Chapter 3

The Guardian of High Tier looked like your comic book Superhero; He wore a yellow hooded jacket, gloves, and jeans that looked too tight for William's liking. His symbol - a white shield inside a circle - was sewed on the front side of his jacket. The designed, it seems, was meant to be flaunted. The Guardian wanted to be seen. To be known.

"The Time Witch." He said. His voice sounded younger than what William had expected. Early twenties?

"The Guardian of High Tier." Claudia said. "It's a pleasure to meet the topic of recent news. You've left quite a mark by taking down two Royals and making it look easy. Or so I've heard."

The three of them were standing on roof of the agreed on building illuminated by moonlight from above and street lamps from below. Though the building wasn't that high, it was still high enough to be windy.

William stood next to Claudia, staying silent like she had asked. 

The Guardian shrugged. "Most Royals are too full of themselves to realize how weak they really are. But enough about me." He looked Claudia over. "Your exploits are far greater. How did you manage to remain active for this long? or did you had help?" He looked towards William as he said this. Though there was something else in his tone William couldn't quite place. It felt like he was accusing Claudia of something.

Though all superheroes had gotten caught before their second year of activity, Claudia had been the one exception. William knew how she had done it; By making her appearance in all city districts - Lowtown and High Tier included - which made it difficult for the Royals to pin point where she was from. But it was mostly due to the fact that she kept her hero work below the bare minimum, appearing a handful of times a year. Not giving the Royals enough to grab a lead on her. Though her methods yielded little result in what superheroes were supposed to do, it was also the safest way to go about it.

"Spectre," Claudia said, then she motioned at William. "And he doesn't have an ability." 

The Guardian seemed skeptical, but shrugged and said nothing.

Claudia continued. "Look, with Spectre's help we can do this superhero thing for longer. Keep the Royals in check. Maintain a semblance of peace in the city. We work for the betterment of New Miami's common folk. And with superheroes on our side we can-"

"I'm not interested in working for an organization. I don't like to be told what to do."

A fair point, William thought. Though the organization's ultimate goal was admirable, sometimes their methods were questionable.

"You'll be working with us, nor for us." Claudia clarified.

The Guardian was silent for a moment, then asked; "What's Spectre's goal? Or are you just peacekeepers?"

"We want the same thing that every other rebel group wants." Claudia said. "To take down the Royals' seat of power."

"A worthy dream, I suppose." He said, half laughing.

"Is it really a dream if we already managed to learn the identity of the Lord Ruler?"

"You lie." 

Even William was taken aback by what Claudia had just said. He never knew his sister to be a liar. Still, how did Spectre managed the impossible? No one but a select few, chosen by the Lord Ruler himself, knew who the man behind it all was. Or was Claudia lying in an attempt to sway the Guardian's decision?

"I'm not," She said. "And if you join us-join our cause. We'll tell you. You are part of our plan to overthrow him."

The Guardian laughed. "Ha. So not only do you know who the great Lord Ruler is, but you have a plan to take him down. Hahaha."

William looked to his sister, though he could not see her entire face due to the face-mask, her eyes looked serious enough. Did she really have a plan? Since when?

"Not me." She said. "Spectre. And it's a work in process, sure,  but we do have one." She shrugged. "But if you don't believe me, I suppose that's fair. You'll find out if you join us. So... are you interested?"

The Guardian looked her over, trying to find a hint that showed she wasn't serious. She clearly was. He rubbed his chin, no doubt considering, or at least giving it a second thought. 

Thud!

"Did you hear that?" He said, looking around. Alert.

Thud.

"It sounds like... wings?" Claudia said.

Thud.

"There!" William spotted it first; A massive bird resembling a large phoenix, only it burned with the golden hue of Aura. Corporeal in form, it rose from behind the building. Thud. Each flapping of its wings blowing small gusts of cold wind. 

Standing on it's back stood two figures dressed in black, a golden bracelet shining in their right arms. Royals. And Elites, by the fact that no regular Royal would dare openly confront a superhero by their own choosing.

Not good, William thought. Their Auras were just as large as his sister's. 

"You set me up!" The Guardian pointed at Claudia, accusingly. "Tsk. I knew it sounded too good to be true. Fuck. And I almost believed you too."

