HEROES

THE RISE OF DARK FOX

That same night…

Far away from the shattered unfinished building, beyond the city lights and hidden beneath an abandoned industrial district, there stood a fortress no human knew existed.

It looked like an old warehouse from the outside.

But inside, it was alive.

The walls pulsed like veins. Strange purple crystals glowed from the ceiling. Shadows moved where there should have been none. And outside one heavily guarded steel door stood several silent figures.

They looked human at first glance.

But they were not.

Their skin was pale like ash, their eyes empty and black, and their claws tapped slowly against the floor.

Creatures.

Guards.

And behind that door…

Scarlet Fox.

The beast-man threw her onto the floor of a dark chamber. Scarlet tried to rise, but her body felt weak, like every thought in her head was being pulled apart.

She looked up, furious.

“What… did you do to me?”

The beast-man stepped closer. His eyes glowed with that same hypnotic light.

He raised one hand.

Immediately Scarlet’s eyes flickered… then dimmed.

Her body relaxed against her will.

The beast-man spoke softly, almost like a whisper inside her mind.

“Sleep.”

Scarlet’s expression went blank.

Her eyes slowly turned faint purple.

The beast-man smiled.

“That’s better.”

He knelt in front of her and placed both hands on her shoulders.

Then the room shook.

Dark energy began pouring out of his body like smoke and lightning combined. It flowed into Scarlet’s chest, arms, eyes — forcing her body to levitate.

Scarlet screamed.

The scream echoed through the fortress.

Outside, even the creatures stepped back.

Purple light exploded from the room.

The windows shattered.

The floor cracked.

The transfer had begun.

The beast-man gritted his teeth as his power left him.

Scarlet’s hair floated wildly around her.

Her entire body glowed crimson and purple.

Then—

BOOOOM!!

The light vanished.

Silence.

Scarlet dropped to the floor on one knee, breathing heavily.

The beast-man stumbled backward, weak and pale now.

He smiled, satisfied.

“It is done.”

Scarlet slowly lifted her face.

Her eyes were no longer red.

They were glowing purple.

The beast-man spoke weakly.

“Now… I am done with what I must do.”

He took a shaky step back.

“You continue.”

He smiled darkly.

“You know what you must do.”

Scarlet stared at him.

Then suddenly…

She smiled too.

A slow, unsettling smile.

The beast-man frowned.

“Why are you—”

Scarlet’s eyes flashed bright purple.

She stretched one hand toward him.

The beast-man froze.

His face changed from confusion… to fear.

Scarlet tilted her head.

“Phew,” she said casually.

“That was a petty talk.”

Then—

SQUASH!!

The beast-man’s entire body imploded into a violent burst of blood against the far wall.

Silence.

Scarlet stared at the stain for a second.

Then wiped a drop of blood from her cheek.

She smirked.

“I don’t take orders.”

She turned and walked toward the door.

As it opened, all the creatures outside immediately bowed low.

Not because they were told.

Because they felt her power.

Scarlet stepped into the hallway.

A queen among monsters.

And the world was about to change.

---

The years that followed…

At first, Merson, Kaiden, and Schizzel thought Scarlet had been brainwashed.

That somehow she could still be saved.

So they searched for her.

For weeks.

Then months.

And finally…

They found her.

A battlefield in the center of a burning town.

Creatures tearing through buildings.

Humans running.

The sky red with fire.

And standing above it all…

Scarlet Fox.

She was floating in the air, surrounded by purple energy and flames.

Her voice was colder now.

Stronger.

Merson stepped forward desperately.

“Scarlet! It’s us! Fight it!”

Scarlet looked down at him.

For a brief moment…

She smiled.

But not the smile they knew.

The smile of someone who had already chosen darkness.

Kaiden clenched his fists.

“Scarlet, snap out of it!”

Scarlet laughed softly.

Then she raised one hand.

A wave of energy blasted all three of them through an entire building.

BOOOOM!!

Schizzel coughed as she rose from the rubble.

“What did he DO to her?!”

Merson stared upward, heart broken.

“No…”

Kaiden whispered in disbelief.

“She’s stronger.”

And she was.

Much stronger.

Scarlet had always been powerful.

She was already known as a Quad Total — one of the rarest superhumans in existence, born with four elemental power cores.

Speed.

Telekinesis.

Energy blades.

Mind manipulation.

But now…

With the beast-man’s transferred power added to hers…

She became something else entirely.

A force no Hero could match alone.

---

Year after year…

The battle never ended.

The three remaining Heroes kept fighting.

Sometimes against Scarlet’s creatures — vicious monsters that hunted in the dark.

Other times against rogue humans with powers who used them for evil.

Some robbed banks.

Some kidnapped children.

Some destroyed cities for revenge.

Some simply wanted chaos.

And every time disaster struck…

The world looked to one symbol.

The gold badge.

HEROES.

Merson became stronger.

Kaiden mastered storm electricity.

Schizzel built devices that could track supernatural activity worldwide.

They protected cities.

Saved lives.

Stopped wars.

But one truth never changed.

Whenever Scarlet’s creatures appeared…

It meant something much bigger was coming.

Something planned.

Something deadly.

Because Scarlet never attacked without a reason.

And every time they fought her…

It felt less like stopping an enemy…

and more like surviving a storm.

---

One night, after another brutal battle, the three stood on the rooftop of HEROES Headquarters overlooking the city.

Rain fell quietly.

Merson stared at Scarlet’s old team photo in his hand.

Kaiden walked beside him.

“You still think she’s in there somewhere?”

Merson stayed silent.

Schizzel leaned against the railing.

For once, she wasn’t joking.

“She’s been gone for seven years, Merson.”

Merson finally looked up.

His voice was low.

“She’s not gone.”

Kaiden sighed.

“Merson—”

Then alarms exploded through the building.

RED LIGHTS flashed.

Schizzel’s wrist device activated.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh no.”

Kaiden turned.

“What happened?”

Schizzel swallowed hard.

“It’s Scarlet.”

Merson’s face hardened instantly.

“Where?”

Schizzel looked at the screen.

Her voice dropped.

“She’s attacking the central city vault.”

Merson’s fire ignited around his fists.

Kaiden’s body crackled with lightning.

Schizzel smirked, adjusting her goggles.

“Well…”

She pulled out two pulse blades.

“Looks like family reunion night.”