Voice:(faintly) Charlie… Charlie… Charlie…"
Charlie snapped back to reality as Leona called her name.
Leona: We need to get moving and find the enemy—fast.
Charlie: R-right.
Charlie shoved aside a truck and several cars as debris cluttered the street. Suddenly, a bus came hurtling toward Kael, Diego, and Leona, who were still clinging to a pole.
They noticed it instantly. Kael moved to erase it—but just before the bus could reach them, a wormhole opened. The vehicle plunged into it and vanished, only to be expelled moments later into the open ocean.
Magnus—S-Class Rank 6—stood calmly at the side of a nearby building. Most knew him by his codename, Cypher, famed for his wormhole ability.
Magnus: Nice to meet you, Nexus-5. Seems like you were caught off guard. The enemy is about a kilometer away.
Kael: A kilometer? That's quite a distance.
Magnus: We estimate it to be closer to 1.5 kilometers.
Woman: And we'll be needing your help as well.
When they looked down, they saw Estridth rising toward them, standing atop massive vines that twisted and grew continuously beneath her feet. As her face came into view, their expressions brightened.
The vines lifted her higher.
All:(happily) Ms. Estridth!
Leona: It's so good to see you.
Estridth: Good to see you too, kids.
The vines thickened and expanded, allowing them to stand securely upon the living platform.
Estridth: Magnus will need at least Charlie and Leona to take down the gravity-controlling enemy. I'll need both of you boys with me. Are you alright with that?
Kael: Will do. Leona, Charlie—accompany Mr. Magnus and finish the job.
Following their leader's command, Leona and Charlie stepped toward Magnus and entered the wormhole with him, while the others remained behind to assist civilians trapped under the distorted pull of gravity.
Magnus opened a wormhole five hundred meters ahead.
Yet the sensation remained unchanged.
He adjusted it farther east. This time, something felt slightly different.
He repeated the process—north, then west—carefully observing the subtle shifts in pressure and spatial distortion. After several attempts, he reached a conclusion.
Magnus: The enemy must be near the large church.
He returned to Leona and Charlie, explaining his deduction.
He could teleport them directly to the church but the enemy could launch a surprise attack at any moment, so they chose to approach cautiously.
Inside the church nave, the Dark Knight stood at the center.
Dark Knight: Hmm… So they're coming for me. I'd better prepare.
Pastor: Joel, stop this, and the Lord will forgive your sins.
Joel: I'm sorry, Pastor… but my sins are too great to be undone. Now, I am BadBoyzBlue—the 3B's. A boy… born to be bad.
They reached the churchyard. Strangely, there were no traps.
Now it was time to face the enemy.
They pushed open the heavy front doors of the nave and saw Joel standing at the center. The benches had been piled into the corners, and shattered glass from the stained windows littered the floor.
Joel: I… awaited… your arrival. Gravity is what forbids us from moving freely wherever we desire. We injure ourselves when we fall because of it. Objects grow heavy beneath its pull, limiting us—preventing us from unlocking our true potential.
Charlie: What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Stop now, and I might let you off with just an ass-whooping.
Joel: Quite the confidence you have… for a mongrel. Come then. Show me what you've got.
Charlie rushed forward, forcing herself upward despite the unnatural pull weighing against her. She closed the distance, ready to strike—
—but suddenly, her body slammed toward the ground as if an invisible force had shoved her down.
Charlie: M-my clothes… they're heavy—immensely heavy. Now I get it. He has two abilities. One affects a wide range… and the other controls the gravity of objects. That's why the back of my clothes is pushing me forward while the front is dragging me down.
Joel: Not just gravity… but pressure.
Charlie's clothes tightened violently, compressing against her body. The fabric thinned under the strain, pinning her limbs in place. Even if she tried to move, she couldn't—they were crushing her.
Joel altered the gravitational pull again.
Charlie was lifted into midair.
For a split second—weightless.
Then—
The gravity intensified.
She was driven into the ground with devastating force. The floor cracked beneath the impact, and blood spilled from her lips as she coughed.
Seeing that Charlie would not be able to handle it alone, Magnus stepped in.
He opened a wormhole beside his hand and another near Joel's right leg, attempting to yank him off balance. Then, in a seamless motion, he repositioned the exit point beside Joel's cheek and drove his fist through it.
