It was all dark, but she could hear splashing all around her, followed by heavy waves slamming down.


    "H-"


    She almost groaned. How many times has she blacked out and then woke up in some new location? This was starting to get ridiculous.


    “H-”


    She bet someone like the Victorian didn’t have to worry about things like this happening. Neither would someone like Battery. Mr. Larison was way too cool to be constantly blacking out like she was.


    "Hope!"


    The voice of Kevin rumbled in Hope’s ears. She mentally sighed as she felt her body start to wake back up and function again. Even without opening her eyes, she knew her body was still stuck in its tiny new form. She felt a little extra weight on her back, though, which confused her. She also felt sand and water splashing on her and a pair of lips on hers-


    Her eyes snapped wide open, and she prayed with all her heart that Kevin wasn''t giving her CPR. Thankfully for her, it wasn''t Kevin above her. Unfortunately, it also wasn''t anyone she knew personally. She didn''t make a good first impression either, as moments later, she began to vomit up an entire bucket''s worth of seawater.


    The person giving her the CPR, whoever it was, thankfully removed their lips just in time. She coughed and gasped, her body shaking. "There, there. Let it all out." It was a young woman. One who was currently patting her on the back as her lungs became free of water. “You’ll feel better once your lungs are clear.”


    She tried to nod her head but was unable to as more water and sand flowed out of her mouth. She was gasping by the end of it and couldn’t help the shudders that went through her. Tears were streaming down her face, and she felt really embarrassed about the crying in front of another person, but she also couldn’t really bring herself to care.


    The woman who had seemingly saved her life kept rubbing her back, soothing her nerves. “T- Thank you.” She managed to gasp out. “I almost drowned! Did you save me-” She stopped suddenly when she finally took notice of the person who saved her, and she instantly felt her face go red.


    The woman was in her early twenties at the most and had tanned skin, showing a life spent out in the sun. She also had long, flowing black hair. Whoever the woman was, she didn''t wear normal clothes, instead being dressed in what appeared to be leaves and grass woven together into a makeshift dress. It was similar in design to the ones from the memories Avalon had forced her to watch. The kind of outfit people in villages would wear.


    On top of all of that, though, the woman was extremely beautiful. She had been given CPR from a very attractive lady.


    Her face felt hot, and her world spun a bit as she tried to clear her thoughts. That was technically cheating on Sky, was it? Were she and Sky even dating? Did it matter? Who knows. She wasn’t really able to think straight at the moment anyway.


    The woman noticed her flushed face and cocked their head to the side. "Are you okay, little girl?" The woman questioned. Just like that, her embarrassment was replaced with a flash of annoyance at being called a kid.


    Hope blinked a bit and tried to answer. She resisted the urge to explain the age thing and instead accepted the fact that this lady likely thought she was thirteen. It might mean the woman was more willing to help her out. "Yeah? I''m fine, I think?" She rubbed part of her head and coughed up the last of the water, feeling a bit dizzy but mostly fine other than that. "Where am I, exactly?"


    She took a moment to judge her surroundings, and it only made her worry grow. She wasn''t in any of the ten cities that existed. She was back on Earth, however. She could tell thanks to the blue sky above and the passing clouds. Just like Hell Land, though, she had surfaced up in some sort of beach-looking area. Or, more specifically, some sort of tropical island. The kind that had coconut trees and crabs walking around.


    There weren''t any big buildings, but she did spot several wooden huts. The island was pretty big just from what little she saw, but the spot she had surfaced on happened to be near what she assumed was a village. It was just past the tree line. Several of those small huts had been built into the trees, and just like the woman, there were people walking about, all dressed in hand-forged clothes. Some were large men carrying sharpened wooden spears or makeshift bows, and others were women washing the clothes or getting cooking supplies.


    Most concerning of all, though, was that she didn''t see Kevin anywhere near her.


