Nearly One Year Ago...
“Whoa, so they made Money Tree the leader of the Sub Enforcers?” Backup asked.
“I don’t think this is a good time to discuss this.” Bad Wolf mumbled as she ducked under the swing of a goon’s bat.
Old Dog casually twirled his body, a bullet flying past him. He brought his arms up and poked two of his fingers into the eyes of the grunt he was fighting, then hooked his thumb into the man’s nose, and with a twist of his wrist, he forced the goon’s body to twist until it slammed head first into the ground. “I am just as surprised as you are, Backup.” He kicked his leg backward, his shoe flying off, sending it into the barrel of a gun another goon had been holding and causing the gun to go off into the air. “Myth had been a sure pick. At least I would have thought.”
“I feel like we should be talking about this later.” Bad Wolf poked another grunt in the center of his stomach, sending the goon crashing into a back wall. “Who even are these guys, by the way? They don’t have the Bad Timers logo on, and they don’t have the masks of Zoo. Did we accidentally find a new crime group?”
“Seems like it.” Backup shrugged. He wasn’t in the middle of fighting. Instead, he scrolled on his phone, casually dodging bullets and swings as he read the latest hero news on Hero Hub. “Looks like they’re calling themselves the Wandering Coin.”
“Bad Wolf is right. We should focus on these guys first.” Old Dog grunted.
It was the middle of the night, and with Sub Enforcers recovering and trying to recruit new members after the ones that were lost in last year’s Calamity attack, it was up to Watch Dogs to take care of Oleander. They had also lost a few members and had become short on recruits, but they’d have to manage. Old Dog’s team was split into two groups, his group including Backup and Bad Wolf.
The three of them had been patrolling the city when they stumbled across a warehouse that was up to some shady stuff. Old Dog didn’t know what kind of products they were trying to sell, but he did know he wasn''t going to let it happen on his watch.
That was why they now fought their way through a horde of grunts. Most villains didn’t really trust one another. It was a dog-eat-dog world, and they mostly had to fend for themselves. Even the ones they did team up would need to constantly watch their backs. That was why they mainly hired non-powered grunts. It was a means of either slowing heroes down or tiring them out. Sometimes both.
Old Dog practically swam through the crowd of goons, hitting the perfect spot to knock them all out instantly. He came to a stop as dozens of them dropped to the ground around him. His outfit was worn back in the day during the war with Lucifer. The red military-like jacket had faded to a black matching the Victorian’s own. Of course, her jacket had also belonged to Nier and had been gifted to her by her dad. He’d have rather it ended up in a museum in order to honor Full Monarch, but that was too much to ask for, apparently.
The warehouse itself wasn’t anything too impressive. It had been mostly gutted, all the heavy machines in it having been taken out and replaced with boxes of their drugs. The only actual notable thing was a set of stairs that had been built in, which would lead to the underground section of the city.
Bad Wolf threw her hands out, and black clouds blasted out, rising high into the air above all the grunts. The air filled with static, and then, in a flash, lightning rained down. It was mild and kept low, only having the stun of a taser, but that was more than enough for these guys. They all dropped to the ground as if their strings had been cut.
Backup let out a giggle and then broke out into full-blown laughter. Even Old Dog had to cover his face as he began to snicker. “What?” Bad Wolf asked. The old man pulled out a mirror and flashed it to Bad Wolf, allowing her to see how her fur expanded and fluffed out wildly. She sighed and caused rain to pour down on her, fixing it, and she drew her cloak tighter around her body.
It was nice to see her out and having fun. On missions, it was easy to get her to do her job. With all the fighting and tasks, it kept her mind constantly rolling. Back home, though, was when that inner beast would start to get fussy.
“That seems like it was the last of them.” The old man grunted out. “We should head back before it-” He stopped suddenly, and his eyes widened. “Sky?” Before either of the heroes could question what he meant, he took off running down the stairs that led to the lower levels.
“Whoa! He’s fast for an old guy!” Backup said, running after the man.
Bad Wolf sprinted past him with inhuman speed as she dropped to all fours and began to quickly catch up to Old Dog, leaving Backup in the dust. “Sir, why did you suddenly run off?”
