"Put me down!"


    "Never! This is perfect! You''re small enough for me to pick up again! This brings back so many memories!"


    "I''m not that small, dad!" Hope let out a strangled whine as she was unceremoniously lifted up by her father, who swung her around wildly.


    "You''re so tiny and cute!" Back before the accident, her father used to pick her up all the time and let her ride on his shoulders. She had been a young kid back then, though. Now, she was practically an adult, no matter how young her new form looked, and the thought of someone like Sky showing up and seeing how helpless she was in her father''s arms was too much to bear with.


    "Dad!"


    Alexander didn''t let go. The man kept his arms around his daughter, squeezing her tightly. She looked up at him, taking his appearance in. He wasn''t as muscular as he had been before the accident. Despite that, he looked far better than the last time she saw him. His skin had more color to it, and a small beard was starting to grow back. His hair was combed down the same way Mr. Larison''s always was as well. She had never really noticed or thought about it too much, but both men looked sort of similar.


    "Was it Sky who fixed you?" She asked, quietly resting in her father''s arms.


    She didn''t see how his smile strained a bit. "Yeah," Alexander lied. "Sky fully cured me after..."


    "After I died."


    "Your mother and I never stopped believing. We knew you''d come back."


    "I didn''t though." Her voice strained a bit, and she wiped at her eyes. "Dad, I- I actually did die. I should be dead now. It wasn''t through my own skill or power that I was able to come back from something like that. I- I mean, look at the city." She pulled her face out of her father''s shoulder and looked at all the destruction. Even after months had passed, the Giants still hadn''t been able to fix all the damage. Buildings were still knocked over, power was out, roads were flooded with debris and cars, and massive pits scattered the ground. "I failed."


    "You didn''t fail at anything, Hope." Her father placed her down and gripped her shoulders tightly, looking down at her. "You should have never been there in the first place. The heroes had no right using kids at all. The Victorian or that Battery guy should have done everything. They''re the number one hero; it''s their job to keep everyone safe. You''re just a kid."


    "But I''m a hero, dad-"


    "You''re just a kid. My kid."


    She shook her head and was about to say more but was cut off when the door to the roof burst open. Faster than she could even react, she felt her clothes suddenly tense up. "Oh shit, I''m not emotionally ready to see Ashley yet; I''m out!" Kevin blasted off of her, dripping to the ground like Doc did in his yolk form. The red blob flowed into the drainage pipe and vanished leaving her and her father baffled. There went her Super suit.


    She didn''t even have time to process it as a loud squeal came from the doorway. She turned and stared, feeling a smile come onto her face. It was her friends. Oxide, Metal Ronin, and Wasp Nest all stared at her in shock, processing what they were seeing. Wasp Nest kept blinking, while Metal Ronin just kept scanning her up and down, making sure he wasn''t seeing a ghost. Behind them, she saw Wyvern''s younger brother, Drake, who looked just as shocked. Myth was there also. His face was pale, and he kept shaking, one hand reaching out to her.


    Then her eyes met Sky. The healer shoved their way through the small crowd and stumbled out onto the roof, looking directly at her. She was shocked to see how much Sky had changed in so little time. The girl was standing tall now instead of hunched over and had seemingly fully ditched her mask, wearing only her lab coat. Sky also most troublingly looked a lot like Wish had, now sporting white hair and red eyes.


    She knew it wasn''t Wish though.


    Wish''s eyes were always filled with hate or fear. The villain had cursed the world and the life they had been given and used every chance to throw their venom around.


    Sky''s eyes were filled with something else, though.


    That was all she got to see before she was practically tackled and hugged to the ground by the white-haired girl. "Oh my God, you''re so small and adorable!"


    "Why does everyone say that when they see me! I don''t want to be cute; I want to be cool!" This time she was swung around by Sky. She had been taller than the girl in the past, but with her new body and lack of Kevin, she was helpless to stop the onslaught of cuddles.


    "W- Why is she so small, though?" Wasp Nest asked awkwardly. "Also, as cool as it is that she''s here, how is this possible?"


    Sky stopped swinging Hope around and placed the fire-based hero down, though she kept her arms on her shoulders. "That''s a good question? Hope, what happened? Why are you so tiny now?" The girl asked, looking down at her friend. The Lord of Life allowed the healer to see every detail about Hope''s body. Unlike Green Wolf''s, which had flaws and a different soul mixed into it, this one was a perfect match for the real Hope, though that glow was gone, replaced instead with an empty void.


