The wind howled, and the dark clouds in the sky thinned into a nearly translucent sheet. It was still difficult to make out distinct details through it all, but those below the clouds could finally make out more of the action. Flashes of light shone down with each clash between the embattled duo. Atop one building, water poured from a faucet mounted on the wall. A pipe burst and poured out onto the ground as the liquid gathered together and rose into a column. Soon, it took the shape of a man, and Kingshark solidified. He examined his hand and flexed his fingers before looking up to the sky. “They’re really goin’ at it, huh?”

One of the lights affixed above the door leading further into the building popped with a crackle of electricity, and a bolt of energy danced out of it, bouncing across the water before flaring. Kerauna appeared in a shower of sparks. She stretched her arms above her head. “I should’a zapped him anyway,” she said lazily. “Looks like she’s having a hard time.” She yawned and rested her hands behind her head, looking up to the sky. Thunder rolled, and the clouds bubbled and churned again.

A silvery mist rose up the sides of the building, the sound of billions of tiny, chittering machines hissing against the wind. They swirled together, and a gaunt, skeletal figure stepped out to stand with them. A lab coat materialized out of the silver mist in his hand, and he threw it on over his shoulders, shoving his hands into his pockets. “She’ll be fine,” Technocrat said. “All we need to do is be her witnesses.”

THOOM

A ring of red light and runes snapped open with a rush of air and a low, angry howl. Flames roiled out of it as a pair of black, clawed hands grabbed onto the sides. Mephisto poked his head out and glanced around. “Oh, this where we’re hanging out?” he asked and pulled himself through, hopping onto the ground and folding his wings behind his back. He sauntered over to stand next to Technocrat and shot him a wink before looking up to the sky as another clash sent rays of light through the clouds, parting them briefly.

Nearby, leaning against one of the walls, a corpse twitched. It pulled itself free of the rebar that had punctured its heart, and the wound closed. It let out a low groan before its eyes turned red and the vacant look turned into a wicked grin. Charon looked down at the tattered clothes on the body and frowned. “Mephisto, hat please?” he asked, and the devilish member of the Inner Circle tossed him the hat. He placed it on his head and changed to look more like himself. He walked over to join the others, grinning ear-to-ear. “Anyone want to put money on how much longer it takes?”

The others laughed as shadows slid around them before pooling on the ground, two shapes rising out of it. Blackrazor solidified with his head inclined politely along with Chairwoman Mint. He had one hand behind her back and her hand in the other. “This way, Miss,” he said delicately while the others glanced towards him. He looked up and offered his own bland smile. “Well done, everyone. I’m sure the Mistress will be pleased.”

Mephisto grinned and winked at Carla. “The gang’s all here, except for Companion. What’s she doing?”

Kerauna picked at her nails and shot Blackrazor a quick wink before speaking. “Arresting that green chick,” she said. “And getting patched up. The lady was packin’ mistletoe bullets.”

The others glanced at her. Kingshark scowled before turning towards Carla. “I hope you throw the book at her, or I’ll throw somethin’ else her way.”

Carla stepped past him and looked up at the sky, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’ll do the best I can, Mister Logan,” she said gently and rested her hands on the rail. The sky shook again, and the wind picked up. The clouds thinned a little as all of them felt it, the wind itself was coming to life. A voice carried through the air, rage boiling over into something so pure it felt like a commandment. “What was that?” she asked, stepping back.

Kingshark frowned, and the others formed around her as they all looked up to the sky. “He just declared, what a monster,” he grunted and put a hand on her shoulder. “Not to worry, Miss, with us you’re the safest person on the planet. Besides, he doesn’t know what he just did will be the end of him,” he said with a laugh. “All we gotta do now is wait for him to run out of juice.”

—

Sonya crossed her arms, tapping her finger against her bicep while he hung there. You know, I didn’t actually get to go through the full experience of my first time; changed back almost right away. I’m a little jealous, she thought, watching his body change. She glanced towards Erina, who had raised her weapon to wait as well. They could have attacked, but where was the fun in that? If he wanted to burn through impressions until there was nothing left of him, far be it from her to make him stop.