Old Dog ran faster, moving faster than even a fit human in his prime should have been able to. “I thought I saw my granddaughter.” He muttered.
“One of Ocean Empress’s daughters is here?” Bad Wolf frowned. “That is bad. Either of them could be in serious trouble if bad guys injured them.”
“My daughter isn’t the brightest. She’s struggling with the deaths of her mother and husband after the Calamity attack. I wouldn’t be shocked if she stopped paying attention to a child that isn’t really hers and allowed Sky to escape her sight. Maybe giving her Sky wasn’t my brightest idea.” The old man narrowed his eyes and whipped around a corner. “Still, if I find out this gang has tried to do something to her, I’ll call Roulette in on them and have him erase them off this planet. I won’t let Nier’s legacy be erased so easily.”
“But if you did see Sky, why would she be running away?” Bad Wolf asked.
“Huh?”
“Wouldn’t she run to you for help or use the gift of her true mother to escape?” Bad Wolf pointed out. “Seeing a glimpse of your loved ones but not being able to see them fully sounds more like Fairy Queen’s powers. She was a member of the-”
“I know who she is.” Old Dog barked out. “One of the strongest beasts of the Organization, she served under the Emperor alongside Golden God, Hell Hound, and Princess of Life. I fought her on the front lines years ago. She can invade a person’s mind and take on the form of their loved ones to trick them. Even in Nightshade, she can sometimes use her powers. The issue is she hasn’t done anything in years. She’s remained perfectly still in her cage, awaiting her master’s return.”
The tunnels opened up into a large stone platform. There were railings on either side, and past the railing were tracks. It seemed they stumbled into an abandoned subway station. Large stone pillars held the ceiling up, and the air was dusty and hard to breathe in.
Old Dog walked forward slowly, looking around. “Sky-” One of the pillars exploded into a hail of debris, causing the stones to rain down. Large white bone-looking spikes stabbed through it, nearly impaling the old hero, but he dropped to the ground and rolled at the last second. “We got a Super!” He called out.
“Aw, come on, Hannah! You missed.” The voice of Sky echoed throughout the tunnel, causing his eyes to narrow. It sounds almost exactly like her, but it was off slightly. The tone it had was more carefree and childish, and it giggled—something Sky never did. Two figures walked out from behind the stone pillar. The first wore long red robes and a bone-like mask that covered their face. He couldn’t get a good look at them due to the clothes, but they were short, so he figured they were either a young boy or an older girl. The other, though, caused his eyes to go wide. It looked like Sky, only older and with white hair and red eyes.
“Sorry, Wish.” The figure in red said. It sounded like a girl. She must have been Hannah. “I’ll try not to miss again.”
“Man, what is our luck that we’d stumble into two heroes here?” Wish hummed, folding her arms. She wore random street clothes and honestly didn’t look like a Super, but Old Dog could tell with just a glance she was trouble. He had been the son of a Lord, and fought alongside all of them during the war. He knew the energy a Lord would give off better than anyone.
“What are you two doing here?” He questioned. He stood up straight and placed his arms behind his back casually. He pressed a button on his belt. He would just have to hold out until the Victorian showed up. Bad Wolf backed away, her eyes wide as she stared at Wish, likely remembering the Princess of Life and her former master.
“I’ll pass on answering the question,” Wish said, waving her arm. “Get him, Hannah.”
The girl in red raised her arms, and skin tore as jagged bones stabbed out like spikes. Bad Wolf jumped back, but Old Dog remained standing still. Seconds before they reached him, Backup jumped in front of him and raised his arm, a long greatshield forming into it. Backup held his staff out and clicked a button, causing it to open up into a spear. His shield withstood the barrage of spikes, and he pushed through them, stabbing out with his spear.
Backup’s weapon bounced off the woman in red, bone-like armor seeming to form out of her skin. The bones coated her arms, giving her a set of long white claws, and Hannah slashed out at Backup, but he dodged the blow, ducking under it. As the Super failed her swing, Old Dog was on her, jumping onto Backup’s back. He palmed and struck the girl’s chest hard enough to shatter the bones that coated it and shove her back.
