Wyvern's wings flapped through the air as the dragon-themed hero stopped in front of the world's strongest Super. Or maybe the Victorian was now the second strongest?

Hope clung to Wyvern's tail and stared up at the person she had practically worshipped all her life. The hero looked tired. Ever since she had become a Super, she had noticed it. The bags that resided under every heroes' eyes. Even her own began to get them not even a month into her job. The Victorian, though, never seemed to have them. The woman was always flawless and gorgeous. Now though the woman's costume was torn across her chest, her hair was long and messy, and her eyes seemed to lose some of that spark that normally resided in them.

Despite that, the woman somehow managed to give a smile. "It's good to see you again, Cinder."

Hope felt her heart twitch a bit and had to fight a blush that was forming on her face. Those words were written down in hundreds of her Victorian x Y/N fanfics that she wrote. In any other timeline, she'd have let out a squeal. Now though, they didn't hold true. Not after everything that happened to her.

She was still practically dangling in the air, hanging off of Wyvern's tail as she and the number one hero looked at each other. She got her emotions under control and finally spoke. "What's going on?"

The Victorian's smile cracked, and the woman's eye twitched. "Maybe we should land and-"

"No!" She clenched down on Wyvern's tail, causing the hero to wince. "I want to know. Please. Tell me what's happening with Mr. Larison. I have a right to know. No more secrets."

The Victorian let out a sigh and looked up. "You want to know? Okay. I'll tell you. But it's not pretty." Slowly, the woman allowed herself to think back as she began to form her thoughts. "It all started after he attacked Director Ward. He just showed up and attacked us."

“That can’t seriously be how it started.”

“It is.” Wyvern let out a soft snort and gave a low shrug. “It was one of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen. He simply showed up and declared his victory.”

“That’s right.” The Victorian nodded. “It all started a few days ago…”

***

A few days ago.

"Alright." Mister Man tapped his finger on the stone table, feeling his power flicker on and off as he occasionally phased through the table. "I'll be the first to say it. It didn't take long for Battery to snap, huh?"

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to invite him." Lady Time said, letting out a sigh.

“I really don’t want to think about how smug Drake is going to look when he next sees us.” Mister Man sighed. “That monster bastard is going to have the biggest ‘I told you so’ look the world has ever seen.”

Boy Genius bit his lip. “No. Even after all of this, I don’t think Battery is the Calamity. He still hasn’t truly killed anyone.”

“Tell that to Pretty Face.” Fable snorted. “He’s stuck in the hospital due to a snapped spine. If not for a minor healing factor he has, he’d never walk again.”

“I know things seem bad, but…”

“Just accept it, kid.” Mister Man rolled his eyes. “For once, you and the Victorian were wrong. The two of you let that wild mutt onto our team, thinking you could control his power, all because he showed some crazy strength in his fight with the Beast. Now that mutt has turned its hungry jaws on us. You. Screwed. Up.”

Boy Genius flinched and slowly stared down at the ground. “I’m sorry.” The room went silent. It was the first time he had ever made a mistake.

The Enforcers were once again meeting. Or at least most of them were. The three newest members, Lightning Empress, Pretty Face, and Battery, weren't currently in on this meeting. The thing they were discussing was what they needed to do about Battery. It had been broadcast all over Lillian how he suddenly summoned a Giant and attacked the Hero Branch Tower. Most of the public was demanding an answer. Pretty Face had been too injured to show up after being beaten into the ground by Battery, and Lightning Empress had simply not bothered to show. It didn’t help that in Oleander, Alice Ward’s podcast was hyping Battery up, and most of the world seemed to have suddenly gained a strange fascination with the weirdo. All because he had fought the Beast for the longest on camera and happened to sound and look a little handsome.

"W- What are we going to do about him?" Wyvern asked, her voice cracking.

"Oh, so you actually decided to show up this time?" Lady Time sneered at the younger hero, who flinched back. "Since Battery joined, you haven't been here, and now we find out he attacked Lillian. Know something we don't, missy?"

Wyvern glared down at the table, not meeting anyone's eyes. Finally, though she spoke. "He just gives me a bad vibe." That wasn't true, though. The real reason was who he reminded her of. It was still stuck in her mind. The image of the Emperor, clad in his black armor with fiery blue eyes pouring out of his helm... The two held the same feeling. The sense of absolute destruction.

