"Just one prisoner was able to break out. Fairy Queen was a member of the Organization. Not only that, but she was one of the big four members, warriors who served directly under the Emperor. Each of those four is around the level of an Enforcer." Boy Genius explained. "Due to me being absent and us not having a break-out in years, I grew lax and stopped paying close attention. Even so, none of this should have been possible, but somehow Green Wolf got his hands on a potent weapon that allowed him to teleport in and out at will freely. He took down all the guards and then broke her out and used the sword to simply teleport away despite the barriers that should have made doing so impossible. Because of this, I'm left with the conclusion that he must have gotten his hands on a weapon belonging to the Emperor."
"Is that the thing that's allowed him to teleport recently?" Snowdawn questioned. Green Wolf's main powers were known by most. He was able to absorb kinetic energy and shoot it out through his blades. It was only recently, though, that the man showed off the power to teleport. "If he had something like that in his back pocket, why didn't he just teleport directly into the prison and then teleport directly out with the woman?"
"It doesn't work that way." Battery spoke up. "Like all teleportation-based powers, it has to follow a set of strict rules that it can't break. It's freer than any other teleportation power, but still doesn't allow total freedom of movement."
"What are the rules then?" Snowdawn asked.
Whisper threw her arms over her head and shrugged. "From what I know, it can't take you anywhere the sword hasn't been. So, if the blade never ended up in the prison, then you can't teleport directly into it." The girl explained.
"That's a pretty mild rule... Stupid bs power! It's extra bs that it isn't affected by the anti-teleport things in this place." Snowdawn sighed.
Boy Genius cleared his throat. "Since Golden God was seen above Oleander city, and also this was Green Wolf, a well-known villain from that city, my guess is that Fairy Queen will be there. Oleander is in a sensitive state right now. Not only has it lost its Enforcer member, but most of the other major cities are also still in an uproar of crime, meaning their Enforcers are very busy. I myself will be stuck modifying my prison to ensure something like this never happens again."
"Are you saying we're on our own?" Myth sighed.
"Not exactly." The boy shook his head. "Ocean Empress is right next door, and if a threat as big as an Organization member does pop up, she, as well as a few Enforcers, are bound to show up to it. Think of it more as they'll be arriving late. You will have to hold the fort down and keep the city safe from all low-level threats besides the Organization."
Myth nodded a bit. "I see. Now, if you wouldn't mind me asking, why exactly did you call us out here? The information about the prison escape could have been told to us over a simple phone call and wouldn't break into your busy time."
"Well, I did need to give you all your costumes."
"What? Didn't want to mail them to us?" Snowdawn joked.
"I had some other reasons why I wanted to see you all in person." The child smiled. "I'd actually like to talk to Myth alone, if you would all allow it. Down below, you'll find a training room. You can practice a few of your costume's new features out there if you wish. One of the robots will lead you over."
Cinder rubbed the back of her neck and frowned slightly. She was getting the feeling Boy Genius wasn't going to let them say no at the same time, though she really wanted to know what he wanted to say to Myth. It had to be something big, right?
Either way, she moved closer to Paragon, making sure the blind girl didn't slip or fall, and followed Battery and the others out of the room. Myth stayed behind, folding his arms. She tried to use her enhanced senses to hear what they were about to talk about, but the door shut behind her, and the sound cut off.
A robot was waiting for them outside, and instantly her headache came back as she was reminded of the damn twisting maze they were inside of. She went to follow, but Battery held an arm out, stopping her and Paragon.
"Hang on a second. I have something for you."
"For me?" She asked, getting giddy.
"Do I get a present?" Paragon questioned.
"No." The man said flatly. Battery pressed his watch and caused his suit to switch to his old one. He had a backpack on. He normally didn't wear it, but there had been something he was carrying. He slowly took it off and caused his new costume to come back. Opening it up, he grabbed something. "Do you remember when Zoo and Bad Timers first teamed up?"
