Alexander Lauren glared up at the man who stood before him. He knew enough about Red Ape, or maybe it was Green Ape now, to know that while the man might have failed a lot at what he did, he was still a dangerous Super who went out of their way to cause suffering in the world.


    The others in the room didn''t seem to mind the man being in charge either. Red Monkey leaned against a wall with his arms folded while White Spider stood near the stairs that led up, playing with some of her spiders, which danced across her fingers. Black Shark kept his fingers low, placing them down to Alexander''s neck. The villain stood directly behind the tied-up man, ready to strike if the human even thought of doing anything funny.


    Finally, that left just Green Ape and White Egg, who both stood before Alexander, looking down at the man. Or at least Green Ape looked. Even if he had the ability to see, White Egg''s costume would have completely blocked the man''s view. Unlike the others who all wore suits and masks, White Egg''s outfit was literally a full-body egg suit that only had a pair of holes for his arms and legs. A smiling face had been drawn onto the front of the egg costume with a marker, and at the very top of it, a top hat rested lopsided as the blind man fumbled around with his walking cane.


    "Why are you doing this?" Alexander growled out. His eyes glared into the cartoon mask the new leader of Zoo wore.


    Green Ape let out a soft snort at that. "You really are her dad, aren''t you?"


    "What?"


    "She asked me something similar to that the first time I ever talked to her." The villain walked over to the wall that was filled with explosives, slowly checking them over. "To think my rival would actually be the next coming of Full Monarch. Not even someone as smart and brilliant as I could have seen that coming."


    "Seriously?" White Egg asked. "I mean, it was pretty obvious-"


    "Yes! A twist such as this was one not a soul could see coming." Green Ape dramatically posed, placing his hand to his forehead. "And now she has left this city behind to work for the Hero Branch." The man let out a large comical sigh as he finished checking on his bombs. "That''s okay, though. I know that she''s calling out to me. Begging for me to swoop in and give her a real challenge!"


    "You''re an idiot." Alexander said flatly. He looked around wildly at the other members of Zoo who weren''t meeting his eyes. "Why are you guys following this guy? He''s just so dumb?"


    White Spider shook her head and reached up to rub at the center of her forehead. Something flickered and glowed beneath the skin, taking shape around her skull before it faded out. "Trust us. None of us like listening to him. We don''t really have a choice, though. Only ones that have free will now are White Lamb and that new Egg guy. If you want to break out and put a bullet in his head, I''ll cheer you on."


    "That''s hurtful." Green Ape frowned and shook his head. "Earlier, you asked what I was planning. Since you''re the father of my nemesis, I''ll let you in on my secret. I''m here to cause serious chaos!" The man threw his arms out and let out the closest thing he had to an evil laugh. "Imagine the state Oleander will be left in once I''m done with it. It''s barely clinging to life after the Beast attack. I''ll be the one who wipes this place off the map! Something not even the Beast could do!"


    "That''s your plan?" Alexander asked in horror and shock. "People are trying to recover and rebuild! You can''t do this! What good would it do? You live here, too!"


    "Not for much longer." Green Ape let out a snort and began to head for the stairs. "We''ll be leaving this dump of a city and making a new home. That said, even if I wasn''t leaving, I''d still have to do this. I made a promise to someone very important, and they''d kill me if I broke it. Can''t have that. That person is the reason we have so many members of Zoo back, you know!" Green Ape snapped his fingers, and Black Shark grabbed Alexander by the back of the neck and forced the man to stand. "You''ll be coming with us."


    "Why?" Alexander winced as he was forced to take a step forward.


    White Egg reached out with his cane and poked it into the gut of the human. "Not a lot of people can say they''ve been cured of the Dead Virus. Of course, I do wonder if it can even be cured... I''d like to study you a bit, if you don''t mind."


    "I do mind!"


    "Nonsense! You won''t feel a thing- Okay, that''s actually a lie. I won''t be able to use anything to ease the pain when I dissect you, so it''ll actually hurt a bit. Actually, a lot. You''ll die a terrible death, come to think of it... Hmm. Oh well. Can''t be picky now, can we!"


    "I would like to be very picky!"


    Green Ape turned back to look at them from the top of the stairs. "Come on, people. We don''t have all day. The helicopter is waiting for us. Black Shark, White Egg, you two are with me. Make sure our ''guest'' is well taken care of. Now let''s go before the heroes-" The entire building suddenly shook, and the sounds of a massive engine roared out. Green Ape just sighed and shook his head. "Too late."


