Valorverse: Rise Arc

[True Grave]

Somewhere in the vast plains of the American Midwest, a large blue portal appeared. From the portal emerged a large man clad in black plate armor. Behind him followed an army of men clad in the same intimidating armor. Once every last soldier had passed through, it closed behind them. The soldiers got into formation, ready to receive their orders. Their commander stood before them and boldly began to speak.

"Men of Runalda! Today, your country calls upon you! We will take this land and use it for the good of our nation! Show no mercy to the enemy! Think of your families back home! When you show them this land, they will know the glory of Zior!"

The men of Zior roared their approval of their commander's words. They were highly motivated and ready to fight. No army within their own dimension had been able to stop their advance. They had similarly encountered little resistance in the other dimensions they had invaded. Any resistance would be trampled underfoot. Every man in formation was willing to give their lives for the good of Runalda.

General Zior drew his sword and turned around.

"Now, my men! For Runalda!"

He was in the process of pointing his sword forward when a man suddenly appeared before him. He was clad from head to toe in what appeared to be black and gold plate armor. Standing at six feet tall, he was every bit as imposing as General Zior himself.

"You guys certainly don't look like you're here for sightseeing," Scott said.

General Zior pointed his sword at him.

"Are you a warrior of this realm? Have you come to oppose us?"

"That's right. You're violating the sovereignty of Earth One and I'm here to ask you to return home in peace."

"And if I say that I will not retreat?"

"Then I will defeat you and send you home myself."

General Zior chuckled with amusement.

"Well, I certainly commend your courage. Not every man is willing to face down an entire army by himself."

"I appreciate the props, but I'm not letting you do as you please."

General Zior took a bold step forward.

"Very well, then, warrior of Earth One. Show me what you're made of!"

He pointed his sword forward.

"Charge!"

His men began screaming and charged at Crusader.


(This music plays during the upcoming scene.)


Crusader rushed at them with no hesitation. He began throwing punches at the jaws of his opponents, mercifully going for their knockout points. His fists, coated in the Voltari shell of Valor, easily smashed through the plate armor of his foes. Each punch was thrown with perfect Muay Thai technique, as taught to him by Lone Wolf. With his rooted stance, he was not only able to generate power for his punches, but was able to sway back to dodge enemy strikes before countering with powerful kicks. The speed and rotation of his punches led to so many being thrown that his enemies couldn't even see them.

So many men were dropped after the first charge that the others began backing off in fear. Crusader remained strongly rooted in his Muay Thai stance, his fists raised and ready for more. General Zior was impressed that a single unarmed man had taken down so many of his men. That was a feat that no man before him had ever been able to accomplish. However, he was not going to back down. The glorious future of Runalda demanded that he be unwavering in his dedication.

"Forward men! Do not be afraid! For Runalda!"

The soldiers charged forward once again, their hearts on fire and their resolve like steel. Crusader jumped back and then moved his body into a side stance. He would meet this second charge with even more power than before.

As the soldiers of Runalda got within range, Crusader lashed out with a side kick. Balancing himself on his back leg, he continued a devastating barrage of kicks to the armored faces of his enemies. Many soldiers were knocked out and others were forced back by his powerful kicks. After dozens of these kicks had landed, Crusader pulled back to almost be standing normally. He then sprang off of his back leg into a flying forward kick. Though his foot did not make contact with anyone, the forward shockwave of the attack was so fierce that the soldiers of Runalda were blown backwards.

General Zior was truly impressed by this warrior. No one had ever repelled a Runaldan charge twice. His men were at the point of terror. The only way he could restore order and continue the expansion of the glorious Empire of Runalda was to defeat this warrior in single combat. A demonstration of his strength would boost the morale of his men and allow them to fight on. The conquering general took a determined step forward.

"Warrior of Earth One! Your strength and technique are exceptional! I challenge you to single combat, for I wish to test my strength against yours!"

Crusader moved back into a forward Muay Thai stance.

"That's fine with me."

"Before we begin, may I have your name?"

