"Alice Ward here, on the scenes in Dandelion City!"
In front of the camera, a local celebrity of Oleander stood. Alice Ward was considered by many people in Oleander to be the main woman who ran the news, constantly getting insider information. She was an older woman who still kept a lot of her beauty, though most of her black hair was filled with gray from constant stress. She wore a heavy rain poncho as she stood on the street in front of her cameraman. Besides the reporter, the camera would occasionally turn to show the road, which had several cars going down it or many of the buildings.
Alice waited for the camera to get back on her, and then she slowly began to walk down the street, her crew following after her. "Dandelion is a vastly different city from Oleander. The buildings here are much smaller, and I'll admit the gloom is kind of terrible." The old woman chuckled a bit. "It was first created by the late Mr. Sini, head of Sinicorp; however, during an intense battle with the entity from space, the villain known as the Beast, the weather above Dandelion was twisted and altered, causing it to constantly rain and downpour. As you can see, this city always rains and is very dark. No sun shines here. And since it's a dark city, that means it needs to be protected by a special group of heroes born in the dark. Dandelion is ran by team Mercy!"
The cameraman turned slightly and got a shot of the city. Dandelion was more like a large town than a city. The only skyscraper it had was Avalon's tower, which was at the edge of the city. The rest of the city had small first-story buildings, with a few two or three stories thrown in the mix. For some reason, it had a bank at the end of every road, and large street lamps were placed up, doing their best to light the dark city up. It's people walked around holding umbrellas or simply not minding the rain. They were all armed as well. Every person in Dandelion that was a legal adult carried a firearm and always had their eyes out. Unlike other cities, when a villain committed a crime out in the open, there was a good chance they'd simply be gunned down by the people unless the villain happened to be bulletproof. Several cop cars also rested on the side of the road, ready to spring up at a moment's notice.
On many of the buildings were posters of Mister Man, the strongest hero in Dandelion. He was a mysterious man dressed more or less as a cowboy. He wasn't physically strong and mainly got his position of power due to skills with a firearm and his powers. He was also the reason everyone in Dandelion was allowed to carry a weapon. He gave his people only a single order. 'Fight.' Heroes couldn't be everywhere at once, not even the Victorian. You could wallow in your self pity and try to run away from the world, or you could accept that it was a pretty shitty world you lived in and carry on living, and whenever something did appear to harm you or your people, you could try and fight it. Sure, you'd likely die, but at least you'd go out swinging.
That's what Mister Man thought, at least.
"As you can see, the people of Dandelion are constantly bustling around just like any other city," Alice announced. "Dandelion's people mainly run simple office jobs that still need to get done even in a place like this. Since we're here, let's go ahead and get an interview with some of its people!"
The camera cut out for a moment, and when it came back on, Alice and the crew weren't on the side of the road anymore. Instead they found themselves inside one of the many banks of Dandelion, standing in front of a very rich looking man in a suit. They had managed to get dried off, and Alice held a microphone up for the man as she and him stood in front of the camera.
"Would you like to give your name, Sir?"
"Of course. I am Sir Neven Binderbottom."
"That's quite the name..."
"Quite."
"So, Mr. Binderbottom, what is it that you do?" Alice asked.
"I run the bank here on Giraffe street." The man explained. "If you're familiar with how a bank works at all, you'll understand my job. It's pretty boring, to be honest. I assume there is a different reason for you being here? Other questions you want to ask?"
"How long have you been in Dandelion for?"
"Grew up here my whole life. Born and bred to be a Dandelion citizen."
"And what do you think of the city?"
"Well..." Mr. Binderbottom gave a quiet shrug. "To be honest, it kind of sucks. It's always night here, and we suffer from flooding. The Victorian often has to drop by and help with that. Mister Man does his part to of course. Houses are cheap though. Not a lot of people are tough enough to survive in this corner of the world, and despite what you might think, we don't get a lot of crime. The people manage though."
"I see. And your thoughts on the heroes?"
"Mister Man is a good hero, I think. He's been here for nearly ten years now. Always shows up just in time to save the day, and he isn't afraid to do what needs to be done. He'll kill without hesitation to save its people. We couldn't ask for a better hero. He's the one we need and deserve."
"And if you were given a chance, would you leave Dandelion behind?" Alice asked.
