The New Number One Hero

Wyvern's wings flapped through the air as the dragon-themed hero stopped in front of the world's strongest Super. Or maybe the Victorian was now the second strongest?

Hope clung to Wyvern's tail and stared up at the person she had practically worshipped all her life. The hero looked tired. Ever since she had become a Super, she had noticed it. The bags that resided under every heroes' eyes. Even her own began to get them not even a month into her job. The Victorian though never seemed to have them. The woman was always flawless and gorgeous. Now though the woman's costume was torn across her chest, her hair was long and messy, and her eyes seemed to lose some of that spark that normally resided in them.

Despite that though the woman somehow managed to give a smile. "It's good to see you again Cinder."

Hope felt her heart twitch a bit and had to fight a blush that was forming onto her face. Those words were written down in hundreds of her Victorian x Y/N fanfics that she wrote. In any other timeline she'd have let out a squeal. Now though, they didn't hold true. Not after everything that happened to her.

She was still practically dangling in the air, hanging off of Wyvern's tail as her and the number one hero looked at each other. She got her emotions under control and finally spoke. "What's going on?"

The Victorian's smile cracked and the woman's eye twitched. "Maybe we should land and-"

"No!" She clenched down on Wyvern's tail causing the hero to wince. "I want to know. Please. Tell me what's happening with Mr. Larison."

The Victorian let out a sigh and looked up. "You want to know? Okay. I'll tell you. But it's not pretty." Slowly the woman allowed herself to think back as she began to form her thoughts. "It all started after he attacked Director Ward. He just showed up and attacked us."

***

A few days ago...

"Alright." Mister Man tapped his finger on the stone table feeling his power flicker on and off as he occasionally phased through the table. "I'll be the first to say it. It didn't take long for Battery to snap."

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to invite him." Lady Time said letting out a sigh.

The Enforcers were once again meeting. Or at least most of them were. The three newest members, Lightning Empress, Pretty Face, and Battery weren't currently in on this meeting. The thing they were discussing was what they needed to do about Battery. It had been broadcasted all over Lillian how he suddenly summoned a Giant and attacked the Hero Branch Tower. Most of the public was demanding an answer. Pretty Face had been too injured to show up after being beaten into the ground by Battery, and Lightning Empress had simply not bothered to show.

"W- What are we going to do about him." Wyvern asked her voice cracking.

"Oh, so you actually decided to show up this time?" Lady Time sneered at the younger hero who flinched. "Since Battery joined you haven't been here and now, we find out he attacked Lillian. Know something we don't missy?"

Wyvern glared down at the table not meeting anyone's eyes. Finally, though she spoke. "He just gives me a bad vibe." That wasn't true though. The real reason was who he reminded her of. It was still stuck in her mind. The image of the Emperor, clad in his black armor with fiery blue eyes pouring out of his helm... The two held the same feeling. The sense of absolute destruction.

"If you want to blame anyone then blame me." The Victorian spoke up. The golden woman was the only one who didn't take her seat. Instead, she hovered above the table with her arms crossed. "I was the one who invited him to join after all."

"Oh, don't worry. We all blame you." Fable's head was face down on the table the man snoring quietly. "Why did you invite that mad man anyway? Got a crush on him?"

"Gross." Was all the Victorian said.

Boy Genius held a hand up in an effort to calm everyone. "Now, now. I must say that it isn't the Victorian's fault. I looked Battery over myself, and he showed no sign of being like a Calamity. If anything, the readings he gave off were closer to Lucifer."

"Oh yeah, because that's so much better!" Mister Man grunted out.

The young teen just shrugged. "His mental state seemed to be normal. Perhaps he has a reason for doing something like this?"

"He could have the best excuse in the world, and I doubt the Branch would care." Lady Time snorted. "After all he openly harmed a high-ranking member. Not to mention he attacked Pretty Face who is part of our team. Why don't we cut to the chase. We all know why he's doing this."

They all turned to look at the table where Boy Genius had his hologram on the image of another thing they planned to talk about. It showed Cinder standing proudly on the stage next to Ward and another Director. "Skin Walker." Mister Man sighed and placed his face in his hands. None of them really liked the idea of using an Ex-member of the Emperor's army to pretend to be Cinder yet here they were. The shapeshifter was playing her role perfectly. "I bet he did it because of her right. He's pissed they outed Cinder and are pretending she's alive. Christ, I didn't even consider what'll happen if he lets it slip to the public that a shapeshifter is taking the place of Cinder. Did Ward and the higher-ups actually plan any of this shit show out?"

A heavy silence hung in the air around them. Finally, it was Beta who spoke up. The robot had kept quiet the entire conversation doing what he did best, watch things unfold. Now though it was his turn to speak. Though he didn't have anything to add to the subject. Instead, he simply gave everyone a warning. "We have company."

A wall exploded as a wave of blue energy smashed into the building shaking everything. The lights flickered and four out of the seven Enforcers that were in the room bolted for the massive hole staring out in shock. The Victorian, Boy Genius, and Beta, remained seated. The young hero had a heavy frown on his face and stared at the floating woman who had a sly smirk on her lips.

"Jill." He said using her human name. "Please tell me this isn't part of Jack's plan that he told you about?"

Beta cocked his head to the side and focused his gaze on the Victorian. "Plan?"

The number one hero just grinned and brought a finger to her lip. "Shh. Let's not spoil the plot now. After all the show is just about to get good."

Fable was the first to spot it. Lady Time, Wyvern, Mister Man, and himself all stared out of the hole that was blasted to peer out at Rose City. Rose was one of the largest cities, almost ten times bigger than any other, and many of its people weren't used to much danger as the Victorian personally kept it safe. The only sort of crime that would ever happen was caused by what remained of the Emperor's army which grew smaller and smaller every day. Despite that though the streets were filled with rows of people who all had their phones out and were recording the scene before them.

Battery stood in the center of a road staring up at the building he had blasted. One hand was stuffed inside of a pocket in his new coat while the other arm was held out his fingers twisted into a gun with smoke coming off of the tip of his pointer. His eyes glowed with a mix of blue and black and he smirked. "Bang."

