That was how she found herself in the slippery maze filled with oil that would only react to her fire. The test itself was simple. She just had to fight Wyvern and either escape to the bottom of the maze or beat the woman. Of course, it wasn’t that easy in practice.

Her plan had been to go into her blonde state. The form where she seemed to get a crazy boost in power. She hadn’t been sure if she could freely go into it, but ever since she had seen her pod, anytime she tried to go all out, her hair would change color, and she’d get that massive boost of energy and crazy hot fire.

With all the oil, though, that proved impossible, as even a small spark from her energy would blow the place sky-high. Then there were the laser-blasting drones that kept stunning her. Of course, all of it paled in comparison to Wyvern herself. The Enforcer member was free to blast her fire out willy-nilly, without a care in the world, and was fast enough to easily break the sound barrier, the woman’s attacks causing gusts of wind so strong they would rip the walls apart.

She felt her nose break as the woman’s fist smashed into her face. She nearly fell unconscious and crashed back, her head smashing into the metal wall. It took everything she had to stay awake. The woman hit almost as hard as Wish had, but Wyvern was far faster and skilled. If she had her blonde-haired mode, she was confident she could keep up and be evenly matched or something, but as she was like this, she was getting destroyed.

“Is this seriously all you’ve got?” Wyvern taunted. The woman kicked out, sending a blade of wind that would have cut her in two, but she managed to come back to her senses and dodge the strike just in time. The metal wall that had stood behind her shattered and broke apart, falling to the ground.

“I’m not ready to lose just yet!” She yelled. She ran forward and used the slick floor to slide across it. She threw out a powerful punch at Wyvern, but the girl jumped into the air, and wings jutted from the hero’s back, allowing Wyvern to stay high up with the drones. The two drones that were left circled around and fired out. She jumped back, dodging one of the lasers, but the other one nailed her in the leg, and she nearly collapsed again, gasping.

Before she was able to recover, Wyvern raised her hand up and struck down, shooting down a massive air current. She blocked it just in time, the force of the attack smashing her into the ground and denting the floor. She rolled over and kicked at the floor, sliding on her stomach across it and using the force to get back up on her feet. She took off running, moving as fast as she could, trying to escape the dragon-themed hero.

“Oh, I thought you wanted to fight me.” Wyvern taunted. The woman was able to easily keep up with her running as if it were nothing. Even the drones kept pacing, firing at her rear.

“I can’t do a lot if you’re just going to stay up there and hide like a coward!” She yelled back.

“It isn’t cowardly. It’s smart.” Boy Genius responded. His voice rumbled through the entire maze. The place he had taken them all was a testing ground outside of Oleander City. It had taken them nearly an hour to fly there, going through the wasteland that was the rest of the world. A massive metal tower was where this strange maze took place. One that was nearly the size of the Enforcer Tower. “If you really don’t like what she is doing, then blast her down.”

“Sort of hard to do when you placed me in this situation!” She yelled. “No fire, just super strength! This is impossible!”

The boy’s snort caused everything to shake. “Maybe. What if something like this does happen, though? If a bunch of hostages are in danger, all a villain would need to do in order to weaken you is bring some oil, gasoline, or even worse things. You’ve gotten really good at using your fire, but can you take down someone like Intake or Mars King with just your super strength? If Polaron attacked you and he used this strategy, would you just be deadweight and have to give up? Full Monarch fought even when his fire had gone out. He fought and was still the strongest.”

“I’m not Full Monarch.”

“Of course you aren’t. You’re Cinder. So show me just how much of a great hero Cinder truly is.”

“Enough talking,” Wyvern yelled. The Enforcer spun through the air and blasted out a wave of fire from her mouth. It twisted and flew directly at her. She spun around and smashed her fist into the top of the fire, slapping it down and causing it to explode on the floor. Or at least it should have. Rather than blow up, the fire washed over the ground like a liquid and flew back toward Wyvern. The woman’s mouth was open, and the flames swam into it, and the hero swallowed.

“You just ate your fire!”

Wyvern’s cheeks puffed out, and this time, the fire that blasted out was a wicked blue, burning even hotter and causing much of the metal to start to melt. She screamed as it hit her, the wave of fire actually burning her and blasting her through several walls of the maze before she finally crashed back first on the floor. The beam kept going, reaching all the way to the final wall and blasting out of the building.

She struggled and tried to stand back up, her body aching once more, but before she could, the two drones from above her began to blast her with their tasers, causing her to yell once again. Wyvern stalked past the many broken walls, heading to where she was. The woman stopped and stared at her. Slowly, a memory came back to Wyvern.

‘The Lords? Are they strong?’

‘Of course they are, Wyvern. Much stronger than either you or I could hope to be. They’re just in a different league when it comes to their power. Do your best to not piss one off, okay?’

‘Okay, Mermaid.’

Wyvern shook her head as the memories hit her. She growled a little, looking down at Hope. “I guess it was a lie. I somehow thought you’d be better than this. I’m a little disappointed. See, you kids born after the Emperor are all the same. Even Boy Genius has this flaw. You all waste your potential. People who can control ice, lightning, or fire are all alike. You throw your attack out, and that’s it. Ocean Empress taught me there is more, though. She wasn’t born with godlike strength. She had to train. We have control over our elements. You can do more than just fire a big-ass attack out. You can recycle that power to save stamina or even fuse it into a bigger attack like I used on you. Of course it’s too late now, isn’t it?” Hope remained motionless on the ground. “Call it, Boy Genius. She’s down for the count-”

Hope’s foot slammed into Wyvern’s stomach, and the woman’s eyes went wide as she was smashed into one of the metal walls, causing it to shake.

