Orlando

An empty plain several miles outside of Orlando. Ed and Bolin stood in front of the 200 superhuman and 200 chimera soldiers. Tao scurried out from the chimeras and climbed up Ed's back, choosing to rest on his shoulder. Ochre, Ash, and Eli stood in front of the soldiers, awaiting their orders.

Ed folded his hands behind his back and looked towards his loyal creations. "Listen up!" He yelled. "There are at least 200 espers in Orlando that will fight against us. That's in addition to the 100,000 ordinary soldiers stationed here. There are only 400 of you. Worst of all, the mayor of this city has telepathic powers. He'll know the second the invasion starts and instantly communicate orders to his various officers. If we allow him to do so, then we've lost before the battle's even begun. Fortunately, we have a plan." He stepped back and looked towards Bolin.

"Ahem." Bolin coughed into his hand. "I'm unable to transport the superhumans due to the manullium in your bodies. However, I have no problem transporting the chimeras. I'll be taking us straight into the Mayor's office. From there, it'll be up to you to quickly kill the mayor and his highest officers. Once the mayor is dead, their chain of command will be broken, ensuring an easy victory. Meanwhile, the superhumans will invade by flying over the city walls."

"What will Forge be doing?" Ash interrupted.

Ed smiled. "I'll naturally be storming the fort with the chimeras. This city is the most likely location for peace negotiations at the end of the war. It's absolutely essential to my future plan. Now, let's begin!"

"Sir!" The soldiers saluted.

Bolin began to create a black portal, but suddenly frowned. "No good. They have some type of barrier setup outside the mayor's office. If it's a barrier esper, then it's only a matter of time before Mayor Mick is warned of the intrusion attempt."

Ed furrowed his brows. "We don't have time for this. Send us directly above the barrier. We'll come in from above."

"From above?!" Bolin questioned in shock. "You don't have parachutes. Do you want to die?"

"We'll be fine!" He replied as scales began appearing all over his body. The chimeras behind him followed suit, giving their army a very diverse range of colors.

"Fine." Bolin nodded while creating a large black portal. "Good luck."

"CHARGE!!!" Ash and Ochre screamed as they ran forward, being the first two to enter the portal. Ed was right behind them, followed by the rest of the chimeras.

Eli looked towards his fellow superhumans. "Remember, stick with your squads. Don't enter one on one combat unless you have no choice. We're heading for the city walls. Let's go!" He waved his arm as blasts of flame shot from his feet. The other superhumans quickly followed behind him. The massive jettison of fire from the battalion appeared like a meteor in the sky.

...

Orlando Mayor's office. A black portal appeared in the sky. Citizens on the ground stared and pointed at it as they discussed what was happening. Suddenly, two men of varying heights fell from the portal. One was covered in yellow scales and the other red scales. Then another man appeared, covered in 7-colored scales. After that, a continual stream of scaled men fell from the sky.

Ed concentrated on the mayor's office as he fell, the wind whistling past his ears. The ground appeared to grow bigger as he quickly fell. He pointed his knee towards the ground. THUD! Suddenly, he stopped in midair. His knee had slammed into a translucent barrier that shone with a blue light.

'A water-type barrier? That's going to be a pain in the ass.' He sighed. Most barriers could be brute-forced relatively easy. However, water barriers were irritating in general, for it was flexible and soft. If pressure was placed on any one point of a water barrier, then the rest of the barrier would strengthen it by spreading the pressure out.

A series of thudding sounds rang out as more and more chimeras landed on the barrier. One particular chimera landed poorly, causing his ankle to snap. His eyes turned red from rage as claws and a tail appeared on his body. His ankle quickly began to heal, soon returning back to normal. He clawed downwards towards the barrier in rage.

'Huh?!' Ed's eyes widened in surprise. 'Chimeras at the 80 percent level have healing powers? I never noticed before, since I always healed all the injuries when I sparred with the chimeras. This is an unexpected benefit. Looks like chimeras at the 50 percent level don't have these powers though, otherwise, the scar on my face would have healed on its own.'

He shook himself out of his thoughts. Now was not the time or place for it. He glanced at Tao, who instantly understood. It lazily glanced towards the raging soldier and released a low growl. The soldier's eyes returned to normal as he regained his sanity.

The chimeras quickly gathered together under Ochre's and Ash's orders. They acted like one entity as they clawed down towards the barrier beneath their feet.

'This is taking too long.' Ed frowned. They didn't have time to waste. The mayor likely already knew of their arrival by now. He pointed both arms down towards the barrier. His mana poured into the light, fire, and wind mana-batteries. Incredibly hot flames appeared in his hands. They were nearly invisible to the naked eye. The only reason they were visible was because the radiating heat pushed against the surrounding atmosphere, creating a vague outline of the flames.