    One of the walls, thankfully the one that didn''t have all the explosives, caved in, sending out chunks of debris everywhere. The floor was torn up as a massive motorcycle crashed through, coming to a grinding stop that kicked up waves of sparks in all directions. Before the dust even had time to settle, liquid metal whipped out, slamming into Red Monkey, who was aiming his guns. It was followed by Paragon, who blasted out of the mini-dust cloud, heading straight for Black Shark.


    The villain used some of his super strength and tossed Alexander toward Green Ape and White Egg, who were both scrambling onto the stairway. Paragon swung her sword out, the wooden blade extending and lengthening, growing long enough to slice right through Black Shark''s legs, downing the villain who crashed to the floor. She jammed a knee to his back and placed her sword down on his throat. "I know you can heal. Just stay down." She hissed.


    Metal Ronin''s bike vanished in a flash of light, causing him and Oxide to drop to the floor. The young man was now dressed in his typical suit and had his own blade drawn, which he pointed down at Red Monkey, who was on the ground about to reach for his gun. Finally, that left White Spider, who was tied up with thick metal chains that Oxide created. "How the hell did you guys get here?" The woman yelled. "There''s no way you''d be able to find this place if you went back up top, and you shouldn''t have been able to travel through the tunnels!"


    Paragon didn''t answer the girl and instead looked to the top of the stairs where Green Ape and White Egg stood. Both men had an arm around Alexander, using the tied-up man as a meat shield. White Egg even had his cane pressed to the man''s neck, ready to click a button and cause whatever weapon he had in it to activate. "Let''s all be cool." Green Ape yelled down. "We have a hostage-"


    Metal Ronin''s arm pointed out at them, a barrel unfolding out, which fired a perfect shot directly past Alexander''s shoulder, right at Green Ape. It would have hit the man too, but the force in the bullet suddenly died out and faded as it hit a green barrier that appeared around the three men. "Do I have to do everything?" A familiar voice sighed out, causing the three heroes to shiver. Slowly, Green Wolf walked down the stairs and folded her arms. She was dressed in a slightly different outfit, wearing more casual clothes, and didn''t even have her mask or sword with her.


    "How!" Oxide asked in shock. "You shouldn''t be here! You should be fighting Myth!"


    "Don''t tell me they can teleport again." Metal Ronin winced.


    The Hope-lookalike only let out a soft giggle and flipped some of her hair back. "That version of me sadly lost. I guess that Myth guy is stronger than I thought. By now, the piece of me that was inside of it should be long gone in my new home."


    "What the hell does that mean?" Oxide questioned.


    "She''s saying that she''s not the Green Wolf we met earlier." Paragon replied.


    "Sure, looks like her." Metal Ronin snorted.


    "This one is a little older than that one we saw down in the tunnel. I''d say by a week or so." Paragon muttered, looking up at the girl. "This just got a lot worse for us. There can be multiple of them running around."


    "You''ve got to be kidding me! This world is barely big enough for one Cinder; we don''t need anymore!" Metal Ronin called out, waving a fist.


    Green Wolf just gave a smug smirk and folded her arms over her chest as she slowly made her way down to stand next to Green Ape. Paragon''s eyes narrowed as she glared back up at the girl. "Are you really okay with this, Green Wolf?" She asked the villain. She didn''t know much about them, but from what Hope had told her once, Green Wolf was an arrogant prick. It made no sense for the girl to be serving under a fool like Red Ape. "Shouldn''t you be the one standing on top? Why are you letting Green Ape stand above you?"


    "Nice try, but you won''t get me to betray the master!" Green Wolf announced proudly, placing her hands on her hips.


    "Master?"


    Green Ape reached out and grabbed the girl''s chin, forcing her head to tilt to the side. "I guess your eyes aren''t as good as I thought, Paragon. I thought you''d have noticed something like this." Along Green Wolf''s head, a small scar resided. One that held a faint, glowing blue light from beneath it. "No doubt you''ve seen the devices I put onto my animals. They allow me to control them. Sadly, it doesn''t work on humans. At least not to the same extent. I had a feeling Green Wolf would murder me for tampering with their body, so when we were making the new bodies, I had Doc here carve out a few pieces of the brain that I felt were unneeded and replace those pieces with some of the tech I got from Avalon. It isn''t full control, sadly; she still finds ways to disobey, but it''s the closest thing I have to taming Green Wolf."