"Yeah?" She nodded slowly.
"You managed to break Red Ape's new helmet, and I guess he ditched it. Since I'm part of the Cleanup Squad, my job was to help clean that area up, and I ended up pocketing the helmet when no one was looking."
"You stole villain tech?" Paragon asked, letting out a snort.
"After the battle with Wish, I searched all over and managed to find your old helmet as well. Both the old one and Red Ape's new one were destroyed. So much so, I doubted I could turn them into a new helmet. I figured Boy Genius would instead just build a new helmet for you himself, so instead, I created this for you by smashing the helms together."
Much like the watch she now wore on her right arm that controlled her costume, Battery pulled out a small silver bracelet, which he tossed over to her. She looked down at it, and her fingers brushed over it. There was a single tiny button on the front of it, which she pushed. It clicked and suddenly expanded.
Metal unfolded out of it, and it happened so fast it actually bonked her in the jaw, knocking her back. "Ow." She groaned.
Paragon lazily tapped her with a foot, causing her wound to fade. What rested in her arms now caused her breath to nearly stop. It was a round shield, one big enough to cover her entire chest up. Created from a silver metal and the symbol of a butterfly woven into the iron on the front.
She stood up with shaking arms as she held it. This might have been the coolest early birthday gift she ever got. "W- When did you make this? How did you make this!"
"It wasn't me, exactly." Battery shrugged. "I got an old mental-based power buddy of mine to create it. Press the button, and it'll return to normal. You can also strap it to your arm and keep it held in place."
She eagerly slipped it onto her arm and pulled the leather straps into place. It fit perfectly, and she played around with the button, turning it off and on. Slowly, she raised it up and down, pretending to block an unseen attack. "She has super durability. Why'd you give her a shield?" Paragon questioned.
"Have you seen this girl in combat?"
"Good point. She gets hurt a lot." The blind girl nodded. "Give her a second one just to be safe."
"Hey! I don't get hurt that much!"
"Sure, you don't." Battery flicked the top of her helmet. "Run along now, kid. I'm staying behind until Myth gets out."
She nodded quietly. "Thank you." Her and Paragon began to head through the hallways alone now. Snowdawn and Whisper had already left with the robot. She hugged the shield close to her chest and played with it a bit more. "We don't actually know where the others are, do we?"
"What happened to our guide?"
"He left."
"So, we're just lost inside of a shifting maze!"
"We can head back to Battery-" She turned around and stopped when she saw a wall was now directly behind them, leading to the path of where Battery should have been. "Nah. Never mind, we're lost. Guess someone will have to come find us. They got cameras all over the place after all." She waved to a camera, and it even moved up and down as if it were waving back.
"Yeah, but if we don't get to that training room, you won't be able to show any of your new skills off." Paragon hummed.
"Meh." She lazily shrugged. "If I'm being honest, I don't think I'd get to do much anyway."
"Why not?"
"Recently, my powers have seemed to change slightly. My hair will start glowing, and I get this massive boost in power. I think it's Full Monarch's power bursting forth. At least, that's what Battery implied to me. I'd like to learn more about it and see just what I can really do in that state, but it's a little too destructive. I might be even stronger than Myth or Battery in that mode." She couldn't get the large grin off lips as she bragged.
"Ah, so you wouldn't use it in that room since it could destroy the prison we're in?"
"Yeah." She nodded, and slowly, her mind went back to her training with Wyvern. The firepower of that form was unlike anything she had seen before. She went from losing outright to Wish to nearly beating the girl. With a little more push or effort, it could become something really good. "I'd need a place where I could just cut loose and not have to worry. Nowhere in the city is like that, though." She shrugged.
Paragon hummed a bit. "Well. I have an idea, then."
"Oh yeah? What's that." Paragon pulled her rubber glove off and raised a finger. Then she poked Cinder. "What are you-" Everything exploded around her. The colors twisted and changed, and sound blasted out in all directions. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, staring up at the sky. "What the hell!"
