Despite her best efforts, Prime slowly regained his footing. It was like anch a cloud to the earth. His Telekinesis seemed able to adapt as soon as she made any headway. He tinued risie her efforts to pin him to the ground.

  With a grunt, he stood upright before her.

  His helmet's LED eyes glowed bright red as he stared back at her in silehough his expression remained hidden behind his helmet, Fii could tell he was furious. She'd caught him off guard...

  A barely audible meical whirring followed. Then the LED eyes returo their normal blue color.

  Fii felt a pulsing force pressing against her own, a tide pushing back with each wave she sent forth. It was as if she were pushing against a relentless wind, her powers bending but not breaking uhe invisible onsught.

  Around them, the air crackled, dust motes swirling into mini cyes, as if the very atmosphere was being torn apart by their flig forces. A strange buzzing filled her ears and her skin crawled like she was being covered in thousands of tiny ants.

  Her vision blurred and swam before her. Every breath hurt. Every fiber in her body burned with fatigue.

  Eventually, she let go of her power and stumbled back, gasping for air.

  It seemed as if Prime sehis aoo relehe oppressive sensation lifted slightly.

  Prime finally stood up, tilting his head at her. "Axion? An iing hough I doubt a slum dweller like you could have e up with that on your own." His voice held a note of dession as he regarded her with thinly veiled pt. "Who chose it? Was it Virgil? Doubtful. He's not that clever."

  Fii gritted her teeth in frustration. She forced her shaky legs to hold steady as she matched his gaze. "You're a Super...aren't you supposed to protect people? Why attack us?!"

  She tried to keep her tone even to hide her pain.

  Prime paused for a moment before replying, "In the same way we protect all of humanity—by ridding the world of its undesirables. The slums have bee breeding grounds fees...corrupt and depraved. Their influence must be expunged...one way or another."

  "We did nothing wrong!" Fii snapped. "We were only defending ourselves from Salvatore and his mercs!"

  Prime's eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. His hands remained csped behind his back. The polished white of his suit reflected the sunlight overhead. He towered over by a full head's length. Even with the helmet obsg his features, he radiated fidend authority. Fii felt small in parison.

  "Salvatore...Ah yes...a plication...I must admit, that this ued development has...soured my mood. Still, nothing be done about it now," Prime mused aloud. "At least you know his name...most slum dwellers don't...or care to learn. You seem more...intelligent than the average street rat. You may prove useful after all."

  Fii felt her anger rise. Her hands ched into fists at her sides. "Don't ge the subject! What gives you the right to do this?!"

  Prime chuckled darkly. "The right? Do you really o ask? Surely even you ahat...unless you're stupider than I thought. But then again...you might be as thick-headed as the rest of them. Let me spell it out for you: I am Prime—leader of the Ultimate Guardians. I have the authority to protect humanity from any and all threats— fn or domestic...and that includes those who live within these...deplorable ditions."

  He gestured around him at the ruined neighborhood. His tone remai as he tinued speaking. "The slum is a cesspool of human filth. It exists solely because we allow it to. It is a vestige of the past kept alive by nostalgic fools who refuse to let go. It is an affront to modern civilization...a disgrace.

  "If not for the Metropolis, this city would be little more than rubble. We provide for your bare ies...for your survival...a...you tio squander enerosity by indulging in your...degee lifestyle...which has led to the creation of unruly scum like them."

  Prime waved a hand towards the remnants of the Ironcd Legion. Most had fled, but several still y dead oreet. The other slum dwellers who peeked out from the windows of nearby buildings or shanties quickly ducked baside as his gaze swept over them.

  He turned his attention back to Fii and tinued speaking.

  "I'll repeat myself just so you uand me clearly: If not for our efforts...you'd be living in stant fear of starvation—or worse...death. A...you throw that away—willingly—and iurn you poison yourselves...and produce degees like these..." He walked over to Kareem's corpse and with his foot. "It is no wonder we allow the slums to rot—that we tolerate such squalor. Why waste resources trying to save those who refuse to help themselves?"

  "We've dohe best we could with what we have," Fii shot back. "Sure, it'd be nice if gangs did, but what we do about it? We don't have the resources you guys have! It's not like we asked to live like this! We're stuck here...because of HighRise like you!"

