movie. No! We should totally get your hair done and find a dress for you-”


    She sighed. She couldn’t even pretend to keep up with this level of energy. “Aren’t we meeting some of your friends?”


    “You mean our friends!”


    “Nope. I mean your friends.”


    That caused Lily’s grin to fade briefly, but it was back an instant later. “Anyways, yeah. Kenny wanted to hang out. It’s been a while since I got to see him. Work has been super busy for both of us, you know! He’s just what I need to cheer up after today!”


    She wanted to make a bitter remark about how it wasn’t Lily who failed to save that man in the hospital, but she held it back. There was no reason to make her sister mad. Besides, people would freak out if they learned she made the up-and-coming Poseidon cry.


    She resigned herself to the rest of the day. “How are the others, anyway?" She asked. It had been a while since she saw Oleanders Sub Enforcers.


    Lillian didn’t have any Sub Enforcers. Either Team Reservoir protected it, or her mother, Ocean Empress, would handle it on her own. On rare occasions, Oleander''s Watch Dogs would get involved, but with Old Dog gone, she doubted that would happen ever again.


    “They’ve been good. Kenny says they’ve gotten a new member and that their new boss, Money Tree, has been nice to them.” Lily shrugged. “We can see for ourselves, though. Kenny told me where their base is hidden, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it changed since we last visited.”


    She grumbled, already tired. “Let’s just go meet your friends. Hopefully, it’ll be fun.”


    Though she couldn’t get that twisted knot in her stomach to vanish, it had been there ever since she met that weird girl in the hospital. Part of her was pissed; that girl had yelled at her, and the other part was just tired. Everyone had been hyping her up, praying she could get rid of Lucifer’s Dead Virus, and when push came to shove, she didn’t even make the smallest of dents.


    Destiny let out a small cry from his cage, which she gripped, and she lifted up the fabric cover to give the smallest of grins to the small red bird. He had to stay locked up and covered when she was in public so that people wouldn’t trace him back to her hero identity. Lily had suggested just leaving him at the hotel, but she refused.


    He was far too important for that.


    “If you don’t want to hang out with them, we can head back and wait for mom.” Lily suggested as they walked down the street.


    “Do you want to see them?”


    Lily winced a little. “Yeah, long distance with Kenny has been rough; it’d be nice to see him in person again.”


    She gave an uncomfortable shrug. “Then I don’t mind.”


    “Really?”


    “Well, okay, so I do mind. But still.”


    “You’re the best!” She only had a second to mentally and physically prepare herself. Lily’s arms were around her, and the girl easily lifted her off the ground in a hug. She panicked for a second but managed to calm down. None of her skin came into contact with the girl, and her clothes covered most of her, so she figured she wouldn’t have to worry about her power. This wouldn’t be like the last incident. “Oh, sorry!” Lily chuckled, setting her down.


    “Don’t do that again.”


    “Right.”


    They didn’t talk much as they walked. Or rather, she didn’t speak much; Lily kept going on and on about everything she saw. Finally, though, they reached the area in question. A large tower that hung above the others was an Avalon Industries building, a place that provided all the best gear to the heroes, police force, and hospitals.


    Of course, this was just one of many; the real lab was in Rose City, where Harrison Avalon came up with his next world-changing creation in honor of the late Mr. Sini.


    The inside of the lobby was bustling with men, women, and kids, many people paying a fortune to go on a tour.


    Lily led her sister over to a corner where an elevator resided. “I’ll take the next one.” She gave a kind smile to the man who held the door for her. He nodded and let it close, and she waited. They had to stand there for a while, as they needed an elevator where it was just her and Lily in it. Finally, though, the time came, and they entered and waited for the door to close. “Warp us to Oleander, Sub Enforcers.”


    At first, nothing happened; the computer worked to see who made the request. Then it spoke. “Welcome, Poseidon, Paragon.” A mechanical voice echoed through the elevator, followed by a soft rumble that lasted only a few seconds. The doors slid open, and they were no longer in the building or the same dimension.


    “Hey, you made it!”


    “Ken!” Lily pulled herself out of the elevator and collapsed into the arms of the awaiting boy.