Wyvern glared at Hope, who smirked as she got back up. “I’ll admit, that really hurt, and I almost got knocked out from it, but you made a bit of an error.” She sidestepped the lasers dancing between them as she kicked the downed Wyvern and sent the woman tumbling back further. “My body has a minor healing factor. Nothing crazy, but I can take a lot of damage, and given enough time, I’ll bounce back. Besides, you’ve given me a few ideas.”

“Oh yeah?” Wyvern jumped back to her feet and breathed in. Her stomach expanded slightly, as did her mouth, as the hero blasted another powerful wave of fire out. Hope dodged the attack, but the beam twisted and came back around, meeting Wyvern head-on. The hero swallowed her attack and blasted it back out twice as strong, now sending the blue fire at the Lord.

Hope pulled her fist back and smashed her arm forward as hard as possible. A loud crack filled the air, and a massive force of wind blasted into the beam of fire, causing it to explode with a powerful force and shatter. Wyvern felt her eyes go wide as she jumped back.

“Did you just-”

“Copy that cool wind thing you did? Yeah.” She gave a sly smile. “I kept wondering how you do it, but it’s pretty obvious. I mean, your body is super strong, and you have that tail and stuff. It must be made of pure muscle, and you whip it through the air crazy fast with as much force as you can to send a blast of wind out. It isn’t quite like Max Lightning or BB; it has no control and is just all offense. You don’t have control of the air. You’re just hitting as hard as you can to fire off an air current. Even I can do that if I push my strength to its limit.”

“So what?” Wyvern snickered. “You’re going to use my move and use it on me?”

“Nah. I sort of forgot about it in the heat of the moment, but I do have another strong attack I can use that doesn’t use any of my fire.” One of the beams narrowly missed her as she easily dodged and gave a wicked grin. “You might want to plug your ears.” She opened her mouth and aimed at the robots, letting out the same sonic scream she used on Wish.

The entire building rumbled and shook, and Wyvern yelled, clutching at her ears. The metal cracked, and the sound waves bounced off of the walls. The robots crumbled to the ground, exploding in a hail of metal as the force of the vibration caused by the scream destroyed them.

As it slowly died, Wyvern felt blood dripping down her neck and her ears rang. The hero grumbled and glared up at Hope, who had an innocent look on their face. “Think you could teach me how to fly next?”

‘Much stronger than either you or I could hope to be. They’re just in a different league when it comes to their power.’

Wyvern blasted forward at her top speed. “Don’t get cocky, brat!” The hero easily dodged the rookie’s wind attack that Hope sent at her, spinning out of the way and reaching the younger girl. “Things like that don’t work if I can stop you from covering your own ears! Face it! You’re outmatched!”

She tried to block the strikes that came at her, but they caused her arms to shake, and a pained groan escaped her. Wyvern was fast—faster than even Mr. Larison. The woman had some sort of grudge clearly, unleashing blow after blow and bouncing her between the walls and the floor. She gasped as her skin was bruised and she was smashed around.

Gritting her teeth, she threw out a punch towards Wyvern, but the lady dodged it with ease and spun around, smashing their dragonic tail into her side. She gasped, feeling some of her ribs crack, but she ignored it and tried to wrap her arms around Wyvern’s tail. That proved to be a horrible idea, though. The scales all along the tail were rough and tore into her palms.

Wyvern slammed a fist into her head and threw her back. She stumbled away from the hero and caught her breath, wiping her hands on the black battle suit that was starting to fall apart. “Yeah, close up, you’re rough.” She sighed. “You’re faster than me, stronger than me, more skilled than me, and you have a limb I don’t. As I am now, I don’t think I can win.”

“So you’re just going to give up then!” Wyvern ran at her and threw out a strong punch, which she tried to meet with her own. She lost the exchange, her hand screaming at her as she was shoved back, and several of her fingers broke. “I guess you’ll be Fable’s problem after all!” The hero taunted, kicking out with her foot and smashing it into Hope’s stomach.

“I didn’t say I give up!” She gritted her teeth and took the stomach blow, not falling back. She gave a cheeky grin and lowered her arms. “I said, as I am now, I can’t win.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So I’ll just use my Lord form and beat you.” She declared. “Or at least even the fight.”

“Are you a dumbass?” Wyvern retorted and gave her a condescending look. “I think I broke your brain. What happens when you light up? This whole place goes? I guess we could take the attack, but you’d basically be accepting defeat, unable to finish Boy Genius’s test. All those fake hostages would be fried. I mean, you can do it if you want, but I don’t think he’d be happy if you destroyed this entire building.”

“I also wouldn’t recommend it.” Boy Genius' voice rumbled throughout the maze once more. “Wyvern’s body is not on the level of flame resistance yours is at, and even you would be harmed by such harsh flames erupting so quickly.” The child explained. “I am not on scene and am back in Oleander enjoying the show, so do feel free to blow the place sky-high if you feel like it; just know you might die.”

She rubbed the back of her head, sighing. “Geez, why does everyone think I’m an idiot? I’m not going to blow this place up.” She snorted. “I’m going to beat you without using any fire attacks. I’ll just use my fire form to give myself a stat boost like when I fought Wish and use that power to kick your ass. I want to beat you under the rules now. I really looked up to you when I was younger, but you’ve made me a bit mad, Wyvern.”

Wyvern folded her arms. “Again, fire or not, you’d still cause a spark powering up. Are you really insane enough to blow us both up? I see why Poseidon talked badly about you now and why she doesn’t want you around Sky.”

