"Did he just hang up on me!" Ocean Empress barely had time to put her phone away and form a shield made out of water. "Oh, I am so telling that asshole a piece of my mind next time I see him!"


    Her barrier was blown to bits as a shock wave rammed into her. She felt her muscles and bones shake, and she was sent crashing back, rolling across the street, and ramming back-first into a car.


    They weren''t in Avalon''s office anymore. She had been sent flying out of the building by a single punch from Fairy Queen. Now the battle had moved to the streets of Oleander City. It was night, but despite that fact, there was still quite a bit of traffic. Most people had done the smart thing and made a break for it the moment Golden God appeared. The villain floated above Avalon''s tower, nearly as big as the building, and his many arms tore into it, ripping it apart and sending rubble down below.


    Not everyone was smart, however. Some people, for whatever reason, thought this was the best time to pull out their phones and start recording. Ocean Empress groaned and managed to pull herself back up into a sitting position. She held her hand up and formed bubbles of water over the people, saving them from the falling rubble. Once she made sure they were safe, she stared back up at Fairy Queen, who floated down to the street softly.


    The woman hadn''t changed a day. Turned into a monster by the Emperor, Fairy Queen had fought in many battles fifteen years ago. Ranked just under Hell Hound, Fairy Queen was someone even the best Enforcer member would have trouble with. And Ocean Empress was far from the best.


    The villain waved her hand, and an invisible force surged forward, heading toward a crowd of people. Ocean Empress threw her fist out, and water surged forward like a wave, crashing down in front of the people and forming into a wall of ice, which exploded into a hail of debris as an unseen shockwave smashed into it. Before she could recover and attack, Fairy Queen fired forward and rammed her fist into Ocean Empress''s gut, hard enough to make the hero nearly throw up as she was sent even further down the street.


    Fairy Queen licked her lips and smirked as she watched the hero kneel and clutch at her gut. She aimed at the civilians once more, but before she could attack them, a wave of gravity smashed into her from above. It was strong enough to shatter the street they were on, and Fairy Queen glanced up right as Poseidon came crashing down with her trident. Poseidon’s hair was already different, and the girl’s eyes glowed with a fiery red light.


    Poseidon stabbed her weapon into the face of Fairy Queen, but despite using all of her strength and power, it didn''t even puncture the woman''s flesh. Fairy Queen wasn''t even thrown back and simply batted the weapon out of her face. She held her palm out, and Poseidon was hit by an invisible explosion, which smashed the girl into the entrance of Avalon''s building.


    Ice suddenly rose out of the ground and formed around the Organization member’s legs, binding her in place. Ocean Empress had gotten back up and held her hand out, panting slightly. The ice grew larger and began to swirl with water as they froze the villain in a solid block of ice. Poseidon came rocketing out of the building and focused more of her gravity wave, causing the block to sink into the ground and break through it, burying it underneath the stone.


    "What the hell did she hit me with?" Poseidon groaned, clutching at the spot where the explosion had rammed into her. "It freaking hurt."


    Ocean Empress wiped at her mouth, clearing it of the blood. She had tanked three attacks so far, and her body was already reaching its limits. The Emperor''s four warriors really were something else. "She is one of the best inverting power users ever recorded. Her main power involves around illusions and dreams and messing with people''s heads, though she tends to not like using it since she''d rather inflict physical harm than mental. She can get in your head and become the image of someone you know, pretending to be them. In a fight, though, she inverts her power. That''s where the real issues start."


    "What would the inversion of an illusion be?" Poseidon wondered.


    "Reality." Ocean Empress finished. "She is able to twist reality to a small extent. Those blasts that keep hitting us are her collapsing a tiny hole of reality and causing it to implode. She''s like a reverse black hole. She can also twist and shape things in different ways, so be careful by-"


    The hole Fairy Queen was in began to expand and grow larger. It was sort of like watching an old-timey cartoon. Fairy Queen''s hands came out and literally widened the gap as she pulled herself out, completely free of the ice. She didn''t look hurt in the least. Poseidon didn''t give her any time to react; the Lord of the Sea charged forward, twirling her trident around and increasing its weight as much as she could. Blades of water gushed out of it, and she sent a sharp slash out, but her attack never landed.