    Sky snorted and stepped out as well. She grabbed the cloth that was on the cage and pulled it off. Next, she opened the door, and with a loud cry, Destiny flew out. He circled a bit and finally landed on her shoulders, allowing her to see again. “You guys made some changes.” She noted.


    Destiny’s head craned around, and everything he saw, she saw. Her eyes, so to speak, belonged to him.


    The last time she had been here, she hadn’t awakened her powers yet, and the base had been styled like a medieval castle, with stone walls and a wooden floor. There had been no electricity allowed, save for what was required to power the alarms and the elevator to leave the base. That was nearly four years ago. Back then, she assumed her sister’s fling with a sidekick would end after a week. Four years later, the two were still strong, long distance or not.


    Now, as Destiny looked around for her, she noted that it was way more modern. Gone was the castle. Now, it looked like they had stepped into a mansion. Everything was painted white, and there were dozens of expensive pictures on the walls and plants. There were many hallways where the heroes, no doubt, had their bedrooms. There was a massive living room with a giant TV on the wall and dozens of game consoles scattered about.


    It was all so rich-looking. But it was almost fake as well. The kind of thing you’d see in a show trying to portray a rich person. Hollow with no emotion, part of her deeply missed the old, cold castle.


    Things were just changing way too fast for her liking.


    “Last time you were here, we were led by Red Iron. He was old-fashioned and wanted us to behave like squires. Now that Money Tree is in charge, he made a ton of changes.” Destiny turned and stared at the boy who spoke, or rather, the young man.


    Four years ago, Kenny, or Wasp Nest, as he was known in costume, had been a rather short, almost chubby kid with messy black hair and brown eyes. Now, though, he stood just under six feet, and he had the body of someone who worked out. His black hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he had a bit of facial hair. He also still had that kind of goofy smile on his face.


    “Hey, Kid.” Kenny winked at her, and she folded her arms, not amused. “It’s good to see that you haven’t changed at all. Well, aside from the obvious, He gestured awkwardly at his face, motioning for the glasses she now wore. “How are you holding up with everything that happened?”


    She raised her cane up, and he gripped it and shook it. “Well, I would have been better if I wasn’t here.”


    “Sky!” Lily spoke with wide eyes and clung to her boyfriend’s arm.


    “I said what I said.”


    Kenny just laughed. “I missed you too.” He chuckled. He then turned and let out a loud yell. “Hey, you lazy bums, get your asses over here; we have guests!”


    The doors in the hallway opened, three in total, as a group walked out. She and Lily knew who two of the members were.


    The first was a girl around her age, that being sixteen. Her hair was black and cut just before her shoulders, with several strands having been highlighted. She was dressed in a black T-shirt with a skull on it and was rather short. Sera was a nice girl, as long as you didn’t get on her bad side, though she was also into weird stuff. “Sup.” Sera sighed.


    Next up was the heroes’ version of a mad scientist. Rowan was a tall, pale boy, and he had dyed his hair blonde in an attempt to rebel against his parents. He was dressed in a gym uniform, and his arms held a small puppy, one who had almost died but had been saved by her. The dog let out several barks and licked Rowan’s cheek; it was clearly better now.


    Rowan, like Kenny, was seventeen, and either he or Kenny would take over the Sub Enforcers next. He fit the role of an older brother figure, teasing yet kind. “Hey, it’s good to see you, Lily. Oh, and also, thanks for saving that dog, Sky. As you can see, he’s doing really well.” Rowan said, nodding down to the dog in his arms. “I named him Oppenheimer!”


    “I’m glad.” She couldn’t help the small smile that came onto her face. Rowan and Kyle had practically begged her to save the poor animal, and of course, she couldn’t say no. That was when she finally turned her attention to the last Sub Enforcer member.


    The last person was new. Another girl, a little younger than her sister, fifteen or sixteen. She was pretty and tall, with long blonde hair and a set of bright eyes. She was dressed casually, but it still looked good on her. The girl held her hand out towards Lily, who shook it. “You’re Poseidon, right? I’m a huge fan. I’m Ashley Numen, but my hero name is Oxide.”


