New Costumes Same Issues

Long ago, during the war with Lucifer, the villain created a machine. One shaped like a box, which he used to stay far above the planet, an orbiting fortress. In his final battle with Nier and Full Monarch, this ship crashed down to the planet below and shattered.

In the present day, the concept had been recreated by Boy Genius. Every part of the cube's imitation, stretching for miles, was a recreation of that machine Lucifer had made. All layered together. The smell of the sea coated the place in all directions, and it only took a few moments for their ship to land.

It was very strange to walk on the surface. The cube constantly spun and twisted, slowly and deliberately. In one moment, the ocean would be your sky, and in the next, it would rise in front of you like a monolithic wall with the endless sky to your back.

Cinder's legs wobbled, and she held her arms out as she stepped off of the ship. She was already super dizzy. She wasn't the only one who was struggling either. Stars rolled around Snowdawn's head as the teen covered his mouth and did his best not to vomit. Whisper looked like she was drunk—the way she kept nearly tripping.

Myth and Battery stepped off with grace, the two seemingly unaffected by the shifting view. Finally, that just left Paragon. The poor girl's bird was constantly spinning its head around in all directions as the girl slowly inched down the ramp, jumping back when she felt the strange gravity.

Just taking a step was odd enough, as the cube had its own gravitational field. One that kept them rooted in place so they wouldn't go flying or falling off, but the downside meant that moving was sort of like walking through water, as if the air was trying to hold them back.

"Just come down already!" Whisper yelled.

Paragon huffed and then took a step forward, only to instantly faceplant into the floor and slide down the ramp. She laid on the floor face down, not moving. "Actually, it's really not that bad once you don't see the spinning." The girl finally said. "I think I'll stay down here."

She sheepishly helped the girl stand back up. "Maybe leave Destiny behind. He doesn't seem to be happy."

"Yeah, but then I'm blind." Paragon sighed. "And I didn't bring my cane."

"Ooh! This is my chance!" Snowdawn clasped his hands together, and he pulled them apart slowly. "Behold! My all-new ability to use ice constantly! Ice cane! Hell yeah!" As the name suggested, he created a makeshift walking cane out of solid ice. It actually didn't look that bad, and it even had carvings, adorned with a bird-shaped head. He had clearly gotten better.

"That would be way too cold to hold." Paragon pointed out.

"You're wearing gloves."

"Plastic gloves."

"Still gloves!"

"Look," Whisper said, raising her hand. "You can leave Destiny here and just stick close to Cinder, and she'll make sure you don't crash into anything."

"Why do I have to do it?" Cinder asked.

"You brought her along."

"Fair."

Up on the ship, Backup leaned out of a window. "If you want to leave Destiny here, you can. I'm staying behind with Dups, so we can watch him."

Paragon finally sighed in defeat. Watching her bird try to fly was really sad. The poor guy flopped through the air like a fish and eventually managed to land on Backup's shoulder. "Make sure you feed him well."

"Will do!"

"Now that that's done, I believe this gentleman is ready for us." Myth commented. That got their attention. They had made quite the scene with their landing. All around them, dozens of those guards stood. Cinder fidgeted a little and eyed them up. From head to toe, they were covered in thick black armor, the sort of thing that a Mental user might make, and they carried heavy-looking guns. Each one looked like they could have been on the level of Metal Ronin. "Hello." Myth called out awkwardly to the men. "We're team Pantheon. Boy Genius asked us to come here and discuss an issue with a breakout?"

After Laps had told them of their potential promotion, she also told them of how they could help earn it. She hadn't been paying attention at the time, too lost in thought, and had to be told on the way over. Nightshade, the greatest prison in the world, made to hold mega-threat supervillains, had been broken into as part of a breakout. No matter who had gotten out or who had broken in, it could only be bad news.

A few of the men looked at one another, and finally, one of them stepped forward. "Hello." His voice instantly reminded her of Golden God. This thing was a machine. She had no doubt about that. In fact, if she had to guess, every guard here was likely a robot. "Greetings, Pantheon." A red light came out of the head of the machine's armor, scanning them up and down. Finally, it let out a click. "Boy Genius is waiting on you. Please follow me."

She shot a look toward the others, who seemed just as lost as her. Slowly, though, they followed after the strange robot, doing their best not to fall. She wondered if Myth and Battery had been here before. Neither of them seemed bothered by the shifting land. She kept close to Paragon, making sure the blind girl didn't slip. For the second time that day, Paragon clung to her arm, holding onto her tightly.

The machine stopped and brought his arm up. A blue glow came from it, and an even tinier cube rose up from one of the mini cubes that made up the massive cube they were on. It was large enough to fit them all, though a little cramped, and seemed like an elevator of sorts. They all piled into the strange box, and it slowly sank back into the floor of Nightshade.

