A few hours before the start of the mission...


    An armored truck came to a sudden stop as it rammed into something in the middle of the road. The car was one of the kinds that escorted money between banks. It was made to be strong and sturdy, yet the thing it rammed into was simply stronger.


    Cinder gritted her teeth and held her arms up in front of her, feeling the truck shatter and bend around her as she took it head-on. She knew that she had been growing stronger every day as her powers got more and more used to her being a Super, but ever since she had learned of her golden form from Mr. Larison and seen the past with Max Lightning, her power had skyrocketed. She was sure she could even level a small building if she really wanted to.


    The truck was forced to stop as her durability and strength outweighed it. Smoke rapidly spewed from the front of it, and the doors were thrown open as men stumbled out. She opened her mouth to say something, but they opened fire on her, the bullets bouncing off of her skin. She spat a few of them out and made a face. They tasted nasty.


    The men spread out and kept firing at her as she ripped her way out of the car. She didn''t bother attacking them. They already lost. From above, Snowdawn came crashing down, sending out a wave of snow that smothered itself over most of the men and shoved them to the ground. "Nice try Wandering Coin!" Snowdawn announced loudly. "You guys are already on thin ice, we''re not letting you get away with all this money! Thin ice? Eh? Get it? Ice pun-"


    A red blur flew past Snowdawn as Battery zipped forward with inhuman speed and left all the men; he touched and knocked out with simple takedown moves. One of the grunts turned and tried to run away but suddenly stopped when Whisper appeared in front of him and jammed her taser into his neck. The roof of the van dented a bit as Myth suddenly crashed down from above, turning his flight form off. He looked down at the dozen or so Wandering Coin members that had been piled in the truck moments ago.


    "Good work. That''s our third group tonight." The leader of Pantheon grunted out. "Looks like they''re getting bolder."


    “It’s about time you called a meeting, Myth.” Cinder said, plopping down on the body of one of the snow-trapped men. School had just ended when she got the call—due to the incident with the student, class had once again been canceled. All Pantheon members were to meet at their base. Myth had quickly gotten them to go out in the field dressed in their costumes, where they had spent most of the night stopping the many members of the Wandering Coin.


    “I have been busy dealing with things,” Myth said, waving off her comment. “Zoo and Bad Timers have pretty much vanished since last month. Even their non-powered grunts aren’t making any moves. The Wandering Coin is another matter.”


    “We need to stop them!” She declared. From what Max Lightning and Jack had told her, the Lord of Life was likely either the leader of the Wandering Coin or in the possession of the leader. The sooner she got her hands on that Lord, the sooner she could make them heal her father.


    “And we will,” Whisper said, patting her shoulder. “But we have some things we need to go over first."


    “Like what?” Snowdawn asked. “There isn’t much to it, right? We just keep taking their bases down and stop them when they pop up like this." He kicked out with his foot, nudging the head of one of the men Battery had knocked out.


    “It isn’t that easy.” Myth sighed. “For one, the Hero Branch doesn’t exactly like me, and since I’m running a group, that leads to them not liking Pantheon. On top of that, we’ve been requested to stop what we''re doing by Ms. Laps.”


    “Who’s that?” She never heard of that name before, but the way Thaddeus said it, she was guessing this ‘Laps’ person was important.


    Battery shuddered a bit and folded his arms. “She’s someone you don’t want to get on the bad side of. All ten main cities in the world have their own Enforcer member. Ours has Old Dog. Each Enforcer member also has their own team. Old Dog leads Watch Dogs. Every city also has its own Sub Enforcers. All of these are managed by the Hero Branch. In total, there are eighteen official hero teams. Victorian doesn’t have a team that she leads, and both Rose and Lillian don''t have the Sub Enforcers either. So, eight Sub Enforcers, and nine adult hero teams, plus the Enforcers. Because of how many there are and how split they are, each city has its own Hero Branch. Oleander’s Branch is led by Laps.”


    “So, she’s a real big deal then?” She asked, frowning.


    "Should we be talking about this in front of those guys?" Snowdawn pointed a thumb down toward the knocked-out men. Battery waved his hand and created a thick golden box around them that would trap any noise they made inside, stopping the men who weren''t actually knocked out from hearing what they were saying. "That''s better." The snow-based hero said, leaning back against the wall of the golden box. “There are more than eighteen hero teams. There might only be eighteen Hero Branch teams, but other teams like Pantheon or the Pallet Boys exist. If you become a Sub Enforcer and then finish your training, you either go on to join the team of your city, become a solo hero, or join an indie team. Solo and indie teams aren’t sponsored by the Hero Branch, so we don’t have to listen to them.”