"Language."
"Huh!" She was no longer in the prison. Instead, she found herself in a field of flowers. Massive twisting trees hung in the distance, covered in strange plant life, and the sky glowed a pretty green color, casting green sunlight down upon them all. The smell was almost like when someone got done baking homemade sweets. Dirt clung to her hands as she pushed herself up to a standing position. "Paragon!" She called out.
"You don't need to shout. I'm right over here." She jumped when she heard the girl's voice and turned about to say something but stopped. Her voice was caught in her throat. Paragon looked so different. Her mask was gone, and her red hair had been brushed down. The baggy clothes she wore were gone, leaving her wearing a simple white dress, and most notable were the girl's eyes. Bright and full of life, they wandered around with interest. "Wow," Paragon spoke, nodding her head.
"W- What?"
Paragon walked toward her slowly, and the girl began to circle her. She jumped a bit, feeling Paragon's finger poke at her side. "Sorry." Paragon shrugged. "It's just that the world through the eyes of Destiny looks so different. Birds can see more colors than humans and also see UV, and everything is sort of like looking through a cone or something. It can be hard judging the proper size of some things or their colors. It's been a while since I've seen another human with my own two eyes before." Paragon's finger poked at her back this time. "I guess you're stronger than I thought. Your cells are reacting fast."
"What does that even mean- Actually, a better question: where are we?"
Paragon pulled away and gave a slow, lazy spin, holding her arms out. "Welcome, dear Cinder, to my world!"
"I'm going to need a better explanation than that, Paragon."
"You can call me Sky while we're here. I don't need a mask, and it is just us."
"Okay. I'm going to need a better explanation than that, Sky." She said again flatly.
Sky nodded her head. "I'll tell you." The girl raised her palm up slightly, and from the skin, something began to pull its way out. Vines. They expanded and danced softly in the wind. "I guess the simple way to answer your question is to tell you. I'm the Lord of the Land and Life. Or at least I am while I'm in here."
"I'm even more confused now!"
Paragon giggled softly. "To put it bluntly, I'm the daughter of the Emperor and the Princess of Life. When Max Lightning's father died, the title of Lord was passed down to him. When Sini died, his power was passed down to my sister. The previous Lord of Life lost to Full Monarch. I don't know if he died or not, but he most certainly stopped being alive. The power should have passed down to me, but not all of it did. For years, I thought that meant it either died out or simply went to someone else. After all, I wasn't created the way a child should be. I was born from the use of the powers and implanted into the Princess of Life. Recently though, I learned where the Lord's power really went."
"Wish." She growled out.
"That's right. Most of the power went to her." Paragon swept her arms out, showing off the land. "In here, though, the world is the way I want it to be. I am the way I should be. So, while in here, I guess you could say I have the power of the Lord I should be."
She nodded her head slowly, feeling her throat go dry. "Is this how you killed Mars King?"
"You know about that? Are you... disappointed?"
She didn't answer for a moment, looking around at the strange world. "I guess not. It would be kind of hypocritical of me if I was. After all, I killed Polaron that same day."
"You killed Polaron?" Paragon sounded impressed. "I figured Battery was the one to take him out."
She rubbed the back of her neck, easing some tension out of it. "Well, I can't really say I'm proud of the fact that I killed him."
"Did you have another choice?"
"Maybe I would have if I was stronger."
"Maybe. But when you start using the maybe card, then everything is flawed." Sky said bluntly. "Maybe we could have done more to stop Intake; maybe if one more hero showed up for the Beast incident two years ago, I wouldn't be blind; maybe if we were all a little stronger, innocent people wouldn't get hurt. We can't change the past, but we can change the future. I don't know if killing Mars King puts all of his victims at ease, but I do know for a fact that I stopped him from hurting anyone in the future."
