Jagged glass rained down onto the city block. None of it ever got close to hitting anyone, though. A golden flash was all anyone saw, and then the next moment, all the glass was gone.
A loud creaking sound was the only warning as the building began to crack and break. Down on the street below, dozens of people looked up, but before any of them could even scream, the building vanished. It was in the air one moment, and then the next, it was placed gently on the ground away from everyone. It wasn't the only one, either. All the buildings that had collapsed had been instantly halted, the broken pieces scattered around.
A large earthquake had hit the city; it had simply come out of nowhere and had caused massive shards of glass to rain down, and the ground tore down several of the buildings. It would have been a grave incident. One that would have surely resulted in the death of a few hundred people at least. Or at least it would have. The world, however, had a savior. The world had a protector. Another flash of gold appeared and anyone that had been in the collapsed buildings suddenly stood on the side of the road.
In less then a second, every person who had been in danger was suddenly saved. The ground finally stopped shaking, and when everything finally settled down, they saw her. The people all stared up at the air as the Victorian floated above the ground. She was high in the air and had stopped, and looked down at the city, staying long enough to make sure it was okay now that the natural disaster had come to an end.
"It's okay, everyone." The Victorian forced a smile onto her face as dozens of phones came out, and the people began to cheer. "I'll make sure the Cleanup Squad gets here and fixes up all these buildings! It'll all be paid for by the Hero Branch as well!" She gave a wave and flew up higher. "Till next time!" And with that, the number one hero took off, flying out of Lillian City. Once she was out of sight and flying faster than anyone else could keep up with, she allowed her smile to fade.
The world was in a dangerous place. All because of the many threats that existed.
Long ago, Earth was full of only humans. The humans had built grand cities and survived thousands of years on their own, creating vast weapons and even reaching out for the stars above. Then, the Four Lords arrived, and the world was forced to change. Earth no longer had to deal with just humans. Now, it has become a world full of Supers. One where, at any moment, a grand threat could appear and bring the entire world crashing down. Everyone knew it. Deep down, it was a fear that wouldn't fade. Some day, eventually, something like the Emperor would arrive.
Yet, people did not despair.
Supers had been around for over a thousand years now. Humanity had been brought to the brink of total destruction, so much so that the current world was vastly different from the old world, the one before Supers. The only reason the world had even been able to get back to such a whole state in the first place was due to the Supers that were able to rapidly build massive cities and help fix the destroyed land. Yet just as easily as the world could be fixed, so too could a Super bring it all crashing down.
Yet, people did not despair.
Humanity survived. Even with threats like the Emperor, or Lucifer, or the Beast. Even with vast wars that tore across the land. Even with the ever-growing population of villains. Humanity somehow survived in a world with massive monsters that could break free of the ground, or natural disasters, or deadly diseases. Humanity suffered, but it still clung.
Yet, people did not despair.
And why is that? Why did humanity cling to hope despite the bleak world they lived in? It was all thanks to their saviour.
The Victorian zipped forward at high speeds. Already, her senses were going off, and she arrived just in time to see a massive winged beast attempting to attack a village. The monster was as big as a skyscraper, and lightning spilled off of it. The village below was some small little mountain village, the people of it all staring up at the monster in horror. The lightning never had time to rain down, though. In a flash, the Victorian created her golden long sword and did the impossible, slicing through every bolt of lightning. Her blade absorbed the energy, and then she rocketed up. The monster never even had time to process the fact that she was here. With a single swing, she brought her sword up and split the beast in half.
The corpse didn't even have time to fall before golden chains wrapped around it, and she took off. She got a few hundred miles away from the village and casually dropped the monsters corpse into the ocean as she flew by.
People didn't fear the horrors of their world because they knew that there was someone that would show up and save them. A hero of grand power and strength. One who could be nearly everywhere at once.
The Victorian suddenly turned her body, still flying through the air, as she spotted a massive battleship that was on the verge of sinking. She dove into the water and appeared beneath the ship, surrounding it and its people in a strong golden barrier that allowed her to lift the entire ship up without having to worry about it shattering. Once she had a good grip on the entire battleship, she zipped over to the nearest city and placed the ship down near the docks.
