Lightning Empress

Battery looked at all the statues around him with a frown. He had never actually gotten to see what was in the Enforcers tower, but he always heard rumors. Statues of all the previous Lords resided. They would magically appear, seemingly out of the blue, once a Lord passed on. It didn't have the very first Lords, the powers themselves, nor did it have any current Lord.His eyes were drawn to one statue, though—one of Cinder."Do you have any idea where the next Lord of the Sun could end up?" Lady Time called back to him. She was already climbing the stairs up to the top floor where the others would be waiting."Why do you think I would know?" Battery asked."Well, you did find the previous Lord." She shrugged before walking up a slope and no longer seeing him.Once he was sure she was out of eye and earshot, he flicked the statue of Cinder, causing it to shatter and crumble to bits. It ticked him off a bit for some reason. He watched it crumble before slowly turning and following up after Lady Time. The stairs looped around the entire tower. It was an old building, maybe as old as the Lords themselves, and even amongst Supers, it was quite odd. Eventually, though, they reached the top, which was almost like night and day. Whereas the Tower was old and formed from crumbling stone, this room was brand new, sleek iron with air conditioning and a large round table that they could all sit at. The others were already there."Oh no! What the hell is he doing here?!" Drake asked, letting out a growl. In Wyvern's seat, Drake had come in her place. His sister hadn't been the same since the Beast fight and had retreated to Boy Genius's base, where she had refused to come out. Drake glared at Battery, fire dripping down his lips."I could ask you the same thing. You're not even an Enforcer." Battery snorted.Drake's eyes went wide, and he stared at the other heroes around him. "Wait? Did you guys actually make this jackass into an Enforcer? Are you all insane? We all practically saw him die! The dude was a severed head! Do you know what happened last time a hero died during the Beast attack? They came back as a Calamity! Legend is still trapped in the city we left him in, growing his army, and you guys are fine with this zombie on your team?""Ocean Empress placed in her will that she'd like for Battery to take her place if anything ever happened to her." The Victorian stated. She had cleaned herself up and wore a fixed suit that Boy Genius gave her, though everyone could tell she was out of it. Her eyes had heavy bags under them, and she was slouched a bit."The Beast always brings a Calamity with it! What if it's him?!" Drake demanded."Then we'll kill him." Mister Man grumbled."Why are you all being so casual about this-""We need the help." Boy Genius cut Drake off. "I understand your concerns. Rest assured; I've already scanned Battery's body. Whatever Legend became, he isn't the same. He's willing to help us, and we can't be picky about who we take on at the moment. He's spent two months fixing up the city. I think if he was a Calamity then he'd have already struck. I should remind you, Drake, you are here on behalf of your sister. Please don't make me kick you out."Drake gritted his teeth and dropped back into his chair. "It just feels wrong... Something isn't right. The Beast always causes something to happen. Why hasn't anything happened this time?""Who's to say it hasn't." Lady Time took a seat at the table and slumped down on her arms. "The Beast once attacked during the war with the Emperor. We didn't have a Calamity-level threat after that because we lost Full Monarch. His death was the Calamity, and the entire world went to shit. We all saw that girl in action. She wasn't just the new Lord of the Sun; she was the next Full Monarch. It's practically a joke how much stronger than us she became in that moment. What's even the point of us..."Battery took his seat at the table and rested his head on his elbow. His eyes slowly scanned all the members. Drake was here in place of Wyvern and kept glaring at him. The Victorian, the world's strongest Super, looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep in the last two months. Mister Man looked cranky and paranoid. He had replaced his lost cowboy hat with a new silver one and now sported bigger guns. Beta looked the same as always and was also silently taking everyone in, recording them with his camera. Fable's eyes were closed, and the man was snoring softly, already unconscious. Boy Genius had turned thirteen recently, though he didn't have time to celebrate it since he had been busy dealing with his prison, and Lady Time looked just as depressed as the Victorian. Finally, that left the three new members.Ocean Empress, Max Lightning, and Old Dog were dead. Those three spots had remained open. It took a while for a slot to be filled as the Enforcers had to get the go-ahead of the Hero Branch, and it typically involved