As soon as Waveman left, several armoured trucks showed up. They were the kind banks used to transport important items, and the drivers informed the group that they will bring them to the area where the Alliance of Champions had set up. However, there was a separate vehicle for Victor, a car.

The Champion of the Alliance wants to meet him personally.

Much like the Fraternity of Heroes, the Alliance of Champions was ruled by a top-down system. Heroes were ranked into tiers, and their powers, experience and fame determined their rank. Heroes report to a hero in a higher tier, and each city has a hero on top. The Champion of the city. In Velocity City, that was Thundersky, but even Thundersky has a boss. All Champions within the Alliance report to the Champion of the Alliance.

A hero called Wild Potion.

A magic-user, Wild Potion was considered the best alchemist on Nexus with the ability to brew countless magical potions with different effects. However, he was not considered a frontline fighter, so Victor was a little surprised when he was informed that the Champion in the Alliance was in Glowing Falls. And that he wanted to meet Victor.

It was a meeting Victor could not reject, but he did request that he be allowed to bring a man along for security. The fact that the driver easily agreed to his request told Victor how much Wild Potion wanted to meet him.

Victor got into the vehicle and the driver followed the fleet to the eastern area of Glowing Falls where the Alliance of Champions was headquartered. As the fleet drove on, the car Victor was in stopped in front of a small store. Mister Black rolled to a stop beside the vehicle in his power armour. His son-in-law had managed to keep up with the vehicle easily in his power armour’s Track Mode, and along the way Victor noticed several costumes on the street looking at the Trackbot-P with interest. That was what Victor wanted. Nothing gets your name out like having strange, unusual technology.

The driver who drove Victor was a hero in a bright yellow costume and he came out to open the door for Victor. As Victor got out, the hero spoke.

“Master Fist, the Champion is inside. He wishes to speak you alone, so I must ask that your man wait here outside the store.”

There was nothing unusual with the request, so Victor nodded his approval and walked towards the store. The door was automatic, and Victor entered after it opened. As the door closed behind him, Victor’s brow raised in surprise.

The store itself looked normal. At the center of the shop was an anvil that looked attached to the floor. In the far corner was a gas-powered furnace, there was a table with several sets of molds on it, another table with the grinder and lathe attached stood on the side, and numerous crucibles, tongs, weights and scales were scattered all over the shop. Wild Potion, the Champion of the Alliance stood in the centre of the store near the anvil. He was wearing a brown waistcoat with a black undershirt, and black pants with twin blue stripes running down the sides. A simple domino mask adored his face. Hunchbacked with the top of his head already bare, he wore a belt upon which were at least a dozen potions of different colors. Considering Wild Potion’s reputation, Victor hoped he would never know what the potions did.

And he was not alone.

Victor had thought this was a one-on-one meeting, but there were two people waiting inside the store. Beside Wild Potion was the Champion of Velocity City, Thundersky. Victor had never met Thundersky in person before, and wonder what he was doing here.

The Champion of the Alliance looked up, and Victor remembered how old Wild Potion was. His biography had him at over four hundred, and with his bloodshot eyes, sunken cheeks, and a smile that was just a little too wide for comfort, Wild Potion looked every day of his age. Victor silently wondered how a man that looked that old could still be alive, and why the Champion had not taken another bottle of his infamous Potion of Youth. Every time a bottle went on auction, billions would be spent. The questions never came from his lips. Victor was a villain, and Wild Potion was a living legend. It was not his place to question the man. The Champion of the Alliance waved him in.

“Ah, you must be Sweet Fist. Come closer.”

“Champion,” Victor said respectfully, “I was told you wanted to see me?”

“Of course. It’s not every day a mystic warrior pops up, and I make a point of meeting all the major players in the Alliance.” Wild Potion said with a toothy smile.

The Champion was clearly playing Victor. Victor knows it, but he couldn’t help himself. It feels good to be praised by a legend. “Thank you, though I would hardly call myself a major player.”

“Oh, really? Thundersky here has been telling us you are taking over the whole of the underworld in his city, and no one can stop you.”

Victor took a glance at Thundersky and noticed that the Champion of Velocity City had a stiff smile on his face. He was considerably less relaxed than Wild Potion.

“I think he was just trying to be polite. I am just trying to make a living, sir.” Victor hedged.

“Really?” Wild Potion turned and faced Thundersky with a smile. “Were you being nice?”

“No.” Thundersky deadpanned.

Wild Potion crossed his arms and looked at Victor with a look that says he was appraising him. “A humble villain! You see something new every day. I never knew such a thing was even possible.”

The Champion had a joking air about him, but it felt forced. There was a certain tension in the store, and Victor wanted no part of it. Being in the presence of two Champions made him very uncomfortable.

“May I know what this is about? I only just arrive in Glowing Falls.” Victor asked.

“Ah yes, sorry about that but I do need to speak to you. I want you to be one of my captains during this Emergency.”

People had told Victor that he had a stoic face. It came to his aid now. All Victor did at the shocking news was a raised eyebrow. “Sorry. I must have misheard.”

“Nope.” Wild Potion shook his head. “As the leader of the Fraternity of Heroes, Moon Protector will take the lead in this Emergency, and as the Champion of the Alliance, I will need to coordinate our response to the Gap with him.” The Champion stopped, and Victor nodded slowly in response. “Waveman will be taking the lead on the battlefield, as usual, but this is a big Gap, and the operation will probably take several days. We need capable men to help share the load with him. Captains who can lead the men while the leaders are otherwise occupied. I want you to be one of those men.”