  Prime shook his head slowly. His voice took on a patronizing tone. "You make excuses...it's pathetic...but I suppose that's expected from someone who has never known anythier. Someone like you couldn't prehend what life is like beyond these slums...the luxuries that exist outside of them. A...you yearn for such things, don't you? You'd give anything to escape this...if given the ce."

  Fii stared at him silently as she sidered his words. A part of her hated to admit it...but he was right—even if he sounded like an arrogant asshole. She'd always dreamed of leaving the slums—and living iropolis.

  "Yes...that's what I thought," Prime said with a chuckle. "Every person from these slums wants the same thing, and they will do anything to get it. They are no different than animals. They will tear each other apart to achieve their selfish desires...and you are no exception." He took aep closer until he stood directly in front of her. He stared down at her through his helmet's visor. His LED eyes glowed brightly. "Am I wrong?"

  Fii didn't respond. She refused to give him the satisfa.

  "Your silence speaks volumes, a, your as betray your words...you still defend them despite their misdeeds—despite knowing they are unworthy of such mercy...how foolish..." Prime paused as if waiting for her to reply.

  When she didn't speak up, he began pag slowly in front of her and tinued his monologue. "I will not pretend to uand why you tio defend them...perhaps you think you save them? Is that it? Are you hoping to show them the error of their ways? If so...then you're wasting your time...and theirs."

  He stopped walking and turo face her once more. "Don't be a fool. You ot ge their nature...not when they have been like this for so long. And even if you could, it wouldn't st. Sooner or ter they would revert back to their base instincts and do it all ain...until there's nothi but ashes—as history has proven time and again."

  Prime reached out with his hand towards her.

  Suddenly, her helmet began to loosen from her head. She grabbed at it instinctively and tried to keep it in pce. But his telekinesis was to. It slipped out of her grasp and flew towards Prime. He caught it easily and held it in his hands as if examining it.

  Fii gasped in surprise as her face became exposed to the world. She gnced around at the scattered crowd of slum dwellers watg from a distance. She couldn't see their expressions clearly. But she didn't care anymore. Her secret was out...she was exposed.

  "Ah, there we are..." Prime muttered as he tilted her helmet in his hands. "Now I finally get a good look at you...so young...but old enough to know better—yet still foolish enough to defend them. An admirable trait...if mispced...but there's no saving them now—not when they've made their bed...and must lie in it."

  Fii took a deep breath and steeled herself before meeting his gaze. "You don't have to do this. We didn't ask for any of this! Please...don't hurt anyone else...just...stop...please!" She hated how weak she sounded. But she didn't care anymore. All she wanted was for him to leave.

  Prime tossed her helmet aside and began walking around her slowly in a circle. He folded his arms behind his back again as he studied her closely. "It seems I uimated you. You possess siderable power for a slumdog—even with your limited experieno wonder Virgil chose you." He stopped cirg her and stood directly in front of her once more. "Yes...you may be useful indeed...but only if you cooperate."

  "Why? What do you want from me?" Fii asked.

  Prime reached out towards her with one hand. She flinched instinctively as his fiips grazed her cheek. He tilted her up slightly so she could meet his gaze.

  "Simple...bring me Virgil's head. Do that, and I'll five your outburst." His voice held no hint of emotion. His tone was matter-of-fact...almost bored. "He will be...retired...due to his treasonous as from a decade ago. You may not know this, but he was—is—a notorious viginte who had done what you've just witnessed me do here. It's time for him to retire from that career. We'll be sure to write his epitaph for the world to remember."

  Fii jerked her head away from his grasp and took a step back. Her eyes narrowed as she gred at him. "I won't do it! He's my friend. He's been trainieag me...helping me! I'm not gonray him! Never!"

  "You abhor my methods yet you're fih his?" Prime asked coolly. "Do you truly believe Virgil cares for you? Are you naive enough to think he does this out of kindness? You are merely a tool...a means to an end. A pawn in his schemes. He has no qualms about using others for his own agenda. Surely you must have realized that by now."

  "No! That's not true!" Fii snapped. "Virgil's a good person! He's helping me so I protect everyone!"