"If you want to blame anyone, then blame me." The Victorian finally spoke up. The golden woman was the only one who didn't take her seat. Instead, she hovered above the table with her arms crossed and didn’t look worried in the slightest. "I was the one who invited him to join after all."

"Oh, don't worry. We all blame you." Fable's head was face down on the table, the man letting out several tired grumbles. "Why did you invite that madman anyway? Got a crush on him?"

"Gross." Was all the Victorian said with a flat face.

Boy Genius held a hand up in an effort to calm everyone. "Now, now. I must say that it isn't the Victorian's fault. I looked Battery over myself, and he showed no sign of being like a Calamity. If anything, the readings he gave off were closer to Lucifer."

"Oh yeah, because that's so much better!" Mister Man grunted out.

The young teen just shrugged. "His mental state seemed to be normal. Perhaps he has a reason for doing something like this."

"He could have the best excuse in the world, and I doubt the Branch would care." Lady Time smashed her fist into the table. "After all, he openly harmed a high-ranking member. Not to mention he attacked Pretty Face, who is part of our team. Why don't we cut to the chase? We all know why he's doing this."

They all turned to look at the table where Boy Genius had his hologram on the image of another thing they planned to talk about. It showed Cinder standing proudly on the stage next to Ward and another director. "Skin Walker." Mister Man sighed and placed his face in his hands. None of them really liked the idea of using an ex-member of the Emperor's army to pretend to be Cinder, yet here they were. The shapeshifter was playing her role perfectly. "I bet he did it because of her. He's pissed they outed Cinder and are pretending she's alive. Christ, I didn't even consider what'll happen if he lets it slip to the public that a shapeshifter is taking the place of Cinder. Did Ward and the higher-ups actually plan any of this shitshow out? They’re nearly dumb as Boy Genius has been lately!"

A heavy silence hung in the air around them. Finally, it was Beta who spoke up. The robot had kept quiet the entire conversation, doing what he did best: watching things unfold. Now though it was his turn to speak. Though he didn't have anything to add to the subject. Instead, he simply gave everyone a warning.

"We have company." He said casually.

A wall exploded as a wave of blue energy smashed into the building, shaking everything. The lights flickered, and four out of the seven Enforcers that were in the room bolted for the massive hole, staring out in shock. The Victorian, Boy Genius, and Beta remained seated. The young hero had a heavy frown on his face and stared at the floating woman, who had a sly smirk on her lips.

"Jill." He said, using her human name. "Please tell me this isn't part of Jack's plan that he told you about."

Beta cocked his head to the side and focused his gaze on the Victorian. "Plan?"

The number one hero just grinned and brought a finger to her lip. "Shh. Let's not spoil the plot now. After all, the show is just about to get good."

Boy Genius gritted his teeth. “Do you have any idea what you did? You told that man that you’d be a weapon for him if he beat you, and that in order to get a shot at you, he’d need to go through everyone else. He isn’t the kind of person to back down.”

“You’re right.” The Victorian’s smile was larger, and her fingers grew tighter around her sword. “Isn’t he awesome?”

“God, damn it, you’re not supposed to be Ruby Admiral any more! Act like the Victorian!”

Over with the other Enforcers, they all stared down at the street below, which was rapidly filling with smoke. Fable was the first to spot it. Lady Time, Wyvern, Mister Man, and himself all peered out at Rose City. Rose was one of the largest cities, almost ten times bigger than any other, and many of its people weren't used to much danger as the Victorian personally kept it safe. The only sort of crime that would ever happen was caused by what remained of the Emperor's army, which grew smaller and smaller every day. Despite that, the streets were filled with rows of people who all had their phones out and were recording the scene before them. The skies were filled with hundreds of drones, as every news station around the world all found themselves tuned into this one moment.

Battery stood in the center of the road, staring up at the building he had blasted. One hand was stuffed inside of a pocket in his new coat, while the other arm was held out, his fingers twisted into a gun with smoke coming off of the tip of his pointer. His eyes glowed with a mix of blue and black, and he smirked. "Bang."

