Calamity... An event outside of human control that causes vast damage or distress. Another word would be disaster.


    It came from beyond our stars.


    A great evil. One that humanity wasn''t ready for. It brought untold destruction. As of the current year, the entity known simply as the Beast has visited Earth four times. Just four times, and yet with each visit, a city would be reduced to rubble, and more worryingly, a new disaster would be born from the incident.


    The first time the Beast appeared on Earth, dozens of Supers and thousands of humans died. Among the casualties, the Lord of Life lost his wife and daughter in the attack. The Beast was defeated by Full Monarch. Shortly after this, the villain known as Lucifer would somehow discover a way to return from the state Full Monarch had left him in and would create the Murder Games.


    The second time the Beast appeared on Earth, it was defeated by Full Monarch. Shortly after this, the Lord of Life discovered a young boy whom he would adopt. Together with this boy, the Lord would take on the title of the Emperor and declare war on Planet Earth, using his powers to create hundreds of monsters.


    The third time the Beast appeared on Earth was during a grand battle between Full Monarch and the Emperor. Both forces drove the Beast back and defeated it. Shortly after, both Full Monarch and the Emperor met their end, and something brand new was born.


    The fourth time was the most recent, happening two years ago. The Beast was driven back by the Tallest Wave; however, Chrysanthemum was swallowed up by a great evil and became the home of the newest Calamity.


    Now, in the present, this would be the fifth moment in history that mankind would find itself fighting the Beast. What truly made this Calamity level threat worthy of its title wasn''t its power but instead the fact that humans have never once beaten it. The Beast was a walking disaster, one that would show up and always be driven back, but despite seemingly leaving, something would rise from the ashes it left, and a new age of villainy would be created. A disaster that caused new disasters to rise. A Calamity that was willing to wait.


    That''s what made the Beast so terrifying. The knowledge that while you might win the battle, it had already won the war.


    The siren screamed through the city, bouncing around in people''s heads. It was a simple hum, one that wouldn''t stop until every last human was safe. The streets were filled with hundreds of cars that boxed each other in, and the sidewalk was like a massive tidal wave of bodies. Some people ran, others gave up, and some still used this as a chance to do crime.


    All of it led to the edge of Oleander City, where a massive bridge connected itself to Lillian. The bridge was compacted the most, with rows of cars and trucks and people climbing over it, some even choosing to jump into the waters below and swim for it. Helicopters flew through the air, and heroes did their best to help.


    Some heroes picked up dozens of cars and flew them over to Lillian; others tried to create more bridges; and some still attempted to stop the petty crime and encourage the people who had already given up. Most of the heroes weren''t outside, though. The majority of their country''s heroes now all stood in a single room in Oleander''s Hero Branch tower.


    Hope looked around, biting her lip as she tapped her foot up and down. She had never seen so many heroes all gathered in one place. When the sirens had started, all of Team Pantheon had headed for the Hero Branch building. They were followed by heroes from all over the country. If the situation weren''t so grim, she''d have been fangirling like crazy.


    The room they were in was large, but with so many people in it, they were all shoulder to shoulder. Anything that had been in the room had been kicked out, save for a large screen that hung on the wall. Up front, Beta stood, and several Hero Branch workers, including Ms. Laps, were also present.


    Heavy hitters all awaited to be told what to do. The Victorian already had her sword in an iron grip. Next to her, every member of the Enforcers, besides Beta, who was up front, was ready to follow her into battle. All but Boy Genius. Outside of their tower, a massive suit rested. One of his robots, which he was likely in. Also in the room were the Sub Enforcers. Not just Oleanders but other ones as well. Dandelion''s Sub Enforcer was led by a large purple man who wore a black suit and had dozens of older teens all around him, while Daisy''s Sub Enforcers had some girl who looked to be really into vampires, dressed in a gothic style and holding a whip, in charge. The Watch Dogs were there too, as were other big hero teams like Lillian''s Reservoir, which had Doctor Kraken, who was in a lab coat and had a squid for a head, and Hydro Cannon, who was a woman around Ocean Empress'' age and wore a heavy metal backpack. There were other water-based heroes as well, and even more teams like Max Lightning''s team Cloud, Mister Man''s team Mercy, and Boy Genius''s team T-fin.


