The voice that came through the phone was panicked, and not the person that Ethan was expecting. “We need you ASAP,” Walter said calmly but quickly, desperation behind his words.

  Ethan looked back at Treya and spoke rapidly back, “I know. The lady we saved doing something. Cheat Code sent her, and he informed me.”

  “Can your phone receive live video feeds?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll send you one. A biohazard processing facility that had a medical en-suite we were using. South Soto Street and East 26th Street. Industrial area, but we have to try and keep it contained to the building.”

  Ethan pulled the phone back and saw the video feed request come through. He tapped to accept, and saw a scene of horror. People being consumed by a massive, fleshy blob of putrefied flesh and muscle. He tapped mute and looked over to Treya, “I have to go. Now.”

  “Be safe,” she said with concern, but a nod of understanding.

  “Ear piece,” Walter stated.

  Ethan unmuted and fished around his pouch, pulling the helmet off, shoving in his earpiece, and then pulling the helmet back down. “Done.”

  Walter’s voice came through the earpiece. “Good. Bolt Twins are securing perimeter and clearing out friendlies. Big Jim and Tyra can’t do much here. It’s on you.”

  “Heaven’s Gate,” Ethan stated as he walked through a portal to the warehouse floor. As the portal snapped shut behind him, he drew his sword and activated Crusade. The golden aura surrounded him as he was limned in the strengthened Holy Barrier. He tapped his helmet camera to record.

  The processing facility was a disaster. Cases of hazardous medical waste were strewn all about from overturned containers and collapsed shelving. He could hear the screaming of people who were running from the blob shape that pursued them, reaching pseudopods out, grabbing them, and instantly peeling them apart on contact before it sucked the biomass into itself.

  He could not see the bone-covered eye shape. For all I know, he thought, the woman inside is totally gone. I…I have to stop her. Even if it means killing her. Raising his hand, he shouted “Chains of Light!”

  The golden, thick chains burst from the ground and wrapped themselves over and around the blob, squeezing it tightly and buying time for the last few workers to flee the room, as even the pseudopods were restrained entirely. He knew it wouldn’t hold her for long, and he ran forward, slicing at the oozing, pulsating mass. The swipes he took bit deep, and the golden, holy light burst upon impact as the disgusting flesh was seared away.

  The thing let out a guttural, ground-shaking roar as the chains were snapped and pseudopods began raining down on Ethan. He blocked with ease thanks to his increased reaction speed for being under the effects of Crusade, and was able to slice out at the pseudopods and cut some of them off – the severed bits falling to the ground below before being slurped back into the mass of flesh.

  Only what my power touches gets destroyed, he thought. The mass moved itself forward, trying to engulf him with its enormous heft, and he used Leap of Faith to warp back thirty feet out of range and in the center of the building. He raised the sword, pointing it forward, and shouted, “Holy Storm!”

  A searing, burning cascade of radiant, divine energy surged forth in a cone and elicited a monstrous hissing noise as flesh burned away, bones dropped to the ground, useless, and the bulk was pushed back. Not destroyed, but enough was seared away that for a moment, Ethan saw the bone sphere-eye shape at the center that contained the origin of the mass. The Imbued in her safe cocoon.

  “I’ve got eyes on you through a camera,” Walter advised. “How many more of those can you do?”

  Ethan was sucking in deep lungfuls of air. “A few more, maybe?” The Imbued mass of flesh surged forth once more, and Ethan was backing up, hacking at the Pseudopods as they slammed toward him from the left, right, and above. Each time he sliced through one, it fell to the floor before being sucked back into the mass.

  “I’ll get one of the Bolt Twins to grab something long and sharp. Tell me before you do the next blast, and they’ll rush in to try and get a killing blow.”

  Ethan shouted back, “Have them do it now!” he was almost completely overrun by the mass, and had run out of room to back up. “Holy Storm!” Once more, the world in front of him ignited with holy flames, and the blob roared out in agony.

  Ethan saw Blue Bolt – his visual processing able to keep up with the speed. He was holding a street sign, the tip sharpened, and he dashed forward, stabbing into the bone-sphere as another, more feminine scream echoed out. Just as quickly, he pulled out and left the building. The misshapen flesh re-formed around the sphere of bone and would have incorporated Blue Bolt if he had remained.

  Ethan was tired. His arms felt like they were weighed down by training weights, and he struggled to bring his sword and shield back to bear as the blob came at him once more – reduced in mass, but still a threat. He was able to block one pseudopod, cut through another, but a third slipped past his defenses and slammed him in the chest – pinning him to the wall and beginning to spread around him.

  Eww, eww, eww! He thought as the goop seeped into his armor’s small gaps and openings, and he felt a tingling along his body. Leap of Faith! He warped out of the thing’s grip and across the room, far behind it. Dropping to a knee, he sucked in deep, exhausted breaths. “If…if I can…get a clear line of sight…to the sky…I can do something…that might stop it.”

  “Red and Blue, lure it outside,” Walter said.

  Ethan staggered toward the door, glancing back as he saw the two Bolts dash in and begin throwing objects at the blob – diverting its animalistic attention to the harrying opponents who guided it toward a cargo entrance with a big, sliding door that Red Bolt rapidly pulled up.

