"We made it back home." Alice walked the streets of Lillian, looking around at all the buildings. "Or at least we're close to home. Lillian is right next door to Oleander." Today, she was in a simple white buttoned-up shirt with a black dress jacket over it and a normal skirt. "Usually I'm always using my drones to record and look at Oleander or Lillian. It's kind of fun walking around and looking at everything with your eyes. Don't you think so, June?"
"I'm getting really sick and tired of holding this camera. I'm not even a real cameraman, you know." June said, his eye twitching. Despite that, though, he did his job.
Oleander had three different sections to it, and so did Lillian. It had the rich, the very rich, and the insanely rich. Instead of vast stores and other streets that Oleander had, it was filled with a bunch of theme parks and water parks. A few parks were scattered throughout the city, and the towers all loomed above. If you were to get to the very rich part, you'd find dozens of massive lawns and manners. Lillian and Oleander were both simple cities, yet had a vast history, with many different heroes constantly popping in and out of it. New heroes would always appear, and historical moments seemed to constantly happen.
Alice turned back to the camera and brushed some of her hair behind an ear. "Well, let's go ahead and get to the interviews, should we? After all, we're almost done with this journey."
June nodded and turned the camera off. When it finally came back on, they were in a section of the city that was known for its many pop up bars. They stood outside of one where a grumpy, fat man stood, his arms folded over his chest. "Ain't this the second time we had a talk?" The man asked, making a face.
"Is it?" Alice cocked her head to the side. "Have we met before?"
"Names Qrow Bar." The man grumbled. "You came to me after my last bar in Oleander burned down."
"Your last bar? So did you used to be from Oleander?"
"That I did." The man pointed his thumb at the bar behind him. "We Bar family have been running bars for years. It's not very shocking considering the name, but that's just because we do it better than anyone else. This here is the Crowbar, one of the best bars in Lillian. I used to have one in Oleander, but that one got destroyed after a noob hero had her fight inside of it with the bastard Intake. Worse yet that hero is still out in the field doing stuff and didn't even say sorry! Her being in Oleander is one of the reasons I moved to Lillian and reopened my bar!"
"Oh? Do you know the name of this hero?"
"Better than that, I got a video of the bitch! See, she posted this on Hero Hub after the incident!" Qrow reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He went to the Hero Hub and typed something up before finally showing it to the camera.
The video showed a new up-and-coming hero, one known as Cinder. She was in full costume, and the video was listed as 'My Apology.' A few people had some issues with her recent fights. Not because she was a little destructive in her combat, instead most of the comments she had been getting were about how she didn't act cute or girly. Qrow had made one such comment on her page, expressing displeasure at the fact that she was fighting crime and had gotten one of his bars destroyed instead of doing normal female hero stuff like modeling. Cinder's response was simple.
"I'd like to go ahead and apologize." The hero stated as the video started. "Apologize for the inconvenience of me not giving a fuck about what any of you think!" The video then cut to the image of some sort of backpack mascot that had arms and legs. It danced for the rest of the ten minuets of the video. It was the only video Cinder had posted on her account and was met with a series of downvotes...
"Huh." Alice blinked, slowly processing what she had just seen. "That's the hero Cinder from Oleander. Part of Myth's team. She first appeared in the public eye when she battled the villain Intake, though she didn't have a proper costume at the time. It's been linked back to her, though. Her first actual in-field showing was when she saved Justin Time-"
"Don't care! That girl's the reason I moved to Lillian! The girls here know how to actually be girls!"
Alice's eye twitched a bit, and she shot a look to June. "Yeah. Let's cut this guy out."
The camera shut off. When it came back on they were now nowhere near the Crowbar, and were instead near a toy district. A little plump man in a suit stood in front of the shop with a large grin on his face. "Do you mind giving me your name, sir?" Alice asked.
"Sure thing! I'm Justin Time!" The man announced, waving at the camera. "I'm one of the people who help create all the action figures for many of the heroes! I tend to jump around Oleander and Lillian a lot, constantly helping out these little shops when I can. Today I'm here to help get our new product on the line! We created a little action figure of Poseidon! Buy it now! It comes in the water set which also contains Ocean Empress and the hero Fisherman!"
"You said you bounce between Oleander and Lillian?"
"That's right." Justin nodded. "I tend to view the two as being hand in hand. I think that's for the best, treating them as one rather than a single city. After all, they share so many heroes between one another and look similar!"
"What are your thoughts on Lillian?"