The sailors all stared up at her in awe and shock, and she gave a nod before vanishing once more. The next thing she knew, she was in Daisy, appearing on the other side of the world and cleaving through a wave of robots. She moved all the people out of the way of the gunfire, blocked the laser beams with her sword, and then sliced through a dozen of the machines. Lady Time then came down from above, wielding her two swords, taking over. The Victorian gave a nod to the other hero and then vanished again, going to another town and taking down a dozen bank robbers.
Again, and again, and again, and again, and again and-
The people stared up at the skies; over and over, a golden blur would blow by them. Cats were taken out of trees. Burning buildings were put out. Monsters were slain. Villains were taken out. The people were cheering her on. They were putting all their hope in her. The world wasn't such a sad, depressing place because she was keeping it safe-
It wasn't enough.
A man was shot dead. She appeared in the city a second too late. The bullet entered his head and punctured his brain. Her healing would be useless. On the other side of the world, a plane's engine went out. She arrived just in time to see it crash into the ground. The flames devoured everyone before she could pull any of them out. She appeared in a town and managed to behead a monster, but not before it swung and tore through a building, collapsing it on the people inside. She tore apart a new villain group. Two more took its place, one of which set off a small bomb on a coastal village, wiping it off the map.
She wasn't enough.
The Victorian floated above Gladiolus City. The entire place was on fire. Buildings were raining down, and crime was at an all-time high. Destroyed cars lined the road, and the stench of death was heavy in the air. The Victorian stared down at it. She could try to save someone, anyone, but there was simply so much chaos. Chaos everywhere. A monster was attacking Lillian. Green Wolf was on a rampage in Oleander. Dandelion was experiencing a natural disaster. Daisy was dealing with an AI takeover. Daffodil was running out of room to expand. Violet was having a revolt, its people not wanting to join the Hero Branch. Somewhere, something was going wrong. People were dying. Humans, Supers, Heroes, Villains, Monsters.
The Victorian turned away from Gladiolus City and flew off. She instead appeared above Dandelion and attempted to help with a series of flash floods, something the always raining city was struggling with.
Full Monarch had managed to save the world. Full Monarch had inspired hope in everyone. No matter what the threat was he somehow always appeared to stop it. He had even been the only hero able to go toe-to-toe with both the Emperor and the Beast from space. And that was the issue.
He had been too good. Full Monarch had been great. That was how the world remembered him. A man able to take out any bad guy in a single hit and still sit down with a child and help them with their homework. He simply wasn't like a human. More a machine that was set on the goal of saving everything. Even after his death, Full Monarch had been so epic that the world refused to give in to despair. They refused to betray him. And so the world put all its hope and love onto his daughter. The Victorian.
She knew she was a failure though.
She knew she wasn't living up to the mantle he had left. She was trapped in his shadow. Yet people kept believing in her. The people she would save would go on and on about how grand she was, yet she knew the truth. She might save millions, but thousands were still dying. She couldn't be everywhere at once. She couldn't save them all. She just couldn't do it.
"Keep going." The Victorian flew through a village and managed to slice through several villains that were attacking it. At one point she might have felt bad about killing them instantly, but she was tired and cranky, and didn't have time to take them in peacefully. In her effort of removing the bodies, so the people wouldn't have to, another village burned to the ground. "Keep going." An asteroid rained down above a city, and she flew through it, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. Those shards then rained down and tore through several buildings. "Keep going. Keep going. Keep going-"
She eventually stopped.
The Victorian hovered above the air, doing her best to stay awake. She had been up for over a month now and it was finally catching up to her. She wiped at the sleep and tried to keep going, but she was tired and drained and just wanted it to stop.
The world's strongest woman let out a sigh as she flew over a city. The people down below all cheered and yelled at her, celebrating. Placing their faith in her. She ignored it, though, and stared up at the sky above. Her eyes traced the moon. She wanted to go up there. To block out the screams and destruction that was all around her. To take a break. But she couldn't. She was the number one hero, after all.
It was her job.