There were no lights. The robot didn't seem to need them, so it meant they were basically stuck in total darkness. Battery brought his pointer finger up, and it hummed with a faint golden ball of energy, allowing them all to see. Mechanical noises echoed through the walls and the roof, and just like an elevator, she felt motion as the cube began to move. It didn't just go up or down, though. Instead, it went in all directions, her stomach lurching as it changed direction multiple times. On the outside of the cube, nearby guards watched as the walls of Nightshade responded, metal folding and opening, allowing them through.

Finally, after some time, it stopped and opened. Her eyes squinted as bright white light stabbed into her from all directions. Battery put his own light out, and they all stepped out into what looked like a massive hallway. The floors were shiny and clean, so much so that they reflected everything. The issue was that, like the outside, the hallway was constantly rotating beneath them, so the floor, the ceiling, and the walls were all sort of like a mirror. It was easier to walk than outside, but it was still so trippy-looking, and at any time, she saw at least three reflections of herself.

"I really don't like this place." She muttered.

"You aren't supposed to." Paragon hummed. "This place is constantly shifting and changing, making it a maze. Prisoners are kept in the dead center and need a teleportation ability on the same level as the Emperor to have even a chance of getting out. Pretty sure Boy Genius wanted to make everything as irritating as possible since it usually doesn't have people here."

"He could have toned it down a bit." Snowdawn snorted.

"Please follow me." The robot began to walk down the hallway, leading them further into this bizarre maze-like place.

There were so many hallways and sections; some were open, most were closed and sealed off. At the end of every hallway, large cameras were mounted, and she even saw a few heavy-looking turrets and other things. More of the machines walked the paths, some on the roof or walls. Most looked like their guide, but a few others were either slimmer, smaller, or bulkier, with even bigger guns.

She'd pity whatever poor villain had to fight every single one of them. She was also guessing there were way more traps and other 'goodies' hiding just out of sight. She had to wonder how this place ever even got escape attempts, much less a successful one.

Finally, the robot took them to their destination. Everything finally began to look normal, and a set of stairs led up. The door at the top of the stairs was heavy and reminded her of a vault entrance from some games she played. It twisted and opened as they neared, allowing them inside.

Her headache faded as she stepped on solid, normal ground. "Thank God," Snowdawn said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I really hope one of us finds a way to teleport so we don't have to walk through this entire place again," Whisper said, shivering a bit.

"That wouldn't change anything." Paragon shrugged.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"During the fight with Mars King, Metal Ronin had been able to create a device that halted Ears teleportation." The blind girl explained. "If he can do that, then someone like Boy Genius can do it a billion times better. This entire cube, as well as the sea and sky above, are filled with anti-teleportation, or reality-wrapping fields that stop villains from teleporting in or out. The only person in the world who would be able to outpower these fields and teleport would be someone like Full Monarch or the Emperor, both of whom were so strong they were easily able to rip holes in the fabric of space with just their raw power alone."

She frowned a bit and rubbed her chin as they kept walking. "If this place could really only be broken in with powers on those guys' level, then how the heck did anyone manage to escape at all?"

"That's a good question!" A familiar voice announced. "Hello, team Pantheon." Boy Genius gave a polite bow of his head toward Myth. "Why don't you all take a seat?"

The room in here didn't spin. It also wasn't weirdly bright. In fact, it looked relatively normal. The walls were painted to look like wood, and the floor was a simple carpet. It had a sort of homey feel to it, and shelves filled with video games were scattered about, as well as dozens of TV's all with their own game console hooked up. It was a spacious room and had a few sections like what appeared to be a mini kitchen and a makeshift bedroom. A door was near the back, which was opened, showing off a large bathroom area, and another door showed a makeshift lab, a gym, and even an indoor pool.

It was sort of like how a child might want to live if they didn't need parents. A little bit of everything scattered around, not really in any order. The place you could pretty much spend the rest of your life in.

Boy Genius was in his typical suit and seated behind a large desk that was comically too big for him. Despite that, he had that childish, goofy smile he always wore as he slaved away at a mountain of paperwork.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

They all scattered about and took some seats. Myth took one in front of the desk, along with Whisper. Cinder and Paragon got stuck on a makeshift couch, Snowdawn claimed a kitchen table, and Battery decided to stay standing because he thought it made him look cooler.

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to bring Paragon." Boy Genius noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Was I not allowed to bring a plus one?" She joked.

"Oh, you were the one who brought her? I would have thought it was you, Myth. I assumed you tried to poach Paragon."

"Hey. No one's poaching me." Paragon huffed. "I'm on my mother's team, and that isn't changing any time soon. I just have nothing going on, that's all."

So much for trying to convince Paragon to join her team…

"Let's cut to the chase." Battery spoke up. "You said you had a breakout. This place is made to hold some of the worst of the worst. We should talk about that."