Battery had said something similar. She knew that there were some villains that were simply too dangerous to be kept alive. People like the Emperor or even Wish were dangerous. She had even gone out of her way to try and kill Wish. It wasn't so much that she was against killing villains in general; she'd just prefer to not have to be the one to do it. Then again, though she had taken up this job for a reason. She wanted to make a difference. Had killing Polaron created a change in the world?
She really didn't know and would likely never find out. It didn't matter now, though.
"So how does this place work?" She asked, looking around. "Did we teleport? I thought that wasn't possible here."
"Sort of, but not really." Paragon gave a half shrug. "When I touch someone, I am able to send them as well as myself to this realm. You've heard of the realms, right? Places in other realities that were built by Max Lightning and Sini when they worked together. Some powers are able to create their own realms, almost like a domain of sorts. I'm allowed to invite one extra person with me when I use this power. I used this place to slay Mars King. I can release a person out of here whenever I want. The only other way out of here is to beat me. Should I defeat whoever I am fighting, though, then they are absorbed into my world and cease to be."
"That sounds bad." She winced. "You're going to let me out without having to fight you, right?"
Paragon snorted and folded her arms. "What? You don't want to become one with me?"
"Maybe not exactly like that…"
"Despite how strong this power is, it can be hard to pull off. It drains a ton of my energy, so I can really only use it once every couple of days." The girl explained. "This is mainly what caused my brain to fry when I cured Intake. Doing that combined with making this realm proved too much for my body. On top of that, getting someone to be trapped in here is sort of a pain. Most Supers know that I have control over cells and will go out of their way to not let me touch them. Since I have the speed of a normal human, and all the strong Supers are well beyond the speed of sound, it's basically impossible to touch them."
"How do you even have a power like this?" She asked, looking around the strange realm. "I get the healing power since that came from your mom and dad, and I know that some Supers can have more than one ability, BB has air and size change, and I have my fire and enhanced senses, but your two abilities don't seem that linked to me."
Paragon folded her arms and let out a cute hum, seemingly thinking about what she said. "My mother once explained it to me. The first time the Beast ever set foot on planet Earth, it had destroyed the city the Emperor lived in, killing his wife and daughter."
She nodded her head, feeling another chill go down her spine. "Max Lightning told me the same thing. He said Nier used his power to bring the corpses of his family back, but they came out wrong and different."
"They had different souls." Sky explained. "The Lord of Life created brand new souls for them and wasn't able to put the old souls into the body. This is because those souls had already moved on. The new souls inside of the body were basically new people. People that only looked like his loved ones. My mom told me this is what drove the Emperor mad. He became obsessed with a perfect world and tried to create new Supers. These were the monsters."
"What does this have to do with your realm, though?"
"I was getting to that." The girl huffed. "Have you ever seen pictures of what Nier or the Princess of Life look like?" Sky asked.
She nodded. "Well, I've actually seen them in person before, thanks to Max Lightning."
"Neat." The girl said. "Well, you might notice I have some oddities about me. For one, the Princess of Life had brown hair. Nier, on the other hand, had blonde hair."
"Oh yeah! Now that you mention it, you have red hair!"
"That's right." Sky toyed with her red locks for a moment. "Nier was gathering an army of monsters because he needed a specific power. I don't know all the details; my mother only knows a bit of the story, but he basically found a monster, or Super, that had the ability to create things. Using this power, the two of them recreated a soul that was a mirror copy of the Emperor's daughter's soul. Next, he needed a body to put it in. He didn't want his daughter to be reborn and be weak, though, so he did his best to ensure that his newly created child would be strong. This led to him taking DNA from all of his main warriors, such as Hell Hound, and creating a new child, which was then placed into Fairy Queen where it could grow."
She stared at Sky and looked the girl up and down. "And that's you?"
