Hanging above the lava pit, Cadivus thought of his next move. He saw the leaders standing around, deliberating and pointing at each other and the women. Everyone seemed to point toward Sigma and offered him high fives, which he seemed happy to receive.

“Excuse me!” Cadivus yelled.

A large booming noise echoed from outside. Everyone looked around suspiciously, until Cadivus cleared his throat to get their attention.

The guards looked up at him, confused.

“Don’t you find it a little rude to exclude your captive from your plans? Honestly, I know we’re planning on killing each other, but there’s no need for bad manners.”

The guards and leaders looked at each other and smiled.

“It’s simple really,” Alpha said. He pointed at the tables Ekio and Thermia were strapped into. Two empty tables were next to them. “These are transference tables. They take a woman’s life energy and give it to a man.”

That explained their exceptional abilities. The no-women rule also made more sense. It was merely a cover-up.

As the guards continued deliberating, Cadivus caught eyes with Bradley. Bradley held up a journal to him and mouthed, “Sorry.”. He pointed his head toward a dark corner of the room, where the real El was hiding behind the rolled-up curtain.

She pointed at him, struck her arm, and pointed at the guards. Like she wanted him to make a distraction.

“Gentlemen and gentlemen!” Cadivus yelled, everyone turned to face him. “Seeing as I’m about to die soon, I thought it would be proper to give my final words.”

Alpha gave him a hand wave, allowing him to continue.

“When I told my brother I wanted to be a vigilante—seek out justice, protect the weak, and all that—he laughed in my face and said it wasn’t meant for me.”

El snuck over to the tables while he was talking and moved the wires around.

“Funny enough, he told me I’d end up getting caught and killed.”

“Brothers can be jerks!” a man from the crowd yelled.

Cadivus frowned and nodded.

“Yeah, they can be jerks. As I hang here now though, I think I get what he was saying. Why, if he were here…” He laughed. “He would fill the room with a thick black smoke and force it all into your lungs. Your eyes would tear for a moment, until all the moisture was pulled from your body. You’d beg for a grasp of fresh air, but it would never come. It would be slow, painful, and, well, just terrifying when you think about it.”

El gave him a thumbs-up as she snuck back to the side of the room.

“So, no, I might not be able to stop you. Hell, we might not be able to stop you. I can promise you one thing though…incurring the wrath of that particular hybrid…Well, I would advise against it.”

The leaders’ faces were blank, and the guards looked at each other with wide eyes.

“But hey, I’m not telling you how to be evil or anything.”

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll install ventilation,” Alpha said, and everyone laughed.

A man was carried into the room on a stretcher, looking feeble.

“Welcome back, Omega.”

Omega looked at him and smiled.

“Thank you, my lord. I look forward to completing our research.”

Alpha frowned while tilting his head.

“Yeah about that…I heard you got beat up by two chicks. Can’t really have you representing us after that.”

His eyes widened.

“No! I’ve been nothing but loyal to you! The dark-skinned woman is an exceptional fighter, she destroyed my entire tower!”

“Face it,” Gamma said. “You no longer have what it takes.”

He looked at Sigma, who just shook his head. He closed his eyes, sighed, and accepted his fate.

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“I only wish I could live long enough to watch her defeat you too.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t worry too much about that.” Alpha said. He motioned to Sigma, who grabbed the stretcher and held it over his head like a waiter delivering drinks.

Sigma walked over to the lava pit and slammed Omega into it head-first. A terrible smell and smoke filled the surrounding area. Cadivus gulped, realizing he was watching his own fate.

“So, we need a new Omega,” Alpha said. “We already deliberated and decided it is going to be…Yorin!”

The crowd clapped as a man walked toward Alpha, smiling ear to ear. He got so many high-fives his palms turned red.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity!” Yorin said. “I won’t let you down!”

“Of course you won’t,” Alpha said. “Now, get on over there!” Yorin and Sigma were strapped into the tables. Gamma walked over and stood next to a lever between the tables. Cadivus looked at El, who met his gaze and nodded.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” Alpha said, raising his arms.

The crowd erupted into applause.

“It’s time for the transference! Let it be known that if you give it your all as Yorin has, you too can receive rewards far beyond your comprehension! Who else would give you the chance to better yourself for such a low monthly payment?”

“Alpha!” The crowd cheered. “Alpha! Alpha!”

Alpha smirked and nodded.

“All right! Without any further ado, let’s get this party started! Drop that man! Pull that switch! Let’s fucking go!”

Cadivus plunged into the lava. He couldn’t form any final thoughts beyond panic.