    “Oxide joined us recently. She has been a great help and served as a replacement for Myth,” Ken explained. That caused a few of them to frown. Myth had been almost like a father figure. Even she had to admit that she liked the man. He had been shooed in for the role of leader when Red Iron left, but instead, Money Tree had taken that spot, and Myth just vanished. That was two years ago. Every now and then, they’d hear about him on the news, and it was never good stuff.


    “Well, I have a lot of shoes I need to fill.” Ashley’s smile faded for a second but was back a moment later. “I hope to do my best.”This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “I’m sure you’ll be amazing,” Lily said, giving the girl a kind smile.


    “Easy for you to say.” Rowan said, rolling his eyes. “I mean, it’s pretty much been accepted that when you turn eighteen next year, you’re going to be replacing Old Dog as the next member of the Enforcers.”


    “Well, I mean, it’s not official.”


    “You better not forget us, little people, when you’re so high up,” Sera said, poking Lily in the stomach. “You make sure your sister doesn’t get a big head, Sky.”


    “Sure,” she said, nodding.


    “Hey!” Lily huffed, and that caused them to laugh. A second later, the crack of a smile appeared on her own face. “Well Kenny. I can guess why you invited me and my sister here today.” Lily finally said.


    “Yeah. How much longer are you two going to be in town?” Ken asked, getting straight to business.


    “We leave later tonight. Mom is just checking in on Gramps—I mean, Old Dog.” Lily explained. “So, we have a bit of time.”


    “Good.” Ken nodded. “Money Tree has gone off on his own to deal with something and left us here to hold the fort down. I want to surprise him when he gets back.”


    “What do you have in mind?” She asked, not liking where this was going.


    Ken gave the biggest smirk as he folded his arms. “We’re going to bag a member of the Bad Timers.”


    ***


    Paragon wished she had the backbone her sister had. If she did, she might have been able to refuse to come, but yet here she was, standing on a nearby roof with Oxide and Sera, or rather BB as the girl was called when out in costume. She herself had her own costume on, and Destiny rested on her shoulder silently, using his eyes for her.


    Oxide had gone all out with her costume. It didn’t look like it was made for combat, being a dress that was a solid silver color and flowed as if it were alive. It was actually made out of liquid metal. A glass mask covered her upper face, giving her a ballroom dancer look. It was elegant but not practical. Ocean Empress, her mother, was able to pull the look off due to years of experience; she just hoped Ashley even had a fraction of the skill required to fight in a dress.


    BB, on the other hand, was dressed in a mix of yellow and black. She wore some sort of biker helmet that covered her face, and a pair of metal wings, created by Harrison Avalon, came out of her back. They were thin and made out of a clear, glassy substance.


    She fiddled with her lab coat, feeling rather underdressed. None of her stuff was made of hero gear, all being plain stuff. She had never planned to go out in battle ever.


    The building they stood on wasn’t a tower, but it was tall. Her sister would be nearby, out of sight, in a different building. Down below, in the alleyways, Ken and Rowan stood, waiting for the right time to enact their plan.


    It was Oxide who spoke first. “So, Sky.”


    “Paragon, when I’m in costume, I don’t want my cover blown, Oxide.” Her words caused BB to snort.


    “Right, sorry. So, Paragon, you have a healing power, yeah? Those are pretty rare. The only good healer I can think of off the top of my head is the Victorian, but she can pretty much do it all, can’t she? Ooh, I guess there is also Boy Genius, but he’s more like a cheater when it comes to healing. When did you get your powers?”


    “Recently.” She stated. She already didn’t like Oxide.


    “I got mine recently also. I guess that’s obvious, though, isn’t it? I mean, I just joined this team not even a month ago. The others don’t go to Oleander Bay, so I’m the only one who has superpowers at my school.” Oxide said, smirking.


    “Neat.” She wondered who asked.


    “So, being the daughter of Ocean Empress has to be amazing, right?”


    “I guess.”


    “Come on, you can tell me. I mean, your older sister is the newest legend. She’s basically the next Victorian, right? You’ve got to be crazy strong like them.”


    “I’m adopted.” That shut the girl up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t something she liked talking about often. After all, her father wasn’t exactly the greatest man in the world.