    Golden God''s massive hand slammed down between them and blocked the strike with his palm. Her attack dented the metal a bit, but he held firm. He was huge, and his many limbs stretched out well past his body. As he floated down toward them, weaving his way past the buildings, his mouth opened wide, and a grayish light blasted out.


    "Don''t let that light touch you!" Ocean Empress screamed. She created a floor of ice beneath her and skated backwards to get out of the blast zone. Poseidon reduced her gravity as much as she could and caused a glob of water beneath her to explode, shooting her into the sky and above the beam that came down.


    The gray light washed over the street and dozens of buildings, turning everything it hit into dust. The buildings rusted, and their stone broke away, and it was as if they suddenly became hundreds of times older, the supports that held them up giving out and collapsing.


    Poseidon twirled herself around and sent out a sharp, piercing wave of water, condensing it into a thin beam and smashing her gravity along it. The attack rammed into Golden God''s body and was enough to send him a bit into the air, but he was otherwise left unharmed.


    "I think I''m going to have to transform!" Poseidon yelled down to her mom. All Lords had a state beyond their power; the battle mode, but as Full Monarch had shown in his fight with Lucifer, there was a state beyond this as well. A higher form of power where you fully tap into the power of a Lord. Something she also had-


    "No!" Ocean Empress called back. "You were told you''re only allowed to use ''that'' during Calamity level threats. These guys are tough, but they aren''t anywhere near as dangerous as the Beast or the Emperor! We just need to hold out for a bit, and I''m sure the Victorian will notice us! She''ll take both of these guys out in one attack!"


    "Aw. Do you really think so little of us?" Fairy Queen pouted and cocked her head to the side. “I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Ruby Admiral again. It’d be like the old days when she was a naive girl. I’m shocked to know she’s now the number one hero of today. After all, fifteen years ago, she was always hiding behind her father.”


    "Paragon got away." Golden God''s voice caused the street to rumble. "She used the blade and escaped. We''ll need to catch up to her if we want to destroy her and Wish, for the sake of our master." His words caused Ocean Empress to freeze in shock.


    "Paragon isn''t here? Where the hell did she go?!"


    "Pretty sure I got a good idea..." Poseidon muttered. "And as much as I hate to admit it, she''s likely safer with Cinder than she is here, with two members of the Organization."


    "Don''t get too distracted!" Fairy Queen appeared in front of Ocean Empress and grabbed the woman by the face. She smashed the hero''s head down into the ground and sent a massive shock wave directly into the woman''s face. Ocean Empress screamed, feeling her skull nearly pop and dozens of her teeth crack.


    "Mom!" Poseidon tried to charge forward, but two of Golden God''s hands surrounded her and smashed together into a powerful clap, nearly crushing her. She yelled out as she was trapped between them both, and they began to press down.


    Fairy Queen raised her hand and smirked. The air around it twisted and changed as reality folded in on itself, and a large dagger appeared in her grasp. "Well. Good night, sweet princess-"


    "Who''s Jack Larison?" Fairy Queen''s stab stopped inches away from Ocean Empress''s eye. The hero was beaten and battered, her face bloodied, but she had managed to say the right thing to cause Fairy Queen to pause. Her water blasted out, and she tried to impale the woman through the gut, but all it did was throw the winged villain off of her. Ocean Empress quickly jumped to her feet and spat out a glob of blood, shaking her head.


    Fairy Queen''s long wings expanded, and she took flight, hovering just above the ground. She had a nasty look on her face, and the dagger she held dissolved and faded. "You just had to mention that name, didn''t you?" The woman huffed and folded her arms. “Way to spoil the mood."


    Ocean Empress took a deep breath and tried to focus. Her thoughts were all over the place, and her ears rang. She had a concussion. Maybe something even worse. She just needed to buy time, though. This was never a battle she had to win. The villain''s reaction confirmed something to her. What Laps had said had to be partially true, at least. After all, Fairy Queen recognized the name. "Who is he?" She demanded.