"Crusader."

"Very well, Crusader. You will have the honor of being defeated by General Zior of the Empire of Runalda!"

He rushed at Crusader and unleashed a series of fencing style strikes with his sword. Every single one of them failed to penetrate his enemy's armor. General Zior was shocked and almost subconsciously took a step back.

Crusader tightened his stance.

"Sorry about this."

He then launched a high roundhouse kick that caught General Zior in the cervical vertebrae. While the damage sustained wouldn't be fatal, it was enough to render the general completely unconscious. His men watched in terror as their fearless leader first fell on his knees, and then flat on his face. The men were completely drained of their morale, too paralyzed by fear to even run away.

Crusader turned and walked away about ten paces before turning back around.

Let's send these guys back home, Valor.

I'm with you, Scott.

Gold and white energy suddenly erupted from Crusader in a powerful aura. It was the combined energy of Scott and Valor manifesting itself into a single source of power. The hero curled his right arm and his fist began glowing with blinding intensity.

Sensing his heir's intention, Firestar opened a large orange portal that would lead back to the world of Runalda. With bright lights on both sides, General Zior's men were completely disoriented. Crusader planted his lead foot and twisted his hips. Turning his shoulder, he brought forward a fist that had been cocked all the way back. Down the shoulder, elbow, and wrist the power traveled and gained more power. When his fist stopped, the destruction began.

Fist of Valor!!!

The incredible force of the technique exploded forward, sending out a shockwave so intense that it tore up the ground and blew back everything in front of it. General Zior and his men, unconscious or not, were sent hurtling into the orange portal. Once the last soldier had gone through, Firestar closed the portal. Crusader lowered his fist and smiled in satisfaction.

We did it, Valor.

Yes, we did. That was well fought.

Crusader turned and began walking away.

Hopefully that's the last time Runalda sets its sights on Earth One.

If General Zior and his men ever do return, we'll simply defeat them once again.

Scott chuckled in agreement and was happy that he had kept Earth One safe for another day.

 

[True Grave]

Out in the vast, dark universe, a malevolent consciousness had awakened. At the dawn of time, only darkness had existed. There was nothing that lived or did not live. Then, a being of light appeared, a being known to some as God. He was a being known as a Creator, and so He created life. The darkness recoiled and was made angry by the light.

It developed a consciousness and attempted to undo the Creator's work. What the being called itself is unknown and perhaps unknowable. Those of the light would someday christen this living darkness as Omega. Before the rise of humanity, God and Omega fought until ultimately the darkness was defeated. Though he could not be killed, Omega was rendered dormant for billions of years. He awoke during the 21st century of humanity but found himself greatly weakened and so unable to annihilate all life as he had tried to do in the far distant past.

Omega sought an alternative and so searched for pawns that he could manipulate. This brought his attention to Planet Grym, where there lived a downtrodden race known as the Grymwar. Small and weak, they were on the verge of being hunted to extinction by larger, stronger predators. Omega granted a small dose of his power to these Grymwar and watched in satisfaction as they exterminated all other life from Planet Grym. Indeed, the entire planet was razed as the Grymwar went mad with power. This was exactly what Omega wanted.

With no local food or water sources, they would be forced to take from other planets. This would draw out those defenders of the world of the light. Once they had been identified, Omega could eliminate them. Once all resistance had been crushed, he could simply smother all life in darkness as he had always intended to. If those he gave power to attempted to resist him, as well, he would simply take it back and render them powerless. It was a perfect plan.

Unknown to Omega, God had shared divine power with his creations in the form of the immortal soul. Infinite power could be drawn from the soul if one only knew how. That was how a noble young man named Scott Young and a courageous young Voltari named Valor could unite in order to become Crusader, one of the mightiest heroes on Earth. Their mastery of the soul and its power made it possible for them to become The Destroyer. When Omega learned of Crusader, he immediately sent the Grymwar to Earth in order to eliminate him. He believed that this time his power would triumph over the power of his enemy.

