Arhke's enormous main gate slid open. A large group of police officers stood on the inside of the city. In a large semicircle around the gate. Claude and Charlotte walked ahead into Arhke. Followed behind by Mirage, Michael and Blaze.

Charlotte glanced around nervously at the police officers, she lowered her head and walked close to Claude who was carrying the Abyssal Crown in his hands.

As the group walked by, the enormous gate slammed shut behind them. One of the police officers stepped forward and spoke into a radio. "All heroes accounted for, plus the Demon who went on a rampage. Mission complete."

The officer stepped forward. "I've been ordered to take the Demon with me for questioning. I respect that you're a hero however I need to do my job. Please hand her to me."

Charlotte looked up at the police officer hesitantly.

She moved behind Claude. Mirage sneered. "Just go Demon. You're only going to kill more people if you're not locked up."

She shook her head nervously. "C-Claude... what do you want me to do? I'll follow your orders." Claude nodded.

He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Ranger Ranger and Ranged Ranger appeared from behind the police officers.

"Welcome back to Arhke. Ghost sent me to get the Abyssal Crown, I'll see it safely stored away at HQ, like a true ranger should!" He struck a pose.

Ranger Ranger gestured to Ranged Ranger who stepped forward and took the crown carefully off Claude. "Huh, this is lighter than I'd expected it'd be. Are you sure this is the real crown?"

She examined it cautiously. "Hmmmm, it certainly looks evil enough. Guess it fits the bill just fine." She stepped back beside Ranger Ranger.

Ranger Ranger nodded towards the group. "You four should head to the Human Enhancement Institute. They want to perform check-ups to make sure you're not carrying any lingering Abyssal Energy." Ranger Ranger gestured to Mirage to lead the way. He turned to face the police officers. "I'll be taking Charlotte. Orders from HQ."

He turned to Claude. "I'll make sure she gets home safely. Don't worry, I won't let the police interrogate her." Claude nodded. "Thanks Ranger Ranger."

He turned and followed Mirage along with the rest of the group. Charlotte left with Ranger Squadron.

The group followed Mirage through the busy streets. Crowds of civilians who'd come to celebrate their return, parted to let them pass, cheering them on as they went.

Mirage chuckled. "Sheep. They don't think for themselves, they just blindly celebrate. For all they know we could've returned emptyhanded. Yet they cheer regardless, because that's what they were told to do." Michael shook his head and sighed. The group passed through the crowd.

Mirage lead the group towards a large circular building. The structure loomed over the cityscape. It's perimeter surrounded by security systems and defences. A large wall stood in the way of the group, a shaky gate attached nearby.

Mirage approached the gate. He pulled a card from his pocket with his left hand and then flicked it into his right. He placed it on a scanner and the gate rattled and slid open with a screech and a beep from the monitor.

The group stepped through the gate. The building was now more visible, with a large entryway and a sign above the entrance which read. "H.E.I". Blaze stepped forward and spoke up.

"For Claude's sake I'll explain what this place is. This is the Human Enhancement Institute. They're dedicated to researching and studying powers, to help heroes perform better and understand their powers. They also invented the Limiters and give us high quality healthcare as needed. The man who runs this institute is Doctor Wright. One of the Arhke Council members and a highly respected doctor."

The group entered the building and were greeted by a young woman with blonde hair and a lab coat. She spoke in a professional and light tone. "Good afternoon Heroes. My name is Evelyn Park and I'll be your doctor today. Please come in one at a time. I'll check you over and make sure you're fit to return to your work as quickly as possible. Okay, you first." She gestured towards Mirage, then looked down at an electronic tablet she was holding.

"Let's see here. Julius Silver. Hero Rank Gold. Okay, let's begin. Come with me please sir." She lead Mirage down a white and well polished corridor, into a room with a light blue door.

Blaze turned to face Claude while they were waiting. "Claude. I have a favour to ask you. I'd like if you'd consider asking Charlotte if she'd like some more hero work. I'm putting a team together, it's just me and Julius for now, but I feel Charlotte's power would be useful to us. She'd be assisting us on expeditions outside Arhke. Just as you did today. I feel having her on board would significantly increase our chances of survival."

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Claude nodded. "I see, so you want me to tell Charlotte to listen to you for a while?" Blaze nodded. "If you wouldn't mind, it'd help me out a lot. And don't worry about what Julius says. He may be a Gold Rank but I'm still his senior. I'll keep him in line. No harm will come to Charlotte. I give you my word on that."

Claude thought for a moment. "Okay Blaze. I'll allow it. However, you can only have Charlotte under the condition that she agrees to join you willingly. I won't have anyone forcing her to join."

Blaze shook his head. "Of course Claude. I'd never force her to join up. Your permission to ask is all I needed. I'll go and pay her a visit tomorrow. She'll need today to recover from her sudden change in situation after all."

Mirage reappeared from the corridor and walked back towards the group. "Blaze. You're up. I'm going home, goodbye." Mirage nodded to Claude and kept his back turned to Michael as he left the building.