    There were easily over one hundred of them in total. Some were heroes she had never even seen or heard of before, like a weird, mutated monster that was in the back. He was covered in thick bat-looking fur and had jagged wings and large spider legs that came out of his back. Two Hero Branch officers had him chained up, and the creature snarled and hissed, venom dripping from the mouth.


    "Who is he?" She squeaked out. He was clearly a monster, but she could barely tell if he was a hero or not.


    "Bat-Spider, or maybe Spider-Bat?" Whisper quietly explained to her, causing her to jump a bit. "He''s a monster, one who has gone mad and has powers that are out of control. Unlike the others who grow into giant forms, he stayed the same and is pretty strong, so the Branch tends to sic him on suicide missions like this, yet he always comes back. Rumor has it the Branch has a bunch of secret monsters they use for things like this, like one called Skin Walker who can shapeshift. At least that''s what my mom once told me." The hero shrugged.


    She gulped a bit, staring at the creature. Things would have to be bad if they brought someone like him out. It wasn''t just him either. T-Fin, Sun Eaters, Mercy, Cloud, Reservoir, Fairy Tale, Time Keepers, and the Watch Dogs. All of those were teams led by the Enforcers and they were also here, everyone all packed together in one room. The tension was strong, and she had never seen so many worried faces plastered on so many strong people before.


    "You okay?" She jumped a bit when Snowdawn nudged her with his elbow and whispered.


    She nodded slowly before stopping and shaking her head. "Actually, no. I''m really not okay. You?"


    Even with the ice armor covering him, she could tell he was sweating bullets, and his face was pale. He wasn''t the only one. Nearly every hero was unable to stop shaking. "I just want to do something," Snowdawn finally said, "Even if it''s not a lot." He had once told her he wanted to make a difference in a Calamity level threat. Now was his chance.


    “I’ll protect you.” She said softly. “I won’t let you get hurt.”


    “I’m the boy.” Snowdawn managed a sad smile. “It’s my job to keep you safe. You’re basically my little sister, you know.”


    She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, finding Mr. Larison. He squeezed down, and she patted his hand. Most of the heroes were talking amongst each other. She saw familiar faces like Poseidon and Oxide but noticed Paragon wasn''t anywhere in the room. The closest thing they had to a healer was the Victorian and the purple man, who was a hero known as Thiefer who could steal people''s pain.


    "Are we going to be okay?" She asked.


    Whisper gave a nervous shrug. "I''m sure my dad is in the same position as me. Our ability to see the Paths has pretty much shut off completely. I''m as in the dark as all of you."


    Myth''s foot hadn''t stopped tapping, and he stared across the room in the direction of his brother, who didn''t look very happy. "I''ve fought the Beast only once before. I can tell you I''d rather fight the Emperor a hundred more times than that damned creature."


    "And the Emperor kicked our ass." Snowdawn sighed.


    "Don''t be too scared." They turned when they heard a new voice. It was one of the teens on the Vampire girls'' team—a younger girl who wore a spotted yellow costume and had claws like some kind of cat. "We''re all heroes. If you get in trouble, I''ll just come and save you."


    "Thanks?" Snowdawn said, confused.


    One of the older heroes, the leader of another Sub Enforcers team, cleared his throat. He was a tall man dressed in bright, blood-red armor. "We should have had months to prepare for this attack. Why are we just learning of the threat now?"


    Several heroes all gave sounds of agreement, and Beta''s head slowly looked around the room, roaming over all the heroes and scanning them. In total, there were one hundred and twenty-two. Outside were another twenty or so. "Boy Genius and I both monitor the Beast daily. This allows us to catch it if it makes any moves. Several hours ago, Boy Genius, with the help of Max Lightning, discovered that the Beast had woken up. Under normal circumstances, we would give the alert and begin to prepare for it. However, these are not normal circumstances."