    "You''re not in a position to order me around." Fairy Queen floated up and landed on one of the fingers of Golden God. Her arms folded, and she glared down at the woman. "He was a streetrat. One that the Emperor took great interest in. I guess you could say he was like a son. Adopted by the master. Though in the end, that traitorous bastard backstabbed the hand that taught him all he knew."


    "He can''t be that bad if he turned on his former master." Ocean Empress shrugged. "Besides, everyone''s heard of Hell Hound, of Golden God, of Fairy Queen, and of the Princess of Life. You four were the Emperor''s generals. He had other warriors, of course—people like Polaron, Mars King, or Alien. I''ve never heard of anyone with Battery’s powers, though. Whoever he was in the past, he couldn''t have committed so many sins as to remain nameless, not in a war like that."


    "Oh, is that what you think? Naive little girl, you don''t even know how wrong you are." Fairy Queen giggled as if she knew some inside joke. "Rest assured, the whole world knows the sins he committed; everyone stared at him on ''that'' day and bore witness to his evil, one that rivaled the Emperor''s own. How fortunate he must be for not a single heroic soul to figure out who he was during that war. As if all memories of his deeds are gone. He was created to be a weapon, one that allowed the Emperor to slay Full Monarch, one that, I promise you, everyone hates. In his final battle with the Lord of the Sun, a scar was left upon his heart, one that would ensure he would never recover again, with the simple command to kill him. Yet he escaped, ran with his tail tucked between his legs, and lived like a coward, hiding away. That was the fate of the Emperor''s weapon. He was a wild animal, one that turned against its master, even after the Emperor fed him and allowed him to grow. Even after the Emperor blessed him with the power found only in stories and allowed him to turn into the thing he desired most. Even after he became a Giant. None of it was enough. The sins he carried will never be washed away. He is hated by all sides equally. That I can promise you.”


    "I just don''t buy it." Ocean Empress said, shaking her head. No matter how hard she thought about it, no villain in the great war came to her mind. The Emperor had created hundreds of monsters and forced nearly every villain gang in the world to side with him. He gifted his power of cursed life to many warriors, and most of the ''big'' villains were created in that war. For such a prominent person like this, it should have been known. "Something just isn''t adding up. Oh well. I don''t really care. I was just buying time."


    As if on cue, Poseidon managed to force the hands that held her down open, blasting them apart and blowing one of them to bits as a chaotic storm gushed out of her and gravity crushed everything around her. Black blood poured down her nose, and she looked pissed.


    Neither Golden God nor Fairy Queen paid her any mind, though. Instead, their eyes were focused on the mass of crackling golden light firing toward them. The Victorian had arrived-


    Battery''s fist rammed into Golden God''s stomach as he hit the villain with everything his body could muster. The force of the attack threw Golden God back and sent the machine smashing through what was left of Avalon''s tower. Fairy Queen floated off of the finger and glared down at the red hero as he came to a sliding stop. The Victorian hadn''t arrived, but her power did.


    "You''re not the Victorian." Ocean Empress frowned.


    "A thank you would have been nice..." Battery grumbled. He held both his hands out, and a golden light seeped out and washed over Poseidon and her mother, healing their wounds. "Where''s Paragon?"


    "Used the sword to teleport away. Pretty sure she''s with Cinder." Poseidon shrugged.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me! Who the hell gave her permission to—Aw, fuck you, Avalon!" Battery cursed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "For the love of all that is holy, I pray they don''t go into a pocket world."


    Up with Fairy Queen, black blood dripped down the woman''s face. Her teeth had bitten through her lower lip, and her nails impaled her palm as she glared down at Battery. "You!"


    "Me."


    The building''s rubble broke away as Golden God rose out of it. "We should leave them be for now, Fairy Queen."