Because Full Monarch wasn't around. Because the world needed someone to put all its hope in. Otherwise, it would be over. Because if there wasn't something for the people to cheer on, if there wasn't some savior they convinced themselves would arrive, then despair would win, and the cruel world they lived in would swallow them all up.
"Victorian!"
The Victorian looked down at the city she flew over. It was Oleander City. Many of its people were staring up at her, and drones were recording her every move, but it was a single cry of her name from a person that had caught her attention. Down below on the street was a young girl with raven black hair and glasses that hid a pair of blue eyes. The girl was clutching a backpack tightly and stared directly up at the number one hero.
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The Victorian managed a smile and dropped from the sky. She hovered above the girl, ignoring the other people who were all cheering her on. "Hello." The girl's face had turned red, and she had become a stuttering mess, looking the Victorian up and down. The Victorian just giggled. "What's your name?"
"H- Hope Lauren!"
The Victorian nodded. The image of a little girl came to her mind. One she had saved a while ago. She tried to remember everyone she saved. Their faces. Their hopeful looks. As if it would motivate her more. "Well, Ms. Lauren, you should be at school at this hour." The Victorian reached out and gently flicked the young girl on the nose. "It's noon time. Don't go ditching." Hundreds of drones flew around her, watching the interaction. She winked at the camera and then took off, leaving the schoolgirl behind. When she was gone, her smile faded again. "She's the one that took down Intake, isn't she." The Victorian rubbed her chin and rolled over so that she could stare up at the sky. It became night and then day and then night and then day as she flew across the planet. "Could she be the one?" The Victorian reached out as if she could grasp the moon. "No. I guess that wouldn't be right, would it? Forcing this burden on a child."
She desperately wanted to get rid of it. She didn't want to be such a failure anymore. Being a hero was hard. Being the number one hero that could live up to the mantle of Full Monarch was impossible.
"Eventually, someone will come." The Victorian closed her eyes. "Someone that I can pass my title on to. Someone that can be the next Full Monarch. I can't be that person, but that's okay. I just need to hold on for a little bit longer. Just keep going for a little bit more. Eventually, someone better than me will come along. Someone who will be able to hold onto the hope the people have and truly save this world. I'm sorry, I can't be that person."
Just as people put their hope in her and managed to go on in such a cruel and dangerous world, she, too, would put her hope in someone. She didn't know who they were, but she knew they'd arrive. For just as she was sure that a threat such as the Emperor would one day return, she was also confident that eventually, a great hero equal or even greater to Full Monarch would appear and save the world.
Eventually, the Victorian arrived at her city. Rose City was a place that only ever had issues every now and then. Villains would sometimes appear and try to take it over, but she would always kill them in an instant before they could truly make any move. Because of that, Rose was one of the safest cities in the world.
The city itself was separated from all the others and resided on a piece of land that was lifted off of the ground by dozens of stone pillars. For the most part, the city looked similar to Oleander or Lillian, having dozens of vast skyscrapers and roads, but one thing that made it different was the massive bubble that was around it. Rose only allowed those who were high up in the Branch or Nobles to live within it. The elite of the world resided in the city, and so to keep them safe, the entire city was surrounded by a massive dome forged out of a powerful energy crafted by Avalon. Just getting into Rose was next to impossible unless you were rich or a friend of an Enforcer. Rose itself was also the place where the Enforcer tower resided as well as where Avalon's greatest lab was.
The Victorian floated over to the barrier, and her body ignited in energy as she vibrated so fast she was able to simply phase through the shield. The people of Rose all wore fine suits, and many were escorted personally by Hero Branch guards. Expensive cars drove across the road, and billboards of the Victorian resided on every building. Rose was also where the head of the Hero Branch arrived and was the main reason the world was able to keep running. Everything went through Rose, and everything was decided by the head of the Branch.
It wasn't there that the Victorian went though. She instead found herself phasing through Avalon's building and floating through his walls. Eventually, she poked her head up through the floor and lifted herself up until she stood next to the world's greatest Mental-based user. "I thought you'd be in Oleander."
"I will be." Avalon didn't even bother to react as the number one hero appeared next to him. He stood in a large dark room, that was placed above a training room. A window hung on the wall which allowed him to look down at the training room below. "I actually plan on moving to Oleander for the time being. At least until I can get some stuff sorted out. The only reason I'm here right now is because I'm running a few tests."