a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Being an Enforcer meant you were now in charge of a full city, had the full funding of the Hero Branch, and ran your own team. Old Dog had run the Watch Dogs, Max Lightning the Clouds, and Ocean Empress had Reservoir.Now, three new members would be taking over.Battery locked eyes with Pretty Face. The pop star idol. That was who Lillian had selected as their new leader. Dean Ward hadn't placed Poseidon onto the Enforcers and instead gave them the singer. The guy who had run away during the Beast fight and locked himself into a vault with the other rich members of Oleander. Pretty Face flinched a bit and looked away as Battery's glare drilled into him. Ultimately, though, it was the person seated next to Pretty Face who truly got Battery's attention.Whenever a disaster happens, new Supers are born out of it. Some people would find that their powers grew and evolved, while others who had been normal humans would suddenly awaken as Supers. Lightning Empress had only been working for two months now, and yet she had already taken the world by storm, doing Max Lightning's duties. She had nearly wiped out all crime in his city.Her hair was long, going all the way down her back, having grown out at an incredible rate. It was white like a cloud. Her eyes were an electric blue, crackling with energy. She didn't wear a mask, but pure lightning dripped around part of her body. Just like Ocean Empress, she was basically naked and was using her powers to cover herself up. The lightning flowed like water, covering her chest and rear, almost like a bikini of sorts. Parts of her skin were also covered in clouds that hugged her body, forming gloves and boots. She didn't seem too bothered by the amount of skin she was showing off, though. In fact, she didn't seem to be all there. Her eyes had a dreamy look in them, and her head nodded back and forth as her eyes stared up at a crown forged out of lightning that wrapped itself around her head.The newest Lord of the Sky and Weather. Lois had ditched the Whisper persona and had seemingly completely changed herself."What are you doing here?" He asked, narrowing his eyes."Hmm?" Lightning Empress slowly stared at him and cocked her head to the side, nearly falling out of her chair."Shouldn't you be with Myth? You're part of team Pantheon.""I left it." The girl giggled."Why?""Does that bother you?" Her head cocked to the other side, and her hair swept back and forth as a calm wind filled the room. "What about it? It's a trash team. Besides, it only has garbage Supers now that the Lord's dead. If I'm going to reach my goal, I'll need real power. Your power." She repeated the exact same thing he had said to the Victorian word for word, almost slapping him in the face with it. "That's how you feel, right? So, you shouldn't be bothered about me being on Pantheon or not, right? That was unless you're worried about Myth..."Battery's energy flickered out, but he quickly got it under control and looked away. "Yeah. I don't care. Just don't slow down my new team, Whisper.""It's Lightning Empress now.""Whatever."Boy Genius cleared his throat, slowly getting the attention in the room back on him. "So that everyone knows, I was the one that asked us all to have this meeting. Not only so we could get to see our new members, but I have some things to discuss. It's mainly to do with the Immortals."The room shifted, and that despair that had been in them grew worse. "What about them?" Mister Man groaned.Beta's head opened up a bit and a hologram gushed out of the cracks, forming across the table. It took shape, turning into the map of a city. Then it changed and flicked to another city and another. Rose, Oleander, Lillian, Daisy, Dandelion, Daffodil, Violet, Gladiolus, Nightshade, Chrysanthemum. These ten places were where the Enforcers ruled. Rose belonged to Victorian, Daisy belonged to Lady Time, Dandelion belonged to Mister Man, Daffodil belonged to Wyvern, and Violet belonged to Fable. Oleander, Lillian, and Gladiolus had been commanded by Old Dog, Ocean Empress, and Max Lightning, but would now fall under the control of Battery, Pretty Face, and Lightning Empress, respectively. Chrysanthemum used to belong to Legend, but it had been removed from the Ten Great Cities list. Finally, that left Nightshade, which wasn't actually a city; it was a prison that Boy Genius and Beta both ran.Slowly, the hologram settled on the image of four cities. Oleander, Lillian, Rose, and Dandelion. "The Immortals are a group of five Supers," Boy Genius explained. "Each one is far stronger than any Super should be able to reach. I believe it's because they all share a power source, which in the past allowed Lucifer to rival the Lords. Now that it's being split five ways, though, he is no longer considered a Calamity level threat. That doesn't mean he isn't strong, though. Every member of the Immortals should be treated as a high-risk