    "Huh!" Fairy Queen turned back to stare at her teammate. "Is your circuit having an issue or something? You know what that is, right?"If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Wish has spotted Paragon. If we don''t hurry, then we won''t have a chance. If she absorbs the girl, nothing will hold her back.”


    Fairy Queen''s teeth dug into her lips even more, spurting out a heavy stream of her blood. She glared back down at Battery before finally slowly landing in Golden God''s palm. "Fine. We''ll kill him after the two girls are dead. It''ll be fitting if they all die together."


    Golden God''s body began to glow and hum. Battery fired a beam of light toward the villain, Poseidon, following quickly behind with her water bullet, but in a flash, the villain was gone, and both attacks passed through him. Just as he had used in his fight with Victorian and Max Lightning, Golden God had escaped.


    "He can teleport?" Poseidon asked, stunned.


    "No." Battery shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. He placed it between his lips and snapped, shooting a spark into it and igniting it. "It''d be much simpler if he teleported, but he''s way more busted than that. You two go get help or something. I''m going on ahead."


    "But-" Ocean Empress didn''t get to finish her sentence. A second later, Battery took off running and quickly faded into a golden blur as he picked up speed. "I seriously hate him."


    "Sure, you do."


    ***


    Cinder jumped back, putting herself in front of Snowdawn and Paragon. Snowdawn''s power hadn''t fully recovered yet, but he had enough to at least cover half his body in some ice. She raised her arms, expecting Wish to strike at any moment, but the attack never came.


    When she glanced back down at the girl, Wish''s eyes were closed once more. The white-haired girl rested peacefully in Mr. Brenner''s arms and didn''t move an inch.


    "Put her down, sir." She ordered. "And step back when you do. I''m going to reduce her to ash."


    "Sorry. Not going to happen." Mr. Brenner said, shaking his head. He stepped back, and Kevin put himself in front of the officer, ready to defend Wish. He wasn''t the only one. The other two in red also got prepared for combat. Both of them lowered their hoods and removed their masks as their power began to seep out.


    The boy, Casey, was an older teen—likely nineteen or in his early twenties. His eyes turned bloodshot and began to leak with blood; the veins inside of him seemed to expand and start to break through part of his skin. He was completely bald, and the blood that poured out of him formed a light red armor that reminded her of Ocean Empress''s dress. This armor looked more like a suit, though.


    As for the girl, she had long, flowing brown hair and dark skin. White plates of bone formed rough armor, the same kind Wish had created. Razor-sharp claws grew from the girl''s fingertips, and even a tail resembling a second spine grew out. Snowdawn was the first to take note of something else about her, though.


    "Hannah?" He asked, shocked.


    She felt herself recoil back as she looked at her friend and then back to the girl. She had heard that name before. Hannah was a popular girl at the school. Ranked right next to Paige and Ashley. Her mind went back to the bathroom incident. It felt like it was so long ago, but Hannah was one of the girls who poured soda on her. "You know who I am?" The bone girl asked, cocking her head to the side.


    "Yeah. You''re my lab partner?"


    "Armin Moore?"


    "Shit! Why did I say that?"


    "And I thought I was dumb." Cinder narrowed her eyes, feeling the fire around her build up. She was already transformed into her enhanced state. Her hair had changed into the color of sunshine, and her eyes were now a fiery red that glared at the villains. Fire flickered down her elbows and seeped into her fingers as she balled them into a fist and entered a battle stance. "I''ll say it one more time. Put down Wish."


    It would take Snowdawn a few more seconds to fully recover, and Paragon wasn''t a fighter, so she would have to fight all three villains by herself. Myth had said to get in and get out with Whisper, but the sight of Wish stopped her. This could have been her only chance to wipe the monster. out.


    "You can''t kill her." Paragon''s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.


    "What? I mean, I know she recovers, but I can burn her to ash-"


    "If you do, I''ll die."


    "What?”


    Paragon''s bird rested on the girl''s head and stared down at Wish''s body. "I guess you can say I''m sort of like her twin. As it turns out, as long as I live, she will live as well. If you kill her, she''ll drag me to my dream world and could try to take me over. It already happened once before. I think she could use me to recreate a body. Avalon mentioned something about that at least." She muttered, brushing her hand against the handle of the sword. She felt so stupid. She had basically played Avalon''s game perfectly.


