Hope felt it as she stared up at the large warship. It was a strange sensation that remained in the back of her head. A bubbling emotion that wasn't her own. It confused her, but she didn't have time to process it as Kevin began to speak once more.

"Any plan to deal with that?" The red monster hissed in her ear. He was still wrapped around her body, working as her costume. She'd have felt embarrassed about the fact she was literally wearing him, but with everything going on, she didn't care as much.

"Nope." Was her blunt response. Even if she had all her powers back, she was unsure if she could fight off an entire warship. "I'll just wing it or something."

"You can't seriously think you're going to fight that thing!" Kevin growled. "Are you stupid?"

She stared up at the ship, trying to keep a cool head. "Well, I can't just sit by and not do anything."

The boat was massive and old-looking. It didn't seem to be enhanced by any tech. In fact, it looked very ancient and likely wouldn't be able to sail on the sea anymore. It was most likely being lifted by a power rather than being a functional ship with Mental tech. The cannons on board of it slowly came down to point at the village, and she barely had time to turn her back as it opened fire on the island.

She was thankful she didn't have her enhanced senses because the noise was already so loud it caused her ears to nearly pop. The cannons were loud and booming, sending out massive slugs that erupted like chaotic fireworks. She took off running, but the entire island rumbled, and all the trees began to shake and crash down around her, falling to the forest floor. Red tendrils stabbed out of her backpack, slashing at all the branches that came down around her as Kevin kept her small form safe, as well as the unconscious body of Oliva, which she still carried.

She could smell smoke and spotted a massive fire forming near the village, one that was quickly starting to spread out. The ship didn't just stop with one round of cannon fire, either. They kept blasting down, tearing chunks of the ground away as they bombed the island.

"We need to get the hell out of here," Kevin suggested. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back, balling her hand into a fist. "Why the hell are you stopping, Lauren!"

"I can't just leave them."

"Yes, you can! Don't do anything stupid!"

"The people in that village are in trouble because of me! That ship is looking for me; I'm sure of that! The villagers don't have anyone to protect them. This isn't like the cities, Kevin. The only hero out in this part of the world is the Victorian, and if she's too busy or distracted, then she won't show up in time."

"What can we do?" Kevin yelled into her ear, forming dozens of mouths along her clothes. "I might be able to take a few rounds, but a direct hit with the state you're in would reduce you to ash in seconds even if I kept you safe. We can't save them. Most are probably dead already."

"I have to try, though!"

"You'll die!"

Hope shook her head and began to remove the bag. The coat and pants she wore pulled away along with it, sliding off of her flesh. She still wore some clothes beneath it, so she wasn't naked, but she was way more exposed than before, dressed only in a T-shirt and shorts. "When you were in danger, my team came to your aid. Polaron could have killed us all then and there, but we still tried. And if I knew what Wish did to you, you can bet I'd have also shown up to help. I don't care if I don't have a chance. Those guys are after me. Maybe I can get them to talk or pretend to be controlled by their teammate or something. Anything that can get them to stop firing would help. I don't expect you to follow me. You can keep heading through the forest and find a way off this island if you want, Kevin." She placed Olivia down on the ground while Kevin just stared at her as if she were insane.

Kevin's body formed into a small red blob, barely bigger than a large cat. A pair of eyes and a mouth formed on his surface as he looked up at the hero before him. "Why do you care so much? You don't even know these people. In fact, they hate Supers. They don't want your help. They made their bed, so this is what they get. If they wanted to be saved so badly, they should have never lived out here."

She reached out and grabbed onto one of the trees that hadn't fallen over and began to try and climb up it. "It doesn't matter. I care because someone should. Now go. With any luck, I'll be able to buy you enough time to get in contact with someone."

"I really hate you."

Kevin's words caused her to pause for a moment, but she got back to trying to climb. "Do you?"

"I'm not kidding either." Kevin continued. "Seriously, what the hell are you? It makes me so mad, you know. Do you know the things I did? What I was forced to do- No. What I chose to do. All of that was for this power!" His slime-like form jiggled. "I did everything just for an attempt to reach the top. But it was never enough. Not when I was just a normal human and Supers like you existed. You pretended to be a normal girl. Did I ever even stand a chance? Hell, even after I became a Super, it didn't matter. I was just a lackey. That was all I was good for. No matter how hard I train or try to crawl to the top, I'll never be able to come close to even reaching the power your Lords have. It pisses me off so much! Why is it fair that you have to be so strong and still be so good? And now, even without powers, you're still trying to do something! What the hell! What does that make me?"