That caused her to growl a bit. “You know what. I think it’s better if I just show you. After all, you taught me how to do this.”

“Another one of my stolen moves?”

“Just watch.” Her eyes ignited with a red spark, and the black in her hair began to fade into gold. She could feel it. The power of the sun danced through her veins. Just as when she fought Wish, or when she used it on Polaron or gifted some of the power to BB. A spark of orange danced across her flesh, and fire ignited at the tips of her hair.

“You actually-”

Wyvern never got to finish her sentence as everything went white hot. That tiny spark was all that was needed, and in a single instant, the entire building- Was perfectly fine. All the oil, gas, and fire that had sparked were instantly gone. Across the entire building faster than it could detonate. She held her palm out, and resting in it was what looked almost like a mini sun.

Stellar cannibalism. This is an event that sometimes happens in space. A star will attempt to devour another star. Normally, this results in a supernova being formed. This was similar but different. In a single heartbeat, as everything had been ignited by her spark, she copied what she had learned from Wyvern. All that fire faster than it could even begin to exist was all devoured into a single instance in space. A mini-star containing the force of the entire exploded building was formed before it could explode. She was able to control fire, that was how she formed her sword and backpack. She had never thought to control other types of fire or explosions, though. At least not before she saw Wyvern doing it.

Her hand shook as she tried to hold the ball she created. The thing was heavy. So dense, even nearby debris began to raise and orbit her mini-fireball, and even Wyvern could feel a wave of force dragging her towards it. She raised her palm up towards the sky, and the ball moved to the tip of her pointer finger.

“Bang.” She formed her hand into the shape of a gun and fired her newly created bullet.

The roof never stood a chance. Floor after floor, it blasted through them all, flying out of the building and going higher and higher, a massive beam of tamed energy, piercing past the clouds and going beyond the planet, reaching space, and soon passing the moon before it finally exploded well beyond anyone that would be harmed by it.

Wyvern stared at it in silence. ‘Do your best to not piss one off, okay?’ She looked down at the innocent-looking blonde girl who had her arms folded now.

“So. Ready to keep going?” Hope asked slyly.

***

“Hey, Mrs. Lauren, this is Myth; I was wondering if your daughter mentioned anything about where she’s headed. We’re in a bit of an emergency, and we need her.” Myth hung up after leaving the voicemail and placed his phone back in his pocket.

“How do you know her mom’s number off the top of your head? That’s like super weird.” Whisper muttered.

"I don't even know the mom's number, and I've been to her house. Even helped fix it up with the rest of the Cleanup crew after Polaron leveled the building." Jack snorted.

“I don’t think this is what we should be focusing on, everyone.” Ocean Empress's voice was stern, and her eyes never left Jack's. They were in an office room somewhere in the hospital. Hero Branch members ran around the halls in a panic, and last they saw her, Paragon was still trying to help Wasp Nest and Money Tree. Rowan had finally woke up, along with Armin. Both the boys had seemingly left with Poseidon. Old Dog had to go lie down due to chest issues. The office space had been turned into a makeshift interrogation room of sorts. Battery, Myth, and Whisper were all on one side, while Ocean Empress guarded the exit. "I want answers. Start talking."

"What do you wanna know?" Jack asked slowly.

"You know."

"Ah. Well, sorry, I'm not interested in you-"

"Not that!" Ocean Empress banged her hand on the table.

"Battery play nice." Myth quietly instructed.

"What happened to that sword?" Ocean Empress growled. "Why do you have the blade of the Emperor! That was the weapon that helped him slay Full Monarch. And what did you mean you used that sword on the Emperor? So help me, God, if you don't give me some answers-"

"The sword is long gone." Jack shrugged. "It wasn't mine. Not anymore. I can only borrow it. You'll need to speak to the current owner if you want to learn more about the blade."

"Who's the current owner?"

"Can't say."

"You little.” Ocean Empress gritted her teeth. “How do you think any of us can trust you if you act like this?”

Jack tilted his head. “Oh. I’m sorry, it seems you’ve mistaken me for someone who gives a fuck!”

Myth sighed. “In the hospital, Battery, I asked about your past, and you told me of the shard inside of you. I had a feeling you used to be a villain, you’ve even said as much. I even guessed that you were once a member of the Emperor’s army. Many people were forced to join his group. People like Wyvern or Bad Wolf, who weren’t given a choice and had been forcefully transformed and altered into new states. This is why the Hero Branch can sometimes be a little lenient to some of the monstrous villains, as they didn’t have choice in the life they were given. Is this the same for you?” Myth asked.

“Are you asking if I had a choice on the matter, would I pick a different path?” Battery asked.

Myth nodded his head. “Yes.”

Battery shrugged. “I guess I would. I don’t look back on my time under the Emperor very fondly.”

Myth let out a relieved sigh. “Ocean Empress. Battery has been on my team for months now. Since then he’s battled various villains, helped my teammates grow, has gone out of his way to save people, and even risked his life several times. My life was also saved by him once. I think I would like to trust him-”

"Like I'd trust you.” Ocean Empress hissed, cutting Myth off. “You’re the man who killed his own father. Your dad was a member of the Enforcers. I trusted him. Looked up to him even, and now he's dead because of you." The woman growled, and the water on her skin danced across it softly as she glared at Battery. "I tried to play nice. Your powers are close to the Victorian's. You just showed up one day out of the blue, and now you claim yourself as the son of the Emperor. Sorry, but there is zero way I can trust you or your team-"

"Then maybe we should tell you the truth." A new voice called out and caused the room to freeze. They turned and saw her. Standing in the doorway to the office was a very powerful person. Laps looked a little older than Jack last saw her. She had a few grays in her hair, a few lines on her face, and heavy bags under her eyes. Her suit was half put on, having been woken up at around midnight and forced to come down. The tired woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "What have you gotten yourself into, Mr. Larison?"

