Ethan felt his heart racing as he faced the man who had helped kill him before. A person who was unmovable, unstoppable, completely invulnerable to physical and energy damage. An obstacle that he had no hope of defeating. Despair clung to him like a thick cloak, a suffocating smog that caused him to choke on his aspirations of being a paragon of virtue and realize that there were some threats he would never be able to surmount on his own.

  But I’m not on my own, he thought as he saw the Bolt Twins set Alice down before zipping around the feet of FMG. They ran so fast they created a tornado that tore at the surrounding environment, causing the chain-link nets on the basketball hoops to clatter and clang with riotous report.

  But FMG just lifted his foot and stomped, sending shockwaves that shattered the asphalt and sent the Bolt Twins off-footing, forcing them to move away from the cracked ground as bits of the shattered rubble arced into the now-fading tempest, flung away to the sides of the court with a few glancing off Ethan’s Holy Barrier.

  Crusade, he thought as he bolstered his defenses. I can’t take a hit from him, he thought. But his attention is on me, and he seems to be ignoring Alice. I just need to dodge. I’ve got Leap of Faith ready to go. As long as I keep it short distance and only use it as a last resort, I think I can hold out until she charges the cannon.

  FMG barreled forward, bringing his fists down on top of Ethan. The hero was faster, though, and was able to get to the side as the impact shattered the asphalt, cracked the ground for several feet in all directions, and left a small impact crater. As Ethan caught his footing, the enormous villain spun and performed an elbow drop.

  Leap of Faith, Ethan thought as he dodged out of the way falling titan. He warped behind him and, just to confirm, slashed with his blade. The weapon skidded off the metal hide of the villain, and so he quickly sheathed the weapon as it was going to just be pointless and possible get in the way.

  Big Jim had recovered, and ran over holding a cargo container like a huge club. He brought it slamming down onto FMG, and the container bent with a tremendous bang, fracturing and crashing over the villain who simply stood up and delivered a kick in reprisal. Ethan winced as he saw Big Jim’s torso cave in, and the man went flying up into the sky.

  Rescue! Ethan thought as he warped the man next to him. His limbs were shaking, and he felt very, very tired. He reached over and used Healing Touch, fixing the man’s broken ribcage and bleeding organs.

  Big Jim coughed up blood, and Blue Bolt blitzed over, grabbed him, and dashed away.

  Red Bolt ran next to Ethan as FMG turned, “Let me move you,” she ordered.

  Ethan complied as he didn’t resist the forced movement. As FMG let loose another kick, Red Bolt carried Ethan faster than he could have ever reacted, moving him to the side of the blow. FMG shouted in frustration, “Fucking speedy bitches!” he leaned down, grabbed a bunch of the shattered asphalt, and launched it in a scatter shot.

  But Red Bolt was faster than the projectiles. Ethan’s visual processing kept up with the rapid movement as he was moved across the entire basketball court and to the opposite side in less than the blink of an eye. He could hear Red Bolt panting, and she whispered, “I’m about tapped.”

  “Get clear,” he ordered. “Keep Alice safe and in range.”

  She tapped his back in confirmation and dashed away as FMG turned to face Ethan.

  Keep his attention, he thought as he glanced at Alice who had held up a hand, slowly counting down with each finger. Ethan laughed, letting himself sound as haughty and full-of-righteousness as possible. He spread his arms wide, “Come on. You have no chance against me. I’m the hero! You’re just some gangster who got lucky.”

  FMG’s face distorted into one of absolute rage, and he brought his hands forward as he slammed his palms together. A shockwave burst forth, and Ethan felt it slam into him as he went flying back, tumbling end over end before coming to a stop and rolling to his feet. The Holy Barrier had taken the brunt of the injury, but he felt so, so sleepy and his eyes fluttered closed.

  He saw the red blur, saw Alice, and heard the brief, “Firing!”

