“Is this the place?” Snowdawn asked, peeking out of the window of Whisper’s van.


    “Yep!” The invisible girl announced. “The Sub Enforcer member Wasp Nest mentioned that he spotted a few shady stuff going on at this base. It used to be a Wandering Coin base, but has since been taken over by some members of Zoo.”


    “Not Red Raptor again, right?” Cinder snorted. She rested next to Snowdawn and looked out the building in front of them. They had beaten the Wet Bandit gang just a few days ago, but things really hadn’t been going their way. Team Pantheon only had a couple of days left until the deal they made with Boy Genius would come to an end. That was why they found themselves in front of a large, shady-looking warehouse. “When do we go in?” She asked.


    “When Myth or Battery give the signal.” Whisper explained. It was just the three of them in the van. Myth and Battery were both scouting the building itself out.


    “What’s the signal-” Snowdawn never got to finish his sentence, as seconds later the wall to the warehouse exploded with a bright golden blast, and the roar of a lion shook the building.


    “It’s go time!” Whisper announced.


    They jumped out of the van and ran to the warehouse. Instantly, the three of them stopped once they were in and stared ahead with blank faces.


    Myth was on his back, getting dog piled on all sides by various animals. They were all far larger than normal beasts and different shades. Likely some of Red Ape’s creations, though the hands weren’t present on the faces of the mutant pets, so the mad scientist wasn’t the one controlling them.


    “A little help!” Myth called out with wide eyes.


    The warehouse was filled with rows of tables that all had the various drugs the Wandering Coin would sell on them. Instead of the random Wandering Coin grunts, though, it was any animal that had paws able to lift glasses that were boxing them. Dozens of bears or monkeys were taking the jars of drugs and sealing them away in crates to sell on the streets later.


    “Zoo doesn’t sell drugs? Did Red Ape start his own operation?” Cinder questioned.


    “Nope!” The voice of Battery came from the back, and they all saw who was really in charge of this base. “These animals have found a new leader.”


    It was a large kangaroo. One dressed in a business suit wearing boxing gloves and sunglasses. It also had a boxing glove on its tail. It was another mutated animal, one Cinder had seen before. The very first time she went to blows with Red Ape, that man had this creature with him. This was none other than Toni the Boxing Kangaroo.


    The animal spun around, moving way faster than it ever had, likely being on the Wandering Coin drugs, and it smashed its tail into Battery’s gut, blasting the man back. Battery rammed through several pillars and slumped down.


    “Please take Toni out…” He grunted.


    Snowdawn chuckled, and just like that, Team Pantheon fought back against the mutated animals. It took them less than a minute to beat them all. Whisper tased dozens of them, Cinder showed off some of her strength to make them flee, Myth yelled loud enough to scare dozens, and Battery zipped around the battlefield, firing taser lasers that stunned most.


    Snowdawn skated forward on his ice alongside his best friend. Him and Cinder both pulled their fists back, combining a wave of fire and ice as they launched a powerful punch into Toni’s stomach, knocking the drugged-up mutated mafia leader out in one strike.


    “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?" Cinder smiled.


    “Of course we do.” Snowdawn smirked and hit his friend lightly on her shoulder. “We’ve been friends since we were kids, after all. I always know what stupid idea you’re thinking of.”


    Cinder giggled and threw her hands back behind her head. “My ideas aren’t that dumb.”


    “Sometimes they are. But don’t worry.” He winked at her. “Your good pal Snowdawn will always have your back! No matter what.”


    Snowdawn didn’t know why he found himself thinking of that memory, but he did. Slowly though, the events of the warehouse began to fade away as he found himself back in the present, where shit had long since hit the fan.


    The Beast brought its foot up and slammed it down, ready to stomp out the threat. Snowdawn blasted forward on a slide of ice and managed to hook an arm around Cinder''s waist, picking her up at the last second. His legs shook, and the entire block rumbled a bit as the Beast''s stomp echoed. He gritted his teeth and took off in a direction, but he could tell the monster had set its eyes on him.


    "WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE ABLE TO MOVE?!" He screamed as the Beast blasted at him. An orb of fire narrowly missed him, and the force of it knocked him back. Vines and wooden spikes blasted out of the ground around him, and lava bore down, causing his ice armor to begin to crack and melt. "I don''t know what Hope did to piss you off, but like hell am I just going to sit by and do nothing!"


    It had all started out of nowhere. Before he found himself running away from the Beast carrying his best friend.


    Time was starting to become something Snowdawn was becoming too familiar with.


    It first happened when he trained with Poseidon. He was tired of being weak and had begged the Lord of the Sea to show him how to get stronger.


    That was where he learned how to invert his powers.


    Metal Ronin had explained the basics to him. As Supers, they controlled their power and brought it out. By inverting it, they allowed the power to take charge and, in return, would alter it just slightly. It was almost like using an ability in its purest form.