"It makes you, you." She reached the top of the tree, her hands aching a bit. "I'm me, and you're you. It doesn't need to be complicated. It has nothing to do with powers or not. Even if I didn't have powers, I think I still would have found a way to be a hero. Because that's what I want to do." She looked back down at Kevin and smiled. "So just do what you want to do!"

Kevin's teeth clenched together before his form twisted around and began to slide across the forest floor, heading for the forest. "Whatever! Get yourself killed if you want, Lauren!"

"Wait!" Kevin slowly looked back at her as she gave a sheepish grin. "Can you take Ms. Olivia with you, too?"

Kevin looked down at the unconscious woman, and quietly, his tendril wrapped around Olivia's waist. He began to drag the woman behind him as he escaped into the forest. "Seriously," Kevin said as he reached the woods. "I utterly despise your kind."

She watched him leave as he vanished, getting further and further into the woods. "Good luck!" She called out. "See if you can get a strong hero or something! I'm counting on you to save me, Kevin!" She turned back to look at the floating ship, which was still causing the island to shake from its gunfire. "Now, what am I going to do about that?" She didn't have to wonder for very long, as the barrage of fire stopped and the cannons began to turn toward her. "Uh oh."

On board the ship, sitting in the captain's chair, a woman in a long coat kept her head slumped down. She was the only one on board the ship. Thanks to her powers, she didn't need to worry about crewmates or machines. Most of the ship's inside was falling apart, and the helm of the ship was no different. This boat was old—something used in the war with Lucifer for when Sini's crew needed to engage in sea battles. Her gang had stolen one from a museum, and it was being held together with the help of her powers.

Her eyes lazily stared out the window, watching the village below, which was now in ruins. The trees collapsed, crushing all the huts the people had built, and the humans below ran around like ants scrambling as the fire ate away at the area around them. She twisted her finger and caused the cannons on the ship to take aim again but stopped when something caught her eye. With another flick of her finger, a telescope floated into the air and hovered over her eye, allowing her to see.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" In the distance, someone stood on one of the palm trees, having managed to climb it. It was a young girl. Only about thirteen, maybe fourteen at the most. She snapped her fingers and had the cannons take aim. She was about to fire but stopped. "Wait. Didn't Parasite tell me she found someone? This must be them. Parasite is surely in control of their body." She reached up to her forehead, where a purple gem was buried beneath the flesh. It glowed a bit as she tried to connect with Parasite, but nobody was there to pick up the signal. "Or not..."

The large ship floated through the air, carried by telekinetic powers as it neared the young girl. It began to drop to the ground, crushing and shattering all the trees nearby, and it lazily landed in the middle of the island. It was away from the village now, and the cannons were no longer firing, so the humans were able to catch their breath and stare in shock at the boat as it came down.

Hope stood on the tree but began to slowly climb down it. She dropped to the ground when a large metal ramp slid out of the boat. The ship took up most of the forest floor, and its shadow was cast across the field, blocking out most of the sun above. She tried to keep her nerves calm as someone appeared at the top of the ramp and began to walk down it.

It was an older woman in her late forties or early fifties. She wore the uniform of what you'd see a pirate wear in cheesy novels: a long red cloak and a hat with the symbol of a skull on it. A scimitar-looking sword was placed at her side, and she had a belt that was filled with old-looking revolvers. Hope was instantly reminded of the time she had spent in those visions Avalon had forced her to see. This woman was dressed similarly to how Water Prince had modeled himself. The woman's eyes glowed with purple energy, and her hair was dyed a deep purple as well. All of the glowing around the woman came from a gem implanted in the center of her forehead, which hummed with psychic energy.

The woman reached the bottom of her ramp and stepped onto the forest floor. By now, the fire had spread from the forest and was rapidly closing in on the village, but neither of them paid it much attention, keeping their gaze focused on one another. The boat blocked the view of the village, so neither of them could see what the humans were doing either.