"Love it! The heroes are all great, and it's one of the only cities that never needed a Sub Enforcer team simply because of how good it is! Also, it has amazing water parks!"
"Do you have a favorite hero?"
"I'm a sucker for new and upcoming ones! People like Paragon, Cinder, or that Battery guy! I hope to get toys made of them all soon! Battery's is planned to come in the Myth box set!"
Alice nodded and turned to the camera, giving it a nod. "There you have it, folks. Be on the lookout for new toys! Now we have time for one more person! Let's see who we'll talk to next!"
The camera cut out, and this time, when it came back on, they were near one of Lillian's hospitals. A young girl dressed in a simple black jacket stood outside of the hospital gate, awkwardly standing next to Alice. The girl had long black hair and square glasses which she fiddled with.
"Would you mind giving me your name?" Alice asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.
The girl jumped a bit but nodded her head. "Y- Yeah. S- Sorry, just nervous. I- I'm Hope. Hope Lauren." The girl stated, looking into the camera.
"Well, Ms. Lauren, I have to ask, what brings you to Lillian?"
"I'm here visiting a friend." The girl winced slightly. "Oleander got hit pretty hard with an attack... The heroes are doing their best to help clean it up, but it's not enough. I'm here because a friend of mine was hurt pretty badly by the attack... I've actually been going to the hospitals quite a lot and still need to head to the one in Oleander after this." The girl admitted, letting out a nervous laugh.
"I see," Alice nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you any-"
"I mind!" From behind the girl, an older woman stepped forward. The woman had an annoyed look on her face and looked similar to the young girl likely being a mom. "Please leave my daughter alone. She's been through a lot." The woman explained, placing a hand on Hope's shoulder and attempting to drag the girl off.
Alice nodded. "Of course, but I was just going to ask what you thought of heroes-"
"I don't like them." The woman said flatly.
"Mom!" The girl looked back at her mother with wide eyes.
"It's the truth." The woman shrugged. "A Super hurt my husband and put my daughter's friend in the hospital; I don't really like any of them. I wish the world could be normal without them, but of course, it can't, and there's nothing we normal people can do about it. I'm not interested in any more of your questions; please leave us alone." And with that the woman began to drag her daughter to the car.
The girl stumbled as she was led away but managed to look back at the camera. "I- I like superheroes!" Hope declared. "Especially ones like the Victorian or Paragon!" Those were the last words the girl managed to get out before the car door slammed shut behind her.
Alice stood in the parking lot watching the car speed away. "Looks like we didn't manage to get very many good statements." June sighed and lowered the camera.
"What are you talking about." Alice turned away from her friend and giggled. "That one was perfect. That girl was perfect."
"Seriously?"
"Oh yes." Alice looked up. "It was a good end to this."
"End? So we're done?"
"For the most part." Alice hummed. "I think it's time we return to Oleander. After all, you need to get back to work soon, don't you, June."
June nodded and rubbed his chin. "Yeah. I'm sure the Hero Branch will be calling for me any day now. After all, I'm one of their agents, not some common cameraman."
Alice was about to say something else but stopped when she heard a low siren. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "But first, before we head back, let's go see what villain is causing trouble this time."
"Why does it always happen." June groaned. "Does evil ever rest?"
"Of course not."
***
There were many different kinds of villains and many different groups. Some villains, such as Metal Gears, were made up entirely of robots. Others, like Bad Timers, were made up entirely of Monsters. Then you had the even stranger groups, which were made up entirely of creatures that a villain could summon.
The Crimson Devils was one such group. It had only a single villain that was in it, and the rest of its members were made up entirely of villains that she would summon. She also just so happened to be the only villain Hope Lauren liked, though Hope would never admit this and kept that fact as a closely guarded secret.
Down the streets of Lillian, Red Lucy stalked forward, swinging her whip down as hard as she could. "Hahaha! Lillian, I know you're hiding the Lord. Come out and bring it to me!" Red Lucy was a young woman with long red hair that formed the outfit and whip she used. She wore what could only be described as BDSM gear, and each stroke of her hair whip cracked the ground. Behind her, she was flanked by her minions. They were large creatures that, for some reason, looked like backpacks. They were made entirely out of strands of her hair, and they had arms and legs, all of them walking forward and flexing as they did so.
Red Lucy was a very, very odd villain...
Lillian was very similar to Oleander in a lot of ways, having many different skyscrapers and streets that were spread out. Red Lucy had taken the courtesy to start her rampage on a street that was mostly empty. Anyone that had been left behind had quickly run away when they saw that it was Red Lucy. She was a villain most people didn't want to deal with.