She grinned. Your first time in the middle of a fight? That’s unwise. Too bad you have no idea, idiot. She chuckled before holding out her hand. Verdict had just stopped in midair, unable to reach its target. It leaped from where it had been held and landed in her palm again. Looks like streamlining and declaring came with an auto-defense or something. Is he even conscious?

She watched him twitch before tilting his head up, all the color draining from his dark hair as his eyes became nothing but white orbs in his head. Silver lines traced down the sides of his face. Just like her own Declaration Form, something about it seemed incomplete. Not visually, but more something felt, like observing an uncanny valley trigger. He looked at his hands and then up at her, furrowing his brows for a moment. “What… is this? It’s… incredible.” His voice sounded more windy than human now, like a rush of air. He reached up to touch his throat in confusion.

Sonya twirled Verdict and slid the weapon under her, sitting on it like a magic broomstick. She rested her chin on her palm. “You think I’m going to explain it to you?” she asked with a derisive snort. “Figure it out yourself, Mister Talent.”

He scowled at her and rubbed his head. “...Right, we were fighting.”

BANG!

A sphere of silver-black light erupted at his core, blasting him apart. His physical form dispersed into rings of clouds, and Sonya looked up at her sister, who shrugged, her gun pointed at him. When the dark shape faded, his body reconstituted itself, and he let out a gasp, whirling on her before looking down again in wonder. He barked out a laugh. “This is it! This is what I wanted! Who needs all those power tokens now? All I need is this! I’m invincible!”

Sonya snickered, and he whirled back towards her with a grin. He threw out his hand, and his arm turned into clouds. Lightning raced up his arm and exploded from his fingertip. Sonya’s eyebrows rose, and she willed Verdict into a dive, darting away with a burst of sound and speed. She tittered out a laugh. “Oho! So you’re a living storm now! That’s cool!”

“Get back here!” he roared, exploding into a gale of wind that raced towards her. She could see his face still in it, a living cloud far faster than he had been before. She threw herself into a spin and dove away, avoiding a hand that materialized out of thin air. It snapped shut, and a clap of thunder rumbled inside of it.

Hmph, that would have hurt, she thought and picked up speed, racing away from his pursuit. Sis, time to come back.

She felt the illusion she’d cast over Erina’s Legionnaire body fade and the marble itself dissipate. A moment later, her sister’s mind rose up once more in the back of her head. This was unexpected. I suggest we just let him wear himself out. However, I-

Something whizzed past Sonya’s face, and she pulled herself to a stop to avoid it, her eyes wide as she watched whatever it was zip away. Her senses keened, and she dove again, more of the small objects hurtling towards her. She concentrated on the area, feeling for the debris floating in the air, but felt none of them moving. Another shot at her from behind, and she threw her hand out, blocking it with a black-light barrier. Glittering ice shattered against it. Hail, she thought and looked around. Tiny balls of ice were forming all over the place, and First Wind was nowhere to be seen. They grew bigger, then shrank, then bigger again, repeating the process over and over.

He learns fast, Erina commented wryly.

Sonya’s expression went deadpan. No shit.

She wrenched a hand up and created needles of hard light, dozens turning into hundreds. She whipped her hand to the right and sent them flying, scattering them about like shrapnel in an explosion. The hail balls exploded as thunder rumbled from above and below. Sonya shot away just as two bolts of lightning collided, the electricity churning together before igniting the air. An explosion ripped out, the shockwave catching her in the back as she tried to get some distance. Cursing, Sonya dipped into a spin and tried to accelerate again as more hail chased after her.

Where is he? she thought. He can’t possibly be everywhere. A mind like his wouldn’t be able to cope with distributing itself. Too much ego.

Keeping his distance, I suspect, Erina said. Dodge!

