"So basically, when I first got my powers, I had been jumped by a couple of Bad Timer goons." She explained to the crowd, folding her arms. "At that time, one of them said something. They mentioned their base being nearby and questioned if we knew where it was. Plus, they had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, so I just assumed that their base was in that area. Any questions?"
Wasp Nest raised his hand. "Just one. Why the hell are we just now hearing about this?"
"I sort of thought everyone knew." She sheepishly said. "I didn't think the men would just casually mention it, so it must have been basic knowledge."
"Well, it wasn't." BB remarked, stomping her foot down. "And now, because of you, we're out in this heat zone!"
"Want me to cool you off?" Snowdawn asked, raising his arms up and causing a cool stream of snow to rain down that made BB and Oxide sigh happily.
"Now, now let's not blame Cinder." Myth said trying to calm everyone down. "It isn't her fault; she's sometimes a dumbass."
"Hey!"
"Don't 'hey' us, kid." Battery grumbled. "Can't defend you on this blunder. This was pretty big info that could have come in handy a while ago."
It was kind of weird seeing so many heroes in one place. Battery, Myth, Snowdawn, Whisper, Wasp Nest, Metal Ronin, BB, Oxide, and Money Tree. Both Sub Enforcers and Pantheon had teamed up for today. Counting herself, that made for a total of ten heroes. Poseidon and Paragon had to head back to Lillian and would return sometime later, so they were sadly down their big powerhouse and healer.
All ten of them stood on the beach, in front of the massive scrapyard maze where she had first gotten her powers. Nearly a full month had passed since that incident. It had been at this spot that one of the goons of Bad Timers had let it slip; the base was nearby, or at least one of their bases.
Despite that, though, the others seemed unconvinced. "Is there really a Bad Timer base here?" BB questioned folding her arms. There weren't any buildings, and while the maze of junk was rather large and filled with walls, it was still right out in the open, with no roof or anything to provide cover. It didn't seem like the place a gang would willingly hide their big players.
"Even if it's just a small hideout, it can't hurt to look." Money Tree said slyly. "Besides, if there is even a tiny chance Polaron is indeed here or nearby, it's best we all stick together. None of you kids are quite on that level yet." The man chuckled.
There were many twists and turns inside the maze, so as they separated and began to search it, they all made sure to stay near the center. If anything happened, all it would take was one scream, and they'd be able to bust through the walls to reach one another. Wasp Nest was interesting to see in action. She had read about him, but it was her first time really seeing the Sub Enforcer at work.
The boy's body broke down and changed, separating until he was a mass of black. Thousands of wasps rose off of the ground and began to flow over the maze. The boy wasn't the only flier of his team either, BB shrinking down to a small size and joining him. She felt a slight pang of jealousy as she watched them.
She hadn't gotten to show off any of the new stuff she had picked up after sparring with Rowan. Despite all her new skills, though, flight was something she hadn't figured out yet. That wouldn't stop her from trying to make the skies hers one day. Flight was the one power she truly wanted above all others.
Metal Ronin followed after Wasp Nest as everyone began to split up. "Hey man, just wanted to check in and make sure you're good." The tech-based hero asked casually.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Wasp Nest frowned, some of his bugs forming into his head, which floated around the field.
"Well, I heard some stuff happened with Poseidon. She had another episode." Metal Ronin trailed off slowly.
Wasp Nest winced and reformed his body fully. "Look, it isn't anything to worry about. Some guy tried attacking her sister, and she almost snapped but didn't. They're taking her back to Lillian now so Paragon can look at her and make sure she's fine. The last thing we want is another accident to happen."
"Right." Metal Ronin nodded. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"No, it's fine. I understand why you did." Wasp Nest sighed. "I'm dating a monster after all."
"I wouldn't call her a monster exactly..."
"Then what else?" Wasp Nest lightly kicked one of the many metal cars that lined the junkyard. "She stopped being a human two years ago. Ever since the Beast." The boy growled a bit, gritting his teeth. "Sometimes I find myself wishing things were like they used to be, you know."