Off to the side on top of another nearby building Poseidon stood with her arms crossed. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"Have faith in the teacher!" Purrfect announced letting out a soft purr as she elbowed the Lord of the Sea. "What you should be worrying about is getting changed into your new outfit and picking out a new name. After all, you won't be Poseidon, going forward."

Poseidon gave a faint nod and looked down at the bundle of clothes she had in her arms. She was leaving a lot behind. "This is the correct choice, right?"

"Does it matter? After all, in a way it's your only choice."

The Lord bit her tongue to stop herself from speaking anything she shouldn't say. If this wasn't the right path, then she'd make it into one. Battery might have been set on walking the path to hell, but she'd walk the path of victory. No matter what it took she'd avenge her mother, and Hope. She'd make sure this was a world her sister could live in. A world where Sky could be happy.

Just as Fable was the first to spot Battery he was also the first to act. The man crashed down cracking the ground as he landed and glared at Battery. Many of the people backed away but still stayed close enough to record the fight. Fable's lion cloak seemed to twitch and come to life clinging to the man's dark skin as he stomped his way toward Battery. "Why did you think coming here was smart?" He didn't let the Super speak and instead struck out with a fist as soon as Battery opened his mouth. Fable's hand rammed into Battery's face and twisted the man's neck. "I don't care actually. Save whatever excuse you have for the judge!"

Fable struck out again and again smashing Battery back and forth. The man took each punch stumbling slightly as the fist rattled his brain. Fable didn't let up and went until his knuckles hurt and balling a fist became hard. He sent out one last right hook twisting his hand intro Battery's skull and drilling the man's head down.

Battery took the punch and slowly reached up wiping a bit of blood that dripped down his lip. All that for a drop of blood. "My turn."

Fable went to block but it was too late. Battery's energy spiraled out wildly crackling the air as the man sent his fist out. It formed an aura around him taking shape. His power allowed him to control and create imaginary energy. A power which could be what he wanted. He used it typically to give it the property of Giants, creatures he heard about in legend. In that moment he gave himself the strength of a hundred Giants and rammed a fist right into Fable's chin!

Fable suddenly jumped a bit startled awake. The man felt a wave of pain coursing through his jaw, and he reached up to rub it spitting up a few teeth. He stared up at the sky above him and felt water hit him. He was on some beach. "Did he punch me out of the city?" He set up slowly as his conscious mind slowly woke back up after being knocked out by one punch. He was somewhere in the middle of the ocean. A deep concern since Rose was a land locked city. "Did he punch me around the planet!"

Back in Rose city, Battery pulled his fist back as smoke billowed off of it. He looked back up at the Enforcer tower which now had a Fable sized hole through it, staring up at Mister Man, Wyvern, and Lady Time who all glared at him. He simply smirked and tilted his head. "Who's next?"

Wyvern was in fact next as it turned out. A growl rumbled deep in her throat as she launched out of the building, wings snapping open. Battery lazily tilted his head as he watched the draconic hero circling him. A ticking sound echoed in the air and Wyvern's speed skyrocketed, the hero speeding up until there were dozens of after-images in a circle around Battery.

He looked toward the Enforcers Tower, raising an eyebrow at Lady Time, who simply raised a hand. A gunshot roared out and Battery took a step back, narrowly dodging a bullet that whipped past him.

"Not a smart move, man! You should've singled each of us out. You're not beating us together." Mister Man called out, stepping out of the hole in the tower. As he fell, he disappeared into the circling blur that was Wyvern. As Battery followed him with his eyes, dozens of Mister Man images joined the Wyvern after-images, standing on the back of the draconic hero.

More gunshots rang out and Battery dodged forward, somehow avoiding the horde of bullets that came from every angle. The nearby civilians screamed as the bullets sailed past Battery and the circling Wyvern. Before the bullets could hit, glowing blue hands grabbed onto the onlookers to drag them out of the line of fire. He formed shields out of glowing black energy that stopped falling rubble from crushing them and he even blocked stray shots himself with his summoned blade.

"You gonna give me a 'heroes together, strong' speech?" Battery smirked. "Doesn't matter if you're all together. Just makes this whole thing go a bit quicker."

"And what is it you're trying to do!"

"Change everything."

Wyvern's response was a stream of fire, a concentrated wave that rapidly filled the area around Battery with roaring flames. He flinched slightly, summoning a faint blue layer over his skin to protect it from the flames.

Wyvern and Mister Man kept up their barrage of fire and bullets, circling their enemy, until Battery leapt forward. His arms crackled with blue energy, which he slammed into the ground. Instantaneously, the blue energy poured into the ground, forcing it to crack and shatter, exploding upward like a geyser. The two Enforcers were forced to stop their circling and back away, breathing heavily. As Lady Time landed behind them, the trio and looked at Battery with hints of worry in their eyes. Despite some rapidly healing blisters and flesh-wound bullet holes, the man was practically fine.

They rushed in, Lady Time tapping Mister Man and Wyvern, their speeds rapidly increasing again. As they neared their foe, Battery swung a fist at Mister Man, sighing to himself as the fist phased through the Enforcer, who stepped in close and placed the barrel of his gun under Battery's chin.

Before the gun could fire, Battery leaned back, swinging a foot at Mister Man with blinding speed, blue energy pulsing along the limb. The Enforcer leapt back, barely dodging the hit and retaliating with a shot that pierced into the limb, the bullet hole leaking energy briefly.

Wyvern slammed into Battery's back, and he turned to view the draconic, hero face-to-face. She growled deep in her throat and grabbed at him. Battery's arms came up to stop them, the two held in a grapple.

Battery raised an eyebrow. "Kiddo, you're not gonna win this one."

"I'd like to disagree," Wyvern stated as she breathed in. Up close, with their hands held in a grapple, she let loose a beam of fire into Battery's face.