However, Omega had underestimated the power of the human soul. With determination, Crusader and his allies repelled the global invasion of Planet Earth. This infuriated Omega, who became determined to destroy them. Both aliens and demons had failed to be a match for them. This meant that it was time to seek out pawns from other dimensions. There surely had to be someone strong enough to destroy Earth's heroes somewhere out there.

---

Omega looked with interest upon a world that had been destroyed in much the same way as Planet Grym. Unending war had led to massive loss of life and almost total depletion of natural resources. A massive power had caught his interest and it belonged to a malnourished young man who was known simply as Rise. Whatever name he had once had was lost in the destruction along with all of the other marks of civilization. Omega watched with fascination as the souls of those slain in war congregated around Rise. Reaching into the knowledge bank of the divine using his own power, he was able to identify rise as an Omega class mutant, the most powerful kind of mutant.

Only one Omega class mutant could exist in each dimension. If there were more than one, the two would clash and destroy all life around them. He would pluck Rise from his own dimension and toss him onto Earth from Omega's own dimension. This would inevitably lead to a clash with Existence, the Omega class mutant of this dimension. With malicious glee, Omega tossed him into a dark portal and dumped him onto Earth. It would be like tossing a lit match onto gasoline.

---

Rise got to his feet and looked around. He did not recognize any of his surroundings. The fact that green grass grew at his feet clearly meant that this was not his world.

"What happened? Where am I?"

As he looked around, something familiar began to happen.

Souls began to appear around him, taking the forms that they had in life. These ghosts composed entirely of blue energy were all ages and genders. Their clothing represented the period of time in which they had been killed. Rise smiled softly, his eyes filled with warmth and compassion.

"I understand. I will become the instrument of your vengeance."

Rise extended his right arm with the palm facing outward. The ghosts of everyone on Earth who had ever died as a result of war rushed into this offered entry point. Uncountable souls joined with the slain innocent souls of Rise's own world. Clasping his hands together and bowing his head, Rise focused and prepared to unleash his technique.

"Army of Ghosts..."

He planted his lead foot forward and pointed ahead with determination blazing in his eyes.

"...Kill The Oppressors!"

 

[True Grave]

At the United Clans temple complex in Hokkaido, Lone Wolf was in the courtyard doing kata. His slow, precise movements revealed the mastery of his technique. It was truly a beautiful display of Japanese Karate, putting the 'art' in 'martial art'. His attention was suddenly grabbed as a bright blue color appeared in his peripheral vision. Suddenly, it was on him, and he was seeing everything through a lens of blue. Since he was not an evil man, Rise's Army of Ghosts was harmlessly passing right through him.

Captivated by this strange phenomenon, Lone Wolf absentmindedly reached out to touch one of the specters racing toward him at impossible speed. This movement was regarded as resistance, and so the spirits who had once been as insubstantial as air suddenly became as solid as a steel wall. Lone Wolf was pushed back, having to dig in his heels to halt the push. He pushed back with all of his strength but was only holding his ground rather than gaining any. He rapidly concluded that he could not do this forever. Pushing against the specter of an elderly woman, he gave her an apologetic look.

"Forgive me, old one."

He punched the ghostly old lady in the face and she disappeared. The moment he did, though, the next spirit pushed against him. Lone Wolf discovered that he could punch and take a single step before having to punch again. Although it would be very slow going, he could follow this phantom army back to the source. With unwavering determination, he began slogging his way forward.

---

Spirit Rider was flying through the air above New York City while astride his motorcycle when the Army of Ghosts came upon him. In alarm, he activated his wind power and used the front of his motorcycle like a battering ram. It worked perfectly, his motorcycle effortlessly slicing through the specters like a hot knife through butter. Flabbergasted, his head was on a swivel as he took everything in.

"What the hell is all this?!"

He had never seen anything like this before and that was really saying something.

Looking closely, Spirit Rider could see faces within the blue. They looked like people. People of all ages and of all time periods in human history. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that whatever was going on had an origin point.

"Guess I'll just follow the blue."