"They aren't though."
"No shit." Wasp Nest retorted. "It's fine though. Poseidon is still Poseidon. I'll stay with her for as long as I'm alive. No matter what."
"Just be careful, man. You're my friend. I don't want to lose you." Metal Ronin stated, lightly punching down on Wasp Nest's shoulder.
"Oh, would you two just kiss already!" BB dropped from the sky and landed herself on Metal Ronin's shoulder. The girl was about the size of a small action figure and had a smirk on her lips. "So, what do you guys think of Myth's group?" She asked in a hushed voice.
Wasp Nest scratched his chin. "Well, it's good to see Whisper again." The boy admitted.
"Yeah." Metal Ronin nodded. "I also have my eyes on some members."
"Oh yeah?" BB asked.
"Yeah." The tech-based hero stared across the junkyard, spotting the fire user who called herself Cinder. "I have a feeling that some members of Myth's team could keep growing and reach a point other Supers can't."
Over with her and Snowdawn, her face was a little red. Sometimes having enhanced hearing wasn't a good thing. For example, she had totally just heard that entire conversation between the three Sub Enforcer members.
"You okay?" Snowdawn asked her.
"Fine!" She said it a little quickly and lifted an entire boat up with one arm, making sure there was no secret door beneath it. "Do you really think those grunts just told you the base was here?" Snowdawn asked, frowning slightly.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Look, I just heard them mention it the day I got my powers. I never thought it would cause all of us to be out here looking. Kyle can confirm my story."
"No, I believe you." Snowdawn's eyes roamed the jagged metal, and he shivered a bit. "This feels like a place Polaron would want to be at. Lots of options for someone with his power set."
"Exactly." She nodded. "Even if we don't find him here, though, it will be good to—"
"Hope Lauren."
She froze when she heard the whisper of her name. She had been letting her enhanced senses gradually rise, and those two words instantly caused her blood to run cold. She was in full costume. Someone knew who she was. Her eyes darted around, but none of the other heroes seemed to have noticed it. The thing had been a whisper, far away; only someone like her with enhanced hearing could have made it out, a power no other Super she met had.
"What were you saying?" Snowdawn asked, looking at her.
"Hope Lauren. Come to my voice. Alone."
"I- There is something-"
"If you do, I can tell you how to save your father."
"Yo? You good?" Snowdawn waved his hand in front of her face. "The heat getting to you?"
Her throat closed up, and she shook her head. "Never mind. I'm going to go check over there, okay." She waved her friend off before he could notice anything else weird about her and ducked down one of the turns. She could hear the whisper steadily getting louder as she followed, and soon she was out of sight from everyone else. It directed her to make lefts and rights. She was fully aware that this was probably a stupid idea; those words it had said... Save her father. Besides the worst-case scenario, she would yell, and Battery or Myth would come running. "Who are you?" She rounded the corner as the voice reached its peak.
Her body froze when she saw the man. Dressed in rags and sporting wild, dirty hair. The homeless man. The one who always stood in front of the school. The man was crouched low dozens of cars and boats, forming walls of junk, and his fingers brushed through the sand as if he could see something.
"You're-"
"Bad Timers, right." The homeless man grunted out, standing to his full height. She had never realized just how tall he was until now, when she stood alone with the man. "That's who you're after." Now that she got a look at the man, she was able to tell a bit more about him. He had long blonde hair, which was tied back into a ponytail, as well as bright blue eyes that almost seemed to glow with an electric spark. The man was tall and built well, but most of the guy's form was hidden beneath a baggy jacket and pants.
"How do you know who I am? Who are you?" She wondered if this person was actually the homeless man or simply a member of the Bad Timers that could shapeshift.
"Keep your tone down." The dirty man grunted. "If the others see me, the deal is off."
"Deal? You mean you really know a way to save my dad? Who are you?" She narrowed her eyes and stepped back.