Off to the side, on top of another nearby building, Poseidon stood with her arms crossed. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"Have faith in the teacher!" Purrfect announced, letting out a soft purr as she elbowed the Lord of the Sea. "What you should be worrying about is getting changed into your new outfit and picking out a new name. After all, you won't be Poseidon going forward."

Poseidon gave a faint nod and looked down at the bundle of clothes she had in her arms. She was leaving a lot behind. "This is the correct choice, right?"

"Does it matter? After all, in a way, it's your only choice."

The Lord bit her tongue to stop herself from speaking anything she shouldn't say. If this wasn't the right path, then she'd make it into one. Battery might have been set on walking the path to hell, but she'd walk the path of victory. No matter what it took, she'd avenge her mother and Hope. She'd make sure this was a world her sister could live in. A world where Sky could be happy.

‘Give in.’

A world where the monster known as the Tallest Wave wasn’t anything that needed to be feared. Poseidon rubbed her head, squashing down the voice. “Don’t lose, Battery. If you do, I might seriously kill you.”

Battery had a sly grin on his face. He seemed to be almost back to his old self in a way, putting on some sort of twisted show for the people that were watching him. “W- Why did you blast the Enforcer Tower?” One of the people asked in a shaking voice. “Y- You’re the newest member, right? The hero Battery?”

“Why did I blast the tower?” Battery shrugged. “It’s such an eyesore. I mean, look at it.” He gestured with his hand lazily. The other buildings were all modern, or even advanced skyscrapers. Not the Enforcer tower though. It was forged from old stone. “Now that I’m the number one hero, I decided we won’t be using it anymore.”

“N- Number one hero? You?”

Battery looked back at the camera, both his eyes glowing with a different colored light. “Oh? Didn’t you guys know? After today, I’ll be the one protecting mankind.” Blue and black swirled together. “I’m going to be a Giant, one that carries the will of the world on its very back!”

Battery was once again the most searched hero name of the week in that moment alone.

Just as Fable was the first to spot Battery, he was also the first to act. The man crashed down, cracking the ground as he landed, and glared at the hero in red. Many of the people backed away but still stayed close enough to record the fight. Fable's lion cloak seemed to twitch and come to life, clinging to the man's dark skin as he stomped his way toward Battery. "Why did you think coming here was smart?" He didn't let the Super speak and instead struck out with a fist as soon as Battery opened his mouth. Fable's hand rammed into Battery's face and twisted the man's neck. "I don't care, actually. Save whatever excuse you have for the judge!"

Fable struck out again and again, smashing Battery back and forth. The man took each punch, stumbling slightly as the fist rattled his brain. Fable didn't let up and went until his knuckles hurt and balling a fist became hard. He sent out one last right hook, twisting his hand into Battery's skull, and drilled the man's head down hard into the ground. Despite that, though, Battery’s eyes still held their light, and he easily pushed himself back up to a standing position, simply shoving Fable off of him.

Battery took the punch and slowly reached up, wiping a bit of blood that dripped down his lip. "My turn."

Fable went to block, but it was too late. Battery's energy spiraled out, wildly crackling the air as the man sent his fist out. It formed an aura around him, taking shape. His power allowed him to control and create imaginary energy. A power that could be what he wanted. He used it typically to give it the property of Giants, creatures he heard about in legend. In that moment, he gave himself the strength of a hundred Giants and rammed a fist directly into Fable's chin!

A massive wave of force slammed out as Fable was sent flying from the punch and went well past the clouds, flying off at an angle. Battery pulled his fist back as smoke billowed off of it. He looked back up at the Enforcer tower, which now had a Fable sized hole through it, staring up at Mister Man, Wyvern, and Lady Time, who all glared at him. He simply smirked and tilted his head. "Who's next?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Wyvern was in fact next, as it turned out. Despite the waves of fear that coursed through the woman, Wyvern decided she wasn’t going to back down and would instead fight instead of flee. A growl rumbled deep in her throat as she launched out of the building, wings snapping open. Battery lazily tilted his head as he watched the draconic hero circle him. A ticking sound echoed in the air, and Wyvern’s speed skyrocketed, the hero speeding up until there were dozens of after-images in a circle around Battery.

