Everything was dark...


    Kyle felt his mind gradually click back into place as his thoughts began to restart. His head ached, but he supposed that was a good thing. After all, he was still alive... His body was screaming at him, but he fought through it. His eyes slowly began to open as he stared up at the stone roof above him.


    He groaned and tried to sit up. His stomach hurt, but the pain wasn''t as bad as he thought it would be. His ears rang a bit, and he heard the sound of people talking all around him. It was as if he was in a crowd or something.


    "Oh! Are you awake?" Kyle jumped a bit when he heard the voice. "Hey, try not to move around so much. She wasn''t able to fully heal your stomach, so you need to take it easy, got that kid?"


    Kyle winced and clutched at his gut. His eyes finally settled, and he was able to look down at his body. His jacket had been cut open; the same for his shirt, showing off his stomach. He didn''t know how long he had been knocked out, but small, tiny scars littered his flesh. He had been healed despite how close to death he was. There was only one Super he knew of who had healing this good. "Paragon saved me?"


    "Yep."


    He looked around, taking everything in. The floor was cold stone, and he had been placed down on it in a sleeping bag. Above him was a stone roof as well. There was a series of curtains set up around them, forming a makeshift tent, and lights hung above them. It sort of reminded him of the medical tents people would set up during a war. Outside of the tent, he could hear dozens of people talking as well as the sounds of children laughing and playing. It all felt so weird.


    A man was in the tent with him and had been the one speaking to him. It was an older guy in his early to late forties. He was dressed in a thrown-together outfit, a long-sleeved shirt, and baggy pants. The man was bald and very skinny but had large laugh lines on his face and a few flakes of red that were growing in forming a small beard. The man gently pushed up his glasses and placed his book down when he saw Kyle was trying to stand up.


    "What did I say?" The man argued, softly pushing Kyle back down. "Your stomach hasn''t fully healed on the inside yet. You''ll cause something to pop if you keep moving around."


    "I need to get up-"


    "No. You need to rest." The man said, shaking his head. He grabbed a cup of water that had been resting on a nearby table and brought it up to Kyle''s lips. Kyle silently drank it, feeling the burning sensation in his throat fade away. "Trust me, I was once in a similar position as you." The man said, giving a sad smile. "I know how frustrating it can be to have to rest when you just want to do something. You were trying to save some people, right? Went and got yourself injured, and now you want to go back out there and do it all over again."


    "No," Kyle said, shaking his head. "It isn''t about that." He needed to get back to the base. He was sure of what he saw. Hope Lauren. He didn''t know what was going on exactly, but it was her. Or at least it looked and sounded like her, but something was wrong. He needed to tell Myth or Battery or someone.


    The man placed the cup down and stood up. "Well, until Paragon can fix your stomach, you''re in no condition to move around. She got a bit distracted with something, so it could be a bit until she comes to get you-"


    "Mr. Lauren!" A voice cried out. The curtain to the area they were in opened up slightly, and a young boy ran in, clinging to the man''s leg. "My brother took my toy again!"


    "Oh, did he now?" The man asked, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, I''ll go and talk to him then!"


    "Wait? Lauren?" Kyle asked, easing himself up to a sitting position.


    The man looked back at him and nodded. "I guess I forgot to give my name, huh? I''m Alexander Lauren." The bullets he had taken were nothing compared to the gut punch he just got. He stared at the man in shock, feeling a chill go through him. This was Hope''s father. Her dad was the one in front of him. First, he had run into someone who looked like Hope, and now her father was standing before him? What were the chances? "Hey, I got to step out for a bit, so stay here, okay? I''ll be right back." He didn''t get time to say anything to Mr. Lauren as the man stepped out, following after the child.


    Kyle forced himself to stand and groaned, clutching his stomach. He had a lot more envy for heroes that had bulletproof skin. Slowly, he managed to hobble to the entrance of the makeshift tent he was in and pushed the cloth to the side, stepping out. He looked around, taking in the sight of the small society that had formed during these harsh times.