  Ethan was on the opposite side of the building and took in some deep breaths, not even caring that people had begun to gather with smart phones recording him. Nobilis, he thought. I need you to gauge my energy. Do I have enough to do what I’m thinking of without blacking out?

  No, Nobilis replied. Unconsciousness will follow.

  Shit. Then I guess I’m going to have to trust them. He cleared his throat, “Walter. After I do this, I’m going to go unconscious – out of energy.”

  “Understood. Blue Bolt, divert and be ready to recover Radiance and bring him back to base. Make sure that helmet stays on!” The voice changed tone slightly, and Walter kept speaking. “Just us two on this channel. You have my word, we won’t reveal your identity. The couch fine for you to recover on?”

  Ethan nodded, “Yeah.” He looked up into the sky above. “Make sure the blob is away from people.”

  “Red Bolt is luring it to the LA River nearby.”

  Good. Ethan did not relish the idea of what he was about to do. The Ability he was about to use had no capacity to reduce the injury inflicted. He was making a choice…he was about to kill another person. An Imbued. An out of control Imbued, he thought. One who needs to die so others can live. He sheathed his sword and took a deep breath. Here we go.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  A hard choice, but one that must be made, Nobilis said solemnly.

  “Leap of Faith,” Ethan stated. He was warped far, far up into the sky. Miles upon miles up, and began free-falling. He extended his arms and legs to slow his descent, and thanks to his Holy Sight, he could see the several-mile distance down to the blob Imbued. It was chasing Red Bolt, and as Ethan fell, he saw that the impact zone would be clear enough. “Walter? You hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” the man replied.

  “Tell Red Bolt to clear out. I’m coming in!” Ethan resigned himself to taking a life, and closed his eyes for a brief moment. It must be done. She’ll be in The Archive once she dies…regular people won’t be. That’s good enough for me. He opened his eyes and shouted, “Spear of Judgement!”

  A huge, gold, glowing lance appeared just in front of him, and he grabbed it, pointing it down – aimed right at the center of the blob. Straightening his body, he brought it into profile with the tip, angling his body down. He accelerated to Mach 10 in the span of a micro-second, speeding downward. A holy bolt of divine wrath, descending from the skies above. An angel’s wrath. Judgement from on high. The strongest “finisher” skill from the game he played with Treya for the damage-focused builds of his preferred classes.

  He saw the blob approaching fast and the lance pierced into the fleshy mass, down through that, into the bone shell, cracking it open, through the Imbued woman within who did not have time to even think, let alone process the death that fell upon her. Through her, ripping her in half, and into the ground below.

  Ethan felt the world explode around him. He drilled down into the ground, exploding through the cement, various service lines, and the rock beneath as he burrowed down. Then, the light expanded and flared outward. A crater, five-hundred feet deep and just as wide was formed from the instantaneous impact.

  To an outside observer, a flash of light, a glimmer, maybe, or even a trick of the eye had twinkled in the noonday sky above. Then, the world exploded in a gold and white burst of radiant energy that forced the viewer to shut their eyes or risk going blind.

  Ethan was uninjured as he lay at the bottom of the pit, but he was utterly wiped out and surrendered himself to unconsciousness.

  Ethan blinked a few times and sat up. He was inside the Imbued Initiative headquarters, with the other Imbued standing around, talking. They ceased, though, when he sat.

  Both Bolts looked at him, and Blue Bolt began signing while Red Bolt translated. “The fuck was that?”

  Ethan kicked his legs off the couch and cracked his neck. “My finisher. Spear of Judgement.”

  Big Jim grinned, “I bet I could’ve taken it on the chest.”

  Tyra nudged him, “Nuh-uh! No way! You’d be pancaked!”

  Ethan felt around his helmet, verifying that the hidden latches were still in place and that he had not been unmasked. Then, he moved his hand up to the camera – only to find it gone. “Where’s my camera?” he asked.

  Walter walked over, holding the device. “I just scrubbed the footage to make sure nothing identifying is left over.” He handed it to Ethan, who snatched it quickly before reaffixing it to the helmet’s jerry-rigged mount. Walter leaned against the couch arm, “You didn’t tell me that you would be fucking bombing the city.”

  “It had to go,” Ethan replied. “Why is it a problem?”

  “Collateral damage,” Big Jim said with a laugh. “Fucking should be expected, honestly. You took out a chunk of the city. How big was it?” he asked, looking at Tyra.

  “Dude, like, a mile across.”

  Ethan felt a pit in his stomach, but Walter clarified, “She is exaggerating. The crater was five-hundred feet across and just as deep. Significant damage, but it was isolated to the LA river, so ultimately the repairs will be…well…not as extensive-”

  Red Bolt spoke up, “I’m sorry. Are we just going to ignore that Radiance fucking did that?! Dropping from the goddamn sky and blowing that person to bits?” She sounded like she was scowling under her helmet. “You fucking killed her.”