    Paragon felt her stomach flop a bit at that. She knew the man was evil and insane, but this was pushing it. He always seemed so goofy and harmless, yet he was brainwashing his former boss. Now that she got a closer look, she could see the strained smile on Green Wolf''s lips. The way the girl''s eyes would twitch and her fingers would ball into a fist. Green Wolf wasn''t happy. That much was obvious.


    "One of the things we programmed in her was a rule to keep me safe and not harm me." Green Ape explained. "I also put in a rule where she can''t use her powers on me. That means I can do this." Much to their growing shock, the man suddenly punched up with his arm, ramming it into Green Wolf''s stomach. The girl dropped to her knees, gasping and dry-heaving as she clutched her gut. Metal Ronin tried to take another shot, but even in the pain she was in, Green Wolf''s power caused her barrier to not fall, keeping her and Green Ape safe. Green Ape slammed his boot down on Green Wolf''s head, pinning her down. "What did I say about calling yourself Green Wolf! Green is my title now! Not yours!"


    "Stop it!" Alexander yelled out in horror. He knew it wasn''t his daughter. It was still her body though. Green Wolf was whimpering and crying out as her head was stomped into the ground. Even her enhanced durability wasn''t working on any of Green Ape''s hits. Alexander thrashed around, only being held back by White Egg, who was shockingly stronger than he looked. "I said stop it! Leave my daughter alone!" He roared.


    "Why should I!" He brought his foot down a couple more times, breathing heavily. Blood trickled down Green Wolf''s face, the girl''s breathing becoming more shallow. "It doesn''t matter what happens to this body. Besides, she deserves it. All of you do! You all think I''m some joke! That I''m not to be taken seriously! Well, you''re all wrong! I fought Cinder! I''m the reason she almost died several times! Me! I''ve come close to killing her more than any other villain! I''m not some joke! I''m a bad guy! I kill people!" His breathing was growing heavier as he huffed and puffed.


    "Are you done yet? The helicopter is ready." A new voice asked. From the very top of the stairs, peering down at them with a bored look, White Lamb stood. The young girl''s arms were folded, and her eyes slowly traced the injured form of Green Wolf. "Careful not to kill her. The moment she dies, we lose our barrier."


    Green Ape leaned back and took a calming sigh. "Right." He cleared his throat and shuffled from foot to foot, seemingly embarrassed by the explosive rage he let out. "We''ll be taking our leave now. Oh, and ''Red Wolf'', make yourself useful and keep them here. We''ll blow this place sky high as soon as we''re in the air." Green Ape turned and placed his arm on Alexander''s shoulder, forcing the man to walk up the stairs as he left the badly injured Red Wolf at the bottom step.


    "Like we''re just going to let you get away!" Oxide tried to strike out at them, but her attacks bounced off the barrier Green Wolf had set up. Even the roof was covered in it, stopping them from busting through it.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Green Ape turned back to them and waved his arm. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Kill them."


    Instantly, Red Monkey and Black Shark struck. Black Shark sank into the ground as if it were a liquid, leaving his legs behind and causing Paragon to drop to the ground. Red Monkey, on the other hand, made a grab for his gun but was stopped by Metal Ronin, who swung out with his sword, cutting the man''s arms off. That didn''t stop Red Monkey, though, who didn''t even flinch as his arms reattached instantly and he grabbed his pistol. "He can heal, too!" Metal Ronin called out. The teen winced, but he knew what he needed to do. Red Monkey turned to him, but Metal Ronin swung once more and cleaved the head of the villain off in one swift motion. "Damn it. Why couldn''t you have just given up?" He sighed.


    The head hit the ground and rolled across it. Before Metal Ronin could even turn away. Red Monkey aimed his gun, and his headless body opened fire. A red beam of energy slammed directly into Metal Ronin, burning the front of his armor and sending him crashing back first into the wall. He would have broken through it, but Green Wolf''s barrier stopped that from happening. Metal Ronin grunted and stared up in shock as Red Monkey''s head was pulled back to his body as if by magic. Paper filled the wound, forcing the two cuts back together and sealing.


    "What the hell! Since when can he do that?"


    "He can''t." White Spider gave a nasty smirk and twisted her body. Her bones popped and cracked as she snapped her body in ways it shouldn''t be able to contort and dropped out of the chains that bound her. Oxide jumped back and watched in horror as White Spider''s body also healed.