    “Oh.” Oxide went silent, but sadly, it didn’t last. “Well, you’ve had your powers for longer than me, and with a set of healing powers, I’m sure you’ve seen several odd things you had to heal that were caused by powers, right?”


    “Not really.” That was a lie, but she didn’t like Oxide enough to tell her the truth. She had seen some of the weirdest things with her powers. Even earlier today, she had seen a strange girl in the hospital who was clearly a Super. That girl’s body was changing every second, pushing her further away from humanity even as Destiny tried to heal her. However, it wasn’t like she could say anything. After all, her powers had caused Lily to stop being human a while ago.


    “Do you think you could heal a body suffering from steroid abuse?”


    “That’s enough, Oxide.” BB finally spoke when the girl noticed how uncomfortable she had become. “Let’s focus on the mission, okay? You can try to ass kiss the higher-ups later.”


    Oxide gritted her teeth and balled her hand into a fist, but thankfully didn’t say anything further. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait much longer, as Kenny and Rowan finally stepped out of the alleyway and began to head down the road.


    “Man, that movie sucked!” Kenny said loudly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.


    “Tell me about it.” Rowan agreed. “The C.G.I was so bad! And can you believe the twist where the villain was revealed to be his father? It was so obvious, I saw it a mile away!”


    That was when it happened. A crackle of black lightning flared up in a nearby alleyway. It was all thanks to Rowan that this ‘trap’ was possible. He had a device that had been going off for weeks, picking up on cracks in space. Someone was teleporting around and targeting people on this street. In a flash, someone appeared, crouched low. They weren’t a human, not ever since their power awakened and transformed them into something else. Their skin was pitch red, and they were taller than any man should have been. Razor-sharp claws stabbed from their fingertips, a set of horns poked out of their head, and a tail wagged back and forth from their rear end.


    Mars King, powerhouse, and monster of the Bad Timers had arrived. Ranked just under Polaron and Intake in terms of power.


    There was a loud scraping sound as the monster stalked out of the alleyway, dragging his claws against the wall as he did so. Mars King’s teeth were twisted into a grin as he exited and faced the two boys. “I was looking for a good late-night snack right when you two decided to offer yourselves up.” His voice was wrong. Like an animal trying to speak, his vocal cords were snapped and twisted.


    Neither Ken nor Rowan seemed phased as they stared the man down, both dressed to look like normal civilians. “You have five seconds to surrender,” Kenny said, smirking. “Five.” Mars King raised his hand, and his claws grew in length, stabbing through Ken’s stomach and into the stone floor behind him. Ken looked down at the gaping hole in his stomach. “Four. Three. Two.” Blood didn’t pour out of the wound. Instead, something else began to crawl out. His skin began to turn black as a buzzing sound filled the air. “One.” And then he exploded into a hail of wasps that scattered past the blades, his clothes falling to the floor.


    “You’re the hero, Wasp Nest?” Mars King spat out, his eyes narrowing. He shot a look toward Rowan. “Then that means you have to be-”


    Rowan’s clothes ripped apart as a metal suit began to spring forth around him. It was mechanical, being a set of power armor that covered him from head to toe and took the shape of an old set of eastern warrior armor, complete with a faceplate formed into a fierce grimace. He raised his arm up, and from his wrist, the handle of a sword popped out, which he grabbed. With the click of a button, a bright white blade of energy appeared.


    “Metal Ronin online!” Rowan announced, charging towards the villain. The hero swung his sword out, and Mars blocked it with a set of bone spikes that ripped their way out of his skin.


    Wasp Nest’s bugs began to form together into the shape of a person, the buzz growing louder. “Sub Enforcers strike!” He called out.


    BB stepped off the building, the girl’s wings humming to life. The hero’s body shrank suddenly, getting smaller and smaller until she was about a foot tall and able to fly. Oxide placed her hand on the edge, and metal blasted out, forming a slide to the bottom, which the girl took. As Oxide rode down it, the newest member of the team clasped her hands together and fired out a spear of iron that smashed into the back of the villain and caused him to stumble, but it didn’t pierce his skin.