    Stillness...


    That was his true power—not ice or snow, but the power to cause time itself to become still. Snowdawn had become, at least in his mind, one step closer to catching up to Cinder. Yet, out of nowhere, it happened. Everyone around him suddenly froze.


    "What gives?" He waved his hand in front of Money Tree''s eyes, but the man didn''t react. No one was moving. Only he could move. All color had vanished as well. He knew right away what had happened. Time had frozen, only he hadn''t done it. He could only freeze time for a few seconds at best, and doing so heavily drained him. It must have been that power that gave him the ability to still act in someone else''s frozen time. "Damn it. Whoever is doing this must be crazy strong! Surely some of the Enforcers will be okay, though-"


    A loud stomp caused him to go quiet. It was followed shortly after by a second, then a third. The ground shook, and the air almost seemed to heat up. Sound worked differently in stopped time. Everyday things wouldn''t make a proper sound; instead, they would stretch and twist, just like a sound wave in the depths of the ocean.


    Whatever was coming wasn''t far away, and he had a pretty good idea what it was...


    The city had been sectioned off into three parts. The first area was right in the middle. This was where the Beast landed. All the heavy hitters had been placed there to help stall the monster for as long as possible while it marched forward. The second layer was just past the middle zone. Any adult hero who didn''t wish to fight the Beast was placed here and was tasked with helping get civilians to the final zone. That was the bridge. Besides the docks, which were now unused, the only other way out of Oleander was the bridge that connected to Lillian.


    It was right at the edge of the city, and most of the towers had cleared up, creating a straight shot of the road. It was open, though it would then narrow out if one were to make it to the bridge. Most importantly, though, it was crowded. There were hundreds of people outside of their cars, trying to run across the bridge. Poseidon and he had managed to create two more ice bridges, but it wasn''t enough.


    People weren''t escaping fast enough.


    Something that was about to bite them all in the ass.


    Snowdawn felt his legs begin to shake, and his face paled as the Beast slowly emerged at the very end of the block, where the buildings started to clear up. Lazily, it tossed the crushed-up body of a hero frozen in time into one of the few buildings around and marched forward.


    Snowdawn stood frozen in place as well, not daring to move an inch in case this thing decided to outright kill him in one shot. He was at the edge of one of his ice bridges, making sure it was sturdy, as a few cars were in the middle of crossing it. A large crowd had formed around him and the other bridges.


    By some miracle, the Beast didn''t seem to pay attention to any crowd. It left them all alone, ignoring the bridges. Its gaze was focused on someone else. Snowdawn felt his heart sink when he saw it walk towards Hope.


    Cinder had been off to the side, away from the crowd and the bridges, watching them all work. She had been in the middle of using her fire to send a signal into the sky. They were using her to communicate with the other heroes and let them know when they could bring in the next crowd of people. Her arm was pointed up slightly, her finger held out, and fire had compressed a bit around it, but all of it was frozen and held no color.


    Cinder didn''t even know how close to death she was.


    That was why he now found himself running away from the Beast, holding onto the frozen-in-time body of Cinder as it gave chase. “I’m not going to let you hurt my friend!” Snowdawn announced. "Sorry, Cinder, but I’m borrowing a move from you!”


    He had seen her do something similar many times and felt it once, too: her supernova-like explosion, during which she allowed all her heat to be let out. In that moment, he did his best to mimic it, lowering his ice to its coolest point, just like when he would stop time. It exploded out of him, and a mini-blizzard actually seemed to form around him, expanding out. It washed over the lava and vines, freezing them in place.


    The Beast stepped forward, it''s good eye narrowing. The blizzard was seeping out from the center of the hero and creating so much snow and ice that the alien was having difficulty seeing through it all. It didn''t need to, though. Lightning crackled around its hand, bringing it down in the direction where the two had been. It punched through the blizzard and hit the source of it, causing it to die out instantly.


    When it removed its fist, it stared down at the crater it had created, where two bodies rested. No... Not bodies. Ice statues in the perfect shape of the two heroes.


    It turned its head and saw Snowdawn running away in the opposite direction, still carrying Cinder under his arm. He had created a mini-diversion. As he ran, Snowdawn looked down at the face of Cinder. It was still frozen in place. Staring blankly ahead. It was sort of hard for him to actually focus. Things seemed weirdly out of order.


    They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes, and that saying must have been true because, as the Beast began to fire on him once more, he found himself having another flashback.


    A young boy stared up at the sky above. His face was bruised and battered, and his six-year-old body was twisted awkwardly from where a bully''s punch had broken bone. He was used to it, though. Ever since he could remember, he had been bullied.


    He didn’t know why it happened or why, but kids always seemed to pick on him. Maybe because he looked like a nerd. Kids can be cruel sometimes. Today, however, was memorable for this young boy. He didn''t know it yet, but he was about to meet someone.