He lazily looked toward the Enforcers Tower, raising an eyebrow at Lady Time, who simply raised her sword. The woman was amping Wyvern’s speed as well as Mister Man’s. A gunshot roared out, and Battery took a step back, narrowly dodging a bullet that whipped past him, and tore into the building behind him with enough force to shake it.

“Not a smart move, man! You should’ve singled each of us out. You’re not beating us together.” Mister Man called out, stepping out of the hole in the tower. As he fell, he disappeared into the circling blur that was Wyvern. As Battery followed him with his eyes, dozens of Mister Man images joined the Wyvern after-images, standing on the back of the draconic hero. The hero wielded two heavy-looking revolvers, each one having enough firepower to tear through even a Super’s enhanced durability. Of course, the actual force of the bullets didn’t matter since Mister Man could literally phase the bullets into a person’s body.

More gunshots rang out, and Battery dodged forward, somehow avoiding the horde of bullets that came from every angle. The nearby civilians screamed as the bullets sailed past Battery and the circling Wyvern. Before the bullets could hit the people, though, glowing blue hands grabbed onto the onlookers to drag them out of the line of fire. With another wave of his hand, Battery formed shields out of glowing black energy that stopped falling rubble from crushing anyone, and he even blocked stray shots himself with his summoned claymore.

“You gonna give me a ‘heroes together, strong’ speech?” Battery smirked. “Doesn’t matter if you’re all together. Just makes this whole thing go a bit quicker as far as I’m concerned.” He pointed up to the drones that watched the fight. A few had been sniped out of the sky by stray bullets, but most were still filming everything. “And the best part is, all of this is live. You guys are about to get your ass kicked firsthand by me in front of all your plans.”

"And what is it you're trying to do!" Wyvern cried out, her voice still shaking a bit. “I don’t get it. Why do this? Why now?”

"Because I’m the only one left that can." Battery’s look grew serious. “I expected to stay dead. I wanted that even. My plan was to die and cause Cinder to become the next Full Monarch. A hero that could truly save this world. Sadly though, fate is one hell of a bitch and has other plans for me. She died, and I lived. Therefore, it only makes sense that I switch the roles, doesn’t it? I will be the one who saves this world if she can't.”

Wyvern’s response to his speech was a stream of fire, a concentrated wave that rapidly filled the area around Battery with roaring flames. Battery didn’t even flinch as he formed a skin-tight barrier of blue energy around him that blocked the attack.

Wyvern and Mister Man kept up their barrage of fire and bullets, circling their enemy, until Battery leapt forward. His arms crackled with blue energy, which he slammed into the ground. Instantaneously, the blue energy poured into the ground, forcing it to crack and shatter, exploding upward like a geyser. The two Enforcers were forced to stop their circling and back away, breathing heavily. As Lady Time landed behind them, the trio looked at Battery with hints of worry in their eyes. Despite some rapidly healing blisters and flesh-wound bullet holes, the man was practically fine.

He didn’t even seem to be struggling, still playing the show up for the cameras. A few small Giants appeared behind him, which began to slowly mend and fix the ground with whatever they had after he had destroyed it. It was a stark comparison to the many buildings that were crumbling due to Mister Man’s bullets.

“We need to take him out now.” Lady Time grunted.

“No kidding.” Mister Man reloaded his guns and tipped his hat a bit. “Let’s just kill him.”

They rushed in, Lady Time tapping Mister Man and Wyvern with her sword, their speeds rapidly increasing again, causing them to get even faster. As they neared their foe, Battery swung a fist at Mister Man, sighing to himself as the fist phased through the Enforcer, who stepped in close and placed the barrel of his gun under Battery’s chin.

Before the gun could fire, Battery leaned back, swinging a foot at Mister Man with blinding speed, blue energy pulsing along the limb. The Enforcer leapt back, barely dodging the hit and retaliating with a shot that pierced into the limb, the bullet hole leaking energy briefly.

Wyvern slammed into Battery’s back, and he turned to view the draconic hero face-to-face. She growled deep in her throat and grabbed at him. Battery’s arms came up to stop them, the two held in a grapple.

Battery raised an eyebrow. “Kiddo, you’re not gonna win this one.”

“I’d like to disagree,” Wyvern stated as she breathed in. Up close, with their hands held in a grapple, she let loose a beam of fire into Battery’s face.