    “In a way, you’re right.” Myth nodded. “We don’t officially work for them, so they can only suggest things. That said, we still heavily rely on them. It’s sort of like being in the Navy and being ordered around by the Air Force. We don’t want to make her mad if we can help it.”


    “Why is she doing all this in the first place?” She muttered. “We’re trying to help people.”


    “She said she wished to review our team before we go into action.” The leader of Pantheon shrugged. “That said, I am not too keen on fully listening if I can help it. Especially not now. Recently, indie teams have been going missing—specifically tech-based teams. No one has seen the Pallet Boys in over a month. Money Tree recently came to me with an idea, and it will require more hands. Because of this, I’ve agreed to loan you guys to him. You’ll all temporarily be seen as Sub Enforcer members acting under his care starting tomorrow.”


    “I ended up joining the Sub Enforcers after all.” She mused. “I wonder if I’ll get to see Poseidon or Paragon again.”


    “That’s not all,” Whisper said, folding her arms. “There’s more news, too. You see. Myth and I are going on a honeymoon!”


    The man in question shook his head when he saw the shocked look on the kids'' faces. “She’s joking.”


    “I am not. We’re going to a nice resort-”


    “You’re heading to the Watch Dogs base?” Battery asked, cutting the woman off.


    “I’m starting to think he can see Paths too,” Whisper mumbled.


    “That we are.” Myth nodded towards Jack. “I will be taking Whisper with me and won’t be joining you. The Hero Branch made it clear they don’t want me in the Sub Enforcers ever again, so it’ll be for the best if you aren’t seen with me. I plan on having a nice long talk about why the Watch Dogs haven’t been present in several incidents.”


    “You think they’re working with the Wandering Coin?” Battery questioned.


    “I hope not.”


    “Speaking of Hope.” Whisper piped up. “When are we going to discuss what her being a Lord means?”


    She felt her blood run cold for a second, and she shot a look towards Mr. Larison, who drew his lips into a thin line. She didn’t get the chance to speak, though, as laughter burst through the golden box. Snowdawn threw his head back and clapped Whisper on the back, shaking the girl. “Yeah. Good one. Man, I believed it for a second. God, can you imagine?”


    “Um, Armin.” She winced and rubbed at the back of her neck. “I’m the Lord of the Sun.”


    “Yeah, and I’m the Lord of the Sea-”


    “I’m serious, Armin.” She stood up, and for a moment, fire seemed to burst off of her, her hair glowing with a golden light. “I am the current Lord of the Sun. I found out recently.”


    Snowdawn stood there, rooted to the spot. His eyes were wide, and she could tell he was trying to process that. “Well, since we’re giving out secrets.” Whisper threw her arms behind her head casually. “I’m the Victorian’s daughter.”


    “What!”


    Armin threw his arms up. “Is there anything else we should know about?”


    Thaddeus gave an awkward shrug. “The reason the Hero Branch doesn’t like me is because I killed a member of the Enforcers two years ago.”


    Armin blinked a few times, and even Jack looked a little surprised at that. Armin slowly sat down, his mind barely hanging on. “Wait. Am I the only normal person on this team? Mr. Larison?"


    "Don''t look at me, I used to be a bad guy, nothing normal about me."


    "What!"


    ***


    Present day...


    Snowdawn stared at Cinder as she spoke. He usually didn’t feel cold. Not since he got his powers about a year ago. In that moment, as she spoke, though, he could feel a chill crawling up his spine. She was basically about to out herself as a Lord to BB and Money Tree.


    Myth had made it clear what could happen if the Enforcers found out they had a Lord. Hope was getting stronger every day, but she was still far weaker than most of the big villains out there. Those guys getting their hands on her would be bad. The Enforcers would never let that happen, even if it meant eliminating the girl’s humanity. On top of that, the Hero Branch already didn’t like Myth. All it would take is this slipping out, and he’d be screwed as well.


    What was she thinking?


    “Um, Cinder, I think we should just call this here-”


    “No.” Cinder shook her head. “My father doesn’t have a lot of time left. I want to take down the Wandering Coin and save him. This is the best bet we have.” She looked at Money Tree, and she could feel fire pumping through her veins. “There’s something you should know about me, sir. Myth wanted it to be kept a secret, but I think it’s important, you know.”