Flames engulfed him, roaring out behind him and towards a coffee store where civilians were huddling. As the fire reached the glass front of the store, an armored blue wall formed over it shielding it from danger

"Huh, so that's how Red Ape felt." Battery's voice stated as the flames died down around him. "Still your fire isn't all that special, at least not compared to 'hers'."

Wyvern looked on in shock as her enemy's face became visible again. The man was unharmed, aside from some small burn marks on his face. Without giving her a moment, Battery headbutted the Enforcer, cracking several of her face scales and sending her flying.

He barely had a moment to breathe before he heard a sound behind him. He rapidly formed a barrier over his skin and turned around, coming eye-to-eye with Lady Time, who jabbed a clock-hand-shaped sword at his chest. Battery simply formed blue armor that blocked the hit and punched forward. As his fist neared the Enforcer's face, she suddenly backed away.

"Come on," Battery taunted. "I thought you guys were supposed to be some of the strongest heroes." Around them more of the people had gathered, and once more barriers of blue or black energy was keeping them shielded and at a safe distance.

Lady Time didn't respond. Instead, she raised her sword, pointing it straight up. A gonging noise sounded, and the nearby street turned gray. The concrete of the road and the walls of stores crumbled to dust as a wave of energy pulsed out from Lady Time. Cowering civilians yelped as glowing blue hands pulled them out of the way of the energy pulse before they could also be turned to dust. Battery dashed forward and jumped over the energy wave, his feet sinking into the remnants of the concrete.

As he reached Lady Time, Battery grabbed her arms before the woman could jump away.

"If you're not going to aim, then I'm just going to have to take your toys away." He scolded as his grip tightened. Lady Time grunted in pain as she felt the bones in her arm cracking, her swords dropping from her hands. Before she could even think about rewinding some of the damage she took to fix her broken arms, Battery kicked her, sending her flying back into the Enforcer building. It was the only building he had actually attacked so far.

As he stood there, Battery felt the pain before he heard the gunshot, turning to see Mister Man with a revolver aimed at him. The two dashed toward each other, Battery swinging out with a fist crackling with blue energy. As it passed through Mister Man, Battery felt the barrel of the gun pressing against his chest and he sighed.

The bullet ripped through his chest and exited out of his back as Mister Man phased through Battery, swinging his gun around to catch the bullet in the revolver's cylinder to fire it again into Battery's back. Bullets and guns didn't normally work like that, but Mister Man's gun had been created by Avalon and was far from normal, able to tear down entire buildings.

On a nearby rooftop, Poseidon and Purrfect watched the battle with growing worry.

"I knew Teach was good, but I didn't realize he was 'three Enforcers' good." Purrfect stated.

Poseidon shrugged. "In terms of normal Supers, sure, the Enforcers are near the top. But that's just the first step of the ladder. There are Supers that are a step above them, though. True monsters. And it's not just the Lords on that step. You've got the scale-breakers like the Victorian, the Beast, the Emperor."

Purrfect clapped and cheered as, in the street below, Battery struck out with the power of the Giants, forming large arms in the air to slap at the three Enforcers. "And now that list includes Teach!"

"Pretty sure he was always on it. Even when he was pretending to be a member of Myth's team, I always had a feeling he was a lot stronger than he let on." Poseidon stated, folding her arms. "He's just a monster, pretending to be human. Or trying to stay human, while he can."

Purrfect cheered again as Battery's energy hands slammed down onto Lady Time and Wyvern, who both crumpled to the ground, groaning.

Mister Man on the other hand avoided each strike, firing at Battery with bullets that blew holes through cars and buildings. Battery dodged most of them, taking a few head-on. Although, the onlookers couldn't tell whether these hits he took were slips in his defense or just a statement to the Enforcer.

Seemingly tired of the endless exchange, Battery punched at the air with a glowing blue hand. Mister Man braced, but looked around in confusion when he couldn't see any Giant arms. As he looked around, he mentally noted that the buildings seemed to grow taller. He quickly realized that, rather than the buildings growing taller, he was instead descending into a portal under his feet, looking down to find himself falling into one of the many forgotten cities that were buried under the Wastelands. Mister Man just sighed and slapped at his face. He might have not been able to be touched by Battery but that didn't mean the man still couldn't beat him. Battery was simply removing him from the battlefield.

Battery closed the portal, shaking his head.

"Anyone els-" His taunt was cut off by the sound of a loud crack echoing through the street. Battery stumbled forward as he rubbed his cheek and turned to the cause of the hit. Fable stood with his fist outstretched, smoke rising from the impact. "Not bad. Where did you end up, anyway?" Battery taunted with a grin.

Fable rubbed his fist as he replied. "In the middle of a goddamn ocean!"

"How'd you get back? You have a dolphin form, too?"

"I ran across the water, jackass." Fable stated.

Battery nodded. "You get points for style. Sadly, you lose points for taking this long. I could have wiped the city out if I was a bad guy."

"Are you trying to say you're not a bad guy?" The hero raised a hand toward Fable, beckoning him to approach.

Fable didn't respond as he leapt forward with another punch. Battery ducked under the fist and rose with a raised elbow. With a flash of blue and a resounding boom, Fable was sent flying into the air, rising above the Enforcers Tower. As he started to descend, Fable glared down at Battery. Against the other Enforcers Battery had held back his strength in some effort to not harm them totally. Fable on the other hand could take it, each strike laced with the strength of the Giants, able to level entire cities if they wanted.

"Octavius trusted you!" Fable yelled as he transformed. His hair turned white, and his eyes turned red. His skin bulged and turned dark purple as his muscles expanded. Deep red fire ignited across the fleece on his shoulder, spreading down to his fists.

Nearing the ground, Fable struck out, kicking against the air with a boom as he shot forward. Battery raised his arms to block the flaming fist, wincing as the deep red flames burned him, even through the layer or blue energy that hummed across his skin.

"I knew your clan was old. Hell, I figured you must have some connection to the second generation of Lords, probably the Lord of Life, but I guess you've got more than that in your family tree," Battery mused as he leaped back. "What is it, then? This form's gotta have more than one Lord's blood running through it."