"In due time." Boy Genius nodded. He pressed a button, and a section of the wall opened up. Another one of the strange guard-like robots walked in holding a suitcase, which it set on the desk in front of Boy Genius. "Since I've asked you all here, and Wyvern told me I need to be a good host for putting you all through the horrors of this place, I made some gifts. See, this issue I asked you all here for... Well, think of what's in this case as an upfront payment."

"You didn't have to get us anything-" Myth was cut off when Whisper instantly let out a cheer and opened the case. "Seriously."

"What? This is Boy Genius. The chance of there being a key for a mech suit that can then combine with other mech suits is too high for me to let you refuse to accept." Whisper popped the lid of the case open and stared down. "Oh my. Fancy."

Cinder stood up and peeked over Whisper's shoulder. In the case was something she had seen before. Boy Genius had mentioned he'd make one for her. A metal bracelet. Five of them. All were a silver color, and their names were written into the metal.

"Some of you." Boy Genius eyed her, Battery, and Snowdawn up. "Could use some new costumes." Their suits were still a torn mess. Her and Battery wore a simple cloth mask to cover their faces, and Snowdawn hadn't gone into his snow form, so he was just wearing a simple jacket over his torn battle suit. "Why don't you all try it on?"

"Whisper and I didn't need new suits." Myth noted. "You made one for us too, though?"

"I was bored. Oh, and sorry, Paragon. I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't make anything for you."

"It's cool. I wouldn't be able to see the new suit anyway." The girl shrugged.

Slowly, they all took the metal watches and put them on. There was a moment where they all waited for someone to go first, but then all at once, they pressed the button for their new suits. It was on them in a flash.

Snowdawn didn't really look any different. The suit he wore was a male version of the training suit she had been given. It was still black, and for the most part he was left alone, since he'd be coating his body in his snow and covering it all up. It did have a vest on it, offering more protection, as well as a backpack that was attached to it, allowing him to store stuff.

Whisper's costume also didn't have that big of a difference. The suit she now had on was a little more protective than her old one and had a few more holsters for gadgets as well as a backpack. Her helmet was more fancy-looking, though, and had a knob on the side of it and a red dot in the center. It reminded her of Red Ape's helmet, though it covered the girl's lower mouth and also had a mix of night vision goggles in it. The big thing, though, was along the arms.

Whisper flexed her arms, and a pair of metal tonfa folded out, which she gripped down on tightly. Sparks of electricity hummed off of them when the girl tapped them together, and even beneath the mask, it was clear Whisper was grinning ear to ear.

Battery's suit was next. It was made out of the same material as Snowdawn's, though it didn't have the backpack. It had his former belt, and the suit was dyed red. It still had that runner look, with a set of makeshift running shoes in it, and the helmet still allowed his lower mouth to be seen. Rather than a few bits of black, it had been replaced with silver, which sparked into a gold color as his energy seeped into them. He also had a pair of fingerless gloves that had a set of knuckle dusters built into them.

Myth had the most significant change. He still wore robes, though the colors had seemingly switched from the classic white robe with a red cloth over it. The white had changed into a deep blue, and instead of a basic red cloth over his shoulder, he now had a large golden fleece with ram horns on the end of it. It didn't stop there, though, as he wore a brass chest plate and an armored helmet that opened up in case he had horns or some other change to his body.

He cracked his neck, flexing his body, and changed into his bull form. The costume changed with him, molding and switching its size so he didn't have to adjust it.

Last was herself. She glanced past the open doorway that led to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hands reached up and brushed the new helmet that she now wore. The suit was in a lot of ways like her old one. It went from her neck all the way down her body and had fingerless gloves. Her first suit had been blue, but this one was red, much like Battery's, with gold trimmings on the sleeves and the leggings. Her helmet was mostly the same, though a little slimmer, and a button rested on the side of it. She clicked it, and part of it unfolded to cover her lower face, giving the helmet a more armored look. Like Snowdawn, she had a backpack that was attached to it. It made her strangely happy. Her first makeshift costume had the backpack she had used as a weapon with it. That bag had burned up in her first fight with Polaron, though. It made her glad to have a backpack once again. It even could come off and on, seemingly attaching through magnets. Sadly, there was no cape though. What rested on the front of her suit was most eye-catching. The symbol of a golden butterfly. The very same symbol Full Monarch had.

Boy Genius sure wasn't subtle.

"Damn, we look fine as hell," Snowdawn said with a grin. He slammed his fists together, and instantly, a wave of ice formed around him. It wasn't snow. Not anymore. In a way, Snowdawn was gone. He was Icedawn now. It formed a crystal blue-like ice cloak around his body from head to toe. His fingernails were jagged and claw-like, and he looked like he could take a way bigger beating now.

She flexed her fingers a bit, feeling the suit respond to her. She was a little annoyed she had lost the blue color to it, but she had to admit it still looked pretty rad. "I'm going to look so clean as I beat Zoo. I feel cooler already with the new drip."

