A week had passed.

Chloe hadn’t been home in a couple of days and that gave Revive plenty of downtime.

He knew she was avoiding coming home because of her new relationship but regardless, The Speedster saw enough tabloids to know who the guy was.

“I guess I should appreciate the little empathy she has left,” Revive sighed.

Still, he caressed his signet ring for a couple of seconds, closing his eyes to feel the familiar vibration of The Speed Force calling.

It was ready…

He was ready…

But all the materials were not ready…

The crystal superconducting wires, the anchoring metal added to his signet ring, and two vials of the essence.

Now, all that was left to find was an engine capable of shattering dimensional barriers, bringing the exotic matter into the equation.

That would do well enough to incite The Speed Force.

And Revive had found just the person he required – Hutch.

The space next to The Speedster warped and with a flicker of blue lightning, Hutch popped into existence.

“You ready?”

“Yeah, I have everything,” Revive replied.

“And you will keep your promise?” Hutch clarified once more, fully prepared to bail at the first sign of something going wrong. “Show me how to use the Power Rod to find my father.”

“The job will have risk but just by using the Power Rod to breach dimension, you will have better control of the device,” The Speedster explained. “Now, we need somewhere with a massive storm.”

“Jacinda and Gabby say they have it covered,” Hutch replied and scratched the back of his head. “We still need an anchor for all that lightning.”

Revive paused.

“I will be the anchor…”

Hutch paused, brushed his mohawk, and then frowned. “Will anybody come looking for you, if you die?”

“Maybe, so make sure I don’t die,” Revive smirked.

“I have another friend who I can call – I need twenty-four hours to get things in place,” Hutch spoke freely, not fearing Revive.

The Speedster sunk into his thoughts and slowly nodded.

“I need to meet some acquaintances tonight,” He responded. “We will go through with everything tomorrow evening. And trust me, you don’t want to betray me.”

Hutch felt challenged. “Why is that, huh?”

“Because even your father wouldn’t dare to—” Revive replied, grabbing the Power Rod and sending a flicker of orange lightning into the device.

Hutch’s eyes grew wide and the next moment, the Power Rod had forcefully teleported him home, and when he gave the command, it refused to take him back to Revive.

--------------

Revive stepped out of the apartment, made his way down the stairs, and into the parking lot.

He looked to the skies.

“Brandon, you here?”

A second later, the ground shook and Brandon appeared in his Paragon uniform.

“I won’t go superhero-ing with you…” Revive made it clear from the onset.

“What… no!” Brandon glanced down at his attire and sighed. “I just forgot to change. We’re going to a club and you can meet some of the crew.”

“Who?”

“Briggs, Vera, Tectonic, and me,” Brandon revealed.

Revive sunk into his thoughts for a couple of seconds and ultimately shook his head in agreement.

Brandon was off the ground and into the skies with Revive before The Speedster could change his mind.

They had to fly slower.

Luckily, they didn’t have to go to the farm – Brandon had a small place of his own in the city, and he used it whenever the house got too constraining.

Ironically, it also had a skylight.

They shot through the window and into the apartment.

“Honestly, I think I can identify heroes just from having skylight windows in their houses,” Revive joked.

“Be careful,” Brandon warned. “Could be villains as well…”

Brandon was quick to change and Revive simply required a thought to shift his clothing into something semi-formal.

He wore a loose suit.

It was the typical look after a breakup and it seemed strangely appropriate since Chloe wasn’t contacting him anymore.

“How do you do that?” Brandon was impressed by the unique shift in clothing. “Do you manipulate matter?”

“It is a Klyntar—” Revive educated. “And with any luck, you will never know what that means…”

“And if I do find out someday?”

“Then mourn the loss of your normal life forever,” The Speedster bluntly voiced.

“Can we take a taxi?” He continued.

Brandon smiled and shook his head and before Revive could argue his point, Paragon blurred and they were soaring through the skies once more.

The flight lasted two minutes.

Unlike his usual landing, Brandon was forced to slow down long before he neared the ground – then he hovered down.

Revive hopped out of his arm.