"For what?"
"For your new training room." Avalon shrugged and gestured to the window. "You told me you wanted somewhere you could cut loose, and since that brat, Boy Genius, is way too busy, I went ahead and created something for you. Dow,n there is a series of holograms and forcefields that fold together and twist into shape, allowing it to simulate vast battlefields. I'm still working out some of the formula to get it fully functional and plan to do a test run with the people down there."
"Who's all in it?" She looked down at the training room and raised an eyebrow. The room itself reminded her of Boy Genius's rooms in Nightshade being a vast white room that was the size of a football field. Seven people all stood down in the field. She didn't really recognize any of them, and none stood out.
"They're all heroes from some of the other cities," Avalon explained. "I asked the Enforcer of each city to send me someone to test this room out. Down there, we have a few. From Dandelion, we have Lion Heart." Lion Heart was a man in a golden costume that had the symbol of a lion across his chest. Large claws jutted out of his fingertips. "From Daffodil, we have Cage." Cage was a tall woman who wore a white and black striped outfit that looked sort of like cartoonish prison wear. "From Violet, we have Sir Shield." Sir Shield looked like your typical knight, wearing large blocky armor and carrying a massive greatshield. "From Daisy, we have Swansong." Swanson was a pretty woman dressed in a white dress that had the head of a swan coming out of it. In her hands, she held a microphone. "From Lillian, we have Trident." Trident was a tall, buff man who wielded not one but two tridents. He also wore robes similar to the kind Myth wore. "And lastly, from Oleander, we have Battery."
"Batter!" The Victorian floated closer to the window and looked down at the seven heroes that all stood in the field. Sure enough, the man in red was down there, quietly stretching.
"You know him?" Avalon asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope!" The Victorian turned away and folded her arms. "Ocean Empress mentioned him, but that's it."
"What a coincidence. She's the one who sent him here."
"She is?"
"Yeah." Avalon nodded and smirked. "She was in charge of picking a hero from Oleander since Old Dog is still out sick, so she selected him. Not sure why, though."
The Victorian nodded slowly. "I see."
"Gladilous wasn't able to send a hero, and since Nightshade isn't a proper city, and Rose only has you, those seven are the only ones I have to test with," Avalon explained. He snapped his fingers, and his grin grew. "Check this out." Instantly, the room the other seven heroes were in changed. The floor lit up, and the walls began to glow. A hum filled the room, and then, in a flash, it wasn't a plain room that they stood in. Instead, they all found themselves transported to what looked like a desert. The Victorian remained behind the window and let out a low whistle. "Pretty cool, right?" Avalon asked her. "They aren't actually in the desert; it's just a simulation of it, though, to them, it'll seem real. I'm going to put them in live combat against a threat. They won't actually get hurt, but they may think it's real and that the pain is actually happening to them."
The Victorian hummed and kept her eyes down on the seven heroes. "What threat did you have in mind."
"Who do you think? The one and only. The threat that could wipe out the world."
A shiver ran down her spine as she spotted it. It appeared at the other side of the desert. All seven of the heroes noticed it as well. A shadowy twisting form appeared in front of them. Fiery red eyes lit up the area around them. It was pitch black seemed to have jagged horns that poked out of its head. One of the heroes actually let out a whimper and took a step back.
The Emperor...
Avalon had created a hologram of the Emperor.
"Are you crazy?" The Victorian hissed.
"Relax." Avalon snorted and slapped the number one hero on the back. "It's fake. Not the real deal. They aren't in harm. Oh, but they sure as hell are going to think they are!"
It was over in an instant. The heroes didn't even have time to think about reacting. The shadowy figure simply lifted a hand and sliced it out in front of it. In an instant, the entire desert exploded, and red flowed out as the heroes were hit with an attack faster than any of them could react to, splitting them to bits and blowing the field up. Black flames screamed out and reached to the heavens, and Avalon couldn't stop laughing.
"Gods, in one attack, it really just wiped them out." Avalon rubbed a few tears away as he chuckled. "Heroes truly would be screwed if the Emperor were to return huh? No one would stand a chance."