"What?!" She shook her head. "No! I don't know how they found out about our meeting but it wasn't-"

"Shut up!" The Guardian snapped. "I guess the rumors about the Time Witch were true. You do work for them." He pointed. "For the Royals."

"No! Listen. I don't-"

One of the Royals jumped off from the great bird, his body erupting with electricity in mid air, like a plasma ball being turned on. He was aiming for the Guardian.

The Guardian's Aura flared to life - William took note of that - and a golden barrier materialized an instant later. It covered the superhero much like the dome covered New Miami.

The Royal threw a downward punch as he landed, hitting the barrier with a fisted blow. Bolts of lightning exploded in all direction. The Guardian's barrier cracked a little, but it held.

William was about to go help when Claudia caught him by the shoulder. "Don't."

"Why?"

"He can handle a single Elite." She said. "You can't risk revealing your ability, especially not tonight. Go and hide, I'll handle the other one." She turned her attention to the other Royal, the one still atop the Aura phoenix. "I should be able to handle one myself." 

William nodded and hid behind the roof house, keeping an eye out in case she needed help. She was right though, one Elite shouldn't pose much of  a threat for her.

The Royal - which William now realized was the one who had conjured the Aura phoenix - jumped off and landed with a loud crunch beside Claudia.

"Hello there, Time Witch." He said that in a condescending tone. "You have eluded us for far too long."

"How did you find me?" Claudia asked.

It was too dark to see, but William knew the Royal had to be smiling. "It's our little secret." The man said, then raised a hand forward. A fist-sized version of the large Aura phoenix materialized on it. "The Lady has been looking for you for a long while now. She want's a word."

"Lady?"

The Royal waved his hand. The fist-sized Aura phoenix flew at Claudia. She slapped it away like one would a wasp. Upon contact though, it exploded. It was a small explosion, but severe enough to burn her arm. A second later, the injury healed. No, not healed in the sense of the word. She used her ability to rewind time for her arm, returning it to an earlier state right before the explosion, where the wound didn't exist.

"That's quite the ability you've got, miss witch." The Royal said. "I'm sure the Lady will find a good use for it."

"Who is this Lady?" Claudia asked.

"Now.." The Royal said, ignoring her question. He began to conjure two more animals made of golden Aura. These resembled panthers. "You can either come with me peacefully. Or we can have some fun before I take you to Imperium. Choose." 

William was beginning to understand how the man's ability worked. It was similar to Orion's, who was able to conjure objects instead of animals. It also explained why their Auras were similar, though they weren't related in any way. Their abilities were just similar in concept.

Claudia answered by charging at the Royal with inhuman speed - using her Time Manipulation to increase time for herself - going for a punch straight to his face.

The Royal dodged just as quick and returned a kick to her stomach. Claudia stumbled backwards. Before she could fully recover her balance, both panthers pounced at her. She dodged one by side-stepping it but the other one sunk it's claws into her chest. The explosion that followed destroyed the roof beneath her, leaving a hole where she stood. She fell down through it.

"AHHH!!!" 

A scream erupted from the apartment below. It was a woman's voice, though not Claudia's.

That was surely to awake the neighbors, William thought. After quick consideration, he jumped out of hiding to attack. The Royal noticed and waved his hand. The remaining Aura panther leaped. William was able to bring his hands up for cover just in time. The Aura panther exploded in a burst of Aura, the roof beneath him cracked but it did not break. The pain that followed was a lot more than he'd expected. Like his arms had been seared by a fireball. The force of the explosion threw him backwards a couple of steps. He landed on his back, but not before managing to rewind time on himself and heal his arms. The pain disappeared instantly, like it never happened.

The Royal looked over to him. "What's this? Was that Time Manipulation? Then..." He looked over at the hole in the roof, where Claudia's had fallen. "The Time Witch is your twin sister. I didn't know she had a twin. Even better. Lady will love to hear of this." 

It was uncommon two exact abilities to exist simultaneously, but where it concerns bloodline, that rule was more a guideline than a rule.

The Royal walked over to William and raised a hand. A third Aura panther materialized beside him. "I make the same offer I did to her. Surrender, or fight me. Though know that if you choose the latter, you won't like the results."