    They were underground in what he guessed used to be a train station. The rails lead down to a dark tunnel, though parts of the roof collapsed from the battle with the Beast in some areas. Other parts, however, were lifted and supported by large trees that had sprouted from the stone, wrapping their vines and branches into the roof above. There was a set of stairs that led up and would likely take him out into the streets of Oleander. There weren''t any Hero Branch members, but he did notice a few cops were standing next to the entrance, seemingly guarding it.


    There were about a dozen or so people walking around the underground area. Some wore the clothing they had on the day the Beast attacked, while others were wearing stitched-together outfits or leaves and vines woven together into jackets or dresses. Some had wooden spears, and everyone seemed to be doing something. There were kids playing with whatever toys were able to be found and adults walking back and forth, setting up tents and clearing the rubble in one of the tunnels, gradually expanding the area. More of those trees were scattered about growing fruit or being cut open, allowing small streams of water to spill out that some women were collecting.


    Oleander had become a wasteland of ruins barely holding itself together. Despite all of that, though, these people had found a way to survive by closing themselves off from the villains up top. Paragon had created her own secret society.


    "Oh, thank God you''re okay!" Kyle didn''t have much time to process everything, and a second later, he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder, which began to shake him. A man stood in front of him, giving him a look he had never seen before. "My family would be... I can''t thank you enough! You saved our lives. I''m so glad you''re not hurt."


    His mind finally clicked in place, and he realized who this was. "You''re the guy?" It was the father in that family of three. The one who had been shot in the shoulder, though the man seemed to have been fully healed and no longer had a shoulder wound.


    "Yes! You saved my daughter. I can''t thank you enough," the man said, gesturing out with his hand. Kyle followed where he pointed and saw the little girl standing next to her mother near the other side of the station they were in. A wooden table had been carved out from a tree, and the two were cutting some apples they had picked. She no longer had a fever and had a wide, happy grin on her face as she said something to her mom.


    It was a strange feeling knowing he had saved someone''s life. After all, he wasn''t a superhero—not like Hope or Armin had been.


    "I thought I told you to stay put." A hand clasped him on the back, and he looked up, finding Alexander had wandered back over. The man still had a smile on his face and winked, showing he wasn''t actually annoyed. "You should say thanks back to this guy, kid. His family was the one that managed to flag down Paragon and is the reason we were able to find you in time."


    He rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Thanks... Hey, I''m not trying to be rude or anything, but can I speak to Paragon? If she''s around here, that is? It''s really important. I''m a friend of hers."


    Alexander rubbed his chin, running his hands through his beard as he thought about it for a moment. "Well, you''re in luck. She just came back." He grabbed Kyle and allowed the boy to lean on him. "She seemed to know who you were and asked to see you once you were up, so let''s say hi, shall we?"


    "Right."


    They walked through the train station, and he couldn''t help but stare at all the people as they went about their day. In only two months, they formed a new society that was seemingly thriving. He''d have to tell Wasp Nest about it when he next got the chance. They had been looking for Paragon for weeks now. No one knew what happened to the hero or if she had even stayed in Oleander. All they knew was that Poseidon was worried sick looking for her.


    They reached the section of the station that dipped down to where the tracks were. One of the tunnels at one end of the track was covered in rubble. Several men were slowly using wooden tools or whatever else they had to try and dig through it, but they weren''t making a lot of progress. The other tunnel, on the other hand, kept going further into the Oleander underground stations. These places, even before the Beast, had stopped being in use due to all the villains that claimed them or the number of collapsed areas. At the entrance to the tunnel, a group of men and women were holding fashioned spears or swords. In the middle of them, though, stood Sky.


    It looked like they had just gotten back from a trip, all of them covered in sweat. Several of the men that walked with Sky had a large stretcher out, which held the body of what looked almost like a bear, but the creature was far larger and covered in thick metal hide. He was a little shocked to see Sky talking so casually to the people around her.


