Pied's power didn't work on Supers. His ability to control people would only work on humans. Battling in the city would have been difficult normally, due to the amount of people that would be running around, especially with the celebration that was going on. Thanks to Pied, though, they were able to ensure everyone would be put in a safe place.

At first, she had been afraid that the bad guys would just attack through all the different people, but in reality, that didn't make a whole lot of sense. The fake Cinder was the type of arrogant villain who liked having people worship her and so wouldn't instantly go for the kill since that would harm her people. Not to mention, since Queen Cinder was the one that brought most villains here, the woman didn't actually have that many villains that were willing to work with her, so the fake Oleander City also wouldn't have a lot of villains that would be able to strike, since many bad guys would be avoiding it, due to the Queen being there. What villains Queen Cinder did have with her would have also been close by, near the stadium, and also wouldn't have time to react to what was going on since they'd be left out in the open as soon as the crowd dispersed and headed for their bunkers.

When the people did leave the stadium, it became very obvious just how small Queen Cinder's group really was. Besides the flying woman, there were only three other evil Supers.

The three other Supers all stood down where the stage was. They had been blending in with several of the people, but now that the crowd was gone and they weren't under Pied's control, it became obvious who they were. All three of them were a familiar face. The first one was a heavy-looking woman wearing a cow mask. The second was a smaller girl who had a long black tail that swatted back and forth. The final was a man in a bloodstained suit, wearing some sort of reptile-like mask. All three of them had once been members of Zoo but then had switched to other teams and now were working for the fake Cinder.

White Cow, Red Scorpion, and Red Raptor.

"Thankfully, it isn't anything too serious." Hope let out a relieved sigh when she saw the three villains. "I was afraid it'd be someone actually strong."

"Excuse you?" Queen Cinder sneered and remained floating up in the air, glaring down at her lookalike. Only Supers were left in the stadium now. Pied had left with the crowd, hiding amongst them, so on the good side there was Metal Ronin, the real Cinder, Phoenix, and Claymore. That meant it was an even four-on-four. Villains vs. Heroes. Well, there was actually one Super left that wasn't a hero...

"Um, Ms. Cinder?" Hope jumped a bit when she heard the voice and turned to find Cora standing there with a confused look on her face. "Wasn't I supposed to fall into the trance like my brother? I don't feel any different, though?"

"Cora!" Hope took a step back out of shock. "Why aren't you affected?" Pied's music was still playing, and by now, the entire city would be cleared out, yet here Cora was, in the middle of what was about to become a battlefield. "You shouldn't be here unless—oh."

"What?" Cora asked, just as confused.

"You're a Super..."

"What!"

Before either of them even had time to process that fact, the fake Cinder swooped down, using this as her chance. Hope struck out, on guard, but her counterpart was basically a stronger her. Fire flowed out of the fake Cinder's back, forming into a large hand that blocked the strike and then struck out, throwing Hope through several rows of seats. The others yelled and jumped into action, but they were all near the top of the stadium and weren't fast enough to react. Queen Cinder hooked an arm around Cora's waist and lifted the girl up. Cora gasped as she was taken into the air and surrounded by an aura of fire, which gushed out of the Queen, the flames protecting both of them from a barrage of bullets Metal Ronin sent their way.

"Come now," Queen Cinder spoke in a mocking tone as she glared down at the real Cinder. "You don't think I'd pick some normal human for the ritual, do you?" Queen Cinder's arm grew tighter around Cora's waist, causing the girl to gasp. "No. Of course not. We've dropped so many different people off in this land that every now and then, one of them gains powers. Not many, but a few. Those that do are offered up so that we can keep this world running. Honestly, it's such a pain in my ass that Lucifer and the Emperor decided to throw their Murder Games now. I don't know what those two bastards are planning, but-" The Queen was cut off as a wave of bluish flame launched at her, and Phoenix took to the air, flying after her. Queen Cinder casually blocked it and shattered the barrier that tried to form around her with a flick of her arm. "Kill them." She ordered boredly.