"No. Never." Binderbottom shook his head. "For many of us, this is our home. It might not be the best place, but it's where we live."
Alice nodded and turned to her camera man giving him a look. The camera once again cut out and when it came back on Alice stood outside in the rain once more. This time she was near a sewer lid which had been opened up. A man in a yellow hazmat suit rested on the edge, holding a long tube that he was attempting to jut into the sewers.
"Would you like to give your name, Sir?" Alice asked the new person.
"Fuck you, that's my name." The man didn't bother looking at Alice as he lowered the tube further into the sewers.
"Lovely, and what is it you're doing?"
"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm making sure we don't got another flood going on from this constant fucking rain." The man hissed. "Someone's gotta do it, and I'm the unlucky bastard stuck with it."
"I see. And how long have you lived in Dandelion for?"
"The hell is with all these questions?" The man groaned. "I moved here eight years ago after the last town I lived in got blown up by a freaky monster."
"And what do you think of Dandelion?"
"It's a total shit show. Then again, this entire world is one hell of a shit show, all because of those freaks running around in costumes." The man spat out. "Constantly tearing down cities left and right and bringing the world in chaos. This place is a disaster always suffering from floods and monster attacks all because those fuckers had one huge battle near this land. How the hell is that fair for us normal people? We can't live in a world like that?"
"What do you think of Mister Man?"
"He's a fuck up like every Super. It'd be best if they all just killed themselves." The man growled. "The Hero Branch doesn't have the balls to go to war with any of them, though, because they know they'd lose. Cowards. All of them. Planet Earth belongs to us, not the Supers!"
"And would you move if you had the chance-"
"Yes! Sadly, though, I can't afford it. This job pays fuck all, and the government is too busy taxing us to clean up after those damn Supers, so we normal people don't get the help we deserve! Now, can you leave me alone? I'm busy."
Alice turned back to her cameraman and nodded. She still had more people to get through and this guy wasn't being very cooperative. When the camera cut out and came back, Alice now stood in front of a large dead monster. It was shaped sort of like a lion, though it was the size of a bus, and its corpses was taken up one of Dandelion's roads. It had dozens of bullet holes all across its flesh, caused by Mister Man. The Cleanup Crew of Dandelion had their tools out and were already cutting into the dead monster, getting ready to remove it. Next to Alice on the Cleanup Crew, members stood facing the camera.
"Can you give me your name, Sir?" Alice asked.
"Sure. I'm John Smith." The Cleanup Crew member explained. "As you can see from my uniform, I'm part of the janitor team. We're currently in the middle of getting rid of this ugly thing." The man kicked the monster's corpse.
"How long have you lived in Dandelion?"
"Most my life, I guess." The man shrugged. "I was in another city when I was real young but got moved here when I was about eight. That was nearly thirty years ago, though. I got this job when I was in my twenties and have been doing this for most of my life."
"And what do you think of Dandelion?"
"Meh. It kind of sucks, but I guess it could be worse."
"How so?"
"Could be in Gladiolus." The man snickered.
'How do you view team Mercy and the heroes that run around this city?" Alice questioned.
"None of them are my favorite. They do their job, though, I guess. I mean, we're still able to go about life every day, so I guess that's all I can ask for." The man shrugged.
"And if you were able to, do you think you'd move out of here to another city?"
"Perhaps if it was Rose or something." The man rubbed his chin. "Dandelion's rent is dirt cheap, and it stays safe for the most part, though. I think I'd stay if given the chance."
Alice smiled and nodded back to her cameraman. "As you can see, Dandelion might not be the best place on Earth, but it's still a functioning city, and its people are still going about their day-to-day. In a world where massive threats could wipe out a city at any moment now, it's important to see how the people manage to live their lives. Up next, I got a special interview with one of Dandelion's very own heroes!"
The camera faded out, and this time, when it came on, Alice was dried off and in a comfy-looking chair. She was in a very plain-looking office room and seated behind a desk was a man in a suit who had purple skin. Thiefer, leader of Dandelion's Sub Enforcers. The purple man nodded to the camera and gave a soft smile. "Thanks for having me on your show Mrs. Ward."