Spirit Rider twisted the throttle and began heading for the source at maximum speed.

---

Existence was meditating in India when the Army of Ghosts passed through him. With his meditation broken, he was quite surprised to see what was going on.

"This is remarkable. What is this, and where did it come from?"

The only way to know for sure was to go to its source. Using a combination of his psychic and reality bending powers, he opened a portal straight to the source and stepped through as it closed behind him.

---

Lithuel was in London when the Army of Ghosts entered his vision. Because he was half-demon and the demonic energy was present within him, they did not pass through him but tried to crush him with overwhelming force. The nephilim reached out and stopped the rush with one hand while the rest continued moving around him. Curious, Lithuel regarded this blue wall with keen interest.

"Human souls...too many to count..."

He pretty quickly grasped what was going on.

"No dice, guys. I'm not going down that easily."

Flaring up with an aura of angelic energy, the Army of Ghosts harmlessly passed through him. Lithuel sighed in reluctant resignation.

"This is a pain in the ass, but I'd better try to find out what's going on. The sooner I get this mess cleaned up, the sooner I can get back to enjoying London."

Walking forward, he followed the trail until he reached the coast. Whatever the source was, it was across the Atlantic.

"Man, and I just bought this suit, too. I had it tailored and everything."

Two angel's wings, one black and one white, erupted from his back. With a single flap of his wings, he was aloft and moving like a bullet across the Atlantic and toward the source of the great blue wave of souls.

---

Shell Shock was cruising down the coast highway in his convertible Ferrari when the Army of Ghosts passed through him. He lowered his shades a little and stepped on the brakes. Having come to a stop, he was stunned.

"Whoa..."

Unable to see clearly enough to drive his car toward the source, he had no choice but to ask for help.

"If you could open up a Fire Path to the source of this shit, Firestar, that would be great."

An enormous orange portal appeared and the ghosts passed through it, as well.

"Well, guess I'll go see what's up. I hope this doesn't take long."

Shell Shock was planning to pick up some beach babes and take them for a ride down the coast highway. If everything went well, he would get lucky, which he considered the perfect ending to his day. Stepping on the gas, Shell Shock drove through the portal and it closed behind him.

---

Crusader was still walking in the field when the Army of Ghosts passed through him. It had happened so quickly that Valor had not even had time to warn him.

These are human souls, Scott. So many that it's impossible to count. I sense a collective vengeful purpose in them. They want to kill the evil.

We can't just sit back and let that happen. Have you locked on to the source of the souls?

Of course.

Crusader used his soul energy to fly forward at rapid speed. With Valor guiding him, he was able to take the fastest route straight to the source. They both sensed along the way that the foe behind this attack would not be an easy fight.

 

[True Grave]

Existence was the first to arrive at the source of the Army of Ghosts. He could see an emaciated young man in a tattered robe pointing them forward. A few seconds later, Shell Shock came through a Fire Path in his Ferrari. He stood up and leaned over the windshield.

"Any clue who that is, Marcus?"

"None at all."

Spirit Rider, Lithuel, and Crusader arrived a few moments later. As they settled on the ground, the collective sense of puzzlement only grew. None of them had ever seen the man behind the attack before. Ten minutes later, Lone Wolf arrived, having to request a Fire Path after he reached the northern coast of Japan. He did not know the man, either, but began moving forward to confront him. He was stopped when Existence grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait Lone Wolf. I don't know that man's name, but I can sense that he's an Omega class mutant, just as I am."

"That's impossible," Scott replied, "The Divine Edicts clearly state that only one Omega class mutant is to exist in any given dimension at any given time."

"Well, somehow, this Omega class mutant escaped his own dimension. Either he came here under his own power or some powerful being violated the Edicts and sent him here."

"Either way, we're going to have to evict his ass, right?" Shell Shock asked.

"Easier said than done," Existence replied.

"I'll go talk to him," Crusader said.

"Be careful."

Crusader walked up to the mysterious Omega class mutant, stopping a respectful distance away.