That was all it took for the other villains to act. Phoenix was just about to reach the woman when he was suddenly blasted down by a wave of milk. The milk formed into a large bone-like shard and smashed into his back, slamming him down into the field. He grunted and jumped back up just in time to see White Cow was on him, the woman covered in sharp, bone-looking armor. He blocked her strike and ignored the pain in his arms as he was shoved back.

He wasn't the only one dealing with a villain, either. Metal Ronin raised a barrier shield up just in the nick of time as Red Scorpion descended upon him, the woman letting out a loud and mad laugh. Her tail struck out like a whip, smashing into his barrier over and over again, slowly pushing him back, but his suit held on strong, and he swung out with one of his blades. The woman was fast, though, faster than she used to be, and ducked under his strike, punching him square in the stomach and denting part of his armor. Metal Ronin cursed himself for not having brought one of his better suits when he had been pulled into this game, but it was already too late to focus on that.

Finally, that left Claymore, who jumped to the side as Red Raptor charged at him. The villain was covered in feathers and scales, looking like some sort of weird mix between a chicken and a lizard. Acid dripped down his maw, and he howled loudly, but Claymore just lazily tapped at his ears where some earbuds were stuffed in.

"Sorry." The boy said sheepishly as he readied his sword. "Afraid I won't be much more conversational in this battle since I'm currently deaf! Don't like the song that's being played!"

Red Raptor let out a snort and narrowed his eyes. "Wait? Are you a fucking human? Do you even have powers? You don't smell like a Super-"

Claymore smashed his sword into Red Raptor's nostril, the blade slicing into the durable villain just enough to leave an annoying cut on his nose. "What? Can't hear you! Deaf, remember?" The boy said cheekily.

Red Raptor growled and burst forward with an incredible wave of speed and stabbed out with his hand, aiming to impale Claymore. Against any other person it might have worked, but Claymore was ready for it, dropping his sword, taking his jacket off, and turning. Red Raptor's claw went through the fabric, punching through it, and the villain hissed, glaring at Claymore, who was stumbling back. "I'll kill you—" Red Raptor stopped when he saw Claymore turning and running away. The villain's eyes narrowed, and he looked back at the jacket to see the inside was stuffed with C4. "Oh, that motherfu—"

Claymore jumped over the side of the stadium and hit the detonator, blowing his jacket up. Despite not having powers, he was currently doing the best.

"Cinder!" Phoenix yelled up as he dodged rows of milk spears that rained from the sky. "You go after the fake Cinder! I'll clear these guys up and catch up to you!" The man promised.

"Way ahead of you!" Hope crouched down and blasted high into the air. She kicked off of it, using her momentum to launch herself forward. The fake her might have her fire and might have her strength, but she possessed something the faker didn't have. She had experienced the memories of the legendary villain, Ruby Admiral. A Super who only had pure, raw strength. She had been doing her best to copy the way that woman fought, simply using insane brute force to muscle her way through any obstacle that got in her way. "Hang on, Cora! I'm coming!" She glared at her lookalike, who floated higher and higher. "And I'm going to beat your face in, Skin Walker!"

Queen Cinder giggled, forming wings of fire as well as two massive arms of flame, which punched out toward the hero. "Cute. You think you can beat me? Then again, you always were arrogant like that every time we fought, weren't you?"

Hope twisted her body in the air and struck out, using the air force to blast her out of the way of the fire fists. She was basically flying from how hard she was bouncing herself around, using the wind and the sheer offensive power of her strikes to keep herself airborne. "What are you talking about? We've never fought before? Have we? I guess I wouldn't know since you're a shapeshifter?" She neared the Queen and punched out as hard as she could.

One of Queen Cinder's arms was wrapped around Cora, so the woman sacrificed her other limb, lifting it up and using it to block. The arm shattered and cracked with a nasty snapping sound, and Queen Cinder was rocketed backward, flying out of the stadium and smashing back first into one of the many skyscrapers that made up the fake city. The woman barely batted an eye and simply snapped her arm back into place, the bone making a sickening crunch as it healed.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." Queen Cinder ripped herself out of the building and began to fly further into the city while Hope gave chase. "I'm both Skin Walker, and I'm not."