    "It''s coming toward our planet far faster than it has shown previously." The Victorian called out. "I flew into space earlier today, and its speed is far greater than even my top flight record. It’s moving faster than even light.”


    The center of Beta''s head lit up, and the TV next to him flickered to life. The footage was hard to make out, but it showed something large and circular moving through a black void. "In the past, it would have taken months for the Beast to arrive on our planet. This is likely because it simply allowed itself to drift through space until it crashed into our planet. This is a new behavior. It isn''t simply floating; it''s flying. Before, if it was walking, I guess you could say it is now sprinting. It''ll arrive in less than one hour."


    That caused the mumbling to break out once more, and she felt her throat tighten. Many of the people in the hospital were being loaded onto helicopters and flown to Lillian, so there was nothing to worry about her parent''s situation. That''s what she kept wanting to tell herself, yet she couldn''t help the fear that settled in her.


    Her phone kept going off, but she put it on silent a while ago. She didn''t want to hear her mother at that moment. She knew the woman would beg for her to leave and flee, and she was scared that if she were given a way out, she''d take it.


    "We don''t have time to evacuate everyone." Beta stated. That caused the room to grow primarily silent. "Thanks to my data, I''ve calculated that the Beast will land somewhere near the center of this city. That is why I''ve come up with a plan." The TV screen changed, showing off an image of the city with several circles going through it. "You all right now must make a choice on if you want to help or not. No hero will be in trouble if they wish to walk. In fact, I''d encourage it unless you either have a death wish or don''t contribute anything useful to society-"


    Ms. Laps sighed and threw her arm out in front of Beta, silencing the robot. "I''ll be taking over. The plan is actually quite simple. We aren''t aiming to beat this creature. We''re on damage control. Once the Beast selects a city, it follows a set of rules. It won''t attack anyone outside the city. Any heavy-hitter over the age of eighteen will be requested to form a perimeter in the center of the city where the Beast lands. All Enforcers will be placed here as well. Anyone under the age of eighteen who is considered a minor is encouraged to leave. If you do not want to leave, you are forbidden from engaging the Beast. Instead, you will be placed on a team with any hero that is not considered a heavy hitter. Your job will be to help evacuate as many civilians as possible while the heroes in the center do their best to hold the Beast off. The Beast will attack until most of the humans in the city are dead. We need to prevent as many deaths as possible. Is that understood?" Several heroes nodded. "We in the Hero Branch will also be helping out. We''ll be stationed near the bridge to Lillian and will be the last to leave. As Beta said, if you don''t think you can handle this, then leave the city at once. You''ll just get in the way if you try to do something you can''t handle."


    The screen had changed once more. Now, it was a countdown, one that was rapidly approaching zero. Heroes talked amongst themselves, some convincing their friends to leave with them, while others put on a brave act and got ready to throw their lives away.


    "You should leave." She felt her blood run cold when she heard Mr. Larison''s blunt response.


    "What?”


    Battery let go of her shoulder and turned away. "Myth and I discussed it."


    She shot a look at Myth, who nodded his head. "Money Tree has decided he doesn''t want any of his Sub Enforcers competing. He''s going to be placing them on the bridge, where they will be outside of the danger. I think it''s best if you, Snowdawn, and Whisper do this as well."


    "But we can help!" Snowdawn argued.


    Whisper winced a little. "I kind of agree with Myth. They already said they aren''t letting kids near the Beast. There really isn''t a reason for us to hang out near the danger zone. The bridge is clogged up. With yours and Cinder''s powers, we could help move a lot of cars and get people to safety. We''d still be helping and wouldn''t have to put ourselves in danger."


    "But-"


    "Kid." Her throat closed up as Battery flicked her on the metal helmet. "Don''t argue. Please. Myth is your boss. A lot of heroes will be where you are. They''ll need your help, too."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    She felt her fists clench a bit as she looked down at the ground. Snowdawn placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to die?" Battery stared down at her. "Answer me." She looked back up at him, her fiery red eyes meeting his bland ones. "I heard you talk with the Victorian. Ask her to take the thing in you out. She''ll do it. That''ll save you, right? You won''t have to die and-" She wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want you to die.”