"My name is Crusader, a hero of this planet. What's your name?"

The emaciated young man turned his attention to him.

"My true name was lost long ago. I am known simply as Rise now."

"Okay, Rise. Why are you doing this?"

Rise looked over at the Army of Ghosts.

"Can you see them?"

"Yes."

"Every one of them is an innocent soul who was murdered during war. They came to me and pleaded with me to avenge them. I agreed to be the instrument of their vengeance. Under my direction, the innocent will have their retribution."

"I understand where you're coming from, but here, that's called murder. In this world, the good guys don't kill the bad guys. We capture them and let the criminal justice system decide their fate."

Rise looked at him with complete incomprehension.

"Does your world not have a criminal justice system?"

Rise shook his head.

"Whatever that is, I've never heard of it. In my world, the powerful killed the powerless. To change all of that, I had to kill the oppressors. There was no other way."

"I'm sorry about that. I really am."

Rise shook his head again. Scott looked at him with compassion.

"Your world may be lawless, but this world is not. Please, Rise, stop this killing. We will make sure you get home. Surely someone misses you."

Rise returned his compassionate look.

"I made a promise to these innocent souls and I cannot break my word."

"Rise, if you will not stop willingly, I will have to stop you by force. Please don't force me to do that."

"You are a virtuous man, Crusader, and I would hate to hurt you. But if you attempt to stop me, I will have to fight back, and I only hope that I don't kill you by accident when I do."

With nothing left to say, Crusader turned and walked back to his allies.

"I guess negotiations broke down?" Spirit Rider asked.

"Yeah, we're going to have to fight."

He turned to Existence.

"Try using your psychic abilities to put him to sleep. If we can do that, we can send him back to his own world without anyone being harmed."

Existence nodded and entered Rise's mind with his psychic power. As soon as he did, though, horrible images of war and slaughter filled his mind. He tried to push through it, but there was simply too much. He couldn't bypass more than a billion minds to get to the mind of Rise himself. Existence dropped to one knee and panted as his mental probe was pushed out. He looked up at Crusader and shook his head.

"It's no good. Rise is immune to psychic attack."

"Can you use your reality bending to undo the moment he came here?"

Existence stood back up and nodded.

"I can try."

He closed his eyes and began trying to find the exact moment in history where Rise entered their dimension.

---

Omega sensed that Existence was trying to undo his work.

"You won't get out of this that easily, heroes of Earth."

Using his divine power, he essentially walled off Existence's power. An Omega class mutant was indeed powerful, but their power was not at the level of divine power. The feeling of a smirk emanated from Omega.

"Try to entertain me at least a little bit before you die."

---

Existence tried hard but could not undo that moment in time. He opened his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Something is blocking my power."

Shell Shock grinned.

"Guess we're taking the direct approach, then."

Taking aim with his palm, he fired a white energy blast at Rise. It struck but dissipated with no effect.

"What?!"

Rise glared at the heroes.

"Now that you have attacked me, I will retaliate."

He put his hands together, closed his eyes, and bowed his head.

"Army of Ghosts..."

He spread his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"...Become As One With Me."

The spectral horde entered his body, the blue wave covering the planet disappearing. Rise was now glowing with a blue aura that wafted from him like faint smoke. When he raised his head and opened his eyes, they glowed an unnaturally bright blue.

"That looks like it's gonna be a problem," Spirit Rider said.

 

[True Grave]

Rise had begun walking purposefully toward them. Crusader had to think fast.

"Nick, keep blasting him!"

Shell Shock raised both arms, clenched his fists, and repeatedly struck Rise with blast bolts. They seemed to have absolutely no effect on him. Existence looked closely to see why.

His eyes widened as he saw what was happening each time Rise was struck with a blast bolt.

"Dammit!" Shell Shock exclaimed, "Is this guy just taking these hits?"

"No," Existence replied with wide eyes, "He's not taking them at all!"

Lone Wolf looked closely.

"He's right. The ghosts are taking the hits for him."

"Are you serious?!" Spirit Rider interjected.

