The months passed by quickly. During that time Lukas and Jane grew close. And during one fight where the SS supervillain Titan got annoyed Lukas was reducing his collateral damage and decided to take that personal, Before, the media nicknamed the Warden the ‘catch hero’ because he would only catch or block debris, but would not actually fight. After that fight however the world knew not to take him lightly, as Titan’s broken body lay in the rubble of a building that was their warzone everyone knew. The Warden could fight.

That night Lukas was sore and bruised, but Jane was left with a shattered left arm and a minor concussion. The reason was Lukas could not catch debris if he had to catch fists instead. Jane was given a week to recover and while they nursed each other, they got intimate.

A week before the Aegis would arrive Lukas came to the decision he loved Jane. And that night she said yes and he gave her a soul ring. He explained to her it was like an engagement ring but you can talk to each other through it and it was completely private. In addition, it provided her with a public log of his actions. Such as what he said out loud or how heavy whatever he caught was.

The day Aegis would arrive the two decided to take the day off and go to the park. If he was not allowed to stay as a Warden representative then she would go with him after resigning from the force.

“ Save for the noise pollution, the bum living under the walkway over the pond, and a lack of wild birds. This reminds me of the Warden Recreational Park. Where [Initiates] and academy students would spend their free days relaxing or studying.”

“ What kind of wild birds?”

“ There are the ones we call ducks that would sit on the water, then there were the pigeons who were generally a menace to one's homework, or forehead if they were a dragonkin. I swear those birds can land crap between one of their horns from fifty feet up.”

Jane giggled at that, remembering the pictures of their kind she had seen.

“ One of the things that superheroes and villains worked on long ago was to remove certain... pests from the city. Believe it or not, not long ago a lot fewer people got killed in their fights. There was more... well I guess you could call it to honor back then. Money and property theft, some minor injuries with some knocked-out guards, then the super would show up and knock out the goons before the big two would fight. It seemed so civil back then compared to now.”

“ So what changed?”

“ People, some villains broke from the norm and nobody could stop them. That caused a new generation of heroes to appear, who took the fights too seriously for the old-timers. Many tried to teach the younger generation, but it was too late. Things had escalated and they really never died down. Those that did not adapt died or retired. Willingly or not.”

Jane closed her eyes and remembered playing as a kid in a ‘secret laboratory’ of one such oldie.

“ It is now all about power and popularity. Who has the bigger name and best toys? After that beatdown of Titan, many know solidly where you would place in the hierarchy. Those above will leave you alone because you do damage control more than actual fighting. Which is a blessing I guess. Because that would have made me a target.

And well, those below, they got to ask how they compare to Titan. If they do not stand a chance against him, how are they to compare to you. Again, you being on the sideline helps you, because you are not a threat to them.”

Lukas nods to her understanding and she slaps his arm.

“ I am being serious you know.”

Lukas nods to her again.

“ I know you are, and I am listening.”

“ To music, your head is bobbing to it.”

This time Lukas shakes his head.

“ Not quite. Something is going on. Something outside the norm...”

Lukas was not able to finish his sentence as he pulled a shield from his inventory and instantly moved to in front of Jane as he felt the impact of an energy blast hit him.

“ My you got fast reflexes. And I was not told about a shield.”

As the attacker talked Lukas activated the emergency equip option of his armor and he was instantly annoyed where a bunch of his fur was caught in the seals of the armor. He swore he will have to have Jane help him clean off the adhesive later.

Before Lukas could orient himself from becoming encased, he was punched in the side of the head hard enough to make his head ring as he turned his awareness outside the suit again. To his surprise, it was not one attacker but four surrounding him. With a quick motion of his right hand, he caught the one going for Jane before tossing him at one of his partners.

“ Very quick reflexes, strong to boot and that punch he took would have taken the head clean off a normal S rank hero. This is looking more interesting by the moment.”

Lukas focused on the talker as he got ready to defend himself and Jane again.

“ Why are you attacking me? I have not offended any of you.”

“ On the contrary, what you represent offends us. A goody-too-shoe with a savior complex. If we let you go to reduce the body count...”

The thug just raised his shoulders.

“ Well, the boss will be angry.”

Lukas blinked as he considered his options.

“ And how is it you decided to deal with me then? Take Jane as a hostage? It would be the smart thing to do to keep me idle.”

“ Not quite, you see, I and the gang are professional killers. We don’t do alive.”

Lukas blinks in surprise and his body straightened out and raised up in excitement.

“ Oh, that makes this easy.”

A sword materializes in Lukas's right hand and he lowers it slowly as four heads hit the ground simultaneously.