"You know Laps?" Myth asked.

"Yep. You, too?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Remember that time there was the warehouse incident and I showed up late? I was dealing with her."

"Neat-"

"What are you doing here, Ms. Laps?" Ocean Empress stood up and stared at the woman. By all accounts, Laps was sort of her boss. The woman was basically in control of all of Oleander City. In charge of all the heroes. Currently they were in Lillian, but it would still be best to not get on Laps's bad side.

Laps slowly closed the door and folded her arms. She gave off an aura of control. Someone you would want to listen to if you knew what was good for you. "I came down when I heard two special cases were here." Her eyes roamed over Battery and Myth. "The man who killed his own father, and the man who fought alongside Full Monarch."

"Fought alongside-" Ocean Empress stared back at Jack with wide eyes. "You mean..."

Laps took a seat and grabbed the first cup of coffee she saw that was on the table. She downed it and sighed. "Are you fine with me telling her?"

"Pretty sure she'll murder me if you don't." Jack chuckled.

The woman nodded. "Do you all know how monsters are created?"

Whisper shot her hand into the air. "Oh! Pick me, teacher! Monsters were created fifteen years ago by the Lord of Life! The Emperor used them in his army as soldiers! All of them have superpowers, but their powers have gone out of control and transformed their bodies to better suit their abilities. Some have evolved to the point of becoming massive monsters."

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

"That's right." Laps nodded. "One thing people don't know is that they used to be people." That caused the room to grow silent. "All monsters at one time were normal humans or Supers. Most didn't have powers, and the Lord of Life used his dark gift to evolve them into new beings. One that did have powers." The image of Kevin came to Jack's mind instantly. A normal human who had now become a Super. He had even started to look a lot like Mars King at one point. "The ones that were Supers already tend to become extremely powerful. Golden God, Hell Hound, Fairy Queen, and the Princess of Life were all Supers who then later became Monsters, explaining why they seem so much stronger than the others. As far as we know, there is only one way to turn a monster back into a person, and it was only done once."

"Who was it?" Ocean Empress asked, frowning.

"He's in this room." Everyone's gaze turned to Jack. "Jack Larison. He used to be a monster. One who served under the Emperor himself as his son. However, in his final battle, Full Monarch changed that wild creature back into a man. And thus Jack was reborn. The only case of a monster becoming a human. With the loss of Full Monarch, we may never see it happen again. It was thanks to this act that we were able to win the war fifteen years ago. You see, Jack Larison here would go on to leave a scar upon the Emperor’s body and allow Full Monarch to get the final blow, taking out the Emperor.”

"Full Monarch saved my life." Jack explained, slumping his shoulders. "He went out of his way to save the lives of so many people that day. Humans, Supers, and Monsters. Because of him, I'm still standing here. I’m not proud of who I used to be or the life I lived. I was given the name Alpha and raised as the Emperor’s son. He wanted a weapon that could kill Full Monarch. I was that weapon. I was his Giant. Full Monarch though didn’t see me as a weapon. He used everything he had and saved my life. The first real choice I got to make in my life was who to side with. In the end, I chose Full Monarch, and with my own two hands, I used that sword you all saw to split the Emperor’s gut open and save the life of Max Lightning, repaying the debt I owed to the Lords.”

Ocean Empress sighed and nodded. "I see. So you used to be a monster. For the most part, I see why that would be something you wouldn't be proud of. Twisted and transformed against your will. However, I'm guessing there is more to this story. You're a Super. That likely means you were one when you changed, right? In other words, you'd be one of the powerful monsters. Princess of Life and Fairy Queen are both women. By most accounts, people thought Hell Hound was a woman. Although, with all the armor, it was hard to tell. Golden God isn't you. That means you're not one of the big four Organization members. So what exactly did you need to hide?"

"He already told you." Laps stated. "He struck a blow on the Emperor. In the fight with Full Monarch, the Emperor's own sword was turned on him, and he was nearly torn in two. If information got out that a monster had become a human again or that he was someone that helped the number one hero slay the Emperor, then there was a good chance many of the Organization members or other monsters would stop at nothing to kill Mr. Larison. He also couldn’t turn to the side of heroes for help if it got out since it could have been leaked that he was the Emperor’s honorary son. After all, the first thing you did when you found out he held that title was force him into this room and demand answers. I imagine most heroes would hold this view.”

Ocean Empress flinched at the words and looked away. “I just… I was there.” Her voice went a little hollow. “Fifteen years ago, I was on that battlefield. City after city, I watched them crumble. I heard people die. I witnessed the moon crack and felt the planet shake. Ash rained upon the land, and I heard the voice of so many people I knew scream out in terror. I can’t trust anyone who fought in that war willingly on the Emperor’s side. He wasn’t like most villains. He didn’t have some big goal. He just wanted to end the world that hurt him.”

Laps let out a sigh. “I understand how you feel, but he helped beat the Emperor, and also because Full Monarch himself requested it, I pulled some strings and helped Mr. Larison fade away from the world. I gave him a new name and a job. He should have worked until he died, never seen by the public, but now this idiot has gone and gotten himself seen, making my job way harder."