"That's me." Sky twirled around giggling, though it was obviously fake and held very little emotion. "I'm a freak of nature. A fake soul created from an ability shoved into a body built on the DNA of several different people. And I didn't turn out even a little strong. I did get this cool realm though from one of my parents. I guess in a way I would have about four different parents. Two moms, and two dads."
She stepped forward slowly and reached out, grabbing Sky's hand. "You're not a freak. Don't say things like that. I was born from a metal ball that my dad found out in the ocean. If you're a freak, then I'm a walking disaster."
Sky's smile returned, though it was weak. The girl stepped away from her and shook her head. "Enough about this sad past. Let's focus on the present. You said that you needed to have a place to cut loose. Here should do. This body can recover from anything, so you can go ahead and blast me with everything you've got." Paragon held her arms out, seemingly excited for the fight.
"I don't know if I can, though."
"Huh? Why not?"
She let out a sheepish laugh. "Well. You don't really look evil like that. You look so normal; it would be like trying to blast a civilian. I don't think I'm comfortable with it, even if it wouldn't hurt you. Can you at least put your costume on or something?"
Paragon's eyes rolled. Slowly, the girl raised her hand, holding it over the ground. "If that's how you feel, then I'll just give you something to fight."
"You can do that?"
"I told you. This is my world."
The ground began to bubble and twitch. Gradually, something began to rise out of it. Twisting branches and logs, which began to form and snake together. The wood formed into a body, and then slowly, its color began to change. It formed into a skeletal structure, which then began to grow nerves and organs. Muscle grew across it rapidly, followed by flesh. Paragon had created a new life.
Well...
Not new.
The creature dropped to a knee; its head bowed. It was large—nearly ten feet in height. Thick red muscle-looking flesh covered its body, and a pair of long horns stabbed out of its skull. A tail flicked back and forth, and she felt her face go pale as the monster looked up at her. Mars King looked exactly how he did the last time she saw him.
"No need to worry about him." Paragon casually elbowed Mars King, who stood up. He didn't react to it, standing slouched. "It is just his body. The real Mars King is long gone, but his data exists within me—enough for me to make this shell. You should be good to blast this guy with everything you got, right? I can make more of him if he gets broken."
"I guess. I mean, he did try to kill me." She had greatly underestimated just how strong Paragon truly was. Her eyes stared at Mars King. "He sort of reminds me of a training dummy in a video game."
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes but slowly focused her power. Her hair shimmered, and she felt the power of the Lord course through her veins. Golden locks flowed down her back, and her eyes held a red fire within them. "Since you've shown me something like this, I'll go ahead and really cut loose." Fire swirled across the shield on her arm. "Get ready, Paragon. You might want to cover your eyes."
And with that, she stabbed her hand forward. The flaming disc that had formed on her shield shot forward, expanding as it flew. Nearly half Mars King's size, it sliced through him like a burning knife through butter. Off to the side, Paragon ducked as the attack emerged from Mars King's back, still increasing in size. As it flew past, it dug into the ground and emitted a wave of heat strong enough to force the two to cover their faces.
When the heat died down, both looked at the scene with wide eyes. A trench had been dug into the ground, stretching out across the field they were in for miles, going several meters deep.
"Wow!" Paragon said slowly. "Thank God we weren't in the prison."
She looked down at the shield that hung to her arm. The outline of it glowed a white hot from where it had fired her disk off. She rubbed it and grinned. "Oh yeah. I like this."
"You're pretty strong, you know." Paragon hummed.
"Thanks. I've been working on controlling my powers more. I'm trying to make my fire flow like Battery's does, but so far all I can manage to do is a bunch of random backpack junk."
"Backpack junk?"
She flared her power up, and it took shape coming out of her palm. It morphed into a small backpack with arms and legs. The mini backpack flexed and began to show off. Paragon stared down at it with a blank face.
"Yeah…" The girl said slowly. "Maybe you should keep working on your control… You know, to avoid things like this."
***
"So, how do you like the new suits?" Boy Genius asked.