"Someone come fight me!" Red Lucy yelled out, waving her arms back and forth. "Seriously-" One of the little red backpacks ran forward and jumped in front of Red Lucy just in time as a wave of ice blasted out and froze it on the spot. Red Lucy stumbled back, her eyes slightly wide as she watched her creation shatter to dust. "Hey! Who did that?"
"I'm really not in the mood today." A cold voice responded. Red Lucy glared up and found a floating board of ice, which Ocean Empress stood upon. The ice board came down slowly, and Ocean Empress landed on the ground in front of the villain. "You picked one of the worst days to piss me off. Instead of sitting at my daughter's bedside waiting for her to wake up or trying to help my father recover, I have to drag my ass out here and deal with you."
Red Lucy took a nervous step back when she saw the look in Ocean Empress's eyes. "W- Well... So what!" The villain let out a laugh and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm evil! Like I care about that!"
Ocean Empress took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly, the woman turned around, not even bothering to look back at Red Lucy. "Get her."
Instantly, a tidal wave crashed down as the rest of team Reservoir appeared. Lillian City was one of the few cities that didn't have a Sub Enforcers team. It wasn't for any budget reason or anything like that. Instead it was simply because of the fact they didn't need any more protection. They were in good hands. Five heroes stepped out of the wave of water that had crashed down, all ready for combat.
The first was an older man dressed how you'd see your everyday fisherman to be. His name also just so happened to be Fisherman, and besides Ocean Empress, he was one of the strongest heroes in Lillian, even above Poseidon. Fisherman placed a hand on Ocean Empress's shoulder and nodded his head. "We'll handle it. You just relax."
"Fisherman is right." Next to Fisherman, a massively built doctor stood, with bulging muscles that threatened to tear the lab coat he wore. Mostly strangely about him, though, was his head, which looked like an entire octopus's body, having eight tendrils that squirmed down it. His name was Doctor Kraken, and he was one of the first ever monsters that switched to the side of good once the Emperor fell. "We can take care of this small fry."
"Here. Have a banana." Next to Doctor Kraken was Sea Monkey. As the name suggested, he was a straight-up monkey who had some diving gear and swim trunks on. He tried handing a banana to Ocean Empress, but she turned it down.
"You're always working so hard to keep Lillian safe, and you're even keeping Oleander safe." Next to Sea Monkey was a young woman who wore a large turtle-looking backpack that had two barrels that jutted out of it. She was Hydro Cannon, and together with Doctor Kraken, they would invent all sorts of issues.
Lastly was Water-Gal, a woman with long blue hair who wore a simple swimsuit. Water-Gal gave a thumbs up to Ocean Empress. "While you keep Oleander safe, team Resorvior will keep your city safe. We're an extension of you!"
Ocean Empress managed to give a faint smile, and she nodded her head, recreating her board of ice, which began to rise into the air. "Thank you all. I'm needed in Oleander, so I really appreciate it."
Fisherman slung his fishing pole over his shoulder and smiled. "We'll be waiting for you when you get back." Once Ocean Empress was gone, Fisherman turned to look back at Red Lucy, and he glared at the woman. He wasn't the only one, either. The entire team stared back at the villain in anger, causing the confused girl to take several steps back. "You made our precious team leader mad on a day when she should be with her family."
Sea Monkey took a bite of his banana. "You're about to get one hell of an ass beating, lady." The monkey stomped his foot down, and a wave of sand suddenly blasted out as the surrounding area shifted into that of beachfront.
"I don't even know what's going on." Red Lucy hissed and cracked her whip down. "And I don't care! Why? Because I'm evil!" She declared happily. "Get them!" The backpacks all flexed and then began to charge forward, jumping at the villains.
Fisherman swung his pole out, smacking one. "Let's do this, team!"
"Yeah!" The others all declared.
Water-Gal's body shifted and twisted, suddenly turning into a wave of water, allowing her to pass through several of the backpack monsters. As she phased through them, she soaked them all in water just in time for Doctor Kraken to pull out one of his gadgets. The squid man fired out a beam of lightning from a gun he had stored away, which shocked and stunned several of the creatures. While they spasmed and twisted, Hydro Cannon spun herself in a circle, her cannons aiming down and letting out a thin beam of water that easily sliced through all the constructs, ripping them to shreds. In only a matter of seconds, they had already gotten rid of all of Red Lucy's creations.