Wish watched the fight, standing further away with her arms behind her head. “Come on, Hannah. You can do it.” She cheered.
Clouds flowed out in the room, and a hail of ice rained down on the cloaked girl. The villain thrashed around, unable to see correctly, and as she was blinded, Old Dog jumped off of Backup, spinning over her and kicking her with his heel. She stumbled forward, and Backup moved behind her, stabbing into her back with his spear. She let out a grunt of pain, and he was forced to let go of his spear and raise his shield as large blades of bones stabbed out in all directions of the girl.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Bad Wolf shot through the air, bouncing off one of her clouds as if they were a solid object, and wrapped her arms around Old Dog, pulling him to safety at the last second. Backup’s shield cracked and dented, and he was pushed back. The bones pulled themselves back into Hannah’s body, and Bad Wolf threw Old Dog at her. The old man came to a sliding stop and threw his arm out, slamming it into the woman as he passed.
As she dropped, Backup smashed his shield into the spear that was stabbed through Hannah and shoved it in deeper, causing it to come out of the girl’s stomach. Old Dog stood on the other side of her, and he grabbed the head of the spear and pulled it until he ripped it out of her. He clicked a button on it, the blade pulled back, and the staff broke into two. Those two halves then further broke apart a chain connecting them as it turned into a pair of nunchucks.
Old Dog twirled the weapons around and began to smash them into the girl’s skull and her rips. She groaned, stumbling back, and formed a blade out of her palm to impale Old Dog, but Backup grabbed her by the wrist and brought her arm up, forcing the strike to miss. She tried to cause spikes to jut out of her arm to cut his hand but lost focus when Old Dog slammed the weapons into the top of her head over and over again as if she were a drum.
Bad Wolf came crashing over and rammed her hand into the hole in the girl’s cut. A cloud formed, and then Hannah screamed as a surge of lightning rammed its way through her body and out her mouth. She collapsed to her knees, and Old Dog clicked another button, causing the staff to come back together, and he rammed it into her face hard enough to throw her back.
Hannah crashed back and landed in the arms of Wish, who caught her. “Aw. Poor Hannah. I guess pro heroes would be too much for you.” Wish placed her hand under the girl’s face, stroking it. “Guess I’ll handle it then.” Hannah gasped as her skin began to mend, and her body put itself back together as Wish seemingly healed her.
Old Dog tossed the staff back at Backup, who caught it, as the three heroes all jumped back, keeping their eyes locked onto Wish. Wish placed Hannah down and began to stretch. Her eyes traced Bad Wolf, and she grinned.
“You were pretty fast and had good jumps.” Wish’s legs twisted and grew long, becoming wolf-like, much as Bad Wolf’s were, and she used it to come crashing toward Bad Wolf, her hand outstretched.
Bad Wolf didn’t have time to react. Her eyes were wide open as the hand approached her in slow motion. Seconds before the attack landed, she felt something ram into her as Old Dog’s body slammed her and knocked her out of the way. He slammed his fist out, smashing it into Wish’s face as her palm brushed his, and he jumped away. Wish crashed to the ground, rubbing at her bruised cheek, which was already starting to heal.
“We just need to hold out for a bit-” Old Dog stopped speaking suddenly and grabbed at his face. It burned. His eyes went wide, and he dropped to his knees, gasping. Blood poured out of his mouth, and his toned muscles started to shrink and vanish, his skin growing hundreds of new wrinkles. Most of his hair started to fall out, and his eyes became sunken. It was as if he suddenly doubled in age. He was already ancient before now too.
“Old Dog.” Backup yelled with wide eyes. Wish was back on her feet and jumped toward Old Dog, but Backup threw his arm out and clicked a button, causing the heavily dented tower shield he had to blast off his arm.
It slammed head-first into Wish, and clouds formed around her, shocking her with bolts of lightning. She wobbled and seemed dizzy but had a giant smile on her face as she stumbled back. Bad Wolf lifted Old Dog up, jumping around to join Backup.
