My old bones. The backlash was really too strong.

Huic was hobbling; his limbs ached like they were crushed under the weight of falling debris. Grimacing from pain, he moved his broken body through the hall. I won’t just die, yet. He wasn’t afraid of dying, but not accomplishing his self-imposed mission would eat away at his conscious. Normally, an S-rank was not afraid of physical wounds at all, however, his soul had been damaged which caused a backlash to his body as well. Pain. No, agony. Something tore his very being apart. And with time it only worsened. He did not mind the boisterous and cooing mass of stupid fellow humans parading on the street for a system appearing glorious on the outside, but rotten on the inside. Instead, his way lay ahead.

The people visiting the headquarters of NIP couldn’t see him, couldn’t perceive him unless they were as strong as himself. His inner demon whispered to him to unleash his power, to ascend, to release his might one final time. He did not comply. No. He resisted ardently, for his target was in reach. When was the last time he had felt like a hero? He had forgotten about it. His memories were partly lost in the flow of times, as his gifts required him to reject a part of himself every single time, he used them. One single task. I’ll do it.

Neither the receptionists nor any algorithm identified him, and he safely passed through a hidden door to the heart of the whole of 3N, the basement complex. Here he had hidden a dimensional realm in a grain of dust, concealing his hideout where he had hidden Lumière from the authorities. Such a hassle. Since he couldn't risk exposing the hideout, he had had to take the long route. He owned an official bureau and training room in the basement, though he rarely used it. It was just a disguise. Most high-ranked heroes did the same since they were no fools. Luckily, no S-rank Empowered wasted his time by guarding the complex, and Huic easily managed to hide from the few A-ranks by using his illusions. But should he use an active concept or ability like teleporting, he would immediately be detected, be he an S-rank or not. Still, a risky venture, this heist. However, the circumstances favoured him, for most of the high-ranked heroes were merrymaking on the upper floors. It was an international holiday after all.

He thought about Lure, about her energy, about her foolish dreams, about her revenge. Truly, he could understand all of her desires. Youthful, redemption and contemplation were his own. Huic wanted to return in time before The Awakening when life was still simple in his eyes. The good old times. The basement was divided into several layers and he arrived in front of the most secured section, called the Centrum by those in the know. He passed through the guards, through the walls as if he were a ghost. Bustling scientists were building new devices, creating technological miracles that shook the world! Technicus, one of Huic’s few friends, had been the catalyst for the new technological improvements. The rise of robots and the whole branch of magical engineering could not have developed this quickly without his genius.

Unlike the other rooms in the basement, the working halls weren’t dim-lit and improperly cleaned. Supposedly, no villain has ever managed to infiltrate these walls. Supposedly. Even excluding Huic, the spies numbered in the tens. Considering that several thousands of men were labouring in these halls, this wasn’t a screw-up on the side of the superheroes.

Finally, he entered the main room, breathing heavily and cursing his broken body. Not any longer. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and adjusted his wet hair. 80°, am I so weak? A bluish radiating orb was centered in the middle, held by several metal arms siphoning energy from it. The core is finally in my grasp. His wounds were opening again, worsening: his guts were bleeding from the inside, and the red life juice poured out of his mouth.

He looked around, inspecting his environment a single last time, but found no trap, no hidden danger. Oh, there were traps, many on his way. Yet, they couldn’t do anything against an ethereal, half-godly being.

Huic reached out for the sizzling ball, warping it with his ability. A ringing sound resounded in the hall, alarming the scientists and heroes alike. Never had he felt so reinvigorated in his recent years – like a foolish, young man in his prime – than at this precise moment. How long had it been? With an overly big smile and rediscovered long-lost happiness, he loudly declared, “Yoink.”

Lure spoke with Bastion and they exchanged knowledge about their and their enemies' abilities, meanwhile, the adults fought like enraged hens.

“You shouldn’t duel. The odds hugely favour them,” remarked Strider, advising his daughter and Bastion. He then turned to his colleague and continued with a snark, “Only you, Obulus, would use such a filthy excuse to attack me, resorting to discrediting my child.”

The man with the royal blue coat was hardly impressed and countered, snarling like a dog, “Dastardly criminal. I may not be able to pursue your crimes, but justice needs to be delivered. We heroes need to teach your daughter a lesson, besides they foolishly accepted.”

The crowd nodded, not because they believed that Lure was guilty – this was but petty politics – but because they wanted to be entertained, a deep desire in every human.

“Father, it’s ok, we’ll win,” Lure confidently exclaimed, churning her bob for a more dynamic look.

“If you say so, I believe in you. Though, losing isn’t a shame in this scenario.”

“Well said, unlike your father, you’re not a coward, but a fool,” Obulus butted in. He played with a button on his coat, then took a stalwart posture, though it looked awkward as he was visibly too skinny. “Are you ready, my boys?”

