Ward watched the door to his office close, leaving just him, Avalon, and Full Monarch. He waited until he was sure Sini and Max were far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to hear anything, even if they had enhanced hearing that allowed them to pierce the soundproof walls.

“Are you sure of what you saw?” Ward questioned.

“I’m sure.” Full Monarch nodded and floated off of the ground. His body kept flickering in and out, no doubt using his speed to get rid of some of the stress he was feeling by flying around the city saving people.

Avalon held the smallest hint of a smirk on his face as he leaned against the wall and shrugged his shoulders a bit. “I had a feeling it wouldn’t be so simple.”

“Did you?” Ward questioned and frowned. “What exactly do we know about this Emperor figure in the first place?”

“Tall, dark, strong, scary red eyes.” Avalon sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, we don’t know what their powers even are other than that they can affect life in some way, so it has to at least be related to Nier, right? And they seem to be doing the same dark experiments Nier did seven years ago, though I doubt they’re going to stick to just bad guys.”

“Wait? Back up. Red eyes?” Full Monarch questioned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Yeah. You know the glowing that came out of his helmet.” Avalon said, pointing up at himself. “They’re all red and stuff. Like red fire.”

“I thought they were blue." Ward piped up.

“That’s what I saw as well.” Full Monarch noted. “He had blue eyes, not red. Although, now that I think about it, when did you see Emperor Ward?”

Ward was saved from answering the question by Avalon, who spoke up. “So let me clear this up. Some of us have seen him with glowing red eyes, and some of us have seen him with glowing blue eyes. None of us know what his power actually is either. Do we even know if it’s a guy or not?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Supers still have bodies that look like normal humans,” Avalon explained. “Some of them have powers that can change their bodies, but that is always temporary, such as the Thaddeus clan. The Emperor, however, was able to alter a person's form and change them into something no longer human or Super—a Monster, is the term Nier came up with when he tried to bring his daughter back. This would have to fall under a power that the Lord of Life uses. It’s possible for Nier to change his form at will if he wanted, but unless he found a way to clone himself, I don’t know if there would be two of him. That said, there is another power that changes a person’s eye color and even glows.”

“If you’re suggesting it’s my daughter, then you’re wrong.” Full Monarch sighed. “Jill was there in the alleyway.”

“Of course, it isn’t her. I was there also.” Avalon chuckled. “I do think you were onto something earlier, though. The children of Lords seem to come out weird. In some cases, you get someone like the hero Young Dog. Despite being the son of Sini, he failed to inherit any of his father's power. Max also failed to inherit the strength of a Lord, and it wasn’t until the title was passed down to him that he truly gained strength. On the other hand, people like your daughter and River not only have amazing power but even have their own power up similar to the battle mode Lords use. It makes me wonder what would happen if two Lords had a child.”

“Something like that won’t ever happen.”

“Maybe not directly.” Avalon hummed and looked at Full Monarch. “Indirectly though… I mean, just look at your daughter-“

Full Monarch grabbed Avalon’s shoulder, looking down at the scientist. “Careful.” Was all he said.

Avalon’s smirk didn’t fade as he stared up at the number one hero. “If the two of you are going to fight, then you can take it outside.” Ward sighed and lowered his face into his palms. “This desk is expensive, you know. Whatever the case is, we have no way of knowing who the Emperor is at the moment or why they have changing eye colors and powers. We’ll put a pin into it for now and focus on gathering more information. I want to make sure none of our field agents of heroes are taken. We also can’t let word of this get out. We hid what Nier did to stop panic. Now it’s coming back to bite us.”

“I believe there was another reason you asked Full Monarch to drop by?” Avalon questioned, shooting a look toward the Hero Branch leader.

Ward tapped his finger on his desk, and one of the drawers unfolded. It glowed and formed into a holographic device showing various planets in their solar systems. “A few days ago, one of our satellites caught something flying by Mars.” The device zoomed in, allowing a massive golden blur to be seen flying over the red planet.