    "You''re on Coral Island," the woman explained. "I was getting ready to go fishing when I happened upon you in the water." The woman nodded to a wooden boat that was barely tied down and still filled with supplies. "I took you back here as soon as I could. You''re really okay, Miss?"


    "Yeah." She tried to stand up but collapsed forward into the arms of the woman. "Maybe not." Curse her tiny, weak, pathetic legs.


    "You need to rest." The woman slowly helped her back up onto her feet. "I''ll take you inside and get you changed out of those wet clothes. You''re from one of the big cities, right?"


    "Yeah." The woman kept a hand on her shoulder, and they began to walk toward the village. "How did you know though?"


    "Your clothes." The woman explained, letting off a soft giggle. "They''re the kind city folk wear. I''ve seen a few of them before. Sometimes, when I''m out sailing, they''ll come by on their big ships. Many of them take a kick out of gawking at us and are always shocked we''re alive." The woman smirked a bit as she said that. "They think you need the help of Supers and the ''heroes'' to make a living."


    Coral Island wouldn''t be part of the ten cities. As such, it didn''t have any heroes other than the Victorian, who would keep it safe during one of her world patrols. Yet despite that, it was still thriving and holding itself together. In fact, it looked good. She couldn''t help but stare at some of the workers as they wandered into the village. It was unlike any place she had seen before.


    Even the village she had viewed through the memories, thanks to Avalon, was very different from this one. That village had more cabins and hunters. Like something you''d see in a fantasy novel. This one, though, had all the huts high up as makeshift tree houses, with ladders connecting them to the bottom and bridges allowing access to other huts. There were about twenty or so that she counted, and all around the woods, people worked, cutting down some trees to harvest or getting ready to hunt. Children ran around swinging wooden sticks, which they pretended were swords, and some people stopped to stare at her and the woman as they entered.


    None of the looks were like the kind she had gotten from Hell Land. They weren''t judging or sizing her up. They were more curious, seemingly studying her. Some even seemed concerned by her appearance. "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Olivia." The woman spoke up. "Might I know your name, Miss?"


    "I''m—" she stopped as she remembered Meta. She doubted this place had TVs or any connection to the outside world that would allow them to know who Cinder was, but she didn''t want to be unsafe. "I''m Ruby." She once again lied and used a fake name.


    "What city are you from, Ruby?"


    "Oleander."


    "Oleander? I haven''t heard of that one."


    "Which one have you heard of?"


    Olivia hummed and seemed to try to think of the name. "Violet." The tanned woman finally said. "I think the people on the boats always called it that, at least."


    She felt like someone punched her in the gut once more. "Violet, I see..." It was practically as far away from Oleander as you could get. However, it wasn''t all bad. If she could get to the city at all, then she could call Myth or someone else and get them to come pick her up. "I''ll need to head there, then."


    "I''m afraid you''re out of luck in that case." The woman looked down at her as they reached one of the trees. This one had a long tree trunk that formed a thin ramp, allowing them to walk up it instead of climbing the ladder. "It''s still miles away. It''d take a few days to get there. It is possible, but not in the state you''re in."


    She hated being so weak. It made her blood boil. If only her powers were here. She''d simply have the strength to swim the distance, or even run on the water, or perhaps even fly. Like this, though, she couldn''t save herself, much less anybody else.


    They finally reached the hut. It wasn''t very big. There was only one room, which looked as if it served as the bedroom and kitchen. There was a rack, which the woman gestured to. "It isn''t safe to stay in those wet clothes. It gets cold this time of year. Go ahead and change into those, and I''ll take you somewhere you can get warmed up while we figure out what to do with you."


    "What to do with me?"


    "We do have a few ways of getting in contact with a city," Olivia explained. "In case there is a great disaster like a monster attack or a deadly virus that requires their help. In my time, we only had to use it once to stop a giant sea lizard from destroying our island. The one they called the Victorian came in and killed it. We ate that monster for the next year and a half. We''ll explain that we have a lost city member, and they need to come pick you up."