The dirty man just grunted and turned away from her. "You guys are in the right place. I guess it is fate that led you here. The Paths swirl around and guide us. That said, you'll never find the door to their real base by just looking around. So, since you helped my friends out by giving us fire, I will offer you a hand."
"Huh?" Her mind traced back to when she and Snowdawn had gone on patrol. She had wanted to do more to help, but with everything that had happened, it slipped her mind. In the end, she had only managed to start a single fire.
"That night had been particularly cold." The homeless man grunted. He walked towards one of the walls of the section of the maze they were in. It had dozens of large boats that had been gutted and torn apart and stacked on one another. Slowly he reached out with his palm. "Follow me."
"Follow you where-" Her jaw dropped when his hand sank into the boat, and then he simply stepped through it. "How did-" The man's head suddenly poked out of the boat as if he were phasing through it. He brought a finger to his lips and shushed, then motioned for her to follow before fully phasing back in. "Okay? This is weird. Even for Super stuff." She hesitantly raised her own palm to the bottom of the turned-over boat and watched as her hand sank through the metal. "Here goes nothing." She stepped forward and for a moment felt cold air on her skin.
Everything was dark, but then, with another step, a bright light caused her eyes to squint. She nearly tripped over her feet as the ground shifted suddenly, and she could feel water splashing on her ankles. When she looked up, she was no longer in the junkyard.
In fact, she didn't think she was even in Oleander anymore. So much for being able to scream for help. She stood ankle deep in the ocean. In front of her was a small resort-looking island. There were tropical trees filled with coconuts, and scattered about were dozens of mini-hotel-looking buildings. There was a sort of woods-like area further into the island, though made mostly of coconut trees, and past it she could see a very large stone building in the distance that looked out of place compared to the getaway feel everything else had.
She also became aware of the fact that dozens of people were screaming at her. All along the beach and standing at the edge of the woods, men with heavy-looking guns stood. All of them were dressed light, some even wearing swimwear, but carved in all of their clothes were the letters 'BT'. The sun shone down from above, and her costume suddenly felt very hot.
"You could have warned me we'd just be appearing in front of Bad Timers!" She complained. That was also when she realized that the homeless man wasn't with her anymore. She was alone, all the goons sharply raising their weapons. "Oh, that bastard!" She tried to step back, hoping to exit wherever she had ended up, but there was nothing behind her except for the massive ocean. No weird wall or anything like that for her to step through. It was as if she had been teleported to the other side of the world or something. "Myth!" She screamed in a vague attempt to maybe let the others know in case her sound traveled through wherever it was she appeared at.
Bullets fired through the air as the men unleashed a hail of gunfire. She jumped up high, dodging the gunfire, and crashed down into the sandy floor below out of the water.
Her teeth gritted, and she felt her heart begin to beat. Alone or not, she wasn't going to simply give up. These were just low-tier fighters after all. Things she could handle with ease. She raised her hand as they tried to turn, all the men moving in slow motion compared to her. She felt that fire in her gut, and for just a second she thought back to her training with Metal Ronin.
***
A few days earlier...
"Ow! Rowan, I swear if any of this leaves a bruise, you're dead!" She hissed.
Rowan shrugged as he watched her. The orb he had built flew through the air, zapping down at her. "If you just shot at the thing, then you'd be fine." The boy taunted. "Anyways, Oppenheimer, I guess while she's working on that, we should build you a doggo suit." The boy set his pet down on the table and grabbed more junk.
She shot him a dirty look but let out another yell of pain as she was zapped on her shoulder. Letting out a growl, she focused her thoughts. She could feel the fire start to swell up in her stomach, and she opened her mouth, launching a blast of fire towards the sky. Despite the fact the attack was big, the small orb managed to barely dodge out of the way, floating low to the ground.
She went to kick it, but it zapped her again.
"Ow! This is stupid!"
"Can you make your attack smaller?"
"Huh? Ow!"