Hope just prayed that they had rafts or something and could escape if they needed to. Things were about to get ugly.

"Who are you?"

Her thoughts came to a crawl as the woman spoke to her. She could feel those purple eyes drilling into her. She didn't know who this woman was, but she was willing to bet they were working with the slime girl who had tried to take her body over.

She folded her arms and did her best to make herself look a lot more confident than she actually was. "What are you talking about?" She let out a fake snort and rolled her eyes. "It's me. I know I got a new body, but-"

"Nice try."

She cursed herself but didn't have time to act as the woman twitched a finger. The ground exploded, seemingly coming to life as it shaped and twisted to the woman's will, wrapping her legs before she could move. She was stuck, unable to budge.

"W- What gives! I- It's me, you know. I took this body over." Her voice shook as the dirt began to crawl up her body, moving to the woman's will.

"I know you're not a Parasite." The woman hummed out and squeezed her hand into a tight fist. The dirt molded itself into a large hand that began to copy the woman's movement, squeezing down around Hope and causing the girl to wince. "I don't sense her anywhere, so I'm guessing you killed her, right?" the woman asked, clicking her tongue. "I should have expected as much. After all, you're on the same team as that gray-haired girl."

Hope gritted her teeth and tried to wiggle herself free, but it was no use. The ground was bound together as hard as a boulder and wasn't letting her go. If she had her powers or even a bit of super strength, she'd be able to get herself free in no time, but like this, she was helpless. "Can't we just talk about this? Like, who even are you, lady?"

"Talk?" The woman tilted her head to the side before giving a sly smile. "Okay. Let's talk." The villain snapped her arm out, and the hand hurled Hope across the field, letting go of the girl and sending her crashing back first into a tree. The young girl let out a loud yell as her back nearly snapped, and she collapsed onto the ground. "My name is Psycap." The woman marched over and kicked out with her foot, slamming it into the girl's face when she raised her head. "I'm the captain of the Anti-Matter gang, which is a group you've really ticked off, little girl."

"I- I'm not a kid." She managed to spit out. She clutched at her broken nose but then felt the air leave her as her clothes twitched and began to grow heavier, pressing down into her. She was lifted off the ground by an invisible force, and her arms began to fold back, not caring how arms weren't meant to bend that way. Psycap, whoever she was, seemed to have some telekinesis-based power. One she was getting to experience firsthand. "S- Stop it." She gasped.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Psycap let out a slight giggle. "Stop it? You killed one of my crewmates. Actually, you guys have killed all of my crew mates." The villain twitched her finger and dropped the girl out of the air and down to her feet. She didn't give Hope a moment to catch her breath, though, as a second later, Psycap reached down and grabbed the girl by the hair, roughly yanking it and staring down into her eyes. "You're with that grey-haired girl, aren't you? Who the hell are you guys? What gives you the right to assume you can screw with my crew?"

Hope felt her feet dangle off the ground as she was suspended by her hair. It wasn't as long as it used to be, and the pain was digging into her scalp. She grabbed onto the woman's wrist, squirming, but there wasn't anything she could really do. "Are you talking about Meta?" She finally managed to ask.

"Meta? Is that the name of that girl? There's no reason to hide it. Some of my men were in Hell Land trying to recover and get new parts after that girl tore my best ship apart. They spotted you with her. At first, I sent Parasite here to try to get to her, but you were the only one who showed up. Who are you? How did you kill Parasite-"

She did the only thing she could think of. She felt blood in her mouth from when she had been hit, and she swirled it around and then spat it out as hard as she could directly into the eye of Psycap. The villain screamed and dropped her to the ground, and she ducked down just in time as Psycap took a blind swing with her hand, sending out a wave of psychic energy that exploded through the trees, causing several of them to collapse. She grabbed a jagged branch and rammed it up with everything she had, trying to stab the woman.

Psycap had some level of durability, though, so the wood wasn't able to pierce her flesh. Instead, she changed her tactic and pushed out with everything she had, using the branch as a makeshift battering ram. Psycap was still rubbing at her eyes and was caught off guard, stumbling back and tripping over her own two feet, falling back and landing right as one of the trees came crashing down, smashing into her upper body.