“Another Super can survive out in space?” Full Monarch questioned. “As far as I knew, that was a gift only I held thanks to my title of Lord of the Cosmos.”

“It could be a ship.” Ward placed his hands together, staring at the golden object. “Sini has a Mental-based power that helped us almost reach space travel. That said, whatever this object is, it was spotted flying through our solar system at incredible speeds. It reached Mars in only five days and has gone further than we can see at this moment. I don’t think I need to tell you what could happen from something like this visiting Mars, do I?”

“The Beast.” Full Monarch closed his eyes and took a calming breath. “It’s about the time again anyways. I fought him three years ago for the third time, though I managed to keep him off of Earth, so I doubt the people even know about that fact.”

The first time humanity had dared to travel outside of the planet, it had been born after they stepped foot on its planet. The first Beast attack had wiped out an entire city. He had managed to defeat it in the end, but the thing blew up, taking the city with it. That was the same day Nier left them. A few years after that, the Beast once again came back for a second time. That was what caused Wano to truly give up. The thing was just going to keep going back, and he was the only one that could truly stop it. Now his plan was to just battle it up in space before it could get to Earth. He’d take the burden all on his own and fight it alone until he killed it.

Ward managed to keep a calm expression somehow despite the grim subject they were discussing. “I’d like for you to check on Mars, and if it does seem like the Beast will rise up, it will be your job to defeat it before it can reach Earth.”

“On my own?” Full Monarch questioned.

“Can you not?”

“I can. I’ll beat it if I have to.” The hero shrugged. His last fight had also been mostly alone, though he had some drones from Sini and Avalon with him. “That said, it’s what happens after. I’ve never fought it on Mars before. My last fight had been in deep space. What we do know is that each time it loses, it blows itself up and then somehow reappears on Mars, fully restored. I don’t know if fighting it there will work or not. Not to mention each time something has always gone wrong after it's been defeated.”

“We don’t have much of a choice.” Ward stood up from his chair and walked in front of the window, looking down at the city below. “I don’t like placing my fate in the hands of Supers. I truly believe that this world would be better without all of your kind. That said, only you can stop this thing.”

“I understand.” Full Monarch nodded. “The other heroes will be able to handle everything while I’m gone?”

“They have to. This world can’t survive if it relies just on you. You’re simply not enough.” Ward rubbed his chin. “For the sake of my planet, I’ll work alongside anyone that will bring mankind forward. A world for humans created by humans. Even if I must use you Supers to get it.”

Full Monarch floated forward, his body vibrating at such a high speed he simply phased through the wall and appeared on the other side of the glass. “I’ll return with good news, I hope. Until then, I’ll leave my planet in your hands.”

And with that, he was gone.

The golden blur, the number one hero, took off into the sky at his top speed, breaking past the clouds and the blue of the sky, leaving the planet in an instant.

Avalon waited until he was sure Full Monarch was in space before he spoke up. Even with enhanced hearing as good as the number one hero’s, space held no sound. “Now that he’s gone, I think we should get down to real business.” Avalon took a seat on the desk and gave a smirk to Ward. “Who’s side are you on?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Avalon hummed. “Are you going to stay on this side, or are you going to join the winners? After all, you and I both know the Emperor offered you a job. Unless you’re already doing what he told you to?”

“You’re with the Emperor?” Ward spun around, staring at the scientist in horror.

“I’m with the winners.” Avalon hummed. “If Full Monarch is winning, I’ll side with him. But I’m going to take a guess and say you’re doing exactly what that villain told you to do, aren’t you?” Avalon slid off of the desk and began to walk toward the door. “After all, with Full Monarch on planet Earth, it’d be almost impossible to pull any loud stunts. That’s why he needed you to get him off of the planet.”

Ward felt his fist clench as he stared at the man’s back. The Emperor had practically threatened him with his son’s life if he didn’t obey. What choice did he have? That’s what he kept telling himself, at least.

“How long have you been planning all of this!”