    He had met the girl a few times since he was friends with Metal Ronin, who in turn was friends with Wasp Nest, who was dating Sky''s sister. In the past, Sky was always quiet and always wore her baggy clothes or covered her face with a plain mask. She always slouched down and never did much. Now, though, the girl was walking and had a wooden sword slung over her shoulder. She wasn''t wearing her mask and didn''t have her sunglasses as well. He had heard she wasn''t blind anymore, but he really didn''t get to talk to her about that with everything that had happened. Her hair was long and flowing down her back, and it was the color of white now. She had changed her outfit as well. She wore a pair of long sweatpants and a tank top, with her white lab coat open.


    She turned toward them and nodded to her group before she made her way over toward them. The others lifted the dead bear onto the station and let out a loud yell to everyone. "We brought back food!" One of the men announced, causing everyone in the station to cheer. "We''re going to be eating good tonight!"


    Kyle couldn''t help but snort. They were doing way better than anyone up top. On the surface, many stores had been taken over by low-level villains or random thugs. Myth''s team tried to stop them and reclaim some of them, but the Hero Branch had decided to start air-dropping food, which other villains would then try to snatch up and take. This meant that Myth''s Sub Enforcers had to instead focus on making sure the supplies went to the people that needed them most, so the stores got taken over and were now unused.


    The only people doing well in Oleander besides Sky''s group were the people who camped out near the bridge. Battery''s Giants were most active near there and seemingly couldn''t travel through the entire city alone. Battery seemed more focused on rebuilding the bridge and streets instead of stopping all the crime, which had made his makeshift soldiers into a weird Cleanup Squad.


    "Hi, Mr. Lauren," Sky spoke once she reached them and nodded her head. "How''s Mrs. Lauren?"


    Alexander let out a small wince and shuffled a bit. "She''s still not eating that much," he admitted. “I tried to get Jane to walk around like you suggested, but she didn''t want to leave her bed."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Sky gave a slow nod. "I''ll try to speak to her again. We just finished our hunt, so I should be good to use my powers if I need to sustain her."


    "Hunt?" Kyle questioned.


    Sky turned to him and smiled. "It''s good to see you again, Brenner."


    "You can just call me Kyle."


    She nodded and reached out, placing a hand on his stomach. He felt a strange tickling sensation shoot through his body, and the pain inside of him slowly faded as his body eased back up. "Sorry, I couldn''t heal you sooner. I was a bit distracted when I heard those guys ran into a monster and had to rush off to help." She explained, shooting a thumb in the direction of the men that carried the dead bear.


    "Monster? Paragon, what''s going on?" He asked.


    "I''ll let you two catch up." Alexander cut in. "I need to check on Jane."


    The man walked away, leaving the two of them standing there. Sky looked out to all the people that were in the station, watching them for a moment. "Do you think Hope would have been able to save more people?"


    "Huh?"


    "I think she would have." Sky placed her sword down and slowly climbed back up onto the station floor. She sat down, dangling her legs above the track. She patted the place next to her, and Kyle copied her, taking a seat. "After the Beast attack, I wanted to help people. A lot of citizens got injured. I''m a healer. It was all I was ever good for in the past. At first, I picked this place because it was a good hiding spot. I hid here and used my power to heal some people. Those people then came back days later with more people. Eventually, I guess this sort of became a place where we could all stay. The streets were filled with a ton of fighting, you know? So, it was nice to stay down here."


    "I''m guessing you created the trees?"


    "Yeah." She looked down at her hands. "I plan on making more soon, and hopefully we can start getting some to the people above ground. I''m still getting the hang of my powers, and it takes a lot of energy to make these trees and allow them to be strong enough to dig their roots so far into the ground that they can get the water they need. They die fast also. I''m barely able to keep everyone fed with them, so we''ve taken to hunting."