"And what would that result be?" Claudia said. She had climbed out when they weren't looking. "If that were enough to take me out, I'd never be able to call myself a superhero."

"Watch out!" William yelled, noticing a snake made of Aura slithering behind her. When had the Royal conjured it?

Claudia's reaction wasn't quick enough. The snake caught her off guard, coiling up her body and tightening. It did not explode like the others. So he's able to control the explosions, William thought.

The Royal waved a hand and the massive Aura phoenix  swooped over, wings flapping like a drum, and grabbed Claudia with its talons, snake and all. It flew upward and hovered there, waiting.

"Run!" Claudia yelled at William. "Do no not fight them! Please!"

"Aww..." The Royal said. "Your sister wants you to run. See, she knows you can't beat me."

William cursed. What choice did he have? Running wasn't an option, and the Royal was half right. William couldn't beat him with just Claudia's ability. Could he?

"Surrender." The Royal repeated. "Come with me and she wont be harmed."

William considered what to do. Fight or flee?

"Oi, Wren." The other Royal, the one who had engaged the Guardian earlier, returned. "What're you doing? We have what we came for, let's go."

The Royal, Wren, looked at his companion. "Where's the Guardian?"

"Refused to take me on and fled."

"And you let him?"

The Royal shrugged. "Why bother? Our mission is to capture the Time Witch." He looked up at the Aura phoenix, at Claudia caught between its talons, enwrapped by the Aura snake. She was still struggling to break free, unsuccessfully.  "And it seems to me you've taken care of that."

While the Royals talked, William was considering what to do. Maybe if he were to copy one of their abilities... He would bolster his Aura and it's potency enough to overpower them. So long as he doesn't use their abilities, maybe... Maybe the enhancing effects of Aura would be enough. 

Enough to take one of them down, but now there are two of them. Shit.

"Anyways, we can't let this one go." Wren said, motioning at William. "He's the Time Witch's twin."

Wren's companion was silent for a moment, thoughtful. "Oh? Now that I think on it... Remember the fight at Garden? If memory serves, there was a rumor of a mysterious man who was also able to use Time Manipulation. Maybe this's the guy."

They are talking about the incident from two years ago, William realized. He thought the Royal's had forgotten that.

"AAAARRGHH!!!"

William and the Royals looked up towards the source of the scream. Claudia had broken free! She was falling with increasing speed. Taking advantage of the confusion, she landed a blow on Wren.  Crack. The Royal was sent tumbling over the edge and off the build.

"No choice now." Claudia said. "I leave this one to you." She jumped after the Royal. The sound of another explosion followed a second later.

"Well." The Royal with the electric powers looked at William. "If she is your sister, then you must at least be as strong as her. And I've been meaning to test my abilities against the Time Witch since her fight at Garden. How about it?" 

William was out of options it seemed. Fighting was the only way out of this. This wasn't like most other occasion, where the Royals would beat him and then leave. These Royals were here to capture his sister. And William wasn't going to let that happen.

The Royal charged at him. William braced himself. The Royal tackled him, lightning bolts stinging his flesh. The force of the impact sent them both flying over the edge. The fell down the building, throwing punches at each other while in mid air.

They smashed through the roof of the neighboring house a second late - crunch - breaking the furniture around them. William had to rewind time on himself to heal some of his fractured bones. It took a large portion of his Aura to do so.

Where... The area was dark around them, but it looked like they were in a living room. 

The lights suddenly switched on. 

"Who-?" The owner of the house stood paralyzed beside the light switch. He looked at William and the Royal with both shock and fear. There was also a bit of worry in his eyes. His wife appeared behind him to check what had happened, but he quickly apologized before waking up their sons and running out of the house. The best decision one could make in such situation, lest they get inadvertently hurt.

"Now that we've got the house for ourselves," The Royal said, dusting himself off. "How about we have some fun." 

William tried his best. He was a decent fighter in hand to hand combat. He had been training with his sister since they were fifteen, learning how to fight with and without their abilities. And though that training was enough to best most Royals, the Elites were a different matter altogether.

William blocked a blow to his face, feeling the stinging sensation of lightning against flesh. The Royal fought with speed that rivaled Claudia's. His movement were lightning fast, his punches like lightning bolts. No matter what William tried, the Royal was just stronger, faster, and better trained. 

