Hero Chasers (Book 1)

Issue 33 - World War Super Part 2

When I was a child, my mother would tell me beautiful stories before I went to bed. It would be our little tradition, an excuse to be transported to fantastic worlds beyond our own, full of whimsical magic and wonder.
Our favourite was of the knight in shining armour saving the princess and defeating the evil queen. It all seemed so simple then; even she tricked me into thinking so. She would say...

"Miley, you too are a princess, and one day you'll meet your Prince Charming, your knight in shining armour will march through those doors, sweep you off your feet, and you'll live happily ever after."

And like the naïve child I was, I believed her. I thought my life would be better if I found the right man. I thought I had seen it in Keith; he was the first person I had met to join the Hero Chasers. He told me I was special; he told me I was going to go places.

I believed him.

I looked past the blackmail, the manipulation and the outbursts. I looked past them because I still believed we could still be happy. I was fixated, not obsessed, with that toxic man. Mother's words still drilled into my head.

But to be honest, I don't know how it ended. Something inside of me snapped, something clicked, and it all made sense. The Chaos Queen rules Super City alone with an iron fist. I didn't need Keith any longer. I wasn't a princess locked in a castle; I wasn't going to wait for a knight to sweep me off my feet. I wasn't the princess; I wasn't the knight. It took me a while to come to grips, but my mother's stories were true. I had been looking at them all wrong. 

I was the evil queen, enacting my twisted desires for the world. That was until I met you.

****

Seeing so many different faces after so many months of not was a lot to take in. I sat on the stairs to Ada's kingdom, overwhelmed, attempting to catch my breath. In hand was her broken Relic, the power she used to change my world forever. Running in through my hand, it felt so insignificant, so small. But I knew all too well what these relics were capable of. 

"You never did mention how you came across your relic," Frigg stated, standing at the bottom of the steps and looking up at me. "We found you holding it tightly, passed out in the snow."

"Then you know as much as I do regarding this cursed object." I sigh, standing up and putting the Relic of Hell in my pocket. "Is everyone?"

"Yeah, that friend of yours. The one with the pink hair looks rough, so go talk to her."

"I should. It's just." I paused, struggling to make eye contact. "Ada took the faces of the people near and dear to me for so long... I'm worried I've forgotten what they look like, or maybe I'll still be Ada in them."

Frigg took a deep breath, looking back. "You can't stay up here forever, you know."

Nodding to myself, I began the slow walk down. "What happened to Ada?"

"She retreated for now, but we'll get to her. Without her Relic, she won't be too much of a hassle for us."

"And with Rita, I think this might be over." I return the feeling of relief, slowly coming back after so long. Reaching the pit of the last battle, I saw Izanami comforting Zara, Billy sitting on the floor talking to Rita, and Kira staring down at Diego's corps.  

"Izzy."

Izanami turned, and a faint smile reached her as she waved me over. Running over, I hugged her, taking that moment just to breathe. "Am I glad to see you."

Izanami slowly put one hand on my back, trying to hug me back but failing all the same. "Dauoi. Greetings. I felt like I woke from the longest dream of my life. I have been consulting with Zara... I'm not very good at it."