"They're nice." Myth nodded. He was seated in front of the child's desk. Several drinks had been brought to them, all of which were things like apple juice or orange juice. "I'd rather discuss this matter you asked me for, though."
Boy Genius nodded and took a sip of his drink, trying to look sophisticated and cool by swirling it around. "Do you know why I don't send drones to every city and have them do the work, so the heroes don't have to get involved?"
"Because you couldn't." Myth shrugged. It was well known that Mental tech was weird. It seemed to be powered by the creator. As such, robots, drones, or other tech they created had to stay close to the creator, or they would eventually run out of power. You could make a few drones and send them out, but they'd only have a few hours of battery at most. That was why Boy Genius had to spend most of his time in his prison so he could keep it all powered, and it was also why most Mental based Supers had to wear their suits themselves instead of making robots.
"That's part of the reason." Boy Genius admitted. "Given enough time, I could maybe figure out a solution if I tried to negate the power issue, though. The real reason why is that I don't like things like debts or other such terms. Either owing them or having others owe them to me. See, the truth is, I would have never asked you to help with this matter. Under any normal circumstances, I would simply go to Oleander myself and find Green Wolf and Fairy Queen and fix it."
"So then, why are you doing this exactly?"
"Laps asked me to." The child explained. "With the loss of Old Dog, that only leaves the Sub Enforcers and the Watch Dogs as protectors of Oleander. Sub Enforcers have several members that are injured, and Watch Dog has a hard time keeping Bad Wolf on a leash, so they can't really do a lot right now. I understand the need for a new group to rise up and take it. I'm sure Laps already explained it to you, but if you do this job, you'll be able to have an easier time taking over the sponsored spot for Oleander."
"That's right. She said you'd also help back us up for it, which is why I assume you're allowing us to do this job in the first place."
"Yes, that's true." Boy Genius nodded and set his glass down. "Your father was a member of the Enforcers. When he died, it was his spot that I took two years ago. His death is what caused the Branch to hate you. I guess, in a way, it never sat right with me." The child shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "That said, while I am allowing you to go after Green Wolf and Fairy Queen for me, I am not going to sit still for long. My job is a hero first, and should you not be able to get them back in time, I will have no choice but to come down to Oleander myself and do it."
"How long?" He asked quietly.
Boy Genius hummed and rubbed his chin. "One week. I'm currently building a suit made to beat Fairy Queen. It will be done in one week. You have one week to beat her and capture her before then. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to act. She is already a great danger, and I am putting a city at risk, allowing you guys to go after her at all. Laps' words are the only thing making this happen."
"I assume that if we fail to get her and you have to show up to take her out yourself, then we won't be getting our sponsor."
"That's not up to me. Chances are you're right, though. This might be your one and only chance to prove to the Hero Branch you are worthy of their trust. You lost all of it after what you did two years ago, so you'll have to really give it your all."
Myth nodded and bowed his head. "I understand. Thank you for doing this. I really mean that. Even giving us this small chance means a lot to me. You have my word that in one week, Fairy Queen will be back in Nightshade. Green Wolf, as well. Neither of them will be getting away."
"That's good. I think I also have just the way of figuring out where they'll hit next." The boy smiled.
"Oh yeah?"
The young hero leaned back in his chair and played with a nearby screen, scrolling through pages of diagrams and designs. "Yeah, I've been doing a little work on a theory of mine. Basically, I figured that there has to be something in our subconsciousness that makes Supers gather into gangs like Zoo or teams like Pantheon."
Myth nodded. "Sure, I can understand that. But how does that theory help us track down Fairy Queen?"
"Well, Supers and humans are pretty different, right?" Boy Genius replied, closing the screen with a soft beep. "Like, on a biological level, there's something different. Humans will gather together because it's just an instinct. Cuddle together in the dark to avoid predators. Supers don't have to worry about normal predators. If there were any that could take down Supers, then it's not long before a group like the Enforcers come in and take it down."
