When Victor woke up the next morning, the weather had changed. The clear blue sky was now full of dark clouds that promised a downpour at any moment. A less than ideal day to start the day but cultivation didn’t give him a way to change the weather. At least, not yet. Victor smiled. That may be something he need to ask Reunion about.

There were toiletries in the bathroom and Victor took advantage of them before taking a quick shower. The water pressure wasn't very good, but the water was hot enough that Victor couldn’t complain. There was no room service as all the nonessential personals had been evacuated so Victor went down to the hotel lobby to see if there was something to eat. One good thing about being in an Emergency is that the host was obligated to pay for everything. Victor can rack up anything he wants, and the Fraternity of Heroes will foot the bill.

Unfortunately, nothing was ever that easy.

The moment the doors of the elevator open, Victor knew there was trouble. A small group of villains were in the lobby and the rapid whispers told Victor something had happened. Holding in a sigh, Victor walked out of the elevator. The whispers ceased, and a villain walked towards him. It took a moment for Victor to remember the villain’s name.

“Black Bow, what happened?”

The young villainess stopped and gave Victor a short bow. “Master Fist, someone killed some locals. Someone from our side.”

“Who? Where? What happened?” Victor growled.

“I’m not sure who they are,” Black Bow admitted, “but it was a trio from the Alliance. They broke into a house a few houses to the east and there was an elderly couple there. Not sure why the couple didn’t evacuate, but they are now both dead.”

Victor resisted the urge to facepalm. “Where are those idiots?”

“Still at the house they broke into,” Black Bow pointed in the direction to Victor’s left. “There is some dispute on what to do with them?”

“Lead me to them.”

Black Bow was clearly startled by the command, but Victor’s tone brooked no argument and she quickly turned. She led Victor out of the hotel.

Along with a train of villains.

Everyone loves a show, and the other villains in the lobby decided to follow the duo. The trip was short, but the group caught the eye of several other people on the street. Before long, a small group of heroes and villains was walking through the streets of Glowing Falls with Victor and Black Bow in the lead. Victor saw a small crowd of costumes outside a house and knew they reached the house Black Bow mentioned.

When the crowd saw Victor’s group, they opened a path for him, and Victor saw the trio of villains that had been surrounded by the crowd. They look so young Victor would not be surprised if all three of them were teenagers. Standing around the trio of young villains were six men wearing the gang colours of the Righteous Sons. Victor knkew they had to be the Savage Six.

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As Victor got closer, he saw a pair of bodies on the ground. One was badly burnt, while the other was an old woman who had been badly mutilated. In the crowd, Victor recognized Bradley, now known as Crimson Fighter, and Mister Black. He suspects Groovy Dagger would be nearby. At least he had some potential backup.

“What happened?”

Everyone looked at each other, hoping someone else would answer Victor’s question. Finally, one of the Savage Six came forward.

“Master Fist, I am Ghost Robber of the Savage Six. Looks like a simple breaking and entry gone wrong. Stupid kids broke into the house and startled the residents. Things got out of hand.”

Victor looks pointedly at the two bodies near them. “Looks a little more than that. Anyone here has a scanning power. Tell me something about the dead.” Heavy footsteps answered Victor’s call as Mister Black stepped forward. Victor was surprised. His son-in-law was full of surprises.

“I didn’t know that power armour has scanning abilities.”

“I did some upgrades, Master Fist.” The robotic voice paused, waiting for a reply. When he was certain Victor was not going to answer, Mister Black continued. “Robert and Erin Sanders, age eighty and seventy-six respectively. Record shows them as long-time residents of Glowing Falls.”

“Why didn’t they evacuate?” One of the Savage Six members asked.

“An evacuation notice was issued, but the couple used to be local heroes. They had long since retired but…”

Groans could be heard in the crowd as many understood what Mister Black was saying. Most towns and villages had local heroes who help local law enforcement with day-to-day heroics and the dead elderly couple used to fulfil that role in Glowing Falls. Retired or not, they were the heroes of Glowing Falls and if they wish to stay and help, no one was going to say ‘No’. It wouldn’t be the first time a retired hero or villain came out of retirement to defend their homes. It was almost a tradition on Nexus. The couple had the right to be here. Victor shook his head.

The trio of idiots did not just kill some locals, they broke the truce.

The three young villains heard Mister Black and their faces turned gloomy. One of the young villains, seemingly the leader of the trio, immediately step forward. “Master Fist, this is just a misunderstanding. We were just looking for a good place to crash. We didn’t know there were people in the house. If we knew, we would never have broken in. And the old couple fired first. We were just defending ourselves.”

A quick look at the house in question told Victor why the three villains chose it. It was a good-looking three storey house. Victor smiled and waved his hand at the bodies, “Oh? What about the old woman then?”

There was no need for Victor to mention the mutilation.

One of the other young villains snorted. “She can only blame herself. She fought like a she-devil once-”

“Shut up!” The leader turned his head and shouted. Then he looked at Victor and continued, “Master Fist, this really is just a misunderstanding. They had six of us in one room. We weren’t looking for trouble or anything. We were just looking for some better accommodations. That’s all!”

Victor nodded his head. It was understandable. The leader of the trio saw the nod, smiled, and walked up to Victor confidently. “I’m glad you understand, Master Fist. This is an unfortunate-“

The leader’s voice stopped as a sound echoed through the crowd. The young villain slowly looked down and saw the fist that had pierced through his chest. Victor slowly pulled his arm out of the young villain’s chest and looked at him sadly. “I believe you, kid. I really do. But it does not matter. You broke the truce.”