Existence nodded.

"They're like human shields, except better. After all, you can't kill what's already dead."

"Meaning that his shields continually replenish," Crusader said.

"Yes, and because of that, Rise is immune to physical attacks, too."

"Even if he is, we have to push him back," Spirit Rider said.

"We don't know how strong he is, so only the tankiest of us should go close quarters," Crusader added.

"While you three do that, I'll assist Nick from afar," Existence said.

Crusader, Lithuel, and Spirit Rider closed in for the assault. Existence placed his hand on Shell Shock's shoulder, making the bolts he fired around them much stronger by channeling Omega class mutant power directly into his body. Lone Wolf would serve as the second wave on close quarters once he saw how strong Rise was.

Spirit Rider was able to move the fastest and so sought to ram Rise with his motorcycle. He was stopped by a solid wall of ghosts. Rise raised his fist but Eric wasn't worried. His trusty steed was almost indestructible. It was a complete surprise to him when a single right straight from Rise shattered his motorcycle like glass. As he fell, he caught a left uppercut in the solar plexus that knocked the wind out of him and sent him rocketing into the sky.

Existence grabbed Spirit Rider with his psychic power and gently guided him to the ground. He was wheezing and holding his solar plexus. It came as a complete surprise that someone could so easily take out Spirit Rider. Lithuel had closed the distance, summoned his sword, and was slashing at Rise in rapid combinations. Due to the ghosts, though, not a single attack was getting through. Rise punched him in the nose with a right straight and Lithuel went shooting backwards as if he had been shot out of a cannon.

"Oh shit, motherfucker!" he shouted right before crashing through a boulder and continuing to travel for miles.

Crusader threw a punch but it was also stopped. Rise landed a left uppercut that shattered Crusader's almost indestructible Voltari Armor helmet in the same way as Spirit Rider's motorcycle. As he was still ascending, Rise caught him in the solar plexus with a follow-up right straight. The armor absorbed most of the impact but also broke before Crusader was hurled backwards. He rolled end over end on the ground and would have kept going had Existence not stopped him with his psychic powers.

Shell Shock's jaw dropped. He had never seen anyone do something like that to such strong heroes.

"What the fuck?! How is that guy that strong?"

"It's the ghosts," Existence replied.

"Explain," Lone Wolf prompted.

"Rise has an uncountable number of ghosts inside his body. Let's say it's billions, at least. Each individual ghost only has human strength, but if you add billions of people's individual strengths together..."

"...You get one person with the strength of billions," Lone Wolf finished, "Everyone on this planet all together probably wouldn't be enough to overpower him."

"It would take a being of divine power to defeat him with strength alone. As unbelievable as it is, we don't stand a chance against him."

"So we can't hurt him and we can't take his attacks," Shell Shock said worriedly, "Yeah, we're pretty fucked."

"No..." Crusader replied as he got to his feet, "...We can still win."

"Oh?" Lone Wolf replied with a curious eyebrow raise.

"If Firestar will open a Fire Path back to his world, we can push him through it and close the door behind him."

"But we can't get close to him," Shell Shock pointed out.

"With Spirit Rider, we don't need to."

Spirit Rider started to get up from the punch he took.

"Yeah, I can use my wind power to push him back."

Crusader turned to Existence.

"With you amplifying his power, it should work."

Existence nodded.

"Let's do it."

---

Omega frowned.

"Firestar, huh? Guess I'll have to take direct action."

Finding the realm of Firestar, he created a solid black humanoid figure that appeared in the throne room of his palace. The figure fixed Firestar with a glare.

"You won't be opening any Fire Paths for the heroes of Earth."

---

Firestar was puzzled and then understood what was going on within a matter of seconds as the Aspect of Omega appeared in his throne room and began mouthing off. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled in amusement.

"Omega, huh? I never expected one of the Old Gods to come here."

He stood up from his throne and began walking toward him.

"But you're in my house now...and no one gives me orders in my house."