    Cinder stood there, rooted to the spot, as she tried to process Paragon''s words. She couldn''t help but think back to her conversation with the girl when they went out to eat. Paragon had claimed she saw Wish. Was it then?


    "Okay..." She shook her head, already devising a new plan. "In that case, put Wish down, and I''ll... I don''t know. I''ll do something and stop her."


    "It seems you aren''t in a position to negotiate," Doc announced, pointing his cane at the fire-based hero. "Counting myself and Wish, there are five Supers here. Three of which are all made up of pieces of a Lord of Life! On top of that, we have two humans, and there''s even more!" He twirled his cane and pointed it at the bandits. The ones Cinder had saved. Many of them had been badly burned, and some had run off, but most had gotten back up and were watching the display silently. "You guys! I''m sure you can see how these heroes are outclassed. Side with me and-"


    Cinder smashed a ball of fire into the ground, which sent out a shock wave. Paragon barely had time to wrap her arms around Cinder and held on tightly as everyone was blown back. All the Supers managed to force themselves to stay standing with some trouble, but the humans, namely the bandits and Grove, were flung back. Brenner was sent high into the air by the shock wave, and he clutched onto Wish tightly. Kevin regrew his arm and expanded his limb, wrapping it around Doc and keeping the man from flying off. His other limb smashed up and grabbed onto Grove, stopping the man''s fall.


    Brenner crashed into the ground, landing on his back, and managed to roll and break the fall with his knees. He grunted, feeling pain course through him, but he was fine for the most part. That was until, from out of nowhere, Whisper appeared next to him and smashed her taser into his neck. She shocked the man and downed him, giving him a kick to the head to make sure.


    "Snowdawn! Get Wish!" Whisper cried out, jumping away.


    Snowdawn managed to nod his head and slam his fist into the ground. He sent out a wave of ice that washed over both Wish and Brenner, freezing them to the ground and ensuring they weren''t going anywhere. Whisper turned invisible once more, fading from sight, and Snowdawn collapsed face-first into the hot sand. "I''m out. That was everything I had left. I need to seriously rest."


    "Can you heal him? Destiny healed my stamina in the fight with Intake!" Cinder shouted out as she launched a wave of fire in the direction of the villains.


    Paragon shook her head. "No. This isn''t a stamina issue or a physical one. I guess you could say it''s like a mage running out of mana."


    "Casey! Hannah! Cover me!" Kevin yelled. Muscles expanded out of his arms, and he charged forward in the direction of where Wish was. The girl had crashed several meters away and was encased in hard ice. "I''m breaking her out!"


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Cinder ran forward with inhuman speed. She was only able to take a few steps forward before Casey and Hannah attacked her. Casey held his hand out and fired another blood beam in her direction. Fire blasted out of her hand, and she used it to jump over the beam and avoid it. As she was in the air, Hannah smashed her arm up, a large bone spear blasting out, but she easily caught it and crushed it with her hand. Her other hand formed her fire into the shape of a chain, which she sent out and got around Kevin''s leg, tripping the man before he could reach Wish. She dragged him towards her as she landed on the ground and smashed her fist directly into his face. "I''m not letting you guys free her!"


    Kevin took the punch and hissed as her fire ate away at part of his face. His muscles expanded and got larger, coating his skin, and she nearly gasped when she watched him take on a familiar form. Horns jutted from his skull, and he looked almost identical to Mars King. As she was processing that, Casey smashed his elbow into the side of her helmet and managed to throw her off of Kevin. Hannah''s bones jutted out of the ground and formed a large cage around the fire-based hero, which started to shrink and close rapidly, attempting to crush her.


    She flexed her body, and her flames ignited around her momentarily, sending out a massive wave of force that exploded the cage and left her unharmed.


    "Forget about Wish," Casey growled. "We kill her first. Otherwise, she''ll get in our way. If all three of us team up, we can wipe her out with no problem."


