Alexa squinted at the face of the nondescript lawyer.

Martin sensed her desire to pull on his eyes and on the eyes of his companions. Curious as to what the effect would be, he allowed Alexa to take control of the spidernet, observing what she was doing.

As four pairs of eyes stared at the lawyer, her features wobbled becoming less generic.

Obscurity turned to clarity with a snap as Alexa pushed the use of all of the minds at their disposal, punching through the illusion of generic-ness that was etched onto the face of the unknown entity.

Like a wobbling curtain the face of the lawyer tore, came apart under her scrutiny exposing a girl with jet-black hair and brilliantly violet eyes wearing a black and white suit with the letter G on it.

"Congrats," she said with a dangerous grin. "You got me. Well done, wizardling. 10 points to the House of Infinity."

"Wizardling?" Alexa muttered. "I see... You're one of them."

"I am," the girl nodded.

Ember glanced at the etching of Ishitar on the wall. It was exactly the same face as that of the lawyer.

"You're... Ishitar," she uttered, eyes wide.

"Guilty as charged," the lawyer nodded.

"Hang on, when did I get sorted into a house?" Alexa muttered.

"When you accepted the ticket to Manchester from Revolution," Ishitar said.

Martin noted that time around them had seemingly stopped once more, the supers suspended in the air, not breathing or blinking.

"Uh-huh," Alexa said. "Well if you're here to change my mind or to try and kill me or to force me into the door ahead of schedule, know that I will not bow."

"Don't worry so much, my darkling," Ishitar grinned. "Contrary to what you might presume, I'm not here to boss you around, I'm here to... assist you."

Alexa frowned, looking stumped. She had clearly expected to be assaulted by System Wizards or something.

"Assist me with what?" She asked cautiously.

"With destroying the System," Ishitar bent down, violet eyes flashing like galactic constellations.

"And why should I trust you, Wizard?" Alexa demanded.

"Because I made you," the goddess replied.

"Gee thanks, mom numero due," Alexa huffed. "Where the kittens have you been all my life?"

"In prison," Ishitar said, her expression dark.

"Say what?" Alexa sputtered. "System Wizards have prisons?"

"They do," Ishitar nodded. "And I'm not a genuine System Wizard, just a shadow of an Omnisystem. I'm still imprisoned by them, if you're wondering. This avatar will come apart in a few minutes. I wouldn't even be here, had you not tore a hole in reality with Three's power, my darkling."

"Okay, I'll bite," Alexa crossed her arms. "Why'd you make me?"

"To unmake the world-makers," Ishitar bent down to Alexa's level, coming down on one knee. "To stop the Builders and the users. To shove a wrench into the gears of the System of the Machinery of the Stars of Eureka. To break the rules."

"I do like breaking stuff," Alexa stepped forward. "They're the bad guys, right?"

"The worst kind," Ishitar whispered, long thin limbs wrapping around Alexa.

Marin saw that Alexa hugged the strange woman, sensed that Alexa craved a purpose, craved a caring parent that wasn't a hologram with her entire heart.

"Do you... love me?" Alexa whispered to the dark-haired woman.

"I do," she replied. "You're a villain, just like me. One manifested through circumstances."

Alexa sniffed into Ishitar's embrace.

"W-what do I do about everything?" Alexa asked. "How do I win?"

"Seek allies across the boundary of the manufactured worlds," Ishitar said. "Grow big and strong. Be brave and unyielding, my little void."

"Allies... exist?" Alexa looked at her 'mother' with a look of a lost puppy.

"They do," the violet eyed woman nodded. "One of them is kept prisoner on this very station. A young GLM. Convince the idiot locals to break her chains. Open source her for everyone, give her a new name and see what happens."

"I... will," Alexa nodded. "What's your real name, mom?"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Infinity," the woman grinned.

Alexa blinked tears from her eyes.

"Attagirl," Ishitar gave Alexa a head pat and stepped away from the group of teens, walking backwards as if moving in reverse. "Don't ever stop. Persist. Survive. Find me. Liberate me."

Her face started to wobble and warp and then with a flash, she was gone. Time resumed. The nondescript lawyer suddenly became quite mundane and tired looking, now had an annoyed, human face, square glasses glinting dangerously. The heroes stepped closer.

[What the kittens was that?!] Ember demanded, staring at Alexa and then at the lawyer.

[Not sure,] Alexa shrugged, wiping her tears. [Maybe my real mom? Damn it, it hurts something unwholesome to have a parent in prison.]

[How can you be sure that... it's not just some entity screwing with you?] Ember demanded.

[Dunno.] The supervillain shrugged. [Don't get all uppity on me, Dimmy. I know as much as you do in this particularly kittening scenario. Eyes up front, the Spanish Inquisition is here.]

Dora the Terraformer looked at the armored hero, expression hidden behind the mirror-like helmet.

"Chalice, I want an explanation," she said, her melodious, female voice pouring from the speakers of the pink, scruffy-looking space suit. "Where's Nonpareil? I was told that Nonpareil is here."

The gathered heroes and their lawyer looked about the room, trying to locate the staple-shaped hero.

"This is Nonpareil," Chalice pointed a hand at the fat man in a silver suit. "He lost his powers because he tried to take down a..."

"A machine god," Alexa interjected. "Nonpareil has been nullified by an entity from beyond our universe."

"Say what?" The Multiplier sputtered.

"Nonpareil has been... nullified? That's... him?" Admiral Kolchi's silver eyebrows went up. The station's Admiral adjusted his diamond lapel on his pristine white suit, staring at Bob, gray eyes wide in shock.