Wish’s body mended itself of all the damage as she shook her head. “That sort of tickled. My nerves were all over the place. I wonder if I could do something like that.” She stared down at her hand, and slowly, her skin began to change into a blackish color. Similar to an eel. Sparks of electricity danced along it. It was nowhere near as potent as actual lightning, but she had seemingly given herself bioelectricity in an instant. “Nice!”
“What the hell is this thing?” Bad Wolf growled.
“I was sort of hoping you had an answer to that.” Backup winced. “She can’t be human, right? A monster maybe? Or at least half like Sky?”
Wish cocked her head to the side. “Sky? I’ve heard that name before. Yeah, that name.” She frowned a bit. “I don’t like it. I hate it even.” Her hands morphed and changed, growing long razor-sharp claws and wolf-like hands similar to Bad Wolf. “Why’d you have to spoil my mood by bringing that name up-”
The roof above exploded as a beacon of sunlight crashed down. She wore a black military-like uniform with a long red cape tied around it. Her golden hair flowed out as she raised her hand up, forming a greatsword of pure light. Wish didn’t even have time to think as she was cleaved in two. Her corpse exploded into golden fire that ate away at her and burned her to less than ash.
“Are you guys, okay?” The Victorian turned, her sword fading. Her eyes went wide when she saw Old Dog. “What happened!”
“Sometimes I forget how scary the Victorian is.” Backup muttered. He shook his head. “There was another one!”
They all turned to where Hannah had been, but the girl was long gone. She had likely left even before the Victorian arrived. “Victorian, please get Old Dog somewhere he can get help.” Bad Wolf said, handing the man over to the world’s strongest hero. “We’ll look for the missing villain. You might have just killed the second Lord of Life, if we’re right.”
“Seriously!” The golden woman took Old Dog and began to try and mend his body with some of her healing light. “I’ll be back in a flash in that case.” She fired off into the air, vanishing out of sight.
Backup gripped his staff. “Be honest. Could we have beaten that Wish girl?”
Bad Wolf didn’t answer. She just turned and began to head further into the tunnel. “Come on. We have a job we need to finish.”
Present Day...
“I’m guessing you never found that bone girl?” Whisper asked.
“Nope. She got away.” Backup stated.
“Damn. But I don’t see what got you guys so freaked out. I mean, it sounds like the Victorian killed that Wish chick.” Whisper shrugged.
“It’s not important.” Myth grunted. “From the sounds of it, you guys ran into the Wandering Coin. It was likely when they were just getting started. That Wish girl is dead, but I’m disturbed to learn that the one in red got away. We have been working under the assumption that they don’t have any Supers or lack powerful Supers. There was a rumor that the Wandering Coin might have had the Lord. I wondered why the Enforcers didn’t get involved if they knew about that fact. Now it makes sense. They were sure the Victorian killed the Lord. They also likely don''t want it getting out that the newest Lord of Life turned out to be as evil as the previous one was, which is why Old Dog likely hid that fact from the Sub Enforcers and my group. But why didn’t we learn some of the other details sooner? Like the fact they have other Supers in their rank?”
“The others are attacking a Wandering Coin base, right?” Whisper winced.
“Yeah, but what are the chances they stumble into the Super? I mean, we’ve attacked plenty of their bases, and it- Why am I jinxing it? They’ve definitely run into a Super.” Myth sighed.
“Sounds like you should hurry to help them then.” Bad Wolf said in a blunt tone.
Myth placed his hand on the glass. “I will. I need to know that you’ll at least hear out what I said. I don’t want to make an enemy of you guys if I can help it, but I will do what I think is right. Do you understand?”
Bad Wolf folded her arms and stopped her pacing. “We’ll discuss it. For now, though, your team needs your help.”
Myth nodded and turned away. “Alright. Just know this though. I don’t agree with you guys sitting on the sidelines just because you’re scared to act. That information your crew had could have allowed Money Tree or I to make a different plan. If any of my teammates die because you guys failed to inform us…”
“What will you do about it?” Bad Wolf said with a snort.
“Trust me. You don’t want to know.” Myth turned away from her. “I can be an even worse monster than anything the Emperor created. Whisper. Let’s go save our team.”