Jack awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Well-”

He never got a chance to finish his sentence, as seconds later, the door to the office burst open, and a doctor ran in. “Ms. Ocean Empress.” He breathed heavily, having clearly run here. “It’s about your father. He—Well, he just- His heart stopped, and they’re trying to get it to restart but are having trouble! We need your daughter, Paragon, but we can’t find her anywhere!”

***

“Geez. Things went that bad, huh?” Kyle asked.

“You have no idea,” Rowan muttered, rubbing at his chest. He shuddered a bit, still remembering the pain that had coursed through his body from that villain. “I got off lucky. Most of my armor took the brunt of the attack, and all my damage was able to be reversed thanks to Paragon. Same for Snowdawn over there. You called him Armin, right?”

He never actually got to know Pantheon’s secret identities besides Whisper and Myth. He found himself back at his usual spot. The junkyard. He rested on a turned-over destroyed boat, looking up at the stars with Kyle. Kyle had left his house after noticing his father still wasn’t back, so the two decided to meet.

In the center of the junkyard, three other people stood. One of them was Snowdawn. His black suit was in tatters, and he seemed like he was having a hard time creating his snow. Even after being healed, he had taken a beating. Poseidon stood across from him, quickly blocking globs of snow with wheels of water.

Most shockingly, though, was Oxide. “You’re doing it wrong.” The girl huffed and flipped her hair.

“I think I liked you more when I didn’t know who you were,” Armin grumbled. “Also, what do you mean I’m doing it wrong?!”

Ashley folded her arms. She had followed them out of the hospital, finally able to leave after nearly a full month. She was basically back at her full strength, and currently, her dress flowed just like Ocean Empress’s would. Her mask was placed at her side, being held by a metal hook. She had a mild scar; well, to her, it was a significant scar. A nasty red burn mark that started from her side and climbed all the way up her body, covering a small portion of her face. All caused by her metal and glass melting to her body when she had been caught in an explosion by Ghost.

“You’re able to make snow, but you need to be making ice.” The girl stated. “Harder and stronger. Like how I solidify my metal.”

“I know, but it’s harder than it looks!” Snowdawn growled.

“He’s not wrong.” Poseidon chimed in. She was in full costume now, save for her helmet, which rested on the ground at her feet. She held a finger up, and water began to form out of thin air. It flowed, making various small shapes. “Controlling a liquid is often easier than solid things. Making that liquid stand still and harden is difficult but possible with effort.” The water halted its movement and shimmered a bit. “This is what you do, Oxide. You’re not really freezing it, more making it grow tense and sturdy. What Snowdawn is trying to do is shift it from one state of matter to another. Causing the molecules to stop fully and the liquid to change into ice. Even I can have trouble doing that.” Despite how humble she tried to sound, the orb of water instantly morphed into a giant ball of ice. “He doesn’t have the ability to make water; rather, he creates cold itself, so with a bit of inverting, he should be able to make ice.”

“Inverting?” Snowdawn frowned. He shot a look toward Oxide, but the girl just shrugged, clearly as lost as he was.

Rowan sat up and snapped his fingers. “Inverting is something a few heroes can do. Not all heroes can, however. I can’t, and many people with Mental powers are unable to. There really isn’t a true rule to it; it seems like some heroes are just suited for it, and others aren’t. I don’t know if you can do it or not.”

“Yeah, but what is it?” Kyle asked. “You never explained it. This is the first I’m hearing about it, too.”

Rowan folded his arms and hummed. “So basically, it does as the name suggests. It inverts power. Ocean Empress can create water, but by inverting her power, she creates ice instead.”

“Wouldn’t the inverse of water be fire, though?” Armin asked, looking down at his palm. His snow coated it, and he squeezed it. “Could I use Inverse to get fire like Cinder? She’d be so jealous- Oh shit! Could she use Inverse to get ice? Oh God, oh no! I’ll be worthless if she copies my moves. Next, she’ll steal my ice-cold puns, and I’ll be a worthless hero!”

Poseidon snorted and patted the boy calmly on his shoulder. “It doesn’t work like that exactly. It isn’t really an A to Z kind of thing. It’s more subtle than that. Some people that can Inverse can only do it by a small bit. Others can do it massively.”

“I don’t get it.” Oxide muttered.

“Me neither,” Snowdawn whispered back.

Rowan rubbed the back of his head. “Poseidon sucks at explaining things. Think of it like this. Imagine every Super has a one to ten scale, and we all fall in between five and six. On the left are one, two, three, four, and five. On the right are six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. That center point is your power. In your case, Snowdawn, it’s the ability to create snow and control it. By using your powers, you move this scale down. Each number is a more heightened form of your power. You lower the bar down to five, and your snow creation is colder and tougher. Move it down to four, and it’s even stronger. Get to three, and it would start to become ice instead of snow. Move it even further down, and it becomes more ice; reach one, and your power would be at its max and become something past snow and ice. The stronger a Super, the lower they can get that number. Inverse, on the other hand, changes how the scale moves. You go up instead of down. So you would hit six, then seven, then eight. Each number makes your power change, and the further the number, the more different it would be. Six would maybe give you the ability to create melting ice, seven would make it a water-based power, eight could be boiling water, nine might be fire, and ten could be pure lava.”

“So I could get fire!”

“I doubt it.” Rowan’s words caused the boy to deflate almost instantly. “Most Supers can only move the bar up or down by a small bit. If you’re lucky, you could maybe get it down to three and maybe up to eight. Of course, there are some heroes like the Victorian who can freely change her power in almost any way she wants, going from one to ten.”

“Well, I’ve created ice a few times,” Armin said, balling his hand into a fist and causing his snow to swirl out and shake as he struggled to freeze it but failed to do so, making him curse.

