|The Symbol of Dominating Order |VS| The Symbol of Enduring Willpower|
Radio static flooded across the comms across the battlefield of Europe, in the skyline over Africa, all over the factional regions of America, the Greater Ottawa Area, and the Confederation of the Texan Republic. Time seemed to stand still, breaths were held in, and the world was praying for a miracle here, something good to counter Rothschild's despair.
"...I... couldn't... beat him..."
Lonestar's words rang out over the comms of the various groups. Just as Icarus had before him, Keith fell from the heavens towards the war-torn surface below him. However, the embrace of a warm metallic hand stopped his fall. As his eyes opened, he was greeted by the odd, overheated, soft-eyed look of Constitution's eyebar.
"T-thanks, Constitution." Keith groaned out weakly.
"A-Anything for a friend of m-m-my creator."
As Constitution stepped off of the small building she'd flattened to save Lonestar, the sound of something ripping through the air screamed towards them, towards the Demon Lord. As everyone turned to see what was making the noise, eight words pierced the air of the now-silent and motionless battlefield.
"Folklore and American Heritage: J. Robinson + J. Henry + M. L. K. Jr... AMERICAN DREAMS... GRAND... SLAM!"
Those four words were now carrying the weight of the world as if to say..."He truly is... The better Atlas..." Scott muttered under his breath with a stare of astonishment plastering his face.
The Demon Lord Rothschild had been launched into the upper stratosphere with The American Dream Sledgeforge Hammer. This time there was something different about it. The gears and pistons inside it were whirring in synchronized harmony, arcing and sparking red, white, and blue energy courses from the hero's hands into the entire hammer.
"I am the American Hero, Perseverance. AND I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" The Greater Ottawan Hero, Perseverance, had arrived unveiling a series of new vestiges and moves, all thanks to his new abilities called Folklore and American Hero. He ripped across the sky, riding atop the spirit 332nd P-51 Mustangs of the Red Tails. He seemed to pinball from plane to plane laying down an onslaught of hits with the hammer that the Demon Lord truly had no way of guarding against. Perseverance then muttered a series of names in succession to call upon them. The spirit planes formed a rotating barrel for him to ricochet off of as he slammed hit after hit into Rothschild.
"Folklore: J. Robinson + B. Ruth + M. L. King Jr. + J. Henry + M. Ali... "Final Innings' Dream Hit.""
The Demon Lord of Order couldn't even see the hero's attacks, only feeling the aftereffects of heated American steel slamming into various places on his body, throwing him across the length of the sky. As Perseverance chased Rothschild across the sky, the vestiges of his Grandma and ancestor Hans appeared along with Stagolee and Charlie.
"What is it?"
"You fool! Remember who you are, boy!" Hans and Stagoloo both scolded him. However, Patricia, his grandma placed a hand on his cheek.
"Remember, you aren't just one portion of American history, you are the collective, hard-fought-for total of both Black and White history in America, you are a Mixed-Race American! Be proud of who you are and how far we've come! Don't hide it! Use who you are, call upon those you know. You read American History like it was a comic book, now bring it to life and show him your strength!"
"You can do this, kid! Show this asshole what all of America has to offer! Sure, it ain't perfect, but it gave birth to the greatest generations of civil movements, fighters, lovers, scholars, and more! Go get 'em!" Charlie smiled as the hero burst away from them, blitzing towards the Demon Lord.
Perseverance locked the hammer on his back and curled his hand into a tightly balled fist. He racked his memory for the many stories he'd read about the cultivators and harvesters of speed.
"American Folklore: The Wrights + A. Earhart + L. Curtis + J. Glenn + The Hidden Figures + C. Wiggins + C. Jones... Innovators of Speed! (Air/Land/Space)"
As the hero's punch landed on the Demon Lord's under-chin, Rothschild was launched with explosive into the upper atmosphere of the planet, watching the hero chase after him riding a spirit Redstone Rocket to keep up with him.
"This guy..." Thought Rothschild to himself, "He's harnessed powers I can't even keep up with... At this rate... I'll... lose..." He couldn't stop or even slow the momentum from the punch he'd just received. "Thanks to that overgrown tin can, those heroes catching me off guard, him... THIS INSIGNIFICANT NOBODY FROM..."
Rothschild's thought was interrupted by Perseverance's hand clutching him by the neck as the two approached the edge of the breathable atmosphere. The tyrant's eyes filled with fear as the bloodshot eyes of the hero seemed to be flashing red, white, and blue stars within the hero's pupils.
Down below, allies and enemies looked up to follow the vapor trail from the spirit rocket. Citizens across the globe watched as the ever-blinding light from the rocket seemed to fade. On the rhythmic sound of a fury of sound barrier-breaking, punches of American Might shattered their way back down to the surface below.