"No, thank you for agreeing!" Alice grinned. "This is a new thing I thought I'd try where I go to each of the cities and talk to its people and heroes. Dandelion has been the first, and I have to say it's a very wet city."
"Yes, well, you get used to the rain." Thiefer chuckled.
"I suppose you'd have to. Why don't we start with the basics? What's your name, and what is it that you do?"
Thiefer gave a faint nod. "My name is Thiefer. I'm the head of Dandelion's Sub Enforcers. Whenever a new person awakens their powers, it's my job to offer them a position on our team and help train them, ensuring that they follow the rules set in place by the Hero Branch and can be put to good use helping our fellow man."
"It can be quite stressful being a normal human and living in this world." Alice chuckled dryly. "We have to put a lot of our faith in heroes like you and hope that you all have the best interests at heart for us. About how long have you lived in Dandelion for?"
"Fifteen years. I'm a Monster, so I was created during the war with the Emperor." Thiefer explained. "Many of us were given the option to either join the Hero Branch and help rebuild society or become true monsters and roam this world as mad beasts. Naturally, I took the safer bet and have spent the last fifteen years using my abilities to help rebuild and fix all the damage that I caused."
"Do you think the people will forgive you for the fact that you're a monster?"
"Frankly, no, and I don't blame them." Thiefer shook his head. "After all, it's hard enough being a human in a world of Supers, much less being a human in a world full of monsters that could easily tear down the world. They have a right to be scared or fearful. Despite that, though, mankind seems to still be hanging on. No matter the threats thrown at them they cling onto a sense of hope. The Hero Branch has made rebuilding entire cities possible and has expanded the world as we know it to be far bigger than it ever would be. Even though I know many people will still look at me in fear or even despise and hate me, I'm quite honored that I get to be a cog in the machine that keeps it all running."
"And what can you tell me about the city's people and your team?"
"Dandelion is a city that won't go down without a fight. If you poke at its people, they'll poke back. They won't do it alone, either. My Sub Enforcers are ready for action, ready to go toe-to-toe with even a Calamity if it comes to it. We're prepared to work alongside Mister Man and even die on the battlefield when the time comes. The people can put their faith in us to keep them safe because we've done it time and time again."
Alice went to open her mouth to say something else, but a loud siren echoed out, and the building they were in suddenly began to rumble. Thiefer calmly stood up and looked out the window. The cameraman followed the purple Super and stared out in shock as another monster had appeared, suddenly dropping down from the sky. It looked like some sort of massive gorilla. It took a swipe at a group of people, but its hand phased through them all as out of nowhere, Mister Man appeared and used his power to phase the people into an underground bunker, getting them to safety.
"Dandelion is in good hands." Thiefer calmly undid his tie and opened the window, stepping out. "Of that, you can be sure." The man declared as he jumped out.
And with that, Dandelion's interview came to an end.
***
"Go, go, go." The captain flung his arm out, making the hand signal that caused his soldiers to charge out of the van. They formed together into a tight group, raising their guns up as they made their way through the destroyed fence he had rammed his car into.
Rain poured down from above, and it was always night in Dandelion, so each of them had high-spec night vision goggles. There were eight of them in total, all wearing black bodysuits and carrying heavy guns that could rip through a cop car or even a Hero Branch armored van in a matter of seconds. They'd need gear this powerful for what they were about to do.
"Approach the tower." The captain barked out to his men. "We go in fast and hard before the system can reboot."
Dandelion was a rather small city. It didn't have many tall buildings. It was rather dark and gloomy and sometimes referred to as 'the city that's always crying', because no matter what time of day it was, this city always had massive black clouds that hung above it, which blocked out the sun and rained upon the land.
All of the buildings were old-fashioned, and the people had long since grown used to the gloomy atmosphere. Everything was tight and packed together. In fact, the city itself only had a single skyscraper. One that hung in the middle of it. An Avalon industry building. The building itself barely saw use; Avalon had it run entirely by robots, and Dandelion was so small and lonely that the scientist never bothered to show up.
Because of this, a certain terrorist group had decided it would be best to raid it. Forgotten or not, it was still an Avalon tower, and who knows what secrets it would hold? That was why they had gathered together, the eight of them, and rammed a stolen van they had through the tower's fences. They'd only have a few seconds to act before it let out an alarm.