He pushed the flames down against the barrier. Steam whistled from the barrier as the flames boiled the water. The steam created a fog that helped conceal the chimeras, though it hardly mattered in the current situation. If anything, the massive amount of fog was more noticeable than when they were just standing in midair atop the barrier.

'Faster!' Ed clenched his teeth as he poured more mana into the batteries. The flames easily eliminated the water, but more flowed into place to replace it. However, the barrier as a whole was slowly growing thinner. The stronger chimeras' claws were easily breaking through the barrier. Even the weaker chimeras' hands were starting to barely break through. 15 seconds passed, and a popping sound rang out. The chimeras fell through a newly created hole. The remaining water of the barrier fell from the skies, drenching the building and chimeras.

The mayor's building was big enough to take up several football fields. It would be more accurate to describe it as a palace. The various chimeras landed near the center of the building. "GO!" Ochre yelled as a tail appeared behind his back. It slammed against the roof of the building, causing a hole to appear. There was no hesitation as he dived through it, eager to prove his valor in the upcoming battle. Ed and the others quickly followed him inside.

...

Just as Ed and the others broke through the barrier, Eli and the superhumans reached the city walls. As soon as they flew past the walls, sirens began blaring through the entire city. The citizens on the streets panicked, as the sirens were only used during emergencies. At best it was a mutant flood, and at worst it was a nightmare attack. The thought of an invasion didn't even occur to them, for it had been decades since any wars on Florida soil. The last battle in Florida had taken place just a few years into the Mana Apocalypse, as America was one of the first countries to manage restoring order. The citizens were unfamiliar with war in general.

There were plenty of soldiers stationed on the city walls and near them. However, their bullets couldn't reach the superhumans in the air. Even if they did reach, then the bullets would either be melted or just break skin and hit their metal skeletons.

Eli looked back towards his men. "Don't kill the ordinary soldiers. We're to focus on killing the espers."

"But Captain!" One of the soldiers protested. "It'll be easier to fight if we spread the flames everywhere! So what if some of their ordinary soldiers die as a result?"

Eli frowned and questioned the soldier. "What is the mission of Harmony?"

"To make humans and espers true equals!" The soldier replied proudly.

"Right." Eli nodded. "Now, how can we do that if we drag the ordinary soldiers into our fight? They'll resent Harmony and everything it stands for."

"I disagree." Another soldier interrupted. "If we want them to be equal, then we should treat them equal. There are no qualms when an ordinary soldier manages to kill a noble or king on the battlefield. The opposite should hold equally true. Besides, we're not actually espers. We should just-"

"Enough!" Eli yelled, his face turning red from anger. "Am I the captain, or are you? I was put in charge here! If you have complaints, then tell Forge after the war."

Just as they finished arguing, smoky tendrils snaked up from the ground. Hundreds of them shot towards the flying superhumans.

"Split up into your squads!" Eli ordered. "Remember, stick together."

The 200 superhumans split into 20 squads of 10 and flew in different directions. Eli's group headed for the esper that had just attacked them.

The assailant was a man wearing a dark robe. Smoke covered his entire body. Eli and his 9 squad mates shot streams of flames towards the man. Smoke branched out and hit the flames, surprisingly managing to eliminate them completely.

"He's suffocating the fire. Use wind instead!" Eli ordered. The fire shooting from each of the superhumans hands quickly vanished, only to be replaced by green wind. The smoke was blown away, revealing the dark-robed man. Cuts appeared all over his body and robe, causing blood to spray out. It was only a matter of seconds before he died.

"Good job." Eli smiled and looked around. 'Fuck!' His eyes widened in shock. Ice, earth, lightning, and other elemental attacks were flying all over the city. His men were fighting everywhere, causing the flames to spread to nearby buildings. He grimaced as he watched the city catch fire. 'My home.' Tears appeared in his eyes, but he quickly recovered. He clenched his hand as he stared at it. 'I've chosen my path. Others will suffer for my selfishness, but I believe that it'll create a better future for America.'

"Move out!" He yelled as the squad moved to assist their comrades. He was no longer conservative in his fighting, washing their surroundings in flames. Citizens screamed for help as they tried hiding and escaping the fires. Fortunately, Orlando had plenty of lakes all over the city. Most citizens would be fine if they managed to make it to them. They could also head for the shelters used during nightmare attacks.

...

The Mayor's building. The chimeras split up as soon as they entered. The sounds of battle echoed everywhere. Soldiers fired bullets, but they ricocheted off the chimeras' scales. Walls were destroyed as the chimeras raged. Most were beginning to lose their sanity.