    Hope looked down at her hands quietly for a moment, as if trying to process it herself. "It''s kind of a long story." She finally said. "The last thing I remember was the Beast attack. I carried it into space, and... Well, I didn''t get out of the blast radius in time." She chuckled darkly.


    "Don''t laugh about that." Oxide said, shaking her head. "Why did you do that in the first place!"


    "It was that, or let the entire city blow up." She shrugged. "I didn''t have an option. All of you would have done the same." Her eyes roamed over all of them, daring anyone to say otherwise. "We''re all heroes. I did my job. I saved the city."


    "How does that end up with you being small, though?" Drake finally spoke up. The young boy rested near the back, keeping his arms folded while his tail remained outstretched and wrapped around the throat of Black Crow still. "Boy Genius had used some of his drones and sent them into space. They found what was left of your body. Was that fake?"


    "No, it was real." She felt a bit queasy in her stomach and was glad Sky was with her as the healer squeezed down on her shoulder. "I died. That was likely what was left of my corpse. Just like with Wish, though, I guess I was able to cheat the system and come back. I''m still not sure how, though. I know it had to do with the Emperor-"


    "It''s her!" Drake looked like he was about to charge her, his wings suddenly expanding as he snarled, but Myth grabbed the boy''s shoulder, holding him back. "What are you doing! Isn''t it obvious! She''s the Calamity! Every time the Beast attacks, something worse always comes for humanity when it leaves! It''s her! Just like how the Emperor once used the Beast''s energy to bring Lucifer back from the dead and return him to this world, I bet he did the same thing to her!"


    "So now you''re willing to say that Battery isn''t the Calamity?" Myth growled, holding Drake in place. The other Sub Enforcers looked around nervously.


    "What''s he talking about?" Alexander spoke up. "My daughter isn''t a threat to humanity. All of you were holding out hope that she''d come back, and now just because it involved the Emperor, you''re scared of her?"


    "We''re not scared." Oxide shook her head. "It just took us all off guard, I think." Wasp Nest and Metal Ronin both nodded.


    "That''s enough out of you, Drake." The booming voice of the Victorian came from above them, and they all looked up to see that the golden woman was floating down slowly, holding something. "I assure you that Cinder isn''t a threat to anyone other than what I aim her at. She''s the Lord of the Sun and the best chance our world has of reaching the good ending of its story. Remain calm."


    The dragon-themed hero snarled a bit and shook his way out of Myth''s arms. "Am I the only one who hasn''t gone mad? All of you are taking so many risks just because it''s friends that are coming back. You all turned on Legend the moment he came back from the dead, but when Battery or Cinder do it, it''s fine."


    "That wasn''t my father that came back." Myth''s hand squeezed down on Drake''s shoulder, causing the boy to wince. "Why don''t you go round up the other villains that aren''t here? Some were getting away, and you''re the fastest flyer here, not counting the Victorian."


    "Whatever." Drake''s wings slapped the air, and the boy was gone flying away from the building.


    She watched him leave, quietly gulping. She hadn''t even considered it for a moment. What if all of this was playing into the Emperor''s hands? If he wanted to keep her hostage, he would have never let her leave Golden God. He also had Avalon, one of the greatest teleporters in the world. The only reason she was here was because he let her. That thought sent a chill down her spine. She slowly reached up and placed her hand on Sky''s.


    The Victorian softly landed on the roof and dumped what she had been holding. It was a body. She felt shock hit her when she found herself staring at her own face. "You''re shorter than I remember." Green Wolf mocked.


    "Is that the fake me that''s been pretending to be Cinder!" She demanded. "Why is she so badly beaten?"


    "It''s not her." Sky said, shaking her head. "It''s Green Wolf."


    "Come again?"


    "She''s telling the truth." Green Wolf snickered and tried to sit up but was slammed to the ground by the Victorian, who placed their boot on the clone''s head. "Ah whatever. It doesn''t really matter now, does it? After all, you''re all about to kill me."


    "What!" She stared in shock at the others. "What does she- He? What do they mean by that?"


    "Relax, it won''t actually kill Green Wolf." Sky said, waving her hand. "Though I don''t think that would be a bad thing if it did. Whatever happened to them seriously ruined their soul. They have more than one body now and can control at least two, possibly more."


