Spectacular World

The Battle Against the Beast

Dread...

It filled her as she watched. Images and sights that shouldn't have been seen flood through her mind. Was this how Whisper or Max Lightning felt? Was this what drove Wish insane? Every detail, every strand, all of it massed together like some sort of cancer.

Alive. It was alive.

The Prettiest Flower was still alive. They needed a new body, just like their siblings.

Colors rained from above, covering the planet in a mass of lights that swirled together. But when all the colors merged, all that was left was black. A deep void of nothingness spread out from the planet, reaching toward the sky, the sea, the land, and the sun and swallowing them all up. It was an endless rain of whispers and yells.

Then it all ended.

Sky's eyes snapped open, and she suddenly found herself wide awake. Her eyes gradually adjusted, and her head felt like it was pounding as her thoughts settled back down and her connection with Destiny formed. Slowly, she set up groggily, rubbing her forehead.

She had just experienced a fever dream—the kind that doesn't make sense and is caused by your brain overheating. It was all over the place, and already she was having a hard time remembering anything from it. The pain hadn't left her, though. Neither had the sense of dread.

Her powers had been pushed to the limit, trying to reverse the Dead Virus. In the end, she failed. That didn't mean she was ready to give up, though. She had gone further than anyone else, and for the first time in a long time, she actually thought that maybe she could save Hope's dad. After all, this first attempt had helped him out a lot. A few more tries, and maybe she could cure him.

She just needed to get stronger.

Her thoughts were broken suddenly when Destiny landed on her shoulder. The bird lightly nuzzled her face, and she scratched under its chin. "Where are the others?" It only occurred to her how quiet it was in her manner. She had no idea how long she had been out for. A day? Two? Maybe a week?

She was out of her costume and had been placed in her nightgown. Her sister or mother had likely changed her. She felt hungry, but not like she was starving, so it couldn't have been for that long.

Quietly, she stood up and pulled the curtains. Instantly, her face paled. The device Boy Genius had installed around the manner not only stopped people from seeing their home for what it truly was but also blocked off most sound from the outside world. As her curtains moved, she saw what Lillian had become.

The streets were flooded with cars, and a Hero Branch soldier was at every corner. People were piled up on the sidewalk, and it looked like a riot was happening. Whatever was going on wasn't good.

She grabbed a lab coat and a spare mask and left her room. She got a few steps out of the hallway when she saw them. "Ah. Paragon. You're finally awake. Please, take a seat." Her eyes locked onto the man who was now in her house, and Destiny hissed a bit and stood up straighter, glaring at the intruder. "No need to give me that look. I'm here to keep you safe."

The Hero Branch would never leave her unguarded in a moment like this. Several of them were in the hallway, all dressed in heavy gear, and a man was seated in her living room. He was dressed in an expensive black suit, and he had dark skin and slicked-back hair tied into a ponytail. Dean Ward was the leader of Lillian's Hero Branch. In other words, he was an equal to someone like Laps—a human who was tasked with making sure the Supers didn't get out of line.

She looked at the armed soldiers. There were a few of them, and likely even more outside. The entire city seemed to be filled with them. She quickly made her way out of the hall and took a seat in the chair across from Mr. Ward. "Where's my mom?"