"Tactician," Gorestrike declared, "What have you learned?"

"We're detectives," She-Wolf said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Lady NightRaven.

"Nobody has ever found Battle Crow's base," Lady NightRaven explained, "But we have found a plot of land that was bought from a mining company. The current owner is a shell company owned by a shell company."

"And what, pray tell, does this mean to my glorious crusade?" Gorestrike inquired.

"The base might be there?" Lady NightRaven offered.

"Or, it's in another dimension," She-Wolf huffed.

"How would he be in another dimension?" Lady NightRaven demanded, "What makes you think that’s even possible?"

"Because people smarter than us," She-Wolf started, "With better technology than us, and better information than us, and more time than us, have never found Battle Crow, or even a hint of Raven Base. And you, L.N.R., seem to think we can find him."

"And, if you'll excuse my outburst Ser Gorestrike,” Lady NightRaven said, "What other choice do we have?"

"I can think of plenty," She-Wolf said.

"And you know what awaits you should you flee?" Gorestrike inquired.

"We could call Vanguard Squad,” She-Wolf suggested.

“How would we-” Lady NightRaven started, “How would that help?”

“If we can talk to Brain Wave, she can use her psychic powers to search for Battle Crow,” She-Wolf said, “Or use their base to better search for Battle Crow, or whatever it is we’re looking for.”

“There’s no way we could convince Brain Wave to-” Claxons sounded across Castle Gorestrike, cutting Lady NightRaven off. GianTessa thundered into the throne room and hollered “Boss! You should see the news!"

The news, that had interrupted GianTessa's ball game, was incredibly exciting for Gorestrike! Tremortis had appeared in uptown King’s Head, and Gorestrike could scarcely imagine the honor and glory he would win in combat with the beast. It was guarding a massive portal, with more foes to challenge streaming out of it, and already they were laying waste to the city in an impressive show of strength.

It had been far too long since Gorestrike had felt true war, felt the rush of annihilating the enemy with maximum force. Bloodlust surged through Gorestrike, untempered by seeing the aliens use ranged combat. Aliens and Tremortis and more if Gorestrike was lucky, how could the mighty Sir Gorestrike son of Gorestrike decline such a challenge.

"Ready the rocket thrusters!" Gorestrike declared, "We ride for conquest and glory!"

Gamer Man snapped to attention. Tremortis was-

“Tremortis is attacking the city!” Gamer Man yelled, “Faery Fire, Tremortis is attacking the city! What do the Sailors do?”

“That Sailors-” Faery Fire said, Tremortis was what, “What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m going to go help people!” Gamer Man said, rushing to put his full armor on, “I can-”

“Keagan, wait!” Gargoyle ordered, “You can’t go alone!”

“If anyone wants to join me-” Gamer Man started.

“Not what I mean,” Gargoyle said, “You are running into a situation with panicking civilians, rapidly changing battlefield conditions, and an unknown number of enemies! On the way there, I can contact police chiefs and military commanders to get us where we’re needed most.”

“Where do you what the Sailors?” Gamer Man asked.

“Out of harm’s way?” Faery Fire insisted.

“They’re people who can fly,” Gargoyle countered, “They’re going to be essential for civilian search and rescue. And they’re all manifested.”

“They’re little girls,” Faery Fire.

“Don’t you quote my grumbling at me!” Gargoyle said.

“Can’t we just ask them?” Gamer Man asked, “They have those new costumes.”

“Keagan,” Faery Fire seethed, “Pink will insist on going with Gargoyle to fight the most dangerous monster in existence, and once one Sailor decides to go fight they’ll all decide to go fight because they want to stick together. Or, I’ll go and Blue will want to follow me, or Gamer Man will go and Red will want to follow him. Out of the three of us here, I think I have the best chance of surviving this since I have people I care about, but if we fight Tremortis and his aliens the people I care about will die!”

Blue put a hand onto Faery Fire’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about us,” Blue said, “We’ve been through worse than this.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Faery Fire said, seeing the Sensational Sword Saint Sailors had assembled, “Just- Promise me you’ll be okay, okay?”

It was a pointless, theatric, foolish gesture. Battle Crow knew that.

But, he still could not bring himself to execute Aurumite, and that fact made Battle Crow dread the upcoming battle all the more. Not because Battle Crow thought he would lose or the plan would fail, even with the problems the Interlopers had been solving, it was that Battle Crow knew he would see people who had Aurumite’s same patriotism, same desire to uplift society. And, when Battle Crow met those heroes, he would kill them. There could be no other way. So, in a pointless, theatric, foolish gesture, Battle Crow had tied the lock on Aurumite’s prison to his own biometrics. If Battle Crow died, Aurumite would be free.