Sonya reacted even before she felt it, grateful for her sister’s presence once again. A crescent of compressed air dozens of feet wide appeared and shot right along their path, aiming to bisect her. She slid past it and called up Volition, firing off a half-dozen shots in the direction it’d come from. The black explosions ruptured the air even as laughter surrounded her. “I get why you were so cocky, bitch,” his voice echoed out. “To think there was a level like this someone could reach. It feels incomplete, though. There’s more, isn’t there?”

She spun around, looking for him. She flexed her fingers and took a deep breath. Vines wrapped around her knuckles and cast an eerie glow. She dismissed Verdict and Volition and rose to her feet in the air, chin up with a cocky grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Oh, you’ll tell me before I rip you apart!” he snarled as the clouds beneath her began to gather. All of the clouds that had been hanging over the city were compressing together in one place. She looked down and set her jaw tight before glancing up at the clear sky above her. She closed her eyes and sighed as he laughed. “You might be a good fighter, but you can’t punch the air! I am the wind! I am the rain! I am the storm around you!”

She opened her eyes and tightened her fist - it was trembling now. She poured more than she cared to admit into it. Her Cybernetic Paragon ability went into overdrive, and her physical strength cranked up to max. Lightning crackled around the compressing wall of black clouds as hail peppered her body. She took it and went through every instinct she had access to, every feature she could think of. The scent of plants filled her nostrils, and she pulled her arm back. And you’re letting this get to your head. You aren’t a god yet, little man.

She thought back to the sweeping blade of power she’d wielded against the frost giants. It had been a good test, a good demonstration. She bared her teeth and threw her fist down with all her might, her muscles screaming with the effort as her strength, her light, her duality, blasted down in a cone. He barked out another laugh. “I told you, you can’t-”

“Duality: Air is solid.”

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The cloud crumpled in on itself, struck as if it were a solid object. The ray of black light haloed with silver scattered it like bits and pieces. Somewhere inside, she heard a scream of pain. The black light faded, and First Wind was left behind, standing in the air, his body flickering as it tried to disperse again. He glared up at her with all the hate in the universe. He was barely human now, his skin looking more like a swirling mass than anything else. She grinned at him, raised her hand to her lips, kissed it, and blew down.

“ISHTAAAAAAAAARRRRR!”

Sonya… Erina sighed.

She grinned and shot upwards. “Gotta go!”

More clouds formed beneath her, a storm taking shape in an instant. A cloud the shape of a head raced up after her as she accelerated into the sky. Higher and higher she climbed, pushing further up than she’d ever done before. Silvery vines of metal erupted from what little plant life remained in the buildings he’d ripped from the ground and smashed into the sides of the cloud. She rained a storm of spears on it, and conjured up Volition, firing shot after shot. The furious, cloudy monster beneath her just kept coming. The air will get thin soon. Be careful, Erina pointed out. 

I know! Sonya thought back and tried to create a portal ahead of her. It started form, and a bolt of lightning shot through it, shattering it. She winced. Well, that’s unfortunate, she thought sardonically.

Too late for that now, Sister. Focus! I suggest Verdict,

Erina said hurriedly. Sonya nodded and called the weapon up, shrinking it back into its knife form before putting on one last burst of speed and throwing herself into a backflip. She shot back down towards the roaring cloud and spun to the right, whipping the knife out and dragging it along the side of the cloud. First Wind howled in pain as she carved a corkscrew around it before shooting off again, the dark cloud in hot pursuit.

Sonya dove around floating broken buildings, dodged bolts of lightning, and deflected hail the size of small boulders. Son of a bitch just won’t quit! she thought. But I’m not losing this! No way in hell. Today’s the day. I promised, and I’m a goddamn woman of my word! She snarled as the clouds started to catch up, the massive literal thunderhead roaring towards her with an open mouth. She clenched her fist again and turned, eyes wide with fury. “I’m putting you down, you bastard!” she roared as a bolt of lightning struck her. It burned, it hurt, but she took it. She clenched her teeth as electricity danced between them. “Here’s one more for you!”