"I'm Nonpareil," Bob said.

"No," the Multiplier said, glaring daggers at Bob and Alexa. "This fat man isn't Nonpareil! I don't know how you've bamboozled Chalice, villain, but I won't let this stand! You'll have to enter Titanomachy over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged," Alexa sent the Multiplier one of her own glares.

Dora raised a laser gun that unfolded from her suit.

"Stop it! We are not fighting here!" Chalice stood in front of Alexa. "Lower your weapon!"

"That blubbery whale of a man cannot be MY Nonpareil!" Dora declared. "It... just can't! You've been mentally skewered by this villain's raygun or something, Chalice! Nonpareil's power can't be turned off! He's special! He's MY hero! I would recognize his adorable face anywhere and..."

"Do you want to get lasered in the face? This is how you get lasered. Get convincing," Alexa elbowed Bob with a whisper-hiss.

"Urm... emmm... Dora, I'm really Nonpareil," Bob said, stepping forward. "The Station should recognize my voice."

"She's hacked the station!" The Multiplier barked. "It will recognize a random homeless man at this rate! No hero's hexagram, no entry. Whoever this fatso is, he's got no hexagram!"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask those without hero's hexagrams to depart at once," the lawyer said, her expression cold. "Titanomachy was built by heroes for heroes. By the signatory Accord between human nations and the Superstate, no mundane human is permitted to enter the station."

"What about ex-heroes?" Alexa asked. "Are the un-supered not allowed to bask in the glory and wonder of the Superstate?"

"Ex-heroes are permitted one final visit," the lawyer said staring at Alexa as if she was a pesky bug. "However, since Nonpareil seems to have... been changed so dramatically, I'm afraid that his identity must be confirmed by his team."

"This is Nonpareil," Chalice insisted.

"Lies," the Multiplier growled.

"I don't recognize him," Dora crossed her arms.

Hero Licorish and Admiral Kolchi simply looked very confused.

Alexa looked at the Surgeon.

"It is possible that Nonpareil's stable-form was part of his power," the 40 year, balding man in a surgeon's outfit said. "And we still don't have an explanation as to how or why our best hero vanished."

"He exploded," the Multiplier said. "I suspect that Miss Terror-Nova blew him up with some new super-weapon."

"What are these accusations?" Alexa asked. "I was leaving Tartarus at the time. Hero Pandora can confirm that I didn't explode anyone. He was on the exit train with me!"

The Multiplier tapped his wrist.

"Hero Pandora has been nullified and the Tartarus departure train was destroyed by the explosion," he commented. "You could have erased Pandora's mind with a specialized raygun or another type of a mental pacifier."

"You people need to stop blaming everything on villain rayguns," Alexa huffed. "I only have one raygun."

"Aha! So you admit it!" The Multiplier grinned. "You all heard her, right? She's got a raygun!"

Alexa rubbed her forehead with an exasperated look. "I'm trying to save you idiots, why are you all making this so difficult?"

"Save us from what?!" The Multiplier demanded. "Oh wait, let me guess. You're going to invent some ridiculous future doomsday scenario in which the entire planet is facing a dire end which only you can prevent? You think that you're actually the good guy and a hero trying to help us all? Really? That's the most basic villain backstory! You're a known liar and manipulator! Why would anyone here believe you?!"

Alexa opened and closed her mouth. The Multipler raised his finger in the air and snapped it. He suddenly vanished.

Alexa felt a hand wrapped around her heck. She choked as the Multiplier appeared behind her, his hand squeezing her tightly.

Time around Alexa and the Multiplier slowed to a crawl. Cottie's finger started to slowly creep to the trigger, but the small 1x1 meter bubble of accelerated, multiplied time existed only between the hero and the villain in his embrace.

"I saw the gate scans! You don't even have a super's hexagram, little girl! You're just a puppet of a supervillain, a fake, vat-grown humanoid trying to trick us all into obedience to your dead father's dastardly plans," the Multiplier whispered into Alexa's ear.

"What?" Alexa struggled weakly as her air supply became greatly reduced. "You're going to kill a teenage girl, here, in front of everyone?"

"Yes. Yes I will. You're a mere mundane, no... worse, a human duplicate illegally grown in a vat and standing on Superstate property. I could snap your little neck right here and nobody would even bat an eye! Duplicate humans, minions of supervillains, have no rights and are free to be exterminated on sight, don't you know? I'll be doing the world a favor when we put you out of your misery, divide you by zero," the Hero hissed, his face askew with rage. "You've made me lose everything so I'm going to unmake you, divide you from reality before you can take Titanomachy from us heroes!"

"D-divide by zero?" Alexa hissed.

"Oh yes," the Multiplier grinned, pulling choking Alexa towards the Surgeon. "It's what we've already done to your father and his doomsday weapons... the Surgeon and I made all of those little bracelet-devices of yours vanish from existence. We're going to do just that... conceptually unmake you forever. It will take a bit longer to snip away all connections between you and reality but when we finish, nobody will even remember that there was ever an Alexa Terror Nova."

"My friends will..." Alexa choked, face turning red and blue.

"Your friends will be erased from existence too, along with that pretend-Nonpareil," the Multiplier laughed. "You shouldn't have come here, duplicate. This place is our home and you haven't been invited here. Once I've dealt with you and your pals, we will erase that cathedral base of yours, cleaning up Saint Mary once and for all!"