    “What is it?” Money Tree folded his arms and frowned.


    “The thing is.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t actually have fire-based powers.”


    “What?”


    “I’m an energy absorber like Battery! Yeah, that’s it! And I’m sure you’ve seen how close his energy is to the Victorian’s right. Well, she’s the daughter of Full Monarch, so her energy would have to be from the power she got from her dad, and Battery can mimic that energy, and I can mimic his, so if you think about it in a weird way, I sort of have a fraction, of a fraction, of a Lord right! So I mean, maybe we can open the door!”


    Snowdawn stood there frozen. Money Tree took a second to recover. He rubbed his chin, seemingly processing her words. “So you say you absorb energy, huh? I guess it’s possible to convert that to fire. I’ve always wondered about Battery. His energy is almost the exact same as the Victorian’s at times. When I first saw your powers, I actually thought you were maybe the daughter of Demonica or something to tell you the truth.”


    “You thought I was the daughter of a villain?”


    “If it makes you feel better, I thought you were about to reveal you were one of the Lords.” BB snorted. “That would have been cool. I guess it wouldn’t have made any sense, though. You just have fire. Full Monarch could do a ton more and was able to fly and mess with matter and other stuff.”


    She shrugged sheepishly. "Well, either way, we should at least try and give it a shot, right? I mean, it might not work, but if there is even a chance I could use my energy to open the door, then what are we waiting for?”


    Money Tree just shrugged once more. “Alright. Well, it’s at least worth a shot. I’ll try to keep this a bit under wraps for Myth, but in the future, be careful who you talk to about stuff like this.”


    “You got it, sir. I just felt you should know since you’re my boss, currently.” She chuckled sheepishly.


    Snowdawn let out a sigh of relief and lightly nudged Cinder. Hope was seriously going to give him a heart attack. He already had to look out for her because of how reckless she was. Her being the freaking Lord of the Sun just made it all a billion times worse now. She shot him a look and smiled. It was the sort of look that told him she had no idea what she was doing and was simply flying by the seat of her pants.


    He wasn’t just the only average person in Pantheon. He was starting to suspect he was the only ordinary hero in the whole city.


    BB glanced down at her hand and then looked back up toward the boat in question. She could already picture the door in her mind—the gate to a pocket world. “So, if we’re really going to do this, then I have to ask Cinder. Any idea how this is going to work?”


    Cinder placed her hands on her hips and gave a large grin. “Not a clue!”


    “You’re useless. I’m glad you aren’t our Lord.”


    “Hey!” She folded her arms and shrugged. “Whatever. We’ll figure it out. You ready, BB?”


    “I guess.”


    Both girls moved into the boat. Money Tree watched them both with folded arms. He still partially doubted the story he had been given. It was all a little too convenient. There was one way to tell for sure, though.


    BB stood in front of the door awkwardly. Hesitantly, she held her arms out, frowning a bit. “So, should I do anything?”


    “I’m really not sure. We’re just spitballing here. Try to create some wind, though, and I’ll see about powering you or it up.” She shrugged.


    BB nodded and held her hands out. Gradually, the wind started to bend and twist in her hands. It took shape, forming into a perfect sphere of swirling air. The sphere bubbled and twisted every now and then, and it was a struggle for her to force it to keep its shape, but she managed. Then it became Cinder’s turn.


    Slowly, Cinder brought her own hand up. She stood behind BB and gently placed her hands on the girl’s back. She could feel her power begin to surge up, but she halted it. The thing was always wild and crazy, like an inferno. She didn’t need that, though. Instead, she pictured two things. The first was the Victorian. She had seen the golden woman let her light out as an aura. This same aura had saved her mom’s life during the bank incident so long ago—that healing effect. The second thing she thought of was Mr. Larison. She had felt his aura of healing firsthand.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    She healed faster than others. She had a faint healing factor. That’s what she targeted. She felt it, and she forced it to the front. Her next thought was Polaron. The sword she had created that killed him was her next goal. Pushing that wild, untamed power to take shape. She did that once more, but instead of a sword, she tried to imagine it taking shape into the healing effect, and instead of her firepower, she focused on the energy itself. Then she flared her power up.


    “My eyes!” Money Tree hissed a bit and looked away as a bright flash came from her hands. She had done that on purpose so he wouldn’t see the change. BB’s back was turned to her, so the only one able to look at her was Snowdawn. She felt her power grow and expand, and she tapped into it. The same feeling she had when fought Intake, or Polaron. The same heat that bubbled up in her veins when her eyes had seen a baby Full Monarch.