    Up on the roof, she stayed put, watching with her arms folded. She wasn’t a fighter; she would be playing support and healing with Destiny. Her sister also didn’t get involved. If Mars King saw Poseidon was here, he’d either run away or call in every member of the Bad Timers to try and take her on, so her sister would only get involved right when needed. Wasp Nest wanted to test how well the team did against a big threat, so Poseidon was the insurance.


    Metal Ronin spun his sword around the blade, leaving a few burn marks on the skin of the monster, but Mars King was far too durable for a plasma blade to split in half. The two dueled, going back and forth, as sword met claws and they clashed.


    Mars King was a brute, built with a body made for combat and a power that gave the monster super strength, speed, and durability, as well as the power to control his cells on an insane level. The Bad Timer member could inflate his muscles, harden his blood into a crystal, which was what his skin was coated in, or sprout his bones out like blades. Mars King threw out a powerful punch at the metal warrior that stood before him, his arm literally stretching out as if it were made of rubber.


    Metal Ronin was thrown back, crashing to the ground, the hero’s suit letting out several loud whirls. Wasp Nest broke his body back down into thousands of wasps and flew at Mars King’s face. The bugs couldn’t break the man’s hardened skin, but they could block his eyes, ears, and mouth. A few wasps even began to crawl up the villain’s nose, but they were quickly blocked by snot that hardened into impassable spikes, impaling the insects.


    Oxide landed on the ground and raised her hand, sending out a ten-foot-tall blade of steel that crashed into the side of the blinded villain, who thrashed around wildly. As she did that, BB floated up above and lifted her hands up. The wind bent and twisted, forming two small tornadoes in BB’s palms, and she hurled them down with tremendous force despite how tiny they were.


    The mininados swept up all the wasps, but more importantly, they were strong enough to lift the villain off of his feet and send him hurling down the road. As Mars King sent flying, Metal Ronin stood back up and clicked a button on their sword, causing the handle to grow into that of a spear. As the plasma blade condensed down into the spearhead, the tech hero pulled his arm back and threw the weapon.


    It soared through the air and stabbed into the stomach of the villain as soon as Mars King was dropped from the tornadoes. Before the villain could even attempt to pull it out, Wasp Nest reformed into his humanoid state and grabbed the spear, pushing it in deeper and twisting it. “Had enough?” The young man asked with a grin.


    Mars King growled, and their eyes ignited with rage. “Yeah! I’ve had enough!” The villain roared. A massive row of spikes exploded from his chest, impaling Wasp Nest, but the teen shifted back into his bugs and flew away. Mars King stood up and ripped the spear out of his body, snapping it in two seemingly not bothered by the fact he had a hole in him. His back began to twitch, and a set of massive red wings began to form, allowing the villain to fly..


    Oxide tried to blast the Bad Timer out of the sky, sending a ball of bronze out, but Mars King ignored it, letting the metal tear off half of his right arm. The villain didn’t heal as well as Intake but could dull the pain and worry about fixing injuries after the battle by gaining new cells. Right now all he focused on was BB, the one who was throwing him around.


    “Great, Wasp, you went and pissed him off!” The young girl yelled as Mars King stabbed at her with his remaining arm. BB did the only thing the girl could think of and grew back to her full size, causing her to fall, far too big for the wings to support her. The young girl hit the ground with a sick crack and screamed, feeling her bones break, but not even a second later, a red bird landed on her head, and her legs instantly fixed themselves, the pain vanishing. “Thanks.” BB muttered, shrinking back down, the wind and her wings lifting her.


    The bird gave a nod and flew back into the air, being Paragon’s eyes once more.


    Mars King crashed back down and was instantly pelted with metal debris from Oxide. All it really did was piss off the bad guy, who came roaring. Spikes began to blast out of him, and he snapped them off his skin to throw them. One of them managed to stab Oxide, who let out a gasp, but once again, a bird landed on her, and the spike popped out of her, the wound closed. Her metal dress took on the shape of armor after that, being far more durable.


    Mars King''s eyes focused on the animal and aimed his head at the bird, sharp barbs growing out of his horns like a demented tree. With a grunt of effort, the barbs fired out, propelled by rapid growth. “Oh no, you don’t!” Metal Ronin jumped in front of it and held his arms out, a blue energy shield coming out and blocking the hail of barbs. Part of the hero’s shoulder opened, and a small barrel folded out, which began to fire a hail of bullets into the beast. “Just fall already!!”