  Prime shook his head slowly. "Your e astounds me. It reminds me of myself...back when I first dohe mantle of a superhero...back before I uood the truth...before I realized what true heroes are...what they do...what they must do..." His voice trailed off as he looked away. He seemed lost in his own thoughts.

  After a moment, he returned his attention to Fii and tinued speaking. "You may be powerful, but you ck moral crity...which makes you dangerous. It would be in your best io accept my ultimatum. I will not ask again...bring me Virgil's head...or else face the sequences. It would be a shame if I had to dispose of you."

  "Go to hell," Fii snarled. "If this is what it takes to be a superhero like you...then I don't want to be one!"

  Prime sighed heavily. "I'm disappointed...but not surprised. So be it. Don't say I didn't warn you."

  Fii gred at Prime, her vision narrowing into a tunnel focused solely on him. The surrounding slums blurred into an indistinct backdrop as she prepared to engage. Her gravikiise bzed to life in her mind's eye.

  Ripples and eddies in the fabric of space-time swirled around them like water currents. She could sehe subtle movements of Prime's elekiic power pushing back against the gravitational force—a stant pressure seeking to overe her trol.

  Prime stood still, arms crossed, LED eyes glowing brightly. His polished armored suit pristine and unblemished. He seemed almost rexed, unfazed by her resista was as if he expected this oute...as if he wanted her to fight him.

  "You've made your choice," he said coolly. "Let's see if you back it up."

  She wasn't going to let him intimidate her.

  Without warning, Fii unched herself forward, using her gravikinesis to propel her at an incredible speed. Her body became a blur as she aimed a punch at Prime's midse. At the st sed, she shifted the gravitational field around her fist to amplify the impact.

  Prime didn't move. As Fii's fist closed in, she felt a sudden, immense force pushing back against her. It was like hitting an invisible wall. Her momentum halted abruptly, and she found herself flying backward through the air instead. She crashed hard onto the pavement.

  "Is that all you've got?" Prime's voice was calm, almost mog. He raised a hand, and Fii felt a powerful telekiic force around her body, lifting her off the ground. "How disappointing."

  She struggled against the invisible grip, fog her power on breaking free. The air around her shimmered with gravitational distortions as she exerted her will. With a burst of effort, she mao disrupt Prime's hold just enough to drop back to the ground, nding in a crouch.

  Not wasting a moment, Fii directed her power at the grouh Prime's feet, attempting to destabilize him. The crete cracked and shifted, but Prime merely floated a few timeters off the ground, ued.

  She reached out with her mind again, this time targeting the surrounding debris. Shards of gss, bricks, and pieces of scrap metal flew towards Prime in a torrential whirlwind. He waved a hand dismissively, and the objects scattered in all dires.

  Fii attempted another approach, leaping into the air and s above him. At the apex of her jump, she focused on a nearby pile of rubble, lifting several rge ks into the air with her power.

  With a sharp motion, she hurled the debris at Prime from multiple angles, hoping to catch him off guard. Prime's eyes glowed brighter, and the ks of crete stopped mid-air, suspended by his telekinesis. He flicked his wrist, sending them hurtling back towards her.

  She pulled back quickly, dodging the projectiles as they flew past. The shattered crete smmed into the side of a building behind her, causing part of the structure to colpse.

  Prime's move was a sudden swipe of his arm through the air.

  Invisible forces gripped Fii, yankiowards a crumbling wall. Instinctively, Fii twisted in the air, lightening her body just enough to drift over the debris, turning a harsh throw into a trolled glide. She rolled as she nded, springing back to her feet.

  Fii immediately trated. She envisioned dragging him down, making him kneel as he had forced her to, but the superhero’s silhouette merely shimmered slightly, as if he were made of nothing more substantial than the dust swirling around them. Prime didn't even look fazed.

  "Don't make this harder than it has to be," he said, his tone edged with annoyance. He wasn't even winded. "I'm doing you a favor. You could learn a lot from me...bee a real hero...or you die a criminal."

  With a flick of his wrist, Prime sent a telekiic wave crashing towards Fii. She braced herself, using her gravikinesis to anchor her feet to the ground. The force of the ushed her back, but she held her ground, maintaining her focus. She couldn't afford to be distracted. Every sed ted.

