That night, I was sitting on the sofa in the hideout when I received a notification on my interstellar phone. Seeing the message, I smiled.
"Looks like he finally made a decision…" I murmured, catching the attention of the handsome, visually-impaired lawyer and my boyfriend sitting nearby.
"What's the news?" they asked.
I stood up, first giving my boyfriend a kiss and then answering, "Apparently, Luke Cage—"
I was cut off by another curious message from another friend. Fortunately, it wasn't for the same day, and there was also a small update on a mission related to The Hand.
"Something up?" my boyfriend asked, still holding onto my arm.
"Well… it looks like there might be some progress on The Hand issue that had stalled for a while. For now, I'll go see what Luke Cage wanted. I'll update you soon."
With that, I put on my usual combat gear and activated my Kai Kai ability, disappearing from the hideout.
As soon as I left, Daredevil looked at Peter.
"Are you up to anything?"
"I think so… there have been some strange things happening lately. The other day, a man who called himself Doctor… showed up to attack me. I also heard rumors about a part of town being terrorized by a man or a rhino-like creature causing all kinds of damage. I didn't fully understand, but I was worried. I'll investigate soon," Spider-Man said, stretching, looking ready for action.
"And you?" Daredevil asked.
"I… heard news that an old friend might be visiting the city. I need to look into it because she's rather… problematic, and her coming here doesn't necessarily mean good news."
Peter was clearly curious about this, but he chose not to press further, sensing it was a sensitive topic.
"Well, if you need help, you know you can call on me or, well, the Immortal," Peter said with a smile.
Daredevil smiled too, finding their relationship sweet and also appreciating the idea of having capable allies and support.
"Same goes for me," he replied.
After that, they each went their separate ways through the secret exits of the base, each on their own mission.
---
I appeared in Harlem. Without delay, the wind swirled around my feet, helping me move quickly and silently toward the meeting spot—a small alley. There, my eyes and Haki quickly located the person who had called me.
I landed calmly in front of him.
"It's a pleasure to see you, Mr. Cage. How can I help you?"
He looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting my sudden appearance, then sighed and spoke.
"I'm still not planning to join your organization, at least for now, but I'm on board for the mission involving the organization—and especially Bushmaster."
"Alright," I agreed easily. I'd like to have more members join, but it's not urgent. I set up the organization and base mainly for structure and as my own operational headquarters; even if it were just Peter and me, that wouldn't be a problem.
"Do you have a plan in mind?"
Relieved at my straightforwardness, he answered, "I've already managed to take down one of their bases. My plan is to confront him directly at one of his strongholds, and if possible, I'd like you to take care of two other bases—one seems to be a drug depot, and the other an arms cache." He provided the addresses for all three.
With the information in hand, I asked Anturian to act. His role would be to scout the locations, hack into networks and satellites to gather more intel—a protective measure rather than distrust of Luke's information. Luke didn't mind and even preferred it that way.
A few minutes later, I got a response.
"All information has been confirmed, and additional data has been collected," Anturian's voice informed me through my Omnitrix.
"Alright, send the information to Mr. Cage," I replied, handing him a small device that would serve as a communicator. For added security, I also stationed a shadow slime with him.
From the data I reviewed at high speed, it seemed Bushmaster's base wasn't heavily guarded—probably due to his overconfidence in his own strength. But you never know.
"Head to your target; I'll move as quickly as I can to back you up," I told him.
He smiled and replied confidently, "You handling those two is enough. I'll face my own fight."
With that, I didn't delay and soared into the sky like the wind.
---
The first location was a typical drug facility, with only a few workers overseeing production and some low-level guards. The building wasn't large, and I've been taking out similar depots for some time, but today I planned to test my control and one of my abilities.
Hovering in the air with small wind currents keeping me afloat, I raised my right hand calmly, igniting a flame. The fire had an orange outer glow with a powerful red core and radiated a deadly intensity. The flame lit up the sky like a small beacon.
Soon, the beacon expanded to cover the entire sky like a massive sun. Then, it broke into dozens of small flames, raining down upon the enemies. My Soul Energy was being consumed, but I still had a large reserve.
With a mental roar, I managed to control the flames without much difficulty. Each flame landed in a different spot, and as they touched down, they began spreading, turning everything into ashes—wood, stone, drugs, metal, all of it reduced to cinders. In fact, even the ashes seemed to burn. Within seconds, the entire depot was ablaze. Some of the guards tried to extinguish the fire with water or other fire suppressants, but the flames were too powerful. Fueled by my potent Soul Energy and enhanced by divine and ancient energy elements—the energy of ancient gods—they were nearly impossible to put out without an equal or greater force or a unique suppression technique.
Interestingly, the fire seemed to move in a controlled pattern, never leaving the confines of the depot or truly harming anyone within it. Instead, it melted the weapons they held and struck terror into their hearts. At times, the flames even cleared paths or removed obstacles blocking exits. Close to the fire, traces of Soul Energy and mental energy were visible, showing the influence on how it moved and spread.
I focused intensely to control its temperature, behavior, and spread, adjusting its effect without generating extreme heat or overpowering force. The energy expenditure was reasonable but not excessive. In less than ten minutes, the entire sequence—from the initial "sun" to the dispersal of flames and the engulfing of the depot—had unfolded, drawing some onlookers but not in overwhelming numbers.
Through my Haki and vision, I confirmed that everyone had evacuated safely, sustaining only minor injuries. Satisfied that the depot was reduced to less than ashes, I decided to conclude the attack. With my right hand, I began to close my fist slowly, as if suffocating the flames. Within moments, the fire was gone, leaving no trace of structure or flame behind.
Just then, the distant wail of police sirens reached my ears—a signal to use my ancient Wind Power and withdraw to the next target.