    She gave a sly smirk and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh. Is that what you think?" She cocked her head to the side, and for the first time in her life, she really felt like the Victorian at that moment. "Well. Who''s first?" Her shield unfolded, and she raised it, blocking a fist from Kevin. "I don''t know why people as young as you decided to be evil, but I''m going to do everything in my power to stop you!"


    "Evil?" Casey formed a large sword forged from his blood and charged forward with it, attempting to slice the girl in two, but his strikes were deflected by her shield. "That''s rich, coming from you. You have no idea what it''s like to be a normal person, existing in a terrible world like this as just a normal human! Being sick, addicted to something, or life just not going your way! We weren''t Supers like you, and we aren''t some evil or good, black and white group like you Supers keep playing with!"


    "You''re literally in a drug gang that has dealt to kids, and one of your members loves to use her powers to melt people." She smashed her shield into the man''s body, throwing him back. "Besides. I didn''t always have powers. I still picked the side of good, though. Just as I can''t really understand why you guys will stay on the side of evil, I doubt you could understand why I made my choices."


    Hannah was next to attack, large claws jutting from the girl''s fingers as she attempted to impale Cinder. "Don''t act like you''ve had a hard day in your life!"


    "That''s pretty funny coming from you, Ms. Popular!" She took the attack, her flesh easily shattering the bones as if they were nothing, and she smashed her fist into Hannah''s stomach, throwing her back. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked, glaring at Kevin.


    Kevin just shrugged. "I wanted to be stronger." His fist grew massive, and he swung out, attempting to ram it into the side of her head. It never made it to her, though, as a second later, ice erupted out of the ground and froze his arm in place. Snowdawn stood back up, wobbling a bit but forcefully bringing his ice armor back.


    "I''m glad you said something. Hearing your voice pissed me off so much that I decided to stop resting. I''m taking you out myself!" He announced proudly before charging Kevin and ramming his fist into the monster''s gut. Kevin gasped as blades of ice stabbed into him, and he was shoved back. Snowdawn didn''t stop there, though, as he twisted his body and created a giant hammer of ice, which he hit Kevin with so hard it exploded.


    Cinder gave a small smile as she turned back to Casey and Hannah. "It looks like you guys lost a teammate. Do you still think you can beat me?"


    Over with Grove, he watched his people begin to lose badly and made up his mind. He made a mad dash for the tower. It was less than a mile away by now. If he entered it, then he would win. This nightmare would be over once he got ahold of ''him.''


    He took a step forward, only to narrow his eyes and jump out of the way at the last second. Whisper appeared out of thin air, her kick missing him. "How''d you know?" the girl asked, jumping back a bit.


    Grove gave a smirk. "Just got lucky, I guess."


    "Ah. Don''t tell me. You have some bullshit luck-based power, don''t you?" Whisper sighed. "First Red Monkey, and now you. I would get stuck fighting the complex powers, wouldn''t I?"


    "No, no, nothing like that. I’m just a normal human, not a Super." Grove gave a sly grin and reached into his coat, pulling out a knife, which he twirled around the same way he had seen Green Wolf doing. "I just happen to be the main character you see. This world around us, destiny, fate—it’s all just one big story. A story that won’t end until I do what I have to. That’s why I know I won’t die. I’ve lived through the Beast fight, so I know I must be special. Whatever story we find ourselves in, I must be the main character destined for greatness. Lady Luck will save me.“


    “Your totally insane.” Whisper snorted. “I believe in things like fate and destiny, but I don’t think anyone stands out amongst it as a main character. We’re all destiny’s plaything in the end, and yet people still stand that break the shackles of fate and surpass their path. In other words, even if you are destined to not lose, I’ve seen first hand how things can be forced to change and alter. I’ll beat you here and now.”


    Grove gave a calm shrug. "Maybe you will. I doubt it though.” His fingers grew tighter around his knife. “Would you care for a dance?"