“I think I am the first person to be carried by a superhero brother and sister,” The Speedster complained.

“You’d be surprised how many times Chloe and I had to act as taxis when we were younger…” Brandon corrected. “Not all members of The Union can fly.”

The music reached their ears.

The parking lot was a superhero haven.

Revive could see a dozen other heroes floating down from the skies, landing in the parking lot with thuds.

He could tell which were powerful based on the vibrations that traveled through the ground.

----------

Brandon led the way into the club.

The bouncer seemed intent on stopping the duo at one point but as soon as he got a good look at Brandon’s face, the man stepped aside.

Revive liked the music.

He didn’t like the contact too much.

The moment he entered the club, The Speedster could sense a dozen different skills scanning his body.

Though the target of the scanning was usually Brandon, the hero remained completely ignorant of it.

‘Guess he is a bit dumb in this universe too…’ Revive mused.

The crowd parted as Brandon walked and it was the first time Revive saw anyone giving the boy a bit of respect.

They went up the stairs.

The VIP area was bordered by red rope and Brandon’s friends had chosen the most public location for their small get-together.

And from the whispers Revive could hear, Paragon had promised his friends a treat… the treat being Revive, himself.

“You didn’t tell me you brought me in front of the circus…” The Speedster was upset.

“It just slipped,” Brandon smiled sheepishly.

HEY – HEY

HEY

“So, Revive…” Brandon gestured to the couch and it shifted a bit to the right, just enough for himself and Revive to sit. “—these are my friends… Briggs, Vera, and Barry…”

“I am familiar with three of you though your genders are a bit mixed,” Revive commented.

“Ha…” Briggs chuckled, taking another swig of his cigar. “Is it true? You jump between Universes and all?”

“Something like that…”

“So, I am a guy in another universe?” Vera questioned, flickering from her spot to Revive’s side. “Enlighten me…”

“While the offer is tempting—” Revive drew the line immediately. “I would like to point out that I am married.”

“You mean to the girl who was here last night making out with two guys?” Briggs laughed. “That’s some tough loyalty.”

“Relax!” Barry ordered, sending a tremor through the table that spread the shots to everyone. “Tonight, we drink and relax. There is no telling what tomorrow may bring.”

“Always shit…” Revive replied, downing his shot in one gulp. “I have seen enough events to know that tomorrow always brings shit.”

“Well…” Briggs raised his shot cup. “To living tonight.”

“And taking home a guy who deserves a better girl,” Vera insisted, shifting her seating position closer to Revive.

Some small talk followed.

The drinks made everyone buzzed but their metabolism was too advanced to become truly drunk without trying really hard.

“—And we blasted him back to his dimension—”

Stories run amok.

Revive even heard some secrets lingering in the stories – secrets the young heroes didn’t know were there.

“—The code is all that matters—”

Then, the young heroes spent the better half of an hour making fun of Brandon’s father and Paragon seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

…

“And what do you think?”

“Pardon?” Revive wasn’t paying attention – he was lost in a world of his own.

He always thought about the countless experiences under his belt and had the urge to weep.

“What do you think about the code?” Briggs inquired. “Will all the pain and struggle be worth it?”

Revive hesitated but maybe it was the alcohol that loosened his tongue a bit.

“You don’t have time to make it – worth it…” He stated.

“You mean the war?” Brandon inquired.

“Yeah… it’s already here and someone is fighting it and since they don’t need your help, that means they’re profiting from it,” Revive revealed, shaking his head in disappointment. “There is a right way forward… but the code will never get you there.”

“You hate it too?” Vera joked. “I thought I was the only one.”

“You have to understand,” Revive’s eyes met Barry’s, then Brandon’s, and then Vera’s. “Utopia is the code, do you understand? There is such a thing as being too good – even Heaven has those who kill on their behalf.”

“Heaven?” Briggs sputtered his drink.

“And if Heaven sees the need for some things to die permanently. Who is a man with a code to say that killing is always wrong?” Revive questioned, the disdain lacing his tone. “The code was always about Sheldon’s personal choices.”

