Verdict was the blade, its mithril edge curved and wicked. She could feel it trembling in her grip, its wrath untameable. The blade had been something that represented who she had been in the past and who she was now. The style that Set had taught her and the tool of survival from the apocalypse. It had been crafted by a dear friend, and she could feel the love he had put into it. Now it was something far more than the sum of its parts, a weapon fit for someone beyond the threshold.

Volition was the gun, the off-white post-Pandora metal coated with what remained of the mithril that she’d given Amos. Engraved with beautiful lines and curves, it had become even more elegant in its new shape. While Verdict trembled with fury, Volition shook with excitement. It felt unstable, but not in a bad way; it wanted to be more than it was already. It hungered for the fight to come. She only used a gun occasionally in her past life, but she knew how to use it. What it represented in her heart was those around her and those against her. The weapon and all its materials were from her friends, but the bullets that had been inside during the transfiguration had come from her own body, seeds planted by that monster Titania.

In a way, the two weapons represented everything she’d been through. Her duality.

She raised her head high and looked down at the heroes and First Wind, all of them looking up at her with a wide range of expressions. Her eyes briefly caught her daughter standing with Nietz’s group and spotted Kerauna standing on the ground within the walls of a maze. Interesting. Cassie must have figured out a new feature of her ability; otherwise, Kera would have gotten away by now. She turned her head slowly to meet First Wind’s eyes and chuckled.

“Technocrat,” she said casually. “I seem to have interrupted your debut. Apologies.”

The heroes shifted on their feet and glared at her openly. Yes, this monster just sees your struggle as a show for her entertainment.

Technocrat laughed through the speakers built into his great machine and waved a massive hand. “It’s nothing, Mistress,” his hissing, digitized voice chortled. “Don’t mind me. I’m quite happy with this particular interruption.”

I’m sure you are, she thought wryly and glanced again at Kerauna. “Kerauna, what on earth are you doing on the ground? Finish up and do as you were told.”

The great eel roared overhead, and Sonya glanced up at it. Oh, right, one of Primal Lightning’s core abilities was The Great Eel. I didn’t realize she could summon it. Neat, she thought with amusement while Kera snapped a lazy salute. “Sorry about that, boss! These heroes are a bit more trouble than I was expecting. Should I just fry them and go?”

“You know your priorities. The same goes for you, Kingshark,” she called into the building. She didn’t get a response from the big man, but that was fine. She wasn’t doing this for their benefit anyway; they knew their role in this particular stage play. No, she did it for the intensifying heartbeat and furious breathing coming from the man glaring up at her from down below. She grinned ear-to-ear. He’s so easy to annoy.

Or you’re just good at it, her sister pointed out. Let’s wrap this up; we’re being rude.

I agree, Sonya thought before spreading out her arms. It’s time for the final nail. I can only hope that everything I’ve done up till now was enough to make this work, she thought and briefly contacted Amos through Technopathy. ”Are we rolling?”

”The world is seeing everything.”

”Okay, here goes.”

“Heroes! Let’s make a deal!” she shouted. “If even one of you steps forward and chooses to serve me, if just one throws away their title as hero, I will grant them anything they desire! I can improve your abilities or give you wealth, privilege, and political power.” The heroes shifted and glanced at one another before she laughed and held out her hand. “If someone as lauded and powerful as First Wind was willing to throw away heroism in favor of villainy, what’s the point, right? I will guide this world’s future. Join my side.”

To her surprise, instead of Cass stepping forward to deliver her line, Dragoon slammed her spear into the ground and shouted up to her. “And if we refuse?”

Alright then, things are looking good…

“If not a single one of you breaks from the Pandora Committee by the time my business is done here,” she said, glancing towards an increasingly infuriated-looking First Wind. “I will personally return the Chairwoman - unharmed, unaltered, and uninfluenced by my power.” She chuckled. “The question is, do you trust one another enough to make that happen? Kerauna, what do you think?”

Kerauna threw her head back and laughed. “These brats? One will cave!”

Sonya felt the rage building throughout the gathered heroes. That’s right, get mad. I’m mocking your integrity. Double down. Show me that the heroes I’ve made are worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. Prove Otis wrong.

