Mod Superhero

Chapter 5.17 - Spoils

Mod stalked toward Master Toldrei, staff at the ready. He'd felt her hexes and her illusions but... they'd been pitiful. With his UV and infrared vision, he could see through all of her tricks. With his mutagens and upgrades, he shrugged off all of her hexes.

Despite that, Mod didn't relax. He knew that the branch master of the Felwardens would be either Class 4 or close to it, so she would have other spells at the ready. He still had his smoke pellets, sonic weapons, and a mix of powdered minerals and crushed gems. All of those should at least slow her down...

Toldrei shrank from Mod as he approached. ...Was she afraid of him?

Instead of attacking or countering with another spell, Toldrei held out her staff with both hands. "I surrender. Felwardens, stand down!"

Mod paused, dumbfounded. He'd had the advantage, but the mage's surrender had caught him off guard. Her arms trembled and her chest heaved.

The furious clash of metal on metal faded as Arsenal and the lone knight stopped fighting.

Mod had trouble believing that they'd won that easily. He kept his eyes locked on Toldrei in case she tried something.

He circled slowly around toward the exit to the demiplane, keeping one eye on Toldrei. The portal rippled steadily. Athena had used a barrier to lift herself out of the quicksand. She walked over and stood next to Mod.

Toldrei glanced between the three supers. "The Felwardens have done nothing wrong—nothing to warrant an unannounced search and seizure of property. You should've identified yourselves... Are you members of the Summit or the Binary Brotherhood?... We could've had words instead of violence."

Mod didn't know what to say. Toldrei was mistaken. They weren't with the Summit or the Brotherhood...

Not anymore.

Athena walked up to the group, hands clenched and eyes narrowed. Mod watched her out of the corner of his eye. The image of her forcefields slicing through solid stone was fresh in his mind. The battle was over, but that didn't mean that Athena's anger had subsided.

"She surrendered," Mod said, as much to himself as to his friend.

Athena walked up to Toldrei, standing head and shoulders above the mage. Though Toldrei continued holding her staff at arm's length, she seemed to shrink even further.

Mod didn't blame her—he'd never seen Athena look so intense.

"We're leaving," Athena said, her voice cold as a blade. "And you are in my way."

Mod held out a hand. "Wait..." He swallowed dryly and ignored Athena's glare. He turned back to the defeated mage. "How does your staff work? You use it to control the demiplane."

Toldrei looked at him in surprise. "Yes."

"Give it to me."

The golden knight stepped forward to protest. There was a flash of blue light and a screech of metal. The knight stopped cold and stared at the deep gash in his shield. He wasn't hurt, but Athena had nearly lopped the top of it off.

No one moved. Even Mod and Arsenal stood still.

Toldrei's eyes widened, and she stammered, "It's... It's bound to me!"

Athena asked, "Will the demiplane collapse?"

"Yes!"

"How long will it take?"

"...A day, maybe less—"

Athena reached out and seized the staff. She used a small barrier to push the mage backward, tearing the relic from her hands. Another flick of Athena's wrist sent the branch master tumbling across the demiplane in flashes of golden light.