Poseidon hummed and rubbed her chin. “You’ve made ice before? That’s neat. What caused it?”

“Sometimes I just can.” The boy sighed as his shoulders slumped. “Usually, when I am in a fight or something. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

Poseidon snapped her fingers as her eyes lit up. “I got it.”

“What?”

She raised her fist up, and suddenly, it began to glow, and the space around it started to bend and twist. “As the Lord of the Sea and Depths, I have control over water and the crushing depths. Using Inverse on my depths, I can cause gravity to fall under my control.” She pulled her fist back, and the gravity grew more tense. “All I have to do is put your life in deep danger! Get it? Deep? Cause the ocean? Making puns is fun.”

“Whoa, whoa, I don’t think I like this plan,” Armin said, stumbling back. He shot a look towards Oxide and Rowan, who both just gave him awkward shrugs.

“Too bad! Punching you really hard now!” Poseidon yelled, throwing out a mean right hook as hard as she could, aiming directly for Snowdawn’s face.

In a panic, he threw his arms up, trying to block the punch. Then it all stopped. For just a single heartbeat, everything froze...

***

Wyvern crashed onto her back and let out a heavy sigh. “Alright. Screw you. I give.”

“Oh, thank God.” Hope collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. “I’m gonna be honest. I was sure I was losing that fight.”

The tower they were in was basically gone. They had crashed through several floors now. The walls had come down, and the roof had been blown off. Wyvern was covered in dozens of bruises, several of her scales were cracked, and she had a busted lip. Hope was in pretty much the same state. She had dozens of mild burns and a few cuts and gashes. Part of her golden hair had been awkwardly sliced, and she would need to get a good haircut to even it out again. Her black eye had gotten worse, and she was due a visit to Sky once again.

Her golden hair shimmered and faded back to black, and her fiery eyes died down. She pressed the button on her wristwatch, and suddenly, she was back in her civilian clothes, which were thankfully undamaged.

“Don’t get cocky. You didn’t beat me in combat. We just reached the bottom of the maze. That was the goal, remember.” Wyvern said, sitting up.

“Yeah, but I bet I could beat you.”

“Why, you little brat.”

She gave a chuckle and winked. “I didn’t use any of my fire. I just fought you hand to hand. I’m way better with my superpowers. I can do crazy cool stuff! Check it out!” She held her palm out, and the fire swirled and twisted, forming into a tiny backpack made of fire with arms and legs that flexed as the construct posed. “I can make the world’s most helpful backpack! Explosive, yet surprisingly stylish. Introducing: Baggy!”

Wyvern looked at Cinder, unimpressed. "You made a fire construct and called it Baggy?"

"Yeah, I had the idea when I was fighting Wish. I wanted to copy Battery and make something cool, but it came out like this. The weird part is I think it has a personality." She shrugged, showing off the small flaming bag, which had taken a break from posing to swing from her thumb. "I'm a little sad I couldn't use him against you. Little guy's pretty handy in a fight."

Wyvern's unimpressed look cracked, and the woman couldn't help but let out a little smirk.

“You’re an idiot.” Wyvern stood up and rubbed the back of her head. “I didn’t use all my power either. Let’s just agree we’re both awesome.” She held her hand out to the girl and helped pull Hope up to her feet.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “We’re both awesome-”

What was left of the tower exploded in a hail of debris, shaking the ground. They were left unharmed, but the building began to come crashing down. Wyvern fired a wave of flame toward the sky, burning all the stone before it could land on them. Slowly, something landed down in front of them. It stood at eighteen meters tall, forged from solid white metal with bits of red painted across it. It was a giant robot of some kind that had an impressive shield across its arm and a beam sword in its other hand, along with a huge jetpack on its back.

“Is that...” She trailed off. Baggy, the tiny flaming backpack dropped to the ground and raised its fists, beckoning for the robot to bring it.

“Yep. A goddamn mecha!” Wyvern nodded equally as stunned.

“I think it’s my turn now!” Boy Genius announced, his voice echoing from the robot. “I’m done being on the sidelines! I wanna fight too!”

“I think this is a little unfair!” She yelled, using Wyvern as a human shield in case the boy swung his sword. “At least give me a cool giant robot or a kaiju or something so I can fight!” If she was at full power, she could turn her gold mode on again and recreate those giant blasts she’d made with the fire backpack, but sadly, she seemed to only be able to swap into her golden form once a day right now. Twice if she got her stamina back from Paragon or Destiny.

The giant robot placed his arms on his waist and tilted his head. “Well, that would be fair. I never play a game that’s fair. I cheat at every game I’ve ever played. I’m a genius. And the first thing you learn when you’re smart is that playing fair is for stupid people.”

“Wyvern, help me out!”

Wyvern sighed, still being used as a human shield. “Knock it off, Boy Genius! It’s late, and I’m not in the mood to sit around any longer! I need a shower.”

Boy Genius let out a pouting noise, and the robot slumped down, kicking some of the debris high into the atmosphere. “Aw. But I never get to use Super-Diama-Mark-Three-Model-Zero-Ultra-Ray-Blade.” The robot pouted.

“That can’t be its actual name.”

“I don’t care,” Wyvern yelled, raising her fist up. “No more fighting! We’re done here!” She folded her arms, her tail growing out and reaching all the way up to the top of the robot’s head and smacking it on the dome. “Now put your toy away, or the next one will be on you.”

“Okay.” The robot kicked another rock and folded his arms, huffing. “Sure, I’ll just use this on Lucifer or something, I guess. I bet he’ll love it.”