William found himself using Time Manipulation for defense more often than he'd like. Fixing a broken arm here, or a leg there, when he should've been focusing on increasing his strength and speed. He wasn't going to win the way he currently was. His Aura wasn't potent enough. It wasn't large enough.

"Come on!" The Royal said, kicking him hard in the chest - breaking a rib or two with a crack - and sending  him flying through a wall  that led to a bedroom. The bed under him was lay in wooden pieces, just like the table that had ben placed beside the wall he crashed through. 

"Is this all the Time Witch's brother can do?" The Royal said from the living room. "Pathetic. I expected better."

William felt worry then, for the first time since the Garden incident. If he was having trouble with this Elite, then what about his sister? Shit. He knew the consequences. But losing tonight was not an option. 

He dusted himself off and crossed over to the living room through the hole in the wall. The Royal was there, waiting. Smiling. Condescending. It pissed William off.

"Your companion mentioned someone named Lady who wanted Time Witch captured." William said. "Who is this Lady? And why did she sent you to capture my sister?"

"You're going to have to beat that information out of me."

William took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Alright then." He tapped into his ability, transforming and changing a portion of his Aura to match that of the Royal's. With his sister's addended to the mix he now had three types of Auras cursing through his body; Claudia's, the Royal's, and his own. They all merged and melded to create a new and unrecorded type of Aura. One that allowed him access to two abilities instead of the usual one. His Aura further enhanced his strength, speed, and endurance. His senses were sharper then ever. Power swelled within him.

"What's this? " The Royal seemed to have noticed the change because he looked surprised.

William couldn't hold back a smile under his scarf. It had been a long time since he'd felt this power. Since he felt this superior over a Royal. As a flexing maneuver, he released a wave of electricity from his body. Bolts of lightning spread out from him, striking what little was left of the furniture around him; A lamp, the ceiling fan, an unfortunately placed aquarium near the wall, which cracked and shattered, water and fish spilling onto the floor. The T.V burst in an explosion of spark.

The Royal eyes grew wide in shock. "Impossible..."

"You know, I don't really need you tell me." William told him. "I can get the information from your buddy after I beat the shit out of you."

And William did just that. With fist imbued with electricity, and the speed granted by Time Manipulation, he unleashed a barrage of lightning quick blows. The Royal couldn't keep up, his blocks too slow to prevent the damage. William was just too fast. Too relentless. Blow after blow. William punched the Royal everywhere; Face, stomach, arm, leg, ribs, and even his back. 

The exchanged happened in mere seconds.

The Royal fell on his knees, a broken arm dangled by his side. His face bloodied and bruised. Patches of his suit half burned from the lightning. William hadn't had won that fight, he'd dominated it.

William turned to leave, to help his sister, but memories flooded in. He suddenly remembered all those time the Royal had beat him, back when he couldn't risk using his ability. Back when he was essentially defenseless. He also remembered what had happened at the Calming Clam. How those Royal treated that boyfriend guy.

No. Not done yet. William kicked the Royal hard in the chest. Crack. The man cough blood, no doubt from broken ribs, as he went flying through two set of walls and out into the streets.

William heard a woman's scream come from outside, followed by a car alarm.

***

Claudia had seen William and the Royal fall from the building. Saw them crash into the house. Her worries manifested then. Worry that William will be forced to use his ability. That he will be discovered for the anomaly he is.

"Your attention is misplaced, witch." The Royal, her opponent, said. "Though your brother will lose the fight, rest assured, the beating wont be too severe. Elek and I have orders from our Lady to go easy on you. She would have him be in decent shape for a chat. Just like she needs you to be agreeable. So I repeat, surrender and come peacefully. I don't much enjoy violence myself."

Claudia looked at the Royal. The Aura rhinoceros he had conjured earlier stood between him and her. The streets were barren, illuminated by streets lamps. Not a single car had passed since they'd started fighting. Not that there would be anyone driving the late at night. Least not in this city.

"I've never heard a Royal make that offer to anyone before." Claudia said.

"Name's Wren," The Royal said. "And I ain't like other Royals. Now, will you come peacefully or are you going to force violence?"

"Who's Lady?" Claudia asked him again. And why is she interested in me? She thought, though kept it to herself. She'll have to figure that out later.

