The chilling silence of the city streets was shattered by the rift tearing open above, a split in the air, a seamless hole to a space beyond where your mind would twist painfully if you were to stare within.

Fortunately no-one was there to peek into this hellish abyss. The sirens that had faded minutes ago had taken care of that. Although there were none to peer into his seam in space there was something to stare out, a twisting undulating shape twisted through the rift. As tall as any of the buildings in the heart of the city the being dwarfed the squad tough places that would withstand such attacks on the outskirts. The serpentine shape was to a snake what a pigeon may be to a hawk, while the same shape was there one was clearly the more masterful shape of the other. The serpents scales scintillated in a hundred colors each sending the light scattered as if though a prism, however these beams of light did not simply illuminate the area but changed it, a beam of red rendered one of the reinforced buildings to a smoking ruin in moments, the fire flaring immediately and beginning to spread, while a another; a sickly volet beam seemed simply to illuminate at first until the street ripped itself asunder, forming into smaller asphalt versions of the beast above.

The heroes arrived soon; while there were few on the street to be destroyed by the beast, it wouldn't be long before it found the bunkers hidden among the sprawl were found and torn open. A bolt of flame dwarfed by the size of the monster but making up for it in intensity burst across the hide, leaving a burnt scar from which no lite poured. A figure on chariot flying though the air drew back on his bowstring for another shot while the more subtle figure in her own vessel besides him sent forth a dozen smaller arrows, each pinning one of the creatures copies below to the grown unmoving. The sky began to writhe with clouds as the neon figure, the leader of these heroes arrived. A bolt of lighting striking down at the king of the gods command.

“Apollo, Poseidon and I will focus on the serpent, blacken its hide and bring it to the earth. Artemis and Heracles I want you taking down the lesser beasts. I don’t want to lose them and have them turning up in a weeks time.” Spoke Zeus the leader of the Olympians.

The figures in spandex went to work, a sea of ghostly water pressing the creature towards the earth even while a trident shattered the gemstone like skin of the creature, while more lighting and fire rained upon it. All the while the creature fought back, swinging about a tail, cracking the air as it sent their leader flying. Beams of every color focused on the other figures, and soon they found themselves on the defensive.

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I scouted ahead in the dark tunnels beneath the city. While the true fight occurred above, Monk and I had been sent beneath. Into the tunnels that served to allow both utilities to reach every quarter of the city and the escape of those entrapped in the bunkers. While I kept an eye out for any monsters that might follow in the wake of the larger one, my friend, Monk, would keep an eye on the reinforced carriage following the rails here. It would keep the people within safe, should a monster attack, but even steel would buckle eventually so heroes, like us, were needed to escort the civilians.

So far the tunnels had been quiet, accepting for the occasional shudder caused by the fighting above. Despite this however I could feel something was wrong, perhaps it was a scent in the air, or a sound too quiet for conscious thought, or that strange sixth sense that few heroes liked to talk about; the sense of a monster. 

I checked the walls and each forks in the passage twice over, finding nothing. But the dread still grew. We had yet to pick up the civilians, escorting the carriage to the bunker now. As I peeked ahead at the last turn I saw the entrance, the steel door that served as the below ground entrance and escape should the need come, but something was wrong. The light in the centre of the door, a large caged red warning light that should let us know the bunker was occupied, was off. 

I darted back, no sense in approaching alone and leaving the backup behind;

“Monk, somethings wrong,” I said as I approached my Monk, the broad and tall figure with his skin tight suit shimmering with a jade light.

“How so?” He replied

“The door lights off, Could just be that the generator died, or someone disarmed the bunker as a warning.”

Together we approached the door, letting the carriage make its own way, behind us. 

“The Intercoms still on” Monk commented as we approached.

The door looked perfect apart from that, the connection to let the civilians know they had arrived was still functioning and the door looked sealed from here.

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I made my way to the door, “Burst bulb most likely” 

I reached out to press the intercom button. As I did however something made me hesitate and activate my power.

Everything slowed, it would only last a few seconds but that was an eternity when it was needed. Up close I could see a subtle pattern on the door, small diamonds overlapping. Like scales. I leapt back, the moment ending in time to see a fanged mouth snap closed where I had been standing.