Sonya swung.

–

It was a state of being he could barely wrap his mind around. His thoughts were scattered; his will was like the wind itself. He held himself together with every ounce of grit he had as he charged after his prey. She could touch him, but she couldn’t kill him. He knew it. He was unstoppable. He had to be. The wind was eternal. He was the wind. He was the world! He roared after her and called the weather to be his might. A living hurricane, he brought the buildings he’d pulled up with him. He brought the hail. He brought the lightning. He brought everything to bear as she turned around to face him.

I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I can’t let you live! he thought. I should be the only one! I deserve it! I worked for this! I trained for this! I am-

THUMP

For a moment, Luca felt the world start to slow. He felt strange - calm - as that force that buoyed his power began to run dry. He hadn’t imagined that it would be finite. Mana was everywhere, his ability only limited by his stamina. Yet whatever he’d become after saying those words was different, and only then did he understand as his strength started to fail him. This was your plan too… wasn’t it? he thought as his body became solid, and her glowing fist fell down on him like the wrath of an angry god.

He met her eyes, and that strange calm in his chest continued. He couldn’t feel angry anymore. He didn’t understand why the storm had just… faded. All he could see was hatred, a vengeance that surpassed the bounds of time. His eyes widened with wonder, and the blow struck. Pain followed a shock that snapped him out of his backlash. He hurtled towards the ground at an angle, trying to catch his breath even as his lungs caved in on themselves. I-I can’t breathe!

He scratched at his chest and willed air into his lungs with a gasp. My ability still works! I can still-

Heat spread across that spot he clawed at. His eyes bulged, and he saw the mark that had been left behind. Qilin’s revenge. Now? You choose now? Damn you! Fuck! Fuck! Stop! It burned away, and he felt something move behind him - one of the buildings he’d called up. He tried to pivot, but it clipped him in the head. Pain exploded, and his vision swam as his trajectory changed and he hurtled towards the earth.

Instinct saved him with a pathetic blast of cushioning wind. He lay on his side in the rubble as his broken limbs creaked in his body. He needed to change into that form again. He needed to heal. The sound of a footstep jolted him, and he looked up into a pair of golden eyes and a familiar face. He’d seen it before somewhere. His eyes widened, and he grinned. “H-hey! Cr-rusader!” He coughed and wrenched his arm into position enough to shift and look up at her. “T-team hero, right? Ishtar’s coming, and- Hey, you gotta hear this, she’s-.”

Crusader planted her sword in the ground in front of his face, and his mouth clamped shut. She reached up to tap her ear with a frown and nodded, letting out a sigh. It was only then he noticed the other heroes around her - the short girl with white hair, the logistics brat, and more. He even saw Nietz, and he smiled a bloody smile at the kid. Nietz turned away as Crusader exhaled. First Wind waggled his eyebrows. “L-listen, I know stuff now. Ishtar’s identity! You gotta take me in. I’m supposed to get a trial, right? I…”

“I’ve heard the Committee’s decision. Crusader acknowledges the kill order,” she said soberly, a flicker of blue lighting up a few strands of her hair. She pulled the sword out of the ground and raised it up. “I’ll do it.”

His mouth fell open. “What?”

…By some no-talent brat? It’s not fair. I should be fighting her. I should be- He looked up. Far above, watching, he saw Ishtar restore her helmet with a wave of a hand and blow him a kiss. IT’S NOT FAIR!

–

Sonya didn’t look away, even as the notification appeared.

You have upheld a portion of your agreement and have personally seen to the end of the Peerless Herald, First Wind. With his death, you have completely eliminated one of the pillars of Otis’ strength in the future and cut into his path. You will be rewarded with a new feature for Broker: Integrated Brokerage. You may now integrate Broker with other abilities that you possess, and these functions may vary widely in application. When Integrating, you are still held to the rules of operation of Broker.

She smiled. “Five down, three to go.”