***
“Hey...” Battery spoke softly as he stared down at the ground. “The Giant needs his sword.” He dropped his phone, the thing shattering to bits before he bothered waiting for a reply.
He had managed to crawl out of the sea of debris. His costume was a torn mess, the legs and arms shredded. His mask was also gone, torn to pieces by the woman’s claws. It had been close, but he managed to burn her away. For once he was glad he had been blessed with corrupted DNA, as that had stunted the power she had tried to use on him.
‘You sure this is a good idea?’ The voice never spoke in a tone that held any real emotion, but he always figured it was mocking him. He could see the former number-one hero. Or at least he saw the man’s shadow. Standing just behind him. Of course, the moment he actually turned, it would be gone, and he’d be alone once more.
“Of course, I’m sure.” Battery rubbed at his side. His costume’s color made it hard to see the extent of the blood loss he was suffering from. “Golden God nearly tore this city apart looking for that girl, and now here she is running around. She has to be stopped. I don’t know what they plan to do with her, but I won’t let them get her.”
‘So you’re going to kill her?’
“Gladly. She’s a genetic anomaly. I’ll put her down like the rabid freak she is.”
‘When you speak like that, I’m always reminded of who you used to be.’
“You mean back when I was a villain.” He glanced down at his hands. His fingers heavily bled from the abuse of clawing his way out of the ground. He rested in an empty alleyway, now alone with his thoughts. “That’s how I know you aren’t really Full Monarch. He wouldn’t talk about my past. About who I used to be. He’d just be glad seeing who I am now.”
‘Things don’t ever change, you know. Not this much. Deep down, you know you’ll never escape the shackles of who you used to be. You’re nothing more than a dying mutt waiting for his master’s return. What will you do when the Emperor returns? I bet you’ll crawl your way back to him like you did to me-’
Jack turned, and the shadow was gone. He was alone in the alleyway, and the voice was no longer there. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone for long. The crackle of energy filled the air, and seconds later, a bright flash lit everything up. Harrison Avalon took a second to dust himself off as he finally appeared.
“Yo. It’s been a while. Hey, uh, what do I call you exactly?” The world’s richest man asked sheepishly.
“Just call me Jack or Battery. I don’t care.” Battery said, waving the man off. He grunted and slowly pushed himself back up to his feet, feeling his bones crack.
“Got it. Well, Battery, I have to say you look like hell.”
“And you look like you’re trying to copy Mr. Sini.”
“Ouch. So, did you just call me out here to insult me or what?” The man asked, giving a grin. He leaned back on a wall and folded his arms. “I mean, we haven’t seen each other in fifteen years now, right?”
“Do you know who the Lord of Life is?”
“If I did, the heroes would know about it.” The man shrugged.
“So, you’re still on the heroes’ side?”
“Of course I am.” Avalon snorted. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Green Wolf used your tech to escape.”
“Yeah, he stole it.” The man said, rolling his eyes. “He raided one of my towers and made off with a bunch of experimental stuff. Nothing too big, thankfully. Why would I ever side with someone like him? I heard they were working with Golden God. You know I hate the Organization as much as you do. After all, I was the one that allowed you to split the Emperor’s gut open and save Max Lightning.”
Battery looked up towards the full moon, watching as it cloaked everything in its ethereal glow. He never did like the moon. “Sometimes people do weird things because of their hatred. Either way, I did call you out here for something important. I’d like my sword back.”
“You want that hunk of junk?” Avalon said, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously? I mean, I’ve gotten pretty rusty with my power, so I don’t even think it’ll be that good anymore. Besides, that sword isn’t exactly befitting of a hero. Don’t want anyone seeing it and getting the wrong idea after all.”
“I just want to borrow the sword.”
Avalon rubbed his neck slowly. “Okay. But you know it’ll cost you, right?”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Can you even pay the debt off?”
“I’ll work something out.”
Harrison sighed but finally smiled once more. “Okay then. In that case, I’ll let you use it for the rest of the day. Until midnight, the sword that belonged to the Emperor will be yours.”