Hope jumped from building to building, running along them as she chased after the villain. She tore part of the roof off and threw it, but the fake her dodged it easily enough. "What does that mean? Some sort of stupid riddle or something?"

"You never were the brightest." Queen Cinder sighed.

"Hey! Don't call me stupid!"

Cora struggled in the arms of the villain, but she was unable to break free. Her mind was racing, and she was trying to figure out what was going on. She was a Super? That meant she was a Mage? But she didn't have a power? At least none that she knew of? It'd be handy if it activated, but she couldn't figure out what she needed to do. Worse yet, she had been chosen for something. "W- What are you going to do with me?" She asked pleadingly.

Queen Cinder smiled down at her and kept flying away from Hope, heading to the middle of the city. "I already said it. I need to save this world, and that can only be done with you, my dear. I don't know why, but you've been chosen this time. You're the one who's going to ensure our world doesn't fall to ruin. See, if we don't do anything, then 'he'll' wake up. And if he does, then it's over because he only knows how to bring everything to the bitter end. The Ruler of Ash and Ruin, once he's done everything within this world, will simply cease to be."

"I- I don't understand?"

"You don't have to, sweet thing." Queen Cinder patted Cora on the head with her other arm, which was now fully healed. "Lucifer and the Emperor both used his power, so did I, to create this world. His time distortions can speed everything up and make it reach the end of all things, and we used that to kick off our own version of humanity in here. We put you all in the Stone Age, yet with the distortion, you were able to recover rapidly and grow. Truly, it's amazing. You're about to be part of something greater."

"I don't want to be, though!"

"Ah... Sorry, but you don't have a choice." The Queen giggled and then dropped from the sky once she reached the center.

"I won't let you hurt her!" Hope came crashing down from above, ramming her legs directly into the Queen's body. She hit the woman hard enough to rip the villain's entire shoulder off. Cora dropped, but the fall wasn't very hard, the girl landing painfully on a nearby food stand, with the arm of Queen Cinder still around her. Hope and her lookalike slammed into the road, and Hope smashed her fist into the back of the Queen's head, shoving it further into the ground. "I don't know why you have my fire; I don't really care either. I just really want to hit you! What gave you the right to pretend to be me? To put on an act of my life! You shouldn't wear my face and say all those horrible things!" She breathed a little heavily and tried to force herself to calm down. Her heart was pounding, and she was just so pissed off at this other woman. "How do we get out of here?" She finally asked.

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

Queen Cinder just laughed, even as her head was shoved further into the ground. "You don't."

"Wrong answer!" Hope punched the woman in the back of the head even harder. "How do we get out of here!"

"Stupid bitch!" Queen Cinder spat out rows of broken teeth and blood. "There's a barrier. You can't! Not until the Murder Games are over! Not even Avalon's strong enough to bust out now! You'd need some sort of teleportation ability on the level of a Lord or something, which we both know you don't have."

Hope clenched her teeth and felt her rage bubble up even more. Had all of this been for nothing? Was there really no way out? Were they actually going to have to battle Lucifer and the Emperor? She glared down at the woman who looked like her. Her blue eyes met that woman's red eyes, and all she saw was utter glee. The fake Cinder wasn't lying. "Then I don't need you." It was out of anger and partly out of spite, but at that moment, she didn't care. She punched as hard as she could, blowing apart the ground and vaporizing the other Super's head. Hope stared at the crater she had created and felt the blood coat her hand. She felt a little sick in her stomach, but she squashed it down. She had just killed Skin Walker.

"Ms. Cinder?" Hope jerked her head up and saw Cora slowly getting off of the food stall she had crashed into. Spilled sausages and other such things littered the ground, and the destroyed arm was still awkwardly around Cora's waist. "Is it over?"

Hope looked down at the corpse she was still sitting on, a grim look on her face. "Yeah. It's over-"

The arm suddenly came to life, tendrils of red and white gushing out of one end of it. Cora screamed in fear, and Hope felt shock course through her, and a second later, the body of Queen Cinder reformed, connected to the arm, and grew Cora tighter to herself. Fire gushed out of the woman's body, covering her up in a dress, and her golden hair flowed wildly. "You heroes always make the same mistake." The Queen said in a mocking tone. "You should know by now that it's not ever over."