Flames engulfed him, roaring out behind him and towards a coffee store where civilians were huddling. As the fire reached the glass front of the store, an armored blue wall formed over it, shielding it from danger.

“Huh, so that’s how Red Ape felt.” Battery remarked as the flames died down around him. "Still, your fire isn't all that special, at least not compared to 'hers'."

Wyvern looked on in shock as her enemy’s face became visible again. The man was unharmed, aside from some small burn marks on his face. Without giving her a moment, Battery headbutted the Enforcer, cracking several of her face scales and sending her flying back.

He barely had a moment to breathe before he heard a sound behind him. He rapidly formed a barrier over his skin and turned around, coming eye-to-eye with Lady Time, who jabbed a clock-hand-shaped sword at his chest. Battery simply formed blue armor that blocked the hit and punched forward. As his fist neared the Enforcer’s face, she suddenly backed away.

“Come on,” Battery taunted. “I thought you guys were supposed to be some of the strongest heroes.” Around them more of the people had gathered, and once more barriers of blue or black energy were keeping them shielded and at a safe distance. Even the drones were getting barriers now.

Lady Time didn’t respond. Instead, she raised her sword, pointing it straight up. A gonging noise sounded, and the nearby street turned gray. The concrete of the road and the walls of stores crumbled to dust as a wave of energy pulsed out from Lady Time. Cowering civilians yelped as glowing blue hands pulled them out of the way of the energy pulse before they could also be turned to dust. Battery dashed forward and jumped over the energy wave, his feet sinking into the remnants of the concrete. As he reached Lady Time, Battery grabbed her arms before the woman could jump away.

“If you’re not going to bother aiming, then I’m just going to have to take your toys away.” He scolded as his grip tightened. Lady Time grunted in pain as she felt the bones in her arm cracking, her swords dropping from her hands. Before she could even think about rewinding some of the damage she took to fix her broken arms, Battery kicked her, sending her flying back into the Enforcer building. It was the only building he had actually attacked so far.

As he stood there, Battery felt the pain before he heard the gunshot, turning to see Mister Man with a revolver aimed at him. The two dashed toward each other, Battery swinging out with a fist crackling with blue energy. As it passed through Mister Man, Battery felt the barrel of the gun pressing against his back, and he sighed.

The bullet ripped through him and exited out of his front as Mister Man phased through Battery, swinging his gun around to catch the bullet in the revolver’s cylinder to fire it again into Battery’s chest. Bullets and guns didn't normally work like that, but Mister Man's gun had been created by Boy Genius and was far from normal, able to tear down entire buildings. On a nearby rooftop, Poseidon and Purrfect watched the battle with growing worry.

“I knew Teach was good, but I didn’t realize he was ‘three Enforcers’ good.” Purrfect stated.

Poseidon shrugged. “In terms of normal Supers, sure, the Enforcers are near the top. But that’s just the first step of the ladder. There are Supers that are a step above them, though. True monsters. And it’s not just the Lords on that step. You’ve got the scalebreakers like the Victorian, the Beast, and the Emperor.”

Purrfect clapped and cheered as, in the street below, Battery struck out with the power of the Giants, forming large arms in the air to slap at Mister Man. “And now that list includes Teach!”

“Pretty sure he was always on it. Even when he was pretending to be a member of Myth's team, I always had a feeling he was a lot stronger than he let on.” Poseidon huffed out. “He’s just a monster, pretending to be human. Or trying to stay human, while he can.”

Purrfect cheered again as Battery’s energy hands slammed down onto Lady Time and Wyvern, who both tried to reenter the battle but were knocked back once more by the force of the attack.

Mister Man, on the other hand, avoided each strike, firing at Battery with bullets that blew holes through cars and buildings. Battery dodged most of them, taking a few head-on. Although the onlookers couldn’t tell whether these hits he took were slips in his defense or just a statement to the Enforcer. No matter how many holes were blown through his body, Battery just didn’t stop coming.

