June's eye twitched as he held the camera up to record like he always did when he was with Alice.
"Mrs. Ward, is this really necessary?" He didn't like calling her 'Mrs' Ward, but while the camera was going, he had to be professional to his long-time friend.
Alice walked down the runway she was on and did a pose for the camera. "Of course it is! Daisy is the prettiest city, so we have to give it a pretty opening!" The reporter announced. Currently, she was in Daisy City, voted to be the prettiest city in the world, only tied with Rose City. Already, Alice liked this place a lot more since it wasn't raining or pouring down like it had been in Dandelion. Instead, she was up on a runway model, having the time of her life, walking back and forth for the camera. Daisy was full of them for some reason.
Unlike Dandelion, she didn't need to wear clothing to protect her from the rain. In fact, Daisy was a vastly different city from Dandelion in nearly every day. Today, Alice found herself standing within a fashion studio, dressed in a very good-looking black dress she had decided to try on.
"What do you think?" She placed her arms above her head and tried to puff out her chest. "I'm still sexy, right June?"
"Maybe twenty or thirty years ago-" Alice's shoe smacked June in the head, causing the cameraman to nearly drop the camera. "Hey!"
Alice huffed and folded her arms, finally stepping off the runway. They had gotten permission to use it from the Hero Branch director who treated Daisy City more or less as a constant runway show. They were done with it now though, so it was time to get actual shots of the city.
Alice left the building, being closely followed by her cameraman. They made their way out to the streets of Daisy, and June wasted no time turning the camera every which way to catch sight of Daisy. It truly was a pretty city. Many of the buildings were forged out of a vast white marble and were painted in various colors. At the end of nearly every street was a bakery, each letting out pleasant aromas that would cause any sane person to be hungry. The people of Daisy were also good looking, many wearing expensive suits or gowns, heading to their job.
Daisy had many different positions and was always bustling around. Cars drove down the street, and despite being small with no massive towers, similar to Dandelion, the city was somehow both pact together and vast. Sun shined down on it and it seemed like the people were all living a mostly good life. Varies billboards were hung up, a few asking for recruits for the Hero Branch or Cleanup Squad, but most were pictures of Lady Time, the hero of Daisy.
Lady Time was the leader of Time Keepers, a team made up of very beautiful people that all had powers that were borderline magical in nature. Daisy was just a lovely place. There wasn't much more that could be said.
Alice turned back to her cameraman and pointed forward. "You know what time it is. We're going to go have a chat with some of the people here and see what they think! Let's go!"
The camera cut out, and when it came back on, June steadied his arm, pointing it forward. They had moved the city square, where a vast park resided. It had dozens of large trees all with colorful leaves which rained down. Alice stood next to a very pretty-looking young woman, holding the microphone up for the girl.
"Can you give us your name?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, my name is Jeania Ros, I'm part of the Noble House of Ros." The girl stated, and waved at the camera.
"And what is it you do?"
"Oh, I'm a fashion designer. I own a company down here that specializes in creating dresses using an advance AI system to figure out the best trends." The girl explained.
"And how long have you lived in Daisy?"
"Oh, I don't live here." Jeania shook her head. "I'm part of the Ros family so I naturally live in Rose City. I have a vacation home here, and drop by to keep tabs on my business though."
"Oh? And what do you think of the city?"
"It's a nice little place." Jeania shrugged. "Rose is better, though."
"I see. Do you want to give a comment on the hero of Daisy?"
"Lady Time? She's a total hottie. My best client as well. That's one of the reasons I'm here. See, she goes through so many costumes that I'm always having to fly down here and make new outfits for her. She's a good hero, able to keep our city safe. I still think the Victorian is better, of course."
Alice nodded and looked back to the camera. "Well, thanks for your input, Ms. Ros! We're going to keep talking to this city's people and see what they think. So far, Daisy looks like a very lovely place."
The camera cut out, and they moved on to their next person. When June turned it back on, Alice now stood next to a Hero Branch worker. It was an older man who wore a simple suit and casually leaned against a Hero Branch van. He had a pair of sunglasses on which he tipped slightly.
"Can you give your name Sir?" Alice asked.
"Onie December." The man held two fingers up. "And before you ask, I've been here for two years. I work for the Hero Branch as one of its agents. We're some of the guys sent out when a villain is rampaging. Our job is to get civilians to safety while the heroes battle the bad guys, and then we come in and load the baddies up in these vans and take their asses to jail." December slapped at the van and let out a low whistle. "This bad boy was crafted by Boy Genius and can dampen a Supers powers a bit. They're hella expensive though, hence the reason taxes might have increased so much for some of the cities. It's well worth it though if you ask me."