The villain yelled out in anger and swung her whip down, but she was stopped as the sand around them twisted and rose up, Sea Monkey turning it into a large hand that gripped tightly onto the woman. Before she could react further, she suddenly felt a cutting sensation across her body as Fisherman appeared behind her with inhuman speed and used his pole to tie her up with a super thin razor wire. His wire glowed, and then a moment later, a large shark stabbed its way out of the ground, opening its mouth wide and pulling Red Lucy's lower half in.
"Move an inch, and either my razor wire will slice you to bits, or my pet shark will eat you." Fisherman tipped his hat again and gave a grin. "What's it going to be, pretty lady?"
Red Lucy's body shook a bit, and tears fell down her face as she let out a loud cry. "F- Fine! I give up, you big meanies! I- I hate you all!"
Team Reservoir successfully kept Lillian safe.
Meanwhile, in the air above the city, Ocean Empress allowed herself to fly toward her destination. Oleander and Lillian really were alike. They had some differences here and there, but both cities relied on one another and were connected through a large bridge that allowed people to come and go as they pleased in either city. The other great cities were mostly separated. Some were near one another, but besides Oleander and Lillian, no other city was connected in the same manner.
Because of that fact, it was only natural for her that she finds herself protecting both cities when she's able to. After all, it was her duty. Her responsibility. She had the power to do so, and of course, she'd follow through.
She had wanted to head straight for her father. Both her daughter and her dad were now in a hospital. Her father stubbornly refused to leave Oleander, even after the Oleander hospital wasn't in a good condition to hold him anymore. She managed to get him to go back to Lillian, where Boy Genius could treat him, and yet her father was already back in his old ways and staying in a barely functional hospital.
Because of what Zoo and the Bad Timers did, Oleander wasn't in the best state right now. Several of its heroes were running around constantly trying to put out fires and other disasters that had been caused. It had only been a few nights since all the fighting, yet Ghost's rampage was still having an effect. That villain had continued to blow himself up, over and over again, spreading flames everywhere, until he had eventually been stopped.
"I should have come sooner." Ocean Empress floated above the city and stared down at it with a bit of sadness. Smoke was rising up constantly, and fire was still spreading. She could create water, so she could have solved all of this a while ago, but instead, she had stayed next to her daughter's side, not helping Oleander or Lillian. "I need to get to work-" She stopped suddenly when she saw something that caught her eye.
Down below, on one of the streets, she saw a flicker of gold. The same sort of energy the Victorian was always using. It flared up, and then several golden barriers appeared around the flames and squeezed all the oxygen out, putting the fires out. Again and again, a golden flash would happen as a golden blur ran through the city. It eventually took a break, though, running all the way to the top of a building.
The man in red stood and breathed, catching his breath as he rubbed his chest and wiped some blood away from his nose.
With a sigh, Ocean Empress lowered herself down from her board and landed on the roof next to the man. He didn't bother to look back at her, and she quietly stood next to him, looking down at Oleander. "Where's the rest of your team?" She asked finally.
Battery gave a lazy shrug. "Somewhere. We all split up. Whisper is with Myth, and the kid is with Snowdawn. We're all just trying to put these fires out." He finally looked back at her. "I'm glad you're here."
"You are?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. You can help put out the flames."
"Oh. Oh yeah."
"What? Did you think there was a different reason?" Battery snorted.
Ocean Empress just shrugged and waved her hand out, shooting out several bullets of water, which exploded across the city, putting out several of the fires. "How many have you done so far?" She asked casually.
"How many fires have I managed to put out?"
"Yeah?"
"I dunno, I haven't been keeping track of them all." Battery shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"
Ocean Empress gave him a slight grin. "Because. I'd like to put out more fires than you." Battery made a face at her. "What? What's with that look?" She asked.
"You have water powers. Of course, you'll put out more fires than me." He responded flatly.
"So? You have the same light as the Victorian."
"Not exactly, see it's- Eh, never mind." Battery sighed and closed his eyes before opening them as a golden spark danced across his body. "Okay then. I'll start counting."
"Huh?"
"My goal is to put out more flames than you, right?" Battery's entire body glowed, and he grinned. "Good luck keeping up with my speed." And then, in an instant, he was gone, flying down the street and putting out dozens of fires.
Ocean Empress stood there for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle and stepping off the roof. The water danced and twisted off her body, and she launched it out in waves, helping put out all the flames. It took the two of them only a single hour to put out the rest of the flames that had popped up around Oleander. They had covered the entire city, and any time there was someone who was in trouble, they stopped at nothing to save that person.