    As he stared up at the sky, his dull eyes tracing over the clouds, he allowed the pain in his body to gradually ease. A shadow loomed over him, and it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to what he was seeing. His glasses had been destroyed when the other kids had held him down and began to hit him, so his vision was blurry. He was still able to make out the hand that was stretched out toward him, though.


    "Are you okay?" It was a young girl, the same age as him.


    He felt his throat dry a bit, but she didn''t move away from him. Slowly, he took her hand with his good arm, and she helped to pull him up. "Yeah," he lied. "I''m just fine." Despite his words, his shoulders slagged, and it was hard to hold them up.


    The girl seemed to notice and caught him when he stumbled and nearly fell over. She took one of his arms and began to help carry him out of the school park. "I''m Hope," she said quietly.


    He stayed silent for a moment, the pain steadily increasing in his body, but finally, he answered her. "Armin... My name is Armin."


    That was nearly ten years ago. Ten years that he had grown alongside the goofball known as Hope Lauren. His best friend. His sister.


    Snowdawn gritted his teeth and skated forward as fast as he could. He had never been the biggest, strongest, or fastest member of Team Pantheon. He wasn''t even the most annoying—that title went to Whisper. That didn''t mean he was willing to just do nothing, though!


    He made sure not to go near any of the frozen bodies of the civilians or heroes. He had no clue why the Beast was so invested in Hope, but now that it was so close, it ignored everything else and only threw out attacks. Unfortunately, that meant he was now dodging all the Beast''s attacks while he only had one arm.


    Lightning rained from the sky, and Snowdawn lifted his arm just in time to create a thick ice barrier. It exploded as the lightning reached it, tearing it apart and throwing him back. Wooden spikes stabbed out of the ground, attempting to impale Hope, and he managed to wrap his arms around her body and twist around so the spikes instead hit his back. His ice armor groaned and began to crack as the spikes bore into it, and right before they broke through, he used his powers to create a large pole, which he pulled himself up with, moving quickly to the left and dodging the spikes. A spinning disk of water blasted out from one of the Beast''s fingers, and Snowdawn managed to freeze it just in time. The chunk of ice was still moving at fast speeds, however, and rammed into his chest, causing him to gasp as he felt several of his ribs break.


    Snowdawn crashed to the ground, his arm letting go of Cinder and causing her body to tumble down. She was face-first on the ground, still unaware of what was happening. Snowdawn tried to stand up, but the wooden spikes rammed into him once more, throwing him back and getting him too far away from Hope to help.


    The Beast created an orb of fire above its head and launched it down toward the hero, ready to kill her with her own element. Snowdawn let out a loud roar and mustered up more of his strength, freezing the spikes and shattering them in an instant. He charged forward, trying to run to Hope so he could block the attack, but he wasn''t fast enough. He had been shoved too far back.


    "No!"


    He was still so weak. It had always been her saving him. Even before they got powers, he fell so far behind...


    The ball of fire suddenly slowed to a crawl, moving at half its speed, and Snowdawn felt his own body speed up as he doubled forward and managed to reach Cinder at the last second. He threw up a massive wall of ice, blocked most of the fire, and used his body to shield the girl from the rest. As his armor began to break and melt, he reforged it in the fire, and it came back twice as fast as it usually would, somehow beating out the flames.


    Snowdawn stared down at his hands as his crazy-fast ice devoured the fire. "What the hell? Did I get some shonen power of friendship boost?"


    "Sorry, I''m late." A new voice announced, causing the boy to jump. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, finding an Enforcer member standing by his side. "You did pretty well, kid. What''s your name?" Lady Time asked.


    "S-Snowdawn- Wait, are the Enforcers back up?"


    "Not quite." Lady Time stepped forward and held her hands out, creating two blades. The ice wall in front of her began to fall, allowing her to see the Beast, who didn''t even bother to look at her. "The others are all frozen in time. Like you, I have powers that fall into this domain, so it would seem I''m immune. I would have gotten here sooner, but I needed to get all the other heroes to safety. This bastard blasted at them while they were helpless."


    Snowdawn nodded slowly. Lady Time was strong; there was no doubt about that. She was an Enforcer, after all, but she wasn''t one of the high-ranking members. Also, she didn''t look to be in good condition. She was covered in bruises and walking on a limp. Part of her costume was torn, and her skin had bad burn marks across it. He was used to seeing her in magazines as the ''hottest female hero'', but now she looked like a warrior on its last leg.


    "It''s after Cinder," Snowdawn explained, nudging the frozen girl with his foot. "I don''t know why, but he''s solely focused on her. Is there anything we can do?"