The captain was the first to reach the tower, the rain pouring down hard as they reached the doors. They wasted no time and blasted through it with their gun. They wielded weapons created by a low-level tech-based villain, and the guns did their job of launching a wave of molten slag that burned through the door, allowing them to enter. He and his men stepped into the lobby, their weapons at the ready.
It was dark.
All the lights had been shut off, and not a single human other than them could be found. This place was run entirely by robots, yet as they looked around, none of the machines you'd expect to see in Avalon's many towers roamed around. Instead, the entire tower was quiet.
Too quiet.
The captain reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal scanner that hummed to life. They were looking for an old robotic suit that Avalon had built long ago. The man had once created armor able to go toe-to-toe with some of the best Supers in the world but had ended up scraping the suit after it got damaged. Even in a bad state, though, it'd be worth a fortune. Rumor was that Avalon had tossed the suit into this tower. The device he held lit up and began to beep, and he and his men moved out.
"What the hell?"
Instantly, as they entered the second floor, they found some of Avalon's robots. They were all shut off. Many of them were in the middle of taking a few steps but had suddenly frozen in place. Some had even fallen over. Each machine was shaped in a humanoid manner but created entirely out of a silver metal. Also scattered across the ground were several hands. They weren't attached to anything and had just fallen to the floor. Each hand was made out of white metal. Both the hands and robots were covered in a thick layer of dust as if they hadn't been moved in ages.
"How long has Avalon neglected to run this base?" One of the men asked.
"They've been shut off for a while? Did he just give up on this place?" Another of the soldiers asked.
"Who cares? We don't want to lose sight of our mission." The captain grunted. "We're getting paid big dollars from the legendary villain, Golden God, to find that suit."
"Why would he care about a suit in Dandelion, though?" Another soldier sighed. "Are we sure it was even really Golden God? I mean, he escaped planet Earth back during the war with the Emperor, right?"
"He could be a Lord for all I care. He's already paid us a heavy sum up front to come and collect this suit." The captain moved away from one of the robots. "Mole Rats get the job done. That's our motto."
Mole Rats weren't anything special. They all lacked powers and tried to make up for that fact by using Mental-based tech they'd 'borrow' from inventors. Usually, the tech would get fried or run out of power in a mission, though, so they were mainly used as grunts. Their team was constantly gathering new members, and they'd offer themselves up to actual threats to be used as cannon fodder. Whatever Golden God wanted them to do, it likely wasn't the machine's main goal, and he was just using them as a distraction.
This was something the captain of the Mole Rats had accepted.
Still, though, it was a little odd to be inside of Avalon's base and see just how quiet and unused it had become. Avalon had a tower inside of every city, though the man mainly operated in Rose. Each of Avalon's towers was tasked with advancing the city it was in, and it was thanks to that man that the human race had been able to recover time and time again, even after all the world-ending disasters.
So, to see a lab such as this be covered in so much dust and show signs of having not been used in so long was a bit concerning...
"Our goal hasn't changed." The captain turned back to look at his eight men. "We're going to keep climbing the floors until we get to the vault where Avalon's old suit is and—wait a second..." The captain suddenly stopped. He turned to look back at his men and began to count. This team, counting himself, consisted of eight soldiers. So why was he counting eight people? That would make nine- "Oh shit."
Before any of the soldiers could even react, a cloaked figure jumped out of the darkness and grabbed one of the men. The man screamed out as he crashed to the ground, and then he kept falling. As in, he fell directly through the floor along with the cloaked figure and dropped to the floor below. The other seven soldiers all stared in shock as they watched one of their teammates be taken out instantly.
"We got a Super!" The captain yelled out. "Go, go, go!"
They all took off running, going as fast as they could through the hall, ignoring the robots and other machines. Right when they were about to round the corner, the cloaked figure suddenly reappeared, literally jumping through the floor directly at them. The captain managed to dodge out of the way, but two of his men weren't lucky. The cloaked figure rammed into two soldiers, and just like the last guy, the three of them sank through the floor as the cloaked figure placed his hand on either side of the soldier's chest.
