Lord Burgundy suddenly appeared in front of Alexa, aiming his rifle at her face.
The expansion of the shield has seemingly made the cathedral far less teleportation-proof. Cottie swung Eva into the path of his rifle, knocking it off to the side just as he pressed the trigger. The villain’s rifle fired, sending metal buckshots in a wide arc, two of the balls cutting across Alexa’s forehead and shoulder. The rest of them went through Ember who could do absolutely nothing as she could not get out of the way fast enough nor block them with her power as Resonance.
Colors vanished from the world as Cottie pressed Eva’s trigger. She used her black railgun like a bat, smashing Burgundy’s rifle in half. Burgundy was not deterred. He jumped back.
"I say, my dear chaps, that's not very spor..." he uttered in a thick British accent, pulling out a flintlock pistol.
Cottie didn't let him finish. She fired Eva and the hunter’s head exploded like a ripe melon, showering the cathedral’s interior in blood and gore.
“Damn it! I just cleaned the floors in here!” Alexa complained. She turned her head back to Ember, who was slumped on the pew, bleeding from several deep holes. “Shit.”
“Ember!” Martin rushed to his sister. He saw, felt that she was dying.
[Don’t go into the light Dimmy!] Alexa rushed towards the bleeding redhead. [Focus on your power fractal! Wake up!]
Ember tried to cling to life, tried to wake up, but she was losing blood far too quickly, her body and mind not responding properly, consciousness fading away.
[This is all your fault. You all suck,] Ember thought as her heart stopped.
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Magnetron's head was spinning.
The contracts for Alexa's head were definitely, irrefutably real! They were set by a legitimate, qualified buyer. Fully prepaid and everything! Surely this girl didn't hire villains to kill herself for a sum that could buy a private supernation if not ten?!
Some kind of a wealthy magnate or a hero was behind this, a grave conspiracy was afoot and the supervillains failed to make heads or tails of it.
Alexa’s hologram in the sky did not show any of the fight within the cathedral. It was a recording that Alexa and Cottie made only 30 minutes ago.
“Villains, thanks for attacking Saint Mary! Excellent work! As you can see, not a single hero came here to stop you. The Heroes have seemingly forsaken this town because they are terrified of me. They’re the ones who hired you all on darknet! The orders were anonymous but they all came from New New York Citadel, from a single VPN, from a single concealed address! That’s right. The Justice League of Titanomachy wants me dead, for saving the world from Nonpareil! That’s how nice they really are, which is to say, not at all!” Alexa’s hologram spoke in the sky.
A few TV reporters were on the scene far below in Saint Mary, pointing their cameras at the massive hologram and broadcasting Alexa's words to the world at large.
“I declare Saint Mary the capital of New Alexandria. The heroes have grown too fat and corrupt for their own good. They have failed us! Any and all human or villain nations who wish to become something bigger and throw off the yolk of the Superstate are welcome to join me. Strike while the iron is hot. Unite with Alexandria, invest in A-credits while the Superstate is struggling to unbury itself out of the financial hole brought about by their failures. They failed to make a fair prison, failed to stop Nonpareil's sudden insanity! I welcome all into my embrace from Earth-based heroes to villains to humans!” The holographic Alexa laughed, flickering in hypnotic patterns of fractal spirals. “From this day going forth, Alexandria declares a war against the Superstate for failing to protect humanity! I bet I can do a far better job than all of the heroes of Titanomachy put together!"
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Magnetron choked. Someone truly monstrous had to be behind project Alexa, pulling the strings in the background for years. He had to get away from Saint Mary before...
"Mercenary villains, I congratulate you all. I’ve just scanned each and every one of you before my shield went up. Since you all love killing so much, I’ve put up a contract for 100 billion A-credits up on darknet for a death-match type scenario. Let the hunger games begin! The last villain mercenary remaining alive in my sky wins the one hundred billion credits. Toodles!”
Magnetron gasped as his power fractal burned out, his ship coming apart under the baggage of missiles and raygun fire. The mercenaries had turned from the shield, now truly trying to end each other in full force.
Not a single shot flew towards New Alexandria now, as the villains were terrified of the vast nuclear bombs therein.
The Equalizer Enforcers never lied, were incapable of deception. Alexa was off the board, the contracts to kill her didn’t even come close to 100 billion A-credits the worth of which was increasing with every minute! Each of the villain mercenaries was fair game now! Alexa had gathered all of the active, greedy, murderous villains that the Superstated had failed or refused to catch. She had brought them all in one place like fruit flies on a honeydew and had closed the trap shut with only a single suggestion.
Alexa didn’t have to pay anyone if they were all dead.
Magnetron realized this as he and his team fell from the sky. His last thought was that coming here had been a terrible mistake.
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Ember blinked. She was definitely dead. She lifted up her incredibly pale hand stained in blood and looked down at the holes in her chest. “What the shit?”
“Sorry.” Alexa was busy wrapping up a bleeding gash in her own shoulder. “You totally died. Unexpected, I know. One moment you’re fine and then you’re dead. The Universe is a harsh mistress.”
“Gee, thanks. Thanks a whole lot, you guys!” Ember gritted her teeth.
“Nobody will suspect you not being a super now.” Alexa nodded. “What with your heart not beating and you not needing to breathe and all of those holes.”
“I’m not a super!” Ember growled. “I’m just freaking dead.”
Alexa shrugged. “Not everyone gets lucky, like Martin over here. Some people just straight up die without gaining powers.”
“This is seriously not cool.” The pale redhead waved her hands. “Am I your punching bag or something? Why do I always get the short stick with you?”
“Aw, come on Dimmy, I love you the most. I’ve had my eye on you the longest. You’re the key to everyone’s future. Martin and Cottie are cool beans, but they're far less heroic and amazing. I took Titanomachy from the sky all thanks to you. Thank you for being the best!” Alexa hugged the dead girl. “Brrr… you’re turning cold.”
Ember squinted at Alexa, fuming.
“What? Being a zombie is cool! Think of all the things you can do now!” Alexa waved her hands.
“What things?!”
“Uhh… you can walk underwater without needing to breathe. You can be an extra in a zombie films without needing makeup? Zombie movies are big these days, you know.” Alexa smiled and Ember punched her.
“Ow! Help! I’m being attacked by an unruly zombie!” Alexa yelled, running away from irate Ember, circling the wooden pew that now featured a few extra holes in it as well.
[What did you do?] Cottie blinked at Martin, observing a clearly dead girl who was acting far too impossibly alive.
[Saved her mental pattern in her spider.] Martin sighed, not sure how to feel about this sudden development. [She’s the brain spider driving her own dead body now.]
“I swear to God, I’m going to murder you!” Ember pelted Alexa with her fists whenever she managed to come close to the silver-haired girl.
“Eeeek! I didn’t plan this, I swear!” Alexa yelled, circling the pew. “I don’t manage the entire universe yet! Workplace accidents happen! This is why I wear a hardhat! Ow! Oh, I know! You won’t need to pay for food or electricity now! Think of the overall bill savings! Also, you can declare yourself dead and not pay taxes! Ow! Silver lining! Ow! Come on!”