    Whisper clicked her button and caused her tonfas to unfold, electricity buzzing out of them. "I guess I''ll take you up on that offer."


    Off to the side, Paragon watched Cinder fight in silence. Her bird clung to her tightly and worked as her eyes, Destiny letting her see just how strong the Pantheon members had become. "Is she seriously the same girl I first met?" In the hospital against multiple Supers, Cinder had been totally outclassed, but ever since the girl figured out how to go into her battle mode, she had greatly improved. "I feel so useless. Maybe... I can help out somehow, too."


    Her hand brushed the sword she had. After the crash, she had almost forgotten about it, but she had held onto it the entire time. She had never thrown a single punch in her life, much less swung a sword. The closest she ever got to fighting was being in her dream world, but that hardly counted. That was Sky, a confident, pretty, and strong hero. In the real world, she was just Paragon, the pure support-focused hero.


    She gripped Nier''s sword and raised it slightly, taking a deep breath. She watched silently for a moment as Cinder dodged between dozens of blood bullets and bone spikes. "Hey! Cinder, I''ll back you up and make it a two-on-two!"


    "Alright! I always wanted to properly team up with you, Paragon!"


    She had almost been expecting Cinder to argue or come in with caution, but the girl was as bubbly as ever, not bothered by this life-and-death situation. She had grown a lot. Paragon nodded and, beneath her mask, gave the faintest of smiles. Maybe if she was lucky, she could get even half as strong as Cinder was. She stepped forward, awkwardly holding the sword out and using Destiny as her eyes.


    Her debut as a front-line fighter was about to begin. If she was in danger, she was confident Cinder would be there to keep her safe. The girl did have a shield, after all.


    Then it happened...


    Something caused them all to freeze and stop what they were doing. The sound of ice breaking.


    Wish''s fist burst out of the block of ice. White armor covered the girl''s flesh as she ripped her way out with ease. Forged from solid bone, it covered her from the neck down, and Wish''s head craned around, the muscles in her body popping. "Looks like I missed something interesting."


    Cinder turned and blasted out a wave of fire, but the ground beneath Wish literally rose up and swallowed the flames in a single moment. Wish''s eyes locked with Cinder''s, and the mad girl grinned.


    "I had a really long nap and couldn''t stop thinking about you. You gave me so many good ideas, Cindy!"


    "I''m going to stop you!" Cinder declared, charging forward with her fire. She threw a punch out towards Wish, but it never landed.


    Massive bat-like wings exploded out of Wish''s back, and the girl fired into the air even faster than she had been previously. "I haven''t scattered my cells about, yet. Last time, they were all wiped, thanks to those two heroes. I learned why the Emperor never did something like that. It takes a lot of energy and power to keep regrowing. It’s better if I just stay in one body, and it means I have all my energy, so I’m way stronger than when we first fought." The girl smirked before her gaze came down to Paragon. "I''ll deal with you in a bit, Cindy. We can play once I''ve gotten the full power of a Lord of Life. I''ll prove to you just how much better it is than the Sun!"


    "No!" Cinder tried to blast the monster out of the air, but Wish twirled through the fire, her armor keeping her safe. The girl flew down, and before Paragon could react, Wish''s arms wrapped around her, lifting her up. Wish let out a loud laugh and began to fly in the direction of the tower, heading for the entrance. "Get back here-" Bone-like spikes jutted out of the ground, binding Cinder in place, followed quickly by Casey''s blood chains. "Stay out of my way!" Her fire exploded out, and she tried to take a step forward, but both villains literally threw themselves into her, not caring if they got burned or punched.


    "Sorry." Hannah laughed. "But if you want to save your little girlfriend, you''ll have to get through us both-"


    Cinder''s fist rammed through the girl''s stomach, nearly splitting her in two. Cinder''s other hand flew out, but Casey barely managed to block it. Before he could counter-attack, however, she opened her mouth and fired out a massive beam of fire directly into both of them, using everything she had. Both of them dropped to the ground, unmoving.


    By the time she looked back up, she saw Wish fly directly into the tower''s hole and enter it.