“So, you would say yes to killing?” Brandon growled.

“Killing is a last resort. Sheldon has taken it off the board altogether,” The Speedster protested. “Your father thinks humans need to be protected but… I fear no species as much as I fear humans. And I know some Gods.”

Vera’s, Briggs's, and Barry’s eyes widened.

“After all… I am a human,” Revive’s eyes narrowed, glancing at each hero in turn. “And I can kill all of you guys here… in the blink of an eye.”

They tensed further.

Barry was the first to chuckle, seeing beneath Revive’s speech. “You are going to make a play for the throne and you want our support.” He stated.

“A play for the throne?” Brandon questioned.

“You have competition for Utopia…” Briggs explained.

“No, not Utopia,” Revive corrected. “I am starting an organization of my own. It will be a way to protect Earth from the extraterrestrial threats to come. It will be called The Justice League, and I want you all to be a part of it.”

Briggs sipped his drink.

“Yeah, I’d have to pass,” Briggs didn’t even hesitate. “The Union is enough for me. I don’t care about superhero politics of it all.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Same here,” Vera shrugged.

Barry simmered in silence for a couple of seconds. “I just want to come home every day knowing I made a better world for my daughters.”

“Siding with me is the only way your daughters get to see their father next week, much less every day,” Revive revealed.

Barry’s eyes widened.

And Brandon, who was going to boast about staying loyal to The Union, quickly bit his tongue.

“You’re saying?”

“You don’t have long to live,” Revive’s eyes turned to everyone but Brandon. “None of you do. Doesn’t matter if you stay at home or what… and I am your only way out.”

The Speedster didn’t think he knew how that conversation would go and he partially blamed the liquor but…

…

A couple of seconds later, Revive was thrashed outside of the club.

It took Brandon getting between him and the young heroes to call them off.

However, they didn’t try to hurt Revive.

Briggs, on the other hand, intended harm, and The Speedster made sure to memorize his name and possibilities.

“You okay?” Brandon offered a hand to Revive after the others had departed back into the club.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Paragon questioned. “They weren’t punching their hardest but you look like you can take punches regardless.”

“They’re just scared,” Revive stated, shrugging his shoulders. “I remember the first time someone tried to take my life. I was scared to death. After a while, I calmed down and I treasure the experience.”

“Wise words…” Brandon muttered, then questioned. “Do you really mean what you said about my dad?”

“Your father isn’t a hero because he wants to be, and that means he will never be a true hero,” Revive shook his head. “And you can ask him this? The truth is, he only decided to be good because his father was bad.”

Brandon sunk into deep thoughts.

“Can you drop me by the apartment?”

Brandon grinned.

Suddenly, Revive realized what he was asking.

---------

The ground shuddered with their arrival, and this time, Revive made sure to release Brandon a bit earlier, ensuring his landing was gentle.

“Thanks…”

“You may not want to go up there, right this second,” Brandon warned, clearly knowing something Revive didn’t.

“What do you mean?” Revive shrugged. “If Chloe brought home a guy, then I can live with that. I have been with her enough to know that when she loves, she does so entirely.”

“Tonight, is one of those nights when she lashes out, so do yourself a favor and don’t go in there,” Brandon warned. “You still don’t know the story of why she left home.”

The Speedster said nothing – he simply turned and rushed up the stairs, even blurring slightly.

Brandon sighed and departed.

---------

Revive was up the stairs and into the apartment.

The panic in his gut.

The anger bubbled beneath his expression.

And without knowing when, The Speedster had activated his signet ring, and his Klyntar morphed into a suit around his body.

And his mind cleared.

Then, Revive realized he had been set up.

Brandon coming to take him out, Chloe was away for a week, and now someone was in the apartment – someone he had expected but forgotten about.

“You made a deal with The Shadow, right?”

With his mind no longer clouded, Revive could see everything for what it was.

“She hinted it to me. Someone else was negotiating for The Legacy Crystals,” The Speedster stated, puzzle pieces finally sorting themselves. “When you realized you couldn’t get the legacy crystals, you thought – who would know about them? And the answer was The Dimensional Hopper that just arrived…”

Brainwave smiled and gestured forward.