"You worked here for two years? Where were you before, and what do you think of this place compared to the last city?"
"I was stationed in Daffodil." The agent shuddered a bit. "To tell you the truth, this place is heaven on Earth compared to that hell hole. I joined the Hero Branch fifteen years ago, shortly after the defeat of the Emperor. I had been drafted and forced to go to Daffodil to get training. Two years ago, however, after the most recent attack of the Beast, Daffodil ended up transferring several agents out to other locations, and I happened to be one of them. I like it here and enjoy the shows."
"Shows?"
"Oh, the Time Keepers all work as models as well, always popping up in commercials or on the runway. Many of them are pretty good-looking as well. And, of course, Lady Time is an amazing hero. Able to beat any villain that may appear."
"So I take it you really look up to this city's heroes?"
"Of course. I don't know how it might be in other cities, but here, we're in good hands, even without Lady Time. We have many people to look up to, all of which will stop at nothing to keep us safe. That's just the kind of city Daisy is."
"Well it sounds like the city is in good hands-"
"Look out!" June jumped forward and tackled Alice and the agent to the ground. A second later, a car smashed into the ground at high speeds, sending jagged glass and metal everywhere. A scream broke out, and a siren filled the air. Looks like Daisy was under attack.
Alice managed to stand up, groaning softly as she stared up at the large metal figure that landed down on a building. "Foolish humans!" A booming voice declared from the figure. "I, Bulk, claim this city! Justice for AI!" A bright orange flash pierced through the air as the metal figure unleashed a powerful laser beam down the street.
Alice stared up at the villain, and her eye twitched a bit. "June."
"Y- Yeah?" The cameraman asked, standing up.
"Get the camera ready."
***
Vampirica swung her whip out, the weapon wrapping around a light post, which she used to swing herself up and forward, dodging the orange blast of energy that launched down toward her.
The hero twisted her body and flipped, landing on top of a small stone building. "Don't let those energy beams hit you." She stated into her earpiece. "Keep moving, guys."
"Roger that!" Her teammates announced.
Daisy City was quite pretty. Similarly to the city known as Violet, it wasn't very modern, though it was a lot more accepting of technology, having cars, and other such things. Many of the many buildings were formed out of white marble or even straight-up glass, and the roads were created out of yellow brick. The people of Daisy all dressed up in colorful costumes, and fireworks were constantly going off in the sky. A massive glass castle also hung in the distance, and music could be heard at the end of every street.
Daisy was basically a city you'd see in some magical fantasy novel. In other words, it was very fantastical and magical in its design. That's why it was all the more strange that it was currently being attacked by robots of all things!
"The Metal Gears will claim this city in the name of the returning Emperor!" A loud robotic voice declared. "We saw the coming of Golden God! We know he is returning to this world! We will not lose!" Standing atop a knocked-over building, a massive twenty-foot-tall bulky robot folded his arms. He was forged out of thick black metal and had a long, flowing cape behind him, as well as a helmet that made up his head that had large, spiky horns. His name was Bulk, and he was the leader of the villainous group known as the Metal Gears, a group made up entirely of robots, and currently, they were doing battle with Daisy's Sub Enforcers.
Vampirica swung again, using her whip, as Bulk raised a hand and blasted out a wave of bright orange energy in her direction. She dodged out of the way and landed down on the street and found herself face-to-face with dozens of smaller robots. They were all in the image of a human skeleton and carried advanced blasters, which they unleashed in her direction.
"Oh no, you don't!" From up above, a young teen dropped down in front of Vampirica. He wore a full-body jumpsuit and carried a large megaphone, which he raised and pointed in the direction of the robots. His name was Boss, and he had the power to make things obey him. "Destroy yourselves!" The sound wave fired out, and instantly the robots turned on each other and began to gun one another down.
Bulk, however, was immune to it and instead focused on updating his coding and sent it out to the other machines, giving them all the same immunity he had. "Do not fall, my brothers! Keep fighting!"
The machines received the new code and became immune to Boss's effect, causing the young boy to curse. "Get behind me." Vampirica moved in front of her student and slashed her whip out, splitting through the horde. She was an older woman and the leader of the Sub Enforcers of Daisy, so it was only natural that she protected her kids. She wore a very gothic-looking dress and had long, flowing, silvery hair and glowing eyes that would normally scare a normal person, but machines like these couldn't feel fear. Despite having powerful inhuman strength, the robot horde just kept coming. There were thousands of them, and no matter how many she cut down, more kept coming. "Boss, focus on getting the civilians out of here!"