When Battle Crow won, he would present Aurumite to Research and Development, and that was as far as Battle Crow would think on the topic. Still, as Battle Crow left his base there was a little part of him that hoped to see Aurumite, his friend, comrade and ally, free once more.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Battle Crow knew he would not die, not now. He had come to far, the plan had come to far, and now there was no stopping it. Alpha Unit was defending the gateway, the army was moving through, Earth’s defensive resources had been drained and the remaining defenders were in disarray. One of the few teams ready to respond was a team of pop idols. Battle Crow was already among Earth’s best superheroes, there was no one left to challenge him. Head held high and ready to serve his country, Battle Crow, one of the founding members of Vanguard Squad, stepped into the chaos.

It was the fastest Vanguard Squad had ever responded to a threat. A giant portal opened in North King’s Head, an alien army was storming out of the portal, and Tremortis was guarding the portal. Exigent Circumstances arrived, but were working with the aliens to pincer King’s Head and the heroes. The Sensational Sword Saint Sailors had arrived, led by Sailor White, and were fighting the alien onslaught with Gargoyle. Gamer Man and the New Adventurers were working on civilian search and rescue.

Brain Wave flew over the battlefield, and caught a glint as Battle Crow stepped through a portal of his own. A familiar thought pattern caught Brain Wave’s attention. It was Aurumite, and he was inside Battle Crow’s portal. It was a massive invasion of privacy, but Brain Wave was too busy to care, she relayed that knowledge directly into the head of every hero on the battlefield. Through a twist of fate, sheer luck, or a million to one fluke, Gamer Man was first into the portal, beating even Grandmaster to the portal with an unnatural burst of speed and help from his grappling gun.

Gamer Man hit Battle Crow with a flying tackle that ended with the two rolling and tumbling across the floor of Raven Base, the portal to King's Head closing behind them. Held in a holographic cage above Gamer Man, with cuffs that drained manifested energy, was Aurumite. He was awake, and looking down at Gamer Man in confusion.

“Who are you?” Aurumite asked, his voice a weak rasp.

“I’m Gamer Man!” Gamer Man said, trying to untangle himself from Battle Crow, “Here to carry a raid!”

Battle Crow hurled Gamer Man off himself, leaping to his feet in a single fluid motion and drawing a sword that cracked with violent red energy.

“Ohno he has a laser sword,” Gamer Man muttered.

“What do you hope to accomplish here?” Battle Crow demanded, advancing on Gamer Man, “You’ve lost. You people have been losing for years without knowing it.”

“I’m just here to do whatever it takes,” Gamer Man admitted.

So was Battle Crow, and it stung to know that Gamer Man, a mere boy, was a kindred spirit with Aurumite. This was it, Battle Crow knew. He would kill Gamer Man, and use that death to harden his heart to killing Aurumite. Rocket thrusters on Battle Crow’s armor ignited, sending him hurtling towards Gamer Man, while Love disconnected her grapple arm and pulled Gamer Man out of the way. Gel rounds from Gamer Man’s shock rifle struck Battle Crow with rapid ‘fwap!’s while Love detached her hand and fired the grapple again.

“Your toys won’t help you!” Battle Crow shouted, pivoting mid air as Gamer Man sped away on his grapple gun. Battle Crow caught Gamer Man with a burst of speed, the hero spraying him with gel rounds, and pinned Gamer Man under a boot. Battle Crow’s thrust was checked by Love’s shield, pushing the sword wide, as Gamer Man slammed his shock club into Battle Crow’s knee and switched to maximum power. Electricity surged up Battle Crow’s leg and the gel rounds flashed with a high pitched, angry spark.

Battle Crow staggered backwards while Love pushed Gamer Man into the air and the hero slammed his club into Battle Crow’s chest. Battle Crow bent backwards, his spine twisting unnaturally with the impact, and swung his leg out to kick Gamer Man out of the air. Battle Crow’s leg melted into a spike that shot out, piercing Gamer Man’s side, blood spraying as Battle Crow ripped the spike out. Gamer Man staggered as he landed and turned, confusion washing over him as Battle Crow’s armor shifted.

The legendary hero, founding member of Vanguard Squad, rippled and melted. The armor plating and gadgets of his suit melted into his skin, the underlayment falling away to reveal gray, oily, flesh that flowed like water.

“Your kidney is wounded,” the thing said, “Surrender, and your death will be painless.”

“Destroy him!” Aurumite bellowed, his voice dry and hoarse, “Kill him!”

“What are-” Gamer Man muttered.

“Boy!” Aurumite barked, “Fight!”

Gamer Man shot another burst of his shock rifle at Battle Crow, but the alien’s armor and body rippled out, forming holes that the gel rounds passed harmlessly through.

“I-” Gamer Man said. Battle Crow leapt forward, arm extending as his sword chased Gamer Man. Love’s grapnel pulled Gamer Man back, only for Battle Crow to run with huge, stretching steps to hunt down the hero. Gamer Man took aim at Battle Crow’s sword arm, firing in short bursts and a trio of gel rounds catching the sword. The gel rounds detonated with electric sparks as Gamer Man’s shock rifle pulsed, the sword crackling but not shorting out. The pair needed a change of tactic, Gamer Man pivoting to give Love an angle on Aurumite, Battle Crow’s sword cutting a burning line across Raven Base as Gamer Man flew for the trapped hero.

