When the one Hero had been around the second time, the Hivemind showed restraint by not trying to fight them. This was partly due to the quite brutal ability to neutralise vessels that had been shown previously but it was also due to the information known about the Hero through social media. The Hero by the name of Tesla was quite the star in the circles of Elemental Heroes, able to conjure up lightning equal to that of actual thunderstorms. While the Parasite liked to think that its Strongman was quite powerful as well, it did not want to gamble with chances now.

Now that two Heroes were flying around, that desire had vanished entirely. There was no small chance of admitting that one was scared and the Hivemind was certainly sure it felt no small amount of fear as it watched the two Heroes fly above the farm, looking down on it. The Hivemind had worried that destruction was imminent, causing it to evacuate every single worker into their own homes as quickly as possible. It was lucky that the new safety regulations and training sessions had been close to the new event, the Kara vessel truly being the perfect influence on the farm. The Hivemind needed to put up more training sessions if it ever got the chance to get out of the current scenario alive.

Having looked through the cameras since the beginning, it was not happy with the rapidly darkening sky. It was not happy about the fact that many normal humans shook in fear. And, finally, it was not happy that the face that could be seen on the cameras was the very same person who had previously killed one of the most powerful Heroes on the planet. Since, as had been stated so many times before, the Hivemind spent a lot of time on digital platforms, allowing it to know just how many variants of screwed it was.

“Come out, Lux! We both know you wouldn’t stay away,” was said through the air, the power released through the man’s voice being tremendous. There was little desire to do anything but plan an emergency exit.

And when the other two Heroes took flight as well, meeting the dark figure above the farm, the Hivemind wondered what chances it had of living. The Main Host was safely stored in the Facility, the Parasite having been trying to figure out the secretive mechanisms of the place while the crops were being harvested automatically, yet there was a real fear that any potential fight would ruin both the farm and anything close by. If it all crumbled to dust, the Main Host wasn’t sure it couldn’t get through the aftermath without being either discovered or killed by the victors.

Honestly, it was a game of chance. A game that it wanted desperately to win very much, though it knew that it had no real way of interfering. Instead, there was only one thing it could do.

Letting the Kara vessel clutch a knife while sitting under the table with her co-workers, the Hivemind idly watched the escalating fight above. With no chance of survival but through the power of luck, it could do nothing but look through the cameras and pray that the right side won.

After all these years, Jared was finally here once more. He had contemplated going to that cursed farm more than once in the last decade, wanting to see what had become of it. So much had been destroyed in those days of hell but everything seemed to have been rebuilt. The name was changed, and the faces of those under him were different, but the energy was the same. The taste of death was in the air.

Or maybe his mind just refused to believe it was anything else. He’d seen so many friends fried on the ground just a hundred metres below he flew. He’d seen them smoke into the open air, their charred corpses having no chance of ever walking again. He’d seen a few meekly try to wave for help before being struck down by powerful light. Jared had seen death and his mind was not in the mood to let him forget.

“You don’t have to do this, Jared,” Lux said as the old man flew up towards him, a younger woman following along as well. From the static shocks going into the air, Jared had no issue identifying them as Tesla, one of Lux’s protégés. A powerful Hero but not somebody he had the slightest care about. “There is no reason to fight.”

“There are many reasons to fight, old man,” Jared replied, letting the shadows from his new power swirl in the air. It was intoxicating how powerful that ability was. It made sense that Heroes the world over were looking for him now. Jared cared not for fame yet all those eyes on him spoke to him deeper than he had ever expected. “You ruined my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of everybody I used to love.”

“And I am sorry for doing that but I had to if I wanted to make sure that-”

“-nobody else died?” Jared said, finishing the sentence for him. “Yes, of course! Let’s kill a hundred innocent people so this evil Villain doesn’t get to do the same! Where would the world be if it wasn’t for mighty Heroes of justice like you doing their part? Say, don’t you feel proud of your accomplishments?”

That look of hurt meant nothing to Jared. He had cried, shouted, and thrashed around on the ground for five years, and had felt a world of pain for those he had missed. Seeing one man close to breaking down meant nothing. Where was the justice?

“There is not a single moment in my life where I have felt happy for what I did,” Lux promised. He almost sounded sincere. Jared almost believed him.

“But you would do it again in a heartbeat?” Jared asked, seeing the conflicted expression on the old man. That look of hurt wasn’t something that could be gained in just a few seconds of contemplation. This was a question thought of before and it was a thought that Jared would make sure he never had the chance of having again. The Hero by the name of Tesla didn’t look too happy with it, however. “Would you kill more than most Villains ever get the chance to?”

“Without a doubt, yes,” Lux said, not meeting his eyes. “A million times over, if that was what was required to make sure the world didn’t fall apart.”

“And that’s what makes you no different from the Villain you were meant to protect us from,” Jared said, letting his power unfold into thick tendrils of shadow, him standing in the centre. They both knew how powerful his new ability was, they both knew that fighting would lead to more deaths, and Jared knew that it would only make Lux feel like more of a Hero.

The one not meant to be there struck at that point, trying to attack Jared with a bolt of harsh lightning. It would have likely killed Jared at contact but the shadows didn’t even let it get close. There was some thought about how fast those shadows truly were and if they could deflect literal lightning before Jared just made a small order to eliminate the threat.

Lux tried to take the brunt of the force using his power, some walls made of physical light appearing between the swirling tendril of darkness and the woman. It made no real difference, the Hero swatted from the air and shot down into the ground at a speed that would have killed most people on the spot. Jared knew there was little chance of that Hero ever breathing again.

“Have you always had that power?” Lux asked calmly, seeming to want to talk once again. Jared had wanted to kill at that very moment but his thoughts could be delayed for an instant or two more.

“I gained the power of shadows not even a day ago, Lux. You should know that from the news,” Jared said jokingly, noting the small piece of annoyance on that old man’s face. It was the first sign of real emotion from him. Even Heroes could do such things, Jared supposed. “But, the power to take what others have is something I have had since I was quite young. Not young enough to take yours but I’ll try to rectify that today.”

“It hurts me to say this, Jared, but I won’t allow you the chance,” Lux said before twisting his power into the world as well, matching the tendrils of shadow Jared had made with his own. There was no hiding it. They both had power and Lux had more experience. Yet… Jared had prepared for that day for over a decade. He knew more than enough tricks to make sure he could win.

“No part of me made it seem like you had a choice in this,” Jared said as the final words before the fight began in full, the battle of shadow and light commencing. Only one victor was allowed that day and Jared already knew how it would end.