    Lady Time studied the Beast. It wasn''t attacking them right away. Thanks to her power, its body had its speed cut in half, while she used her own ability to double Snowdawn''s speed. The Beast was seemingly feeling out its body and getting used to the new movement speed. It was hard to believe that this was the same mindless machine that ignored them and marched forward. Whatever was up with that girl must be too important.


    "There are two ways to avoid busted powers such as these." Lady Time explained. "See, the pinnacles of strength are the big three. Gravity, Space, and Time. A hero who can control one of these three can be considered one of the best of the best. They''re like cheat codes. Despite that, all three of them have a weakness of sorts. If a user has a power that is similar, they will have an inherited resistance. For example, a person able to bend Space would be someone like Fairy Queen. Her power has a hard time working on people who can teleport, even if her power is stronger. In this case, because we have powers that can fall under Time, we have immunity to the ability to stop Time. The second way to resist one of the big three is to be so overwhelmingly strong that you defy it. This is usually what the four Lords do, but all the current Lords are kids, with the exception of Max Lightning."


    "So, it''s just us?" Snowdawn asked.


    "For the most part, yes." Lady Time nodded. "That said, there is another weakness that powers like these have. They take a tremendous amount of energy to uphold. I can freeze time for about twenty seconds."


    "My record is six..."


    "Exactly. It tires you out, right? The Beast might be a powerful entity, but at the end of the day, the ability it wields is just like that of a Super. It is so far beyond us, but it must follow the same rules if we are immune to his time stop. That means every second that time is frozen, it’s ticking away at that thing''s energy reserve."Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    "So, you''re saying we just need to wait him out? With how strong it is, though, it could take days before it runs low!"


    "That''s why we do the second plan. You have to focus on stopping time, right? Well, I''m sure it would be the same for him. We need to hit him really, really, hard! So hard that he can no longer keep his time stop up!"


    "Can we even do that-"


    A wave of fire blasted toward them as the Beast decided it was ready. Snowdawn and Lady Time both dodged back, with Snowdawn still carrying Cinder. They were moving at double speed, and the Beast and all of its attacks were at half speed, so they zipped away before the fire had a chance to reach them. That just meant the Beast had to get clever, though. The fire orb split at the last second and bounced off one another, firing at both heroes.


    Lady Time sliced both of her blades through the air and spun them around in a circle-like motion. The instant the fireball reached her, a clock-looking symbol appeared behind her, and the orb froze suspended in the air. Even in frozen time, she was strong enough to freeze objects in more frozen time. It didn''t last long, though, and the fireball began to blast forward once more after a second, but by then, Lady Time had already moved out of the way.


    Snowdawn created a giant hammer of ice and brought his weapon down onto his ball of fire, smashing it into the ground and freezing it in place with his double-speed ice. He placed Cinder on his back and wrapped her arms around him, wearing her like a backpack. He froze part of her body to his armor so she wouldn''t fall off. "Sit tight, Cinder. I''ll make sure you''re still in one piece! Your best buddy, Armin, is going to keep you safe!" He created a shield made out of ice and grabbed something that was hanging off of Cinder''s belt. The mace that she had gotten from Battery was the one that belonged to Hell Hound. He was sure it would do the trick.


    "Are you ready?" Lady Time called out.


    "Ready as I''ll ever be! I think I know how to hit him hard! I just need to get close!"


    "In that case, just follow my lead!" The Enforcer announced. "I''m an adult, after all. I wouldn''t be able to look my fellow Enforcer members in the eye if I let anything happen to a junior hero!"


    Lady Time charged forward with blinding speed, and Snowdawn attempted to follow after her. Even with his speed boost, he was unable to keep up with the Enforcer. That might have been for the best, though. She took all of the Beast''s attention onto herself and was swinging both of her swords out, almost seeming to be in some sort of dance. Just witnessing Battery had inspired her fighting style.


    The Beast was on the other side of the block and had decided to make up for its cut speed by overwhelming them with attacks. The distance they needed to cover was seemingly massive, and a wall of literal attacks faced them down. The Beast fired everything it had. Hundreds of orbs of fire appeared above it; lightning rained down, the ground erupted with vast spikes, disks of water spun fast enough to twist the air, and shards of ice followed after it all. It was a literal ocean of powers, all coming from a single creature.


    An entity that stood at the top of the food chain.


    A God.


    Lady Time met it all with everything that humanity could muster. She moved with elegance despite her injured leg. Her swords cut down fireballs, blocked bolts of lightning, froze spikes in their place before they could rise, deflected disks of water, and split shards of ice. She made sure not a single attack slipped past her. Snowdawn didn''t even need to raise his shield or protect Cinder. The Enforcer stopped it all, fighting through the literal storm of powers.


    Despite that, though, she was just a human. A human that wasn''t made for combat this intense. Every attack by the Beast did not leave her unscathed. Every orb of fire she cut down exploded, burning her costume and flesh; every bolt of lightning destroyed her cells; every disk managed to slice into a bit of her flesh; and parts of her body began to be frozen in tiny shards of ice.