    Her hair became the color of the sun, and the red fire in her eyes grew stronger. Her skin lit up, and it wasn’t fire that came out. It was a tiny orange spark. She directed it and felt the flow of the power begin to leave her, and it started to quickly climb over BB. The girl became cloaked in orange light, and the orb of wind BB held started to crackle with the same orange glow she had shown seconds earlier. BB could feel a surge of power through her—more power than she had ever felt before.


    “Holy cow,” BB said with wide eyes. “You’re as old as me, and you’re this strong!”


    “No talking,” She said, gritting her teeth. “Can’t do this for long.” Already she could feel the blonde in her hair fading back to black, and it would only take Money Tree a few more seconds for his eyes to recover. “Do it now!”


    “Right.” BB brought the orb up, and it began to unfold and expand. The energy lashed out and began to slice up the wall of the ship and spill out wildly in all directions. Money Tree flicked his hand, and a wall of cash rose in front of him and Snowdawn just in time as he opened his eyes. BB tried to force the power forward towards the door and watched as the wood caught fire. Despite that though, she felt something. “I think you were on to something, Cinder.”


    BB could feel her wind as if it were a limb. She had never given it much thought before, but this was different. The wind was sharper and developed as if it were something the universe had never seen before. This new air, whatever it was, had spotted something. Something unseen by all save for a select few.


    BB slowly brought her hands to the door. The door broke apart, and she saw the closet on the other side but ignored it. Instead, she placed her hand where the door had been. Her fingers grabbed nothing, yet she pulled. The wind howled, the fire screamed, and space began to rip and tear as her fingers sunk into a surface in midair.


    A large tear appeared where the door had been. Black energy seeped from it, and as she pulled it, it got larger and larger until it took the shape of the door. No longer did they see the closet. Instead, now they saw grass and a paved road leading somewhere. They were now glimpsing into another world.


    Cinder dropped back, the light fading out, as she began to breathe heavily. “I... I think I’m sticking with fire. Holy crap, that felt weird and was super draining.” She groaned. Her hair and eyes had changed back as well, and she felt super dizzy.


    BB grunted as the girl felt the door start to forcefully close. The hero’s arms struggled to keep it open, and her wind was no longer able to affect it, just barely keeping it held still. “I don’t think I can keep this open for much longer. Game plan?”


    Money Tree rubbed his chin, thoughts coursing through his mind. The door was open. Past it was the base of the Wandering Coin. The power they had could be anything. This wasn’t a mere warehouse; it was a realm they had taken over. That said, if they left now, the door would surely close, and if the Wandering Coin didn’t know about them before, they would now. The realm would shift and move somewhere else. It was only a matter of time. Likely as soon as this door closed, that meant no time to wait for backup.


    He glanced at Snowdawn, then at Cinder, and finally at BB, who struggled to hold the door. “Okay. I’ve decided on what we’re going to do.”


    ***


    Whisper wasn’t very strong. He had known her growing up. His father had been on good terms with Ocean Empress, so growing up, he often was forced to see the kids she took care of. Namely Wyvern, Whisper, Poseidon, and Paragon. Because of this, Whisper had been one of his first picks for joining his team.


    He knew her power better than almost anyone else. Given the worst of both worlds, she had been born with a body far too frail, not receiving the gift of the sun. Given only minor light control, unable to create her own or use the power of emotions, it was all made worse by the relatively weak clan power she did get blessed with from her father. The Paths were mighty if used in the right hand, but it didn’t matter how good your future sight was in the face of someone who defied the laws of fate.


    This was all to say that in an all-out battle, she wasn’t exactly the strongest member of their team. In a way, he sort of regretted not bringing someone like Snowdawn or Battery.


    Myth felt his body take shape and transform as he powered up. He turned into his bull form and let out a loud roar. An equally powerful roar challenged him back, the eyes in the woods narrowing. Snow rained down, and he began to pound at his chest, trees being ripped away as the thing came crashing towards him.


    That was when he was suddenly nailed in the head by something. “Ow!” He groaned, dropping down. He stared at what hit him. It was a long wooden stick. “What the hell-”


    The thing jumped out of the woods, bounding toward him. The moonlight shone down from above, allowing him to make it out. Whisper snorted before suddenly breaking out into full-blown laughter. The mighty beast, as it turned out, was kind of cute. It was a golden retriever. One the size of a bus, but still a golden retriever. The animal barked, and before Myth could move, it was on him, licking his face and grabbing the stick that had smacked him.