"I wouldn't be so sure." The Victorian felt a small smirk come onto her face.
"Huh?" Avalon looked down and raised an eyebrow as, from the cloud of black flames, a golden light shined out. One hero was still standing. Battery stood in front of the shadowy figure; his stomach was torn open, and blood flowed out like an ocean, but he was still standing. He had managed to block one attack. "Well, that's boring." Avalon snapped and turned off the simulation before anything else could happen. Instantly, the desert was gone, leaving the training room as it was before, and all the dead heroes gasped and felt themselves up as their wounds seemed to magically vanish. They hadn't actually been hit. It all just been a mental image. They haven't faced the real Emperor. "They all should have died. Him giving it one last stand takes away from what I was trying to say." Avalon sighed.
The Victorian just chuckled and shook her head. She turned away and was about to float off but stopped. "Don't do that again." She said after some time. "I'd like to fight something, but not him. Never recreate him."
Avalon just rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Whatever."
It didn't take long for the heroes inside to leave, either. Many of them walked out with shaking legs, their faces green. None of them had expected how truly useless they'd be when faced with a threat like that. They had all assumed they'd be able to get a hit or two in, not that they'd instantly lose. Many of them would return to their city disgraced and afraid.
All but one.
"Why are you following me." Battery didn't run off, or head to any car. Instead, he calmly walked down the streets of Rose, looking at its people. Several of them were all staring at him as well, or rather the woman that floated next to him. The Victorian floated upside down hanging next to the man.
"You're the guy Ocean Empress talks about right?"
Battery lazily shrugged. "I dunno."
The Victorian chuckled and flicked the man on the back of his head. "Come on now. I saw that. That golden energy. Where'd you get something like that."
"Why are you following me?" Battery asked again. He looked across Rose city, taking the sight of it in.
The Victorian just shrugged. "I really don't know, honestly. I just thought I'd say hi." The woman hummed. "You seem a little strong. Stronger then those other guys at least-" The Victorian didn't even flinch as Battery turned around and smashed a fist directly into her face. She didn't budge at all and just blinked. "Or maybe not. Hmm. I thought it could have been you for a moment."
"What?" Battery rubbed his broken hand and winced. "What the hell are you babbling about?"
The Victorian just giggled and floated above him. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. Hey, I'll try to talk to you another time. You could be stronger, I think. If we have time, we should train together."
"I'll pass." Battery shook his head. "I already got enough shit to deal with. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm not interested. I only showed up here because Ocean Empress begged me to. The city was still on fire from some disaster last I saw, so I should head back."
"Yet you're walking slowly."
"...That I am."
The number one hero just shrugged and flew off, leaving the man behind. This time, her smile didn't fade as she flew. She twisted through the air and launched herself out of the city, flying through the barrier. It took her less than a second to be hit by the sounds of chaos. One in particular stood out above all else, though. The Victorian flew toward the destination and found a small island village was under attack by a monster. Not just any random one, though...
Alien had been a high-ranking member of the Emperor's army, but after the fall of the Organization, the monster had twisted and changed, evolving into something beyond a Super. He had become the King of Monsters, and his new form showed it. The island was massive and had a small little village in the middle of it, but Alien was simply bigger. His form was deep in the water, going out for miles, and his cry shook the seas themselves. Storm clouds formed above, and massive red tendrils poked out of the sea, each trying to wrap around the island and drag it down.
The Victorian sighed and got back to work using her sword to slice through the tendrils. Alien's form was so big and massive that she knew she wouldn't be able to kill him. He had an insanely powerful healing factor, and the only thing that stopped him from truly being a threat was his madness. He was a wild beast, one that could be scared off. All she had to do was hurt him, and he'd flee. Of course, the real number one hero would be able to slay Alien.
"Just a bit longer." The Victorian raised her arm, and above her, an enormous golden sword formed, bigger than even the island, which she aimed at the massive sea beast. "Hey! I just had an idea! With everything going on, maybe I should call for the Enforcers to have another meeting!"
And with that, the Victorian began her typical dance of fighting evil.