Avalon opened the sliding door. “Oh. We haven’t even begun the plan yet.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

And with those words, the door slowly sealed shut, leaving Ward alone in his soundproof office…

***

“I seriously have to wear something like this?” Max questioned.

“You’ll get a better outfit once you become a bigger known hero, Yellow Spark.” Mermaid cheerfully explained and clapped him on the back.

“Also, what kind of name is Yellow Spark?" Max’s eye twitched a bit. He seriously regretted agreeing to join the heroes.

“You’ll get a better name later also!” Mermaid announced.

They were up on a building in Daisy City. He had been gifted a bright yellow skin-tight bodysuit. It covered him from the neck down and looked really dumb, if he was being honest. It hadn’t been built by anyone important, as far as he could tell, and the only symbol on it was a white lightning bolt that clashed heavily with the rest of it. The thing hurt his eyes just looking at it, and the sunlight bounced off of it awkwardly, making it hard to take a photo of him while he was in it.

It didn’t help that Daisy was a very small city, at least compared to the other ten great cities. It didn’t have any towers or skyscrapers and was more like a massive suburban town. That meant they were just standing on the roof of some house and weren’t very hidden. Down below, a large crowd was taking pictures of him and the other two heroes that were with him.

He didn’t have a mask either, so the cameras caught how red his face was. Heroes seemed more like a mix of celebrities and cops in a way. Posters of them were scattered about all over, and many decided not to hide their identity, wanting a piece of the fame that had been created by Full Monarch.

On the roof with him, Mermaid stood, striking a pose for all the people down below. She was one of the newest members of the current Enforcer team, so she was pretty popular. Down below in the streets was the hero he had been assigned to as a sidekick.

Legend was said to be second to only Full Monarch. Despite how good that might sound, it was a large difference… Legend was a thin, frail, dark-skinned man who wore what looked like traditional robes. His face was always frowning, and he quietly talked to a group of police officers, seemingly ignoring his two teammates and the crowd.

“I have one last question,” Max said, shooting a look at Mermaid.

“Go for it.”

“Why the hell is she here with us!” He yelled, pointing to the final member of their squad who had randomly shown up out of the blue. “She’s not even a hero!”

Ruby Admiral had her hands on her hips, and her head was thrown back as she laughed and posed for all the cameras. Her hair and eyes were ignited in red, and she gave off a powerful aura of strength. She had finally changed out of her schoolgirl uniform as well, now sporting what looked almost like a black military combat uniform. It was the same sort of uniform the soldiers that fought in the war with Lucifer wore fifty years ago. Many had been placed into a museum for how famous they now were, and yet here she was casually walking around in one. It was a priceless artifact.

“I invited her.” Mermaid shrugged casually.

“Why!”

“Felt like it.”

“Well, why’s she dressed like that!”

“It was my dad’s.” Ruby turned to him, giving a smirk. “He never came back home last night, so I totally broke into his safe and stole it.”

“Oh my God, you’re actually wearing a war relic that belonged to the guy that defeated Lucifer! Take it off before you tear it or something!” Max panicked. “That thing must cost millions!”

“Why do you want me to get naked so badly?” Ruby slapped at his hand and folded her arms. “Who cares what happens to this outfit? It's just clothing.”

“Your dad never returned home?” Mermaid asked.

“Nah. I bet he’s on some super-secret mission.”

Mermaid frowned and rubbed her chin. “Can we handle him being gone? What could be so important he’d leave at a time like this?”

“He’s up in space.” Legend’s voice suddenly came up from behind them, causing all of them to jump and spin around. Despite how weak he might have looked, he somehow snuck up on all of them without any of them noticing, even with enhanced hearing. It was actually kind of spooky. “That’s why it’s important we take this patrol as seriously as we can. We don’t have him to fall back on if something happens.”

“If you want us to take this seriously, then why the hell did you allow her to come along?" Max asked bitterly as he shot a look toward Ruby, who just poked her tongue out at him and began to dance for the cameras.