 

[True Grave]

The Aspect of Omega lunged forward like a track star springing into action. He closed the distance between them so quickly that he seemed to be flying. The two gods were soon rapidly exchanging blows. Firestar blocked and weaved but couldn't land a flush strike of his own. Aspect was fast but not faster than him. Their fists collided and then a new round of exchanges began.

The two engaged in a pummel duel, in which their fists collided several times in rapid succession. Not wanting to tear up his palace, Firestar warped outside. Aspect went right with him and they kept fighting in mid-air. The pummel duel continued but Firestar finally got the upper hand with a surprise head kick that landed flush. A wheel kick to the chest sent the Aspect flying backwards. He then ignited his fist and threw a massive fireball the size of a city bus at him.

---

Spirit Rider created a wind tunnel around Rise that pushed him back with gale force winds. Existence put his hand on his shoulder and the wind tunnel was much more intense. It was everything Rise could do to stay planted. The plan was working great and now they needed the missing piece.

"Firestar, open a Fire Path back to Rise's home world!" Crusader called.

A bright orange portal did not appear.

---

Firestar heard the call seconds before he saw his fireball crushed out of existence by darkness. The Aspect of Omega rushed back and the two rapidly exchanged once again. The two were even and broke after colliding together with simultaneous knee strikes.

"Not bad, Firestar. I'll have to use all of my power for you."

The Aspect of Omega flared up with a black aura which then swiftly disappeared.

In not even one fourth of a second, the Aspect landed six unprotected punches to Firestar's face. The God of Fire crashed to the ground and the Aspect landed on his solar plexus with both feet. He reached down and grabbed Firestar by the neck. He then lifted him up by the neck and held him aloft in one hand.

"As I said, Firestar, you will not be opening any Fire Paths for Earth's heroes."

The Aspect grinned in malicious delight.

---

Lithuel flew back and landed beside Crusader as Spirit Rider and Existence continued their assault. Crusader quickly filled him in on the plan.

"I don't see any Fire Path, though."

"Yeah, I know," Crusader replied worriedly, "It normally happens immediately."

"Well, he better hurry up," Spirit Rider said with strain in his voice, "I can't keep this up forever!"

Rise was inching toward Spirit Rider, determined to defeat those who were resisting him.

---

Firestar began to laugh. Aspect gave him a puzzled look laced with irritation.

"What's so funny?"

Firestar's hands erupted into flames and he pierced Omega's body with double spear hand strikes. Aspect cried out in pain.

"As I said, Omega..."

Firestar began pumping fire into his body. Aspect writhed and screamed in pain. The darkness making up his shape started to melt.

"...No one gives me orders in my house!"

Firestar unleashed the full force of his flames and Aspect exploded into a giant fireball. The God of Fire grinned in satisfaction as the warmth of the heat washed over him.

---

Omega snarled and screamed in fury. Once again, his plan had failed. He didn't have the power left to summon another Aspect.

"Don't think this is over, Firestar. I will recover from this humiliation. When I do...I will kill you all!"

---

Crusader grinned and laughed in relief as a Fire Path opened behind Rise.

"There it is! Give it everything, guys!"

Spirit Rider screamed in exertion and poured everything into his wind tunnel. Existence's eyes glowed as he boosted Spirit Rider's power higher and higher. Rise was pushed back but dug his hands deep into the earth in order to hang on.

"The son of a bitch is hanging on for dear life!" Shell Shock screamed.

He tried blasting him, but it was still no good. Crusader regenerated his armor and steeled his resolve.

"Don't worry, guys. I got this."

He walked forward, planted his feet, cocked back his arm, and flared up with power that he began focusing into his right fist.

We better give it our all. This is the final push.

Right, Valor!

His right arm morphed into the Destroyer Fist. This gave him an insane automatic boost in strength that he was steadily increasing by the second. When his power was at its peak, he launched the punch forward.

Fist of Valor!!!

A massive shockwave exploded forward, tearing up the ground and sending Rise hurtling toward the portal. Tears flew from Rise's cheeks as he realized what was happening.

