Sirens wailed around his lab as he grabbed at his hair. “I know! Shut the hell up!” Of course, he knew there were intruders. The alarms didn’t need to tell him that. He could hear them tearing through the castle.


    “Sir, what should we do?” One of his men asked. There were dozens of them all piled in his lab, barricading the doors and walls. Down below on the other floors, the rest of his men had the task of setting up various traps and being used as decoys to hopefully slow the heroes down. “Sir?”


    “I’m thinking, you idiot!”


    Doc was not a very lucky man. At a young age, he had gained superpowers. Not the cool kind, though. He couldn’t shoot lasers, fly, or control fire. Instead, he had a knack for creating a type of medication. Miracle pills. These are things that should have gone down in history as something that would make him famous but never happened.


    The Hero Branch had snatched him up at a young age, and he was forced to heal the heroes. They didn’t let him do most of his studies either. It was always the lame stuff he was forced to work on, like healing limbs, rather than perfecting cloning like he always wanted to do. Worse yet, he had been forced to work alongside other Hero Branch doctors, many of whom weren’t even Supers.


    He almost viewed the Emperor appearing as a blessing. He faked his death and went into hiding. That was where his story should have ended. He should have gotten a happy ending where he got to do whatever he wanted, but instead of being blessed like many others, he discovered he wasn’t suited for a boring life.


    So he found himself wanting to do something.


    Long story short, he backstabbed Avalon, stole something he really shouldn’t have, and in order to avoid Avalon’s wrath, he was forced to get the protection of an upcoming gang boss by the name of Sunshine. Forcefully recruited into the Wandering Coin, he was able to have some fun here. And with the help of Wish, he was finally making a breakthrough in his research. His powers were created as a way to heal people. What better way to truly heal and save the human race than to ensure they were evolved, perfected lifeforms? In other words, he sought to create a world of only Supers.


    His lab was all the way at the castle’s top floor, which held the control room to the gate of this realm. The gate in question, though, would only appear at the edge of the woods because the Pallet Boys had thought it was ‘cool’ and ‘cinematic,’ so using it as an escape plan was out of the question since it meant he would have to go through whatever heroes were currently ripping their way towards him. There was another exit that served as an emergency escape, but it was placed all the way at the bottom of the castle. It was things like this that made him truly glad the Pallet Boys were dead.


    “Sir, they breached the wall.” One of the men yelled as he stared down towards the courtyard below. “They’re taking the others out with ease.”


    “Of course they are. Blast it all.” Doc cursed, kicking a table over and causing everyone to scramble in fear of what the many jars of liquid would do. “We just need to hold out for a bit longer. I told Sunshine what was happening. There is no way he would let me be caught. I go, and the whole first half of his plan goes to hell. He’ll send my three creations or Wish or he’ll even come himself. We just need to hold out.”


    “That’s easier said than done.” One of the men grunted.


    “Well, don’t just stand around, you idiots! This lab is filled with some of the finest Super created products in the world. Get whatever you need!”


    The lab in question was highly messy. There were dozens of suits of spare Pallet Boy armor that lined the walls. Some were functional, but others were half-built or extremely old models. He didn’t specialize in that kind of tech, but Sunshine didn’t care. He had cut his fingers open dozens of times, trying to open the metal slots and tinkering with the wires. Dozens of tables were also everywhere, filled with jars of different colored liquids. Many didn’t really do anything or would kill you if you drank it, being experiments, but a few were the drugs he made for the Wandering Coin.


    There were two drugs in question. The first was given out to their soldiers. It was the one that would boost their power by dozens of folds and give them pseudo-Super-like bodies. The second drug was what they gave out to the people when they needed to replace their goons. It would instantly hook you and was so addicting that most people willingly signed away their lives for just a second dose. There was a third one as well, but everyone who drank it died, save for three.


    He himself was almost as messy as his lab. His hair was wild and colored so many different shades it might as well have been rainbow. His eyes were hidden behind a set of sunglasses that masked the fact that he was blind, and his lab coat was covered in just as many colors as his hair. He had pale skin since he rarely left the pocket realms, and he clutched his walking cane so hard he thought that it might break.


    His soldiers moved around the lab, some grabbing the orange jars of enhanced drugs and popping them, while others tried to find a working suit of tech armor. Some still decided to take their chances with just their firearms. Either way, all of them faced the door, waiting for the heroes.


    The castle had grown eerily silent. All his other men should have been causing an uproar down below as the heroes fought through them, but instead, it was as if all noise had stopped. “Wait,” Doc said slowly. “What if one of them, or all of them, could fly? I sort of forgot to think of a plan in case that-”


    The wall behind him exploded, debris and glass scattering through the room. Screams filled the lab. The Doc threw himself to the floor just in time as his men unleashed a barrage of bullets into the opening, but it didn’t matter. Not anymore.