villain. I brought us all here to discuss what they call the Murder Games, which will likely be starting soon."The Victorian was the next one to speak. "During the Beast attack, the villain Uriel was able to escape Nightshade." She said slowly. "Nightshade is made to hold villains we can't easily kill. Even chucking Uriel into deep space only ever slowed him down. Normally, it would be impossible to escape Nightshade without a means of teleportation on the level of the Emperor's sword; however, while we were all distracted and busy with the Beast, Uriel was able to slip away. He only ever tries to escape whenever his master calls for him.""The Murder Games are held every few years." Boy Genius flipped through the holograms showing the four cities. "There is a sort of pattern to it. Out of all of our cities, I believe these four are the most likely to be hit.""Does Oleander even still count as a city?" Drake questioned."That's a good question." Boy Genius frowned. No one was able to get ahold of Laps, the head of Oleander's Hero Branch. "At this exact moment, Oleander is mainly in the hands of Ward, the head of Lillian's Hero Branch. Currently, their main focus is on rebuilding the bridge and allowing those stuck in Oleander to get out. They'll have to access Oleander's value, determine how expensive it would be to fix it, and decide if they want to fund it. This is one of the reasons I asked for Battery to come here. Currently, due to the situation of Oleander, it is doubtful you'll be given much funding or a team until it is fully settled. They may decide to scrap Oleander altogether, in which case you'll be asked to be transferred to another much smaller city such as Iris or Poppy. You do know what'll happen if you turn them down on this, right?"Battery didn't say anything and instead kept staring at the image of Oleander on the hologram. It showed off the city before the Beast attack. He had always heard Old Dog loved his city. Looking at it now compared to the state it currently was in he felt he could sort of see the same values that the old hero had."I find it doubtful that Oleander will be attacked and turned into the grounds for the Murder Games, but just in case, we'll treat it the same as the other three." Boy Genius stated. "Lillian, Oleander, Rose, and Dandelion will be our main focus. We'll be posting more heroes there, especially in Lillian, due to its overpopulation problem. I'll be doing rounds as well, using my drones to see if I can detect anything. Lucifer isn't like the Beast, though. It's hard to stop his little games once they do start.""How long do we have to prepare?" Mister Man asked."We can't say." The Victorian said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "It could be in a week or two, or they might take a month to get ready. They'll be a bit busy setting everything up, but once they get started, then that's it.""We'll stop them." Boy Genius clenched his fist and nodded his head. "We won't lose again."There were a few more conversations that were had. Mainly on the state of the Hero Branch, new up-and-coming heroes, or Sub Enforcer teams, though Battery barely paid it any mind not bothering to listen. He had gotten most of the information he needed. He never joined this team to actually be an Enforcer. It was just so he would know when and where a Calamity was going to appear. He planned on stopping them all, after all...If his story didn't end, then he would make it into everyone else's problem.Soon, it was time to leave, and the Enforcers began to depart, all of them exiting the tower. He got a few nasty looks from Drake, but he mainly ignored the kid and instead had his eyes glued onto his former team member. "Did you really quit Pantheon?"Lightning Empress gave a goofy grin, and slowly, the air around her began to twist and change. It formed into a heavy mist, taking the shape of a large cloud which she stepped up onto. "You need a ride back to Oleander, Jackson?"Battery frowned but slowly stepped up onto the cloud. He expected himself to fall through it, but it seemed like Lightning Empress was able to make it into a solid object. His legs sunk into it a bit, and it was almost like standing on a pillow. Slowly, the cloud began to lift off of the ground, and they began to float, going higher and higher. The air got colder, and soon, they were just another cloud in the sky drifting away and leaving Rose City slowly behind.He eyed the girl up and watched as she sat on the edge of her cloud. She allowed her legs to hang off, kicking them back and forth. Whisper had always been a little odd. Out of all his teammates, she was the one he could never read. Lightning Empress, though, was almost like a completely different person. "Who are you?" He asked slowly.The girl laid back on the cloud and stared up at him with her colorful eyes. "Me? I'm the Loudest Thunder." His energy flared up blue and black, swirling together. "Just kidding." She