“She’s strong.” Legend said bluntly. “Stronger than you, and maybe even me.”

“Only because I haven’t awakened my Lord power yet,” Max muttered. “A bit more, and I’ll surpass her. I’m sure.”

“Nah, I’d win,” Ruby said casually, placing her arms on his head and using him to lean. “I’m going to be so strong I can beat even my father one day, you know.”

“Like that’ll ever happen.” Max snorted.

“So what’s the mission boss?” Mermaid asked, giving Legend a salute.

The hero pointed his thumb down in the direction of the cops. “For years, the only villain group that has successfully managed to come together has been the Prince gang. They’re all gone now. That means there’s a serious power vacuum going on. More and more villain groups have been going missing, but it isn’t just them we have to worry about. Kidnappings have been happening more recently as well.”

“I noticed that Water Prince had been taking a lot of kids and was heading to Oleander for something.” Max hummed. “The villains Nier had me hunt, I would usually study up on, and kidnapping has never been something they normally do. Could that have anything to do with the Emperor?”

“Not everything has to do with that new villain.” Legend barked out. “There are other bad guys, you know. Plenty of fish in the sea.”

“I’m not so sure though.” Max said, shaking his head. He couldn’t get rid of the memories Full Monarch had shown him. He was sure this was all connected.

“So, I take it you want us to look into these disappearances?” Mermaid asked, folding her arms.

“That’s right.” Legend nodded. “I spoke to the police, and they told me the street the disappearances have been most frequently happening on. This city used to be run by Earth Prince and his people. Soon, people will start to notice that the blur hasn’t made his usual rounds. The villains will be quick to figure out that Full Monarch isn’t here anymore. If we’re lucky, that’ll cause them to get a little cocky and act up.”

“They’ll know we’re here, though?” Max said, looking down at all the people with phones and cameras aimed at them. They’d be all over the news if they weren’t already. “Will they really come out? We’re not exactly hiding after all.”

“That’s the only good thing about having Full Monarch in my experience.” Legend’s face actually managed to crack into a half-smirk. “So many of these guys know that they can’t beat him in a fight, so they stay hidden. For years, they’ll move slowly and carefully, praying he doesn’t turn his gaze their way. When they’re sure he won’t look at them, though, they get too big for their britches. They forget that other heroes exist and still have roles to play. They forget it isn’t just Full Monarch they should fear.”

The next thing Max knew, they found themselves walking down what he could only describe as a shady street. During his time at Oleander, he had crossed through Spider Street, and yet this place was somehow worse.

The road was narrow, and several large red brick buildings were scattered on either side. Each building looked old and abandoned, and he didn’t see anyone around them. A lot of the cities were built by different Mental-based Supers and Hero Branch workers, and this one seemed like it had the least amount of effort placed into it and had been lazily done.

He tried to use his Paths to look for danger, but with how many strong people were near him, the Paths kept breaking and crumbling. Ruby also didn’t offer much help. The girl casually walked behind him, keeping her arms thrown back behind her head, and wasn’t listening to a word he was saying.

“Bingo.” Legend once again caused him to jump. They had been walking in a straight line down the street, and the hero hadn’t stopped. They stood out pretty severely since they were still dressed in their brightly colored costumes. They were just asking to be jumped by an arrogant villain. “Directly behind us.” Legend said, not turning around. “Don’t look at him. He’s trailing us. Bugger thinks he’s sneaky by staying in the shadows.”

“Do you got eyes in the back of your head or something?” Max questioned. He resisted the urge to turn around as he followed after the hero, who stuck close to Ruby and Mermaid.

“The darkness told me.” Was Legend’s blunt response.

“That’s kind of creepy.”

“Is he really following after us?” Ruby tried to turn around, but Mermaid gripped the girl's chin, stopping her. Ruby puckered her lips up for a kiss, so Mermaid let go and just smacked the girl upside the head. “Ow…”

“He likely thinks we’re easy pickings.” Legend said flatly. “Yellow Spark-“

“Just Max is fine…”

“- and Ruby Admiral don’t have any reputation yet, no matter how strong they actually are. Mermaid is new to the Enforcers and a girl, so he likely assumes she’s weaker than him automatically-“

“Pretty sexist, not going to lie.”

