The setting of a grand stage came with high noon for a performance that would shake the land. The sun spotlighted the scene as it moved to the center of the sky. It shone its rays over the stage, the core of coming turmoil, the Santini weapons factory, bathing it in a heatwave. The streets around the skyscraper were deserted, except for various animals like cats and rats, leaving an eerie silence over the area. However, one person remained, piercing the quiet with the sound of his footsteps on the pavement. It was the valiant knight marching toward the building to meet the great odyssey.

  As the knight approached his target, a moaning wind came. The gust of air blew several pieces of discarded paper at him. As one of them hit him in the face, he quickly removed it, but his heart drummed against his ribs as he saw the text on it. The paper was a page from a Daily Saturn newspaper, reporting on how officers arrested a known felon, him, or rather Daniel Jones, at the Black Canary Club. He bellowed a seething scream, tearing the paper into tiny bits before stomping repeatedly on the pieces.

  As Daniel was consumed by his anger, he didn’t notice someone was coming behind him. Tommy hastily ran up to Daniel, touching his shoulder, but Daniel grabbed him, shoving him against a wall. Still, Daniel looked at him and his rage swiftly left.

  "Officer Black?"

  "That's me," Tommy uttered an anxious laugh.

  Daniel released Tommy. "Aren't you supposed to be clearing civilians?"

  "I finished, so I decided to come here.”

  "Why? The chief told you to get in position."

  "I know, but I couldn't shake a bad feeling, so I came to see if you're okay."

  "Thinking about chickening out?" Daniel poked Tommy in the shoulder.

  "No. I'm going to see justice happen no matter what." Tommy puffed through his nose as he shook intensely.

  Daniel laughed. "Shaking scared while talking about Justice. You remind me of someone I know."

  "Who?"

  "Let's say he's like a brother to me."

  "Wow.” Tommy cleared his throat. “But you're sure you're okay?"

  Daniel nodded.

  "Well, great, good luck."

  Tommy quickly left, running away as he clumsily brushed against a garbage can, and Daniel continued forward, chuckling.

  ***

  Norio watched the factory from afar with his binoculars. But Elena came, pulling him away from his vigilance.

  "Officer Chavez, how's the operation?" Norio asked.

  "My end of the evacuation is complete, and our people are moving in for the attack."

  "Excellent, great work."

  Elena took a deep breath. "Boss, I still have a bad feeling about this. Won't the enemy know something's up with half the area empty?"

  "Already ahead of you. We faked a call about a gas leak. We even have Chief Ginger's men following protocol to sell it."

  Elena raised an eyebrow. "And what about their artillery?"

  "With the knight and a bit of luck, we can subdue them with minimal casualties, using the usual two-pronged attack."

  Elena kicked a wall.

  "What's wrong?"

  "It's the knight. I still don't trust him," Elena said.

  "Why?"

  "This freak of nature comes, with the world on fire, saying he wants to help. Like an angel from heaven, come to answer our prayers.” Elena pinched the bridge of her nose. “I'm not buying it."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Norio took a deep breath. "Elena, to win this war, we need to make compromises. Besides, I genuinely believe he is a good man. And you trust me, don't you?"

  "Fine, boss. For you, I'll play along a bit longer."

  ***

  Andrea and Ophelia walked through the heart of the hellish establishment. The temperature increased with each step. They passed through their legion of employees as machines and men labored tirelessly, converting materials to weapons. They stockpiled the tools of death, amassing hundreds of thousands of units. The siblings soon stopped walking as they watched a weapon test. Four lasers fired from a single gun, obliterating several targets at once. And the shooter uttered a laugh overflowing with maniacal joy, witnessing its destructive power. Their younger brother, Marco, was a muscular Italian of twenty-two.

  Andrea beat the back of Marco’s head. “Idiot.”

  "Hey," Marco shouted.

  "Playtime is over, little brother."

  "You know that hurt a lot."

  "Be thankful I didn't crack your skull. Your moronic laughter is poison to the ears.”

  "So I was enjoying myself. Our grandfather died. Let me have this."

  "I'm trying to preserve our family legacy while you play childish games. He would be ashamed."

  Marco moved to Andrea, readying to attack."You piece of s—"

  Ophelia intercepted the two, pushing them apart. "Now, now, this isn't the time for infighting."

