With a slow, deliberate motion, Damon placed a black mask over his face. "Let's see how long your dear Hyperion can last."
The moment he finished speaking, the ceiling above explode as the prime order burst through, descending into the chamber. Hyperion, glowing with solar energy, was at the forefront, his eyes blazing with intensity. Behind him, Electra's hands crackled with electricity, Sentinel stood mid-air, his telekinetic powers at the ready, and Tempest rode in on a gust of wind.
The entire chamber crackled with energy as the prime order made their entrance, but it wasn't just them who came prepared. Damon's shadow puppets came to life, the twisted figures screeching as they leaped to attack. They swarmed the room, their forms shifting and stretching in impossible ways.
Hyperion shot forward, faster than sound, his fist connecting with Damon's chest before the villain could fully react. The impact sent Damon flying across the chamber, crashing into one of the stone walls. But Damon recovered quickly, his body joining with the shadows as he vanished from sight.
"He's using the shadows!" Hyperion called out. "We need to cut off his energy source!"
Electra was already on it, discharging a massive wave of electricity that arced through the chamber, targeting the shadowy creatures. "We will take care of the puppets," she shouted, her voice strained as she channeled more power. "Just keep Blackthorn busy!"
Tempest summoned a whirlwind, ripping through the shadow puppets with relentless. The storm that scattered many of the dark figures, but the puppets reformed as quickly as they were torn apart.
"These things won't stay down!" he yelled, launching a lightning bolt at one particularly large puppet which broke down but formed back.
Amid the chaos, Hyperion's focus was solely on Damon. The two collided again and again, Hyperion's strength clashing with Damon's agility. Each time Hyperion struck, Damon would dissolve into shadows, reappearing behind him or from the walls. Damon's laugh echoed through the chamber, taunting, as he played with the light and darkness like a master of both.
"You're too late, Hyperion," Damon sneered, his form Coming from the shadows right beside Hyperion. "No matter how strong you are, you can't fight what you can't see."
With a flick of his wrist, tendrils of shadow wrapped around Hyperion's legs, dragging him toward the ground . Hyperion growled, his body glowing brighter as he unleashed a Solar Blast. The room lit up with blinding light as the beam ripped through the shadows, forcing Damon to retreat.
To me the sight of Alex fighting—desperate, fierce—gave her a flicker of hope. Despite everything Damon had shown me, my heart clung to the belief that Alex was still the man i loved.
But as the battle raged on, it became clear that Damon had prepared for this. The shadow puppets were multiplying faster than they could be destroyed, each new wave more ferocious and unrelenting than the last.
"Stay focused!" Sentinel yelled, his telekinetic shield flickering under the assault. "We need to wear him down!"
The tension mounted as Hyperion fought off with Damon once more. This time, Damon was done playing.
With a gesture, the shadows surged, forming a massive barrier between the heroes and Lila. "You'll never reach her," Damon growled, his voice darker, more menacing than ever. "She's mine."
But Hyperion wasn't listening. His entire body glowed with solar energy, his eyes locking onto Damon with fierce determination. "You won't keep her from me," he spat, launching himself forward, fists raised.
Behind them, the rest of the prime order struggles to keep up with the multiplying shadow puppets. Electra's electricity crackles through the air, lighting up the dark forms, while Tempest's wind sweeps through the chamber, scattering the creatures momentarily. But it's clear—they're not winning. Not yet.
Hyperion—Alex—stands a few feet away, muscles tensed as he stares Damon down, eyes flicking to me, then back to the man holding me hostage. His jaw clenches, and I can see the restraint in every line of his body, ready to strike but unable to do so without risking me.
Damon smirks, his confidence growing. "It's a pity, isn't it?" he taunts.
"To see your mighty hero powerless. To know that, after everything, he's still just a man who can't protect the ones he claims to love."
Alex doesn't move, but his eyes darken with fury.
"Let's make it simple, shall we?" Damon's voice turns deadly serious, and he pulls out a small device, playing the same videos he had shown me earlier. The ones that had shattered my faith in Alex for a moment, that showed him committing acts I couldn't reconcile with the man I thought I knew.
"I'll make this easy for you, Hyperion," Damon continues, the gleam of victory in his eyes. "Either you leave the lady you claim to love to die... or I ruin you. Your reputation. Your life. Everything. by releasing this video for the world to see"
Silence falls between us, and I turn my head to look at Alex, my heart in my throat. "Alex... did you really do those things?"
He doesn't answer. His eyes shift to the ground, as if the weight of Damon's words is too much to bear. He just stares into the air, lost in thought, and for the first time, doubt sinks into me.