Chloe blurred from her place at Walter’s side, and placed an arm on Revive’s shoulder, forcing him to kneel before Brainwave.

He didn’t try to fight to keep standing.

“Continue…” Walter stated.

Revive knew the man was trying hard to get into his head – of course, the superhero would never succeed.

As long as he was wearing his signet ring, Revive was protected from psychic probes.

And the only way he had grown so lax was because The Shadow had made a deal to cloud his mind while The Speedster was no longer wearing his ring.

“You made a deal with The Shadow to cloud my memories of you, but it was too much memory to keep clouded for too long. That’s why you’re here,” Revive deduced. “You have to decide if I am worth killing or partnering with.”

“And what do you think my conclusion will be?”

“You can’t kill me even if you try your hardest – at least, not alone, and bringing more people would lead to a greater struggle,” The Speedster turned his head to Chloe, frowning at the greyness in her eyes. “And if you use Chloe to kill me… let’s just say, I will take that personally when she fails.”

“You would what?” Walter inquired. “Have me set you free, knowing the things you know? I can’t get into your mind but I can get into the mind of those around you. For example, Chloe…”

“Her bad decision?” Revive chuckled. “You would be surprised to find how many of those bad decisions she would have made on her own, regardless of your slight nudges.”

“All you’re doing is showing me that you know too much…” Brainwave insisted.

“I think you have a misunderstanding here,” Revive’s eyes narrowed, The Speed Force glowing within. “Your job is to tell me why I should allow you to walk out of that door.”

“And your reason can’t be because you’ve taken Chloe hostage,” Revive’s voice hardened and echoed with unnatural synchronicity. “I have seen a thousand Chloes die and I will be prepared to see one more.”

A silent tear shed down Revive’s cheek.

Walter knew he was serious – no man such as Revive would shed a tear in front of the enemy without being prepared to see something to the bitter end.

“Do you really think I came here without guaranteeing my life?” Walter questioned.

“Do you really think you can kill me and leave here intact?” Revive questioned in turn.

The men were at an impasse.

Walter wasn’t sure what Revive had up his sleeves and Revive knew he could not defend against a combined assault from Chloe and Walter.

‘I would have to leave…’

And there was no guarantee he would be able to pinpoint this universe out of the many.

“Then, we strike a deal…” Walter suggested.

Revive internally rejoiced at not offering the deal because now he had an upper hand in the subsequent negotiations.

“With our power as payment,” Revive suggested, retrieving one of the legacy stones from his dimensional storage.

There was silence for a couple of seconds before Walter nodded.

“I want you to support my idea of the establishment of a new society – a more modern one. It will be called The Justice League.”

“I want you out of Chloe’s life – she belongs to me now.”

“And I want no direct or indirect attempt on my life for the next three years.”

“The price will be our abilities.”

“Agreed with some amendments,” Walter floated to the ground, releasing his hold on Chloe.

The girl dropped as if her strings had been cut and Revive quickly caught her, shifting the braces around her wrist from transparent to silver.

It protected her mind.

“What amendments?”

“You can’t stop Chloe from coming to me if she chooses, you can’t as much as say my name in a negative light, and you can’t make any attempt on my life for the next three years.”

“Agreed,” Revive responded.

A flicker of white essence flowed out of Revive’s arm and into the legacy crystal in his hand.

A cloud of pink psychic energy floated out of Walter’s chest and into the legacy crystal.

And then, it disappeared.

Revive and Walter eyed each other for a couple more seconds before the latter shot out of the skylight.

A deal had been reached but The Speedster wasn’t naïve enough to think that Walter would let sleeping dogs lay.

In every universe, the tricks were different.

Revive had a trick of his own – he made a deal with Walter at the cost of his abilities but The Speedster, himself, had no abilities.

It all came from the Speed Force.

Walter could never contain the entirety of The Speed Force so an easy way to kill the psychic hero was simply to break the deal.

Likewise, Revive knew Walter wouldn’t leave without doing something to Chloe.