    His hand rubbed the top of her helmet, and slowly he pulled his way out of her grip. "When this is all over, I think I''d like to play another game of ball with you." His back was to her now. "We can invite the others. Make it a baseball match if you want. Let everyone have a turn."


    "Please don''t die." She begged.


    Battery walked away, pushing through the crowd, leaving her alone. She knew it was over. The dynamic duo they had become. It seemed so long ago that their quest had started. Today was the day it ended.


    Snowdawn gripped her shoulder tighter as tears flowed down her face. "It''ll be okay. Battery is strong—one of the strongest people I know. He''ll be alright."


    "You''re terrible at lying."


    "Yeah." Snowdawn smiled sadly. "I am."


    It didn''t take long for them to head out after that. Myth looked back at them as they exited the building. "No matter what happens," his eyes traced over Cinder, then Snowdawn, before finally settling on Whisper. "I am so proud of the fact I got to be on a team with each of you."


    Then, just like that, they parted ways. Myth and several of the other older heroes all headed for the center of the city, where the battle would begin. It wouldn''t stay in that area for long, though. They headed for the bridge and helped out where they could, picking up and moving cars and stopping stuck traffic.


    She knew that the bridge was bad, but she didn''t know it was ''this'' bad. Cars were bumper to bumper, and every square inch of it was covered. A massive mile-long line was on both sides, and people were literally climbing over the cars. Money Tree was there with them, as were his Sub Enforcers. Poseidon had tagged along as well, and the Sub Enforcers team with the weird cat girl was here as well. There were four of those guys in total. They were members of Daisy''s Sub Enforcers. Finally, Thiefer had come along as well.


    There were fourteen of them: herself, Snowdawn, Whisper, Money Tree and his team, Poseidon, Thiefer, and the Daisy Sub Enforcers. Thiefer got to work using his powers on the injured. His purple skin would glow and twitch as he touched damaged parts of the bridge, and they began to mend.


    The other Daisy Sub Enforcers followed after him. He wasn''t their leader; he was actually the leader of Dandelion''s Sub Enforcers, but Dandelion and Daisy were right next to each other on the map and were likely used to working together.


    Snowdawn and Poseidon worked together, using their powers, to create a massive and thick ice bridge with railings on both sides that connected all the way to Lillian. While they were building it, BB and Money Tree used their powers to pick up several cars and place them onto the new bridge, speeding up the traffic.


    Several members of the Hero Branch, including Ms. Laps, were decked out in heavy-looking riot gear, stopping people from getting into fights or shoving their way through. "Please remain calm and collected!" one of the Daisy Sub Enforcers shouted, holding up a megaphone. “We''re going to get you all out of here. Please don''t harm anyone, and remain calm!"


    "It''s kind of funny, isn''t it?" She turned when she heard someone talking to her. It was the cat girl who had spoken to Armin earlier. The girl had a smile on her face as she watched her team members work. "Despite the situation we''re in, I can''t help but be a little glad that we all get to work together like this. Oh, I''m Purrfect, by the way," the girl said, holding her hand out.


    "Cinder." She shook the hero''s hand.


    "The guy over there is Boss," Purrfect explained, pointing her thumb at the young hero with the megaphone. His costume was white and covered him head to toe, almost like Ghost''s. It did show off his mouth and eyes, though, and he dual-wielded megaphones as if they were weapons. His voice had a compelling effect on the crowd, causing them to almost fall into a trance. "The other two are Techcoat and Dust Cloud."


    Techcoat flew through the air in an oversized suit. He was like Metal Ronin, being a Mental-based hero, though his suit looked more like some sort of comic book superhero, being various shades of red and yellow. Metal Ronin looked slightly jealous as he stared up at the superior suit-user.