    That made some of the tension fade. She''d be able to get off the island sooner than later. "Thank you."


    Olivia only smiled at her and closed the door. She was alone in the hut now. There were no windows or anything, so she didn''t have to worry about anyone seeing her. She walked over to the rack and looked down. It was pretty much the same thing Oliva was wearing, but a little longer. Due to her small size, it''d cover most of her form. She really missed her hero costume. It was annoying having to change clothes so often.


    She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and was about to pull it off. Her jacket was gone, so she didn''t need to worry about that. She stopped, though, when she heard a voice. "Psst. Don''t do that. I don''t want to see you naked."


    She nearly screamed when the voice of Kevin came out of nowhere. It made her jump and look around with wild eyes, but she didn''t see anything. "Kevin?"


    "Right here." The voice rumbled and almost seemed to be directly behind her. That was when she noticed it.


    She didn''t remember losing her jacket, but something had seemingly replaced it. She was so focused on her surroundings that she hadn''t even bothered to look at herself. She was in the pants the Emperor had created for her as well as the Hell Land T-shirt. They were both dripping wet, but what was really odd was that she had a backpack. A red one that was strapped around her shoulder.


    Her hand shook, but she firmly reached for it and took it off. She looked down at it, studying the thing. It was pure red, even the zippers. It was closed and didn''t have any design or anything on it. As she stared back at it, it stared back at her. A pair of eyes, followed by a mouth, appeared on it.


    "Hey." The backpack said in Kevin''s voice.


    She blinked slowly, processing what she was seeing. "Hey?"


    Kevin had turned himself into a backpack.


    A few moments earlier…


    "It isn''t safe to stay in those wet clothes. It gets cold this time of year. Go ahead and change into those, and I''ll take you somewhere you can get warmed up while we figure out what to do with you."


    "Thank you."


    Olivia smiled at the young girl and closed the door. The woman stood outside of her hut and waited until she heard the child walk to the other side. There were no windows, and despite being made out of wood, it was surprisingly hard to hear through the thick walls. The woman looked around slowly and took in her surroundings.


    The other members of the village were down below in the forest, many heading out. None would notice her, nor would they hear any sound she made.


    She brought her hands up to her mouth and began to cough. Violent and harsh, she kept coughing into her hand as a bluish liquid splashed out of her throat, dripping down her chin as she vomited up a small metal cube that was roughly the size of a dice. She breathed heavily as the coughing died down and wiped the liquid away from her mouth. The metal cube glowed and began to hum for a moment, letting out a faint blue light. It clicked and unfolded, turning into a small earpiece. It wasn''t a normal one, though. This one was special.


    "This is Parasite, reporting back to you." Olivia leaned against the wall, placing the earpiece up to her head. Her lips didn''t move, as she didn''t actually say any of this out loud. Instead, she thought of saying it. The device connected to her, and she felt her mind connect to another.


    "It''s about time, Parasite." A feminine voice came from the other line, sounding almost amused. No sound was made as it instead went directly into Olivia''s head. It was a form of telepathy, a way for them to radio each other all without having to make a sound. "What''s your status?"


    "I managed to sneak into the village you were telling me about. The people here have no idea I''m hiding amongst them. I''ve hijacked the body of one of their sailors." Olivia''s lips twisted slightly into a smirk, and she glanced down at her body, amused. "I waited at the entrance to Hell Land as you suggested, but that gray-haired girl never showed up."


    The voice on the other line let out a loud curse. "Some of our men spotted her in Hell Land. I was sure she''d use the backdoor exit when they saw her heading that way."


    "It isn''t all lost, my lady." Olivia''s smirk grew. "I found something else instead."


    "Oh?"


    "The report said that the gray-haired girl wasn''t alone, right? There was a young child with her. I believe I''ve run into that person. She called herself Ruby. She''s a Super."