"The Lord of the Sun," Fable stated as he stretched. "It's the only form of mine that can go toe-to-toe with the Victorian. I would have used it against the Beast, but its first hit damaged me more than I expected, and before I could fully heal, my brother was wounded, so he became my priority."

Battery shrugged. "Well, it's not like it changes much. Doesn't matter what transformation you pull out, I'm still gonna win."

The two lunged at each other, exchanging a series of blows that made the nearby civilian's wince from the booming sounds. As Fable struck with flaming fists, Battery responded by forming blue arms to match. The two kept up the barrage of punches until Fable pulled a snake-icon shield from his back, pointing it at Battery, who raised a wall of blue energy armor to block. The wall dimmed and transformed into gray stone that burst apart as Fable charged through, holding a spear. At the tip of the spear, his red flames had condensed, burning and roaring. He jabbed it forward at blistering speed, piercing it straight into Battery's side, who let out a yell as the flames scorched him from the inside.

He latched onto the spear, holding it to stop Fable from retreating, briefly. As the Enforcer looked into his eyes, Battery summoned a Giant fist, ramming it down onto Fable, who crumpled to the ground, his form reverting and the fire dissipating.

Battery ripped the spear out of his side and tossed it to the ground. He shot a look up at the tower.

"Well, who's next? Is it the kid? I think it might be his naptime!" He called out, smirking at the trio that stood in the tower.

In the tower, Boy Genius grabbed a nearby backpack, strapping it on.

"Right, my turn." The young hero stated, getting ready to leap out of the hole in the wall.

Before he could fall, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Boy Genius turned to see the Victorian, who shook her head.

"If you go down, a lot of systems are going to fall apart." She stated. "I'll take this from here."

She shushed the young hero as he started to object, pushing him back into the room. Boy Genius and Beta watched as the number one hero walked to the edge.

"I'm the one you're fighting, next." The Victorian yelled down to Battery and stepped off the edge. As she fell, glowing light formed into her greatsword, which she grabbed and let pull her down even faster. As she slammed into the street, no one else but Battery could see her face.

The Victorian was grinning.

***

Hope frowned as she listened to the story. She was still having a hard time believing it.

"Trust me it's true." Wyvern said shivering a bit. "Don't get me wrong, we're strong, to be an Enforcer you have to be able to defend an entire city after all, but we mostly exist to fight normal threats. It's the Lords who are there to match the Calamites and other monsters. The Immortals, the Emperor's four warriors, even Battery and the Victorian, those guys simply stand above normal Supers and are reaching the level of the Lords or even surpassing them at times."

"I wish someone gave me the memo." Hope muttered. She felt very weak, not even just in the state she was in. In general, there hadn't been a lot she could do against actual threats. Was it because the Lord of the Sun had been split in half, so she was only getting half of the power or was it just because she wasn't meant for that kind of power. And why wouldn't the Brightest Star answer her anymore? Part of it was actually starting to hurt her feelings.

"Is something wrong?" The Victorian asked speaking up.

"No." Hope shook her head and slapped at her face a bit getting her thoughts on track once more. "I'm fine. Mostly. What happened next? If you wouldn't mind telling me."

The golden woman rubbed the back of her neck a bit sheepishly. "Well... Battery and I fought."

***

Blue clashed against gold, sending sparks of energy zapping through the air. The sand beneath them tore apart, creating more craters around them. Her golden eyes met his blue and black ones.

The Victorian's greatsword was a mighty weapon, one forged from compressed sunlight that was practically a slab of metal the size of a car on a stick. It didn't so much as cut; instead, it tore whatever it slammed into bits with the pure strength that rested in her arms.

Battery's sword, by comparison, might as well have been a twig. It was jagged and wild, as if a lightning bolt had been stolen from the heavens above and fashioned into a claymore. Already, it was starting to fill with cracks and snap as the force of the greatsword bore down into it. He had lost count of how many times he had been forced to recreate his sword.

The Victorian gritted her teeth, forcing more of her weight down on the blade. Slowly but surely, her mighty weapon was bending and twisting Battery's. She possessed many skills that he did not; even with his new series of powerups and the new way he acted; he still couldn't fly. Something that she had been forced to learn. Her feet rose off of the ground, going up just enough to leverage more of her weight down on him. Battery's knees buckled, and he began to feel himself shoved into the ground, but he held strong, holding his claymore up as his life depended on it.

Slowly, though, a smirk came onto his face. Both his arms were busy holding his sword, so he took a new action—one he had seen the Kid do many times when she had first unlocked her fire power. His mouth opened, crackling blue and black energy hissing out, and before the Victorian could react, the beam slammed into her face, blasting her back and sending her flying across the battlefield.

The golden woman hit the ground hard, sending up a dust cloud as she rolled across it and crashed head-first into the lone tower in the Wastelands. The tower screamed as its body gave out and began to collapse in on itself, burying the number one hero beneath a sea of rubble.

Battery dropped to his knee, breathing heavily, and winced as he rubbed his smoking lips. He was covered in bruises and cuts, and his arms ached every time he gripped his sword. The blade in question gave one last whine as it finally snapped in two. He didn't miss a beat and was already creating a new, identical one. He placed the sword over his shoulder and forced himself to stand back up. "I know that's not all you have left to show me. Get back up, Ruby Admiral!"

A golden light blasted through the rubble as the Victorian climbed out and pointed her sword at him. "I go by the Victorian now. Don't call me that false name."

"Really? Well, I think that false name suits you better." Battery cracked the muscles in his shoulders, and he felt his joints pop and crack. "Being a hero doesn't suit you at all, you know."

