Spectacular World

The Second Page Turns

Joshua Lee ran his fingers through his beard and let out a soft hum as he watched the Hero Branch workers in front of him work. "Keep going." He barked out. "The sooner we can finish up here, the sooner we can get back to Oleander."

He wasn't a Super.

Joshua Lee was just a simple man. He had spent most of his long life working directly under Director Ward. While most Branch Officers had been sent out to battle the Beast, he had been sent on a different mission, one Ward wanted to be done above all else. Instead of being on the frontlines helping with recuse work, he and his men were out in the Wasteland. His men walked around with long-looking metal scanner-like devices, moving them across the ground and avoiding the many beams from the sun that rained down from above, seemingly looking for something.

"Looks like Bat-Spider is dead." A voice commented slyly next to Joshua.

"Is that so?" Joshua rested against the van they had drove out to the Wasteland. He hadn't come alone. Supers came in many forms and shapes. As did Monsters. Some Monsters were used by the Branch.

Skin Walker was one. She was a young-looking woman- then she was an old lady- then she was a little girl- then he was a tall man- then a fat man- Again and again, Skin Walker shifted, her body constantly morphing and changing. She never stayed in any one particular form for very long. Even her clothes would change. She stood next to Joshua, and she held a large tablet, which showed the last few drones that were still going live in Oleander.

"He died in the fight with the Beast." Skin Walker hummed. The city was in ruins. That was all the cameras that were still going showed. Roads on fire, corpses littering the street, and destroyed buildings. Oleander had come tumbling down. "He got his brains blown out. A shame. Him and I were both hired by your little group at the same time. We worked well together. I wish he had been sent out here. Speaking of which, what are we even doing out here?" She asked letting out a soft hum.

Joshua didn't bother to look at the monster next to him and instead kept his focus on his men. "The public still doesn't know about the Emperor." In the distance, the Wasteland had been torn apart after the battle with the Victorian. Only a single lone tower hung. One that had been crafted by Sini long ago. The very same one that the Emperor had used to return to this world. "If they found out he returned shortly after the Beast, it'd cause widespread panic." The man sighed and shook his head. "He had appeared he first though, and laid ruin to this land. Little did he know though, he left something behind."

"Did he know?" Skin Walker was about to say something, but the tablet she held let out a ring. She pressed down on it, and the screen turned black, yet she knew who it was that wanted to speak with her. "Yes? What can I do for you, Director Ward?" She asked, giggling softly.

"Skin Walker." Ward's voice came out of the tablet. "I might have need of you, and your power."

"Really?" Skin Walker rolled her eyes. She was often hired to take on the form of different people that the Branch wanted to use for their own gains. "Who do you want me to become this time?"

"A very special target," Ward spoke. "A very... Spectacular one."

Skin Walker nodded. "I have a feeling I already know who it is. I'll think about it." She hung up on the man before he could say anything else. She liked feeling like she was in charge. "Things seem to be going my way." She snickered.

"Really?" Joshua raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Skin Walker laughed and looked up to the sky. "I'm out here where it's safe, and not dead like Bat-Spider. I got lucky. I guess lady luck smiled down on me-"

A scream echoed out in the desert, and the next thing she knew, she saw red as blood spilled across the sand. Her and Joshua turned just in time to see that they had found the thing they were looking for. The thing the Emperor had left behind. A red, fleshy tendril had stabbed out of the ground, various spikes growing along it as it casually cleaved through the people. Laughter filled the air, and the ground around them began to crack and break.