    "I see. What have you done to her?"


    "Nothing yet."


    "Oh? That''s unlike you? I would have thought you''d have body swapped into the child''s form to figure out who she was and her connection to that gray-haired bitch."


    "I tried." Parasite bit down on Olivia''s lip. It was not hard enough to draw blood, but it was enough to let them feel the sensations the body was going through. "She had nearly drowned, and I pulled her out of the water. My ability failed on her, though. It didn''t work. I''ve never seen a Super able to resist my switch before. She doesn''t seem to have physical enhancements, so I''d guess she''s some sort of mental-based user. Luckily she thought I was performing CPR on her, so I brought her back to the village and decided it was best to radio in with you first and see what you''d like for me to do before I try anything else.”


    She heard a chuckle from her boss over the shared device. "This could work, then. That girl clearly is connected to our enemy somehow. Keep a close eye on her. Once we understand the connection she and the gray-haired girl have, we can use it to get our revenge."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "That girl will pay for wiping out one of our ships." Parasite agreed. "The Anti-Matter gang won''t simply sit by and do nothing."


    Quiet footsteps came from behind her. She hadn''t spoken a single word during her conversation with her boss, having used the earpiece to have a psychic conversation. Once she heard Ruby approaching, she opened her mouth wide, forcing Olivia''s jaws to snap open, and she forcefully swallowed the earpiece. Blue liquid squirmed inside Olivia''s throat and wrapped around the machine, pulling itself down into the woman''s guts. Then, she simply closed her mouth right as the door to the hut opened.


    "Have you finished changing, Ms. Ruby?" she asked slowly, turning around. She stopped when she saw the girl. “Where did you get that?"


    Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "So, it turns out my backpack had some clothes that didn''t get all wet, so I just changed into them." The young girl still had that red backpack on her and had changed out of the black shirt and pants, replacing them with a pair of red shorts and a red hoodie. There was no other color to the outfit, just a sea of red.


    "I see where you got your name Ruby from." Olivia said, amused.


    The kid just smiled and shrugged. "So, what now, Ms. Olivia?"


    The woman turned and pointed out across the island. Past the forest stretching out in the distance was a large hill. Even from where they were, it was easy enough to see that parts of the hill had been hollowed out and more huts had been built on the side of it. "Ideally, I''d like for you to get drier, but if you''re ready, we can start heading out that way." The woman explained. "It''s about a mile and a half away, so it''s a bit of a walk."


    "What''s over that way?" The young girl asked.


    Parasite took a moment to connect with the body''s mind, gaining more of Olivia''s memories. "The one who runs this village lives there." She finally said. "We don''t normally keep things we can''t make from hand, but our leader has a little device he was gifted by a hero. It allows him to get in contact with the nearby city in case there is a serious emergency, and we can''t stop ourselves. As I mentioned earlier, we can use that to get in contact with someone who can come pick you up."


    "Alrighty then! Lead the way, Ms. Olivia."


    The woman nodded, and together, the two of them walked back down the ramp of her hut. They reached the forest floor where the other villagers were. Some waved or called out to them, but she ignored them for the most part and instead guided the child toward the forest, heading in the direction of that hill.


    Parasite found it funny in a twisted way. The people here hated Supers and refused to live in the ten great cities, so they had closed themselves off. From an outsider''s perspective, it looked as if they were thriving and doing just fine, yet everyday sickness and diseases were claiming their kind. They didn''t even know that a Super had managed to live amongst them. And even with all that pride, they had been forced to tuck their tail in between their legs and call for help from the heroes a few times.


    They made it deeper into the forest after walking for several minutes in total silence. The leader of the village liked to live alone, keeping to himself for the most part. He was only considered the leader due to the power he held, being able to call the closest city for aid. Many of the people in the village tended to just leave him alone and hunt in other parts of the forest. Because of that, they reached a point where nobody was around. A person wouldn''t be able to hear anything that happened.