    Snowdawn did his best to follow after her and used his own ice to freeze the spikes before their time could restart, stopping the ground from attacking them. As they neared closer, the Beast increased its onslaught, and lava began to bubble out of it. Snowdawn dropped his shield and began firing out orbs of ice, blocking some of the bolts and fire for Lady Time, and he also began to freeze the lava rapidly. They were now less than forty feet away from the Beast and drawing closer.


    Lady Time cut down another fireball and felt an intense pain in her fighting arm as a shard of ice ripped the limb clean off. She instantly recreated her missing sword, catching it in between her teeth, and kept pushing forward. Snowdawn tried to freeze the wound and stop the blood loss the best he could, but Lady Time didn''t even give him the moment. Her other arm still moved at blinding speeds, cutting down more of the attacks. She reached the lava and managed to twist her head a bit using the sword that was in between her teeth. It glowed, and she froze the lava in time.


    "I''ll take it from here!" Snowdawn’s words caused the older woman to stop. She was about to run forward but was stopped when Snowdawn tossed Cinder''s body at her. "I could never call myself a hero if I allowed an Enforcer member to die for me!" He ran on the frozen lava, coating more of it with his ice, and swung out with the mace. It was only thanks to the amp he got from Lady Time, but it was enough. The mace was able to block every attack and cancel them out! The greatest shield, Battery truly hadn’t been joking when he claimed this was a powerful weapon. "I hope you can feel fear, Beast! I''m going to make sure you''re scared of humans by the time I''m done with you!"


    He remembered what Ocean Empress had said to Cinder about this weapon. It belonged to Hell Hound and held a unique power. It could cancel out other powers when they touched the mace.


    Orbs of fire vanished, no longer existing, and bolts of lightning bounced off into the sky. He used his own power to freeze the disks of water and shatter them, and he wrestled for control over the ice shards the Beast launched. Due to the fact that it was focusing so heavily on its time stop, he was able to cause the shards to stop mid-air. The shards began to obey his will and lined themselves up for him, forming a staircase.


    He ran up it, gritting his teeth, and used a wave of ice to send himself flying into the air, putting him above the Beast. He raised the mace up above his head and screamed as he began to fall. The Beast stared up at him with its good eye, and a golden beam of pure light erupted from its iris. Snowdawn slammed the mace down, using it to block and cancel out the beam, but the Beast kept on firing. His ice began to crack and melt, and even while the mace blocked all of it, the attack was still shoving him back. Lightning appeared in the air above him and crackled down, ramming into his back while his attention was focused.


    Armin felt his nerves ignite, and his muscles twitched, but he froze his own body, forcing his arms to stay outstretched and allowing him to block the beam. Lady Time stood on the ground, her one arm wrapped around Cinder as she stared at the hero above. She decided who her next sidekick would be if they made it out of this alive. She placed Cinder on the ground and reformed her weapons, gripping one in between her teeth once more as she got ready to act. She could tell what this boy was planning—his trump card.


    Snowdawn felt his entire body shake as the lightning pressed down on him from above and the laser raised him up from below. "T-Talk about being between a rock and a hard place," he joked. He wasn''t ready to give up yet. He knew what he needed to do. He had seen Lady Time do the same thing. Even if the Beast resisted it, even if it only lasted for a second, this was the one thing that made him strong. The one thing that he held that allowed him to follow after Cinder. "Watch out, Hope! I''m about to become a hero that surpasses even you!" And with that, he brought his power up to its max, and he froze time!


    Lady Time had still been able to use her power, even to a small extent. That meant that while time was frozen, it could still somehow be frozen again. A double-time freeze. In other words, it could be a time freeze that would halt even those who were immune to time freeze.


    Snowdawn''s power spilled out as he poured his all into it. He felt himself inverting as he gave his power everything it needed. He gave it all up. An ice statue of himself appeared in his place, and the lightning and lasers instantly halted. For a moment, everything halted. The Beast was still moving, even in double-time freeze, but that had never been his true goal. Just like Lady Time, he had instead frozen its powers in place.


    He began to fall forward, going through the beam, the mace ripping it to bits. Already, he could feel his mind breaking from the effort, and his armor was starting to crack as he neared burnout. He fought through it all, though. He had always been behind Hope''s back, watching her push forward. She always seemed to be one step ahead of them. When they were kids, she would be the one to fight off the bullies, and even with what her family went through, she didn''t let it bring her down. It was his turn to be that strong. She was his little sister. It was his job to keep her safe. It was also his job to be cooler than her.


    Time was restarting, and he still wasn''t near the Beast as he dropped. The creature took a swipe at him, and he felt it collide with his sides. The second layer of time stop came undone, and the Beast''s attacks restarted. Snowdawn''s armor shattered, and the hand batted him away so hard that the boy was sent smashing into the ground. Snowdawn hit the road hard, his eyes rolling back as he felt his consciousness fade.