"What the hell?" Hope jumped back up in shock and glared at the other girl. "That healing is on the same level as Wish? I get you're a monster, but how can you do that?"

Queen Cinder's smile just grew larger. "How do you think? Oh? Also, look out."

Hope felt a sharp pain in the back of her head as something rammed into her from behind. She gasped and stumbled forward in shock, her eyes filling with pain. It was red and made out of liquid. A beam of blood. It wasn't the only one, as dozens more slammed into her body from all sides. They couldn't pierce her skin, but they hurt like hell. The ground beneath her then cracked, and rows of bone spears jutted up, wrapping around her from all sides.

"Yo, Hope! It's been a while!" A familiar voice called out.

Hope glared up weakly and stared daggers at the two robed figures that were stalking toward her. Casey and Hannah. "Why are you two here?" She demanded.

"Why not?" Hannah giggled and flicked Hope gently on the nose. "After all, we were told to torment you, above all else, by someone who really, really hates you!"

"What?"

"Don't worry about it," Casey grunted out and formed a blood whip, which he struck out with, slamming it into Hope's back. "All that matters is that we're not going to let you through." The bone spikes grew tighter around her body, and she grunted. "Go on, we're holding her here." Casey shot a nod to the Queen.

Queen Cinder lifted Cora up, holding the girl bridal style. Cora tried to escape, but the difference in strength was just too great. "Looks like things aren't going as planned for you, Cindy." The Queen taunted. She stepped forward and lifted her foot. "I am glad we got to fight here, though. This city is pretty special to both of us, after all. Though, I think our real final fight should happen somewhere else. We both know you're not going to stay put, so be a good girl and follow along when you can." The Queen brought her foot down, and the ground began to rumble.

The ground in front of the Queen suddenly cracked, and the road began to split in two. Something large began to rise up out of it. It looked sort of like a mausoleum, and inside of it, there were large steps that led down into an underground area beneath the city. Hope felt confused when she saw it because she had made sure there were no underground spots. Was this some sort of realm gate or something? It didn't really matter though, and she was more focused on the Queen who began to walk down it, vanishing into the darkness with Cora.

"Ms. Cinder!" Cora yelled out.

"Don't worry!" Hope screamed. "I'll save you! I swear!"

"Will you now?" Casey slammed his whip down once more. "You'll have to get out those spears first—" She flexed and shattered them. "Oh? Never mind."

"Well, don't think we're going to let you past us." Hannah declared, placing her hands on her hips. "After all, we're a lot stronger."

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't have time to deal with you. I didn't want him to be the one who fought you both due to the history the three of you shared, but I guess there's no other way."

"Who—"

Casey was cut off as something massive landed behind Cinder. The villains weren't the only ones who had a player they could pull into this mess. Kevin cracked his knuckles, his body twitching a little as he came face to face with his two old teammates. "Hey," Kevin said sadly. "It's been a while."

"Kevin!" Casey and Hannah were caught off guard so badly that they didn't have time to process the fact that Hope jumped past them and ran down the stone building that had been raised earlier. "What are you doing here?" Hannah demanded. "And why are you helping Cinder?"

"To be honest, I really don't know." Kevin rubbed the back of his head and grunted. "Things really got all fucked up. Either way, I'm here, and I'm on her side. You two have a chance, you know. You can call this off and come back from it." He held his hand out to them both. "It's not too late."

Hannah and Casey both took a moment and looked at each other. "You're wrong." Casey grabbed his cloak, and Hannah did the same. "It's way too late for us." He ripped it off of himself, and Kevin stumbled back in shock. "We're long past the point of no return!"

They were like Kevin. All traces of humanity were gone. Casey's flesh had been replaced with what looked like black latex as if he was in some sort of gimp suit, but it actually made up his body. Where his head was, purple fire gushed out wildly. Hannah was no better. She looked like a skeleton, only she was made out of solid steel. Her bones were metal and reflected the moonlight.

