Spectacular World

Running The Gauntlet

Wyvern's wings flapped through the air as the dragon-themed hero stopped in front of the world's strongest Super. Or maybe the Victorian was now the second strongest?

Hope clung to Wyvern's tail and stared up at the person she had practically worshipped all her life. The hero looked tired. Ever since she had become a Super, she had noticed it. The bags that resided under every heroes' eyes. Even her own began to get them not even a month into her job. The Victorian, though, never seemed to have them. The woman was always flawless and gorgeous. Now though the woman's costume was torn across her chest, her hair was long and messy, and her eyes seemed to lose some of that spark that normally resided in them.

Despite that, the woman somehow managed to give a smile. "It's good to see you again, Cinder."

Hope felt her heart twitch a bit and had to fight a blush that was forming on her face. Those words were written down in hundreds of her Victorian x Y/N fanfics that she wrote. In any other timeline, she'd have let out a squeal. Now though, they didn't hold true. Not after everything that happened to her.

She was still practically dangling in the air, hanging off of Wyvern's tail as she and the number one hero looked at each other. She got her emotions under control and finally spoke. "What's going on?"

The Victorian's smile cracked, and the woman's eye twitched. "Maybe we should land and-"

"No!" She clenched down on Wyvern's tail, causing the hero to wince. "I want to know. Please. Tell me what's happening with Mr. Larison. I have a right to know. No more secrets."

The Victorian let out a sigh and looked up. "You want to know? Okay. I'll tell you. But it's not pretty." Slowly, the woman allowed herself to think back as she began to form her thoughts. "It all started after he attacked Director Ward. He just showed up and attacked us."

"That can't seriously be how it started."

"It is." Wyvern let out a soft snort and gave a low shrug. "It was one of the craziest plays I've ever seen. He simply showed up and declared his victory."

"That's right." The Victorian nodded. "It all started a few days ago..."

***

A few days ago.

"Alright." Mister Man tapped his finger on the stone table, feeling his power flicker on and off as he occasionally phased through the table. "I'll be the first to say it. It didn't take long for Battery to snap, huh?"

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to invite him." Lady Time said, letting out a sigh.

"I really don't want to think about how smug Drake is going to look when he next sees us." Mister Man sighed. "That monster bastard is going to have the biggest 'I told you so' look the world has ever seen."

Boy Genius bit his lip. "No. Even after all of this, I don't think Battery is the Calamity. He still hasn't truly killed anyone."

"Tell that to Pretty Face." Fable snorted. "He's stuck in the hospital due to a snapped spine. If not for a minor healing factor he has, he'd never walk again."

"I know things seem bad, but..."

"Just accept it, kid." Mister Man rolled his eyes. "For once, you and the Victorian were wrong. The two of you let that wild mutt onto our team, thinking you could control his power, all because he showed some crazy strength in his fight with the Beast. Now that mutt has turned its hungry jaws on us. You. Screwed. Up."

Boy Genius flinched and slowly stared down at the ground. "I'm sorry." The room went silent. It was the first time he had ever made a mistake.

The Enforcers were once again meeting. Or at least most of them were. The three newest members, Lightning Empress, Pretty Face, and Battery, weren't currently in on this meeting. The thing they were discussing was what they needed to do about Battery. It had been broadcast all over Lillian how he suddenly summoned a Giant and attacked the Hero Branch Tower. Most of the public was demanding an answer. Pretty Face had been too injured to show up after being beaten into the ground by Battery, and Lightning Empress had simply not bothered to show. It didn't help that in Oleander, Alice Ward's podcast was hyping Battery up, and most of the world seemed to have suddenly gained a strange fascination with the weirdo. All because he had fought the Beast for the longest on camera and happened to sound and look a little handsome.