    "Great, so now I have to deal with the Hero Branch look alike and a mass murderer pretending to be me! My image is ruined!" She sighed. So much time and effort as Cinder down the drain.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "It could be fun to pretend to be you and go around slaughtering people, but why would I ever do that?" Green Wolf giggled and licked her lips, lapping up some of the blood that caked her face. "My target has always been Battery. They''re my final boss fight, not you. You''re just not my style."


    "Please don''t make that face in my body..."


    Sky crouched down and placed her hand on Green Wolf''s chin and her other on Hope''s shoulder. "With my eyes, I can see how your body should have been. Whatever healed you didn''t have enough biomass, and so instead it scrunched you up, which is why you''re so small. Green Wolf''s body is a near-perfect match for you, so I should be able to use them to fix you and restore you back to how you should be. It''s sort of like decompressing a computer file."


    She nodded slowly. "Okay. I trust you, Paragon. Is it going to hurt?"


    "Oh yeah, a ton."


    "What!"


    That was all she managed to get out before Paragon activated their power. Instantly, she felt her cells ignite with an intense heat that ran all along her body. She wasn''t fireproof anymore though, so the burn caused her instant pain. It was white hot, like acid going through her veins. She felt her muscles and insides twitch, and she wasn''t able to stay on her feet, crashing face first into the ground next to Green Wolf, who was howling in pain. She didn''t see what happened, but she heard the wet sound of flesh breaking just like when Wish used her power on people, and she also heard Wasp Nest lose his cool and throw up.


    Everything went dark after that, and she found herself no longer standing on the roof. Instead, she was back in a familiar place. One made of fire, which stretched out in all directions. As if she were standing on the sun itself. She half expected to hear the voice of the Brightest Star, but instead it was a mad cackle that echoed around the void they were in.


    The fire was weaker than it had been last time. It barely went up to her ankles as if it were shallow water. The throne that held the Brightest Star remained, but the first Lord was gone. Instead, something else stood in its place. A large green dire wolf.


    She looked away from the wolf, causing it to growl. There had been a mirror suspended up on the wall, or at least the closest thing there was to a wall in this strange fire realm. It normally allowed her to see what her body was doing when she gave control of it to the Brightest Star. Now though it allowed her to look at her reflection. She gasped at what she saw and looked down at her hands.


    She was her normal height in this place, but she didn''t look human anymore. It spooked her a bit because she sort of looked like the Beast. Her body was made entirely of golden fire, and she didn''t have a mouth. There was an outline of where her eyes were, and her body was still clearly her''s, having the faint sign of breasts and her long golden hair. It was as if she had changed from a human into a pure being of fire. Like the place they were, in the fire that made up her form was dim and flickered. It was also covered in dozens of nasty black cracks and dents.


    "Look at me." The growl of the wolf stopped her from studying her form further. She could also feel something. It was faint but clearly there. Pure malice and hatred. The emotion. It wasn''t coming from her though. It was coming from the wolf that stood on the throne. She was feeling Green Wolf''s emotions. "Notice me! Worship me! Praise me!" All of it was Green Wolf''s thoughts and desires. His rage and need to be seen—the reasons he caused all of his crime.


    The wolf dropped down in front of her, staying low, and it began to stalk toward her slowly. She looked back at it and tried to speak, but she didn''t have a mouth. It snarled and got ready to attack her.


    "Prey. I hunt. I kill. Joy. I love it. Hate you. Hate everything. Hate everyone. Hate, hate, hate, love to hate. Stronger. Devour. Kill. Hunt." More of the emotions began to bubble up, and she could feel it all. The way a psychopath like Green Wolf felt. It made her sick to her stomach. The wolf lunged at her, and she quickly ducked and dodged out of the way of it. The animal rolled across the ground and got back up, hissing and barking at her. "Kill. Take. Kill. Hate. Feel joy. Want joy."


    She clenched her hand into a fist and shook her head. She stomped her foot down and tried fighting fire with fire. If she couldn''t speak, she''d just use her feelings. She reached deep into her mind and mustered up some of her memories, pulling them to the surface. All her love, anger, sadness, joy, fear, and curiosity. Just as she had done to the Brightest Star, she forced all of her memories of her time as a hero out. The good and the bad.