    Parasite walked in front of the young girl, keeping her back to her target. "So, Ms. Ruby, being from one of the ten great cities, you must have seen a Super or two in your life, right? What was that like?"


    "I guess I''ve seen a few," Ruby responded casually.


    "I see." Parasite felt their real body bubbling up inside of Olivia, ready to jump out. She had tried invading the girl''s body when the child was unconscious but had failed at the time. It hadn''t been a full invasion, and before she could try again, the child had woken up. The girl''s power was the only thing that concerned her, but if she could jump quick enough, she''d be able to take the body over no matter what. She just needed to get the girl talking about something and be distracted. "We see Supers every now and then." She said suddenly. "They''re villains, though. Supers that have decided to live out here and attack places like mine. Recently, my group was attacked by a powerful villain. One that almost wiped us all out."


    "Really?" The child asked in shock. "You guys seemed fine to me! I didn''t notice much destruction."


    "Oh, it wasn''t these people. It was ''my'' real people. See, it all started when a girl with gray hair decided that for no reason at all, she''d attack us."


    "A girl with gray hair-"


    Parasite chose that moment to strike. While the child was taken aback by what she said, she spun around at full speed, ready to fire out of Olivia''s mouth. She expected to see the girl in shock, mouth wide, about to say something. What she didn''t expect was the large tree branch that was swinging at her face. "Huh?" Was all Olivia managed to get out before, moments later, the branch slammed into her face like a bat, breaking her nose and nearly knocking her out as she crashed to the ground.


    Hope had put all the strength she could into that, which wasn''t a lot, but she had been ready for it, having grabbed the largest branch she could hold while she followed after the woman. As soon as the Super turned to look back at her, she didn''t hesitate and swung her makeshift weapon directly into the woman''s face.


    Olivia crashed onto her back, clutching at her broken nose, and howled. A weird blue liquid squirmed in her mouth, twitching and bubbling. Hope pulled her foot back and kicked at the woman''s stomach one last time before she took off running at full speed deep into the forest, trying to get out of sight. "You were right, Kevin! She was a Super!"


    The red hoodie she wore twitched a bit as the right shoulder rose up, forming a small tendril with a mouth. "I told you." Kevin''s voice came out as a thin hiss. "While you were busy drowning, I was the one that pulled you back up to the surface. I managed to change and morph into this bag form just in time to stop that woman from seeing me. I watched as she pulled you back onto her boat and took you to this place. At first, I thought she was just giving you CPR or something, but then I looked closer and saw she was trying to spit this weird blue liquid into your mouth. Either way, I''m pretty good at spotting dirty liars, and she reeked of lies."


    Hope made a slight face and rubbed her throat. "What the hell was she trying to make me drink?"


    "I have no clue how their powers work, but it didn''t have an effect on you, I think." Kevin hummed. "I don''t know if the others in this village are Supers either or if it''s just her. We also don''t know if she was telling the truth when she told us about that device that can radio the cities."


    "We don''t have much of an option, though, do we?" she winced. She had been running in the direction of the hill as fast as her small legs could carry her. She missed having super speed. "It could be the only way out of here, right? Besides, if worse comes to worse, you can fight them all off!"


    "I''m not nearly as strong as you, though. Why aren''t you using the power of a Lord?" Kevin questioned.


    "About that-"


    She didn''t get to finish what she was saying as seconds later, the tree next to her suddenly exploded as a fast-moving blue tendril of liquid slashed into it. The tree came down directly in front of her, nearly falling on her, but Kevin''s own tendrils dragged her back just in time. She spun around and saw that Olivia had managed to catch up to them. The woman''s body didn''t seem to be in good condition either.


