“You bastard! I can’t believe you!” Ember wailed.

She had trapped Alexa under her and was now crying and unsuccessfully trying to smack Alexa with her hands.

“Very sorry,” Alexa sighed, holding onto Ember's wrists. "It was an accident. Workplace accidents happen. We'll have to reset the cathedral's workplace accident counter back to zero days, alas!"

“Are you freaking happy? I’m freaking dead!” Ember barked. "You think you're so freaking funny don't you?!"

"Teddy, the intern is dead too, you don't see her complaining," Alexa waved a hand at the skeleton in the lab coat. "It's very dangerous to work as a minion for a supervillain. You might explode at any time. You should have known this when you signed up for the job."

Ember's glare intensified.

"I did not sign up for this," she gritted her teeth. "I can't feel my body. I have no heartbeat. I'll never... never regain my power as a hero now! I will never see the titanium-plated streets of Titanomachy!"

“Cry me a river, Dimmy,” Alexa shrugged. “You do know that well-over-trained mundanes like our lovely Cottie, people that dedicated their entire lives to stopping crime will never get to see Titanomachy either, right?”

Cottie nodded with a grim look.

“You’re not the only one who’s been screwed over by the evil, space-elevator doors of the Superstate!” Alexa declared, looking at Cottie. “We’re all in this together!”

Ember looked away with a despondent look.

“Come on,” Alexa said, patting her shoulder. “We’ll make it work. We’ll make it work for all of us. We'll all go to Titanomachy and be merry if you miss it so much, Dimmy!"

"What? How?" The redhead blinked.

"I am the key," Alexa said.

"You're the key?" Ember squinted down at the silver-haired villain. "What?"

"I'm the key to the future," Alexa said. "I can make anything happen because I believe in myself! I'll make sure that everyone gets to experience the wonders of the Superstate! Everyone! You heard me!"

"Are you planning to break into Titanomachy?" Ember asked.

Alexa nodded with a giddy look.

The ex-hero rubbed her face tiredly and got off her nemesis.

“Why are you so determined to mess with the heroes?” The redhead asked.

“I’m not,” the teenage villain shook her head. “I’m determined to mess with the system! I’m doing this for all the little boys and girls! I’m doing this for Juni from Rozaline and Cali from Wert and Delta from Novazem! I’m doing it for Ash Sparks and Yulia Ishenko! I’m doing it for everyone and I will not stop doing it until I save everyone everywhere forever! I will save our world and I will...”

“Save the world from what?” Ember demanded, ignoring Alexa’s mad rant of gibberish, random names.

“From itself,” Alexa declared. “From the rules that bind everything and everyone! From its inevitable destruction!”

The dead ex-hero squinted at the supervillain. “I don’t get you. You’re insane or something.”

“Or something,” Alexa exhaled, staring down at Ember, sparks of tears glittering in the corners of her eyes.

"I don't under..." The ex-hero opened her mouth.

An array of memories slammed into Ember via their shared mental connection.

Doomed worlds. Dead planets. Dreams of countless iterations of Alexa.

Alexa as a cultivator girl trying to uplift a city of gold and black standing atop a monstrous, 100-kilometre wide crab dominating a dead, overgrown earth ravaged by monstrous beasts.

Alexa as a stratonavigator from an ice covered world called Werth jumping from planet to planet in a futile attempt to find a new home for humanity.

Alexa as an overpowered Identify spell controlling a hollow body piloted by a thousand bees and forty thousand ants and spiders, white hair woven from silk strands.

Alexa as a witch, her hair black, a black kitten with purple eyes sitting on her lap.

“W-what the fff—-" Ember retreated, nearly tripping over the body of the villain on the floor. "No swearing," Alexa ordered. "This is polite kitten society! You're a polite dead girl now!" "Fff--kittens? What the fff-fukittenly kitten kittens?!” Ember howled, retreating away from the blast of visions of impossible worlds. “You’re a witch?! What the f-fff-kittens?!”

“I'm not a witch. I simply... dream about them because of the darkness I carry in my soul,” Alexa said with a solemn look. “About all of them. Every night. Every possible iteration of me across the fractal multiverse. Every me... that remains alive. Every me that’s survived against all odds, persisted… pushed against the edges of the system.”

“What bloody System?” The dead girl demanded.

“Them,” Alexa stared at Ember’s eyes and the view of Wizard Revolution manifested in her thoughts. [These bastards. System Wizards. I have to kill them all.]

Ember gulped. Martin and Cottie stared at Alexa, their eyes wide. [You’re going to take on the System Wizards?] Martin asked, his voice trembling. [Yes,] Alexa nodded. [I’m going to take them down. I’m going to save our planet and every other planet out there.] The trio stared at Alexa. “You’re crazy,” Ember said, her voice barely a whisper. "This is crazy! Why aren't you helping me Martin?! She's crazy! Tell her that she's crazy!" “Maybe,” Alexa shrugged. “Daddums did call me... crazy determined."

[How exactly are we going to put down whatever the System Wizards are?] Martin asked, looking very nervous.

[I know a very special guy,] Alexa thought.

[A guy?] Ember blinked.

[A villain? A hero?] Cottie guessed.

[The greatest, strongest hero in the world,] Alexa sent. [We’re going to shake the answers out of him. All of the answers.]

“N-nonpareil?” Ember gasped as she saw the vision of the paperclip superhero in Alexa’s mind.

“Nonpareil,” Alexa nodded. “We’re going to find the bastard and unleash violence upon him until he confesses as to what the kittens is wrong with our planet.”

[What’s wrong with our planet?] Martin blinked.

“Heroes and villains,” Alexa muttered. [They’re what's wrong with our planet. Patterns, inexplicable things that don’t add up. I’ve had lots of time to think about it all, found lots of papers and books, spent so many years in the endless, limitless darkness of our supposed future trying to figure it all out… There are things I have learned there… terrible, awful things… I need all of you to help me... to confirm, to figure out the truth of it all, to connect every dot.]

“You want us to do what? Beat up nonpareil? Are you freaking insa…” Ember howled.

[He’s already sufficiently broken,] Alexa said. [He won’t be very hard to defeat. We’ll send you ahead of us, since you’re so excited about this mission!]

“I’m not excited! Who said I’m excited?” Ember growled.

[I can read your mind, Dimmy,] Alexa thought. [I KNOW that you’re excited to find out the truth behind his incredible power.]

“Fine,” Ember crossed her arms. “Let's go find freaking nonpareil!”