    It wasn’t the only one, either. A German shepherd the size of a car stalked out to see what all the noise was about, followed shortly by a Beagle the size of a lion. He wasn’t the only one ‘attacked’ by the dogs either. Whisper felt herself be tackled to the ground by a swarm of people-sized pugs.


    “Oh my God, I love it here.” She cheered, wrapping her arms around the dogs. “Myth, can we make this our new base?”


    “No!” Myth shimmered and changed into his lion form, letting out a loud roar and hiss that caused all the dogs to let out yelps and back away. He was always a cat person. “Watch Dogs!” He roared to the sky above, screaming so loudly the entire island shook. “Get over here! Now!”


    Just like that, the music suddenly cut out. All the dogs backed away and began to circle them from a distance. Myth’s fur stood on its end as he eyed the animals up. They began to hear muttering as something began to approach. A whistle caused all the dogs to stop circling them and run back towards the woods as someone finally stepped out.


    “That you, Myth? I haven’t seen you in a bit.” It was an older man around his late thirties or early forties. He was clean-shaven, and his black hair was neatly combed down. He wore a white martial arts gi, dozens of belts tied around it, and a headband was pulled down, covering his eyes. In one hand, he held a long wooden cane, which he used as a walking stick. A goofy grin was on the man’s face, and he pointed the stick towards the lion. “You should have called first. We’d have saved you some stuff for the party.”


    “Backup.” Myth spoke softly, staring at the hero. “You’re the hero, Backup, right?”


    “That I am.” The man announced, twirling his staff. “The brave and handsome master of martial arts. A hero that will rise to any challenge no matter how many times he is beaten. I am the epic and truly amazing Backup!” He pointed to the sky and gave an even larger grin.


    Whisper giggled a bit. She was glad she and Myth came in full costume because her mask hid how much she was rolling her eyes. “These are the people you want to ask for help from, Myth?”


    “Not all of my plans are well thought out.” Myth frowned as he looked at the hero. “I need to speak with the leader of the Watch Dogs.”


    “Our leader?” Backup hummed and rubbed at his chin. “Well, Old Dog hasn’t been here in nearly eight months. Too busy dying. I guess that would make Bad Wolf our current boss. You want to talk to her?” He asked.


    “I’d like that, yes.” Myth nodded. “You said save some stuff for the party. What did you mean by that?”


    Backup pointed his staff down into the woods. “Why don’t you follow me and come take a look?” He smirked.


    Slowly, Myth’s body shrunk back down to his human form, and he gave a faint nod. He followed Backup, walking close behind the man. Whisper walked next to him, her eyes darting around at the many different Paths that were forming, ready to hide at even the slightest hint of danger. “So, what’s up with all the dogs?” She asked.


    “Have you ever heard of the villain known as Red Ape?” Their groans caused Backup to snicker. “I’ll assume that’s a yes. To sum it up, he mutates and turns animals into monsters. A lot of these poor creatures can’t be fully changed back. Whenever a dog is infected, we often claim it, and thanks to one of our members, we can kill off most of the power inside of it, though it often is stuck in whatever size its body was twisted into. We really like dogs, so it thankfully works out.”


    There didn’t seem to really be a path through the woods, but Backup walked with experience, taking every turn he should. Soon, the woods began to open up, and they stepped out. That was when they finally saw the Watch Dogs base.


    It was a freaking beach resort.


    The land was all artificial. The island they were on was made of solid ice but had various soils and other things forced onto it. The sky was fake here, a constant stream of snow ever present—all but this part. There was a perfect hole cut out right above their base, and despite the fact it was night, sunlight streamed down, lighting it up. Instead of grass, there was sand, and it was suddenly very warm, as if it were the summertime. There was a metal fence around the place, but it was small enough that Backup just hopped it. A large motel-looking building stood up ahead, and next to that was a massive outdoor swimming pool. Dozens of tables were scattered around.


    Dogs swam in the pool, seeming to have the time of their lives, and a constant stream of bubbles rained down. The music was back on, some wild rock and roll theme, and the sounds of children giggling were ever-present. Scattered around the pool area and running back and forth on the beach were dozens of kids. As Whisper got a closer look, though, she realized something. Every child was dressed the exact same, that being a simple black bodysuit. They all also had on the same black domino mask; all of them had blonde hair tied back into a ponytail; they all had the same green eyes; and they all looked about thirteen years old.