    Olivia''s legs had grown larger and longer, as if something in her body was forcing them to expand so she could run faster. Her skin was being stretched out of them, and the muscles inside of her limbs almost seemed to scream at every step she took. Her arms dangled at her side, not bothering to use them, and something was coming out of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head as if she were unconscious, and it was whatever was inside of her that was truly calling the shots. It looked almost like jell-o. A mass of deep blue liquid formed itself into three tendrils, each six feet in length, which squirmed and flowed out of her mouth.


    "Ah, I think I get it now." Olivia''s mouth didn''t move, and it wasn''t her voice that floated through the air. It was still a female voice, but it came out as a series of slurps and slaps as the tendrils bubbled and squirmed. There weren''t eyes on them, but Hope was sure they were looking at her. "You''re a Mental-Based Super with a power involving biology or something, right?" The tendrils asked her.


    "What?" She asked, taken aback.


    "There''s no need to hide it." The tendrils hissed and squirmed faster. One of them seemed to point at the spot of her hoodie that Kevin''s mouth was forming out of. "That suit you''re wearing. You made that, right! In a way, it''s similar to my own form. Quite clever, creating clothes that can respond to your will."


    "Hey, screw you, lady!" Kevin''s voice came out as a loud, booming yell. "I do what I want when I want! Got that! I don''t belong to anyone!"


    "Whatever! It doesn''t matter." Parasite growled, and her tendrils started to twitch and stab out in Hope''s direction. "I''ll make you pay for what your teammate did to my people!"


    Her hoodie twitched as Kevin formed more tendrils, which shot out and wrapped around the blue ones, stopping them from reaching her. "My teammate? Lady, I don''t even know who you are!" She yelled back.


    "Don''t lie to me!" Olivia''s body crouched down and fired forward like a rocket, trying to headbutt them. She jumped out of the way just in time, causing Olivia to slam head-first into another tree and leave a large dent in it. Blood flowed down the woman''s face, soaking her hair, and her arms grew larger and longer, forcefully stretching out toward her. "I will have your body!" Parasite screamed.


    Kevin dragged her back just in time, using more of his tendrils to cause her body to duck down and dodge the large arm. She didn''t have super speed anymore, but Kevin still had his, and he was doing a hell of a job of keeping her safe. Or at least he was, but then Olivia''s arm twisted itself, literally snapping the bones. It almost made her throw up from the sound. The arm had grown way longer than it should have been and was turned into a makeshift lasso, catching her and Kevin off guard. It wrapped around her waist, holding her down.


    Kevin cursed, and her outfit twitched, forming barbed tendrils that covered her, but Parasite was faster. The blue tendrils stabbed out, impaling their way through Kevin and causing the boy to hiss. They weren''t aiming for him, though, and squirmed their way up. She tried to keep her mouth shut, but they forced it open. The liquid surged forward at fast speeds, dragging itself out of Olivia''s mouth and forcing its way into hers. The last of the liquid left Olivia and fully entered her. Kevin tried to stop it, but the slime-like entity caused its form to be more liquid in nature, so his grabs just went through it.


    "Hope!" Kevin called out in panic.


    Hope began to choke for the second time that day. She could feel the liquid forcing its way down her throat. There was a lot of it, and it squirmed its way through her body, spreading out. She collapsed to the ground, shaking, and could feel it moving in her veins. The burning sensation in her throat got worse as it began to move further up, going for her brain.


    Earlier, Parasite had tried to invade the body with only a strand of her liquid but had failed. Now, she was using everything she had. She rose up through the girl''s insides and reached the stem of the brain. She crawled her way up it, her liquid flooding it as she wrapped herself around it, and then-


    Suddenly, Parasite felt herself standing on her own two feet. Not her liquid forms feet, and not the feet of the child she was trying to take over. They were her feet. The ones she used to have. Back when she had been human. She had been one of the people turned into a Monster by the Emperor back during the war. After his fall, she had found a new group in the form of the Anti-Matter gang—a group of Wasteland Pirates. For nearly sixteen years, she had lived out her life as some sort of slime creature with the ability to take over other people''s bodies. Doing so was the only way she could still have human sensation.