    Dust Cloud was sort of like Wasp Nest. He didn''t really have a costume and would instead break down into tiny grains of sand that formed into a mini sandstorm that blew through the area. He and Wasp Nest flew into hard-to-reach places, checking for anyone who was trapped.


    "You said your name was Cinder, right? I''m guessing you have fire powers."


    "Yeah." She nodded. "And your name is a bad cat pun, so I''m guessing you have cat powers?"


    "Sort of." Purrfect gave a cheeky grin and held her hand up, which grew long metal claws from her nails. "I''m one of the people who got lucky and managed to get more than one power. I always land on my feet, have claws, and have a tiny healing factor, and seem to be really good at doing things, sometimes."


    "You can''t really do anything to the Beast like that, though, can you?" Purrfect jumped and hissed a bit as Whisper suddenly appeared next to her.


    Purrfect let out a nervous giggle and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess not. That doesn''t mean I won''t do my best to help, though."


    Cinder nodded slightly, and she looked back out at the city. There were other heroes. A bunch of other Sub Enforcer teams were out there helping get people out of the center of the city and take them to the bridge. She was a little angry at where she had been placed. She''d have rather been closer to the action. At least then, she would be able to help the people who really needed it.


    "Beta said it best. We shouldn''t be dead weight." She pushed herself past Whisper and Purrfect and made her way over to the edge of their city, where Poseidon and Snowdawn were gradually building a second bridge. "Poseidon!" She called out.


    "Yeah?" The girl messed with her gravity and flew over, landing on the ground. "What''s wrong?"


    "Is Paragon okay? I noticed she wasn''t here." Poseidon winced a bit. "Shit! What happened this time?”


    "Nothing." Poseidon held her hand up and shook her head. "She''s fine. Mostly."


    "Mostly?"


    "She overused her powers doing something. She has a bad headache and is having a hard time moving around. We left her behind in Lillian because of that. Though, to be honest, I doubt the Hero Branch would have let us bring her. I agree with them in a way. She should stay on the sidelines and heal up anyone who needs it once this is all over. She''s one of the best healers we have, and if we lose her, then the villains get a huge advantage."


    She nodded her head quietly. A helicopter flew over them, heading for Lillian, and she looked up at it, biting her lip. Her mom and dad had already evacuated, right? Surely, they had.


    Her phone buzzed once more, and she slowly fished it out of her pocket, moving away from the others who got back to work. "Mom-"


    "Hope, where are you!" Her mother''s voice came over the phone in a panic.


    "I- I''m safe. What about you?"


    "Some hospital in Lillian." She felt her heart settle a bit, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. "You''re in Lillian, right?!"


    The relief vanished instantly. "Well..."


    "Hope! Get out now! Please! I''m begging you! If you don''t, I''ll come and get you, myself-"


    "Don''t!" She shook her head. "I''m safe, I promise. I''m at the bridge helping people. I won''t be in any danger-"


    "I don''t care! Get out of the city!"


    "I can''t." She winced. "I need to stay and help-"


    "Screw helping them! You''ve stopped Zoo and the Bad Timers! You''ve done enough for Oleander!" Silence hung over the phone for a moment. "Please." She suddenly got how Mr. Larison must have felt.


    Her hands trembled a bit as she gripped her phone. "When this is all over, can I tell Dad that I''m a hero? I think I''d like for him to know."


    "Hope!"


    "I''m sorry. Please just stay where you are. I''ll come get you once I''m done here, I promise, Mom." She hung up and placed her phone back in her pocket. She looked up at the sky above. The sun was at the point where it would begin to set. Clouds had started to twirl and twist, and the siren''s call had been blocked out by a bizarre howling that was in the air.


    It was close now.


    She could feel it. The burning in her veins grew more potent, and her golden hair got brighter. The fire in her eyes was like a volcano, ready to go off.


    "Was that your mom you were talking to?" She turned and found Thiefer standing next to her. The man was bald-headed, and now that she got a better look at him, she could tell his skin was a deep shade of purple. It wasn''t a costume he was wearing. He was a monster—one of the people created by the Emperor fifteen years ago—one who didn''t let that stop him from doing good.