“How do I get you out?” Gamer Man pleaded, trying to make sense of the alien controls while shooting gel rounds onto Love’s shield.

“Battle Crow is the priority!” Aurumite shouted, “He’s a traitor to everything Vanguard Squad stands for! Look out!”

Gamer Man turned fast, much faster than Battle Crow expected. Love blocked another swing while Gamer Man tackled Battle Crow to the ground and switched on shock frills. For a brief moment, Battle Crow jerked and spasmed, Love grabbing for Battle Crow’s sword. Searching for chinks in the hero’s armor, Battle Crow turned to spikes beneath Gamer Man, whipping against Gamer Man with razor spines. Love dropped her shield as Gamer Man passed her the shock rifle, and the spirit fired gel rounds at Aurumite’s cuffs. Battle Crow tore at Gamer Man’s armor, spikes digging into the boy as Gamer Man smashed at Battle Crow with his club. Love knew that Gamer Man couldn’t last against such an onslaught, launching her grapple hand to pull Gamer Man out of the fight. The hero heaved and staggered as blood poured from open wounds.

He was finished, Battle Crow knew, nobody could survive injuries like that. Battle Crow watched in confusion as Gamer Man stood up straight, shook himself off, and turned to face Battle Crow once more. It was impossible, there wasn’t even scar tissue where Battle Crow had hit Gamer Man. There was nothing on his file to suggest Manifestation, yet there Gamer Man stood.

“What does it take to kill you?” Battle Crow demanded.

“Solid D.P.S.?” Gamer Man taunted, “Good rotations? I could ask you the same thing. You wanna stand there and flame me, or are you ready to P.V.P. an M.V.P.?”

Battle Crow threw himself at Gamer Man, sword cutting at tight, fast arcs, but the hero put on a burst of speed. As Gamer Man ducked and weaved through Battle Crow, Love hit Aurumite’s cuffs with more and more gel rounds. Battle Crow’s sword clanged and shook in his grasp as Gamer Man parried and blocked each swing with his club. Love’s grapple hand launched out, grabbing the shield and smashinging it into Battle Crow’s back at the same time Gamer Man slammed him across the face. Gamer Man’s shock frills electrified the gel rounds, and another wave of crackling sparks slammed through Battle Crow. Who had this level of spatial awareness, reflexes, and combat instincts? The boy was Manifested beyond all doubt, Battle Crow decided.

Smoke poured off the alien as Battle Crow launched a kick that wrapped around Gamer Man, trapping the hero in place. As Gamer Man fought and scrapped at Battle Crow’s leg, the villain’s sword slide into his arm and down his leg. The sword split Gamer Man’s club as he swung to intercept it, and snapped Love’s grapple hand off before driving into Gamer Man’s side. Gamer Man howled as Battle Crow wrenched the sword upward. Love thought to rip the sword out of Gamer Man, but Gamer Man thought to her that she should keep firing the shock rifle into Aurumite’s cuffs and prison. They needed to free Aurumite, the veteran hero was needed in the invasion.

Battle Crow threw Gamer Man to the ground, leaping on top of him. Gamer Man felt Battle Crow’s rocket boot stomp on his head, thrusters roaring. No matter how Gamer Man fought and struggled, Battle Crow kept the thruster burning against Gamer Man’s helmet. As the hero pushed against the boot, Battle Crow’s sword severed one arm and then the other. Through the pain and fire, Gamer Man insisted that Love focus on freeing Aurumite, unloading the shock rifle into the prison and only detonating the gel rounds once the gun was empty.

Gamer Man’s face burned, his wounds mounting as Battle Crow stabbed him again and again. Gamer Man kicked and shook, but it was no use. Furious, Battle Crow raised the rocket boot and stomped at Gamer Man with sneering anger. Gamer Man’s helmet split open as the boot’s impacct, and then-

And then…

Gamer Man looked around. He stood atop a mountain. Alone.

Love had no mouth, but needed to scream. Love had no eyes, but needed to weep. The shock rifle gave an empty click while Battle Crow butchered Gamer Man, and where he hacked apart the hero’s legs he hacked apart her legs. Where Battle Crow hacked apart Gamer Man’s stomach, he hacked apart her spine. Love awkwardly thumbed at the shock rifle, launching the pulse and detonating the gel rounds. Where Battle Crow stabbed Gamer Man through the heart, he skewered the hard drive that Love was bound to, severing her summoning circle.

Gamer Man looked at the mountain range that he stood in the middle of. It stretched past the horizon. He looked at the nearby mountains. His mountain was taller than most, but some soared into the sky above him. The mountain was oddly flat topped, Gamer Man noted.