    Yet now she felt her own two feet touching the floor. "What the hell?" She muttered. "Where am I?"


    Everything was on fire. That was where she found herself. The floor, the roof, the walls—all of it was a harsh crackling flame that formed the room she was in—directly in front of her stood a large glass-looking screen, like a TV, though it was black now, almost like it had been turned off. Besides that, the only other thing in the weird fire room was an empty throne that had been split in two.


    "How foolish of you." She could hear a voice all around her. It held a mocking tone. It was deep and impossible to fully understand, sounding both male and female at the same time. Part of it even sounded like the girl she had just tried to take over. "I already kicked a piece of you out of my home earlier. I allowed you to carry on living, yet you repay that act of kindness by kicking down my door and forcing your way back in."


    Her eyes went wide, and she spun around, looking all around her. The fire in the room hadn''t been burning her despite standing on it, but it almost seemed to start to crawl up her form. Heat began to course through her, and she tried to cancel her power, but it didn''t work. "So, this is your power, huh? You''re like me! Someone who takes over other people''s minds!" She screamed.


    "Don''t mistake your flimsy control over muscles for what I truly am." The voice said, almost amused. “The soul burns the brightest you know, and when it comes to Hope Lauren, her soul truly shines.”


    "Hope Lauren’s? Wait." Parasite’s eyes went wide, and the fire started to take the shape of hands grabbing at her. "What do you mean, Hope Lauren? Her hair and her eyes were the same, but she looked so young. Was that Cinder? No, that can''t be possible. That would mean you''re-"


    "After the battle with the Beast, much of my form was destroyed and shattered, repairing her body. How kind of you to offer yourself up to the Lord of the Sun. Don''t worry. I''ll be sure to savor this meal."


    The hands began to grab and tear at her now. Pain surged through her form, and the villain screamed out in pain. They began to break off parts of her, shattering her to pieces. The fire was eating her, absorbing her, and using her to repair itself. Replacing its damaged and cracked body with her. "Stop, please!" She begged. "I didn''t know! I''ll leave you alone-"


    "How many times have you heard that?" The Brightest Star wondered. Their voice still boomed around the room, though their body was nowhere to be seen. The hands kept clawing and ripping, forcing their way into Parasite’s body, who screamed even louder as the fire swallowed her up. Her power was being absorbed and broken down. Her very Ego, her soul, was consumed and devoured. "I bet you''ve heard people say those same things to you. Did you stop when they asked you to? When you pushed their bodies to the limit, broke their limbs, twisted their muscles, or shattered their minds? Don''t worry. All I''m doing is giving you the same treatment."


    The broken throne gradually mended, a few cracks fading away.


    Parasite gave one last scream as more of her broke away, and she was pulled down into the fire. It surged up, and then instantly, she was swallowed whole. Gone in a single moment, Parasite ceased to be.


    "I have a lot of work to do..." The voice of the Brightest Star hummed. “We don’t have much time, Hope… Neither of us are-”


    Inside Hope''s body, the blue slime suddenly grew still, then slowly began to bubble and steam. Smoke poured out of Hope’s mouth as the vapors of Parasite flowed out of her. She coughed up more smoke and rubbed at her chin, sitting up. "Are you okay?" Kevin asked.


    "I think so?" She rubbed her head and looked down at herself. Nothing had changed. At least nothing she could tell. Maybe she had gotten an inch taller? She was sure she had heard it though, even if it had only been for a moment. The Brightest Star''s voice. She closed her eyes and tried to reach for that power but felt nothing. Her fire was still gone, and the Brightest Star didn''t respond when she called out their name. They were there, though. She was sure of it. They had just saved her life from that villain. It had to have been the Brightest Star. "Damn it." She cursed.


    "What is it?" Kevin asked.


