Drake was not happy. He'd spent years out and about, having fun. Stealing priceless artifacts. Making first millions, then billions of dollars as the world's greatest professional thief. His powers had taken him far, at first; the ability to bend light; even infrared and UV; around himself, stick to walls and ceilings, meant that he could bypass any security system on earth, given time and patience. He'd been at it for years before they started to develop security systems that could actually track him.

And here, at home? All that capability wasted. No cameras, no sensors... just a handful of guards with rifles and bored expressions; no-one had ever dared to assault the island, not even when its mistress was off performing truly horrific crimes on the shores of China, and over a century of safety led to some truly lax efforts. Eyeball would be coming by soon, with a small army of powerful metahumans and advanced equipment; and these people would be just... well, not pushovers. Some of these people were truly heavy-hitters.

As he slowly made his way through the fortress; climbing on walls, walking on ceilings, slipping through open doorways right after a passerby... he stopped for a moment outside what had been his bedroom the day he left; before he made the fateful decision to stop his father. What was it he'd smacked him over the head with? Didn't matter. The man was dead. And good riddance.

He thought for a moment about what his girlfriend would think of his current adventure; and decided to bring her back a keepsake. Something fancy, old, and unique, from Japan. She'd made him return the Mona Lisa, so something with less popularity and significance.

When he reached the hallway with Emerald's room, he saw... the door wide open. The lock broken. Well, hell. He reached up to his throat, and whispered. "The target has already escaped on her own. Heading for the main hall, I expect to find the Empress's corpse when I get there."

He could hear a fair amount of tumult coming from the central chamber; voices, angry and confused. When he reached the door... he could see Emerald and the Empress, standing at the highest point of the room, on the dais the Empress's throne rested upon. As he entered, the Empress was lifting her sword into the air; was it Hiroshima or Nagasaki? He could never tell the difference.

Making his way up the wall as quietly as he could; carefully moving around a few hangings and an obnoxiously large painting that definitely wouldn't have supported his weight; he settled into a corner, bracing himself; and leveled a silenced SMG on the dais. Feeling along his belt, he found a Knockout grenade; double-checking the braile logo on the object he couldn't see at present.

While he had the SMG aimed in the right direction, he couldn't actually see the sight at present; and as such, when the first blows were exchanged, he couldn't be sure of his aim. Emerald seemed confident; and when the two swords struck, she'd swung with such force the Empress was forced back a few steps; almost slipping on the dress she'd discarded; before bracing herself and stepping back forward.

Good lord, was she always that ugly? The Empress looked as if something was stretching and distorting her face; the lightly scaled visage distorted, malformed. She hadn't looked that bad when he was a kid, had she?

The two were speaking... but softly, not meant to be heard by the crowd. He put the grenade away, then felt through his gear for his headphones; and set them on, amplifying the conversation.

***

"Once I'm gone, speak to your father. He knows the magics you'll need to lead them." The Empress gave a swipe with the blade, aiming at Emerald's legs; only for Emerald to almost casually bat it aside; and then topple the older woman with a lash of her tail.

"You seem very convinced you're about to lose for someone who is refusing to give up. Surrender. There's no need to die."

The woman gave a low growl; as she suddenly lunged to her feet; giving a rapid series of blows, Emerald barely catching them in time. "Just... because I'm doomed doesn't mean I will ever give up. So long as you hold that sword, I can't shield myself from your flame. I only live so long as you hold back. Don't think I can't smell the gasoline on you. Perhaps I can't win, but I'll at least force you to kill me with fire."

She leapt into the air; bringing her own sword with as much force as she could; which wasn't enough to drive Emerald back, as she smashed the blade aside; leaving it clattering to the floor. "I do want you dead. And you deserve to die. Not just for what you've done to our family. To outsiders as well. If the Chinese knew what you'd done during the war.."

The Empress glowered at Emerald, as she backed away; and yanked her sword back into her hands, flipping it there with a grip of her own tail. "They know. And they are willing to ignore, for the right motivations. I've been dealing with them since before you left. Even more-so, lately. Kill me. Quickly. You need to strike me down for them to believe in you. But each moment you hold that sword is a danger."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

She raised up her own blade in one hand; and made a chant; something deep, guttural, that seemed to echo through the room.. and a beam of light burst from her hand, splashing against Emerald's blade. "Do it!"

Emerald glanced at the blade; that it almost seemed as if a protective barrier had formed around it, deflecting the light. It felt wrong. Disgusting. Vile. The stench of death somehow burned into her soul. But at the same time... it was so powerful. Was this a trap? She... didn't want to die by the sword. But by flame.