Metal Ronin scratched at his chin. "You keep wasting all your energy on that big attack. Go for something smaller and quick." The boy suggested. "Like you're sprinting when you should be speed walking."
"You mean jogging? Ow!"
"Yeah. So, start jogging."
She swore she would get him back for this, but he wasn't wrong exactly. She always went for the massive beam of doom and could only ever do it once, twice, if she was fine with downing herself. Not a whole lot in the tank. She focused her power again and felt the fire in her stomach. It was a bit of a weird feeling, but she did her best to try and control it. Do the reverse of what she did. Instead of grabbing all the power, she tried to just grab a portion.
"Here goes nothing." The orb came down and glowed about to zap, and she struck. She breathed out, and this time it wasn't a pillar of fire that came out but a small beam. Like a thin line, it stabbed straight through the orb, and the small object came crashing down, hitting the floor. "Yes!" She fist-bumped the air. "I'm still standing. I even feel fine. Refreshed even." She dusted herself off, smirking. Her smile faded when the orb slowly began to float back up.
It sparked a bit and wobbled but was still ready to go. One more hit, though, and she knew it would be down for the count. She gave a grin and was about to fire on it again.
"Hey, hang on a sec." Rowan's words caused her to stop.
"Yeah." She turned to look at him only to receive a smack in the face.
He had been building something ever since she had started her 'training' session. Whatever it was latched onto her face and formed a lower mask that covered her mouth. She tried to speak, but it came out muffled, and she couldn't yank the thing off. It was a slab of metal that wouldn't let go.
"All anyone has to do to stop your attack is cover your mouth like that. Any half-decent mental power user like myself can come up with it." Rowan tried explaining, but he shrunk back when he saw the utter death glare she was shooting him. He cleared his throat. "My point is, why don't you try and use your power another way?"
'I can't.' Is what she wanted to say, but it came out muffled due to the thing covering her mouth. A second later, she yelped in pain as the machine zapped her rear once more.
"I watched the footage of your fight with Polaron," Rowan said sheepishly. "You were strong, and towards the end of it, your body caught on fire. I don't think you just have fire breath; I think you're a full-on pyrokinetic. At least give it a shot."
She dodged several lines of energy the orb fired at her and decided she would deal with Rowan later. She could feel the heat begin in her stomach and start to rapidly come up through her throat- The machine on her mouth let out a beep, and her eyes widened as it got tighter, and water was sprayed into her mouth, nearly causing her to gag.
"Oh yeah, and don't think of trying to force your power to work. I thought of that." Rowan gave her a thumbs up as she plotted the most painful death for him.
More lasers flew out, and she grabbed a chunk of metal, holding it out in front of her as a shield. It gave her a moment to think, but already the orb was circling around. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her thoughts. The fire came back in her gut. A warmth that spread throughout her body. It began to gradually rise, heading for her throat. She winced as the machine began to activate, but before it could, she canceled her power.
A laser to the back caused her to stumble, but she ignored it. She clutched at her stomach, clawing at it as the feeling came back. It was odd, like moving a limb that never existed. If her mouth was covered, she would just have to find somewhere else for it to come out of.
It began to move through her body faster and faster, no longer heading through her throat. She rotated her shoulder and could feel her fingertips begin to tickle. Her eyes snapped open, and she brought her fist back!
***
Present Day...
There were five of them in total. Five men with guns. They seemed to move in slow motion as she watched them raise their guns up. Her brain worked faster than a normal human, and she took a deep breath and gave a small smirk.
The men all pointed their guns at her, about to fire.
She had seen Battery do this so many times now.
She raised her thumb up and pointed out with her finger, making a gun with her hand. "Bang," She called out. Her costume lit up, and for a second, her entire body became ignited in flame, and from her fingertip, a beam of pure molten air blasted out. The laser was far faster than a bullet, and before any of the men could even think about pulling their triggers, the beam cut through the guns. She jerked her hand to the side, the beam still coming out of her finger and moving with it, allowing her to hit each gun as she cut them all in half. The men screamed as their firearms exploded, and they clutched their now-burnt hands. "Don't move!" She yelled loudly.