    “That’s Duplicity.” Backup said when he saw their confused look. “Yo Dup, get over here. We got guests.”


    The giggling girls all stopped and seemed to turn to look at them. It was a bit creepy seeing so many eyes on them. Several of the girls glowed with a faint blue light and then simply vanished from sight until, finally, there was just one girl left who ran over towards them. "Oh, hey, I know you.” The little girl said, poking at Whisper’s stomach. “You’re the Victorian’s daughter, right?”


    “Yeah? I thought Watch Dogs were just adults.” She whispered to Backup.


    “She is an adult.”


    “Oh. Wait, what?” Supers typically didn''t have longer life spans than humans typically. Some did, but it was very rare. Despite living as long as your average human, though, Supers did stay youthful for a lot longer. This mainly happened to Supers with enhanced bodies. They would seem to stop aging around the time they hit their thirties or forties and would maintain their peak bodies until around their eighties or nineties, when the age would suddenly catch up with them. It was how someone like Old Dog had been a hero for so long. Seeing a Super who didn’t look their age wasn’t really that odd, but a Super who had seemingly had their aging paused in their youth was a new one for her. “What are her powers?”


    Backup ignored her question and lightly poked the very young-looking adult with his stick. “Hey, Dup, they want to speak with Bad Wolf. Is she still up on the roof?”


    “Last I saw, yeah.” Duplicity said, throwing her arms behind her head. She glowed a second, and a copy of her suddenly appeared. “I saw her there last, too.” The clone said unhelpfully.


    “And Roulette? Where is he?”


    “Near the ramp!” The girl announced.


    “Perfect.” Backup gave a grin and waved for the two Pantheon members to follow. Finding the entire situation to be a bit strange, they slowly did. They moved past the pool and towards the back, where the sound of music grew stronger. “We all pulled straws to see who would come and have to deal with whoever was screaming.” Backup explained. “I sadly drew the short end. Usually, we all just sort of hang out here and do our own thing away from the others.”


    “How many are there?” Whisper questioned.


    “Four, not counting Old Dog.” Myth spoke up. “That is unless you guys recruited more members.”


    “No. Sadly, we didn’t.” Backup’s smile seemed to fade for a second, but it came back twice as strong seconds later. “We lost a lot of our bigger members in the Calamity attack two years ago. That’s okay because we’re still strong even with just the four of us. Bad Wolf will make sure we don’t lose.”


    When they finished walking around the resort, they saw the third member of the strange team. This part of the beach was more closed off, a large wooden stage having been put up where someone could do a concert. The stage shimmered blue, and a hologram stood rather than an actual person.


    Pretty Face was a hero she had seen a bit of in her time. He was often featured in magazines and posters, ranking him in the top five hottest male heroes every year. He was apparently really handsome. On stage, his hologram wasn’t doing him any favors. It flickered in and out and was blurry, making it hard to make out any true appearance. It danced on the stage singing, though the volume was turned up so high it hurt her ears, and the deafening sound of rock music drowned most of the lyrics out.


    In front of the stage, sitting in a front row seat, an older man rested. He was old. Sixties or seventies, for sure, which was saying something since again, Supers tended to stay younger for longer. His hair was balding, and he wore a little cap to cover it. His outfit was a strange mix of black and white, like a zebra or maybe a mime. He wore dark black pants, and strapped to his side was a revolver of some sort. In his hands, which he used as a walking cane, he held a long, very old-looking rifle.


    “YO ROULETTE!” Backup screamed as loud as he could. “TURN IT DOWN! WE GOT GUESTS!”


    The old man reached into his robes and pulled out a remote. He clicked a button, and the music suddenly stopped. Whisper rubbed at her head. She’d have to remember to ask Paragon to heal any damaged hearing she just took when the girl was back up on her feet.


    The old hero swirled in a chair to look at them. He gripped his rifle by its butt and held it face down towards the sand. Jamming it into the ground, he used it to raise himself up to a standing position. He didn’t wear a mask, and his eyes were sunken and hollow as he took slow steps towards them. “Backup.” He raised his gun up and smashed it down onto the hero’s head. “What have I said about bringing guests?”