"I could say the same to you." The woman snorted. She stabbed her sword into the ground next to her and folded her arms, looking around the battlefield. They weren't in any of the cities. Battery had made an enemy of the Hero Branch, and it hadn't been long before they demanded she take care of him. He had come straight to her, though. She had been waiting for him to show up for a while. That was what they both agreed on, after all. She lost count of how many hours they had traded blows back and forth. In her fight with the Beast, everything was on the line. It had been do-or-die. This was different, though. It was almost like a dance of sorts, going back and forth with her partner. They had taken the battle out to the Wastelands. She had grown accustomed to it after training her ass off against all the worms. Out here, they didn't need to hold back. Not at all. "You're not really the type to have a plan that's for the greater good. So, what exactly are you doing?"

"The great good isn't something I need to convince myself to follow." Battery spat out one of his bloodied teeth and began to walk slowly towards the hero. He stuffed his free hand in the pocket of his black trench coat and pulled out one of the suckers Lois had replaced his cigarettes with. He tossed one to the golden woman, who frowned as she looked down at it. "Evil, good, none of that matters to me. Not really. I'm just getting sick and tired of the way things have been going. If there won't be a change, I'll make one myself." He announced before popping the strawberry-flavored sucker in his mouth.

"You really don't look or sound that badass with that in your mouth." The woman giggled before placing her sucker between her lips—a watermelon-flavored one. In a flash, she ripped her sword out of the ground and appeared in front of the hero, bringing her weapon down. Battery barely had time to react and attempted to block.

Once more, a massive dust cloud was kicked up as the wind tore the field of sand around them apart, and their dance began once more. Off to the side, staying at a safe distance, two other figures stood. "I honestly can't believe he was actually serious about fighting her." Boy Genius sighed and shook his head. His suit was a torn mess and covered in stains, and his eyes were filled with heavy bags. Despite looking like a thirteen-year-old, you'd have assumed he just went through the longest day of office work.

"It's hard to believe he's grown so strong." Standing next to the Enforcer member, a familiar face stood. Most of the world would have known her as the hero Poseidon, but that wasn't who she was anymore. Not ever since Battery offered her a spot on his team and let her in on his grand plan. Just as Purrfect had done, she changed her outfit. She no longer had her helmet. Instead, her hair flowed down to her body and had taken on a deep blue color. Her eyes burned with a red glow that allowed her to see through the clouds of dust that swallowed the dueling heroes. Instead of her old hero costume, she had paid a bit of tribute to her one and only student, Snowdawn, by molding armor out of ice that clung to her flesh. Also, like Battery, she had dawned her own black coat, keeping it closed around her. Her trident was impaled into the ground, and she leaned against it lazily, using it to support herself.

"I'm not too shocked by his level of power." The child muttered. "His energy was always wild and bounced around a lot, but from the beginning, he had the power of an Enforcer. The shard that was in his heart held him back. It ate away at his life and stopped him from using his true power. That is no longer something he has to worry about, though. This is the purest form of his power. A source of strength might be what we need. At least if it's truly on our side..." Slowly, he eyed the blue-haired girl, taking note of her changes. "How are you feeling, Poseidon-"

"Tallest Wave."

"Huh?"

"I changed my hero name." The girl shrugged. "The Branch wants to screw the hero Poseidon over and not let her do anything, so I'll just be a different hero until I get that settled."

"I see... And the reason you selected that as your name?"

"A reminder." Her fist clenched slightly, and her eyes followed the battle between the Victorian and Battery.

Boy Genius turned away and also watched the fight. "Do you really think that it's wise to follow that man?"

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Tallest Wave asked bitterly.

"You do." Boy Genius shook his head. "I didn't know what the Branch was doing to you before it was too late. Look, Battery has the wrong idea with this plan of his. After the battle with the Beast, I forced him to have a checkup. I wanted to make sure he was still stable and not the next Calamity, but I wasn't able to find anything that pointed at him changing too much other than the lack of the Victorian's shard. It was here that he talked to the Victorian, and they came up with a plan. Or at least he came up with a plan. One that would basically throw the Branch away. The Victorian only follows it out of a sense of justice. If she can be bested, if she can be dethroned, then that's it for her. We could lose her on our side. Something like that can't happen. I know that the Hero Branch hasn't made the best series of choices when it comes to you and your sister, but the process works."

"Does it?"

"Yes! You've worked with it for years and never had an issue."

"That's because, for years, I didn't have someone like Ward hounding my family." She retorted.

"We can get him thrown out."

"And what happens when someone just as bad or worse as him appears? It didn't seem like it was very hard for someone like him to be put in charge." The girl sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know if this is right. Maybe we are jumping the gun. Maybe your system can work. But maybe Battery's can too." She looked down at the young hero. "I am the Lord of the Sea and Depths. I am also the daughter of Ocean Empress. My mother saw something in him. I'm going to believe in my mother's ideals and believe in Battery as well. Because..." For a moment, she thought back to her time in Oleander. The way the man in red stood alongside Myth. The way Wasp Nest and Metal Ronin gushed about him after they worked with him once. The way he saved Money Tree and BB. The way he fought the Beast. The way he held her mother and comforted the woman as she passed away... "Because I think he's still a good person. Even if he might have stepped onto a narrower path."

Boy Genius clenched his hand into a fist. "Then I hope that he loses to the Victorian. She would never willingly let herself be defeated. She'll fight with everything she has and defeat him! It's her power versus his ideals!"

Blue and black spilled out of the dust cloud as Battery jumped away from the Victorian. His energy crackled around him, forming a mixed-colored aura of his different lights. His blue eye glowed with a raging fire, while his black one sparked and hissed at the world around him. Creation and Destruction. Those powers danced together within him. The blue held the power of the mightiest beings and channeled it within him—the beings that called themselves Giants, monsters that stood against those that called themselves kings. The energy gave his body more strength than it should have been able to hold, his muscles bulking up a bit and allowing him to match the Victorian's godlike power. The black, on the other hand, had the ability to create and shape. Instead of channeling the destructive force of the Giants through his own flesh, the black energy allowed him to create his army and order them as he wished.

In the past, these two abilities were at war with each other and needed to swap in and out. Two Egos that fought tooth and nail to stand at the front. A battle of Creation and Destruction. Now, though, they worked together in harmony, directed by their master, who channeled both at the same time. The purest form of Inversion. To be both changed and unchanged. He had become one with his powers.