    She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah. That was my mom."


    Thiefer''s arms were crossed behind his back, and he stared up at the sky. "This is my third."


    "What?"


    "This is my third Calamity-level event," the purple man explained. “I was there for the Emperor, and I was there during the Beast attack two years ago. You''re one of Myth''s people. He was there, too. I can''t believe he''s actually fighting in this event once more. He''s suffered more than enough to turn tail and run if he wanted to. Are you scared?"


    "Yeah. A bit," she admitted.


    "Good. You''re not stupid, then." The purple man chuckled. “You''re mad, right? Angry that you aren''t able to do more, yet despite that, you''re not actually doing anything at all."


    "Huh?"


    He pointed at the other heroes. "What have you done since you got here? You''re angry you aren''t closer to the action to help other people, but why should you be if you can''t even help the people that are here? There''s no shame in feeling like your skills could be better used elsewhere, but there is shame to be had if a hero doesn''t bother to do their job."


    She felt some of the tension in her body leave. Her shoulders slumped a bit. "Yeah. You''re right. I''m sorry. I just-"


    A loud crack echoed across the bridge, followed by Snowdawn cursing loudly. The second ice bridge wasn''t ready yet; despite that, though, someone had gotten impatient and drove forward, shoving the car in front of them onto the bridge. Cracks appeared all across the bridge, and it began to rapidly fall apart and crumble.


    The car slumped off the edge and began to tumble down toward the waters below. Poseidon tried to catch it but wasn''t fast enough. "Shit!" The Lord of the Sea tried to use her power to raise a hand of water, but the car moved too fast.


    Cinder blasted forward and threw her hand out, launching out rows of chains. The flaming chains wrapped around the bottom of the car and stopped it right before it hit the water. She stepped back and used her strength slowly to pull the car up and set it back down on the side of the road.


    While she did that, Boss and Thiefer were dressing down the driver who had caused all of it. The door to the car she saved quickly opened, and someone tumbled out of it. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was. "Mr. Ale?"


    Nick Ale, Jack Larison''s roommate, looked up at her. "Do I know- Oh wait, you''re that girl, right? Hey, where''s Jack?!" He jumped to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Please tell me he isn''t planning on fighting the Beast!"


    "Well..."


    He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Seriously! You''re kidding me." He pulled a bag out of his car and shoved it in her hands. "Take this!"


    "Huh?" She looked into the bag and raised an eyebrow at what she saw: a vial of blue liquid. "Isn''t this what you used to heal me?"


    "It is!" Nick nodded. "That''s my last one! If you see him, please give it to him! He won''t last to the end of this fight! His body is already at its limit. He''ll die without that!"


    She nodded grimly. "I think... He knows that."


    "What?"


    She shook her head and placed the vial on her belt next to the mace she had borrowed from Mr. Larison. "You need to get out of here, sir."


    "Boy, don''t I know it-"


    It started off as a low rumble. Her eyes went wide as she looked up. The swirling mass of clouds broke, and a shadow slowly crawled its way across the city as something hovered over them.


    Near the center of the city, Jack stared up at the thing. "Guess we know how it got here so quickly now."


    "We always suspected it was some sort of alien; this all but confirms it." Mister Man grumbled.


    Above them was an actual, honest-to-God UFO—a mass of metal shaped like a disk. It stretched on for nearly one mile and took up several city blocks. It was coming down rapidly, and the wind began to twist and break. Buildings shattered, and they were forced to move back further. The Beast hadn''t floated through space this time. It had taken an actual spaceship.


    The thing crushed many of the towers around them as it dropped, and the entire city block hummed as it landed softly on the ground. They all stood there at attention, waiting. None of them dared to make a move.


    The Victorian, Ocean Empress, Wyvern, Boy Genius, Mister Man, Fable, Lady Time, Beta, Max Lightning, Golden Weaver, Battery, Myth, Bad Wolf, Backup, Duplicity, Roulette, Pretty Face, Doctor Kraken, Hydro Cannon, Fisherman, Sea Monkey, Drake, Brobot, Slinger, Lancelot, Vampirica, Bolt, and many other heroes all charged up. All of them were ready for this one moment.