  She reached out with her power, lifting a nearby abandoned car into the air. With a grunt of effort, she hurled it towards Prime. He raised his hand, stopping the car mid-air before casually tossing it aside. The vehicle crashed into a pile of rubble, exploding in a shower of sparks and twisted metal.

  "Is this all you manage?" Prime asked. His voice was tinged with boredom. "I expected more from you...but I suppose you're still just a child."

  He floated closer to Fii, eyes glowing brighter than ever. "Do you have any idea what kind of potential you could've had? With the right training...the right guidance...you could've been something—someone. But now...you'll never achieve anything...you'll always be a street rat...an i...nothing more."

  His words cut deep, but Fii pushed the pain aside, fog oask at hand. She knew she couldn't beat him head-on. He was too powerful...too experienced...she o be clever...to use her enviroo her advantage.

  With a wave of her hand, she directed a barrage of debris towards him. He held up his palm, using his telekinesis to deflect the projectiles with ease. But Fii wasn't finished.

  She charged, grabbing a rebar from the ground as she ran. Before reag him, she smmed some of the debris together to create a cloud of dust, hiding her movements. She swung the makeshift on at him, aiming for his head. To her surprise, the bar bent around him instead, and he caught her by the wrist. His grip was like steel.

  "A pointless effort," he said. "Did you really think that would work?" He tightened his hold, twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out in pain as she felt her borain against the pressure.

  "I don't want to kill you...but I will if you make me," Prime warned. "You're young...you still have time to ge your fate...but not if you keep resisting. Choose wisely." He twisted her arm harder. She bit back a scream as her shoulder popped out of its socket.

  "Fuck you!" Fii growled through ched teeth.

  She reversed the gravity around him and amplified it a hundredfold. The ued ge threw Prime off bance, f him to release her.

  Prime unched skyward while Fii fell ft on her face. He collided with the debris she had previously hurled at him that now hovered in the air. The ks of crete exploded into dust.

  Rocks and gss shards pelted Fii as she scrambled to get away. But before she could escape, she felt an invisible force around her and pull her back towards him.

  She thrashed wildly as she struggled against Prime's telekiic hold. He floated towards her slowly, arms crossed behind his back. His once pristine suit was now covered in dust and scratches.

  "Impressive...but not good enough," he said coldly. "I gave you a ce...and you wasted it. You have no oo bme but yourself."

  As he closed the distaweehe window from the buildio them shattered outwards—Kenzo's form barreling through in a fierce glide. He uhed his katana mid-air, a rhythmic beat-drop radiating out as he brandished his sword.

  "奥義侍の交響曲 (ōgi: Samurai no Kōkyōkyoku)!" he shouted, just as he swung the bde at Prime.

  A cascade of rhythmiiergy rippled outward from his ssh, eg with the superhero's torso. Prime grunted in pain, the force of the impact sent him flying backwards into a nearby shanty. The shoddy structure colpsed around him.

  The telekiic grip on Fii vanished.

  As he nded gracefully on the ground beside Fii, Kenzo tucked his on bato its sheath before turning tet out of here! I'll hold him off!"

  Before she could protest, Prime rose from the rubble and fixed his gaze on them. A few rge gashes marred his armored suit. His helmet's LED eyes glowed brighter than ever...but they were also different now...redder...and more intehe icy ess had melted away.

  For once, he seemed angry.

  "Impressive...you mao injure me," Prime said icily. "It seems I uimated you as well...whoever you are."

  "Go get Virgil and run!" Kenzo shouted as he spriowards Prime with his sword drawn.

  "What about you?!" Fii asked.

  "I handle him! Just do it!" Kenzo yelled back. "音速の槍 (Onsoku no Yari)!"

  Kenzo swiped his bde in a quick upward arc as he closed in on Prime. A cresdo of rhythmiergy rippled outwards from the strike, sending a nce of sonic force towards the superhero.

  Prime raised his hand and blocked the attack with a wall of debris. The ks of crete exploded into dust as the soundwave collided with them.

  As Fii limped away from the fight, she gnced over her shoulder to watch the two exge blows. Kenzo was fast...faster than she'd ever seen him move...but Prime reached out with his power and ensnared Kenzo mid-air.

  Kenzo's sword fell to the ground with a g as he struggled against Prime's telekiic hold.

  Oh no...NO!