In only a couple of seconds, three of them had been taken out. It didn't stop there, either. The Captain kept running, and again and again, that cloaked figure would come out of nowhere and snatch one of the soldiers away, dragging them into the floor. Finally, all that was left was the captain, and he nearly collapsed to his knees, out of breath when he reached the top of the tower, where a massive metal door was placed directly on the wall. The place where the vault was supposed to be. It should hold a majority of Avalon's scrapped and abandoned projects.
With a cry, the captain of the Mole Rats raised his gun and fired. The molten slag ignited and set off a fire alarm, causing red lights and water to come pouring down from the roof above. The slag smashed into the vault door and rapidly burned through it, creating a hole big enough for the Captain to step through. He did so and then froze at what he saw.
It was empty.
There was nothing in the vault. Everything had been picked clean a while ago.
"Did you think you'd find something of value here?" The captain let out a loud squeak and stumbled back. He turned around and raised his gun. "I hate to break it to you, but Avalon doesn't use this lab anymore."
He finally got to see the one responsible for hunting them down. The cloaked man stepped forward, and the red flashing lights made it possible to take a look at him. He wore a long silver trench coat as well as a silver-looking cowboy hat. In his hands, he twirled a simple revolver and walked forward slowly. This was the hero known as Mister Man. Leader of team Mercy and a member of the Enforcers.
"S- Stay back!" The Mole Rat's captain raised his gun and fired, the slag launching out. Mister Man didn't bother to dodge or move at all. Instead, the hero casually walked forward, and the slag went directly through him, as if he wasn't even there. "N- No." The Captain swung his gun out, using it as a melee weapon, but again his attack went straight through Mister Man.
Mister Man literally walked through the Mole Rat member and appeared on the other side of him, casually placing his gun to the back of the man's head. "Boom." He pulled the trigger.
The captain cried out as the gun went off. A second later, though, the man's eyes opened, and he saw that the bullet had phased directly through his body and hadn't actually hurt him. "I'm still alive-"
Mister Man smashed his gun into the back of the villain's head, knocking the captain out instantly.
Meanwhile, down below, the seven other Mole Rat members weren't having a good time either. Each of them had been phased back down to the first floor, and they were facing off against a different Super. Two, in fact.
The first was a man, dressed up sort of like an archer, wearing a tight red tunic and a small hat. He wielded a longbow and was launching arrows out so fast that he was taking the bullets out of midair. His name was Slinger. The second hero was a young woman with fiery red hair dressed in a long green dress. Despite how hard it would be to not trip, she managed to keep walking straight, and the bullets kept missing her. Her name was Shamrock.
The Mole Rat members kept firing their guns, but Shamrock kept getting missed, being extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time, while Slinger just fired out his arrows so fast that he was sniping the bullets out midair. The Mole Rats tried to fall back, but they had no time. Slinger launched another arrow, and then he activated his power. As the arrow flew forward, it glowed, and then, in a flash, Slinger appeared where his arrow landed, appearing directly behind the seven Mole Rat grunts.
In a flash, Slinger used his bow as some sort of club, moving between the men fast and hitting them hard. He had to hold back his super strength so he didn't accidentally kill any of them. Each smack of his bow was hard enough to crack the men's helmets and left them face down on the floor, ensuring that they likely wouldn't be getting back up any time soon.
One of the soldiers managed to slip away while he did that and made for the door but stopped when they found themselves face-to-face with Shamrock.
"Out of my way!"
"Nah." The girl poked her tongue out and winked. "I'll take my chances."
The man growled and raised his gun, pulling the trigger. It jammed.
"Guess I got lucky." Shamrock giggled. A second later a floor tile from up above cracked and broke off, smashing down onto the head of the man, knocking him out. "Or maybe you're just really unlucky?"
"Is that the last of them?" Slinger asked, pulling out some handcuffs and getting to work cuffing the men.
"Looks like it." Shamrock chuckled and pulled out her phone, calling the Hero Branch. "What were they even trying to do?"
"Beats me." Slinger shrugged.
From up above, Mister Man suddenly phased through the roof, carrying the unconscious leader of the Mole Rats with him. He casually dropped the man down next to Slinger and landed on the ground. "This is the last one." The member of the Enforcers grunted out. "Go ahead and gather them all up, Slinger."
"Yeah, yeah." Slinger finished cuffing the men and put them all into a pile and placed an arrow down next to them. "Why is this place all dark anyways? Isn't this Avalon's lab?"