She couldn't help the jitters in her stomach. She bet she looked like a total badass at that moment.
"You're dead, Super!" One of them screamed, going for a knife.
"You all might want to protect your eyes." Her right arm ignited being coated in fire, which swirled around it. She slammed her fire fist down into the ground as hard as she could, and the sand exploded into a hail of glass, raining shards down onto the men, causing them to yell and duck for cover.
Chemistry class had come in handy for once.
More yelling came from the woods, and the trees shook as dozens of other men began to run out and fire towards her. She freaked out for a moment and raised her arms, but then quickly remembered that she was bulletproof as various bullets rained into her. Not that they didn't hurt. She knew that, tomorrow, she was going to be bruised like hell.
Despite how cool she felt though, she was beginning to realize that there were a crap ton of guys. Like so many, she was losing count. None of them seemed to be a Super, and their bullets didn't hurt that badly, but she still wasn't sure if blasting out a crap ton of fire attacks was a good idea yet.
Just as another wave of the men began to pull themselves out and she was quickly getting surrounded by all sides, a grace of luck seemed to come her way.
From out of nowhere, seemingly appearing out of thin air, a swarm of wasps suddenly blasted out of the water. There were thousands of them, all coming from the place she had spawned in. The wasps caused dozens of the men to scream and drop their weapons as they were assaulted and stung. Enough of them even managed to pile onto a few of the guys and throw them into the air, sending them crashing back down.
"You look like you need a hand, Cinder." The voice buzzed all around her, and slowly the bugs pulled themselves together, taking the shape of a young-looking man. Wasp Nest gave her a sly smile. "Trying to save the day all by yourself?"
"How did you find me?"
"You can thank Whisper for that."
"Whisper?'
"That's right!" She jumped a bit as the invisible girl suddenly appeared behind her. She could just tell Whisper was sporting one of her mischievous grins. "After I noticed you weren't in the junkyard, I used my power to follow the Paths to your location. Little did I know you'd end up in a pocket dimension." The girl folded her arms and huffed. "You need to learn to stop running off, Cinder."
"Sorry?"
"You're forgiven. Looks like you found the base though, so good job." Whisper said, giving a thumbs up.
"Yeah, but I have no idea where we are or how to get out." She winced.
"We're in a pocket realm." Wasp Nest explained. "The Sub Enforcers base is placed in one as well. They're like mini spaces outside of reality that were created by Max Lightning and Mr. Avalon about fifteen years ago. They always have 'gates' which are like doors that can be anywhere. In this case, the entrance is in the junkyard and spawns us here on the beach, where their base is. As for the exit, if it isn't here, I'd bet it's in that stone building, and it will either spit us out where we entered or take us somewhere else in Oleander."
She nodded her head, trying to follow along. "Well, it's a good thing you guys told the others about this. With all of us, we can easily beat anyone here!" An awkward silence seemed to suddenly infect Wasp Nest and Whisper, and the two heroes awkwardly cleared their throats. "You guys did tell the others about this before jumping in after me, right?"
"Funny story..."
"And you called me dumb!"
The men Wasp Nest had stung began to recover, many of them getting up or trying to limp away into the forest. Whisper stepped forward calmly and casually pulled a taser from her pocket, twirling it between her fingers. "For now, you stay cool, Cinder. Leave these little guys to me. I'd rather you stay in tip-top shape in case there is a Super here. You're our heavy hitter, got that?"
"Can you seriously fight all these guys by yourself-" She went to step forward, but Wasp Nest held an arm out in front of her.
The hero gave a small smirk and shook his head. "Trust me. Whisper's got this."