“Well, I thought it was cool!” She called out, waving her hand. “I’d love to see what it can do another time. When you use it on Lucy, let me know. I would kill to see him get stomped out by a giant mech suit!” As she spoke, the tiny flaming backpack climbed back onto her shoulder and sat down, slouching in a way that made Cinder think it was disappointed at not getting to fight.

Boy Genius was about to say something, the robot’s head turning to look down at her. He never got the chance, though. An alarm filled his robot’s head, and it lit up, causing his eyes to go wide. Wyvern’s nose twitched, and she winced a little, looking up. Hope felt her ears burn as she heard a loud cracking noise all around her. She stared up at the sky, her eyes filling with shock. Gold filled the skyline above them. Despite the fact it was well past midnight, it was as if the sun was coming down. Baggy perked up and slid down her arm, landing on the ground and raising its fists again, hopping from foot to foot.

Hope felt her heartbeat begin to increase. This wasn’t the first time she saw the woman, but there was no crime or anything around them. This was her chance—the perfect moment to talk to her hero.

The Victorian held a massive golden blade, which she had over her shoulder. Her hair blew wildly in the wind, and her costume glowed with a golden light. She gently landed on the ground and twirled her sword around, stabbing it into the ground. “You’re that girl, right?” Her eyes were like the sun and slowly landed on Hope. “I really didn’t think you were the Lord of the Sun. Oh, how my father has fallen.”

“What?”

Wyvern threw her arm in front of Hope and stepped in front of the girl. Her tail twitched a little. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was out in outer space.” The Victorian explained, pointing up towards the sky. “There was an asteroid nearly ten miles wide. I went and destroyed it, of course, but then randomly, out of nowhere, this really big fireball suddenly slammed into me.”

“Uh oh.” Now that she got a closer look at the woman, the number one hero’s cape was a little burned. “That was an accident.” She tried to explain.

“Yes. A lot of accidents seem to happen around you, don’t they?” The hero snorted. Hope was starting to get the feeling the Victorian didn’t like her. “I think a better thing I should be asking is why I wasn’t informed you two found the Lord.” The woman asked, shooting a look up at the giant robot that was trying to sneak away.

She stepped forward and held her hands up. “It’s my fault. I’ve known who I was for a while now. When they found out, I wanted to show that I was strong enough that I didn’t need to be watched all the time. More than that, though, I wanted to see how strong Wyvern was. She’s an Enforcer member, and I wanted a clue how strong I was compared to one.”

“Oh? And why’s that?”

She took a deep breath and suddenly grabbed the Victorian’s hands. “I want to fight alongside you!”

"Huh?” Despite the number one hero’s sheer power, the woman seemed totally off guard by her sudden announcement. Even Baggy, still in a fighting pose near Cinder's feet, paused and looked up at its creator.

"Your father was the previous Lord of the Sun." She stated. "I don't know why it happened, but somehow, I am now the one who holds that title. The power of the Lord didn't go to you like it should have. You're the number one hero. I've always looked up to you, ever since I was a little girl. I don't care how it happens, but if I can help you out in any way I can, then I want to. You might not be able to be the Lord of the Sun anymore, but you can still use that power through me. I want to help you save my city, my world, my friends, and my family."

The Victorian pulled away and raised her arms. "Okay! So, the current Lord of the Sun is a fangirl. That's good to know!" The woman rose off the ground a bit, levitating. "Look, this is weird. I'm still thinking about what this could mean or how you have my dad's power. Boy Genius, I'll leave her to you."

Boy Genius gave a shrug. "Yeah, okay."

"What about me?" Wyvern asked, frowning. "I'm the one who trained her."

"You're a little too young to be taking care of a kid." The Victorian said flatly.

"Boy Genius is twelve!"

The Victorian just shrugged and got up a little higher. "Wait!" The woman stopped for a moment and looked down at her. The hero folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to say something. "I want to fly!"

"What?"

"How do you do it? Seriously! I can boost myself up with my fire, but how are you able to fly? Mr. Larison has the same power as you to an extent, but he can't fly. Full Monarch could fly, and I can't! What's the secret to flight? I want to know!” Cinder demanded. At her feet, Baggy undid the clasps of his backpack form, letting the flap loose in the breeze, posing as if he were flying.

The Victorian softly landed back on the ground and let out a hum. "How to fly. I taught Max Lightning how to do it. It was easy for him since he could control the air. As for how I figured it out, my dad taught me. He told me to simply tell gravity it doesn't boss me around."

"That... Feels like it shouldn't work."

The Victorian let out a soft chuckle and slowly rose off the ground once more. "You wanted to help me out? Well, maybe when you're able to actually fly, I'll consider it."

"I'll figure it out for sure!"

"You better, Cinder. If the power of the Lord of the Sun isn't mine to command, then it better belong to someone just as strong."

The golden woman didn't wait for the child to respond. The hero took off into the air, getting faster and faster until, after only a moment, she broke past the clouds. Coldness hit her as she soared out of the planet and made her way back into space. Earth always looked so tiny up in space. Peaceful and calm, she flew over and watched the earth in utter silence before finally landing on the moon.

The Victorian let out a sigh and took a breath of fresh air as she allowed the muscles in her body to ease up. The moon wasn't a place normal humans could live on yet—it might never be—but for powerful Supers like her, it was an okay spot. The Emperor had done just enough to give it some oxygen after he placed his castle on it.

Her father liked coming up here a lot, too. It was one of his favorite spots back in the day. When he wasn't saving the world, he stayed up here and waited for the Beast’s return. A job that now belonged to her.