    Meeting Mr. Larison, fighting Intake, her argument with Sky, beating Red Ape, learning Armin was Snowdawn, training her powers with Metal Ronin, killing Polaron, learning she was a Lord, her date with Sky, speaking with Mr. Larison, fighting the Beast, and dying alone.


    All this and so much more.


    The wolf howled madly as it was hit with waves of emotion. It jumped at her again, but this time she brought her fist back and slammed a punch directly into it. In an instant, Green Wolf shattered and broke away, crumbling to dust.


    Then she woke up...


    Meanwhile, in an underground lab, another Green Wolf froze and stumbled for a second, frowning. There was a strange hollowness they were feeling now. They shook their head, getting rid of the feeling, and looked back out at the lab, watching as four more Green Wolf''s began to wake up and get off of the table.


    "Five in total." Green Wolf smirked and looked down at her hand. "I can control up to five bodies at the same time. This should speed things up for my plan." Though they felt a strange worry in their gut. Yesterday, they had been able to control six bodies. At least they were pretty sure. They were also having some trouble recalling what happened in Oleander. They remembered dying to Myth and ditching that body for a new Cinder clone, yet the other clone that was in the city was... What happened to it?


    "I hate to tell you, but we don''t have a plan anymore." A familiar voice called out. Yellow yolk swirled together as Doc''s body slowly reformed and changed back to flesh. The man no longer had his egg suit and now wore his lab coat once more. "We''re all that remains."


    "The others were caught?" Green Wolf asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Yep." Doc sighed and shook his head. "Looks like your little group is dead once more. Green Ape went and rammed it all into the ground."


    "You got here pretty quickly." Green Wolf noted folding her arms. "We''re not in Oleander anymore after all."


    "Please, it''s not like we''re that far from the city." Doc snorted. "After all, this base is in Lillian. The two cities share the same pipes. Once I was in my yolk form, I was able to slither through and make it here."


    "And what was that yolk form, exactly?"


    "Something I created back when I had Wish. It''s a drug that I only have a few copies left of. It allows a person to melt down for an hour in order to escape. You can''t be damaged really since you''re a slime, but you also can''t harm anyone either."


    "So that''s not a power you normally have?"


    "No. Why?"


    "Because it means I can do this." Green Wolf grabbed a scalpel and swung it, splitting Doc''s shoulder wide open and spilling his blood. He screamed and dropped to his knees while the four other clones began to get out of their beds. The lab was filled with so many of her bodies, though not all were ready. The prime body stalked over to the doctor and smiled. "The game isn''t over. Now that Red Ape is out of the way, I''ll be taking the player one spot for myself. I have a lot of ideas and plans. Plans you''re going to help me with. Five years from now." She turned away and let out a loud laugh. "Just five years, Battery. Wait for me until then."


    Hope slowly opened her eyes as the realm of fire faded away. She found herself looking up at the faces of the other heroes and her father. She glanced over and felt a little sick at her stomach when she saw the melted pile of flesh that was all that remained of Green Wolf. Or at least that Green Wolf.


    "How do you feel?" Sky asked.


    She pushed herself up and looked down at her body. She was taller than Sky again. That fact made her feel giddy. Her clothes were ripped pretty badly and torn in places from where her body expanded. She was back to her normal height. Even her hair was long again. She flipped it, feeling it flow in the wind. The other heroes and her father stared at her, everyone holding their breath.


    "I think I feel normal." That caused many of them to let out a sigh of relief. She was herself again. She opened and closed her fist, looking down at it.


    "Is something wrong?" Her father asked.


    "I can''t feel my fire." She felt a weird chill inside of her. One that had been there ever since she woke up inside of Golden God. She tried to focus her power, but it wasn''t working. No fire was flaring up at her fingertips. Her hair wasn''t changing either. Before the Beast fight, she had been unable to turn her Lord power off, but now she couldn''t access it at all. The thing had been a staple for her, something she used constantly, but now it was as if it were gone. Was she no longer a Super? Was she no longer the Lord of the Sun?


    Before anyone could stop her, she smashed her fist down into the roof of the building. The entire tower they were on shook and rumbled as the roof cracked and caved in, and many of them stumbled.


    "Still have super strength, so that means I''m a Super, still." She muttered. Her body also felt denser than it had as a kid, and she could feel her nerves and senses were sharper, her ears picking up on the sounds of everyone''s heartbeats. It was almost like she had regressed back to when she first got her powers. Before she had been able to shoot out fire. She was tall and normal again, but something was still wrong.