Sonya laughed cruelly. “Tick tock, heroes. I am a woman of my word.” Wind blew past her and sent her hair fluttering. She looked down at First Wind and held her hand up over her mask as if she was covering up a snicker. “Oh, Luca! Are you still here?”

He bared his teeth. “Enough grandstanding! Put up with those toys of yours or shut up!” he barked and rose off the ground. The other heroes pointed their weapons at him, but he just gestured and pushed them all away without even looking. She snorted out a noisy laugh this time, and his nostrils flared with fury. “When I’m done with you, I am going to flatten this fucking city, kill that conniving bitch Chernovna, erase that damn Chairwoman, and take what I’m owed! Not you, not anyone else, can stop me!”

“Prove it.”

He charged. “ISHTAAAAAAAAR!”

She crossed her weapons in front of her as they collided, the impact and sudden acceleration releasing a crack of sound before they launched back into the sky. She laughed wildly as she held his gaze. They shot through his cloud layer, going higher and higher into the sky before she pivoted and rolled off of him. He whipped his hand out towards her, and wind tried to pull her back into his grip. She swept Verdict up and across his palm at an angle, and his eyes widened as the blade cut through his wind, pale light leaving a trail of blackened skin behind. She could feel the chill it gave off through her armor.

My goodness. My mother’s unawakened ability is monstrous.

He shot back and got some distance, but she refused to let him react to it. She raised Volition and opened fire, and he darted to the right as a bullet exploded in the spot where he had just been standing, a sphere of that same deathly light filling the space. She turned and kept firing, trailing him with the shots as he searched for an opening, whipping blades of wind at her while he strafed. Beneath her, she felt the storm clouds begin to churn. Trapping me, huh? she thought as a tornado erupted from the clouds beneath her, an inverted cone rising up to catch her in its grip.

That brief moment of accelerated thought was all First Wind needed. He vanished from his circuit around her, and his presence disappeared and reappeared all around her. She opened a portal to escape the approaching storm only to notice curved blades of wind coming from every direction. He’s turning up the heat, she thought. Sister!

I’m with you.

Her sister took over interpreting her senses while Sonya dodged and weaved through the blades, forced away from the first portal she’d made. They came so fast that it was hard to avoid every single one. She blasted one out of the sky while she cut through another with a blade, only for two more to hit her in the back. He kept flickering around, his rage so palpable she could feel it almost like a domain or her own Imperious ability. The last blade came, and she flipped over it only to look up mid-backflip and meet his eyes. He sneered, and his fist rose, a concentrated ripple around it. She brought her blade down to meet it, and the sky trembled.

–

The clouds above were shaking, boiling like water. Occasionally, a flash of light pierced through them as the two titans fought a vicious battle in the heavens above. Harbinger tightened her grip on her hammer as all eyes, hero and villain alike, watched from the ground. Mom, be careful. I’ll take it from here. She glanced carefully towards Kera, who also shot her a surreptitious look and smirked. She took a deep breath. I’m not good at speeches like Mom or Crusader, but… She lowered her gaze and looked at the others. The heroes were all looking at one another, shaken. Between Ishtar’s power and her words, there were doubts.

I need to do this. For the heroes.

She slammed her hammer into the ground, and all eyes were on her. She threw her head back and laughed. “Who the hell does she think she is?” she shouted before glancing up at Mister Amos’ giant robot. She raised her hammer and pointed it at him. “Your boss is underestimating us! How dare you try to turn us against one another like that? Do you really think any of the heroes here will fall for it? Do you really think that these people, who have fought you villains and all those monsters in Dharan and beyond, will just throw it all away?”

“You’re speakin’ for a hell of a lot of people, kid,” the robotic voice replied. “I’d watch your tone.”

She barked out a laugh. “And I’d watch yours, villain! We are HEROES!” she shouted as she let herself get swept up in the moment. “We won’t kneel! We won’t weep! We won’t bend! We will keep fighting to keep this world safe, and we will do it together! You can’t stop us! We’ll keep coming back, because there will always be more of us! Heroes die! The mission is eternal!”