poked her tongue out at him and giggled. "You actually thought I was serious for a moment, didn't you?" She stood up and leaned toward him, her smirk growing. "Would you have fought me if I really was the Loudest Thunder?"Battery stepped away, his aura not fading as he narrowed his eyes. "Maybe... Are you really Lois?""Yeah." The girl looked up at the sky above feeling her energy crackle out just like Battery's. "I changed, didn't I? When my father died, it all sort of clicked. My existence. It was for this moment, wasn't it? I became a Lord. This power must be how all of you felt. I always felt so useless being so weak, yet now..." She stared down at her hand, and for a moment, her smile faded. "It's so scary. I feel like I'm going to explode any second now. I hear it. Constantly whispering to me. It won't shut up." She winced and grabbed at her head. "Over and over, it talks. Is this what drove Wish mad? Is this what Hope had to put up with? The Loudest Thunder just won't get out of my head. He keeps feeding me his power. He wants me to get stronger, but this is... I don't know. I feel like I'm too strong now-"Battery slapped her across the face. She felt her cheek sting a bit, and her eyes slowly settled back on him. She rubbed the spot he hit her and pouted a bit."What was that for?""If you want the Loudest Thunder to shut up, turn your Lord form off," Battery grumbled. Being in your Battle mode is likely why you're having so many issues getting it all under control.""I can't.""Why not?""Because if I turn it off, I'll be naked." The girl said sheepishly poking out her tongue at him when she saw he recoiled a bit."Why didn't you bring any other clothes?" He demanded."They kept getting burned away by the lightning?' She shrugged. "I really looked up to Ocean Empress, so I thought copying her style would be cool, but I didn't realize how embarrassing it would be." She went back to sitting down and dangled her legs off of the cloud once more. "It's seriously weird, though. I blacked out, and when I woke up, I felt like I was a God.""They aren't Gods. They're just assholes that haven't stayed dead.""You always know more than you should, don't you?" Lightning Empress hummed and looked back at him. "How are you alive anyway? And what's up with these voices?"Battery sighed and slowly sat down next to her. He looked down at the city below as they floated over it slowly. People kept carrying on their lives. "Honestly, I really don't know much. I'm not lying, either. Most of the information I gathered was newly discovered or things I put together slowly. For example, I didn't think any of you Lords would ever have to be worried about the Ego inside of you taking you over.""The Ego?""It's sort of a soul." He explained. "Supers sort of have two souls, I guess you could say. For most, that soul is simply a mirrored version of themselves. Their true power is who they are. For Lords, though, they can have more than two. This is because they have not only their soul and their powers soul but the soul of the Lord's power that exists within them. At first, I thought it was just something that had to do with Full Monarch. I didn't know if it was actually a trait all Lords shared until the attack with the Beast. It was also a trait I didn't know that I had.""So, you do hear the voice? I'm guessing that's how you came back from the dead?""It's my second time.""What?" You mean you've died once before?"Battery nodded slowly. "The very first time I died, I heard a voice. Something deep within stirred my very soul. I now know what it is. My Ego was talking back to me. Or rather, 'it' was talking to me. Just like the Lords, my power isn't a mirrored version of myself. Other Supers don't have to worry about the voices, and since this didn't all start until Full Monarch, almost no one knows about it. I guess you can say that I am what's called a Ruler.""Like an evil Lord?""Yeah.""So, are you evil? Are you even Jack?""I don't know.""Huh!"He grabbed at his head a bit, wincing. "It won't let us die. I don't know how many there are. Maybe there are only four Rulers, or maybe there are a lot more. I honestly can't say. What I do know is we're cursed. It wants to come back. It wants its body back. So, it forces us to live. Whenever a Ruler dies, we are revived from death, but it takes away our minds. I thought it was a one-time thing. I thought I was lucky. That Full Monarch saved me, and I escaped it. How foolish I was. This thing would never let go of me. Its claws are wrapped around my soul—bit by bit. I felt my memories shatter and vanish. It broke part of me. Part of my soul. My Ego. Replaced with a tainted horror. I'm sure that when I die, more will be taken. It'll bring me back, but I won't actually be me. My body will belong to it. Just like what happened to Legend, just like what happened to Lucifer, and just like what happened to my dad. That's my fate. My story."Lightning Empress gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "I won't let something like that happen. You're a member of team Pantheon, and you're the same as me. You're still you, right? You were pretty good at avoiding death up to this point, so just don't die."He slumped down a bit and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I'll just keep living." He knew that was a fool's errand, though. How much of himself had already been corroded and broken down? The others wouldn't let him sit on the sidelines. It was only a matter of time before he had to face his father again. "So why did you leave Myth? At a time like this, he'd need someone like you."The girl gave a cheeky smile and winked. "He asked me to come spy on you.""Hmm?""He's been embarrassed and scared to face you himself, so he asked me to join the Enforcers so I could make sure you don't do anything stupid." She punched out, hitting his shoulder. "I told you. We're both part of Pantheon, got that? So don't hesitate to ask me for help."He turned away and watched more of the clouds go by. "You seem like your old self now. Guess talking helped.""Same to you. If you ever feel like someone is planning on taking you over, just call out to your good friend, Lois!" she announced. "I just turned twenty recently, so I'm a full-fledged adult now, you know!"Silence hung in the air around them as they awkwardly sat there. "River talked about you sometimes." He said slowly."She did?" Lightning Empress shot a wide-eyed look at him. "I knew the two of you were hooking up!""We never hooked up." He snorted. "We didn't even get to kiss." He felt a small smile come onto his lips. "I was happy for a bit, though. Now, I just feel like a jerk. Like I was using her, it felt almost like I was replacing my wife with her. I think the same was true for her. She didn't actually like me. I think she just wanted to use me to replace her husband.""I don't think that's the case." Lightning Empress said, shaking her head. "I think she liked you. I think you liked her. Being an adult can suck sometimes, though, right. For example," She stood up and slowly whacked Battery upside the head."Ow! What the hell was that for? He winced, grabbing his head. "Damn, you've really gotten stronger! That actually hurt a lot!"Lightning Empress pointed down at him. "I know for a fact she asked you to do something. I'm glad you reminded me about Ocean Empress. She was the one that practically raised me, you know. That's why, as your friend and an honorary daughter of hers, I have no choice but to smack you. Have you ever tried to talk to Lily and Sky? I bet they're feeling just as bad as you! You have a duty to speak to them and make sure they're okay, you know! I get you're beating yourself up after what happened to Hope and Armin, but this isn't the time for you to be sitting on your ass, slowly rebuilding the streets of your city as if that will fix all your mistakes. If you really are Jack Larison, if you really are Battery, then stand up!"Battery slowly stood up to his feet, wobbling a bit as he rubbed the spot she had hit. "You can be really annoying sometimes, Whisper.""It's Lightning Empress!""Whatever." He turned away as the cloud finally reached Oleander. "Take care of yourself." He stepped off of the cloud and began to fall down to the city below."Sure!" She waved at him as her cloud drifted away slowly. She looked out at Oleander and couldn't help but wince a bit at seeing the state it was in. She saw a lot of things now, more than she normally could. Oleander had so many Paths it could take. In some, it stayed in a ruined state; in others, it got even worse. Though in some, it began to look beautiful once more. His efforts didn't go to waste. She liked that one the most. "Take care, Jack." She turned away as her cloud began to head back to her new city that she protected. She saw so many things, yet it was one that really stood out. "Soon, it'll happen." She said slowly. She didn't know if he could hear her or not, but she kept speaking. "Soon, the hero that goes by Paragon will run into someone named Cinder. Good luck."Battery landed on his building, cracking the roof a bit. His sudden entrance caused Purrfect to jump a bit. She got into a battle stance but calmed down when she saw it was just Battery. "Oh, Teacher! For a moment, you had me worried. Nothing happened while you were gone-""Purrfect, I have a job for you.""What is it!" The girl asked excitedly."Are you good at finding people?""Yeah. Not as good as Pawrpose. He's a dog-themed Super with a great sense of smell. I'm pretty good, though. Why? Need me to find some bad guys to beat up?" She grinned, growing her razor-sharp claws out."I need you to find a hero.""Oh? Some hero stepping up on your turf and you wanna teach them a lesson? I get'cha. How badly you want me to beat em, boss?""That's not... You're a little too into this, aren't you?" He sighed. "Paragon. I want you to find the hero Paragon. Bring her to me."