The group made their way into the facility. They ran into the occasional turret or gravity barrier…but nothing a squad of heroes and a killer cyborg couldn’t handle.

That is, until Elise stopped walking.

“Warning: This unit is detecting many life signs ahead. Additional energy signatures detected indicating presence of…Nemesis assets.”

The heroes glanced at Elise, then each other, and nodded. The team took up a combat formation as they approached a door ahead.

The door opened up into a wide open area.

Filled to the brim with monsters and drones.

As well as five human figures.

“What?! You joined the Aurora Losers, Elise?!”

“Response: Friendly Saydaa has been compromised. This unit has procured assistance to rescue compromised friendlies.”

“If you have betrayed Bob-sama, then you are my enemy, Elise.”

“Observation: It is friendly Nana who is currently opposing Commander Bob.”

Nana clutched at her head, but yellow lights danced around her.

A little girl stepped forward.

“Huh, Aurora Legion, why are you all working with a villain?”

Wonder Knight stepped forward as well.

“We’re helping people in need, Little PSI.”

She puffed her cheeks.

“It’s PSI Omega now. And what people in need?”

“PSI Omega, have you seen what’s going on? What you’re doing to people?”

“I’m helping people.”

Voidspeaker clenched his fists.

“By hurting them? What do you mean you’re helping people?!”

PSI Omega tilted her head.

“Everyone hurts people. People do it all the time. They lie, and trick, and fight, and steal. They hurt the people they love and suck up to the people they hate. It’s really weird. There’s no one who doesn’t hurt people, and every choice everyone makes seems to hurt someone else, even when they don’t want to hurt anyone else. We hurt people too, even more than most. And the people we hurt hurt others even more than us. So all we ever do is try to stop as much of the hurt as we can. In fact, the people I’m controlling don’t hurt anymore, once they stop fighting, so if anything, I’m helping everyone this way.”

Captain Hot Devil heaved a sigh.

“You know the one who’s hurting right now is the Director, PSI Omega?”

PSI Omega nodded.

“I know, that’s why I’m helping her.”

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“So are we. So why don’t you let us pass?”

“I don’t think so. You might want to help, but the rest of them just want to stop us. Hurt her more, let these people keep hurting others. So if I have to choose someone to hurt, it’s going to be you.”

PSI Omega extended her hand out. While she couldn’t necessarily fire the device outside of the targeting room, she could still give orders to previously affected individuals.

Nana and the grav-drones rained fire as the crowd of monsters rushed forward.

Voidspeaker put up a void wall that absorbed the bolts while Icy Rose raised her hands, cold gales surging around the black wall. They curved around and spun together, forming an ice-filled vortex between the two parties.

Only for a certain redhead to snap her glowing fingers.

A vortex of flame grew from the ground, spinning in the opposite direction. The two cyclones collided in an explosion of steam before both dispersed, leaving the path clear.

Voidspeaker fired a beam towards Saydaa but she ducked behind the wall of monsters, the draining beam barely slowing the charging beasts. A dozen red magic circles then appeared in the air. Voidspeaker grunted and split his hands, sweeping two beams across the sky to disperse the circles before they could activate.

Meanwhile Pink Star created three ankylosauruses, the dinosaurs forming a wall against the approaching monsters. Arvid leapt into the air, sword pulled back and ready to throw.

But Wonder Knight leapt into the air before he could attack, tackling the man and sending them both hurtling across the room.

A flash of light appeared behind Pink Star and Kiyosuke stepped out, sword in one hand with a stun baton in the other. But Chronolock ran through slowed time and managed to block his baton with her own, lightning surging from the two short staffs as they collided.

The boy smirked and leapt back. Chronolock chased after him, slowing down time to keep up with the speedy shinobi. Black and yellow flashes chased each other across the battlefield, sparks and lighting flying as their stun batons collided.

Just then, a metallic flash rushed ahead of the pair. Chronolock smirked.

Elise appeared ahead of them, right in Kiyosuke’s path…

Then a barrage of bolts lit up the floor around the cyborg. Elise turned, creating a gravity barrier to block Nana’s assault.

But she had missed her window as Kiyosuke noticed her and changed his trajectory. Chronolock grit her teeth.

Time to end this.

She stopped time completely.

She ran up to Kiyosuke, setting herself up behind him. She swung her baton, and then changed from stopping time to slowing it, right at the moment the baton struck the boy. He had practically no time to react.

And so the baton struck true.

And Kiyosuke’s clone exploded in a puff of smoke.

Chronolock’s eyes widened.

And a flash of light appeared behind her.

Kiyosuke stepped out, extending his hand. A blue circle of light appeared on his palm.

Chronolock cried as lightning surged into her.

Kiyosuke’s prosthetics were mostly focused on channeling his chakra, so there wasn’t room for many weapons.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t have a trick or two built in.

Pink Star frowned as she watched Chronolock drop. She raised her hands, creating a clone of Kiyosuke. The pink shinobi rushed forward, grabbing Chronolock and flickering back before the original could respond. The copy laid the girl down amidst her team. Hopefully the stun blast would wear off soon enough.

Because they needed her.

Pink Star grunted as a spike of pain shot through her head.

The pink shinobi vanished.

Along with one of the dinosaurs.

It seems she didn’t really understand ninja powers…so adding a ninja as a fourth construct was a step too far for the girl.

She focused in on the remaining two dinosaurs. They roared and swung their clubbed tails, warding off the monsters. Captain Hot Devil leapt into the gap left by the third, blasts of fire driving the monsters back.

Meanwhile Voidspeaker and Saydaa continued their duel, Voidspeaker rushing to erase the magic circles appearing all over. But Saydaa was speeding up. Voidspeaker needed to change the game. He started to chant and glow with dark purple light, rising into the air to get a better view…

Saydaa launched from the crowd of monsters, eyes glowing and hair flying, launching straight towards the boy.

Voidspeaker grinned and fired his beam on her…

The illusion flickered and vanished before the beam even landed.

Voidspeaker’s eyes widened as red light began to glow to his side.

A grinning Saydaa floated midair, holding a massive ball of red energy in her hand. She flung it forward, a blast of fiery red surging across the sky.

Voidspeaker barely got his chant off in time.

He was draining the energy…but the sheer quantity risked overwhelming him. It took all he had just to hold the line.

Captain Hot Devil looked back as he dodged under the paw of a giant wolf, countering with a burning fist. He grimaced.

Wonder Knight was engaged with the swordsman and cut off from the rest of the team.

Voidspeaker was locked into a tug of war with the magic girl.

Icy Rose was occupied with the grav-drones, using her icicles to keep the skies clear.

Pink Star was doing all she could to hold the line with him.

The cyborg was engaged with the shinobi girl in a ranged duel.

They were holding.

But just that, holding.

And until Chronolock recovered, there was no one to handle the shinobi boy and his speed.

It was clear which way this fight was going to go.

He had to make a play, right now.

He jumped up to avoid a charging boar and leapt off its head, jets of flame firing from his feet. He launched into the sky and rushed across the room, using blasts of flame from his arm to roll around grav-drones in the air. He pulled back his fist as he neared his target.

He frowned.

He would not enjoy striking a young girl.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Captain. You won’t hurt me.”

PSI Omega raised her hand, glowing light blue. Captain Hot Devil grunted as he came to a stop in front of her, hanging still in the air. A light blue glow surrounded him. The girl grinned at him.

“I win.”