I'm sorry, innocent souls of Earth. I've failed you.

He went through the portal and Firestar closed it.

Spirit Rider dropped to one knee with an exhausted smile.

"Holy shit," Shell Shock said, "That was one persistent bastard."

Everyone laughed in agreement and relief. As the laughter tapered off, Existence got serious again.

"But I'm worried because...something was interfering in our fight that I couldn't see."

Everyone got quiet as they pondered the ramifications of what that meant.

 

[True Grave]

A half hour after Rise was sent back to his home world, Firestar's team was gathered in the dining room of his house on Earth for a debriefing. Everyone was seated while Existence projected the Fire God's thoughts to them.

"Unfortunately, this Rise situation is even worse than it appeared. One of the Old Gods, Omega, was backing him."

"Omega?" Crusader asked.

"Explain," Lone Wolf prompted.

"In a nutshell, Omega is the first and the last. He is infinite darkness and has existed only as the darkness in space for millennia. Thus, you could think of him as the Universe Incarnate. He was the first of the Old Gods and is purely malevolent. He wants to destroy all life and return time and space to absolute zero."

"Charming guy," Spirit Rider quipped.

"Indeed. This is just speculation, but based on your report, I believe that Omega violated the Divine Edicts and tossed Rise into your world."

"My power could only have been blocked by a divine being," Existence added.

"Omega certainly fits the bill. The fact that he attacked me in my palace almost confirms it."

"So what do we do?" Crusader asked.

"I'm afraid that there's nothing that we can do. Omega is a shapeless being and can't just be fought. He also can't be killed. We'll have to wait for his next move."

No one liked it, but that was the way it was.

"When he returns, we'll be ready," Crusader said, and the other five nodded in agreement.

 

[True Grave]

After the debriefing, all five left Firestar's house.

"Well, where are you guys off to?" Crusader asked.

"I'm headed back to India. I was meditating within an ashram before all this started."

"Try not to fall asleep, old man," Shell Shock quipped.

Existence waved him off and opened a portal before leaving.

Spirit Rider summoned his motorcycle.

"Well, I'll be off, too. You guys need anything, you let me know."

He mounted his motorcycle and took off into the sky before disappearing over the horizon. Lithuel walked over and gently clapped Crusader on the back.

"Guess we finally found a guy even you couldn't handle, eh, Scott?"

Crusader turned to him and smiled.

"You can say that again. Rise hit you hard, Lithuel. How do you feel?"

"All good. Takes more than that to put me out, as you well know."

"Yeah, right. So, where are you headed?"

"Back to jolly old England," Lithuel replied, affecting a British accent.

Crusader chuckled.

"Well, take it easy, Lithuel."

"Same to you."

The two shook hands and Lithuel winged into the sky before heading for the ocean. Turning to Lone Wolf, Scott bowed respectfully and then shook his hand.

"You headed home, Lone Wolf?"

"Yes."

Being a man of few words, Crusader knew that Lone Wolf was only a message away without his friend having to say it. The martial arts master walked through a Fire Path back to his favorite courtyard.

Shell Shock grinned and headed for his Ferrari.

"You headed anywhere in particular, Scott?"

"No, not really."

"Why not come to California with me and enjoy some beach babes?"

"You had me at California. Let's do it."

Crusader grabbed the passenger door and swung his body over into the passenger seat. Shell Shock did the same and started his baby up. He drove through a Fire Path and was back on the coast highway.

"I'm telling you, Scott, you ain't never seen bitches this fine before. They put the Midwest babes to shame--Oh, hold up!"

Shell Shock cranked the radio as a banger of a tune came on.

Crusader and Shell Shock sang along and the former danced in his seat. The guitar solo was sweet and Crusader let himself vibe with it. They stopped at a beach and picked up as many women as could fit in the Ferrari. They were gonna party tonight and probably not remember it tomorrow.

"You ladies are gonna love our place," Shell Shock said with an eager smile.

They drove through a Fire Path that led straight back to team headquarters.


To be continued...