The twins replied, “We, Silverwing and Silvershatter, shall annihilate this foot fungus, this vicious parasite who undermines our society. For justice!”

The crowd started to laugh. Neither the man with the coat nor the twins realized that their excessive zeal was ludicrous in the eyes of most fellow heroes who tended to be more realist than what their reputation foretold. Silverwing and Silvershatter looked similarly, average height but long necks, though their hair colour was different; one had green hair, the other blue.

Lure and Bastion, and the twins positioned themselves in a circle, the former on the opposite side of the latter. The odour of alcohol and sweets was diffusing in the air. Lure nibbled on a cookie she had filched from the buffet. Delicious. Her opponents were baffled by her discourteous display, though they couldn’t know that she had had no lunch. After she had finished, she whispered to Bastion, “Like planned.” He nodded.

An A-rank with a red beard and a scarlet scarf took the task of the neutral arbiter. Although this man happened to be a guest from Ireland, he was the least likely to be caught in local politics. The man shouted, “Distance”, and all the non-fighting heroes stepped aside, watching this children's game. He asked: “Ready?”

“Yes,” said Lure.

“Yes,” replied Bastion.

“Indeed.”

“So be it.”

The arbiter thus announced, “Begin!”

Bastion immediately erected an energy dome around Lure and himself.

The twins weren’t idle either. “Silverwing and Silvershatter shouted, “Silvercoin.” Hundreds of small coins appeared out of nowhere and accelerated towards Bastion’s defence works.

‘Ding’ ’Ding’ ‘Ding’ Ding’ ‘Ding’

The dome was torpedoed by multiple projectiles and cracks appeared. ‘Shatter’ ‘Shatter’, it finally broke because of the onslaught.

Lure felt her fiancé's distress. Destroying his ability's manifestation took a huge toll on him. Hang on.

“Bulwark.” Bastion was surrounded by a shimmering golden gloss, standing in the way of the projectiles, thus protecting Lure.

The countless coins bounced of Bastion and fell on the floor, becoming deformed.

Both twins had inherited the traits of their father and worked together in perfect unison, multiplying their attack power. Even someone who only focused on defence like Bastion would go down when facing such two remarkable opponents of the same rank.

“Retrieval.” The damaged coins that lay on the floor were moving again, restored. The twins regrouped their army behind Lure’s back.

“Soothe.” Her own pulse calmed down too. She became serene, more clear-minded. She shouted again, "Soothe", this time targeting the coins.

The twins were probably wondering what she was doing as their they furrowed their brow. But her plan brilliantly unfolded: the coins were decelerating just enough so that Bastion could erect another dome. The coins were all repelled and the dome held.

The onlookers were whispering and Obulus’ expression turned odd, mixed between anger, respect and stupor.

Strider shouted, “My girl, you’re the best, you can do it.”

In fact, Lure’s use of Soothe was highly unusual, though it could affect the coins because they weren’t materially real but existed merely as emergent concepts. Thus, Soothe couldn’t affect real coins but only the summoned ones.

“Seduce,” exclaimed Lure, targeting the two boys who became dizzy for a few moments.

“Retribution.” Bastion lunged forward while emitting several silver lights, copying his enemies' ability. Hundreds of coins flew towards the still dazed twins. However, his dome of protection ceased to exist, thus Lure was left defenseless.

Silverwing, the boy with the blue hair, shouted, “Create: Wall”. Just in time, a two-meter mural made of coins protected the twins from being defeated by a hairsbreadth. The coins created by Bastion's Retribution ability were all blocked.

However, now Silvershatter was ready again and launched a salve against the defenceless Lure. As she was bad in direct combat she couldn't move away in time and was hit by a barrage of coins. She flew into the crowd with a big thud. As Bastion couldn’t move back in time, their fate was sealed.

The arbiter announced, “Silverwing and Silvershatter win.”

“Hooray!” The twins celebrated, for they had earned their victory.

Obulus patted Strider on the back, “See, my friend, villains always lose in the end. I should have made a bet. Now I am salty, even after winning.”

The crowd started applauding. Genuine goodwill could be seen in their faces.

Bastion helped the bloodied Lure. Bastion. Some ribs were probably broken and she felt immense pain all over her body but found warmth in his embrace. Strider ignored Obulus and sprinted towards his daughter. A friendly hero however had already started her treatment and requested distance from everyone until the procedure was over.

Obulus went to his boys and congratulated them. After that, he went back to face Lure who had already been healed in under a minute.

“Please allow me to revel in my victory. Your villainous way is after all –“

‘Whoosh’ and the disco lights went out. Lure looked outside the windows. The parade fell into chaos as all flying robots fell onto the ground.