  Andrea took a deep breath. "I'm going to the restricted area to check on the project. Come when you're ready."

  Andrea quickly left.

  "Well, Andrea seems especially insufferable today," Marco said.

  "Go easy on him."

  Marco pouted at his sister.

  "I'm serious. We all deal with grief in different ways. You blow stuff up, and he does this."

  "Okay." Marco rubbed his eyes. “But he'd better watch his mouth.”

  Ophelia and Marco followed Andrea to the restricted section. The colossal steel doors divided the factory into two. Ophelia entered the combination on the lock and the doors slowly slid open, allowing them passage inside. Andrea donned a smile, gazing forward. His siblings looked at him bewildered until they noticed the titanic shadow of their masterpiece of destruction, the doomsday pillar. The two looked at the pillar, taking in its many details. The structure resembled that of a metallic version of an Egyptian obelisk stretching skyward for at least a hundred meters.

  "Behold, the future of warfare, mightier than nuclear power, the doomsday pillar," Andrea said.

  "So much power in one place. Truly a thing of beauty," Ophelia said.

  "I can't wait to start the bidding war," Marco said.

  "It's even better than that, little brother."

  "What do you mean, Andrea?"

  "We managed to learn where Tyrant will be later today. That monster will be the perfect Guinea pig."

  "Are you sure it's ready to use against him?" Ophelia asked.

  "The pillar will shoot a beam of energy so swift and mighty that anything within a hundred miles will be ash. We'll get our revenge and showcase our weapons' might in one fell swoop."

  "It sounds solid enough, but just in case, Dr. Hiro." Ophelia snapped her fingers.

  Dr. Hiro, a thin Japanese man of twenty, quickly came, short of breath.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "How's our super soldier experiments going?"

  "We still need more research on element X. Only about five percent of our subjects develop superhuman abilities."

  "Five percent? Doctor, our customers demand blood. Five percent isn't good enough."

  "Be kind to the doctor, little sister. Element X has given plenty. The pillar alone should put our worries to rest," Andrea retorted.

  Alarms roared as an explosion from above shook the room.

  "What blew up?" Ophelia asked.

  "I did overhear some coppers talking about a gas leak," Marco said.

  Andrea glared at the shaking ceiling."It's no gas leak."

  ***

  The Santini forces fired at a mighty invader. War broke loose in the building as flames spread across the halls and the sounds of gunfire bounced off the walls. Their opponent, Daniel, charged forward, plowing through their numbers. As he gave one adversary sprinting towards him with a laser knife a flying knee, he grabbed another by the head, flinging him at the other assailants. The gangsters intensified their efforts, firing lasers of every color at Daniel. But he avoided their attacks, speeding through their numbers, further decimating them, and forcing the enemy into retreat.

  "That's it, run," Daniel said.

  The gangsters ran through smoke clouds away from Daniel. Still, as he followed them he was blasted back by a laser. And coughing blood, he saw the cause."A tank." As it fired again.

  The tank grabbed Daniel's attention, firing its guns. He evaded the salvo as it chased him. However, unlike before, the attack rivaled his speed. The bullets emitted a blue glow as they pursued Daniel like bloodhounds who caught his scent. But inches apart, Daniel jumped off a wall, letting it get hit by the barrage instead.

  "Too close." Daniel exhaled.

  Daniel jumped toward the tank. As he landed on top of it he began punching it, but an immense energy field shocked him away upon contact."Man." However, readying for another attack, Daniel threw a piece of rubble into its barrel, destroying it as it fired, making the tank retreat.

  "You're not getting away."

  Daniel jumped to the tank again, resisting the intense shocks. He tore the top open, revealing the five people inside as they shot at him with their guns. Still, dodging their shots, Daniel quickly incapacitated them. He gave two of the enemy a punch to the stomach, he grasped two more knocking their heads together, and finally, he subdued the last one with a headbutt. However, he noticed too late that the tank was nearing a wall. It crashed through the wall to the outside, falling several feet through the air.

  “Damn me,” Daniel said.

  Daniel hastily grabbed the people, jumping to the hole in the wall as the tank fell, exploding in a brilliant inferno as it hit the ground. And as he peeked out of the hole he dropped onto the floor, panting heavily as he saw the fiery fate he dodged.