  Alice, from FMG’s left, moved by Red Bolt, fired the sound cannon at near point-blank range. The sonic energy surged over FMG’s body and did no damage externally, but something inside must have been heavily injured, as the figure doubled over, coughing up blood and black bile.

  He grunted and backhanded Alice. Red Bolt dodged out of the way of the now-flying woman in the power armor as she went careening into the high school gymnasium and exploded through the wall and out of sight.

  FMG crawled toward Ethan, who staggered to his feet. “I’m…I’m going to…take you…with me,” he growled. FMG got up and ran forward.

  In desperation, Ethan threw up his hand. “Heaven’s Gate!” he shouted, opening the portal directly in front of him at the last possible moment.

  FMG went into the aperture – his momentum turned against him. The second his body was through, Ethan let the gate shut.

  The basketball court was quiet. There were faint sounds of metal being rent and torn asunder far off to the north – he assumed Tyra still being a distraction – and he lay back on the ground sucking in deep breaths as Blue Bolt ran over and grabbed him, lifting him up. He made a sign of some type, and Ethan just numbly shook his head.

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  The speedster dashed him back to the gym turned nightclub. Alice was already propped up in a booth, her helmet off, with a wicked bruise on her head – but otherwise she looked fine. Red Bolt was sitting next to her, panting and shaking. Big Jim was brought over by Blue Bolt a few seconds later, and the large man growled. “Where’d he go?”

  Ethan pointed up, “To the moon.”

  Everyone looked at him with confusion, then Walter’s voice came over the comms. “I’ll use a telescope to check.”

  “Why didn’t you do that from the get-go?” Red Bolt asked with a weary voice.

  “He’s immovable…unless he wants to move,” Ethan replied with relief. “We got him injured enough, angry enough, to recklessly charge…that did the trick.”

  “Couldn’t just…suck him into it?” Alice asked as she pressed a hand to her bruised forehead, the massive purple welt starting to grow.

  “No,” Ethan replied as he leaned back and shut his eyes. “But…it worked…we did it.”

  “Confirmed,” Walter said after a few seconds of the group just staying put and recovering. “FMG is in a crater on the moon. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead, but he is up there.”

  “See?” Ethan said with a brief chuckle. “We got him.”

  Alice raised her hand, “Mind healing me?”

  “In a few minutes.”

  After a ten-minute breather, thankfully with no interruptions, Ethan used a Circle of Healing to mend everyone’s injuries, and transported them back to the Imbued Initiative with his Heaven’s Gate.

  Walter had a mix expression on his face. “Good job. Wish we could’ve brought him in to figure out how his powers work. But, he was dangerous. Really dangerous.”

  Ethan glanced at the shuttered and metal-barred window. “I just hope there’s no way he can come back.”

  The Bolt Twins both collapsed onto the couch, laying in opposite directions next to each other as if they’d been doing it their whole lives. Red Bolt sighed, “I’m so fucking tired.”

  Walter pointed to the stairs, “We’ve got some bunk areas set up now. I’m working on getting funds appropriated to make this place a real superhero headquarters. Everyone getting their own rooms, vehicle bay – the works.”

  Big Jim frowned, “The big fucker was really strong. It’s unfair how strong he was.” He glanced at Ethan, “Just like you, Radiance. You first wave guys are something else.”

  Tyra came up from the parking garage, her costume showing some scarring and tears. She had a bit of a limp. “Hey, mind dealing with this holy man?”

  Ethan walked over and tapped her shoulder, “Healing Touch.”

  She perked right up and let out a happy sigh of relief, “Whew. That’s good. Did we get him?”

  “We got him,” Big Jim replied. “Great job distracting all of his goons, little lady.”

  Walter interrupted, “Everyone should rest up. I anticipate the next few days we’ll be helping the National Guard and the local law enforcement services clean up FMG’s territory and reintegrate it into LA proper.”

  Ethan gestured, “Heaven’s Gate,” he stated as he walked through the portal and into the concrete-lined room in the small garage of their new house. Shutting the portal, he quickly doffed his gear and headed upstairs.