Psycap screamed and howled, her powers stabbing into the tree as it began to lift off the ground. But by the time the woman got it off of her and stood back up, Hope was long gone.

Hope ran as fast as she could, heading in a random direction in the woods. Her instincts screamed at her to dodge, and she did it just in time, as a massive tree blasted out in the direction she was standing. Smoke was starting to fill her view, and she jumped into it in an effort to hide from the villain's sight. She had to cover her face with her hands, and her eyes stung, but she pushed through it. All the trees around her were on fire, and there was so much smoke that she had no idea which direction she was walking in.

Her plan seemed to work as she heard Psycap cursing and blasting out waves of psychic energy blindly, which swept across the field as an unseen force slamming through the smoke.

She stumbled out of the smoke cloud and found herself back in the village. The ground was littered with mini craters, and the fire was the biggest around this part of the island. Hundreds of trees had collapsed, and all the various huts and homes she had admired earlier had been destroyed and collapsed in on themselves. She saw many of the villagers running around in panic, trying to find a way out of the village, but most of their routes were blocked by collapsed trees or roaring fires. Even the ocean wasn't safe as the fire had spread out across the sand, blocking it off.

She dove behind one of the destroyed huts, using it to hide herself, just in time for Psycap to come blasting out of the forest. The woman stood on a hunk of iron that she had torn off of her ship and was using her power to float on it. Psycap glared around the village but didn't see the kid anywhere. She did, however, see the arrow that came at her. It stopped midair inches away from her face, and she let out a low growl. Several of the men in the village trained their bows at the villain and began to fire.

With a twitch of Psycap's finger, all their bows snapped, and the arrows that had been launched at spun around and stabbed back out toward the men, knocking several of them over. A child let out a scream and ran to his dad's side, who sported an arrow in his thigh. Psycap lifted her hand up, ripping a massive boulder out of the ground and causing it to float toward the child, about to drop it. Right before she could, though, a rock hit her upside the head while she had her back turned, causing her to slip once more and fall off of her board, crashing down to the beach below.

Hope ran out from her cover, dropping the rest of her rocks she had thrown at the villain, and jumped out, tackling the child out of the way just in time as the boulder dropped. The man with the arrow in his thigh barely had time to roll himself out of the way, avoiding it. He looked up at her for a moment as she held onto his kid, but neither of them had very long to process what was going on as, a second later, she was lifted off of the ground, dropping the kid as she floated up. She got higher and higher, and she struggled but was unable to properly move. It felt like hundreds of hands had wrapped themselves around her.

Psycap was back on her feet, her eyes filled with pure hate as she rubbed at the side of her head, which was badly bleeding. "You're dead," Psycap growled out.

"W- What if we just play a game of twenty questions-"

She didn't get to finish any cheeky remarks she might have made as her arms and legs began to snap back once more, causing her to yell. She was lifted higher up, going past the trees until she was nearly four stories up. Psycap gave a smirk and twitched, causing her to spin around midair until she was dangling upside down. The woman was going to drop her on her head. If the fall didn't kill her, the fire below her would as it raged on.

"Seriously, I think maybe we should just talk about this! We might be able to clear this whole thing up! I'm not even friends with Meta-"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah! She just helped me out because of how cute I am, I swear!"

"Then I guess I'll just mail your cute little head to her when I next find her." Psycap sneered. "Die."

The unseen hands began to rapidly close in around her, causing her face to turn purple as she began to get choked. The power was crushing her body, keeping her shoved in the air. Waves of pressure were slamming into her on all sides, and she screamed out, feeling her bones and muscles start to pop.

"I'm going to make it rain red!" The villain announced in a cheerful tone. "Pop, little girl! I want to watch you burst-"

A thin arrow flew forward and stabbed its way directly into one of Psycap's eyes. The woman had enhanced durability but not good enough to keep her eyeballs safe. The arrow dug past it, and Psycap let out a scream, losing focus for a moment as she clutched at her face.

One of the villagers, the one who had been the father of the kid Hope saved, notched a second arrow and went to aim but had to roll as Psycap unleashed another wave of psychic force, blowing most of the ground apart. Her focus faded from the pain, however, and her powers began to flick in and out. That also meant that Hope no longer found herself being crushed. The bad news, however, was that it also meant nothing was keeping her held up in the air anymore.