    Money Tree came floating in first. Despite the fact his suit was made out of paper, it easily blocked all the bullets, tendrils of dollar bills forming out of his back that swatted them away. He stood on a platform made of quarters that carried him into the room. Following behind him were Cinder and Snowdawn, both of whom jumped off of their platforms as soon as they entered the room.


    Doc scrambled to his feet but tripped over one of his men. His cane went flying and smacked against the wall, and he was forced to feel his way around on the floor. The room was filled with the sounds of combat, and even without his sight, he knew his guys were losing.


    Outside of the room, his other soldiers realized the heroes had skipped past them and were trying to enter the lab, but it was blocked off and locked down by all the barricades that had been built. He had basically trapped himself, along with his soldiers, in the room with the heroes.


    Cinder blocked a strike one of the enhanced grunts threw at her. She slammed her fist into the goon’s gut hard enough that he almost vomited. Her leg smashed into the man’s shin, bringing him to his knees, and with a simple palm strike to the face, he was sent slamming into the back wall, hitting the ground unconscious. Another grunt charged at her, his skin starting to glow red-hot as he roared. She narrowly dodged a heavy punch he threw and jammed her finger into his gut, blasting a beam of fire into him. It picked him up and carried him across the room, smashing him into several of the other drugged-up grunts.


    Snowdawn dealt with the ones in the suits, sending his snow out like a tidal wave and freezing them all in place, trapping them against the wall. The ones that did manage to dodge, or escape, the onslaught he took out with a bit of hand to hand, every strike forcing globs of ice to grow out of the spot he touched, weighing the suits down and causing them to crash to the floor below.


    This left just the standard gun-wielding grunts, which Money Tree easily dealt with. Quarters formed together into the shape of spinning blades, which wildly began to spin through the room, slashing the guns the men held apart. Dollar bills wrapped around their arms and legs, easily bringing them all to the ground and binding them all.


    This left just one person remaining. “I know you’re faking.” She snorted. In front of her, the man in the strangely colorful lab coat was on his back, spread out with his eyes squeezed shut, pretending to be knocked out. “None of us even touched you.”


    “Judging by what he’s wearing, he’s likely the one everyone was talking about.” Money Tree noted.


    She felt her heart skip a beat and reached down, grabbing the man by the back of his coat. He stopped his act, letting out a fearful yell as she shoved him into the wall. The alarms of the base still went off, along with a new siren, and outside their door, more men were trying to bust in, but she ignored it all. The only thing she focused on was the man in front of her. He was shivering, and her nose ached as he smelled quite pungent. She got the feeling he hadn’t bathed in several days.


    “You know who Sunshine is. Tell me-”


    “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know; just don’t hurt me!”


    “Seriously? That’s all it took.” She blinked a few times in surprise. She had been in the middle of putting on her Mr. Larison tough act, ready to try and rough him up a bit to make him talk.


    “I like living and don’t really care for this team all that much.” The blind man said sheepishly. “I’ll sell them out if it means I get a lighter sentence. Can I do a plea deal or something?”


    She shot a look towards Money Tree, who just shrugged. It seemed he also didn’t expect a high-ranking member of a crime team to just give up info so easily. Her mind raced as she thought about what to ask. “The Lord of Life. Do you guys have them on your team?”


    The Doc winced a bit. “I suppose it was only a matter of time before you heroes figured that out. Yes. We have the Lord of Life. She’s a girl around your age, maybe a little younger. She was made out of the pod.”


    “Pod?” Both Money Tree and Snowdawn looked lost. She had almost forgotten the fact that most people didn’t know how the Lord’s were really made.


    “It isn’t important.” She said, shaking her head. “If he knows about the Pod though, then that means he either knows way more than he should or he’s telling the truth. And if he really is telling the truth, then that means…”


    “The Emperor really is dead?” Money Tree put it together first. His eyes sparkled with a mix of various emotions as the memories of the terror that rained upon the land came back to him. “He’s really dead. I had thought so and held out hope, but for it to be confirmed like this…”


    “This new Lord of Life. Do you think we could get her to work with the heroes?” She asked. She had sort of hoped the Lord would be younger than her. It’d be easier to get a child to come around and be a good guy than an already brainwashed teen.