Magnus repositioned himself near Joel, choosing to face him head-on.
He unleashed a flurry of punches. Each strike disappeared into a wormhole and reemerged from different angles around Joel, forcing him to defend from multiple directions at once.
Joel responded instantly.
He altered the gravity of Magnus' clothes—but Magnus had anticipated it. Before the pressure could fully immobilize him, he opened a wormhole beneath his own feet and dropped through, emerging directly above Joel in an attempt to overpower him.
Joel's expression hardened.
He shifted Magnus' clothes into zero gravity, causing him to float helplessly—then abruptly increased the pressure. The fabric compressed inward, crushing him.
Magnus coughed blood.
Leona watched, frustration tightening her chest. She knew charging in recklessly would only hinder them. Kael's command echoed in her mind:
"Accompany Magnus to get the job done."
She closed her eyes and focused, gathering energy into her right hand. Slowly—painfully—she formed one-fourth of an energy shield, condensing it until it fit within her palm.
She opened her eyes.
She aimed.
And launched it.
The shield transformed into a projectile mid-flight. Upon impact, it shattered violently, the force knocking Joel backward and disrupting his gravitational control over Charlie and Magnus.
The pressure lifted.
Charlie collapsed, exhausted but alive. Magnus, though injured, remained conscious.
Leona rushed to Charlie's side and began healing her.
Joel rose to his feet.
Now he was truly furious.
Joel stepped onto the left wall—
—and began walking across it as if it were solid ground.
The shift was instantaneous.
Benches scraped violently across the floor before sliding up the right wall. Debris followed. Even the heroes were dragged sideways as gravity twisted unnaturally.
Joel moved along the wall with eerie ease—like a predator stalking from above.
The gravitational distortion spread beyond the church.
Kael and the others felt it immediately.
Across the city, civilians were thrown into even greater danger. Furniture and debris from tall buildings tore loose, crashing and rolling through the streets below.
They couldn't cover such a vast area alone.
But amidst the chaos, Nathan acted.
Glitch. Photon. Tungsten.
Photon Nate streaked across the city at lightning speed, evacuating civilians and relocating them to safety in blinding flashes.
Tungsten Nate erected massive walls of tungsten to intercept falling debris, then coated his own body in the metal, smashing through obstacles while sprinting at Mach 5 to clear escape routes.
Glitch Nate summoned a unit of three Glitch Angels to extract civilians trapped beneath rubble, while he provided aerial support, soaring above the city with fractured, digital wings slicing through the air.
Witnessing the power of the S-Class Rank 1 hero, Kael and Diego stood in utter amazement.
Magnus: Guardia, I know you're busy… but I have a request.
Leona: ?
Magnus: Can you do it again? That… thing you threw. Launch it anywhere. One will be enough.
Complying with Magnus' request, Leona formed another Energy Shield Projectile and launched it.
Magnus immediately opened a wormhole in its path, redirecting the shield. Then—without hesitation—he created multiple wormholes around Joel.
The shield vanished into one portal—
—and emerged from another.
Then another.
Then another.
They burst out continuously from different angles, striking Joel in rapid succession.
Magnus:(thought) That's right. Creating multiple wormholes at once drains my energy… but I'll maintain it for as long as I can. We will win—no matter what.
———————————————————
Magnus, Carter's closest friend, had grown up in the same neighborhood as him. They attended the same school from childhood, their bond forged long before they became heroes.
Though their mindsets differed, they worked together seamlessly.
Carter approached situations strategically and conservatively.
Magnus charged forward, always seeking the best offensive solution.
Carter relied on teamwork.
Magnus relied on innovation.
Yet no matter how far their paths diverged, they always met again—like a pen and its cap.
———————————————————
Joel's temper began to fracture.
And he could no longer endure it.
Joel abruptly increased the gravity of their clothes, canceling the barrage mid-assault.
The pressure snapped back onto them.
Joel: You've pushed me far enough. But now… I've decided you won't be granted a merciful death.
His eyes darkened.
Joel: You'll have something far more gruesome.
Magnus:(thought) I was wrong. I thought his gravity and pressure control had limited range… but he can still manipulate it across the entire nave. I need a solution—fast.