    "You guys are starting to sound like cavemen." Kyle snorted.


    "Well, cavemen never had to deal with monsters," Sky sighed. "You know the rumors that these tunnels used to belong to Zoo? Well, it turns out they aren''t just rumors. I don''t know where, but somewhere down here, Zoo is hanging out."


    "Even after Green Wolf''s death?" He asked, shocked. Armin had told him what happened to Green Wolf. Apparently, Battery had caved the man''s skull in. Not even Green Wolf could bounce back from something like that.


    "Do you remember the group that was called the Wandering Coin?" Sky questioned.


    "Yeah?"


    "Well, in that group was a man named Doctor Blue. He used to be some big-shot Hero Branch Doctor. It was thanks to him that the Wandering Coin was able to make its drugs and manmade Supers with the help of the previous Lord of Life, Wish. During the incident in the Wasteland, he vanished. I''m pretty sure Zoo took him. Or, well, actually, I''m certain Zoo has him. These animals, or actually monsters, as we''ve started calling them, were created by Red Ape and Doctor Blue. They''re all over the underground area."


    "Are they planning on using them to attack the city?"


    "Maybe, but I don''t think so," Paragon said, shaking her head. "I think they just placed them all over the place to stop people from snooping around. A lot of these tunnels collapsed or merged with the sewers after the Beast attack. Zoo''s base doesn''t have as many options as they used to, so I think this is a way to keep the general public out. None of these creatures are that strong. I think instead they have another plan, and it''s taking them some time."


    "Have you told Myth about this?"


    "Not yet. I haven''t been able to."


    "What do you mean?"


    The girl looked around before leaning forward slowly. "Battery''s out to get me."


    "Huh?"


    "Something changed with him. I don''t know what exactly, but he''s no longer human. My eyes can see things now. His DNA has been replaced by something. Whatever brought him back to life didn''t do so by simply reviving him from the dead. I''m the Lord of Life, and not even I can bring a dead corpse back. It brought back what it could and filled in the gaps with itself. The look in his eyes... That''s why I''m hiding down here. I''ve been trying to get my people to get a hold of Myth, but we haven''t had a lot of luck with it yet."


    He took a second to process all of that. "Have you heard the news?"


    "What news?"


    "Battery became a member of the Enforcers."


    "Seriously?" Sky hissed and clenched her hands into fists. "Just my luck."


    "Are you sure he''s out to get you? He''s been rebuilding the city." Battery was one of the people Hope looked up to. He found it hard to believe the man was suddenly evil.


    Sky rubbed her chin and crossed her legs. She hummed and closed her eyes, thinking. "I guess it''s possible he became himself again after cooling off. I don''t want to risk whatever is inside of him getting out again. I don''t think it likes me very much. Maybe because I''m his sibling?"


    "You''re his sibling?"


    "Sadly." She stood up and folded her arms. "Should I risk it? If it comes down to it, and this is some sort of trap, I don''t think I can beat him. I doubt my powers would work on him. I''m still not that strong of a fighter."


    "You''ve been fighting?" He felt like all he was good for was just asking questions. There was a lot he was discovering had changed.


    "I''ve been fighting some of the monsters and figuring out how to use my powers. I''m sort of like Hope when she first started out. My strength has been steadily increasing, and I''m getting the hang of everything." She grabbed some of her hair, messing with it. “My hair also has changed, so I guess I figured out how to enter my battle mode, but I have no idea how to turn it off. I wish Hope was here.”


    That suddenly reminded him... He slowly stood up and grabbed Sky by her shoulders, looking down at her with wide eyes. "I almost forgot!" He said in shock. "Paragon, I- I know this is going to sound insane! I know Myth and Metal Ronin said she didn''t make it out of the Beast fight alive, but I''m sure that I saw her!" He said, shaking Paragon. "I saw Hope! She''s alive!"