"Lord...Rothschild..." Said one of the New World Order soldiers, dropping his rifle as he fell to his knees.
"Oh, child... Show him the might of every one of us." Barbara said, clutching her cross necklace.
The sound carried waves of hope back down to all who could hear them. It was as if a harsh winter was in retreat and a dominating spring had shown up, eagerly beating it back, thawing out their hearts and minds, bringing life back to everything.
Back above the clouds, Perseverance was dead set on bringing Rothschild to the depths of hell himself. He was using American Folklore and Heroes to break every ounce of strength the tyrant had. Using Stagolee's V-Steam combined with Emmett Till's Noosed Revenge, a voodoo-spirit chain was created that allowed him to whip around the Demon Lord at speeds no human could see and punch with a kind of strength no human could handle. It was like he was running on air in slow motion. Each step created an air brick for him to leap from, his body felt like lightning as he'd never felt more alive.
The Demon Lord needed a way to slow him down and get a hand on him, drain that life force and the very soul from his body. "WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!"
The fury of hypersonic punches seemed to stop. Rothschild looked around, but the hero seemed to be gone. He sighed in relief but was cut short by the spirit-voodoo chain around his neck suddenly becoming taught.
"Don't you recognize us? Or have you forgotten... ALL MIGHTY DEMON LORD." A mass group of voices called out. The Demon Lord looks in horror to see the vestiges of Black and White people standing together, hand in hand, locked in behind the hero whose eyes glared daggers into his soul.
"You killed us, brought our names under fire, made us suffer... Stole this man's ex-boyfriend, and pitted his mother and sister against him after everything he's already been through with them... No Rothschild, you don't get to forget him, nor us. We are the vestiges of America... and he, well he is..."
"I am the former Ghost of Ottawa, the one you were so convinced was dead, so convinced an insect like me could never be a threat to you... I AM PERSEVERANCE!"
Within the hero's mind, the broken hero complex had given in and made room for something else... a god complex. Perseverance lunged at Rothschild, the Demon Lord locked in paralytic trembling fear. That Star-Spangled energy had been replaced by the five energies of the Ghost of Ottawa, Charlie Wiggins, Badman Stagolee, John Henry, and Lemuel Curtis. The hero cocked his fist back, an energy vortex shredded the already damaged nerves of the hero's right hand and wrist.
"I call upon the Undaunted Willpower of the Ottawan Ghost, Strength within Body of the Steel Driver, W.E.P.S of the Red-Tailed Angels, Torque Limit-Breaker of the King of Speed, and the Vindictive Sterling Split Drive of the Voodoo Vigilante..."
Perseverance closed his eyes, allowing the massive amount of energy to rush through him, through every fiber of his being. He took a breath of adrenaline gas that was now flowing through his mask... His eyelids snapped open, revealing bloodshot eyes as the hero yelled out, "Ultimate Move: MASTERS OF WILLED TORQUE FORCE!"
The hero's punch broke physics, allowing him to fly through the Demon Lord in a single punch seemingly unimpeded. The sky erupted into a blinding explosion of light causing everyone on the ground to look away. However, Scott, Archie, Dr. Sue, Sundeep, Constitution, and Keith watched as Perseverance ripped the sky apart at speeds only the SR-71 and SR-72 had ever seen. The spirit-voodoo chain had exploded away from Rothschild's neck, the Demon Lord was falling from the sky, and hope re-entered the souls of everyone who was watching his battle against tyranny.
"No... No!... NO!!!!!" Shouted Rothschild within his mind. He wouldn't die like this, he couldn't... With everything his ancestors and others had done to lay the groundwork for the ultimate moment to seize control of the world...
"That boy... is a filth flea, an insect, a pest." A voice called out from the darkened crevices of his mind.
"Who's there?" The Demon Lord called back.
Out of the shadows stepped Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and his father, Anthony G. Rothschild.
"F-Father? Why are you... What are you... You're here to..."
"You have failed us for the last time... SEIZE CONTROL!" Anthony and the three other vestiges took over his mind by force. Evelyn Rothschild slipped into his subconscious mind, unaware of the horrors about to unfold. Back on the outside, the Demon Lord's body trembled with the sheer amount of pure hatred and evil now overtaking his body. The trio managed to regain their new body's ability to hover. In a decrepit and demonic quad-toned voice, they spoke to Perseverance.
"Well done, boy. Well done indeed. Full marks to you, but sadly, there are no happy endings for heroes, not ever. Your legions of vestiges should've told you this already... WE'VE SPENT OUR LIVES ENSURING YOU FUCKING SLAVES WOULD SUBMIT WILLINGLY TO US! NOW FUCKING DIE OR SUBMIT LIKE A GOOD DOG FUCKING SHOULD!"
The Demon Lord blitzed over to Perseverance, the hero unprepared to fight the darkest, quintupled tyrannical threat the world had ever seen.