The older hero hummed an affirmation. "And Supers have this subconscious need to gather despite having no natural predators?"
"Right, just look at the Enforcers before this generation. I've seen the records; they never agreed on anything. Hell, most of them couldn't even understand one of the members!" Boy Genius explained. "But they stayed together. That wasn't just Full Monarch's doing. Something in them, somewhere in their minds or powers, kept pulling them together."
"And you're researching a way to do what? Track groups of Supers? Amplify this instinct so Super gangs will gather and you can catch them all at once?" Myth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I could tell you the details, but I'm not sure our little eavesdropper would understand." The door to the office room slid open, and Battery fell past it and hit the floor.
"Oh wow, this isn't the bathroom; damn maze always changing-"
"Seriously, Battery." Myth sighed. "Sometimes you can be worse than Cinder."
Battery stood up and dusted himself off. "I couldn't help it. I needed to know."
"Know what?" Boy Genius asked, cocking his head to the side. Battery walked forward and took a seat in front of the desk next to Myth. He grabbed one of the glasses and took a shot. He then instantly spat it out, realizing that it wasn't alcohol and was, in fact, apple juice. Boy Genius slowly washed his face off. "Well. I hope whatever your answer is, that it's good. That might be the only thing that saves you from being launched out of my prison at mach ten."
Battery rubbed the back of his neck and set the glass down. "My bad. Either way, I just found it a little odd, is all. This place is old. Almost as old as you. Older than two years for sure, yet you've only been an Enforcer for two years? Makes me wonder."
"Are you trying to say something?" The child asked, cocking his head to the side.
"I just think there is more to you than you're letting on." The speedster shrugged. "Not my place, though. I have another reason for why I was listening in. I have information. Information that I think you'll want."
"What could you possibly have that is so important?" Boy Genius asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Even I wanna know, now." Myth muttered.
Battery placed his hand on the table, and slowly, a golden light seeped from it. The light took shape and began to resemble someone—a very familiar-looking man in a lab coat. Battery's fingers squeezed around the legs of the Harrison Avalon construct that he made. "I know who has the blade of the Emperor. We find that and no more teleporting for Green Wolf."
***
Cinder let out a breath and turned to Battery, seated by a window with a cigarette in his fingers. "So… Green Wolf. I guess we're finally going after him, right?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Battery exhaled a plume of smoke, most of which went out of the window but left the rest to torment a nearby Snowdawn. "Yep." They were back on the ship, everyone settling in, ready for the return voyage back to Oleander City. Unlike last time, they weren't on the deck of the ship and instead stood in the pilot's room, where Backup and Duplicity were seated. She wasn't a boat person, but she could tell this wasn't your typical captain's control room. It had hundreds of levers and switches, as well as dozens of computers and chairs scattered about. It looked a lot more like the cockpit of a plane.
She turned to look back at Battery. She hadn't gotten to hear what he and Myth talked about, but whatever it was, it was the reason they were getting ready to head back now. Apparently, they had a plan to not just capture Green Wolf but shut down his teleportation. "Think we can beat him?"
"Sure."
Cinder fidgeted in her seat, keeping her head down. The man had been acting differently recently. Ever since he saved her from Wish. Not to mention she learned how much time he had left. "That's good, I guess. I mean, without the teleporting sword, he's just really tough, isn't he? With long range slashes, and the more we hit him, the harder he'll hit us."
"Like a boss going up in phases," Snowdawn interjected, moving to a seat away from Battery and shooting the hero a dirty look. "He absorbs kinetic energy, so the longer the fight goes on, the more he gets faster and stronger. He actually reminds me a lot of you, Battery."
Up ahead, in the pilot's seat, Backup turned to everyone. "Everyone seated? Arms and legs inside the vehicle, buckle your seatbelts, all that jazz."