    Sky stared up at him and simply said two words that stunned him. "I know."


    ***


    It started long ago, all from a lone seed.


    A single seed that would go on to sprout into a large tree. One that a man was born under. This man''s name was lost to time, but many agreed that he was the first of a brand-new species. What wasn''t lost to time, though, was the man''s stories. He had seemingly been born with only one purpose in life. To speak of those that came before.


    This human, whose name has been forgotten by history, wandered the world and told his fellow men, women, and children the grand stories of the people who saved planet Earth. He spoke of the four Lords. He spoke of the first-ever beings with powers. He told the world of their abilities and of their sacrifice. And so the world would come to live in an era of peace, right? The four Lords died for our sins, keeping planet Earth safe from all disasters and slaying the Shadow. Therefore, humans had nothing to worry about, right?


    That is incorrect.


    The wandering man was simply the start of it all. He was the first Super born after the death of the Lords. Slowly but surely, rumors began to rise of people wielding dangerous abilities—powers mankind should have never seen. An outbreak that would sweep the planet, they possessed strength that was far beyond anything a kingdom or government could hope to match.


    The world entered a new age. One of war and conflict that would last hundreds of years. One in which Supers should have ruled, yet something stood in their way. In a single year, a Super forced the war to come to an end and caused both sides to alter the way they would do things. Born with Godlike power, the strongest Super the world had ever seen rose to the top of the food chain and single-handedly changed how powers would be viewed forever. This man called himself Full Monarch, and he had a simple goal.


    He was going to save the world.


    "Is something wrong, mister?"


    Nier snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head slowly, forcing a smile on his face. "Why would you think that there was something wrong?"


    "You had an angry look on your face."


    "Ah? Did I? Sorry if I scared you. I was just deep in thought." He chuckled. He took the arm of the woman that was in front of him and placed two of his fingers on it. He could feel the embers of his old power flare up. The ego in his head screamed and howled like a mad beast, but it reluctantly faded to silence. "There. That should be better."


    The woman''s eyes went wide, and she began to move her arm back and forth, staring at it. "Yeah! It''s not broken anymore! You''re amazing, sir!"


    "Goodness, no." Nier chuckled as his tired eyes glanced at the crowd of people that were in his alleyway. "Trust me. I''m not amazing. The real amazing people are the ones who survived this great disaster." He felt his smile fade for a moment before he forced it back on his face. "Next." He called out.


    The woman stepped out of line, now fully healed, allowing the next person in the crowd to step forward and receive healing from the kind stranger who had appeared.


    Oleander City was in utter ruins. The battle with the Beast was not an easy one. It left the city scarred and torn to bits. Many people hadn''t been able to escape in time, with dozens losing their lives and more being gravely injured. The Hero Branch wasn''t fast enough to rescue people, and Paragon''s feathers no longer rained from the sky. It was in the darkest moment that a man had set up a little clinic in an alleyway. However, calling it a clinic was rather generous. It was, in fact, just a simple wooden chair, one that Nier sat in, allowing people to come up to him where he would use his gift to heal them all.


    The savior of Oleander''s people, the one who took care of its people, was not one in a cape or one who fought the Beast. It was this golden man who decided to bless the world with his efforts.


    "You''re the best!"


    "Thank you so much, sir!"


    "You saved my child!"


    "How can I ever repay you?"


    "You''re a real hero!"


    The edges of Nier''s lips raised slightly, and he looked up at the dark sky above. "A hero, huh? Yes. That''s a nice ring to it. I am the one who will save this planet, after all. Nier... Me. I am a hero. Just me."


    "Yeah. That''s it. That''s my father''s power. Cinder has become a true Lord of the Sun."


    Nier snapped his head in the direction of where the sound came from. A group of teens were on their phones as they waited in line to be healed. It had been playing all over the internet for the past few hours. A simple clip that had been taken from a live stream. One in which the daughter of Full Monarch claimed that some hero no one had ever heard of was the new number one hero.