"What the hell is drip?" Battery muttered.

Boy Genius gave a grin and nodded his head. "I'm glad you all seem to like the suit. I worked hard on them. They should be more durable than your last ones were. Avalon made those old things, and he can't hold a candle to my skill. I create the suits for all Sub Enforcer members and Enforcers, after all. These costumes also have a few enhanced features you may all play with down in the training room once the meeting is over, if you wish. In general, though, for those without Super strength, it gives you about one and a half times the strength of a normal human. For those with Super strength, you won't notice much of a change, but you might be able to lift a few more pounds than you used to."

They all took a few more moments to admire themselves. Paragon awkwardly cleared her throat, causing them all to remember that she was here. "So, I have no idea how anyone looks since I'm blind, and also, I didn't get a cool new suit, so not to sound ungrateful or anything, but could we please get back to the topic at hand? The thing about the breakouts?"

Boy Genius nodded and clicked another button. On the wall, a screen unfolded and lit up. "Of course. Allow me to turn your attention to the screen. We keep some humans here in areas where it could be bad for the machines to be. For example, the door to Nightshade can mess with the robots. Not sure why, but they can't see the thing. Had a few of them walk in. Not great."

On the screen, it showed a large room, likely somewhere else in the cube. This room was spacious, and guards were seated all around it. Not the robots but actual human guards. They were decked out in pretty standard-looking armor and didn't have futuristic-looking guns. There were dozens of balconies, all overlooking the center of the room. In the dead center, a weird metal orb floated. It hummed and glowed with a faint white light. It was hard to look at, even through the TV.

"Entrance to Nightshade? I thought we were in Nightshade?" She asked, frowning.

Boy Genius shook his head. "Nope. We are in the outer layer of Nightshade. This entire cube is all one big lock for the real Nightshade. The orb is a gateway to a pocket realm. It only has one way in or out, and it's through that orb. The realm itself is the real Nightshade, and trust me, if you thought this place was bad, it's far, far worse in there. We bring prisoners through here and throw them into the orb, trapping them in a realm made of unstable matter where the villains can spend the rest of eternity amongst one another."

She folded her arms and frowned. Nightshade was for the worse of the worse, so she didn't really feel bad for anyone that got sent here, but it made her wonder what it must have been like past the orb. Was there another prison, or was it just a new world where they could do whatever they wanted? And how did they manage food? Or did they simply not, and villains would have to starve to death, or worse...

"There is a single issue with this doorway." Boy Genius commented. "See, it gives off faint gravitational waves. It's actually what I use to keep this place floating constantly and how we can walk around on any surface. If a villain somehow does escape through all of this, it's almost impossible to get off this cube, as all sides will pull you back down, making jumping off impossible. Only someone who can fly could escape through the air. This gravity has a risk, though. Tech, more specifically advanced Mental tech, doesn't seem to work around it that well for some reason. Because of this, we need to keep some workers here. People who can fix up the robots when I'm away or monitor the orb."

"How many are there?" Battery asked.

"Around two hundred. We keep fifty in that room on eight-hour shifts, which rotate with others."

Myth frowned and slowly reverted back to his human form. "That brings up an issue, though, doesn't it? Someone would have to find the entrance out of the realm for a breakout to happen, then get past all guards and somehow exit this place. You'd need outside help, but that would require someone breaking into this place and then getting past all fifty guards and into the realm, getting the prisoner, and then leaving."

"And that's exactly what happened." Boy Genius nodded. His face grew a little somber. "A few days ago was when it happened. Shortly, when I was testing Cinder's powers with Wyvern, someone broke into this place and got into Nightshade. And they did it by slaughtering all the guards who were on duty at the time. Even the guards outside of the room, who were monitoring it from cameras, weren't safe. The culprit knew where everyone was and picked them all off. The most concerning part was that they could teleport. Which, for most people, is impossible in this place. The one exception is the Emperor. And even he used a special weapon, a sword, to do so."

Her face paled at that. One man had done all of that. Who could it have been?

"How many prisoners escaped?" Myth sighed.

"Just one." Boy Genius clicked a button. "See. The reason I asked you all to come is because the one who broke into this place is someone from Oleander."

The image changed and showed two people slowly appearing out of the orb. The room was now coated in blood after all the guards had been slaughtered. The first person wore a black suit and a familiar-looking wolf mask. A white sword slung over his shoulder. Green Wolf had broken into Nightshade, upping the stakes of his twisted game.

It was the person behind him, though, that Battery and Myth focused on. A woman cloaked in rags. Her hair looked like it was made out of veins, and her pale skin was covered in black runes that danced across her flesh. A large pair of butterfly-like wings jutted from her back.

Fairy Queen, one of the four warriors of the Emperor, had escaped…