“-Lastly, that leaves me. Most people don’t see me in this form. I look pretty weak, I guess.”

“So what’s the game plan, boss?” Mermaid questioned.

“We wait for him and his friends to strike.”

“Friends?”

“Didn’t I mention it?” Legend allowed a sly smirk to come onto his face once more. “It isn’t just one. In fact, we’re surrounded on all sides. I’d say about twenty or so.”

On the nearby roofs, staring down at the four Supers, dozens of hooded men stayed low to the ground, trying to blend in with the shadows. Even with it being the middle of the day, light seemed almost to bend and twist to their will, allowing them to stay hidden due to the fact that one of them had a widespread invisibility power. They all waited for their captain’s order.

He was down on the road, silently stalking after the four heroes. He wore a simple black jacket and kept his head down, moving through the twisting alleyways and staying in the shade. Every step he took made no noise, thanks to his power that allowed him to control sound freely.

They had waited a few hours for Full Monarch to do anything, but the number one hero was nowhere to be found… They even did a couple of throwaway jobs to test the waters, and still, he didn’t show.

They weren’t a particularly big group by any means. They were all that was left after Earth Prince went and got himself killed. They’d be more than enough, though.

“Let’s see here.” He licked his lips, still trailing after his prey. “One, two, three, four. Four little arrogant heroes that think they can step into my turf and escape unpunished.” He reached into his jacket, pulling out a switchblade.

None of the heroes seemed to notice him as he stepped out of his alleyway and silently made his way over to them. All of his men stood up top, using their various powers to stay out of sight, but he could tell they were tensing up and getting ready to strike. Thanks to his power, he kept himself silent along with his crew.

It didn’t matter how strong these Supers were. He had ten guys with powers and ten without that had spent years living on the harsh streets. He twirled his knife and allowed his eyes to roam over his victims. “The boy in yellow has newb written all over him. Still, I’d say he’s the strongest one here. The girl in the swimsuit looks like she’d be about as strong as him. The frail guy behind them should go down easily. The weakest one, though, without a doubt, is the girl leaving herself wide open.” He stabbed his knife up toward the red-haired girl and shut off his power, letting out a loud howl to catch them off guard. “This girl is the first to die-“

Ruby’s fist lazily slammed into the man’s face, shattering most of it and knocking him out instantly.

He had been dead wrong. She was, in fact, the strongest one there.

Meanwhile, outside of planet Earth, flying through space, a golden man slowly stared down at the red planet that rested below him.

He wasn’t alone…

A being made of pure white energy stood staring up at him. The Beast was awake. That meant any day now, it was going to head for Earth.

Full Monarch looked around as he landed on the surface of the harsh planet. He didn’t see any sign of that golden ship Ward had shown him. “Can we not fight this time?” He questioned.

The Beast simply pointed a hand in his direction, sending out a wave of destructive energy. Full Monarch sighed and sidestepped the attack, allowing it to go flying past him and blow up a series of hills in the distance.

‘Did you just try to talk to the Beast?’ An annoyed voice asked the number one hero, speaking directly into his head.

Full Monarch allowed a genuine smile to slip onto his face as he heard his old friend. “I thought maybe it would be different this time. I had to try, right?”

‘What you need to do is win.’

“Right.” Full Monarch closed his eyes as the Beast crouched down and began to charge toward him. His golden light twirled around him and began to change. Blue fire gushed out of his fingertips, and his energy took form around him. In an instant, he was bathed in the purest flame, taking on the form of a man. “Lend me your power, Brightest Star!”

‘It is yours to do with as you wish. I only ask one thing. Defeat your foe.’

“And so, I shall!”

And for the fourth time in his life, Full Monarch clashed with the Beast. A battle that would cause an old evil to return to the world…