There was no way Walter would allow him such a powerful backer.

Before Chloe could wake up, Revive placed his hands on the bracers, permanently merging the divine weapons to the girl’s wrists.

‘It will become the source of her power. I didn’t want to do this since there are benefits to being only partially Amazon. But…’ Revive rubbed his head in frustration. ‘If anyone attaches chains to her bracers, Chloe will lose all her power. But this is the best option for now…’

A couple of minutes passed.

Then Chloe’s eyes snapped open and The Speedster immediately knew that he had missed something important.

He was off his game or he would have noticed the blood sooner.

“Revive, what did you do?” Chloe awakened in a shell-shocked state.

Before The Speedster could react, his back was slammed into the wall, and blood spluttered from between his lips.

It was the first time Chloe had put a hand on him with the intent to hurt him.

Revive could not speak with how tightly The Amazonian was holding his throat.

“You killed him… you killed him,” She kept repeating and her eyes narrowed. “Out of what? Fucking jealousy?! Are you stupid? I don’t belong to you!”

The Speedster’s eyes flickered back and forth.

A loud thud.

Revive’s back was slammed into another wall and Chloe was panicking more and more.

“My dad will come for us… for me.”

The dread in Chloe’s mind was palpable.

“I didn’t… I didn’t…”

Revive tried to plead his innocence but Chloe’s grip only tightened and tightened.

“I’ll call Mom and then you’ll get a deep, dark cell somewhere,” The Amazonian decided, regaining some of her wits.

The Speedster gritted his teeth, and at the cost of further damaging his cells, flickered for a split-second, removing himself from Chloe’s grip.

“And you lied about losing your power?”

Just before Chloe could decide to take even more drastic measures, Revive toppled over and started coughing out bits and pieces of his organs.

And there was blood.

Clearly, using whatever little power he had left did not come without a cost.

“Where is the body?” The Speedster yelled.

Chloe glanced around for a couple of seconds, trying to find something that was clearly there before.

“Give your mind time to relax and the bracelets will allow you to distinguish which memories aren’t yours,” Revive consoled.

The Amazonian did as she was told, leaning against the cracked wall that she had almost pushed Revive through.

“Who was it?” She asked.

“The same guy you brought home – a superfan or something,” Revive lied but that would be the best explanation. “You gave him a bloody nose – he saw me coming home and… well, a final fuck you to the both of us…”

“Is it weird I like him even more now?” She joked.

“We all like the things that are bad for us…” Revive admitted.

Silence descended.

Chloe placed her head on Revive’s shoulder and drifted into a nap.

A couple of minutes later, The Speedster had settled them onto the couch, snuggling and enjoying the safety that came naturally to them when they were near.

α

The morning brought with it a flurry of activity.

Chloe was making her own breakfast since the bruises on Revive’s body took time to mend.

The Speedster sunk into the tub, allowing the water to drown his senses.

A couple of seconds later, someone joined him in the club.

“Chloe, no—”

“It's fine…” Chloe insisted, shifting their positions in the tub. “The bubbles hide everything and I promise not to get frisky or anything.”

They settled in the tub together.

Chloe took a sponge, soaked it in the water, and gently dabbed the bruises that loitered Revive’s back.

“I can’t believe I am finally understanding what my father said…”

“You have to care, huh?” Revive chuckled.

“You know it?” Chloe giggled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I forget… many universes and all.”

Revive winced when Chloe’s sponge hit a cluster of bruises.

“I could have killed you…”

“You wouldn’t have,” Revive corrected.

“Guess you don’t know how strong I am,” Chloe argued, not wanting to get rid of the guilt so easily.

“I know you enough to know that you’d never kill another person,” The Speedster stated with certainty. “But you have to know… not many things out there are persons.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed at the implication.

The bath was finished in a couple of minutes and The Amazonian stayed true to her words, keeping away from touching Revive too intimately.

---------

They sat at the breakfast table, indulging in the basics: bacon, eggs, cinnamon bread…

“I never thought a bath without sex would be okay too,” Chloe joked.