Battery swung his blade out with everything he had. Destructive energy spilled out of the edge of it, launching out as a twisted, hellish cut that was a mix of fire and lightning. The Victorian brought her own sword up, channeling more of her power into it and causing the blade to grow larger, allowing her to use it as a makeshift shield. At the last second, before the attack could hit her weapon, though, the air in front of it shimmered as Battery snapped his fingers and a blue portal opened. A second portal opened up right behind her, and before she could even process what was about to happen, the attack went through the first portal and smashed directly into her back as it exited the second one.

The energy swirled together and screeched before exploding in a mighty blast that converted all the sand around them into pure glass. It cut into the number one hero's back, splitting it open and badly burning her. Her cape was torn off her outfit, and she flew off into the air, being carried away by the wind.

She panted a bit and flexed her shoulders. A golden light seeped from her wound as it began to force itself shut. "What the hell was that? Since when do you have portals?"

"I did something similar after the Beast fight. Or were you not paying attention?" Another portal opened up next to her as Battery stepped out and swung his weapon out as hard as he could. She lifted her sword up to block it, but his energy spilled out and took shape around the left side of his body. It formed into a massive, armored limb made out of solid blue energy wielding a claymore the size of a bus, which easily split her sword in two and blew her back. The energy vanished as Battery's arm returned to normal, and he pointed his sword out at the hero as she landed on her feet. This time, the black energy spilled out, and it formed into a twenty-foot-tall knight who swung his sword down onto the Victorian's head.

She took the blow head-on, gritting her teeth as the sword smashed into her skull and shook the ground, sending a shock wave out. Thanks to her power, she forced herself up, floating, and shattered the blade. Her fist flung out as hard as she could, smashing through the knight's chest and shattering it to bits.

"Why do you even use a sword?" Battery called out to her. "You seem way better with your fists. You didn't even use weapons back then when you were at your strongest."

"Strongest?" She scoffed and wiped some of the blood away from her forehead as her golden light sealed her wounds shut. "You're wrong. I'm the strongest as I am now. The old me was just a silly little girl holding onto a false goal. The world didn't need another villain; it needed someone they could look up to. That's why I stepped up."

"You act like it was your choice." He shook his head and swung his weapon out, sending another slash her way. She went to dodge it, but another series of portals opened up. She flew into the air to avoid them, but the air around her kept shimmering and changing, bouncing the attack back and forth. "You're not really the one who stepped onto this path, are you? The truth is, it's your father's dying will. I wondered why the Kid's power never reached the same level as Full Monarch's even after she awakened her power, and now I think I have an idea. The change in your powers and attitude from when you were a kid. That strength doesn't serve your purpose. The way you cling to Full Monarch's dying rules. It's within you, isn't it? You mocked and belittled her because you knew that the piece of the Lord she had would never come close to yours. Because you're holding onto the embers of what remains of the Lord of the Cosmos, refusing to let it die out!"

"Did anyone tell you that you talk too much!" The Victorian reached the top of the sky, her voice booming. Golden chains sprung from her back, whipping at the air around her and cutting through the blades and portals, splitting them to bits. Slowly, the chains began to wrap around herself, squeezing down tightly, and all the light around her began to be pulled in.

It was sunlight itself that she controlled while in this state. It was a force of energy that flowed through the universe; it was the power that came from stars. With it, she could form mighty barriers and weapons or even use them to heal. She could also use it to boost her body up as much as she could, allowing her to reach a power close to the strength she once held as Ruby Admiral. That said, the truth about this power was that it was nothing more than her ability inverted. The real power came not from the light of a star but rather from the rest of the cosmos that light lit up.

It had taken a while to charge. For hours in their little dance, she had slowly drawn in the energy of the universe itself so she could reach her true power—the power that allowed her to go toe-to-toe with the Beast—the power that, if not for the interference of the Tallest Wave, would have killed the Beast. The chains snapped and shattered around her as she entered into her full power—the Galaxy Dress.

Every part of her body was covered in a thick layer of black. It wasn't like shadows, though, not like the Emperor. This was like looking up at the night sky. All across her form, hundreds of tiny golden lights sparkled off the inky black void that made up her body. The Victorian wasn't holding back anymore. The need for her sword was something she was no longer concerned with.

"Finally," Battery smirked, looking up at her. She floated up there, practically in space, slowly feeling her body tense and adjusting to the new power that was settling in her. "I was wondering when-"

She appeared in front of him, throwing out a punch that bathed everything in gold as all the stars along her form ignited and blasted out. Battery was barely able to block it, creating a torso around his body forged from his blue energy. Her punch caused it to heavily crack, and this time it was his turn to be sent flying back. He flipped through the air and created a portal behind him, which he flew into. He appeared next to the woman and spun around with his sword, but she ducked under it and clapped her hands together so hard that she directed a massive shock wave into his gut, causing him to grunt.

She threw a punch at him, but another portal, this one the size of a basketball, appeared in front of him, which her hand sank into. The other end appeared directly in front of her face, and her fist smashed into herself head-on. As she stumbled back, Battery kicked out with his right leg, a massive blue armored limb appearing on it, which he smashed into her side, kicking her back several meters. He swung his blade again, shooting off his energy beam, but she literally punched through it, shattering the clouds above them.

She lifted off of the ground, flew forward, flying past it, and began to circle the battlefield, picking up speed. She got faster and faster until she was just a black blur that not even Battery could follow anymore. His head darted from left to right as he tried to follow it. He created several of his Giants, the black-armored warriors appearing on every side of him holding massive greatshields to defend their master. While he did that, he opened another portal, this one having the second half appear in the middle of the ocean.

The Victorian rammed into his Giants, her force shaking and cracking their shields as she began to break through them one by one, slowly making her way toward Battery. Right as she was about to reach him through and deliver a punch, he opened his portal, making it the size of a small golf ball, and rammed out a beam of water directly into her as the force of the ocean came spilling out. She blocked it with her palm, holding it against the horde of water, but it flooded the entire wasteland around them, quickly falling into the massive craters and cracks within the ground they created, forming several mini lakes. The water came up to her waist, and she breathed out as hard as she could, sending out a gust of air so cold it froze the entire area around them and changed the setting from a harsh desert to an arctic wasteland.