    "How many people have healing powers now!"


    Black Shark silently stood up from out of the ground, fully healed as well and standing on new legs. Paragon grimly closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I get it now."


    "Get what?" Metal Ronin grunted, standing back up.


    "The reason their powers are different, how they can heal, and most importantly, why they''re not in Nightshade." The girl opened her eyes and stared at the three members of Zoo that were in front of her. "I was wondering how the three of you escaped, but it''s pretty obvious now, isn''t it?"


    White Spider just gave a sad grin. "We didn''t escape."


    "What does that mean?" Oxide demanded.


    "They''re already dead." Paragon clarified. "These three aren''t actually here. What you see is nothing more than one of Lucifer''s zombies."


    ***


    During the Beast attack on Oleander City...


    "My power only works on animals." Red Ape explained. The three of them, that being himself, Doc, and White Lamb, were in one of the underground bunkers Harrison Avalon had used. Doc was gathering as much tech as he could to start building his machine that would hopefully let them create a new body for Green Wolf. "It is a Mental-based power that lets me open them up and change them on a biological level. I actually force parts of them to evolve and change, sort of like in those games where you collect pocket creatures and battle with them."


    White Lamb was seated at a table that held the body of Green Wolf, kicking her feet back and forth as she made sure the man was still breathing. "How does that help us?"


    "Do you know what Inversion is?" Red Ape asked.


    "Nope." The girl shrugged.


    Doc let out a hum, feeling his way around a large metal device. "It''s a thing some Supers can do. Not all though. It allows them to alter and switch the way their power works."


    "That''s right." Red Ape nodded. "I first learned about it from Green Tiger. He was the leader of our team before Green Wolf. Green Wolf was never able to figure it out and couldn''t invert his powers, but Green Tiger was a pro at it and taught me everything I knew."


    White Lamb made a face, though it remained unseen since she wore her mask once more. "So, you''re saying you can invert your power using this Inversion thingy? Why are we just now hearing about that?"


    "Well, to be honest, I was always kind of scared that Green Wolf would go out of his way to kill me if he ever found out." The man admitted sheepishly. "I think he''d get pretty jealous if he found out I could do something he couldn''t. Not just that, though, but my powers when Inverting are kind of useless."


    "Oh, trust me, that''s not the Inversion''s doing." White Lamb muttered under her breath. "So, what exactly is your power when it''s changed?"


    "It is the total reverse of my normal power." The man exclaimed. He held his hand up and balled it into a tight fist. "Instead of a power that affects animals, my power only works on humans, and instead of changing biology, it moves to something more spiritual in nature. I believe it affects the closest thing that we can prove is a soul."


    Doc dropped whatever he was holding and sputtered a bit. "You''re saying you have a power that can change and alter Egos? Only someone related to a Lord of Life should be able to do that!"


    "Are you secretly some sort of badass?" White Lamb asked slowly, narrowing her eyes.


    Red Ape sheepishly shrugged. "I mentioned it''s pretty useless, remember. I don''t actually change or alter anything. In fact, it does next to nothing."


    "What does it do then?" Doc demanded.


    "I can reach into a person and pull out a small piece of their soul." Red Ape announced proudly. "Sounds cool, right! Well, it''s not. See, on some sort of level that I don''t understand this soul, or Ego as Doc calls it, seems to know what it is and how it should be. If I take a piece out of someone, that piece will return to the body almost instantly and put itself back together. I also can''t take more than one piece, and that piece is always so small it has no effect. Even if it did, though, the pieces return as I said earlier and fix themselves without any outside help. In a way, it is sort of like the way blood flows in our bodies without us doing anything. For years, I never really found a use for this power since it couldn''t damage anyone and didn''t do anything to them."


    "So then how is it useful to us?" White Lamb sighed. "Don''t tell me you just wasted all our time."


    Doc shook his head and came to the defense of Red Ape. "Actually, I think I understand what he is getting at. I mentioned earlier how, on some level, powers are linked to the soul. Souls are something that can be altered or changed, though, as shown by the likes of the Emperor or Wish. Red Ape also proves that they can leave the body yet return to it on their own. They''re almost alive in a way. The proof is Green Wolf''s corpse. His power is going out of its way to bring him back to life and keep him stable."


    "So what?"