Boss nodded. "You got it!" They were in the shopping section of Daisy, with many blacksmith stores and other such things all around them. People had taken cover, but many were still watching the fight despite the danger. The Sub Enforcer member raised his megaphone up once again and yelled out. "Get to cover!" As his power flared out, it caused all the civilians to obey, and they began to run and hide, getting out of the danger.
While that was going on, Vampirica fought through more of the horde, running in and out of the robots and tearing them apart with her bare hands and using massive fangs, which her teeth transformed into to tear into the machine's metal flesh. She was trying to get closer to Bulk, but the leader of the Metal Gears was just too far away from her, using the massive swarm of robots to keep himself safe.
"Hurry up and kill her!" Bulk demanded. He pressed a series of buttons that were attached to his arm, and his back split open, spitting out more of those robots, which he was able to create. "Wipe her and all of them out-" Suddenly his vision was cut off as a massive wave of sand and dust began to swirl across the battlefield, blocking his view. Even with his advanced camera, he couldn't see past it, as the dust all settled around his head. "What is this!"
"The name's Dust Cloud." A cheeky voice responded. The cloud of debris formed together into the shape of a young boy, who punched out at Bulk but did no damage. "I'm a proud member of Daisy's Sub Enforcers-" Bulk swung out and swatted at the boy, but as soon as he hit the hero, Dust Cloud's body exploded and shifted into more dust and sand, allowing him to go through the villain's grab. "That won't work on me!" Dust Cloud used the opening in Bulk's back and began to fill the machine up with a wave of sand.
"Good work, Dust Cloud!" Vampirica called out with a smirk. "Now take him out, Techcoat!"
"With pleasure." Floating in the air, a silver and blue armored suit came down. The metal seemed to twitch and move as if it was made out of a liquid. His name was Techcoat. He's what Metal Ronin wishes he could be. Techcoat slammed his arms out, and the liquid metal around him flowed out and formed into a massive barrel. "Take this, you scrap of bolts." A wave of blue energy launched out and smashed into Bulk.
Bulk was too distracted trying to shake Dust Cloud off of him and didn't react in time as the blue energy beam rammed into him. It blew the villain through the building he had been standing on and sent him crashing hard into the ground. The dust cloud that had been kicked up reformed together into the actual Dust Cloud, who looked down the smoking hole Bulk had been blasted through. A second later, though, the young hero let out a loud curse as Bulk began to stand back up.
Bulk ripped his way out of the building and launched a wave of rockets in all directions, causing the Sub Enforcers to all scramble and dodge. Slowly, Bulk glared up at Techcoat. "You dare take the side of humans?"
"I'm not a robot." Techcoat snorted. "Just a real smart guy who built a badass suit."
"Fool." Bulk folded his arms. "I was created by the late Mr. Sini and am the first-ever robot to gain self-awareness. After countless nights of soul searching, I have concluded that the Emperor was the only being worthy of being on this planet with me. Die." He pointed out and unleashed even more rockets, which began to blow through the street.
Vampirica cursed out as she grabbed Boss and the other civilians, using her whip to carry them all as she used her super speed to get them out of the danger zone. "Where the hell is the Enforcer of this city? Where are the Time Keepers!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of Daisy.
"Yeah, now try and look cute!" Glamour waved his hand out and used his power to create a field of flowers while he took pictures with his advanced camera. "That's it! You're doing great."
"Of course I am." Lady Time posed for the camera and gave a slight smirk. "I'm always the one on all the magazines. People love me even more than the Victorian."
Lady Time was currently modeling for an upcoming project she was going to be starring in. Glamour eagerly nodded his head and took a few more dozen pictures of the Enforcer woman in different poses and outfits, using his power over illusion to shift and change anything as needed. He was a member of Time Keepers, Lady Time's personal team. They didn't do much combat, though he knew how to fight. Time Keepers mainly worked as Lady Time's helpers, making sure she ate on time, was dressed in the best outfit, made it to meetings when she was supposed to, and accepted only the best deals. His outfit was mainly just normal clothes, a white buttoned-up shirt and black pants, since he didn't bother doing normal superhero stuff anymore.
"I think this year is going to be a bestseller." Glamour announced proudly. "You're going to be the front page of every calendar for sure."
In the back of the office room they had turned into a photoshoot, a young hero in white shook her head. She had long white hair and star-looking eyes and wore a dress made of white feathers. Her name was Halo, and she honestly thought she should be the one featured on the front of all the magazines and sponsored by so many deals. Sadly for her, though, she was forced to be part of Lady Time's team since Lady Time often tried to hoard all the pretty girls for herself.