  Treya was there, sitting on the couch, talking on her phone. She spotted him and waved him over. He gratefully sat down and leaned over, resting his head on her lap as she brushed his hair and spoke. “Yes, it’s fine. The new place is fantastic…Well, it’s a pretty exclusive community, I don’t think I’m allowed to throw parties.” She glanced at Ethan and mouthed, “friends”.

  He just shrugged and sank into her lap and her comforting embrace as she kept chatting with her buddies about her new accommodations. After a short time, she hung up, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “How’d my strong, superhero do today?”

  Ethan glanced up at her. “I stopped Full Metal Gangster. He’s done for.”

  She nodded, “Well, like I said – some villains should just be stopped outright.”

  Ethan sighed, “I know. I was hoping to be the paragon of virtue. You know, Superman. Inspiring people and always taking the high road. But that went right out the window.”

  “It’s fine,” she replied. “You did the right thing for the right reason. Evil should be punished.” She glanced at her phone, “I’ve got a few hours before getting some homework done. Want to do anything?”

  He sat up, “How about we cook something? It’s been a while since we did that.”

  “Yeah! Let’s test out this kitchen!”

  Treya had just gone to work on some homework as Ethan sat down in the tub. He let the roiling heat roll over him, and listened to his favorite music as he just let the memories of the day burn away from him.

  Then, his music was interrupted by a call. He picked it up, and saw it was from King Blood. “Radiance here,” he said as he answered.

  “We are pulling operations out of the United States for the time being,” King Blood stated.

  Ethan sat up a little straighter, “Why?” he asked, feeling some disquiet settle into his mind.

  “They attacked me. False flag operation. They wanted a reason to justify use of force against Imbued who don’t comply with their orders. Well, I’m not doing that. The IRE is about helping Earth, not a single nation. So we’re not going to intervene in any affairs in the USA.”

  Ethan swallowed and felt his mouth dry. He rubbed his face with his left hand and replied. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “I would ask that you don’t respond to national emergencies in your home country. We need to show the IRE are a united front. That our members can’t be controlled by a single nation for their ends.”

  Ethan was torn. On one hand, he agreed entirely. But on another…if he could help…shouldn’t he? “I…I can’t commit to that,” he stated. As he said that, he felt his conviction rise up in him. “I won’t let people who are injured and suffering be in that state because of the country that has nothing to do with them…for those high level decisions, anyways.”

  King Blood grunted in frustration, but his voice was firm and level. “I get it. You’re a better man than I. What I’m going to do, then, is have The Coordinate slate you as an affiliate. Not a full member. From what I hear, it’s similar to what you’re doing with the Imbued Initiative in LA, yes?”

  “That’s right,” Ethan replied. “The rest of the team is handling the smaller scale stuff, and they just bring me in for bigger events.”

  “Then we shall do the same,” King Blood replied. “I appreciate you.”

  “Thanks. Oh! I should tell you, Full Metal Gangster isn’t a threat anymore.”

  “Oh? I would have figured you were going to ask me to come in and exsanguinate him,” King Blood replied with some amusement.

  “It was a tough fight,” Ethan admitted. “But ultimately we won and sent him to the moon.”

  “Damn. Harsh. Well, good job. I’ll be in touch. Stay safe.”

  “You too.”

  The line hung up, and Ethan set the phone down as his music resumed. He sank under the waves as Nobilis’ words from the past echoed through his mind. About Imbued joining countries and nations and taking sides, forming factions, and fighting each other.

  It’s going to shit, he thought as he came up and took in a deep breath, staring at the black ceiling with the fancy shower head installed in the top.

  It is progressing as I expected, Nobilis replied.

  How’d we do against FMG in your eyes?

  Well enough given his powers that we knew of. I would advise we spend some time training in your Sanctuary, and trying to come up with innovative new ways to use your powers. I will inquire with other Holy power Imbued across history, and see if any are willing to share their wisdom.

  Thanks, Ethan thought back as he closed his eyes.