    “Fat chance.” The villain let out a snort. “You really think a Lord of Life would work alongside the good guys? The Lords represent something more. They aren’t mere humans with morality. They are titles turned into people. The Sea will always hide a monster beneath the waves of its humanity, the Sky will always be stuck in a state of disaster somewhere along the way, the Sun will always be a force of utter destruction waiting to go supernova, and Life will always be just as twisted and evil as evolution. She is the closest thing to a true human. And with how people are, it’s no wonder she would hate them.”Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    “That complicates things.” She winced. “I’m going to have to either try and convince them or force them to save my dad now.” Why couldn’t the Lord of Life just be the kind that would cling to her like a little sister? This would have all been so much easier. She still learned a lot from Doc, though, so it was worth it in the end, even if the news hadn’t been the best. “Okay then. Anyone else have any questions they want to ask?” She stopped pinning the man to the wall but still gripped him tightly by his coat.


    Snowdawn raised his hand high and jumped slightly. “Oh! Me, me! Pick me.”


    “Um? Yeah, okay, you want to ask him anything, Snowdawn?”


    The snow-covered hero folded his arms and gave a wide grin. “So, before any of us forgets or before we’re interrupted by someone. What’s the name of your boss? His real name. This Sunshine guy. You know who he is right.”


    Doc winced again and gave a light shrug. “Yes. I do know him. I’ve seen him in person, too. In fact, I know where he lives, what he likes to eat, and his full name. He’s a pretty big deal. Only he can get the Lord of Life to obey him.”


    “Okay, so then what’s his name?”


    “Before I tell you, haven’t you found it odd?” Doc asked, frowning.


    “Found what odd?” Money Tree narrowed his eyes, and slowly, a second sword appeared in his hand. The first one was still pressed to the blind man’s throat, and he applied the tiniest hint of pressure, causing a drop of blood to slide down the doctor’s throat. “We aren’t in the mood for jokes.”


    Doc gave a toothy grin. “I just thought you would find it odd how quiet it suddenly got.”


    They all froze at his words. The alarms had shut off. When they didn’t know, they had been distracted and never noticed it. Not just that, but the banging outside the door had also stopped. The men had either given up or someone told them to stop. She tried to think back to when they had started to talk to the man. Right at the start, there had been a second siren that went off.


    “Someone else came through the gate. He was stalling for time.”


    The wall next to the entrance suddenly exploded, sending a wave of debris. She threw the doctor on the ground and swatted at the stone. Seconds later, dozens of blood-red chains came slicing out in all directions. They cut through everything they touched and moved in ways that showed whoever controlled them could see them all. She felt herself get a little sick when one of the chains passed by her, and she saw dozens of eyeballs lining them. They weren’t made out of metal, either. Instead, it was as if liquid had taken on a solid shape.


    They all did their best to dodge the barrage of chains, which flowed like whips. There were six in total, and two of them wrapped around Doc’s waist and pulled him out of the room. She threw an orb of fire towards him, but the chains blocked it with ease.


    The things pulled themselves back out of the room, and seconds later, dozens of armed men came running in, pointing their guns at them. None of the heroes bothered to look at them, though. Instead, they were focused on the three Supers who strolled back into the room.


    “I never doubted in my mind you wouldn’t come to save me, baby!” Doc’s arms were wrapped around the shoulders of a young seventeen-year-old girl. One which took her breath away. The girl looked almost exactly like Sky, or maybe a younger version of the Princess of Life. She had a feeling she knew who the next Lord of Life was. The girl was also dressed in the outfit of a Cleanup Squad member.


    “Dad, not in front of Kevin.” Wish said, rolling her eyes and shoving the doctor off of her, sending him crashing into what was left of the wall.


    “Kevin?” She jerked her head and felt her blood run cold when she saw the last Super. He stood only in his boxers, awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot. “Kevin!” Kevin didn’t look her in the eyes, instead staring down at the floor in shame.


    Wish cocked her head as her eyes glanced Cinder’s body up and down. “Hey, Kevin, this is one of the girls you talk about, right? Is she Hope or Ashley? This one had fire, so that means she’s Cinder, so I’d say she’s Hope!” The girl announced, and Hope once again felt her blood run cold.


    “Not cool, man,” Snowdawn yelled. He glared at Kevin. “Didn’t she save your life twice now? And you still sold her identity out to some villains? Worse yet, you’re working for the Wandering Coin as one of their goons now! These guys tried to kill you! You- You were in jail for trying to get their drugs. Why did you- How could you?”


    “It’s fine.” She blocked her friend with her arm before he could step towards the villains. “We’ll deal with that issue later.” Her gaze never left the white-haired girls. “You’re not Paragon’s secret twin by any chance?”


    The girl rolled her eyes. “Why does everyone always bring her up when they see me? First that golden man, and now you.”