"Not anymore." Mister Man shook his head. "Avalon didn't like the view, so he decided to begin building a completely separate lab on the other side of the city and is transferring all his tech in here to there."
"Rich people." Shamrock snorted and let out a small giggle as the three of them headed for the door and left the lab. "So how did it go keeping the area under control?" She called out.
Three other heroes stood near the destroyed gate that the Mole Rats had driven into and were doing their best to block off the public area. The first two wore matching costumes, both wearing silver armor. One suit was light and thin, and the other was heavy and bulky. They were young teens, only nineteen years old, and soon to graduate from being part of the Sub Enforcers of Dandelion. Light Iron and his twin brother, Heavy Iron.
"It's so boring!" Light Iron complained. Thanks to his power, he had caused a wave of chains to rise up and form a parameter around the destroyed gate.
"Yeah." Heavy Iron nodded and placed a large sledgehammer down on the ground in front of him. "We're adults now and not going to be part of the Sub Enforcers for much longer. Soon, we're going to be part of Team Mercy; when do we get a turn at fighting actual crime?"
Mister Man's eye twitched a bit, and he grunted. "Thiefer, keep your boys in check."
The third hero was an older man who wore a black business-like suit with a red tie. He had dark purple skin, as well as purple hair and even purple eyes. Thiefer kept his arms casually folded behind his back and managed a faint smile as he nodded. "Light Iron, Heavy Iron, the two of you will get your time to shine eventually. You both just came of age, so be a bit more patient." Thiefer was the current leader of the Dandelion Sub Enforcers. He wasn't suited for combat, and so usually stayed behind and stopped civilians from entering the battlefield.
Light Iron just grumbled while Heavy Iron nodded. The sound of sirens approached as a large Hero Branch van pulled up in front of them. "Slinger." Mister Man nodded his head, and the bow-themed hero stepped forward.
Slinger aimed an arrow at the back of the Hero Branch van, and Light Iron and Heavy Iron opened the doors to the van for him. He launched his arrow inside of the van, and before it could hit the walls, it glowed and vanished. In its place, all the unconscious members of Mole Rats appeared, falling into a pile inside of the van.
Thiefer got to work sorting the men out and placing them all side by side on the ground so they'd be a bit more comfortable. Light Iron and Heavy Iron both joined him. "You know you don't gotta do that, right?" Shamrock snorted. "I mean, they're bad guys. Who cares if they're comfortable?"
"They're still people," Thiefer replied casually.
"And that right there is why you've never graduated from being on the Sub Enforcers." Slinger chuckled. "Keep acting like a goody two shoes, and you'll remain as a teacher to children."
"Is that bad?" Theifer shrugged. "I like helping the new up-and-coming heroes. I'm happy I got to teach Light Iron and Heavy Iron." The two brothers muttered agreements and nodded happily. When they were done with the Mole Rats, they closed the van's doors.
"Thiefer, you and those two follow the van." Mister Man grunted out. "Make sure it gets to the prison and there aren't any issues."
Thiefer nodded. "Of course." He climbed up on top of the van and helped pull Light Iron and Heavy Iron up. "We'll call you once we've arrived."
"Be sure you do." Mister Man nodded and then watched as the van drove off carrying the Mole Rats and the three heroes.
"So what now?" Shamrock asked.
"Now we wait for some other thing to go wrong. God knows something's always happening in this shit hole." Mister Man grunted out and began to walk down the street.
"Hopefully, it'll be something as easy as this was." Slinger nodded.
Dandelion wasn't a very big city. It was mainly tight and closed in together. It always rained, and it kind of stunk. All the buildings were made out of cold stone and kept low to the ground. People walked the street, all wearing heavy coats and carrying umbrellas. They all looked tired and depressed, yet life moved on. It wasn't the best city, but it was his city. Mister Man's eyes roamed over all the different buildings and their people. It was his job to keep it safe and protected.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard a loud buzzing noise. He reached through his jacket and phased his phone out of it, looking down at the screen.
"What is it?" Shamrock asked, peeking over his shoulder.
Mister Man let out a sigh and looked up to the sky, feeling the rain pour down onto his face. "I'm being summoned to Rose. Looks like the Enforcers are having a meeting."