    Myth''s body grew larger as he twisted into his lion form, and Battery''s skin crackled with a golden light. The Victorian raised her greatsword up, and golden armor forged from light formed around her. Ocean Empress created a sword of ice and hardened her water dress into solid ice. Wyvern grew her wings and flew up, landing on a giant silver robot that Boy Genius was in. Mister Man toyed with his gun, making sure it was loaded. Fable notched an arrow in his bow. Lady Time played with her hair. Beta began to record. Max Lightning took control of the wind. Bad Wolf growled. Backup readied his gear. Duplicity entered her golden form. Roulette created bullets. Pretty Face prayed. Doctor Kraken''s tendrils twitched. Hydro Cannon finished telling her parents she loved them and hung up her phone. Fisherman readied a fishing pole. Sea Monkey ate a banana. Drake let out a burst of fire. Brobot finished an oil change. Slinger gathered up rocks. Lancelot made sure his armor was secure. Vampirica cracked her whip. Bolt jogged in place. Golden Weaver finished cracking his knuckles. Spider-Bat paced back and forth. Guy With Gun got his guns ready. Halo created a pair of her wings. War God raised her spear. Shamrock blew on a pair of dice. Glamour polished a pair of spiral glasses. Draco patted a pair of bright red dragons. Earth Worm whispered to the ground. Red Robo tightened a bolt on his arm. The One Who Has No Name placed a vial of poison into a box and closed the lid. Thunder Shaker wiped sweat off his hands. Water Gal drank a glass of water. Light Iron and Heavy Iron rehearsed a combo move. Arrow filled his quiver.


    The sun began to set.


    Everything was bathed in an orange light.


    Despite the siren, they all heard a ''clicking'' sound as the ship began to unfold. A large ramp formed out of it, and darkness began to spill out. Behind them, more heroes got ready to battle, and even further back, even more heroes struggled to get people out of the danger zone.


    Footsteps rang out. Slowly, something began to crawl out of the ship. It stood up, and the orange glow reflected off of its skin. It looked almost human. Or at least it had the shape of one, despite the fact that its features and form were all wrong. It was like a strange mix between a male and a female. It had what looked almost like breasts on its chest, as well as what could only be described as a member between its legs, like some sort of perversion of the human form.


    Its skin was pitch black. However, it was hard to even call it skin. It was tight around the creature''s body and looked more like plastic. Orange lines ran all along its body. It stood at nearly twenty feet tall and had long, lanky legs and even longer arms that went all the way down to the ground and brushed the floor as it walked. It had no mouth, nor did it have a nose or ears. It did have a pair of eyes, however—ones that spilled out an ocean of lightning. Every step it took caused the ground to begin to bubble up and melt, turning into lava. Despite the heat, rings of water floated around it and twisted over its form. Plant life also grew from it, coming from its flesh and covering its chest and waist, blocking its private parts. Mini clouds wrapped around its arms and neck, and it did have hair, but it was made out of solid fire and hissed down its body.


    The Beast. Fire, lightning, wind, ice, plants, water, earth—all of it. It was all at this thing''s command. A creature on par with the Lords. A creature that would change the balance of Earth forever.


    This is the creature that now stood before them.


    The Emperor had been clever. He calculated and studied his prey. The Beast didn''t even bother to look at the heroes before it. Not a mere glance was given their way. In a single instant, an orb of light twisted into existence ten feet above the Beast’s head. The orb unleashed a thick beam that reached across the entire city and spun around doing a full spin, slicing every building in Oleander in two in one clean motion and causing all the skyscrapers to instantly tumble down, crushing thousands of people.


    In one move, Oleander City was already in utter ruins.


    And just like that, the battle began as the Victorian let out a powerful war cry. She charged forward and swung out with her greatsword! The other heroes were right behind her and screamed with everything they had.


    This was the fifth time humanity would face the Beast. It would not be their last.