    "You heard it here, folks!" The voice of Alice came out of the phone. "That clip showed off the true hero that beat the Beast! Not the Victorian, not Max Lightning, and not whoever that guy in red was! No! It was all the hero known as Cinder!" The teens weren''t the only ones on their phones. Nearly everyone had pulled it out when they heard the alert. "I was saved by her once!" Alice announced proudly. "She''s been in this city for a while! It was she who stopped Zoo and the Bad Timers! She took down some of Oleander''s greatest foes and even teamed up with heroes from other cities! Without a doubt, she truly is-"


    Whatever Alice was about to say, it was suddenly cut off as loud static echoed out of all the phones. He looked down at a phone one of his patients had, watching as the screen flashed and changed into the symbol of the Hero Branch logo. It was a circle with the letters H and B in the center. Fairly boring, but a thing most people recognized. It seemed someone in the Hero Branch decided to hijack Alice''s stream. The logo flashed once, then suddenly changed the screen, showing someone that caused everyone in the crowd around him to gasp.


    A hero in a red outfit with the symbol of a butterfly across her chest stood on a stage, staring out at the camera that was pointed at her. She wore a metal helmet that covered her face, and fire flicked around her. Cinder, the hero that had taken down the Beast, had just gone live. She wasn''t alone either. Standing next to her was a large older man in a suit who was shaking her hand, the Hero Branch director of Daisy, and on Cinder''s other side was Dean Ward, the Lillian director. He had his hand on Cinder''s shoulder and smiled at the camera.


    Nier felt his eyes narrow as he stared down at the phone. Instantly, he knew what was about to happen. That wasn''t the real Cinder. After all, the real Cinder was...


    "Yo!" The girl dressed up as Cinder announced. "My name''s Cinder, but I''m sure many of you knew that already." The fake hero flashed a smile at the camera. "I know some people were wondering where I''ve been. Well, to tell you the truth, I''ve been busy. As many of you likely know by now, I am in fact the next Full Monarch. I''m the newest Lord of the Sun and Cosmos. The Hero Branch and I have been working hard trying to clean up the disaster that was the Beast fight. I sort of messed up space during my clash." The girl gave an innocent giggle before suddenly growing serious. "There''s more to it than that, though. I want to be honest with everyone, just as Full Monarch was." Slowly she reached up and took off her helmet.


    The crowd in the alleyway all began to mutter more as they stared at the person on their screen. It was a young girl only about sixteen years old with long blonde hair and bright red eyes. She gave a sly smile to the camera and spoke once more.


    "My name, my real name that is, is Hope Lauren." The girl stated. "And I''m proud to say that I''m working alongside the Hero Branch-"


    Nier turned away, no longer able to keep himself calm. "It''s always the same, isn''t it? Always using us for your own motives when it best suits you." Nier ran his hand through his blonde hair and stood up, turning away. "I''m remembering just why I despise humans."


    Black armor danced across his flesh, suddenly appearing out of thin air as the Emperor turned away from the stunned people in the crowd. None of them had time to even move; as a second later, all the people he healed suddenly began to twitch and change their limbs, exploding out and growing in size as his newborn monsters began to tear into the rest of the crowd.


    He walked away, not looking back, and his metal boots echoed throughout the alleyway that quickly became stained in red. He still had an army to build. He was starting from practically scratch after his defeat at the hands of Full Monarch several years ago.


    As he stepped out of the alleyway, his gaze found itself on top of a nearby building that was falling apart. A billboard hung on the side of it, one that depicted the number one hero, the Victorian, in all her glory.


    He stared at the picture, and for just a moment, he found himself taken back to simpler times. He wouldn''t say they were exactly happy or even good, but the world truly had been better when Full Monarch had been around. Slowly, he looked up at the moon, and his mind began to wander.


    The past seemed like it was so long ago...