Demonica, Polaron, and Mars King...

When Doc had been creating his homemade Supers, he really hadn't been original...

Back at the stadium, things really weren't going too well for the good guys.

White Cow smashed her hand into the ground and let out a loud, moo-like grunt. Milk stabbed out of the ground like rows of razor-sharp blades jutting out in all directions. Phoenix was able to avoid them easily enough, though, flying into the air and forming solid barriers of his green fire, which blocked the strikes. He gritted his teeth and charged down fast toward the large woman. He didn't have time to deal with her, not with everything that was going on, so he decided to end the fight here and now. A sword of fire appeared in his hands, and in a single instant, he flew past White Cow and split her in half, right down the middle.

He came to a soft landing and sighed, closing his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't want to kill you, but you were putting up too much of a fight—" A milk spear jutted through his thigh, and Phoenix gasped out and stumbled back and turned to stare at the woman's corpse. "What the hell?"

Paper...

Rows and rows of paper. That was what spilled out of White Cow instead of blood. The woman was already dead. She had been dead for a while. The paper latched onto the two halves of the woman's corpse and then slammed them back together, healing the wound. In an instant, White Cow was back and fully healed. White Cow casually twisted her hand and brought it up, and more milk stabbed out of the ground, impaling Phoenix over and over again from all sides, lifting his body up high into the air, his blood raining down.

Further up in the stadium, Metal Ronin's helmet spat out a series of numbers. His suit was flashing nonstop, and dozens of different warnings were constantly filling his view. His batteries were running low.

"I get it! Shut up!" He sliced out with his sword and tore Red Scorpion's head clean off, but paper spilled from the woman's wound and attached it. "Shit. Just like in the sewers with the other Zoo members. Damn Uriel and his zombies!"

"It's pretty handy." Red Scorpion giggled. "Especially with the upgrades we get."

"Upgrades?"

Red Scorpion's tail jutted out and pointed at Metal Ronin. He expected it to jab at him like it had been doing, but instead, the tip part of it opened up, and a glow of greenish energy blasted out of it. The tech-based hero raised his shield, but his suit was far too damaged to keep up, and his barrier was blown apart. The attack sent him flying back, and he was launched through several rows of chairs, causing him to let out a loud groan.

"Oh... Those sorts of upgrades." He chuckled weakly. "Yeah... I call hacks."

Lastly was Claymore, who had already lost the fight before it even began...

Claymore was face down on the dirt, groaning. His sword was stabbed a little further in the ground ahead of him, and he grunted, struggling to pick himself back up. He still couldn't hear anything due to the earbuds he had, which kept him safe from Pied's music.

"I seriously can't believe a human actually thought he could fight us." Red Raptor cackled and walked forward. "Seriously? What right do you have to be in the same room as me, let alone battle me? We're gods compared to your kind. You're hopelessly outmatched and pathetic. Honestly, kid, you got balls for even trying."

Claymore chuckled and reached for his weapon. "Yeah, yeah. Humans are weak."

"I thought you couldn't hear me?"

"I can't." The boy sighed and pulled his sword out of the ground. "I've just heard this speech so many times I'm used to it now. Supers this, or Supers that. Only Supers can be heroes or villains. Claymore is a useless hero. You all say the same sorts of things. Maybe you're not wrong, but that doesn't mean I have to accept that as fact." He gripped his blade and held it up. "I'm me. And I'm Ms. Irene's knight!"

Red Raptor struck out with a brutal punch and downed Claymore in an instant. The hero dropped to the ground and didn't get back up. "Freaking useless brat." He was about to stomp on Claymore's head right as Red Scorpion was about to rip Metal Ronin apart, but both of them were stopped when a lance made of fire plunged into them.

"Enough!" Phoenix roared. His flames gushed out, shattering the spears in him and fixing his wounds, and blasting the lances out in all directions, stabbing into all the villains. "I won't give up!" In an instant, his fire spread out and formed into large stasis bubbles around the three villains, trapping them in place. He lowered himself to the ground and let out a small sigh but then jumped back as something began to dig its way out of his bubbles. "No! That's not possible!"

