HEROES

Night covered the city like a dark veil. At the edge of downtown stood an abandoned unfinished skyscraper — a giant concrete skeleton surrounded by silence. Broken pillars hung dangerously from cracked ceilings. Steel rods twisted out of shattered walls. Burn marks stretched across the floors, and pieces of concrete floated briefly in the air before crashing down again from the force of powers unleashed moments ago. This was no normal battlefield. This was where monsters came to die. And tonight… the HEROES were losing. “MOVE!” SWEEEESH!! A blazing stream of fire exploded through the darkness, crashing into a horrifying creature just inches away from a young man’s throat. The creature screamed as flames swallowed it whole before throwing it across the ruined hall. The young man staggered backward, breathing hard. He wore a fitted black-and-gold combat suit with a glowing emblem across the chest: HEROES. His name was Merson. “Thanks!” he shouted, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Across the broken floor stood another young man with crackling electricity dancing wildly around his fingers. Kaiden Volt. Kaiden blasted his palms forward. BOOOOM!! Electric currents chained through five creatures at once, frying them into the walls. The entire building shook violently. Merson looked around frantically. “KAIDEN!” he yelled over the chaos. “How many of these things are there supposed to be?!” Kaiden ducked under a flying claw and kicked a creature through a pillar. “I DON’T KNOW!” he shouted back. “Maybe like— thirty?!” Merson’s eyes widened. “THIRTY?!” Kaiden panted heavily, sparks flickering around his shoulders. “Yeah! Unless they’re multiplying! Which honestly feels rude!” A creature suddenly lunged from the shadows toward Merson’s back. Then another. Merson turned too late. SHLKK!! Both creatures exploded into blood midair. A red blur landed gracefully between them. Long crimson hair. Sharp glowing eyes. Twin energy blades spinning around her wrists. Scarlet Fox. She smirked confidently. “I seriously don’t know how many times I have to save you, Merson.” Merson grinned tiredly. “And yet somehow you still show up every time.” Scarlet folded her arms proudly. “Because without me, you’d survive for like… six minutes.” “Five,” Kaiden corrected. “Wow. Supportive team.” Before anyone could reply— A portal ripped open nearby with a bright flash. Out stepped a girl wearing oversized goggles and a crooked grin. Schizzel. She looked around casually at the destruction. “What did I miss?” Everyone stared at her silently. Concrete crumbled somewhere in the background. A creature’s body slid slowly down a wall. Then Merson burst out laughing. “You missed EVERYTHING!” Kaiden pointed dramatically. “There were monsters! Explosions! Near death experiences!” Scarlet smirked. “And Merson almost died again.” Merson frowned. “Why does everyone keep highlighting that part?” Schizzel laughed. “Well, at least I arrived before the emotional speeches.” Then— FLAAASH!!! A blinding light erupted from the center of the building. The laughter stopped instantly. The light became a shockwave. BOOOOOOM!!! All four Heroes were blasted violently backward. Merson smashed into broken concrete. Kaiden rolled across the floor. Schizzel crashed into metal pipes. Scarlet slid hard against a pillar. The temperature in the room dropped. Silence followed. Then… Heavy footsteps echoed through the darkness. THUD. THUD. THUD. A massive figure emerged from the glowing smoke. Not human. Not creature. Something worse. Its body looked monstrous — black veins crawling across glowing skin, claws sharp enough to tear steel apart. But as it stepped fully into the moonlight… …the beast slowly transformed. Its claws retracted. Its monstrous face shifted. Until a man stood there. Cold. Calm. Terrifying. Merson struggled to stand. “Who… are you?” The man ignored him. His glowing eyes locked onto Scarlet Fox. Scarlet immediately summoned her energy blades. “Guys,” she whispered carefully, “this one’s different.” Kaiden fired electricity. The man waved one hand. The lightning bent away instantly. Schizzel threw energy disks. He shattered them without even looking. Merson charged with fire swirling around his fists. The man grabbed him by the throat and hurled him through a wall. CRAAASH!! Scarlet attacked next — faster than the others. Their fight became a blur of red flashes and violent impacts. She kicked him across the hall. He slammed her into the ceiling. She sliced through pillars. He shattered the ground beneath her. The others tried helping, but every attack failed. The stranger was overwhelming. Then suddenly— He grabbed Scarlet Fox by the face. Her eyes widened. The man’s glowing eyes burned brighter. Scarlet froze completely. Hypnosis. Kaiden shouted, “Scarlet!!” Merson forced himself up painfully. “No… no, no, no…” The man lifted Scarlet effortlessly into his arms. Schizzel fired an energy blast desperately. The stranger blocked it with one hand. Then he stepped backward into the shadows. Merson tried to chase him but collapsed to one knee. “STOP!!” The stranger looked at them one last time. Then vanished into darkness with Scarlet Fox. Silence. Smoke drifted through the ruined building. Schizzel stared in horror. “No… no… no…” Kaiden punched the floor angrily. Merson couldn’t even speak. The leader of the Heroes… was gone.