    "Are you not able to use your Lord power?" The Victorian demanded. "I thought you would be restored fully."


    "I don''t know." She shook her head and stared down at her hands. "I''m sure I''m still the Lord of the Sun." Her encounter with the wolf as well as the faint sound of the Brightest Star laughing came back to her. It was still there, but the fire had seemingly become too dim for her to reach.


    Sky frowned and looked Hope up and down. "You might need a jumpstart."


    "What?"


    "Your power, I mean. It could need something to jumpstart it. Like when you devoured the sun in my realm that one time. That''s what boosted your power to the point of not being able to turn your Battle Mode off, right? You might need something like that again. It''s possible that while your body has been fully healed, your power hasn''t."


    The Victorian bit her lip for a moment, seemingly debating something. "There could be a way. I''m sure if you got a piece of the Lord of Cosmos, it could give your power the kick it needs."


    "Are you saying you''d give me your piece?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the golden woman. She recalled the memories she had seen. If the Victorian gave that piece up, that would basically be the woman returning to her roots and becoming Ruby Admiral again, wouldn''t it?


    "That''s right." The Victorian nodded. "I could give you that piece that I hold. I''m not sure if it would fix your fire powers, but at the very least it would give you a boost and allow you to access what''s left of the Cosmos half."


    "Is anyone else totally lost by what this conversation is?" Wasp Nest asked, but he was quickly shushed by everyone.


    The golden woman looked into the eyes of the now-restored Cinder. "If I give it up to you, though, it won''t be for free. You know what I want, right?"


    "What''s she talking about, Cinder?" Myth asked. The former leader of Pantheon had been mostly quiet, still processing the fact that his teammate was still alive.


    Hope sighed and folded her arms, tilting her head. "The Victorian asked me to-" She stopped suddenly as her enhanced hearing picked up on something. She was so glad that it was back. She turned and grabbed Sky, yanking the girl out of the way just in time as something crashed into the roof, further cracking it and shaking the building they were on. She kept her arms around Sky as she glared at the new uninvited guest.


    "A lot of stuff seems like it''s going on here." Cheerily, Purrfect stood up and dusted herself off, giving a grin. "Mind if I drop in? After all, my Teacher will likely find what you all have to say to be very interesting."


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the city block, Red Ape stared at the roof above through bloodied eyes. His body was broken, and he could barely form a coherent thought. Slowly, Drake landed next to the villain.


    "You still alive?"


    Red Ape spat up a glob of blood and broken teeth.


    "Cool. I think there is a nice cell in Nightshade with your name on it."


    Black Crow chuckled and clawed at the tail that was around him. "Sorry, boss. Looks like we lost again. Guess Zoo really is done for this time."


    Drake''s tail grew tighter, cutting Black Crow off. "There was another one with you also. What happened to White Lamb?" The hero demanded.


    Red Ape let out a weak chuckle. "Good question. I bet she left."


    That was indeed true. Already outside of the city block, White Lamb strolled, removing articles of her suit. Now she looked like any other young girl. If someone came by, all she would have to do was claim she was looking for food for her family or that she was lost. Her power had allowed her to slip silently away right under everyone''s noses. It was the perfect getaway-


    "White Lamb. Or should I call you by your real name? Mariah Rhodes."


    White Lamb froze when she heard the voice. The young girl turned around, raising her gun, but stopped when she saw who stood at the entrance to the alleyway. No one had seen Luna Laps since the Beast incident. Many people assumed that the Hero Branch director had simply died. Yet now here that woman stood, an eyepatch covering a missing eye, one arm in a cast, and the other holding a large Mental-based gun that was trained on the young girl in front of her.


    White Lamb sighed and dropped her gun, holding her hands up. "You don''t think you have a faster trigger finger than me?" Ms. Laps questioned, a little amused.


    "If you''re here, then I doubt you''re alone." White Lamb shrugged and turned her sound back on. "I''d be dead the moment I pulled the trigger."


    "You''re a smart girl." Laps slowly lowered her weapon and smiled. "Maybe smart enough to take me up on my offer and make the right choice."


    "What choice?"


    "You can either rot away in Nightshade or you can join Battery''s new Pantheon."