Hope felt herself begin to fall, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She began to drop rapidly and felt the smoke and heat rise up to meet her. Right before she hit it, though, something else came from the sky, ramming into the waters like a cruise missile. A large wave was kicked up, which came crashing down onto part of the village, putting out the fire she was about to drop into. It also caused a shower to rain down, putting out more of the smaller fires that were scattered around and allowing several of the villagers to escape to the woods.

She still dropped out of the sky, but whatever hit the water came flying out just as fast. It flowed like a liquid, bubbling up right as she dropped and caught her right before she hit the ground. The red unfolded and opened, swallowing her whole, and came to a sudden standstill.

Psycap still screamed in pain and ripped the arrow out of her eye. Her good eye glared at the thing that suddenly appeared, and she lifted her hands up defensively. A Super had shown up—one she didn't recognize. It was a giant red blob that seemed to mold itself over the body of the girl it caught.

"Kevin?" Hope asked in shock. She floated inside a strange pool of red liquid that didn't stop her from speaking or breathing. "I thought you were leaving?"

"Well, I was. It turns out the old guy that Olivia girl was telling us about had already called for help by the time I reached him. Someone should be on their way. In the meantime..." Kevin trailed off.

"Aw, you came back to save me." She teased.

"Shut up. I'm not doing this for you." He groaned. "I just think our chances of winning aren't impossible after I saw you kick that girl's ass without powers. She's not that strong. Just a low-tier bad guy. Besides... Something Ashley said to me once suddenly came to my mind."

"And what's that?"

"Like I'd tell you." Kevin snorted. "My girlfriend loves to gossip, and it's my job as her boyfriend to keep her secrets."

Outside of the blob Kevin had become, Psycap clutched half of her face, which was gushing with blood, and with her other hand, she tore a gigantic chunk of the ground up. "I'll bring this entire island down!" The older woman roared.

"Hope... Or maybe it's Cinder right now. Do your thing."

"What do you mean?" She asked confusedly. She was still floating in that red liquid trapped inside of Kevin's body. "What's my thing?"

"Professional ass kicker."

She gasped a bit as Kevin opened up, allowing her head to poke out of him; just like how he had turned into her clothes before, he began to take shape into an outfit. This one was different, though. It was familiar. Kevin was morphing into the shape of her Cinder-Suit!

The red fibers stretched out, forming an armored bodysuit that covered her body from the neck down. Kevin wasn't able to change his color much, so it was almost pure red, but he compressed and darkened parts of the suit, making it appear black. The symbol of a black butterfly formed across the chest, and inside of the suit it started to wrap around her arms and legs, allowing her to move and control him. A domino mask wrapped around her upper face, and instead of a helmet, he created a jacket hood that pulled itself over her head. The entire suit itself looked more stylish, being a mix of a hero costume and a jacket, and she took a moment to move her arms and legs back and forth, feeling the power that was in them. It was like she had gotten her strength back in a way.

She took a moment to look at herself, admiring the costume. She was still a lot shorter than she'd have liked, but it was nice to be in a hero suit once again. It made her a bit happy. "Is it really a good idea to be my costume, though? Can't you just fight her on your own?" She questioned Kevin.

"I have literally never won a single fight since becoming a Super," Kevin muttered. "I'm not risking it."

Psycap breathed heavily, the battle clearly having its toll on the other woman. Kevin had been right about Psycap’s not being a big threat. Compared to someone like Green Wolf, Red Raptor, or Demonica, Psycap was kind of a joke. That didn’t mean the woman wasn’t going to go down easy, though.

Psycap let out a scream, sounding almost like a wounded animal. Trees tore out of the ground and sharpened into spears, which were launched forward with the woman’s telekinesis.

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath before snapping them open and giving a sly grin. She crouched down and then bounced off of the ground, flying forward and dodging all the trees that stabbed into the ground around her. She could feel the suit twist and change, copying her movements. Kevin's legs almost compressed like a spring, allowing her to mimic her fire jump. She came at Psycap fast and swung out with her fist fast and hard. It caught the villain off guard, who panicked and activated her power. Hope came to a sudden stop, unable to move as a telekinetic hold gripped down around her, and Kevin stopped her only a foot away from the Anti-Matter gang leader.