    They threw everything they had at the creature, chipping away at Mars King’s skin. Oxide impaled him, BB sent him flying with her wind, and Metal Ronin threw all his weapons at the man, hitting him with bullets, rockets, and energy sabers. Wasp Nest even managed to eat away at one of the monster’s eyes.


    Despite the damage though, the villain didn’t stop. His body simply kept on moving even as more and more chunks were taking out of it. Mars King wasn’t even slowing down, meanwhile, all the heroes were starting to reach their limit even with the regeneration they kept getting.


    But they weren’t ever going to be the ones to beat him. They just needed him weak enough for him to go down before he could call for backup.


    Wasp Nest came down hard, returning to his human shape and carrying one of the spare swords Metal Ronin lent him. He dodged a punch from Mars King and sliced out with his blade. “Alright, babe! Do your thing.”


    That caused Mars King to stop, the villain’s good eye narrowing. The Bad Timer member was beaten and battered, missing an eye as well as an arm, and most of his skin was black, but he was still going strong. He had nothing to worry about. At least that’s what he thought. Then he saw who else was on the battlefield.


    Poseidon came crashing down hard, landing in front of Mars King, and instantly, the villain felt his blood run cold. By now most people knew who Poseidon was. Daughter of an Enforcer member, someone who trained with Fable, another Enforcer member, and said to be the next Victorian of the future era. The hero was dressed like a warrior from ancient times, with a mighty trident held in her hand. Just like the god she was named after, she was indeed on another level compared to the mortal that stood before her.


    The current Lord of the Sea and Depths, Poseidon, gave a sly grin. “Hi.”


    “Ears, warp me-”


    “None of that.” Poseidon silenced him with a punch, a burst of water stabbing through Mars King’s gut and coming out his back, causing the villain to gasp. “Kneel.” Poseidon pulled her fist back and stepped away, and instantly Mars King felt it. Their body felt heavy. It became impossible to stand, and he was forced to kneel, the gravity around him getting heavier and heavier; he couldn’t even lift his head, forced to kneel before the hero. An intense pressure equal to that of the bottom of the ocean seeped out of the young girl. Poseidon patted his face. “Give up, okay? I win.” Water poured out of her flesh, rising and wrapping around the villain’s legs like a snake.


    “I’ll kill you.” Mars King screamed. “I’ll rip you apart.” Even as he struggled, spikes growing from every part of his flesh and his limbs doubling in size as he tried to fortify the bones and muscles, the gravity kept him held in place.


    Poseidon flicked the monster on the forehead, sending a blast of gravity so strong that Mars King was sent flying down the street and crashed into the side of a building, shaking it. The gravity got even heavier, and he gasped and hissed, trying to speak, but even the act of opening his mouth was getting harder.


    Poseidon walked towards the downed evildoer. The hero lifted her palm up, and water began to swirl into it, forming a small ball of compressed liquid. It was around the size of a golf ball, and Poseidon flicked it out. Instantly, Mars was raised off his feet and forced to float towards the ball as it created its own gravitational field and began to spin him around it. The liquid underneath Mars King rose up into the form of a shark and started to lift up slowly, its maws wide open.


    “Do you give up now?” Poseidon called out with a sly smirk on her lips.


    Mars King glared at her, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t do anything. The phantom shark was closer now, ready to swallow the villain up, who was still stuck in place from the tiny ball of water. Mars King gritted his teeth and tried to spit at Poseidon, but the liquid was gone before it even reached her. “I give.” Mars King finally yielded.


    Poseidon stared at him. The shark broke away, turning back into a puddle, and the pressure faded, letting Mars King down. “Liar.” Poseidon didn’t even have to dodge. Mars King was back on his feet and tried to impale the hero with his claws. They cracked and shattered on her skin, the gravity around her turning them into dust and nearly ripping his arms off as if she were a black hole.


    “Get me out of here, Ears!” Mars King screamed, but it was too late for the villain.