Joel walked calmly up the wall and onto the ceiling, standing at its center like a distorted saint above his congregation.
Then he intensified the gravity of a specific section of the ceiling—
—the very section directly above them.
The air groaned.
There was no escape.
Charlie:(struggling) If… if this gravity wasn't here… I would've beaten the hell out of him…
The ceiling tore loose.
It plummeted downward with crushing force.
Then—
A blur shattered through the collapsing structure.
Glitch Nate burst in from above, seizing Joel by the face and driving him upward through another layer of the ceiling, ripping him out of position.
But the falling mass still descended.
Just before it could obliterate the heroes, the outer wall exploded inward—
Tungsten Nate charged through, Carter secured on his back.
Without hesitation, Tungsten Nate hurled Carter forward.
Carter extended his ability mid-air, slowing the ceiling's descent just enough for Tungsten Nate to slam both hands into the ground and forge a massive tungsten barrier.
The ceiling crashed onto it.
The church shook.
But the barrier held.
Glitch Nate dragged Joel's face across the asphalt, sparks and debris spraying in their wake. Before Joel could recover, Nate snapped him upright, spun him violently, and hurled him high into the sky.
He rocketed upward after him.
Mid-air—
Nate clasped both fists together and brought them down in a brutal double-axe strike, smashing Joel toward the ground.
He dived past him, twisted in the air, and formed a massive glitch greatsword in his hand—slashing Joel back upward again before he could stabilize.
Joel barely regained balance when—
Three glitch demons materialized in formation.
They unleashed a concentrated turret of glitch blasts, pinning Joel in mid-air.
Nate streaked past him once more—
Then folded his wings and plunged straight down.
Full force.
He drove Joel into the earth.
BOOM.
The shockwave rippled across the neighborhood. Windows rattled. Dust and shattered stone erupted outward in a violent ring.
When the debris finally settled, Joel lay at the center of a deep crater carved by the impact.
He tried to move.
Nothing.
He had no energy left to fight—nor enough control to activate his ability. The abnormal gravity within the 1.5-kilometer radius normalized as his power faded.
Glitch Nate landed beside the crater and placed the power nullifying band around Joel's wrist, ensuring he couldn't re-activate his abilities.
Joel no longer posed a threat.
Nate tapped his comm. "CTP. Target secured."
Magnus received the notification just as Tungsten Nate finished pulling the others free from the rubble and reinforcing their injuries.
Magnus exhaled.
Magnus: Son of a gun… he actually did it.
He opened a wormhole beside Nate.
Together, they transferred Joel directly to Ice Box.
One by one, the heroes dispersed as emergency crews moved in.
The damage done to the city was catastrophic.
Buildings fractured. Streets split. Entire blocks were left unrecognizable.
But thanks to the swift response of the heroes, what could have become a large-scale tragedy was prevented. No civilian fatalities were recorded.
There were injuries—many of them serious—but Nathan's rapid-response healing ability stabilized the wounded before emergency teams even arrived.
Within hours, reconstruction efforts began.
The World Hero Association coordinated with private contractors and volunteers, mobilizing cranes, med-units, and structural engineers across the district. What had nearly become a disaster of historic proportions was now a story of containment.
Nexus-5 regrouped with Estridth at the ruined church, waiting for Michael.
During his separate engagement, Michael's watch had been destroyed, cutting him off from their signal. Unable to track their coordinates, he relied on eyewitness accounts from civilians to piece together their location.
When he finally arrived—
The roar of his bullet bike echoed through the broken streets.
Charlie folded her arms.
Charlie: Hmph. Show-off.
Moments later, the WHA contacted them.
Due to their performance during a catastrophe-level incident, their rankings were adjusted once again.
Kael: Rank 68 → 63
Diego: Rank 258 → 208
Leona: Rank 9 → 3
Charlie: Rank 8 → 6
Michael: Rank 42 → 37
A replacement watch was immediately dispatched to Michael.
Two additional emergency requests had also surfaced—Sector 3 (Northeast) and Sector 7 (Southeast).
Without hesitation, they made their decision.
Kael and Diego would accompany Estridth to Sector 3.
The others would respond to Sector 7.
No long speeches. No dramatic
declarations.
They simply bid each other "goodnight".
And dispersed into the dark once more.