"As if I would really allow you to get so close!" Psycap roared. The woman used her power to twist her, but the Kevin-suit held strong, resisting the effects, and didn't budge. Hope gritted her teeth, trying to march forward, but Kevin wasn't strong enough to resist both the hold and the twisting energy that was trying to shatter him at the same time.

So instead, she tried something else. She could feel part of the costume running along her spine. Kevin had quite literally given control of his nervous system to her. She didn't trust herself to experiment too much with his powers for fear of crushing herself, but she did have a simple idea. A tendril stabbed out of her back, using her body as cover and stopping Psycap from seeing it. It whipped out at lightning speed and smashed into the ground just as she closed her eyes. A wave of sand was kicked up and flowed out, smashing into Psycap's good eye, who screamed and blinked rapidly, stumbling back. Hope felt the suit suddenly not be held by anything, and she rammed herself forward.

Psycap tried to clear her eye, but the woman wasn't fast enough. The hero's fist slammed directly into the woman's face, causing the psychic leader to stumble and nearly fall. It wasn't just one punch, either. Hope struck out with her other arm, smashing it into the other side of the villain's head. Again and again, Psycap was bounced around from fist to fist, Kevin's arms compressing and pulling back like a piston system, allowing the force and recoil of the blows to not stop. Hope used all the hand-to-hand skills she had picked up to keep up the onslaught of punches before finally winding up the last strike. She jumped and spun around the red tendril, whipping out like a tail and slamming itself across Psycap's face, smashing the older woman to the floor with a hard thud.

Hope landed back on her feet and breathed heavily as the tendril pulled itself back into the costume. "Geez," Kevin whistled. "You're a lot more brutal than I remember—actually, scratch that—you and your team once threw me into a pool of superheated radiation. You're definitely a psychopath in the making."

She ignored his remarks and looked back at the destroyed village. Dozens of people all stood around, staring at her in shock. "Are you guys all okay-"

"I'll kill you." She froze when she heard Psycap's gasp. The villain was somehow still conscious and had her head twisted back to stare at something deep in the forest. "You're dead!"

She pulled her fist back and swung it at the downed enemy, but it wasn't fast enough. Kevin closed around her just in time as something massive rammed into the two of them and then exploded. She was blasted back, crashing at the edge of the beach, and the screams of the villagers restarted. She felt fire eat away at the suit, and Kevin hissed and howled. She managed to roll over into the water, and the hood opened back up, allowing her to see.

"Damn it! I was really hoping she forgot about that!" She winced.

The massive warship was floating in the air once more. Psycap's eye didn't leave it as the villain used her power to pick it up and take control of the thing. The cannons twisted and swirled, pointing back at the village as it got ready to fire once more. Psycap picked herself up, rubbing at her mouth, which was dripping with blood from all her broken teeth. "I'm going to kill you!" She roared. "Do you hear me? You're so dead!"

Hope clenched her fist, causing the suit to change a bit, forming a circular shield on her arm, which she raised up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kevin yelled inside the suit. "You know that I'm that shield, right? I don't think I can take that much cannon fire!"

"Well, we need to think of something!"

"Die!" Psycap roared. "Die, die, die, die!"

The barrels took aim and were about to fire. Hope steeled her resolve and crouched down, ready to at least attempt to dodge. Luckily for her, though, Lady Luck finally seemed to smile down on her. Right before the ship could fire, something smashed down into it from high above. Metal screamed and tore as the ship was suddenly ripped in two and exploded. Psycap yelled in anger and fear as the thing kept going through the ship and rammed down next to her. The villain stared in shock at the massive arrow that was as big as she was.

Hope felt her own eyes go wide. There was only one person she knew who had arrows that big.

"Mind if I join in?" A voice asked from high above. A man floated in the air, carried by wings made of feathers and wax that stretched out across his back. He held a mighty bow as big as a normal human, and already he had another arrow notched and ready to go. "This fight looks like it could be interesting."

Fable, a member of the Enforcers, had arrived.