Whisper didn't bother turning invisible. The girl didn't need it. One of them pulled out a handgun and raised it, firing, but the hero had already stepped out of the way, the bullet just barely passing her. Whisper didn't move fast, or with any effort, for that matter. Instead, the blonde girl steadily walked towards the man. He fired again, but this time Whisper had slumped her body just enough that the bullet went past her head. He tried a body shot, but the girl tilted herself to the left, and it missed again.
Finally, Whisper reached him, and he screamed and swung the gun like a hammer. Only Whisper hadn't actually reached him, and his gun only managed to brush the very tip of her nose. The hero lazily reached out with the taser and jammed it into his neck, turning it on.
The man dropped.
The others went down the same way. Whisper moved a little faster now that more men fired at her, but none of them hit Whisper. She watched in shock as Whisper was always just barely out of harm's way. It wasn't enhanced speed or anything like that. It was more like she always moved her body in just the right position for the attack to only brush against her. It never actually managed to get her skin, but the black fabric of her clothes tore and broke off.
She hadn't actually ever gotten to see the girl fight before other than the spar with Mr. Larison, where Lois had dodged all his strikes. "Impressive right." Wasp Nest's words caused her to jump slightly. He was watching Whisper closely as well. "It always fascinates me how she works. She's not faster, or stronger, than any normal human, and against most Supers, she doesn't have any means of harming them really if they're durable. Despite that, though, no matter how many times Whisper goes into battle, I don't think I've ever seen her get hurt once."
"How does she do it?" She asked incredulously. "It's a power, right?"
"You bet it is." Wasp Nest held his hand up, and for a second it changed black and broke apart into hundreds of bugs before pulling themselves back together. "Some Supers are born lucky. They hit the jackpot and receive a perfect body made for their powers and will also get more than one ability. Others aren't so lucky and get a shitty human body and only one power. You're one of the lucky ones. Whisper is also both lucky and not lucky."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, she doesn't have the body of a Super. She's a fleshy mortal at the end of the day. A good bullet to the head, or even a strong smack to the right area, and she's dead. That said, she lucked out by getting not just one ability but two. In a way, she got the worst of both worlds from her parents. Instead of getting her mother's powerful ability, she received a mild fraction of it in the form of her invisibility. The same was for her dad. She could have had any number of his many gifts, but the one she received was one that, while useful, isn't that strong. The ability to see the Paths."
"Paths? She said something about that."
Wasp Nest nodded his head and shrugged. "Basically, from how I understand it, she can sort of see fate. Think of it like being able to see the future, I guess. There's more to it than that, and she has limits, but with it Whisper can figure things out whenever she needs to and seems to be able to be in the right place at the right time for things to work out for her. In other words, she can always be in the exact right spot for your attack to miss."
The poor grunts never stood a chance. They were all tased or easily knocked out by a throat punch, all delivered from Whisper. The hero never seemed to give it any effort. Simply acting in a lazy manner yet downing every guy that came her way.
Finally, in only a few moments, Whisper had wiped out nearly thirty guys all without taking a single bit of damage. The girl turned to them and gave a wave. "So how did I do?"
"I think you're a showoff." She called back.
Whisper went to say something but suddenly jumped back. The sand she had been standing on erupted up, and sunlight glittered off the blades that stabbed out of the ground. Whisper backed up slowly, eyeing them up. They were all as big as swords. Some were jagged, others were curved or straight. All would have instantly killed the hero if she hadn't moved, though.
"Alright Cinder. Wasp Nest. You two get ready. This one is serious." The sound of metal on wood poured out of the forest, and boots stomped on sand as something began to walk towards them. "Looks like some Bad Timer Supers are here after all."
From the woods, a man walked out. Or at least he might have once been a man. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of heavy black pants. Knives seemed to stab out of his fingertips, giving him claws, and he had no face. There was no set of eyes, or mouth, or anything. Instead, there was a perfectly round saw blade perfectly carved into the center of his face. Bits of his flesh were torn, revealing thousands of smaller blades beneath it, forming his muscles.
Saw Head. The mass murdering member of the Bad Timers had arrived.