Spectacular World

Nier

"Ruler..." Beta said quietly.

"Did you say something?" Ocean Empress asked.

"Negative. I was just doing the thing you humans like to do when something is on your mind," the machine explained.

"You mean thinking?"

"Yes. I was thinking."

"Okay, then..."

Armin Moore was having a field day. As kids, it had always been Hope who was the massive hero geek, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't currently hyped about being in the same room as some of the greatest legends of their generation.

Boy Genius' ship had landed, and they were all instructed to board. That ship was heading back to Oleander City to drop off all of the teams. Inside the main deck of the ship, nearly every Enforcer member was present. Ocean Empress, mistress of water and ice; Mister Man, greatest marksman in the world; Wyvern, daughter of Fairy Queen and the strongest non-Lord elemental user; Beta, a powerful machine created by the strongest mind; Fable, master of stories; Lady Time, able to rival even the Lord of the Sky; and of course the Victorian, the strongest human on Earth, who trained herself to be able to handle any threat, even that of the Lords. It wasn't just them, though. The Watch Dogs were here too: Backup, Bad Wolf, Duplicity, and Roulette; the Sub Enforcers: Money Tree, BB, Metal Ronin, Wasp Nest, and Oxide; and lastly, Pantheon stood among them with himself, Myth, and Whisper.

Max Lightning was the only Enforcer who didn't show up. Battery, Paragon, Poseidon, and Boy Genius also weren't in the meeting room, being somewhere else on the ship.

The meeting room itself looked similar to Boy Genius's office room at Nightshade, but it was far more significant, and it had a circular metal table that also served as a hologram-like device. It showed images of the battle the Victorian had with the Emperor, though it wasn't able to catch the entire thing since both fighters had moved far faster than a mere camera could keep up with.

The Victorian stood in front of the table, watching the recording, studying every flaw she made and her failure to stop the monster. Her costume was still badly torn, and her wounds had been bandaged up or healed with her golden light. Lady Time stood behind her and had taken her cape off, draping it over the shoulders of the world's strongest woman to cover her up more.

"Is it really him?" Wyvern was the first to speak. Her fingers hadn't stopped tapping away at the metal of the chair she rested in, and by now, she had badly dented and cracked it. "We're certain it isn't some sort of illusion?"

Myth shook his head. "You were a baby when the war happened with the Emperor, Wyvern. You, along with a bunch of other young monsters, were sent away with Ocean Empress when the battle with that freak began. I don't expect you to know what he's like, but when I was a kid, I left for the battlefield to chase after my dad. It was short; in fact, I only managed to stay conscious for a single attack, but while on that battlefield, I went to blows with the Emperor. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the same person as the one from back then."

The Victorian's frown only grew. "He didn't hit as hard as I recall, though." She looked down at her hand and forced it to stop shaking. "In that fight, part of me thought I could stand a chance. We were about evenly matched, going blow for blow. If Fable, Boy Genius, or Lady Time were to have arrived on time, even with just one of you, I think I could have beaten him. Yet somehow, I know that can't be correct. Something is wrong."

"His power is different." Mister Man hadn't bothered to watch the recording. His feet were kicked up on a table, and his cowboy hat was placed over his face. "Anyone else notice that?"

"Different, how?" Wyvern asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, for one, he's a freaking shadow monster." Lady Time snorted.