    He had done enough, though.


    "You were pretty cool, kid." From up above, dropping from a pillar of ice Snowdawn had made earlier in the fight, Lady Time fell. “Get it? Cool! It was an ice pun!” She grabbed the mace out of midair, which Snowdawn had let go of when he had been hit. He hadn''t been setting himself up to get the win. The entire time, it was all for this one moment.


    "F- Finish it." Snowdawn managed to cry out with the strength he had left. “Put him on ice!”


    The Beast''s arm was outstretched still and was unable to pull back in time, thanks to its sluggish movement. It tried to smack Lady Time out of the sky with its other hand, only for it to remember that Battery had sliced it clean off. Lady Time landed on the head of the Beast and smashed the mace down, slamming it into the monster''s missing eye. She tried to push down with everything she had, but the Beast''s other eye glowed and fired a golden beam of light directly into her gut.


    Lady Time was launched off of it, and her body was nearly torn in half from the laser. She dropped from the sky and crashed down head-first next to Snowdawn, unmoving. Armin groaned and tried to keep himself awake. The slap he had taken broke most of his bones, and thanks to burnout, he was having a hard time using his powers. The Beast stared down at them, black blood dripping from its face. Time was still stopped. The mace was buried in its destroyed eye but hadn''t gone in deep enough.


    Lightning twisted above and began to drop toward Cinder. The Beast''s speed was no longer cut in half, and Snowdawn no longer had the boost he needed. Lady Time was either dead or unconscious. He watched as everything seemed to move in slow motion.


    "Hope!" He threw himself over her.


    At the last second, the bolt of lightning twisted and changed course, bouncing back up! There was one more hero who could move in frozen time, one who also had great power—the power of a Lord!


    The lightning rammed into the handle of the mace so hard that the weapon was shoved forward. Max Lightning floated down from the sky, clouds wrapping around him and lightning blasting off of him. He brought his hands together and slammed them out, shooting a solid gust of wind through the eye, and the Beast actually let out a loud cry, one that caused Armin''s ears to pop and begin to bleed.


    Black blood poured out of the Beast''s eye, and it jerked back. The back of its head cracked, and then the mace came flying out as Max Lightning shoved the weapon all the way through, blowing a hole through the Beast''s head. The monster slowly dropped to its knees and grabbed at its face with its remaining hand as the black liquid poured out.


    Max Lightning landed on the ground and used his powers to cause ice to appear around Lady Time''s injuries. "I would have gotten here sooner, but the Victorian and I had to dig our way out of the planet. That bastard shoved us down to the core."


    "Victorian can still move?" Snowdawn asked.


    "Of course she can." Max Lightning nodded. "The two of us needed to charge up our power and bring it to the max, though. I got done before her, which is why I came first."


    "We need to break that thing’s focus!"


    The Beast stood back up and pointed out its hand, launching a beam of fire. Even after all that it had endured, time remained frozen. A hole through its head was seemingly not enough. Max Lightning blocked the attack with a twirling wave of wind, causing the fire to fly off in the distance. He raised his hands, and more wind came to life, forming thick barriers around all the people. "Grit your teeth." Max Lightning command. "She''s coming."


    The Beast went to step toward them but stopped suddenly. Everything had been turned into a black and white color when it froze time, but all of a sudden, something from up above caught its attention. A red light. One that existed even in a world without color.


    Then, all the Beast saw was a fist.


    The Victorian, faster than anything in the world, even more so than Battery, appeared in front of the Beast, and she struck with everything she had. A punch that would destroy frozen time itself would have caused untold disaster if time hadn''t been standing still. The Beast was smashed back, and in a single instance, time restarted as color came flooding back into the world.


    Sound came crashing out, and Snowdawn felt his body burn as Cinder launched her fire into the air, only to accidentally send it smashing into Snowdawn''s ankle, causing the boy to yell.


    "What the hell?" Hope asked, blinking back to life. She had suddenly moved spots—screams echoed out, and her head jerked up. She was shocked to see Max Lightning standing next to her, holding the body of a bloodied hero. A nearby building exploded in the distance, suddenly collapsing, and Money Tree managed to stop it from falling on anyone.


    "What the hell happened!" The Sub Enforcer leader yelled out.


    Max Lightning didn''t say anything, and his eyes locked forward. Hope slowly followed his gaze and felt her eyes go wide. "See that, Lord of the Sun." Max Lightning spoke softly. "That''s the power of the Cosmos."


    Every part of her body was covered in a thick layer of black. It wasn''t like shadows, though. Not like the Emperor. This was like looking up at the night sky. All across her form, hundreds of tiny red lights sparkled off the inky black void that made up her body. The Victorian wasn''t holding back anymore. Even if it meant she could unleash an attack that would wipe the city out.