    "So," Red Ape gave a sly grin. "I think it''ll be different this time when I take a piece of the soul. If I can pull that piece out and we put it into a body that lacks a soul, I wonder what will happen. Normally that piece will put itself back together in the host''s body, but what happens if the soul knows that the host''s body is badly damaged and won''t last and it''s suddenly handed a brand new body that it can feel out? I believe that shard will instead pull the rest of the soul to it and trade bodies. Sadly, though, if this does work, it means I can''t do anything for the rest of us. As much fun as it would be to put myself into a Cinder body, our bodies would have to be borderline corpses for the soul to want to ditch them, and unlike Green Wolf, we don''t have powers that can keep us alive in that state."


    White Lamb slowly stood up off of the table and slid down to the floor. "Let''s say all of this does work out. Why does it actually matter?"


    "Huh?"


    "What does bringing Green Wolf back actually do for us? Even if you can get their body under control, it''s just one Super. None of us can fight. We don''t have an army or other members that can keep us safe. No other villain would likely side with us either after how many times Zoo has backstabbed the different groups. Even if we could get out of this city or something, we have nowhere to go, no resources, and no members. We''re bound to be picked off even if Green Wolf is with us. In fact, he''d likely be the reason we get picked off since he''d go pick a fight with some people."


    They all knew what was happening up top. The Beast was coming. Every hero was currently in Oleander City. By some miracle, they had all found one of the bunkers beneath the city Avalon had, which also just so happened to have everything Doc needed. White Lamb honestly doubted there would even be an Oleander City left standing by the time the Beast was done.


    "Maybe I can be of some help to you all." A voice called out from the darkness of the room. It caused all of them to jump and spin around. Everything had constantly been shaking, and the sound of battle up top hadn''t ceased. Even from miles under the ground, they had been able to hear the heroes’ last stand. Now though, a new sound echoed around the lab. One of footsteps. "You''re in need of members, you say? Well, I happen to have just escaped a place that had a few of your members inside of it and think I could be of some assistance."


    Red Ape felt his eyes widen in horror at who he saw. The man was very handsome. Long flowing golden hair and shimmering eyes. He was dressed in a white priest robe and had a kind smile on his face. There was a saying most villains would tell to the younger generation of bad guys. ''If you''re going to be evil, then be so evil that a hero kills you.'' There was one reason every villain that lived in the ten great cities followed this rule. If you were captured, you''d be sent to Nightshade. And if you were sent to Nightshade, you''d likely end up standing before the only person that caused villains everywhere to fear.


    Uriel of the Immortals now stood before them.


    White Lamb''s witty remarks were gone, and the girl simply turned her power on, herself masking all noise as she slipped back into the darkness in an effort to escape. Red Ape dropped to his knees and backed away in horror. Doc, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on and kept working on his machine. "You can help us?" The blind man questioned.


    "Oh yes." Uriel''s face was twisted into a smile, the kind that was without a doubt fake and forced. "I believe I have just what you''re looking for." In one arm, he clutched a book, one that was far smaller than the tome Lucifer walked around with but still mighty big. The villain opened it slowly and tore out a page. "Avalon was actually the one who sent me here, you know." That caused Red Ape to let out a soft whimper, but it was soon replaced by a cry of sadness when the page that fell to the ground shimmered and expanded, becoming a familiar person. Red Monkey stood crouched low, not moving as his body was put together by the shards of paper that were becoming his flesh.


    "M- My brother." Red Ape knew what this meant if he was seeing his brother. Red Monkey was long gone. At least his body was. All that was left now was a shell holding onto what remained of the man''s soul. The Dead Virus had gotten him.


    Uriel patted Red Monkey on the top of the head. "I was able to escape thanks to the Beast and came here to speak to Avalon''s master. That was where I spoke to Avalon, and he mentioned you guys. At first I came here to finish the collection and get the last members of Zoo."


    "Y- You changed your mind, though?" Red Ape hoped that was the case.


    "For now." Uriel shrugged and looked around the room. "I heard what you said about making a new body, and I thought it was interesting. After all, the body I''m in isn''t my own. Then again, we Immortals have switched bodies so many times I hardly recall how I used to look. The only person I know who is able to move a soul into a new body is Lucifer, so I find it interesting you all think you could do the same. It makes me happy in a way. To know that Supers are coming this far."


    "What do you want with us then?" Doc demanded.