She easily broke her own way out of her ice, simply flying up, but Battery had been forced to jump up onto the shoulders of one of his Giants to escape the force of the attack. "My turn," he declared.

The energy around Battery grew sharper and gushed out of the man, covering him up. He was jagged and rougher, like a lightning bolt that had been given human form. All color around the battlefield vanished, leaving everything in a nasty black-and-white shade. Only he kept his color, radiating his blue. With every step he took, more of his energy twisted and snapped off him, erasing matter and burning the air, constantly pulling everything in. He was living like lightning. His form began to grow, getting bigger as the energy swirled to its maximum, and in a single moment, he stood towering above her, bigger than the last time he had used this form against Green Wolf. Back then his power had been suppressed and held back by the shard within him, something he no longer fear. Made out of powerful blue armor, his claymore grew to fit his new size.

He swung his sword once, its power shattering everything around them and blowing the ground up. In the distance mountains trembled and shattered all caused from this single swing that could easily wipe out even a city. The Victorian felt the ice beneath her vanish as part of the planet was cleaved opened, and they began to fall into the same underground cavern where she had fought the Emperor. One that held a long-dead city from a forgotten age. She went to fly, but Battery's hand smashed down, slamming a fist into her. He hit way harder than any of his other Giants. This was indeed the full power of the Ruler of Giants. The true strength he held. Creation and Destruction flowed forth into his suit.

The force of the attack rammed into her and sent her flying through the ground, smashing through dozens of the buildings below and opening up more of the cavern from the shock wave. She felt several of her ribs crack, but she didn't have time to consider it as Battery's massive form dropped down and shook the cave as the ice above rained down. He gripped his claymore with both hands and swung it as hard as he could, firing out a massive yet thin energy beam that was hotter than magma. It began to melt through the stone around them. The Victorian rammed her fist into the ground, shattering it and creating a crater, which she dropped down into just in time as the massive energy beam tore at the world around it, splitting through everything that got in its way in an instant.

She focused her breathing and rocketed forward, flying through the ground, resurfacing, and appearing in front of him. He swung his sword down, this time smashing the blade directly into the hero, which rammed her into the ground and blew the entire cavern up. She took the full force of it, though, and did the exact same thing she did to the Beast. The Victorian forced herself to stand back up and grit her teeth. All across her form, billions of tiny golden stars suddenly erupted and went supernova. They swam across her entire flesh and changed into a bright ruby-red color as the full force of a dwarf star found its way into her fist—Ruby Admiral's full-powered punch.

The Giant stumbled a bit but stood its ground and raised its sword high. Blue fire and black lightning screamed out of the blade as its size began to grow and its eyes shifted into the same set Battery had, one blue and the other black. It swung its weapon down on her as hard as it could as she brought her fist up. She stopped at the very last second, though, halting her punch right as a portal appeared where she would have struck, redirecting an attack her way.

"I knew you'd try that, asshole!" She had stopped him from pulling the same stunt he did earlier. His sword came down cleaving his own portal in two and she sidestepped his strike, though the force of the attack still caused dozens of cracks to ripple across her dress. Before he could even think of closing his portals or opening new ones, she flew up as fast as she could, going around his portal, and this time, she didn't stop her punch. All of her energy was unleashed, and she struck out with an attack, completely blowing the roof of the cavern off and exploding any of the clouds that were left in the sky as her fist hit him. "I win!" She roared.

Her strike smashed through the Giant, breaking his sword and his armor. Hundreds of cracks began to rapidly expand over his form, snapping open, allowing her to see the hero that was at the center of it-

It was empty.

From the portal that had been created earlier, Battery stumbled out, appearing behind her. He ditched his Giant armor right before her punch could land. She spun around to meet him head-on, throwing out another haymaker as he stabbed out with a sword. Her fist smashed into his chin and snapped his head back, nearly breaking his neck, but his new blade pierced past her armor through one of the cracks and found its way into her gut, causing her to gasp and stumble back. He forced himself to step forward and twisted the sword as hard as he could, spilling her blood as he ripped it out.

She pushed through the pain though and glared right back at him as her Galaxy Dress began to shatter and break away. Her hair went back to its brilliant golden color and in an instant, she created her greatsword. Battery breathed heavily also haven taken quite the beating. Despite that though he still raised his claymore up at her. Her golden light struggled to heal the damage caused to her gut, but she didn't have very long as Battery swung his sword at her.

Their fight had begun with an exchange of swords, and it would end with one as well. Blue clashed against gold as they began to dance going back and forth hitting each other as hard as they could. It lost all meaning, blade grinding against blade, greatsword and claymore, man and woman. It was almost beautiful in a strange, twisted way.

"You asked why I use the sword." She brought weapon down again shattering through his blade and ramming the blunt part of her weapon into the top of Battery's head nearly cracking his skull open. "Because 'he' used one! The Emperor's sword was the weapon he always carried into battle! Though I'd guess you would know that wouldn't you!"

Battery gritted his teeth and created another portal, one much smaller near his hand. "How long have you known?" He struggled to push his head up as the handle of her blade jammed down into it.

"When I saw you summoning those Giants in the fight with the Beast I knew. I always thought you remembered but I'm bad with faces. I can hardly even remember what my own daughter looks like." The woman admitted. "I instead recognize people for the amount of power they give off. It wasn't until now that you began to give off the old energy you once held."

"Well, I've gotten a lot weak since then." Battery smirked as his hand sank into the portal grabbing something. "In the past I was able to force my body to hold the title of a Lord. That was before my Ruler power had woken up though. I was on so many enhancement drugs and had the Princess of Life boosting my powers with her ability that I could do almost anything. Even create portals to space if I needed to. Now the range of my portals has greatly shrunk but I can still use them to grab just the tool I need!" He forced his head up shoving her weapon off of him as he pulled out a new sword. It wasn't one made of energy, though. This was an actual blade. One he had recently created.