Alpha motioned for Hunter to be strung up on the ceiling hook next. Gamma pulled the lever, and the tables glowed with light blue haze. They all watched. The men strapped in were smiling until their faces turned into horror. They screamed and shook.

“Cut it!” Alpha demanded with a concerned face.

“I can’t!” Gamma shouted. “It could kill all of them!”

“I don’t care! Shut it down!”

He cursed and pulled the lever back.

The machine stopped glowing, and the men passed out.

“What happened, Gamma?” Alpha asked.

“Someone crossed the wires…Son of a…” He began changing the wires back.

“Just get it done before she—”

Ekio’s eyes opened. She took a peek around the room and at her constraints. Strength boiled inside her like never before.

“Stop her now!”

As the guards approached her, she focused her power and pushed them all back, except for Alpha who stood his ground in the heavy wind. One by one, she removed each shackle from her body and pulled each limb free from the table. When she finally stood, she spun around and punched the table towards Gamma. It collided with him and sent him and the table flying across the room.

She gazed around the room once more, her face stern. “Where is the loud one?”

Alpha laughed.

“Little late for that sweetheart! Your boyfriend’s dead, and I do believe you’re next.”

She used her powers to pull Alpha toward her, but he didn’t budge. Instead he held up a glowing ring. The wind was sucked into it, and he aimed it toward her.

“Golden rule, baby. He who has the gold”—he shot her power back at her, pushing her against the wall—“makes the rules!” He laughed and turned his back on her. “Fuck it. Kill her.”

The guards took their battle stances and closed in on her. She reached for her dagger, but it wasn’t there, so she put her fists up.

The lava pit erupted outwards, and Cadivus leaped from it. As he landed on the ground, bits of lava splattered around him. He sat there on one knee, his arms outstretched. His clothes had burned away, and the chains that wrapped him now only partially covered him. He held long chains in his hands. Yet his leg cramped after a moment.

He stood and rubbed at it furiously. “Ow, ow! Charley horse! Ow!” A look of relief came over his face after he rubbed it for a moment. He stood tall and took another battle stance.

“How did you survive that?” Alpha demanded.

He smiled.

“Because I can kick lava’s ass!”

He charged the crowd and swung his chains with great force. As he swung the chains, they grew shorter with each swing. The molten metal oozed off them, flung off, and attached to the guards’ armor. They had no choice but to remove their armor or else be cooked alive in it.

Ekio watched, her eyes wide.

He cleared half the room before the chains were gone. He grabbed a sword off the ground but found it difficult to hold with melted chains on his hands. He tried to scrape it off as the guards charged at him.

Ekio now charged in to join the fight. Yet Alpha caught her with a side kick at an alarming speed. The blow hit her hip and caused her to stumble onto her side.

He stared her down, putting on tinted glasses. “Wind hybrid, huh? Yeah, that seems appropriate since I just knocked the wind out of you!” He laughed.

“You’re so fucking corny,” Ekio said with a disgusted face.

Gamma joined his side, as his arm morphed into a veiny blade made of flesh.

“Usually, I like to take my time, but let’s make this quick.”

“Agreed.”

He ran towards Ekio, who took a defensive stance, but he was struck in the shoulder and reeled back. After a short delay, his shoulder exploded. She looked over her own shoulder and saw El removing the rest of the ropes from Hunter, who was aiming toward them.

“I got your three,” he said.

“Now me!” Thermia yelled. “I’m gonna trip the shit out of everyone in here!”

Gamma frowned then smiled. He stepped on his fallen arm and absorbed it back into him, forming a new arm with an even more evil-looking flesh sword.

“I’ll take that one!”

As he ran past Ekio, Ekio summoned her wind to push Alpha into the wall. Yet Alpha reflected the wind power to send her flying toward Cadivus, who caught her.

“Hello, lioness,” Cadivus said, winking. “Plenty of time for that later.”

She shook her head and stood on her own.

“Use your powers on the pale one.”

He looked at her and pursed his lips.

“Oh, don’t worry. Let Hunter have some fun. He’s more than capable, you know.” He looked around and noted the twenty remaining fighters and their leaders. He saw El sneaking over toward Thermia, which drew Alpha’s attention. “I’ll take their leader. Can you take down their soldiers?”

Ekio gave him a smug look, kicked a staff off the ground into her hands, twirled it around her body, and ended in a battle stance.

“I think so.” she said. “I bet I’m done before you are.”

“The dagger?”

She smiled.

“Against your pride? Sure.”

They charged into battle.