    The Victorian hadn''t inherited the power of the Sun. Thanks to her talent with inversion, she could use her golden light. The light had been her inverted power. Her true power was this: the power of the Cosmos, the second half of her father''s title of Lord, the reason she was the number one hero.


    "Get ready." The Victorian''s voice came out distorted, and all the other heroes suddenly noticed what was going on. To them, they had been standing there talking, and in less than a second, a battle had been brought to them. "The Beast is finally going to stop holding back."


    The ocean began to bubble and boil. Her punch had sent the Beast flying to the depths, but it was already coming back up! Fire blasted out of the water''s surface, and the boiling liquid rained toward the people below...


    ***


    Paragon straightened out her lab coat and adjusted her mask. "You''re acting like you''re about to meet your lover''s parents," Ward teased.


    "This will be the first time I saw the two of them since I failed to save him," Paragon huffed. Destiny wasn''t with her. That was okay, though, since she could see now. She had let the bird fly off and go hunting. She also needed him for later. At the moment, she stood in a hospital with Ward outside of a specific room. "You''re sure this is where they are staying?"


    The Hero Brancher member rolled his eyes and grabbed the handle of the door, yanking it open. She flinched a bit but slowly peeked inside. The hallway was filled with Hero Branch members and other injured patients. She planned on healing them all if she could, but she wanted to confirm something first.


    The hospital room was plain-looking. It had been given to the family only because of the situation that the father was going through. Alexander Lauren, the father of Hope Lauren, jumped a bit when the door opened. He was in his bed and looked tired, staring at the wall. Her healing hadn''t been enough. Not even close. Across the room, Jane Lauren stood. She didn''t look back at them and instead stared out the window in the direction of Oleander City. Blood was dripping down the woman''s face from where her teeth punctured her lips, and her nails dug into her palm. The poor woman looked like she had aged a good ten years, and Paragon was sure there were more grays in her raven hair.


    Ward stepped past her and cleared his throat, finally causing Jane to look back at them. "Mrs. Lauren." The Hero Branch member nodded. "I''m with the Hero Branch. You''ve been requested to speak to Paragon."


    "Paragon?" Jane''s eyes trailed from the man in the suit over to the hero in the lab coat.


    "You were in the hospital," Alexander said, sitting up slowly. "I saw you the other night. You tried to heal me."


    "I wasn''t able to succeed, though," Paragon sighed. Alexander gave a low chuckle and shook his head. "I''m sorry."


    "Don''t be. I never thought it would be that easy." The man shrugged.


    Ward folded his arms and leaned against the wall. His Hero Branch members were out in the hall, ready to act if he needed them. He kept his eyes on Paragon, making sure she wouldn''t try anything. They were high up on the hospital''s top floor, so he wasn''t too worried. She didn''t have a means of escape. That didn''t mean he was going to let his guard down, though. "Finish up with what you wanted to ask them." The man instructed. "There are plenty of people that need your help. The Beast attack has just started, and already we have hundreds that are injured and dozens more that are panicking. Only you can help put them at ease."


    Paragon nodded her head, feeling a little numb. She had always been a little jealous of her sister and Hope. Those two were so strong. Now, though, there was a good chance she was the strongest hero in Lillian, with every other hero fighting for their lives in Oleander.


    "Is my daughter okay?" Jane asked suddenly. "She hung up on me! You’re one of her friends, so you should know what’s going on, right? Please tell me she isn''t in any danger!"


    "I don''t know," Paragon said slowly. “I figured that she wouldn''t be here, but I wanted to at least check.”


    Jane’s head bowed down. “I thought that if anyone could convince her not to go, it might be you." The woman whispered. “She really is over there, isn’t she?”


    "Not go?" Alexander frowned. “Where is Hope? What''s going on?" Jane''s face was stained with tears, and she couldn’t look her husband in the eyes. "Where''s my daughter?" Alexander yelled and tried to push himself up. "Is she still in Oleander?"


    "You shouldn''t be moving, sir. Your body is still-"


    "I don''t care." Alexander cut Paragon off and managed to stand. It didn''t last long, though. He fell forward but was caught by Ward, who moved swiftly, stopping the man. "I need to get out of here! If she''s in Oleander-"


    "Try and think for a second," Ward stated, slowly helping the man back onto the bed. Jane held onto her husband''s arm, gripping it tightly. "That place is a death trap even for normal heroes. You''d die just trying to cross the bridge."


    "I can''t just leave her! She''s in danger!"


    "She''s not," Ward said, shaking his head. "Your daughter is Cinder, right? She''d be placed near the exit point."


    "Cinder?"


    "Oh. Did you not know?" Ward shot a look toward Jane, who winced a bit. "You never told him your daughter was going out at night dressing up and playing hero?"


