There was no sound, but there was light. A sudden white flash. When the flash disappeared, two dozen people appeared in front of a building. The building was a pagoda, a multi-tier tower five stories high with roofs curving upward at the division of each storey. It was a red bricked building with wide windows for viewing. A parking lot was located in front of the pagoda, and that was where the teleporter brought the two dozen villains of Velocity City.

Victor staggered, willingly himself not to vomit. He did not want to show weakness. Luckily, he was not the only one with an issue. Most of the other villains who were with him looked green in the face. Several were glaring at the teleporter. The teleporter was a hero dressed in a white uniform with yellow lightning bolts and he was obviously used to the reaction. With a mocking salute, and a wide smile, he disappeared with a white flash. Several of his passengers gave the spot he disappeared from the evil eye, and Victor fully understand their feeling.

He hates teleportation. And teleporters!

It was early in the morning in Velocity City, but the time difference meant it was late in the afternoon here. Victor looked around and saw that he was on a small hill. The town of Glowing Falls laid below and the red bricked pagoda the teleporter dumped him at must be an important building to be built at such a vantage point. The town below looked quaint to Victor. Few buildings were higher than three stories, and they looked well-cared for. Victor did not see any sections of town that was abandoned and burned-out like Velocity City. It must have been a good place to live.

Now, things have changed. Victor could see many people in costumes walking around the town. Numerous vehicles were parked along the streets and at the edge of the town stood a giant mechanical suit. It was large, easily over five meters tall, and Victor saw it had a device that looks like a giant shoulder mounted missile launcher. The mechanical suit was looking at the nearby mountains, and Victor turned to face the same direction. In the distance were fliers. Men and machines flying in the air in set patrol patterns. Victor did not need anyone to tell him that was where the Gap was.

The peaceful town of Glowing Falls is now a combat zone. Someone behind Victor cleared his throat. It was Bradley. Unlike Mister Black and Groovy Dagger, Bradley was in his normal Sweet Crew uniform. A red balaclava mask with a black tactical vest wore over a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of black pants. However, he had raided the crew’s armoury and was currently armed with a retractable baton, and a steam-powered rifle designed by Mister Black. Based around the technology from the Trackbot-P, the rifle was technically still in its prototype stages but had done so well in tests that most of his men were comfortable using it live. Victor turned back to face the pagoda and saw a group of people walking towards them.

There were three of them. The man at the front of the group had his green hair styled in cornrows. He was well built, and blue. Outside his hair, his whole body was blue. Not just his costume, which was just a skin-tight bodysuit, but his skin as well. Even his eyes have a bluish glow to them. Victor recognized him on sight.

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Waveman, arguably the most powerful hero on Nexus.

To his left was an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman. She had the face of a classic beauty, if you ignored the small scar across her right cheek. Even with it, Victor could not look away from her attractive, well-defined face. She was wearing a a vibrant red dress that was decorated with detailed embroidery of various symbols. The embroidery made no sense to Victor, but he was almost certain some magic-users would recognized them. For the woman was the leader of one of the main forces on Nexus.

She was Lady Cauldron, the leader of the State of Magic.

Victor turned to look at the last man in the group. He was a thin, frail looking old man with a shaven head and wispy beard. He wore a plain double buttons jacket and a pair of loose pants. Outside the rapier at his waist, the old man did not look threatening. In fact, he looked slightly out of place beside Waveman and Lady Cauldron. No one was fooled because the old man was a legend. He was the only other Mystic Warrior on Nexus beside Victor.

The Old Man of Pui.

Glowing Falls was in the Fraternity of Heroes, so Victor knew there was a good chance he would meet the old man during the Emergency, but he didn’t think their meeting would be so soon. It was so immediate Victor could not help but think the old man wanted to meet him.

As the trio walked closer, the heroes and villains beside Victor parted. This was a Nexus Emergency and there would be heroes and villains arriving at Glowing Falls every other minute. Although it was expected that a local would meet them, these were three of the most powerful people on Nexus. Everyone knew who they were here to meet.

Victor stepped forward. The trio stopped in front of him, and for a moment, Victor could feel the trio evaluating him. There was total silence in the parking lot. Then, Waveman cleared his throat.

“Everyone, welcome to the Fraternity of Heroes. I am sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, but this is a Nexus Emergency and I wish to thank all of you for answering the call.” Waveman had the smooth sing-song voice that most merman have, but this was one merman you listened to. “Due to the location of the Gap, we were only able to locate it recently and it has grown. Our people are already working to close it but its remote location has been an issue. Luckily, we do not have to jump straight into the fray. We have time to gather, and strategized. I am called Waveman. Most of you would have heard of me. They call me the most powerful being on Nexus, and I will be one of the leaders in this Emergency. Does anyone have any problem with this?”

Waveman directly looked at Victor as he asked the question. It was intimidating, but Waveman had asked a legitimate question. In a Nexus Emergency, only the most powerful and famous could takes charge, and Waveman want to know if Victor intend to challenge his rule.

Victor willed himself not to wilted under the scrutiny, and shook his head.

It was as if a pressure valve had been released. The air became lighter and Victor released a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Waveman smiled.

“Once again, I wish to thank you all for coming to the aid of Nexus. Someone will be with you soon and bring you to a gathering point we had set up. It will be busy soon, so please take a few hours to prepare and relax. A briefing will take place once most of us have arrive and with luck, this Emergency will end without too many casualties.”

Waveman gave a short bow to the assembled heroes and villains before turning and walking back to the pagoda. Lady Cauldron gave Victor a short nod before doing the same. For a moment, it looked like the Old Man was just going to follow, but as he turned, his eyes caught Victor’s and the Old Man of Pui told Victor this.

“When this is over, we should talk.”