    “Ow! Cut it out, Roulette.” Backup winced and rubbed at his skull. “They said they needed to speak to Bad Wolf. It’s important, I guess.” Roulette ignored him and swung his rifle again, but it was suddenly deflected by Backup when the man raised his left arm up. The sleeve of his gi tore, and suddenly, a round brass shield formed on his wrist, easily blocking the swing. “Seriously, old man.”


    Roulette muttered several choice words under his breath and turned to take a closer look at Myth and Whisper. His eyes roamed up and down. “You’re Myth.” His gaze narrowed, and Myth found himself taking a step back.


    Whisper shot her friend a look. “His Paths are a mess.” She said quietly. “It’s like I’m looking at a Lord or something. His future is constantly shifting. This old guy isn’t anything to be messed with.”


    Myth folded his arms and tried to stand up straighter. Roulette had been a member of the Watch Dogs since the time it was first created by Old Dog. That said, no one really knew the full extent of his powers. Roulette was the type of guy you only sent against villains you didn’t want to take to prison. In other words, his job wasn’t to save people but rather to execute evil. In this case, anything the Hero Branch viewed as evil. “Mr. Roulette, I’m Myth—a former Sub Enforcer member. I’ve come to discuss some personal matters with whoever is running this current team. I was told it was someone named ‘Bad Wolf’ by Backup.”


    The old man let out a grunt and slightly turned. He raised a shaky arm up towards the roof of the resort. Slowly, the ground beneath him began to crack and break. Metal began to rise from it. Or rather lead, as upon a closer look, Myth realized it was bullets. The bullets tore their way out of the floor and connected with one another, getting higher and higher. Soon, all the bullets took the shape of a large, curved ramp that connected to the roof of the resort and came all the way down in front of the man.


    “You’ll mind your tone around her,” Roulette instructed in a blunt tone. “I expect you to help keep her in the cage if anything goes wrong, Backup.”


    “Me?” Backup sighed and shrugged. “Yeah, whatever.” He turned to the two Pantheon members and gave a smirk. “So, ready to meet our leader?”


    “This is all super weird, but sure.” Whisper shrugged. Everything about this was setting off her powers. Duplicity had been hard to read, meaning the girl was strong enough to break Paths. Roulette was like a glitch, someone like Myth. Backup was actually able to be easily read. He didn’t set off any alarms, which made her more concerned about him. So normal when surrounded by fatebreakers. As for whoever was on the roof...


    She couldn’t see them yet, but the Paths were in an uproar. The Paths sort of looked like strings to her. Lines that wrapped around time. Above, she watched them whip back and forth like a tornado.


    “You think you can fight someone from Watch Dogs?” She whispered.


    Myth shrugged. “No clue. They’re directly under OId Dog. He’s one of the ‘weakest’ members of the Enforcers, but he’s still an Enforcer at the end of the day. These guys are made to replace a member of the Enforcer if they’re lost in battle. I don’t have that honor, though part of that might be from the way the Branch does not like me...”


    They walked up the ramp, standing behind Backup. The bullets held strong beneath them. It was a little odd walking on them, but eventually they reached the top. The roof was surrounded by a clear glass dome. It went around the entire top of the building, and inside there were dozens of trees. It was like a mini forest. One that looked just like the forest around the island. Snow rained inside of the dome; a mini-cloud system had formed.


    “Whoever this Bad Wolf is, she must be a weather manipulator or something, right?” Myth questioned. Clouds like these didn’t usually form. “Why is she in this ‘cage,’ as you put it? What did Roulette mean by ‘keep her in’? Just what’s up with this team?”


    Backup was about to answer but stopped when he saw something. He looked into the glass cage and smirked. They followed his gaze and saw it. Something was crouched in the woods. A set of eyes peering at them from a large bush. “Yo Bad Wolf-”


    They stood up, draped in a dirty brown cloak. Myth didn’t even have time to think about transforming as the cloaked figure was already on them, crashing into the glass wall. They pulled their fist back, and then, in an instant, sharp claws stabbed through the glass, stopping inches away from Myth’s eyes.


    Myth dropped back, falling back with shocked eyes. Backup had his arm raised, his shield appearing once more, and he used it to smack the stabbed-out claws. “That’s enough, Bad Wolf.” He stated. “These guys came to talk to you.”


    The cloaked figure cocked their head to the side. They were almost fully covered head to toe, but what little bit of skin Whisper could see was covered in white fur. She felt a chill go up her spine as she gazed at the woman. “You’re one of the monsters that served under the Emperor!”