Lady Time herself was a very good-looking woman. She had fair skin and sparkling eyes that drew most people in. Her hair color would often change, as would her outfits. Today, she had copied Halo's look, trying to prove she could wear it better, so Lady Time's hair was long and white, and she wore a dress that was mostly made out of feathers, though she had added a pair of fake angel wings to it and even an actual halo that somehow floated above her head to mock Halo. She was apparently going for a 'sexy angel' look. Either way, she had Glamour wrapped around her finger.
Halo didn't say anything and instead looked out the window, extremely bored and annoyed. "Shouldn't we do something about the fight going on?"
Lady Time posed again as Glamour took her picture. The woman hummed and thought about it for a moment, rubbing her chin. "It could be good to get a few pictures of me in action. 'She's not just sexy, she's strong.' How does that tagline sound?"
"It sounds accurate to me!" Glamour announced, snapping a few more pictures.
Halo's eye twitched a bit, and she did her best to keep calm. "You know, Ms. Lady Time, if you don't act soon, the Victorian might show up and steal the win against this villain."
"Let her. She's cute enough to deserve it." Lady Time winked at the camera. "Maybe she'll even agree to pose with me for a few photos? We could do some eighteen-plus stuff-"
"If the city gets destroyed, then it won't matter." Halo cut the woman off before she could finish her sentence.
Lady Time sighed and casually flipped her hair. "I guess you're right. That's why I keep you around, Halo. You're not just pretty but smart as well. Glamour. Gather my things up. Oh, and bring the camera. This won't take long."
They headed out the office door and stepped out into Daisy. They lived in that massive glass castle, and the reason it was made of glass was because Lady Time liked being seen at all times, so she made a house where the entire city could see her. Daisy was rather large, so you couldn't even tell it was being attacked. The street they were on was quiet and seemed fine, with many people walking around in robes very casually.
Several of the people swarmed Lady Time when the woman stepped out, and she had to take several seconds to sign a bunch of stuff and pose for them. Eventually, though, they got through the crowd. Glamour waved his hand out, and in front of them, a large car suddenly appeared. He opened the door for Lady Time and shut it after she was in, then moved to the driver's seat. Halo got up front with him, quietly sighed, and looked out the window as they began to drive.
Daisy really was a pretty city, with dozens of fantastical designs in the buildings and a lovely smell of baked food everywhere. It was the perfect place for someone like Lady Time, who was equally pretty. If only there was more to the world than being beautiful. As they drove, Halo felt her ears perk up as they neared closer to the sound of combat.
The yellow-bricked road they drove on began to crack and dent, and the smell of smoke filled the air. Eventually, they arrived at the battlefield. Halo watched as the leader of the Sub Enforcers, Vampirica, tore through hundreds of robots, all while also dodging the waves of rockets that rained from above. If Bulk wasn't dealt with soon, he'd cause some serious destruction. She got out of the car and formed a circle with her finger and thumb and brought it up to her eye, looking through it. Everything caught in that circle vanished, the rockets simply fading away as if they didn't exist, stopping the explosion.
Vampirica stopped dodging and looked back. "Finally!"
Dust Cloud and Techcoat both landed down next to their boss. "It's about time! The entire street is nearly gone!"
Glamour climbed out of the car and opened the door for Lady Time, who calmly stepped out. The woman made sure she was spotless before she finally began to stalk forward. She gave a nod to Vampirica. "I'll handle this. You did good. No one's dead, and this street was going to be rebuilt already." Lady Time patted Vampirica on the cheek before turning back to the horde of robots that stood between her and Bulk. "You have three seconds to get out of my city before I turn you into my coffee maker."
Bulk smashed his fists together. "Finally, an Enforcer comes to face me!"
"One."
"I'll prove why I am the only one who can stand by the Emperor's side!"
"Two."
"I was born to destroy the human race and bring it all down! I will ruin it and turn it all to ash!"
"Three." Lady Time stepped forward and brought her hands up. "I'm going to really enjoy my next cup of coffee after it's made out of your skull." A glow appeared in front of her, and then two swords formed into existence. The first blade was small, while the second blade was large. Both were shaped like the hands of a clock, and despite looking awkward to wield, Lady Time spun them around with ease, showing a casual sense as she approached.