Seemingly tired of the endless exchange, Battery punched at the air with a glowing blue hand. Mister Man braced but looked around in confusion when he couldn’t see any Giant arms. As he looked around, he mentally noted that the buildings seemed to grow taller. He quickly realized that, rather than the buildings growing taller, he was instead descending into a portal under his feet, looking down to find himself falling into one of the many forgotten cities that were buried under the Wastelands. Mister Man just sighed and slapped at his face. He might not have been able to be touched by Battery, but that didn't mean the man still couldn't beat him. Battery was simply removing him from the battlefield.

Battery closed the portal, shaking his head. “That guy’s an asshole.”

The people all stared in shock. Wyvern and Lady Time were down for the count, neither able to get back up, and Mister Man had been sent—who knows where. Was there anyone left who could stop Battery?

Fable suddenly jumped a bit startled awake. The man felt a wave of pain coursing through his jaw, and he reached up to rub it, spitting up a few teeth. He stared up at the sky above him and felt water hit him. He was on some beach. "Did he punch me out of the city?" He set up slowly as his conscious mind slowly woke back up after being knocked out by one punch. He was somewhere in the middle of the ocean. A deep concern since Rose was a landlocked city. "Did he punch me around the planet? That bastard!"

Back in Rose, Battery stared up at the Enforcer tower with cold eyes. The Victorian, Boy Genius, and Beta all stared down at him.

“Well, who’s next? Is it the kid? I think it might be his naptime!” He called out, smirking at the trio that stood in the tower.

Boy Genius went to grab his bag but stopped when Beta held an arm out. “Not yet, sir.” Beta spoke softly. “The match isn’t over yet.”

“This isn’t a match! It’s something that needs to be dealt with.”

“And it will.” Beta hummed. “‘He’ still stands.”

Battery threw his arms out as the cameras took several shots of him. “Anyone else? I really thought you guys were better. Then again, half of you didn’t even do anything in the battle with the Beast! It was me who had to carry-” His taunt was cut off by the sound of a loud crack echoing through the street as something rammed into the hero with blinding speed. Battery stumbled forward as he rubbed his cheek and turned to the cause of the hit. Fable stood with his fist outstretched, smoke rising from the impact. "Not bad. Where did you end up, anyway?” Battery taunted with a grin.

Fable rubbed his fist as he replied. “In the middle of a goddamn ocean!”

“How’d you get back? You have a dolphin form, also?”

“I ran across the water, jackass.” Fable stated.

Battery nodded. “You get points for style. Sadly, you lose points for taking this long. I could have wiped the city out if I was a bad guy."

"Are you trying to say you're not a bad guy?" Fable questioned with narrowed eyes. Battery simply raised a hand toward Fable, beckoning him to approach.

Fable didn’t respond as he leapt forward with another punch. Battery ducked under the fist and rose with a raised elbow. With a flash of blue and a resounding boom, Fable was sent flying into the air, rising above the Enforcers Tower. As he started to descend, Fable glared down at Battery. Against the other Enforcers, Battery had held back his strength in some effort to not harm them totally. Fable, on the other hand, could take it, each strike laced with the strength of the Giants, able to level entire cities if they wanted.

“Octavius trusted you!” Fable yelled as he transformed. His hair turned white, and his eyes turned red. His skin bulged and turned dark purple as his muscles expanded. Deep red fire ignited across a fleece that suddenly appeared on his shoulder, spreading down to his fists.

Nearing the ground, Fable struck out, kicking against the air with a boom as he shot forward. Battery raised his arms to block the flaming fist, wincing as the deep red flames burned him, even through the layer of blue energy that hummed across his skin.

“You had something like this, and you didn’t use it in the fight with the Beast?” Battery grunted. “Are you stupid?”

“It wouldn’t have worked.” Fable growled. His flames compressed around his fist. “Myth has a form similar to this. His three-headed dog form. Our fire isn’t physical. It negates durability.” Fable unleashed another punch, which Battery tried to block, but true to the hero's words, the fire bypassed Battery’s aura and rammed into the hero’s gut, badly burning it. “These flames are made to attack the soul itself! They chip away at it and burn it to ash! They won’t do actual harm and instead leave spiritual wounds that can never be healed! It’s this power that allowed big bro to harm Demonica! Sadly, these flames don’t do jack shit to the Beast, since that thing lacks a soul!”