The door uncoiled, an indigo glow burning from hollow eye sockets and a serpentine body sliding across the floor. The bunkers' defenses clearly were not enough. I flicked a hand forward sending a small shining spark, like the reflection on the edge of a blade, flying forward where it scored a scratch in the steel, centimeters away from the creature's eye socket, as it lunged around. 

As the creature lunged once again but stepped around the attack, maneuvering in a moment of speed, as I move I sent forth a point blank attack but it was unable to hit the eye thanks to the steel sockets around it, so I aimed for the fang, seeing the dagger of metal go flying off, wringing on the side of the corridor. A fist the size of my torso torso flew forward, the translucent jade shape slamming the snake into the steel wall of the bunker, ringing them both like a bell. We danced about the monster, trying to take out the eyes in the hope it would dispel the creature. From the bunker civilians fled from the bunker, the sound drawing them to the open exit. Soon they were followed by another writhing shape, this one stained with blood.

“The tram is around the corner, run and hide inside.” I called and I was able to score a hit on the newcomer, the creature slowed noticeably as the eye was dispelled, but one eye was apparently enough for them. 

Monk grabbed the first creature and threw it into the new comer, tangling them together. While he dealt with them, using them against each other, I darted into the bunker hearing the screams of more civilians. I found the centre of the bunker, an open room, bodies coating the floor and a half-dozen of the monsters chasing the remaining survivors.

“Here, run for the exit” I shouted and I plunged into the fighting, a desperate game of step, throw and fight, barely surviving. I took down one, two before they began to overwhelm me. I stepped back into the narrow corridors, so only a few could face me at once but I had barely enough room to move. I watched as the ones unable to reach me went after the civilians, tearing them apart with the sharpened steel. Before I had even thought it threw I found myself back out of the corridor, placing myself between the innocents and monsters.

But I was overwhelmed and soon I did not have enough speed, as I came out of the moment, the world moved into the fast chaos of reality and one got me. A cut, deep and clean across the ribs, slowed me down, the pain making the harsh reality even worse. With my movement helped, most of the snakes went past me, chasing the last few people fleeing the bunker, and the remaining one coiled up to lunge at me. Time seemed to slow down, like a moment but without my body being free to move about, the snake lept and I watched desperately as it closed in on me, my periphery filled with the others being chased down.

[CAUTION: LEVEL 5 BREECHED]

A scream in my head drowned everything else out and suddenly I could move, a moment longer than any I had experienced before, I desperately fought in this still world. One attack missed, hitting the steel rimming the eye but tearing through regardless, leaving a deep gauge and stilling the beast. The moment ended and I stood alone, the civilians fleeing out the door. Leaving me along with the half-dozen steel bodies, now lying still.

We sat in the briefing room afterwards, the stark calm leaving us disorientated in the wake of the battle. Even the aftermath had left us no room to breathe, to think. Escorting civilians, the medics, even the reporters who ambushed us on our way to the Hero’s Union keeping the quiet away.

“Did anything strange happen to you there?” I asked the question that had been bursting to come out ever since those words had rung in my head during the fighting.

“Apart from us nearly dying?” replied Monk

“Yes, while I was fighting I heard something strange, a voice. I think. Maybe I was just imagining it. But after I was stronger faster.”

We sat in silence for a time, waiting for the chaos to make its way into this room.

“I think I heard something about it, I pegged it as a conspiracy theory, but a while back some hero ran a blog, claiming he heard a voice saying something like ‘Level 2 reached’. Said he got stronger and went to fight tough opponents to hear it again. Last I heard he got himself killed and it all got taken down for dangerous conspiracy theories.” Said Monk, He had a rather quiet persona as a hero, speaking rarely and letting his actions speak for him, but in private; Andrew was one of the biggest hero nerds you’d ever meet. He spent ages trawling through every social media post, video and web forum to find every spot of information he could about heroes, he was ecstatic when he became one.

“Think you can find it again?” I asked

“Didn’t I just say it was taken down” He mumbled

I raised an eyebrow at him and he relented

“I’ll check my archives”

A moment later the chaos returned, the door opening to show a corridor filled with bustling workers and heroes being escorted around, a union officer stepped in before closing the door behind them.

“Sorry for the wait, we’re overwhelmed tonight. Let's go over what happened…”