This moon was the place where she kept his body and the cause of her divorce from her husband. Max Lightning was already plenty busy—too busy to take care of Lois—and didn't like when she would leave for weeks on end to watch over the planet. She had no choice, though. If she didn't, then the Beast could sneak up on the planet and wipe out a city.

The golden woman floated over to the ruins of the Emperor's old castle, a mighty black structure forged from living darkness. It had long since died and crumbled, leaving a crater in the ground where a single glass coffin resided.

She floated over to it, cross-legged, and sighed. "I wonder how Lois is doing. Maybe I should bring her up here one day. I don't really get to spend a lot of time with her." How many years had it been since she even talked to her daughter? She was ashamed to admit it, but part of her had actually forgotten about Lois and was only reminded of the girl’s existence around the time her friend Ocean Empress had been looking into that hero known as Battery. “Should I get her a present? What was that thing she liked again? It was some snack she used to eat a lot. Come to think of it, how old is she now? Sixteen? No. I think it’s more. Is she an adult now? Did I miss that many years?”

"Talking to yourself again?" The Victorian didn't bother to turn around or move as she felt fingers start to go through her hair. "Your hair is all tangled! Did you even brush it at all today? Also, your clothes are covered in burn marks! When's the last time you took a bath or ate any food?"

"I can negate things like sleep and the need to eat by consuming my energy and using my golden light’s healing power." The number-one hero cocked her head back and stared up at Lady Time. "How did you even get up here?"

Lady Time placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I'm an Enforcer. Any half-baked Super could get to the moon if they put in some effort." She was quite a beautiful woman, constantly winning votes for magazine covers, and had many TV shows and movies. Only one of her eyes was visible. A silver clock covered her left eye, and she wore a golden costume that had a skirt and cape, as well as silver clock designs all over it. Lady Time's finger brushed the Victorian's skin, covering her index finger in dust. "You're totally filthy. At least go take a bath. If it'll help, I'll come join you." She winked.

"As much fun as that sounds, I'm too busy." The Victorian balled herself up, still floating off the ground. She stared down at the little blue planet. "I met the Lord of the Sun."

"Whoa! Really?"

"She's young. About my age when I started using my powers for real." The Victorian's eyes broke away from the planet, and she stared down at the body of her father, who rested in the coffin. "She's so weak though.”

"Then train her."

"I don't want to." The number one hero said pouting.

"And I don't want to be the one who has to make sure you take a shower once a month and eat, but guess who got stuck babysitting you?"

"You do it because you love it."

"Yeah, you're right." Lady Time folded her arms and stared at Earth. "It really is pretty, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think we can really save it? Can we stop the Beast, the Emperor, Lucifer, or any other threat that appears? Are we actually heroes, or are we soldiers in costumes?" Lady Time asked quietly.

"I can't answer that." Slowly, her feet touched down on the moon, and she felt one of Lady Time's arms wrap around her. "I'll do my best, though. Whatever it takes. I don't want this world to end. Even if I'm not the hero my dad was, even if I might not be a symbol people can turn to, I want to save it. Since the beginning, I knew the Lords would return. That they would appear. I’ve been keeping this seat filled, waiting. Someone, somewhere, surely they’ll be able to do it. They can fix this planet and do the job I don’t want to do.”

Lady Time's fingers locked with the golden woman, and the white-haired girl snorted. "If it's you, I'm sure you will. You're the one who will make the impossible possible. For now, though, you can relax. Everything is fine at this moment. You don't need to be the Victorian, and I don't need to be Lady Time."

The Victorian gave a sly smile. "Well, Boy Genius said he created a bunker for me after the last one blew up. I need that bath. Would you care to join me?"

She liked coming up to the moon. It was always nice and peaceful, and it was a place she could call her own. She liked it better, though, when she wasn't entirely alone.

***

“Where am I?” Sky looked around with wide eyes.

It had only been a few seconds that she had nodded off. She had grown tired of using her power so much trying to heal Wasp Nest and Money Tree. It didn’t help that she had been left alone. The only conscious person in the room besides herself, having been BB, who remained silent, constantly gripping Money Tree’s remaining hand.

Sky looked around, frowning. She stood in a field of flowers; massive twisting trees hung in the distance, covered in strange plant life, and the sky glowed a pretty green color, casting sunlight down upon the land. She knew where she was. She had seen this place before.

Speaking of seeing, she realized Destiny wasn’t with her yet, in that moment, she was no longer blind. She looked down and stared at the dress she wore. Her fake world. That was where she stood. Somehow she had dragged herself into her dream land.

She took a nervous step forward, looking around. Gradually, the scene began to change. The sky above cracked, and black flames rained down. The trees started to fall, the flowers died, and the ground began to break apart. Everything crumbled and shattered as the world died. It was all replaced with an endless stream of white as the sky became pitch black, and never-ending snow covered what was left of the planet. There was no more life on the planet; all of it was gone, nothing left but the chunk of the world.

That was when she came face to face with herself. Or rather someone that looked like her. They had long white hair and fiery red eyes and wore a black dress.

“You.” Wish frowned. “Great. You’re the person I least wanted to see.”

Sky stepped back and stared at her reflection with wide eyes. “You’re the girl from my dreams.”

“Terrible pickup line.”

She threw her hand out, trying to bend the planet to her will. Nothing happened, though. After all, there was no life to bend here. “Crap.”

“Now, now.” Wish stepped forward, and before Sky could react, the villain’s arm was thrown over her shoulder. “While you’re here, let’s talk. After all, I need someone to keep me company.”