    “You met Battery?”


    “Oh yeah.” She gave a wide grin. “He was with those other two boys. They really weren’t all that great. Pretty sure I killed one of them. That one with the wasps-”


    Money Tree was on her in an instant. A look of pure rage in his eyes. He had seemingly given up his calm nature as he swung out as hard as possible. His sword became coated in diamonds, and in an instant, he sliced both Kevin’s and the white-haired girl’s heads off. Tendrils flowed out of Kevin’s head, grabbed onto his body, and pulled it back on. Money Tree didn’t even blink, dodged Kevin’s punch, and brought his sword up again. This time, he cleaved the boy in two once again, though Kevin’s body pulled itself back together.


    “Don’t forget about me.” Wish giggled as her head also reattached itself. She reached for Money Tree, and he blocked the strike with his sword, but instantly, his blade shattered, causing his eyes to go wide. Her hand snaked around his wrist, and she squeezed down on it, her fingers digging into the dollar bills. “I win.”


    Money Tree formed another sword in his free hand and swung fast. Hope felt herself let out a scream, her eyes wide as she watched the man slice his own arm off. He cut it off at the elbow and jumped away just in time.


    The limb began to bubble and boil in the girl’s arms and melt into a puddle. She dropped it and frowned. “You actually cut your arm off before I could affect you fully? How crazy are you?”


    “Money Tree!” Snowdawn ran over to the man and placed his hands on the man’s wound. “We need to stop the bleeding!” Money Tree ignored him, still staring at the girl. He had no doubt in his mind that this woman was the Lord of Life or at least something close to it. His powers gave him fine control over small things. It required constant focus. That was what allowed him to pick up on the energy that appeared in the cells of his hand. A moment too late, and he’d be dead.


    The image of Lucifer kept coming to her mind. The version she had seen. The one Nier, the great hero, had struggled with. This woman was a monster like that.


    An utter freak.


    She shook her head, getting her mind back on topic. She let out a loud whistle, and suddenly, bursting through the broken window, a bird landed on Money Tree’s shoulders. “Destiny?” Money Tree asked, raising an eyebrow.


    “Ever since what happened to Paragon, he’s been following me.” She explained. “I’ve kept him above us the entire time and brought him in with us in case we needed some healing.”


    Despite how good Destiny was at healing, Money Tree’s arm didn’t suddenly regrow. The wound closed, and his bleeding stopped, and he felt himself regain a lot of his blood, stopping the light-headed feeling he had, but the limb was still gone—a price he paid for letting his emotions get the better of him.


    “That bird is really cool.” Wish said with wide eyes. “I wonder if...” She raised her hand, and slowly, something began to bubble into it. It let out a bird-like chirp as she created a small, chicken-looking thing. “Ah. I’ll need to work on it more, I guess.” She closed her fist and crushed the newly created animal, pulling it back in her hand. “Still, you’ve given me some new ideas!”


    “What did you do to BB?” She demanded.


    “Who?”


    “She was outside of this gate.”


    Wish shrugged. “Never saw anyone.” That caused her to let out a sigh of relief. BB likely hid when the girl saw Wish. The girl’s instincts were sharp. Winning a fight against this monster was next to impossible. “This is the girl you told me about, right, Kevin?” Wish hummed, still looking directly at her.


    “Yeah.” Kevin nodded.


    “You said she was stronger than me, right?” Wish gave a broad smile and placed her hands behind two of the armed goons next to her. They screamed out, and their bodies began to twist and change shape. One seemed to bend and narrow out his body, breaking until he was turned into a gross flesh-looking sword. The other became round and thin, growing bones across his skin, turning into a shield. “I’d like to see just how good she is.”


    The other soldiers pretty much gave up then and there. It was clear Wish wasn’t really on their side. Many of them dropped their guns and made a break for the exit. No one bothered to stop them. Money Tree took a step back, wincing. “Okay. I have a plan. The controls to the gate are somewhere in here. We find them and—”


    “Kevin, destroy the controls!” Wish yelled. Kevin threw his arm out, and it grew to a massive size, swatting across the room and ripping everything that was electrical apart. “Next time, maybe don’t say your plan out loud, dumbass.”


    Money Tree gave a nod toward Cinder and Snowdawn, and all three knew the plan. Wish wasn’t very bright when it came to these realms. By destroying the controls, the gate would forcefully open up in only a few moments. Now, they could actually get out of here.


    “Run.”


    ***


    Nothing.


    She still saw nothing.