For just a moment, she considered ignoring her great-grandmother's warning. She thought it might be a trap, that some spell might trigger, somehow binding Emerald to follow the family legacy... she abruptly stepped forward; the cascade of light parting around the blade as she moved in close; and exhaled.

One moment, the woman stood, intact if sick, blade in hand. The next... she was covered in liquid flame, screaming. She dropped to her knees atop the dais, her clothing, her very flesh burning... and Emerald swung the sword one more time.

The Empress's head rolled down the steps; landing on the floor, still burning, much as the rest of her body was. Emerald looked down, following the path as it settled down... and reached down to lift the other sword; holding them both in the air above her. "By rights of blood, I claim the throne. From this day forward, I am the Dragon Empress. You will all swear fealty and loyalty to me. I give you this chance to challenge me, should any wish to try their hand. Any adult who wishes to leave, may do so; Great-Grandmother was wise, and she was capable; but she did not grow with the times, and I will not lead an unwilling band."

She looked around the room. There was quite a bit of anger; unsurprisingly, her own mother, the Infernal Dragon, was especially angry at this turn of events; while her father seemed... concerned, but happy enough. He was also the first to step up the dais... and kneel at her feet, the golden glow of his strange aura seeming to fill the room. "Of course, my daughter. My arm belongs to the Empress, until death claims me."

***

Eyeball leaned back against his seat. The jet had just landed; officially, they were in Russia now; and it would be time to board the boat heading south soon. Except... apparently, everything was already handled. He'd just gotten word from Ripper that Emerald killed the Empress, and was probably in the process of stepping this down already. He sighed. "Alright, Ripper. When she's not busy, give her the radio. I'll be taking a smaller, faster boat south, and... I guess I'll let these guys know they might not be needed. They've already been paid, so most of them will be fine with it. I'll have em stand by for a bit."

He rose up, heading out of the jet; and waved at the trio waiting for him outside; Engineer, Clone, and a somewhat confused Butcher; the enormous teen glancing down at Eyeball as he approached. "Heyo, boss! So what kind of fun we got going on today?"

He sighed. "Probably nothing at all, Butch. Emerald may have handled everything on her own. Want to tag along? Some of her family might still get antsy about her taking over, but I don't think we're gonna need a whole army now. Honestly... just me you and the Engineer should have it covered."

Clone laughed, shaking his head. "And the woman took care of business while the man slept it off, yes? I bet it was easy for her without any of us around."

"Well. Her brother was there. But she didn't need him. The way he talks, the old lady was dying anyway, my girl could probably have handled this on her own any time. I suspect the only thing she'll need help with is figuring out what all her great-grandma was up to all this time."

***

"So, Empress. The most unfortunate news I have is that while I and a few of the others are already inclined to go along with certain reforms, and some of those here were taken against their will and have families to return to... you're going to have a significant obstacle to making the changes I suspect both of us would prefer."

Emerald frowned at her father. Most of the others had resumed their breakfast, after the Empress's body had been quietly hauled away; a burial ceremony would occur that evening. "Frankly, I suspect I'll have all sorts of obstacles. I mostly want to disband the whole thing; the idea of selectively breeding people towards a goal is, well. We're not animals. How did she pay the bills here? Why are there so few children?"

Gabriel sighed... and sat down on the dais itself, facing the wall; giving Ripper a small wave; the blue-scaled reptilian waved back far more hesitantly. "First off... At first, she was paid by the royal family. A bit of money, enough that the Empress has certain investments that cover the bills, as well as a fishing business. A modest amount has been coming in, even in modern times; she's no billionaire, but the island has more than enough money to make do. She has, however, been sterile ever since shortly after world war two... and all of us, while long-lived, seem to become infertile younger than we should."

He grimaced. "There's a small... home of sorts on the island, where surrogates live. The Empress made an agreement with them; giving them any metahuman children who did not carry the traits she sought... in exchange for providing surrogate mothers and fertility medications. She preferred the old fashioned way, but natural births have become more and more rare among our people on the island. She'd even seen doctors in Japan about it covertly to confirm her own infertility and that of some of her closest advisors."

"Surrogates. Are they paid for their services, or more of those taken against their will? We can easily get them back to their families."

"The Chinese still expect the children the old Empress promised them. And... these women no longer have a will."

Emerald settled the two swords into the sheathes built into the throne before pulling to her feet. She... immediately felt better. Still a bit queasy, but better. Great-grandmother had been right about the swords. "What do you mean? Were they altered by a telepath? Drugged and brainwashed?"

"No. Apparently such processes are too expensive and time-consuming. All of them have been lobotomized. Apparently its... standard practice for the surrogates they use."