    "What the hell is going on!"


    "Hope has powers," Jane said quietly. “She awakened them again.”


    Alexander''s eyes were wide, and he stared at his wife. "You knew?"


    Paragon stepped forward and lifted her hand up a bit, getting their attention. "If I may. I don''t know Hope all that well. We really haven''t spent a lot of time talking, what with everything going on. Despite that, though, I don''t think she is the kind of person to hide who she is from you without at least having a good reason. The way you''re acting now. This is likely how she figured it would go down. Even if you leave and somehow make it to Oleander, I don''t think you''ll be able to convince her to leave. The way you wanted to charge into the city despite your body is the same thing that drives her. She''s truly your kid. She is a hero. A strong one. Even if she wasn''t, though, I think she would still try to do something. Even if she didn''t have powers, that''s just the kind of person she is."


    "Are you saying that I should just give up and let my daughter face her fate? I don''t care if she''s a strong hero- I don''t care if she''s the strongest hero! She could be the Victorian, and I''d still stop her!"


    Hope had done a lot in such a short amount of time. Most people didn''t know who Cinder was. She wasn''t ever in the headlines or featured in stories. She knew, though. Cinder was the kind of hero who took on Green Wolf on her first day out. Cinder was the kind of hero who fought and defeated Polaron and didn''t get any credit. She was the kind of hero who did her best to save her family and would even fight a Lord. The type of hero who earned her sister''s and mother''s respect. The kind that somehow always seemed to find a way to squeak out a win. The kind that had survived an encounter with the Emperor. The kind that would help cats out of trees, people suffering heart problems, and freezing homeless men. She had taken down Zoo, Bad Timers, and the Wandering Coin.


    Oleander didn''t even know it yet, but they had such an amazing hero. It was about time someone helped her.


    "I''m not saying you should give up," Paragon said. She reached out and squeezed the man''s hand. She could feel her power bubbling up to the surface, like a flower nearing its blooming point. "Instead of chasing her yourself, though, please let me carry that burden. I know I don''t have the right to, but please put your trust in me, and let me be the one who saves her."


    "You''ll save Hope?" Jane asked.


    "Even if it kills me."


    Ward grabbed Paragon by the shoulder and shook his head. "Sorry, but no dice. I told you already. I''m not letting you anywhere near that battlefield."


    "Do you really think you can stop me?" She asked, stepping away from him and removing his hand.


    Ward snorted and folded his arms. "In case you forgot, I have a dozen men outside this hallway. Their weapons are set to stun. I don''t want to, but I will knock you out if I have to. You won''t make it very far. Especially not with the body that you have."


    "You''re taking it too far," Alexander growled. "She''s just a kid."


    "To hell with going too far," Ward sneered. I am the protector of Lillian. I have no use for morality. I''ll do what I must when I must. If this will keep my city safe, I''ll do it."


    "What about Oleander?" Jane questioned.


    "It isn''t my city. If Laps was even half as good at her job as I am, she''d never let it be put in such a position." Ward shrugged. "Humans stand at the top—even with you, Supers. I won''t let you do something stupid."


    "I always think everything she does is stupid." Paragon''s words took Ward aback. The healer reached up, pulling her mask off slowly. "She always has these stupid ideas that somehow work out in the end." She looked back at the two adults. “Cinder really is an amazing hero. I wish I were half as good as her."


    Ward took a step toward her, but Paragon suddenly threw her mask. He caught it and jumped back, blocking the exit. He realized too late that she wasn''t going for the door. Glass shattered as Paragon jumped right out the window on the top story of the building.


    "What the hell! Is she trying to get herself killed!" Ward ran forward, as did Jane, and both of them stared in horror as Paragon began to fall.


    Paragon felt the wind hit her hair, and her lab coat blew wildly as she fell. Her stomach twisted, and she really regretted this idea. The ground was coming up fast, but she managed to spin around and hold her hand up. Destiny dropped from the sky and landed on her palm. Instantly, she felt her power roar to life, and that flower finally bloomed.


    Destiny let out a loud cry, and in a flash, his body grew large and his wings expanded. His claws wrapped around her, and he raised up just in time! Her feet almost grazed the ground as he took off, and he began to fly faster than a car. Paragon pulled herself up and managed to hook her arm around the bird. He turned a bit, and she fell forward, catching herself on his body and now riding him.


    Down below, dozens of people stared up at the large red bird that had flown through the city and headed for Oleander. Feathers began to rain from the sky as the bird flew, and someone picked one up. Instantly, they felt all the injuries in their bodies fade and ease up, fully healing them...


    It was as if a phoenix had been born.


    Ward stared out the window, his lips forming a thin line. The mask he held began to crack and dent as his fingers dug into it. "So, do you still think humans are above Supers?" Jane''s cheeky voice asked.


    "I hate kids."