    Destiny was still too far away. Sky slowly sat up in her hospital bed. How long had she been trapped in this place, she wondered. Her head ached, but for once, she felt like she wasn’t going to instantly black out. “Sky?” A familiar voice took her breath away.


    “Mom?”


    Inside the hospital room, there really wasn’t much. It had a bed and a table, as well as a large TV that hung up on the wall. Her mother rested in a seat next to her bed. “You’re awake.” Sky flinched when she felt the woman’s arms wrap around her, but she relaxed when she felt the cool water on her skin. She wasn’t actually in physical contact with her mother.


    “Hey, sissy.” Lily’s voice caused Sky to jump once more. Lily sounded normal.


    “Lily. Are you-”


    “Yeah.” Lily stood behind her mom, her arms folded. “I’m back to normal. For now, at least. Mom managed to bring me back while you were knocked out. Got to say I was a little worried you wouldn’t wake up. You’ve never pushed your powers that far before. How are you feeling?”


    “Tired,” Sky admitted. “How long have I been out for?”


    “A full month.” Ocean Empress sighed. “But you’re awake now. That’s all that matters.”


    “I had the strangest dream.” She balled her hand in and out of a fist. “I thought I saw Kenny and Rowan. That Battery guy was there, too. Others I didn’t know either. I... I was evil or something—I think I—”


    “It’s fine.” She felt her sister’s hand squeeze down on her shoulder. “It was just a bad dream. I get them all the time.” Her sister giggled. “I know it was just a dream because there is no way you would ever be evil. You’re way too nice for that.”


    “I’m not nice.”


    “Yeah, sometimes you can be a real bitch.” Her sister admitted.


    “Lily!” Their mom said, horrified.


    “But!” Lily clarified. “Sky is always helping people. Constantly, whenever she gets the chance, she’s a good hero.”


    Sky felt herself smile for a second. Her dream was already starting to fade from her mind. It had been way too weird to really recall. Though at the end, she remembered seeing Cinder—or maybe it was Hope. The girl’s mask had been removed, and she looked like she was on the verge of- Sky shook her head, squashing the bad thoughts back down. It was only a dream. Hope was fine. Destiny was with her. He would keep her safe. He would keep all of the Sub Enforcers safe, too.


    “Yeah. It was just a bad dream I was having-”


    All the windows shattered suddenly, and a high-pitched whistle filled the room. She felt herself be shoved back as Lily threw herself onto her sister in case there was an attack. Ocean Empress formed her dress to its full height and raised her hands up, ready to fight.


    A loud popping sound echoed throughout the room, and suddenly, both Ocean Empress and her daughter felt their eyes go wide when they saw who appeared. “W- What are you doing here?”


    “Who is it?” Sky demanded. Sometimes, she cursed being blind. She wished Destiny was here more than ever now.


    Ocean Empress took a step forward. “Battery, are you okay?” The hero didn’t have his mask on. She had seen him before, but it was the first time Lily saw him. She never really liked looking at his actual face. It always reminded her of people she once knew. Sometimes, he sort of looked like Full Monarch; other times, he didn’t, though. Now, well now, his face was bloodied, and he was covered in bruises. His costume was a torn mess, and he looked exhausted.


    Battery ignored her and raised a sword up. Ocean Empress gasped when she saw it. The blade wasn’t made from his energy. It was an actual sword, one made of a pure white metal. It glowed faintly, and all along it were golden lines and symbols. Runic almost. The words ‘Story Maker’ were carved along the blade. He stabbed the sword into the floor. “Bring them here.”


    The hissing noise was back, followed by the pop. Lily screamed suddenly when she saw who appeared. Like Battery, they had seemingly formed into the room. Rowan’s armor was torn to bits, and the boy’s stomach was caved in. That was nothing to Ken, though. There was so much blood around him his entire foot was missing, and a massive hole was punctured all the way through him. He didn’t look to be breathing.


    “Heal them.” Battery grunted as he turned away.


    “What the hell is going on?!” Ocean Empress yelled.


    “Heal them!”


    Lily practically threw her sister off the bed. “You have to save him, Sky! Heal him!”


    “I- I don’t even know what’s going on-”


    “It’s Ken! He’s dying!” The room was filled with her panicked mothers yelling, as well as her sisters sobbing. Sky nodded and slowly reached for the floor. She flinched when she felt how much blood it was coated in.


    Battery turned away fully and gripped the handle of his weapon tightly. “Take me to the Lord of Life.”


    The room shook, and then a pop, and he was gone, just like that.


    Ocean Empress stared at the spot he was at, her eyes downcast. “I’ll call for help. Try to help them in the meantime, Sky.” And with that, she left the room. Things seemed like they weren’t doing well in Oleander.