    A small iridescent orb appeared above Mars King and shot towards the villain. Before it could hit, Metal Ronin lifted an arm and fired a crackling net from a wrist launcher. The net unfolded in the air and latched onto the orb, dragging it to the ground. Metal Ronin grinned at Mars King. “You should have escaped when you had the chance. I had plenty of time to create a device that shuts down the cracks in reality that Ears guy creates. Thanks for letting me test it out on you.”


    Mars King howled and screamed. “You damn cheaters-” Poseidon''s fist rammed into the villain’s face. The force was far stronger than any of the other strikes that the villain took, easily caving his skull in and sending Mars King blasting down the street, where he rammed right into an empty building, which then collapsed on top of the villain. They had already evacuated the block before the fight had even begun due to how destructive Poseidon could be.


    Smoke rose off of Poseidon’s fist, and the girl blew it out. “That''s that, I guess.”


    Sirens pierced the air, and Oxide stared with wide eyes. “She’s strong, right?” The girl nearly jumped when Paragon walked next to her, having finished climbing down the building. “Long ago, they used to say there were four people who started it all. The four Lords. The first ever Supers to have powers. My sister, as it turns out, just so happens to have one of the powers of the four Lords.”


    Most of the street in front of Poseidon was just gone, as if a bomb had gone off. The Cleanup Squad would be busy fixing it up for the next few days.


    “She’s amazing.” Oxide nodded. And all the girl could think of was that she had another obstacle she would have to overcome if she reached the top.


    Paragon watched through her bird''s eyes as the swirl of energy around Lily went out. “Yeah. My sister is amazing. Sometimes too amazing.”


    “Look alive, people.” Wasp Nest called out. “Here ‘they’ come.”


    In the skies above them, something began to come down. It was several metal drones loaded up with speakers and cameras. Flashing lights began to pour down, and Destiny, her bird, was forced to close his eyes as the drones began to circle around them all, taking their pictures. Everyone but her posed for the cameras.


    “You guys are the Oleander Sub Enforcers, right!” A voice came from one of the drones.


    “Did you take out Mars King?” A different voice asked.


    “Are you the one leading this mission, Poseidon?”


    “Wasp Nest is the rumor you and Poseidon are dating true?”


    “Aren’t you the newest member of Ocean Empress’s team?” One of the drones asked, hovering in front of her. She nervously stepped back and flinched when her sister''s hand landed on her shoulder.


    Poseidon smiled down at her. “It’s okay, Paragon. It’s your first time seeing these guys, right? They’re news drones. Here to try and get the story before anyone else can. Just give them a pretty smile and nod.”


    “I’m wearing a mask though?”


    Another drone came down and scanned the area, looking at the destroyed street that had been caused by Poseidon’s single punch. “Was all this destruction necessary?” The drone asked.


    Poseidon casually threw her arms behind her head. “No one got hurt since we moved the people out of here.”


    “And you’ll be fixing up all the destroyed houses?”


    Poseidon snorted. “No. That’s the Cleanup Squad''s job.”


    “Will you at least be paying for-”


    “And that’s enough questions!” Wasp Nest called out as his body began to come undone and separated into large clouds of bugs covering all the drones and blocking them. "Sorry, but we got places we need to be.”


    “We do?” Oxide asked, frowning.


    “I do at least.” Metal Ronin raised his arm up, looking down at a notification that had been sent to him. “Kyle left his house again. Got to go make sure the kid doesn’t get himself killed.”


    She watched all the Sub Enforcers as they began to clear out through her bird’s eyes once more. Drones stopped coming when they realized Wasp Nest was just going to block any footage they could get. She felt her sister''s hand as she began to get dragged away.


    “Let’s head home.” Poseidon called out to her. “I’m totally beat.” Sirens were still approaching, and soon the Hero Branch would arrive to arrest Mars King. Thanks to Metal Ronin’s newest invention, they wouldn’t have to worry about Ears teleporting the bad guy away either. The device had been made after her mom was able to stop Ears teleporting, showing that it was possible.


    She risked a look back at all the destruction while she followed after her sister. So many walls had been caved in, were cracked and dented, and the entire road would have to be shut down. No one was hurt though, so that was good?


    “Did we do a good job today?” She asked.


    Lily looked back at her and grinned. “Of course. We’re superheroes. We kicked villain ass.”