Ed ignored the raging chimeras and traveled towards the Mayor's office. Ochre and Ash followed behind him, eager for a fight.

Two guards stood outside the mayor's office. A large muscular man, and a short muscular man. Both were powerful espers with detailed descriptions in the Nexus rankings book.

"Good luck." Ed said to Ochre and Ash. "These guys are high-level C ranks. Both excel at offense, so try not to get yourselves killed."

The two glanced at each other and nodded. Their crocodile tails whipped against the ground as they charged forward. The large guard's body became covered in metal spikes. The short guard glowed with a bright white light as flames covered his body.

Ash stuck low to the floor as he tackled the metal man. He was using the same combat style that Ochre used against him in the past. The flames on his body started melting the guard's metal skin, but the guard's spikes penetrated his scales, causing blood to leak out.

Ochre also attacked from the ground, slamming a fist into the short guard's stomach. The guard's flames caused cracks to appear on Ochre's scales, but it was only minor damage. His earth element scales were best suited for defense, making him the best type of opponent for these two guards.

Ed walked past the fights, completely ignoring them. He opened the door and entered inside, closing the door behind him. It was a fairly typical looking mayor's office. Fancy bookshelves and paintings lined the walls.

Mayor Mick sat behind a large desk. His hands were folded as he leaned back in the chair, a confident smile on his face. He appeared completely relaxed, as if everything was under his control.

"A good poker face." Ed commented as he pulled the guest chair back and sat down. 'He seems confident for a non-combat type. Does he have a card up his sleeve? Or has he just accepted the reality of his defeat?'

"Oh, you're not going to attack me right away?" The mayor questioned.

"I'll naturally kill you when the time comes." He smiled. "Aren't you going to offer me tea or coffee? I am a guest after all."

"Funny." Mayor Mick laughed. "You've really taken me by surprise here. I figured you'd attack Miami or Naples first."

"Maybe I'm attacking them too." Ed replied. "Why not order your men to surrender? You can save many lives on both sides by doing so."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He sighed while shaking his head. "It would ruin my future prospects with the Governor."

"Prospects?" Ed furrowed his brow. "What prospects can there be when you're dead? If anything, you should be attempting to switch sides right now."

"Perhaps." He agreed. "However, there are prospects after death, and I've already put the time and work in for mine. More of my men may die, but they'll be rewarded for it and thank me someday."

'What the hell is he talking about?!' Ed wondered as he tapped his finger against the chair. 'Future prospects after death? Wait, Governor Bustion has plenty of golden faith energy, meaning he can take in souls like OP Baldy. What actually happens to the souls after they're taken in?!' His eyes widened at the sudden contemplation, but he soon calmed down.

"Fine, I'll take that to mean you won't be surrendering." Ed sighed. "Care to answer a few questions before dying? Or should I just execute you right away?"

"Ask away." The mayor flicked his hand, gesturing for Ed to continue.

"What do you know about Phantom and Nexus?" He asked.

"That was a somewhat unexpected question." Mayor Mick replied. "Hmm. Nexus, I know basically nothing. They've never even contacted me directly. As for Phantom... He's an influential esper. A bit of an oddity. He's well connected to political circles, but he never tries to take power for himself. Frankly, I don't like him, because I don't understand him. If I knew his goals and motivations, then he probably wouldn't bother me so much."

Ed frowned. 'If that's true, then why did Phantom want to start a sinner group in Reef city? Sure, he could recruit newly awakened espers with high potential, but it sounds like he didn't need them in the first place. What's his real goal?' Ed shook his head, awakening from his distracting thoughts. "He's a mystery alright. Tell me, is he good for his word? If he promised a presidential pardon, would he really deliver?"

Suddenly, the office shook as a body slammed through the wall. The metal esper lied in the collapsed rubble, blood pouring from his body.

"Hehe, sorry." Ash said from the other side of the wall.

Mayor Mick glanced at his guard briefly before turning back to Ed. "Truthfully, I don't know. I truly don't understand that man. However, from my years of experience in politics, I've found that the most honest and virtuous men are usually the ones with the vilest plots and bites."

"I see." Ed nodded as he stood up from the chair. He aimed an arm towards the mayor. "Thank you. I think we actually could've been good friends if not for our opposing goals and circumstances."

"Mm." The mayor nodded. "If you win the war, I do hope you'll accept me. I bet on the bigger horse, but the information I gave you can be considered my side bet."

Ed made a confused expression for a moment before nodding. Flames blasted from his arm, incinerating the mayor to ash. He concentrated as best he could, and vaguely sensed the mayor's soul. It quickly left the body and traveled towards the Governor in Tallahassee.