    "Nothing." She looked over at the body of Olivia and felt panic rise up in her. "Oh crap!" The woman was unconscious. Both her legs and arms were broken, and her head was cracked. She moved over to the woman and grabbed onto her. "We need to get her serious help now!"


    “If we move her, it could cause more issues due to the state her body is in, and I doubt she’ll make it much longer, so even if we ran and got help, she’d still die.” Kevin shrugged, which was weird since he was still currently her clothes.


    She shook her head and gritted her teeth. “We have to help her!”


    “We can’t-”


    “We can! And by we, I mean you.” She announced.


    “What do you want me to do?” Kevin asked in a confused tone.


    She crouched down and slowly placed Olivia’s head in her lap. The woman’s body creaked and groaned, nearly snapping, and more blood flowed out. Olivia wouldn’t have much more time… “Kevin, go inside of her!”


    “What?” Kevin’s tendril grew eyes and blinked as it stared at her.


    “You heard me! Parasite mentioned you were similar to her! You might be able to do something like that as well, right? Your own body has a healing factor, and you can clearly split off your cells and make copies since you’ve made clones before! If you go inside of her, maybe you can reshape part of your body into other pieces and repair her damaged body!”


    “You don’t know if that will work or not, and if it doesn''t, it’ll kill her.” Kevin hissed. “I can’t just shove pieces of myself down her throat.”


    “She’ll die if we don’t try, though!”


    “She could die if we do try.”


    “Maybe, but it’s better than nothing.” Slowly she reached up and placed her hand on the tendril that came out of her hoodie''s shoulder. “You’re not a weapon, Kevin. You can do more than kill. Wish used you to regrow herself, and you can use that power to help other people. You can use your power to save a life. You don’t have to be the monster she left you as.”


    The tendril had a small mouth on it, which bit its lip. Finally, Kevin grunted. “Whatever. If she dies, it’s on your hands.”


    The tendril stretched out and suddenly stabbed its way past Olivia’s lips. She had forced the woman’s mouth open the best she could, and she looked away as the red tentacle expanded and grew. Kevin’s tendril kept expanding, getting longer and longer, and the body began to make several snapping sounds as the tendril snapped bones and muscles back into place and forced organs back to where they needed to be. As it did this, small bits of Kevin’s flesh dripped off of his tendril, which began to squirm their way inside of Olivia, fusing into the woman’s flesh and muscles, mending them and anything else he found that was damaged.


    It took some time, but slowly Kevin’s tendril finally pulled its way out of Olivia’s body. Hope reached down and pressed her fingers to the woman’s neck, feeling a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief and gave a small grin. “See. That wasn’t so hard.”


    “Whatever…”


    Olivia was still unconscious, but her legs and arms had been shrunk back down, and all her damaged flesh was mended. Some things would have to heal naturally on their own; Kevin wasn’t anywhere near as great as Paragon was, but at least the woman wouldn’t be at any risk of dying.


    “What now, hero?” Kevin asked with a sigh.


    She stood up and hesitantly grabbed the woman, placing Olivia on her back. “I’ll carry her back to the village and figure out what to do from there.”


    "What if the others are villains also?”


    “I don’t think they are.” She frowned a bit, staring in the direction of where the village was. She had a weird feeling in her gut. Or actually, it was in the back of her head. Some strange new sensation as she stared in the direction of the village. It was a weird bubbling feeling. Then suddenly it changed, and she felt something else. White hot, a feeling of intense rage. Only, it wasn’t hers. “S- Something happening.” She said in a panic.


    “What do you mean?” Kevin questioned, suddenly on guard once more. “What’s happening-”


    Both of them suddenly stopped when they heard a loud mechanical noise above them. A shadow began to form, stretching out across the island, causing the other people on the island to all stop and look up.


    Above the island, a massive metal ship floated in the air, one that looked like an old military boat. Its cannons pointed down at them, and it sported the flag of a Wasteland villain group. The rest of the Anti-Matter gang had arrived.