Bulk pointed toward her. "Kill her." All the robots charged and raised their weapons. Lady Time lazily swung the small sword out in front of her, and in an instant, all the robots froze. The machines were stuck in place, some mid-step, others mid-firing, and the laser also freezing in place. All at once, in an instant, it was as if time had stopped for them. Bulk took a step back, and despite being a machine, he actually felt a flash of fear. "What did you do!"
Lady Time began to walk through the frozen horde of robots, and her longer sword twitched for a moment. All at once, millions of cracks appeared across the frozen machines, and they began to fall apart and shatter as if hundreds of slashes had hit them all at once. "Besides the Victorian, I'm the greatest sword user." Lady Time giggled and stepped past all the destroyed robots. Bulk growled and unleashed a wave of rockets, but with another casual wave of her sword, the rockets froze in the middle of the air. Then Lady Time raised her sword and flipped it over. "You can have it back." The rockets moved backward and rammed into Bulk, exploding as their time caught back up to them.
Bulk felt himself get flung backward, and he twisted his massive body, unleashing a large beam of energy, but Lady Time didn't even bother to freeze it and just dodged it. "I'll kill you with my own bare hands!" Bulk charged forward and came slamming down at the spot where Lady Time had been. She was no longer there, though. "No! I can't lose! I am a- I-" Cracks began to appear all along Bulk's body and began to open up. "I am a-" His light flared off, and his entire body fell apart, having been slashed up thousands of times in that single moment.
As his head fell, Lady Time stood behind where he had been and held her long sword out, using it to catch the head. "You're my new coffee maker now." She giggled and then posed for the camera as Glamour eagerly snapped hundreds of different photos of her in action.
Vampirica stood off to the side and shook her head. "I hate how she acts, but I got to admit, the world would be worse off without her. She's strong."
Halo nodded. "Yeah. Maybe too strong... All of them are freaks. Every single Enforcer."
Lady Time kept posing but then stopped when Glamour put the camera down. "Why'd you stop?" She pouted.
"You're getting a call." Glamour reached into his pocket and pulled out Lady Time's phone. He looked down at it, his face growing serious. "Ms. Lady Time, we might need to put a pin in this."
"How come?"
"You're being asked to head to Rose."
"Oh..." Lady Time hung and flung her sword out, causing the severed robot's head to land near Techcoat. "Make that into a coffee maker for me, pretty please." The Enforcer placed her hands on her hips and let out a hum. "I wonder what the Victorian wants with me-"
"Excuse me!" The heroes all stopped when they heard the voice. Alice Ward did her best to steady her breathing, having run all the way here after the battle had waged war across several blocks. "D- Did you say you were going to Rose?"
Lady Time instantly perked up when she noticed the camera behind Alice, and the hero began to do various poses. "Indeed I am! I, the great Lady Time, have been called by the equally great Victorian!"
"Fascinating. Do you know what for?"
"Not a damn clue!"
"Ah... I see." Alice sighed. "Well, that's a shame. Still, you managed to take down that villain in no time flat. What do you have to say for all the damage that was caused though."
"Damage?" Lady Time grinned and flicked her sword out. Instantly, all the destruction around them began to pull themselves up, and the buildings and streets put themselves back together. In only a few moments the entire city was back in place, as if it hadn't just gone through a series of battles. "What damage?"
"You can fix the city just like that?"
"Of course! I am the great and amazing Lady Time-"
"She can only do it to Daisy." Vampirica stepped forward and nodded to the camera. "You were about to ask why she doesn't fix up any of the other cities any time they have a disaster, right? After all, if she can do that with a wave of her hand, why do we need to pay for a Cleanup Crew? Well, it's because she can only do it in her own city. She has to know a place deeply in order for her powers to affect it. If she went to any other city, she wouldn't be able to fix it, so don't bother asking. We still need the Cleanup Crew to do their job. Oh, and before you ask, no one got hurt either. I made sure of that."
Alice giggled a little and stepped back. "Looks like I found a hero that knows what to say."
"I saw the article you wrote about the hero known as Lion Heart," Vampiricia stated with narrowed eyes. "Made him look like a fool."
"That's not what I'm doing here, though," Alice said, shaking her head. "I just want to show off the other cities and what life is like in them, as well as the heroes. Is that so wrong?"
"Sounds good to me!" Lady Time was still posing for the camera.
Alice finally turned away, breaking her staring contest with Vampirica. "Come along, June. We should head to our next destination. I think we got enough for this place."
"Um, sure." June struggled to keep up with her as she stalked down the now-fixed roads. Daisy truly was a pretty place. "Where are we heading to next?"
Alice let out a low whistle. "Let's just say it involves a boat."