Pages upon pages began to literally phase through his stasis field and regrow into the forms of the three heroes. It simply didn't matter what they did. Each of them had been able to beat one of the villains they were fighting, but thanks to that dark gift of immortality, the wounds that the bad guys had received all simply vanished, and the villains reformed in an instant.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" Red Raptor chuckled.

Phoenix grunted, and his flames grew more intense. "Fine. Three on one? I'll take you all out again, and again, and again, as many times as I have to, until you simply can't heal anymore!" He roared and was about to charge forward but then stopped when he noticed something. The villains noticed it as well.

"What the hell is that?" Red Raptor grunted.

Red Scorpion looked up and narrowed her eyes. It was high in the sky and began to slowly get bigger. "Hey? It kind of looks like... a portal?"

Meanwhile, over with Hope, she found herself descending the many stairs of the stone building that Queen Cinder had summoned. Sure enough, it was a gateway to some sort of realm. She could feel that strange feeling she always got when she stepped through one, and when it finally opened up, she found herself stepping out into another familiar place.

It looked sort of like a forest. There were rows and rows of trees on either side of her, and the gateway was opened in the middle of a winding path. That path led all the way to a massive stone castle that hung in the distance, had a moat around it, and had a drawbridge. She didn't see the fake Cinder, but she knew that woman had made her way to the castle. What really caught her off guard, though, was that she knew this place. It looked exactly like the Pallet Boy's old realm. The one the Wandering Coin had taken over? It was a little different; the castle was made out of white marble, for one, and there was no sky, simply a massive stone roof that hung above, with large stone walls on either side of it, as if they were in some sort of weird box. Despite that, though, there was no mistaking it for another recreation of the Pallet Boy's base.

"First the city, and now this? What the hell?"

She didn't even have time to step forward before she heard it. It came from above. A loud, raging roar and something from the stone roof began to drop toward her. "Cinder!"

Hope felt her eyes go wide, and she jumped out of the way just in time as Intake rammed into the ground in front of her. The villain had grown a lot larger and was starting to look like the form he had been in when he had taken those drugs. He walked on his knees and used his wrists sort of like an ape to support himself, and a twisted grin was on his face.

"Seriously." Hope chuckled and lifted her hands up. "What the hell is going on?" She flipped and used her hands to push off of his fist as he launched out a strike toward her. She took to the air and then kicked forward, smashing her foot directly into Intake's jaw and shoving him back. "Sorry, big guy, but I seriously don't have time for you!"

"I'll kill you!" Intake laughed. "Rip you apart, devour you whole, kill you dead!" More of the ground rumbled, and he slapped his hands down, dozens of those golems ripping their way out.

Hope landed in a nearby tree and clutched her face, shaking her head. "Man, you're such a pain in the ass."

"Don't worry, you won't be dealing with him." Another familiar voice called out. "I'll be the one fighting him." Intake and Cinder both turned and stared in shock as from the gateway a hero that definitely shouldn't have been here stepped forward. Lightning Empress casually flipped her hair and winked. "Hey, Cinder. Looks like you've been following the Paths good enough. We still have a shot at the good ending."

"Lois! How are you here?"

"Don't worry about that." Lightning Empress turned to face Intake. "Go, and beat that faker! Do it fast, before the ritual is done. Don't let that girl die!"

"How do you know about that-"

"Hope!"

"Right!" She was about to leave, but Lois called her name again. "What? You were telling me to get going."

"Take this first." Lois had been holding a silver briefcase but tossed it toward Hope, who caught it.

"What is it?"

"A gift from Battery."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," Lois smirked. "Activate it when you fight that lookalike."

Hope nodded and jumped off of the tree, heading for the castle in the distance. As she jumped through the air, Intake took a swipe at her, but a bolt of lightning rained down and burned through his hand. Lightning Empress floated in front of him now and flicked her finger, shooting out several more beams of lightning, which burned through his golems.

"Sorry." The girl said casually. "I know we don't have a history, but I'm afraid I'll be your opponent. After all, that's how this story is going."