"You'll be meeting her soon." Wren said. "You can ask her then."

Claudia looked over towards the house William had fallen into. The owner and his family had just ran out, no doubt to avoid the conflict inside. A number of onlookers from nearby houses were also stepping out to see the commotion. They kept a safe distance as they pulled out their phones and cameras. They going to record this, Claudia thought, and turn in the videos for a reward at Imperium. Damn. This was going to be in the news. And that was very bad news.

"Your worries are misplaced!" Wren repeated, though this time his tone was angry. He waved a hand and the Aura rhinoceros charged.

"Shit." Claudia had no choice, she mustered as much Aura as she could, feeling it cursing through her veins. "Screw dodging." 

She threw a punch right to the rhinoceros head. 

BANG!

The explosion that followed was much bigger than the one she suffered through earlier. She was forced to rewind time on her whole body, though she felt the pain if only for an instant. When she looked around, she found herself standing in crater.

No time for hesitation. She increased time on herself, tripling her speed, and charged at the Royal. She wanted to end this fight quick and go help William.

Wren took on a fighting pose. He was a good fighter, it was clear he had training, but his speed was lacking. Claudia landed blow after blow, blocking when necessary. She could beat him! She could-

CRASH!

The sound came from the house William was fighting in. Both Claudia and Wren paused. The Royal named Elek brust out through the wall and crash into a car parked on the other side of the street. Its alarm started beeping.

"What...?" Wren said, watching. "Elek!"

Claudia noticed that Elek was bloodied and bruised, looking like he just had just been beaten to a pulp. The poor man lay unconscious and dying on the street. Then she saw William, coming out of the house through the hole he just made. There was an air about him. Claudia had seen this before, two years ago. In the Garden incident. He had taken on three abilities at that time, and the power he emitted was staggering.

***

William saw the Royal's companion, the one named Wren, rush over. Tsk. As if they care for each other. Royals were selfish assholes.

Wren looked up at William. "How? Where's the Guardian of High Tier?"

It took William a moment to understand, then he laugh. "Wait, you actually think I had help beating that fucker?"

"You're just a low level-"

William shut him up by engulfing himself in electricity. Bolts of lightning snapping out at his surrounding.

"That's Elek's power... How?" Wren looked down at his companion then back at William. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Once I make you pay for what you did to him, I'll get my answers." He waved a hand and the massive Aura phoenix, which was perched on top of the building, took to the skies, ready to launch.

William smiled under his scarf. He copied Wren's Aura, adding it to his own. There abilities now dwelled within him. William felt the expected result, an even greater increase of his endurance. Power he hadn't felt in a long while. It felt good.

"Let's see witch of our birds is stronger. "William said to Wren. "Yours or mine."

"What?"

William tapped into Wren's ability. Into his Aura cursing through him. He then raised both his hands up and began conjuring a large Aura phoenix of his own, a mirror version of the Royal's. Now what if... He then fused the Aura phoenix with electricity. Lightning sprung from the creature.

"That's my... How are you doing that?" Wren said.

William commanded his Aura phoenix to clash against Wren's, far up in the sky. 

The explosion that followed emitted a massive flash of blinding light of golden hue. It was for an instant, like a lightning strike, but in that instant the whole neighborhood became clear as day. 

Wren froze. Fear clear in his face. William liked that look on Royals. He raised a fist for a one hit K.O but a hand grabbed his arm from behind.

"No need." It was Claudia. "We've won this night. And besides, we need him conscious."

William brought his hand down, nodding, and backed away. His sister wasn't filled with the same amount anger and hatred for the Royals that he had.

"This Lady," She said to Wren. "Give me a way to reach her, and quick. Your friend needs a  hospital."

Wren took a moment, then nodded. He reached a shaking hand to his pocket and pulled out a small white card with a number on it. "C-call this number and wait. If she wishes to talk, she'll contact you."

Claudia took the card from his hand, said thanks, then turned back to William. "We're done for tonight. Let's go."

"What about..." William motioned towards the onlookers. They had no doubt recorded all of it.

Claudia shrugged. "Nothing to do about that. Just be ready to see yourself in the news tomorrow. Hopefully they give you a good superhero name."