A brief moment passed before Paragon spoke up. "Um... There are no seatbelts…"
Backup shrugged, "Sounds like a you problem."
As the Watchdog member pulled the throttle, everyone braced for the thump of inertia to press them into their seats. Cinder slammed her eyes shut, ready for it. When she didn't feel the hit of speed, she opened her eyes, shocked to see the ship had taken off, clouds zooming past the window while the inside of the ship felt almost like it was stationary. Even Battery looked curious, eyeing a glass of bubbling amber liquid in his armrest and watching the still surface of the drink. She stood up, peering out of the window to watch the water below, zooming past. "Was this smooth ride mode a thing earlier? Are you telling me that the launch to the prison could've been this smooth? There's no need to haze us, damn it!"
Laughing raucously, Backup turned to everyone. "I wish it was hazing. Nah, while you were inside, Boy Genius' bots came by and gave this old girl an upgrade. And a new air freshener." He pointed to a small green tree dangling from his armrest.
"Lovely." Whisper snorted, folding her arms.
"I guess we owe Boy Genius another favor." Myth hummed.
"You better be sure to pay him back with interest." Duplicity called back.
She took a seat near the back where Paragon rested. The girl's bird was back with her and stared out the window silently. It made her recall what the hero had said earlier that day. How seeing with human eyes as opposed to the bird eyes was very different. Part of her couldn't really picture it. Being blind and forced to use an animal to see through. Destiny had been hurt once before in combat after all. "Why are you staring at me?" Paragon's words caused her to jump a bit, and she shrank down when she saw the bird was gazing intently at her now.
"Oh sorry! I was just lost in thought." She chuckled.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." She nodded and looked out the window and down at the sea herself. Once upon a time, it was blue and looked pretty. When she had been a young girl, she would sometimes get to see it when her father took her to the beach. Back then, Oleander had been a lot prettier as well. "Your world was nice." She finally said. "The one you took me to. I liked it."
"I thought it freaked you out."
"It did." She laughed a bit and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I can't say I really liked having Mars King there, and I'm still unsure of how I feel about that situation, but I don't think that I want you as an enemy Paragon. I'd like to keep you as a friend."
"I thought we already were friends."
"Yeah. I guess. But I mean, I'd like to be actual friends, you know. Not just in costume." She looked back at the other members of her team. They were all in the front of the boat and out of earshot, talking quietly amongst each other. "Snowdawn is the closest thing I really have to a friend. He and I have known each other since we were little kids. He's more like a brother, honestly. Whisper is cool and all, but I wouldn't say we're all that close. She's more like a sister, I guess. I never really had any friends that were girls. It was nice when we hung out as Sky and Hope."
"Are you saying you'd like to do that again?" Paragon questioned, cocking her head to the side.
"Yeah. Sure. Whenever we're not both busy and you're in Oleander, we should hang out more. It could be fun!"
"I think I'd like to try and practice my powers more also." Paragon said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." The girl nodded and placed her hand on a potted plant that was on the ship. "I've become a little more motivated hanging around you. I normally don't have anyone to practice my cell control ability on since I'm afraid of harming innocent people, but I've recently been trying to control plant cells and think I've gotten a bit stronger."
As the healer spoke, the plant began to twitch and the leaves moved, growing longer and sprouting various roses all across them. Her eyes sparkled as she watched it. "Whoa! So cool!"
Paragon plucked a rose and handed it to her. She took it and placed it into her bag next to the Paragon action figure she had bought earlier that day. "I think if I get a little bit better with my power, I might be able to try and heal your father again." The girl spoke softly.
She smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you're trying."
"I can't promise if it'll work." Paragon said defensively. "I still need to practice a whole lot more, but I'm getting better every day. I'd like to be strong like you or my sister."
She nodded and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Then, in that case, we should totally hang out some more and practice using our powers together again!"
The healer nodded her head. "Alright then. It's a date."
"Yeah! Wait what?"