As if they were real heroes.
By the end of it, Battery had managed to put out thirty-three flames. Ocean Empress had stopped counting once she hit the sixties. She had won by a landslide. The real winner, though, was Snowdawn, who somehow put out one hundred and four fires with the help of Whisper and Cinder. However, neither Battery nor Ocean Empress knew of that fact.
Once she was finally done with that, Battery gave a nod to her, and she went back into the air, standing on her block of ice. Eventually, Ocean Empress made her way over to the hospital that held her father. It was in need of repairs, and several Cleanup crew members were scattered around it, doing their best to fix it up. Even after everything that had happened, Oleander was putting itself back together, piece by broken piece.
Ocean Empress entered through the window and took a seat next to her father's side. Old Dog, also known as Adam Sini, silently stared up at the roof, not saying anything to her.
"...Dad."
"What?" Adam grunted out, not bothering to look at his daughter.
"Come back to Lillian with me."
"I'll pass." Old Dog pulled the blanket further up his body. "I heard what Boy Genius said. I'm out of time. I'm dying. And if I'm going to die, it's going to be in Oleander."
"This hospital can't help you right now. Please, come to Lillian; we'll get you a better room and make sure you're more comfortable."
Old Dog snorted and rolled over so he wasn't facing her. "Just let me die. I don't need saving. Not anymore. Not in the world we live in." He closed his eyes and did his best to remember a better time. Fifteen years ago, he had been happy. He had fought alongside Full Monarch and dealt with all manners of threats. He had battled the Beast from Space, Lucifer, the Emperor, you name it, and he fought it alongside the original Enforcers. "When I die, I'll tell your mom hello. Actually, I'm going to hell for sure, so I guess I won't be seeing her." The old man snorted and let out a weak laugh at his joke.
"Dad."
Adam slowly managed to turn over and reached out, poking his daughter on the forehead. "Seriously. Stop crying over me. This happens to everyone. I lived a long life. I had you when I was well past my prime. The fact I made it to see you grow up and have children of your own is more than I could have asked for. So please, stop worrying about this old dying mutt and worry about yourself. You have a life ahead of you. Take care of your kids, and find a second husband or something to settle down with and live a happy and long life. That's the only thing you have to do for me."
Ocean Empress reached up and took her father's hand, holding it for several seconds. "Sky isn't okay."
"W- What?" Old Dog sat up instantly and groaned, his weak body struggling to move. "What do you mean she's not okay?"
"She hasn't woken up in two days now..."
Old Dog stayed silent and finally nodded his head. "Alright then." He groaned. "I'll go to Lillian."
"You will?"
"I won't like it... I would like to see them again, though. My sweet granddaughters."
Ocean Empress smiled and stood up. "Thank you."
Old Dog closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't think me. You guilt-tripped me into coming with you."
"Maybe." The woman chuckled and stepped out of the room, giving her father some peace. She was about to find a nurse to let them know he'd be transferred, but she stopped when she saw another woman standing outside in the hallway. A woman with raven black hair who stood quietly in front of a door. "Mrs. Lauren? What are you doing here?"
Jane Lauren, mother of Hope Lauren, jumped and let out a squeak when she heard the voice. She spun around and stared with wide eyes at Ocean Empress. "O- Oh Ms. hero." Jane felt her heart settle down, and she cleared her throat. "You're the mother of Paragon, right? I saw you a while ago. Sorry, I- Well, the hospital transferred my husband here." Jane explained.
"Oh. I see. Is he in that room?" Ocean Empress nodded to the door Jane stood in front of.
"Yeah. He is." Jane looked back at the door.
Ocean Empress stepped forward and stood next to the woman. She looked through the glass that was on the door that allowed her to see past it. Inside, a young sixteen-year-old raven-haired girl lay in the bed next to Alexander Lauren. The two of them were holding hands and talking about something. Despite how much pain he must have been in, Alexander still had a large smile on his face and laughed as he held his daughter's hand.
"Do you know when Paragon will be able to try again..." Jane asked quietly.
Ocean Empress turned away from the woman, unable to look her in the eyes. "I'll let you know when I can. I'm sorry. So, so sorry..."
And with those words, Ocean Empress left the Laurens so they could have a moment to themselves.
A soft beep echoed from her pocket, and she let out a sigh. "About time, Tori. I was wondering when you'd call for us all."