“Thanks for the explanation.” Battery wiped some of the ash off of his coat and spat out a tooth. “I guess destroying the Beast’s soul is a plan that won’t work. Guess I’ll have to find a new solution then.”

“What?”

“Nothing important to a scrub like you.” Battery smirked. “Just the number one hero rambling a bit. You know how we can get if you’ve hung around the Victorian for the longest.”

“Oh, you are so going down, you arrogant little bastard!”

The two lunged at each other, exchanging a series of blows that made the nearby civilian's wince from the booming sounds. As Fable struck with flaming fists, Battery responded by forming blue arms to match. The arms came out of his shoulders, giving him extra limbs that struck out with more blows than Fable could keep up with.

The two kept up the barrage of punches until Fable pulled a snake-icon shield from his back, pointing it at Battery, who raised a wall of blue energy armor to block. The wall dimmed and transformed into gray stone that burst apart as Fable charged through it, holding a spear. At the tip of the spear, his red flames had condensed, burning and roaring. He jabbed it forward at blistering speed, piercing it straight into Battery’s side, who let out a yell as the flames scorched him from the inside.

Battery latched onto the spear, holding it to stop Fable from retreating briefly. As the Enforcer looked into his eyes, Battery summoned a Giant fist, ramming it down onto Fable, who took the blow head-on. Fable’s skull shattered and blood dripped down the man’s face as he stumbled back, but he managed to stay standing and glared at Battery.

“You’re strong.” Battery pulled his fist back. “I accept that. Keep on living, Fable. I could use you in my plan.”

“Fuck you.” Fable spat out.

Battery rammed his fist forward one last time. His blue energy exploded, and this time it compressed along his arm and formed into a massive, ten-meter-tall fist that rammed into Fable so hard the hero was once again blasted out of Rose City. Silence echoed out yet again as everyone stared at the display in shock. The energy arm slowly crumbled away as Battery breathed heavily.

Battery ripped the spear out of his side and tossed it to the ground, finally forcing another smirk onto his face. He shot a look up at the tower.

“I had it all under control.” His eyes met those of the three heroes that stood above. “Seriously. Who else is next?”

In the tower, Boy Genius grabbed a nearby backpack, strapping it on.

“Right, my turn.” The young hero stated, getting ready to leap out of the hole in the wall.

Before he could fall, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Boy Genius turned to see the Victorian, who shook her head.

“If you go down, a lot of systems are going to fall apart.” She reasoned. “I’ll take this from here.”

She shushed the young hero as he started to object, pushing him back into the room. Boy Genius and Beta watched as the number one hero walked to the edge.

“I’m the one you’re fighting next.” The Victorian yelled down to Battery and stepped off the edge. As she fell, glowing light formed into her greatsword, which she grabbed and let pull her down even faster. As she slammed into the street, no one else but Battery could see her face.

The Victorian was grinning like a mad woman.

***

Hope frowned as she listened to the story. She was still having a hard time believing it.

"Trust me, it's true." Wyvern said, shivering a bit. "Don't get me wrong, we're strong. To be an Enforcer, you have to be able to defend an entire city after all, but we mostly exist to fight normal threats. It's the Lords who are there to match the Calamites and other monsters. The Immortals, the Emperor's four warriors, even Battery and the Victorian—those guys simply stand above normal Supers and are reaching the level of the Lords or even surpassing them at times."

"I wish someone gave me the memo." Hope muttered. She felt very weak, not even just in the state she was in. In general, there hadn't been a lot she could do against actual threats. Was it because the Lord of the Sun had been split in half, so she was only getting half of the power, or was it just because she wasn't meant for that kind of power? And why wouldn't the Brightest Star answer her anymore? Part of it was actually starting to hurt her feelings.

"Is something wrong?" The Victorian asked, speaking up.

"No." Hope shook her head and slapped at her face a bit, getting her thoughts on track once more. "I'm fine. Mostly. What happened next? If you wouldn't mind telling me."

The golden woman rubbed the back of her neck a bit sheepishly. "Well... Battery and I fought. And I guess… Well, I guess it ended the way I expected.”

“You expected yourself to lose?” She said shocked.

“No.” The woman gave a small grin. “That said, from the start, I think I had a feeling. Battery, well, he just isn’t the type of person to lose, now is he?”