    "I guess you can say I''m here to make a deal." Uriel tore out more pages and threw them into the air, causing the bodies of Black Shark, Black Crow, and White Spider to appear. "I''m willing to offer you guys not just every member of Zoo I have but some special bonus rewards, too. Of course, you''ll have to earn those... After all, some of these guys I have are gifts I got from Lucifer. So, let''s make this deal. You guys can have these four now, and, in return, I want you to do something for me. Do that, and I''ll give you even more of my soldiers and then some."


    "And what is it that you want us to do?" Doc asked suspiciously.


    Uriel threw his arms out in a wide-open way and gave a large grin. "Chaos. Pure and utter chaos. I want this city to burn."


    "W- Why?"


    "Because. It. Just. Sounds. Fun."


    ***


    Present day...


    Green Ape shuddered a bit as the memory of that night hit him. Thankfully, he hadn''t seen Uriel since then. With the help of the Immortal, they had easily built Doc''s machine and were able to start making Green Wolf bodies. Before the end of the night, Green Wolf had awoken in the body of Hope Lauren and went out to deal with some villains that had to do with drills and chainsaws.


    Time had flown by quickly since the night of the Beast attack.


    They finished climbing up the stairs and made their way up to the roof. This base was just an old apartment building that had been emptied out. On the roof, a large helicopter stood ready to go. Despite its blades spinning, it made no sound thanks to White Lamb''s powers. It was a Hero Branch chopper—one they had stolen out of the skies when it had been dropping off supplies. Thanks to how it looked and the fact it made no noise, he was hoping it wouldn''t alert the Giant. If it did though, he had a solution for them.


    Doc threw Alexander into the back, and the egg-shaped man got in after. "You know how to fly this thing?" White Egg called back to Green Ape.


    "Yeah. Green Tiger taught me." The man announced getting into the front seat. White Lamb got into the seat next to him, and he grabbed the controls, causing the helicopter to rise.


    "Stop it! Let me go!" Alexander yelled and squirmed around. "You can''t do this! You''re going to blow up the building, aren''t you? Your people are still in there! Those aren''t just heroes; they''re kids!"


    "Can you shut him up?" Green Ape questioned. White Lamb didn''t even look back at the man. She silently flicked her finger, and Alexander''s mouth made no more noise. "That''s better." As the helicopter rose up, Green Ape looked down at the city below. It was still in ruins, but the Giants had been hard at work trying to fix it up. Speaking of which, one stared directly at him and began to slowly lumber toward the floating helicopter. Green Ape reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two switches. "Here goes nothing."


    The first switch was a bomb. One that would cause not just the building they had come from to explode but countless others as well. They had taken as many of Avalon''s explosives, which the man had a shocking amount of, and placed them in every building still standing, as well as beneath many of the city blocks and sewer systems. With a simple click, all the hard work the Giants had been doing would come undone. It was only possible to do this thanks to the fact they had been forced to move underground so much. He had gotten to study the layers of the world beneath the city very well.


    The second switch was much more complicated. It was connected to dozens of cages scattered all around the city in the spots that didn''t have bombs that would unleash every single one of his mutated pets. All he needed to do was click two buttons, and this city would be over with.


    "Oh, how it feels good to win." Green Ape grinned and pressed down on the pair of switches as hard as he could.


    An explosion was caused. One that was not caused by the buildings, though. All the buildings remained standing. No bomb went off. What did happen, though, was something far worse for Green Ape. Something rammed into the helicopter. It wasn''t a Giant either. It was way scarier.


    "Looks like I made it in time!" The entire helicopter literally crumbled and fell apart, silently blowing to bits and sending the people in it tumbling out. "I was able to block your signal from going off with a powerful barrier. It might be fast, but light''s faster." Green Ape felt himself turn in the air, and he stared up with rage-filled eyes at the smiling face of the Victorian.


    Alexander felt the metal around him shatter and break, and he began to rapidly fall. He let out a loud scream, but no noise came from him as he tumbled. He never hit the ground, though. Instead, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him as they crashed into the roof of the building, shaking it.


    "Got you! Are you okay, sir?"


    Alexander froze as he heard the voice. He had heard it so many times today, yet this one was different. It wasn''t like Green Wolf''s. It was kind and gentle. The arms around him were soft and protective. Slowly he looked up, staring into the eyes of a young girl who wore a red hooded costume. He stared into the eyes of Cinder, his daughter.


    "Don''t worry." Hope gently placed the man down and stepped out in front of him, cracking her knuckles. "I''ll take it from here."


    His daughter didn''t recognize him. She didn''t know that the person she just saved was her father.