A crack of thunder and flash of light bloomed to her right. She turned in time to see Kong’s back as he swept his hand down, and a bolt of lightning expelled from his fingertip and dispersed into the ground at his feet. Gunfire roared next, and she saw Dragoon move to form a wall of immaculate stone and bronze as the giant robot opened fire to interrupt her. Both heroes looked back at her and nodded. She swallowed hard and kept going. “We are the Firestorm! We are Sapporo’s Dance!” she yelled, her throat going hoarse as a tear streaked down her cheek. “We- We are Val’s smile and laughter! We may come from different places, but we are one! You can’t break us! Not now! Not ever!”

She planted her feet and glared at the robot. She loved Mister Amos. She knew this was all part of a performance to strengthen the heroes, but right now she really wanted to give him a black eye. She set her jaw tight and grew a little bit more. “SO BRING IT ON!”

A roar rose up among the heroes, and they threw themselves back into the thick of it. Lightning once more began falling from the sky as the expo center shook, gold flames raging inside the building. She sniffed and wiped her nose. She wasn’t sure if she could take Amos on and give a good show of it, not yet, but damn it all if she wouldn’t try. “Secure Kerauna,” she said hoarsely to Kong and Dragoon, who glanced towards her and nodded. “I’ll hold him off.”

“Not alone.”

She looked down in surprise at the voice and saw a head of dark brown hair and violet-colored armor. A gauntleted hand rose and flexed its fingers as the person popped his neck and looked up at her. “Turns out when you’re a Pandora Strategic Asset, it’s hard to get permission to engage directly in combat besides playing a support role. Well said, Harbinger.” Gravitic said with a smile.

She brightened. “Gre- Gravitic!”

He smiled back and looked up at Technocrat. “My boss just woke up, asshole!” he shouted. “We got that bullet out of her, and she’s given me clearance to give you hell!”

The robot laughed. “What’s some Epic-tier punk supposed to do? Go back to your lab, kid, and come back with better gear!”

“Don’t underestimate our hard work,” Gravitic snarled. “We put our hearts into making this armor, and I’ve spent all this time studying every aspect of my ability. You thought Rift had it rough?” he barked and held up his hands, palms apart, as his fingertips began to glow. “You haven’t seen a damn thing! This is for Euclidia!”

He clapped his hands.

BOOOOOOOOOOM

The sound was so intense, the force nearly knocked Harbinger off her feet. She slid back as a column of rippling, unstable space blasted from between Gravitic’s hands and crossed the gap between him and the giant robot in an instant. The machine didn’t even have a chance to react, its shoulder simply vaporizing as its arm fell to the ground with a thunderous crash. Gravitic raised a fist as Technocrat’s head turned towards the shocking sight.

“I may not be Mythic, but I have the know-how and the tools to bridge the gap! We’ll keep bridging that gap! More of us! Every single day! You villains have been running rampant for far too long!” He turned to Harbinger and reached up to plant a hand on her thigh. She felt her body grow lighter, but to her surprise, she didn’t just levitate off the ground. His control was amazing. He grinned up at her. “Ready?”

She grinned back. “Absolutely.”

–

Amos whistled inside the cockpit of his mech. He was a little sad that it got damaged so badly with one attack, but was immensely pleased with the outcome. He leaned back and gestured, pulling his machine into reverse a little and opening fire to keep up appearances. This kid. Sonya said that understanding could help narrow the difference between tiers, but man, that’s wild. His gear must be compounding on that. What a trip! This brat gets the meta. He laughed and watched the heroes as they renewed their ferocious defense. Most of the fishmen had been forced back and now it was only him, Kera, and Kingshark.

They’re not going to capitulate, he thought as his smile widened and he willed the communications channel between himself and his two comrades to open. “Kera, Kingshark, looks like it’s mission accomplished. The heroes have a spine. We’re retreating.”

“Haha! That was fun!” Kera laughed. “Can’t wait for the next round.”

“Agreed,” Kingshark grunted; it sounded like they were actually pushing him hard. Sheer numbers would do that.

“Make a good show of it, guys. Don’t want to disappoint the boss,” Amos reminded them.

“Right!”