“Just okay?” Revive raised a brow.

“I have never really had time to talk in any of my past relationships… so it’s new…”

Revive took a piece of bread and gestured for Chloe to bring her head forward, slipping the soft snack between The Amazonian’s lips.

Chloe chewed happily. “And now you’re feeding me,” She leaned back into the chair. “Now, I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Can’t I be as amazing as I look?”

“Nobody is as amazing as they look,” Chloe voiced. “My father taught me that…”

“Chloe…” Revive met his wife’s eyes and for the first time, he looked at her as he did in the previous realities – as if she was his wife. “I have seen a lot of things… been through a lot of things… you have seen my scars – those are the types of scars that never heal, and I mean literally, those are curses by powerful Beings.”

“And you’re saying what – you’re fucked up?” Chloe chuckled, running her hands through her hair and relaxing her shoulders. “I am so fucked up that you don’t know how hard it has been being around you.”

“Why would it be hard?”

“A guy shows up when you’re a kid, says to wait for him at sixteen… you wait and wait and wait… your life becomes fucked but you cling to that last hope and it doesn’t come. And when you do come, I find out we are married.”

“I have been trying to be okay with it, be okay with everything but I don’t know if I can be. I am still just trying to figure things out.”

“It’s fine… and I see all the signs,” Revive gestured to the bracers. “It will help… being near your father and being an Amazon led to this. The bracers will remind you, and strengthen your will and mind but you can’t remove them anymore. You can hide it though.”

“Yeah, it makes me feel closer to being whole,” Chloe admitted.

Then, she asked a question out of the blue.

“Want to come to the photoshoot with me?”

“I can’t…” Revive shook his head. “At least, not immediately. I have something that needs to be done.”

“Will you tell me what it is?”

“Accessing a cosmic Force that is literally responsible for moving reality forward. It is the force that moves Space and Time, and I am its creator and embodiment in all the Universes I have been to.”

“The Speed Force?” Chloe confirmed, then rolled her eyes. “You should have just lied to me.”

This time, when Chloe departed, she took the door instead of the skylight.

Revive closed his eyes and re-adjusted his personality.

There was always a need to take some time to himself after spending time with Chloe.

“Now, to go get my powers back…”

۞۞۞

Chloe could hear everything as she made her way down the street.

It had been a curse when she was younger.

People would say things – mean things and as a young girl at the time, she would get angry and put them in their place.

That would get her reprimanded by her father.

While she was reminiscing, Chloe realized the memories she once ran from, and tried so hard to forget, didn’t hurt as much with Revive’s appearance.

She had spent about ten years of her life waiting for him and when he didn’t show up at sixteen, it was the final straw in her good-girl act.

“But, he showed up…” Chloe murmured, a silly smile on her face.

Though, it just as well could have been a tipsy smile given the water bottle in her hand that contained something other than water.

The Amazonian sauntered down the street.

There was a rarely-seen pep in her steps.

The slight smile on Chloe’s face drew many gazes but no one dared talk to her for fear of her father.

Though, Chloe had a reputation that was just as fierce.

The studio was closer to home this time so there was no need to fly.

And that gave Chloe plenty of time to update her status on several social media apps, keeping her fans appraised of what was happening.

“Yeah, there is this…”

She stared at the photos of herself and Revive.

The more recent photos were of them in the tub... bubbles hid the best parts but the way they looked into each other’s eyes.

The laughing, picture-perfect, moments…

When she embraced Revive from behind and quickly flicked a picture.

The photos were beautiful.

“I promised Chad I wouldn’t post any of the pictures he was going to use but—”

Chloe slid her finger across the screen a couple of times, finding the pictures Chad had sent her earlier in the week.

She chose one of the unedited ones – Chad was sure not to publish those.

Chloe’s post was simple.

It was one of the earlier pictures she and Revive took at the start of the impromptu photoshoot.

The signet ring on Revive’s finger was glowing purple – the C+R visible on the surface.

And the bracers on Chloe’s wrist also glowed purple, adding an inspirational layer of style that she hadn’t possessed before.