Blaze walked down the corridor and disappeared into the same door Mirage went through.

Michael gestured to Claude. "Come sit down Claude. I've got some things to discuss with you." Claude moved and sat down in a chair beside Michael. "What did you want to discuss?"

Michael nodded. "It would seem I misjudged you, you've exceeded the expectations set by both myself and Miss Regent. I acknowledge you as one of our own. However excuse me for saying I still cannot fully trust you. I'm sorry. Your power needs re-evaluating. Me and Miss Regent must come to an informed decision on what role you'd be best placed in for the squadron. When you are done here I'll inform Miss Regent and she'll make a decision. Take a few days off, you'll be informed on our verdict once it's been decided."

Claude looked down at his knees as he listened to Michael. "Why can't you trust me? I don't know what it is I could've done."

Michael sighed. "Given your past, or lack thereof. I simply cannot fully trust you yet. A man shows up, without a memory to his name, bearing a power to rival even the strongest of enemies. It doesn't line up. Where had you been all these years when humanity needed a saviour?"

Michael shook his head. "That being said. I do acknowledge your success in the recent mission. Were it not for you The Witch would've killed us all. Somehow you managed to bring her under control. Well done on that Claude." Michael forced a smile and looked at Claude.

Blaze returned to the group from the corridor. "Claude, you're up." Blaze nodded to him and Claude stood up. He walked down the sterile corridor towards the light blue door. He gently pushed the door open with a squeak.

Inside various machines hummed and Evelyn was sat at a desk. She smiled and gestured to Claude. "Come in Claude. This'll only be a quick check to make sure you're not suffering from any Abyssal Corruption. It's quite routine." Her voice was professional and reassuring.

Claude sat down in a nearby chair. Evelyn stood up and approached his Limiter first. "Oh, this is odd. You've damaged your Limiter... It's been inactive for quite some time now. What did you do out there?" She examined the Limiter carefully. "It takes a lot to break a Limiter. They're designed to withstand whatever strain any power we know of might cause. This doesn't make sense."

She turned and looked at a large box shaped machine in the corner of the room. "This machine will reveal the extent of the damage your powers have done. Please step inside the box and we can begin."

She smiled and ushered Claude into the box, closing it behind him. Inside were several special cameras, designed for analysis, and various other pieces of equipment. Including a screen in front of Claude.

Evelyn picked up a camera outside and began a feed directly to the screen inside the box so Claude could see her.

"Okay, I'm turning the machine on now. Let's see here... Oh... You've got small amounts of damage to your body, nothing major, it seems to have been caused by whatever broke your Limiter."

She glanced at her electronic tablet. "Your battle report has come in, based on what the others reported to have seen while they were stuck. It looks like your Limiter broke when you blasted Hecate away. That's the catalyst. That little atomic pulse you're able to do. It destroyed your Limiter. I suggest limiting your use of that move. I'd say more than twice and you'll face major injuries. Your power is a strong one Claude. Look after yourself and don't overdo it... Wait... The Abyssal Energy in your system seems to have softened the blow... interesting, you've got a natural affinity for Abyssal Energy."

She tapped her finger on the table. "Okay, you can come out of the machine now. I've got all the information I need."

She extended her hand and helped Claude out of the machine. He sat down on a chair and she delivered her verdict. "I'd suggest using these next few days to recover from your minor injuries. Learn to restrain your power if you can. You're too strong, using that pulse attack too often will result in your death. I'll get a new Limiter made for you and it'll be sent over soon. Okay, that's all Claude. Take care."

She waved him off and called Michael into the room.

As Claude walked down the hallway Blaze approached him. "I'll take you back to HQ. You live there yeah? Let's go."

The two of them returned to HQ. Blaze left Claude at the statue of The Golden Regent. "I need to file a full mission report... and do Julius' too, because he's gone home. So I'll see you sometime soon Claude. Goodbye." He nodded and disappeared into the main building.

Claude heard a familiar echo in his mind. He tapped his earlobe. Ghost's voice clearly spoke back to him.

"Heya Claude. Welcome back and good job on your mission. Miss Regent told me to tell you that you're gonna be taking a support role for a bit. Her reasoning was that if you're not careful your power will accidentally kill somebody. So you should work on learning how to use the power for support. That's all Claude, I'll call you again in a few days. Ghost out!"

Claude sat down on a bench in front of the statue. "Great, I've gotta figure out all of this alone. Where do I even start?"

Suddenly he felt a light tug at his sleeve. He looked down beside him and Mei was on the bench next to him. "Hi Claude... Good job out there..."

Claude nodded. "Thanks Mei, are you doing okay after your injury?"

Mei yawned and shrugged. "It hurts a little but I'm okay..."

She looked at Claude with a blank expression. "If you want to learn about your power... let's go to the Archive... I need your help to get some information of my own... in return I'll help you too..."

She stood up slowly and began walking. Claude followed her towards the Archive.