  Ethan swallowed down the bile he felt at the back of his throat. “She’s…yeah…” he whispered. But he cleared his throat and looked up, “She’s dead. But it was her, or who knows how many people.” He looked over to Walter, “And we can expect more Imbued to be sent to us. Cheat Code…the sick fuck…he’s going to send us a, quote, “villain of the week” to deal with.”

  Walter frowned and checked his phone, “Matches up with what the IRE has mentioned – some of their other members are reporting similar threats. Cheat Code is quickly becoming the antagonist of all other Imbued by sending threats at varying intervals.”

  Blue Bolt began signing again, and Red Bolt translated once more. “He’s asking if we are really prepared as a group to kill Imbued who cannot be captured.”

  Ethan shook his head, “I’m not okay with it if we can prevent it…but…” He looked to everyone in the room, then to Walter. “Nothing recording, right?”

  “Correct. We are sealed up in here. And-” he tapped a button on a clicker hanging from his belt. “Now we are in a faraday cage. No signals in or out.”

  Ethan looked to Blue Bolt. “When an Imbued dies…we don’t go on to judgement.” He tapped his chest, “I did die when Full Metal Gangster beat the shit out of me and Cheat Code killed Stormbringer. I saw a building of white, but then was dragged back down a tunnel. Turns out, when an Imbued dies, we go to our own little pocket dimension we can customize. I’d show you mine as proof, but then you’d be stuck there.” He paused to let the statement soak in, and when no one replied, he continued. “Turns out every god or goddess, mythological hero from history – people like Hades, Zeus, Odin, Amaterasu – all past Imbued.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Big Jim whispered.

  “Him too,” Ethan replied with a slight chuckle. “I’m like him – in that I can come back from death. But for me, it’s two months. Then three…and so on for each death.” Ethan sighed and shook his head. “What I mean by saying this is that we shouldn’t necessarily feel bad about killing Imbued who we cannot save or otherwise help rehabilitate. It’s…a necessary evil…but they don’t go to hell or anything like that. They get a personal, little paradise.”

  Tyra let out a groan, “Gah! That’s so…stupid! Why the heck do the bad guys get a personal paradise?”

  Ethan wanted to tell them more, but Nobilis stopped him. You cannot share information further than what you have. The Entity forbids telling of Ragnarok and the ultimate purpose of the Imbued as Its guardians and warriors.

  Ethan followed Nobilis’ instructions, “It’s just how it is. Some can go to their Sanctuary – that’s what it’s called – while still alive. Like me. And Cheat Code,” he said the villain’s name, letting the disgust filled his tone.

  Big Jim put a hand on Tyra’s shoulder, “It’s okay, kiddo. Just means you can go full velociraptor and kill an Imbued we can’t catch or we don’t think we can catch.”

  Walter had been silent, but spoke softly. “This means that instead of putting those who cannot be redeemed into a coma…we could just kill them. Like Firestarter. His record, plus what he did at the bank? Someone like him is better off dead.”

  Red Bolt sighed, “I…I don’t like the idea of being a hero that kills…but for the really bad ones, the ones that we can’t keep contained or fix…I agree.”

  Blue Bolt signed something, and Red Bolt translated, “He agrees, too.”

  Ethan felt torn. On one hand, Firestarter had slaughtered a ton of people. But he had also made sure the man didn’t die with a Healing Touch – so any possible mental disorder would have been resolved already. However, Ethan also knew that the man had been in an artificial coma since being captured – at least if what the Mayor said was to be believed. He could have just had something wrong with his brain, and now be fixed, and not a threat…but letting him gain consciousness is a risk. Plus, he did kill a ton of people – whether he was in his right mind or not.

  Walter broke the awkward silence, “I’ll speak to the Mayor and the Park brothers' attorney, along with the DA’s office. This isn’t something that we can make a decision on…for the ones in custody.” He looked between each person, but his eyes settled on Ethan as he continued. “The Mayor has given us clearance to do what needs to be done for hostile Imbued incidents within the city limits, and an understanding of the same has been made with the county. If we can capture, we do it. If we can’t…then we can eliminate the threat.”

  Ethan felt as if he had just turned a corner. Or fallen off a cliff. A decision had been reached, not just by him but by others as well. A decision that he had no clue was the right or wrong one. “I need to go home,” he muttered. “Heaven’s Gate.” He opened the portal and stepped through to the skyscraper, before opening another portal and returning home.

  Treya was still on the couch, watching the news, and stood up when he appeared. “Hey. How was it?”

  Ethan pulled the helmet off, pulled the earpiece out and shut it off, and doffed the rest of his gear before turning it invisible with Denial of Light and sinking into the couch next to her. He rotated so that his head was resting on her lap, and she reactively wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

  “It was bad?” she asked.

  Ethan nodded as he felt the torrent of mixed emotions in his chest. “I…I had to kill someone today,” he whispered. “An Imbued who was out of control and killing people.”

  Treya’s voice was calm, but soft. Like a relaxing wave gently crashing on a sandy shore and soothing his tempestuous thoughts. “Being a hero…yeah…I mean, think about Batman and The Joker. If he had killed The Joker, how many hundreds or thousands of lives would have been saved? Sometimes…a bad guy doing bad things deserves a bad end.”

  Ethan just numbly nodded.