“This is the one…” Her eyes glowed.

As for the caption, it read -apparently, I might be cuffed!

It was clearly referring to the bracers on her arms.

The photo was uploaded to all her social media accounts just as she stepped into the studio – she wanted to avoid her assistant talking her out of the decision.

Chloe took a couple of steps into the resort and her phone already started ringing wildly.

Luckily, she was in work mode.

“Finally, you should have been here five minutes ago,” The assistant chided, gesturing for Chloe to follow her.

“I am here now…”

“Corporate was considering docking the pay,” The Assistant revealed.

“Relax, Alyssa,” Chloe snorted, making her way inside. “They always threaten that.”

The duo rushed to the dressing room.

Thankfully, Chloe was fast enough to get into the overcomplicated dress and Alyssa was fast enough to get her makeup done in record time.

They marched out of the dressing room and into the fold of the countless cameras, running assistants, and bitch-faced overseers.

“We need five…” A voice announced. “Everyone be ready in five.”

“We were ready ten minutes ago,” Another voice complained.

“Then, let’s go into shooting!”

Chloe kept her head straight, not sparing a glance at anyone.

Everyone was beneath her – though, she didn’t really think so… she genuinely didn’t care about anyone there.

The pictures snapped.

Jewelry was switched out.

Clothing switched on the fly.

At one point, Chloe got tired of switching from one piece of clothing to the next so she simply had Alyssa bring the clothes and morph her Klyntar to the appropriate proportions.

“What is that?”

Chloe shrugged. “Revive called it a Clint-something,” She stated.

“Your post is trending!” Alyssa hopped into the conversation, jumping around in excitement. “It’s already on the news!”

“Fuck!” Chloe cursed under her breath – she wanted to cause a bit of chaos but she didn’t expect the matter to get this big.

“Let’s continue the shoot!” The Photographer eagerly voiced.

“Stop all shooting…” Alyssa hurriedly insisted. “There are provisions in the contract for Ms. Sampson to be paid according to the ongoing trends at the time. And right now, she is trending everywhere!”

The Photographer and several others gritted their teeth.

Chloe’s modeling was already expensive on a regular day, and she would quadruple that cost if she was trending number one by the end of the day.

Though their exposure, hence profits, would increase as well.

“But she’s already ready for the superhero shoot!” The Photographers insisted.

“I am always ready for a shoot,” Chloe shrugged. “But I won’t do this one if I am not getting a fair deal… and trust me, you want to give me a fair deal.”

“We are open to negotiations,” Alyssa insisted.

A brief bout of discussion followed between the photographer, lawyers, brand ambassadors, and corporate representatives.

“Fine, but she has to lose the glowing red bracers.”

They collectively decided.

Chloe’s eyes flickered to the bracers on her arm, automatically shifting the divine weapon to transparent.

“Happy?” She asked.

Everyone nodded.

“Why was it glowing red though?” Alyssa murmured.

Chloe froze in place, her head mechanically turned toward the crowd behind the cameras. “It was glowing red?”

Alyssa nodded.

The Amazonian shifted the bracers back into the visible light spectrum and it glowed an eerie red.

Her expression shifted to coldness and her eyes narrowed dangerously but there was panic within them.

“How long has it been glowing like this?” She turned to the producers.

“About five minutes…” Someone replied. “It was glowing a soft purple at first then it shifted to red about a minute ago.”

Chloe stared at the bracers for a couple of seconds, feeling her sight sink into the red and…

Revive was leaning against the wall, clutching his stomach, trying to stem the bleeding and keep the rest of his gut inside his body.

Around him stood three people – three supervillains.

The Necromancer with a black flame shimmering on his Death Staff – he had not been seen in recent times.

The Orionth – a hero who had been missing for ten years and power was known to change with the arrangement of the constellations.

And there was Bestest – a witch whose words leaped into reality… the words of power.

‘I’m sorry, Chloe…’ Revive muttered.

Chloe’s vision snapped back to where she was standing in the studio apartment and before anyone could say anything, she shot into the air, through the roof, and disappeared in a sonic boom.