The sullen figure of Wylven staggered into the quarters that he and his mother stayed at. It wasn't much. Two single beds, a table, and an adjoining bathroom. He was alone at the moment. His mother was probably still off doing her duties as one of the kitchen staff in the estate. She would get up early in the morning to help with preparing breakfast for members of the Argentum family and wouldn't be back till late in the evening after dinner had ended. Right now, it was still early in the morning so Wylven probably wouldn't see her for quite some time unless he went to the kitchens to find her.
It was probably for the best, as he would much rather not have her see him in his current state. There were welt marks all over his body. A result of his punishment for his earlier "blunder". It wasn't even much of a blunder to begin with, he had just nearly bumped into Agnes while running some errands. He was able to stop himself in time but she wouldn't pass up the chance to let him go without causing trouble for him. She had loathed him and his mother ever since Richard decided to take Angela as his second wife. She saw them as competition for Richard's attention.
She was filled with glee ever since it was discovered that Angela lost her powers and that Wylven was powerless. Now that they had no value in the eyes of the Argentum family, she took it upon herself to make their lives as miserable as possible.
So many times Wylven had considered leaving this place and running away. It was rather evident to him that besides his mother, his so called "family" didn't really treat him well at all. It was still alright for his mother as, despite losing her abilities, she was still an experienced cook whose culinary skills was well liked by several members of the family. Unlike him who was just a lowly errand boy doing odd jobs around the estate.
He was groomed to be a superhero since young and all the skills he was trained in where in anticipation for him taking on such a role. From basic medical knowledge and various ways to utilize his anticipated healing abilities, to things like basic combat skills and villain psychology. But all that was deemed useless to him now as his path to becoming a superhero was cut off the moment it was discovered that he had no powers. Now he was just an errand boy with no useful skills to help with his work in the estate. Delegated to doing odd jobs here and there.
Wylven walked over to his bed and pulled out a first aid kit from underneath it. He opened the lid and took out some rubbing alcohol and cotton buds to clean out his injuries. Some of the beatings he received as punishment today had broken his skin and caused some minor bleeding. It was best to disinfect them quickly so that they didn't get any worse.
It didn't take long for him to finish up and apply band aids on his injuries. He then sat there on his bed and started at the plain looking wall. Contemplating his life.
"Is staying here really worth it?" He murmured gloomily. "I'm probably much better off fending for myself out in the world than having to put up with all this." He sighed as he plopped down onto his bed. "Anywhere is better than here.."*
Elsewhere..
In a vast chamber in an undisclosed location, a large armored figure sat on a black throne. He was draped in a regal black cloak and faced a vast army of figures in black. They had simple looking armor on them that were composed of a gray metallic mask and similarly colored armor plates over a black suit similar to spandex. They all bore the same insignia on their left chest and shoulders. Signifying them all as members of the same group. They were the combatant army of the evil organization known as Eternal Dusk.
One part of the army in particular was rather eye catching. Not because they looked special or intimidating in any way, but rather it was because they were in a particularly sorry state. All of them looked terribly battered, with some visibly limping. Their armor had multiple cracks and burn marks all over. Evidently, they had just come back from a huge battle.
The armored figure on the throne was speaking to a woman who was standing beside his throne. She was a striking black haired bespectacled beauty dressed in a sharp office attire. Her appearance a huge contrast to all the armored individuals in the room who looked like they were part of some evil organization. Which they were.
It was obvious that the armored figure was very unsatisfied with something. As a suffocating aura emanated from him and pressed down upon everyone in the room. The vast army in front of him were still as statues. None of them dared to even breath loudly for fear of incurring the armored figure's wrath. They all knew that he was very disappointed with the injured platoon's latest performance.
They had just come back from trying to steal an experimental nanoserum that a lab in Z City was researching. One that was supposed to have the ability to awaken dormant abilities in a person among other things. It was a remnant from one of their rival organizations that was recently wiped out by the heroes. If they were able to obtain such a thing, they would have been able to greatly empower their own forces while making sure it was kept out of the hands of the heroes. But unfortunately, just before they were able to get their hands on it, the meddlesome heroes showed up on the scene.
A group of five dressed in different colored spandex suits calling themselves the Prismatic Rangers quickly beat back the combatant platoon with relative ease despite the huge difference in numbers. Even their captain, a specially modified combatant who was granted with enhanced abilities far beyond that of a regular combatant, was quickly defeated even when he was transformed into a gigantisized version of himself. The Prismatic Rangers had simply called on their combined mech and easily bludgeoned their transformed captain into a sorry state. Sending them retreating back to their hidden base. Even now, their captain was still under intensive care in their medbay. His current state unknown.