The Victorian gripped her sword as tightly as she could and slammed it down as hard as she could muster as Battery stabbed out with his weapon. Instantly as soon as the metals met his black blade tore its way past her sword snapping it in two. Her greatsword shattered to bits crumbling in her hands as he stabbed back into her previous gut wound.

She tried to focus on her power and up her defense, but it didn't work. In fact, she couldn't feel her power at all. She felt shock hit her as she tried to use her light, but that didn't work either. She rammed her fist into his face, but it lacked much of her strength and barely caused him to blink. Before he could shove the blade in any deeper, she jumped back and fought through the pain, pulling herself off of the blade. As soon as she was off it, she felt her power instantly come back, but it was already too late. It would take her a while to build up the Galaxy Dress once more to counter this new weapon he had. Time that Battery wouldn't give her. He had waited until her power had grown weaker than the blades so it could cancel her ability out.

She clutched her stomach, feeling her stomach spill her blood, and forced the golden light to slowly ease the wound close. It was slower, though. She was starting to run low on energy after hours of fighting and using her dress. Battery wasn't in a good condition either. He was breathing heavily and struggled to stay standing. It seemed like he hadn't avoided all of her strikes as best as he should have. Many of his bones were likely broken. Despite that, just like her, he stood tall, holding his new weapon up.

It could hardly be called a sword. It was more like a longer knife. Despite that, though, she recognized it instantly. It was what remained of Hell Hound's mace. After the battle with the Beast, he must have reforged it into the weapon he now held—one that could negate powers.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked slowly.

"It belonged to my wife."

"Neat." She slowly collapsed forward, clutching her stomach, before landing face-first on the ground as her damaged body gave out. "Just so you know, using that weapon is cheating..." She breathed out.

Battery snorted before he felt his own legs give out, and he dropped to a sitting position next to her. He brought the weapon up, looking at it. "This was my only real win condition against that armor of yours."

"So, you admit I'm stronger?"

"As long as you accept the fact that I'm smarter." He spun the blade around before creating another portal, which swallowed it up. "This fight is over, though, Jill. I won."

The Victorian closed her eyes. "Sure. We can have a rematch another time. You only did so well because of your cheap tricks."

"It's the power that belongs to me for being a Ruler. Just as you get your flight and healing from the shards of the Lord's power you've clung to," He collapsed onto his back next to her and lifted his arm up weakly, holding up three fingers. She spun around onto her back, struggling to heal the damage his blade had caused. "There are three powers Rulers share. The Lords seem to get a bunch of different stuff, but we Rulers all have these three things in common. The first is that we can come back from the dead. Each time we die, our power revives us and rebuilds us stronger. However, there's a price to this. It steals some of our memories and numbs our emotions. In turn, though, not only does it bring us back, the Ego within us merges with us more and more, giving us stronger powers. That's why both Creation and Destruction can exist within me at the same time. I've died twice, the same for my father, Nier. I'm not sure how many times the other Rulers died, though. The second thing we have in common is our armies. All of us have some form of soldiers we can summon and use in combat. For me, it's my Giants. Lucifer has his undead army, and Legend has creatures. I'm not sure what the Emperor has. The final power we all share is a means of fast travel. For me, I can use the strength of Giant's to punch holes into reality, creating portals. Lucifer gets his wings, and the Emperor seems like he can teleport through shadows."

"That's pretty busted."

"It better be. It's a hell of a price to pay for our curse."

The Victorian stared up through the hole in the roof above them, finding that it had become night in the middle of their battle. The broken moon hung in the sky above. "So, what will you do now?"

"I'll do what I promised I would." Battery slowly stumbled up to his feet. "Now that I've beaten you, the Hero Branch will either have to accept me and my laws or become my enemy. No one can stand in my way now."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" From up above, Boy Genius glared down into the hole, activating some of his gear. The air shimmered around him as dozens of large drones decloaked. Each one was the size of a human and shaped like a cube, humming with energy. They all aimed at Battery, about to fire on the injured hero. "I'm going to stop you-"

"That's enough, Boy Genius." The child froze when he heard the Victorian's voice. The golden woman slowly stumbled to her feet, nearly collapsing. "He beat me fair and square."

"So, it's fair and square now, huh?" Battery muttered.

Boy Genius stood above them, gritting his teeth. Despite how much he glared at Battery, he didn't attack, though. Not because of the Victorian's words, however; instead, it was because Tallest Wave stood next to him, training her weapon at his throat, ready to strike if he even debated attacking Battery. Slowly, the number two hero's arm dropped, and he turned away, his drones vanishing. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do-" Battery began, but he was cut off when Boy Genius shook his head.

"Not you." He glared back down at the golden woman. "Your father would be so ashamed."

And with that, he left. Battery stared up at the spot where the hero had been before he shook his head and turned away. Tallest Wave dropped down from the sky and landed next to him, folding her arms. She shot a nod toward the Victorian as Battery used his power to create a portal.

"Where are you going?" The Victorian asked hesitantly.

"To Rose." Battery responded casually. "It's the city of the number one hero, right? So, it's my city now. It's where everything will begin. Where 'my Hero Branch' will start." He stepped into the portal along with Tallest Wave and turned to look back at the former number-one hero. "I'll try to keep in touch. Expect big changes, though. I know just where I'm going to start."

The portal closed, leaving the golden woman alone. She floated up slowly. Her body ached. Everything hurt. She hadn't been pushed that far since the Beast. Slowly, though, she made her way to her destination. Above the clouds and outside of the planet, she soon arrived on the moon and collapsed next to a familiar glass coffin.

"I did it, Dad." She slowly rolled over and looked at the coffin of her father. The one that held the body of the greatest hero on Earth. "I finally found someone who could cast a shadow as big as you did. I just hope I didn't make the wrong choice. I just hope that my days of being a hero weren't just wasted."