Angela laughed softly as she opened her palm and revealed a small plastic handmade toy of Quicklightning. The tiny figure wore a multicolored bright rainbow suit and was frozen in a running pose with a wide cheerful smile on its face. She held it up with pride and amusement as she said: "It is alright ma."
Rose leaned closer with an exaggerated gasp as she exclaimed loudly enough for Angela to hear: "That is my brother. How does he get to have a toy without me having one."
Angela hushed her with a gentle tap on the arm. "I am proud of him. He is too cool. But keep your voice down. We do not want to cause a commotion."
Rose gave her a playful smirk. "Aww. Is someone jealous about my brother."
"I am not. I have a younger brother too and he is also cool. But enough jokes. I have to go heal the others." Angela slipped the toy carefully into her pocket.
Rose nodded and raised her hand. "Yes enough jokes. Refresh. Heal."
A soft glow enveloped Angela as her stamina returned and her fatigue melted away. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"It is nice to have you around. I did not know you could also heal using magic" Angela said with honest surprise.
Rose floated gently above the ground and replied: "I can heal using magic and regenerate myself or others. I am using refresh because you were not injured. You only carried the damage from the lady. And you cannot heal yourself if you heal another person of that damage except it was inflicted directly on you." She smiled suddenly and whispered: "He is here."
In a single blink of an eye the air rippled and people materialized in the room. Some were injured. Some were weak. Some collapsed from exhaustion. At the center of the sudden crowd stood a young boy in a multicolored bright rainbow suit with white hair and glowing blue eyes. He was breathing heavily and wiped sweat from his face as he declared loudly: "That is everyone."
Rose floated closer to him. "I scanned everybody using a wide telepathic sweep. Only the people in the reactor building are left."
"Really. Thanks. Who. Wait. Rose. What are you doing here." Johnson grabbed her ears instantly.
"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch." Rose whined in pain.
Angela stepped forward and placed her hand gently on Johnson's wrist. "It was my idea."
Johnson stared at her with a mix of anger and worry. "Angela. You too. Why are you here."
"We cannot sit back and watch our city get destroyed. We have to fight for it even from the sidelines" Angela replied.
Johnson looked at both of them with frustration. "What are you even wearing. I do not have time for this. Where is Aunt Mary."
Rio appeared at his side and tugged at his arm. "Quicklightning sir. We have to stop Rex now."
Johnson looked toward the city and his expression shifted completely. His body flashed with a green glow. "What is happening out there. I have been too busy evacuating people."
Rio frowned. "Oh yes. For over an hour. And while you were doing that I and Archex have been fighting nonstop. You are the fastest but you are the one who comes last. That is not cool. Why did you not come earlier."
Johnson steadied himself and spoke in defense: "I had to slow down to carry people safely. I moved as fast as a race car across miles without burning them alive. I am sorry. I wanted to go faster but I cannot. Not right now."
Rio shook his head in frustration. "You call yourself a hero yet you never show up on time. Archex has been fighting Rex in the reactor building while you were removing civilians one at a time. We should hurry before."
A sudden gust of wind slammed Rio to the ground as Johnson vanished from sight and burst out of the building. Rio groaned and pushed himself up. "Damn you Quicklightning" he muttered with a sigh.
Moments before this Johnson arrival Archex was already flying toward the reactor building. Inside the swirling clouds of electrical distortion Electron floated high in the air. His clothes were burning with current. A high frequency electromagnetic wave surrounded him. His hair had burned away and transformed into pure energy. His skin had turned completely white like living lightning. His claws had reshaped into fine nails and his feet had become more human like even as his pointed ears remained unchanged. His size had increased to nearly nine feet and his entire being glowed with overwhelming power.
Archex grimaced as he felt the pressure. "What is going on in this building. I am getting intense electromagnetic waves. The force is draining the electrical current that powers my suit." He landed beside the building and stepped inside.
His mind raced. "Two years ago the city was struck by an unknown cosmic energy. The blast could have wiped out the city and everything beyond it in seconds. Lucian Stark absorbed the entire energy into a sword forged from Xalenuim metal and used it to power the city. He scattered the remaining energy to a particular point in the city. And a few months after that Quicklightning was born." He paused. "Coincidence. I think not."
The artificial intelligence in his suit interrupted: "Sir. Radiation from the building has drained ten percent of the battle armor energy."
A heavy block of concrete collapsed toward him and he cursed. "Forget this. Alexa redirect all energy systems to mechanical and photonical."
The suit hummed loudly and absorbed the nearby light. The systems recharged instantly.
"Power restored to one hundred percent. You may now move freely master Alex Frankenstein" Alexa reported.
Archex groaned. "Do not call me that. Light laser."
A photon blast erupted from his hand and shattered the falling block. He rose into the air and flew into the deeper section of the building.
"Alexa. Can you pinpoint his location. I cannot see through the dust." A holographic city layout projected onto his palm. A massive concentration of energy pulsed in a single direction.
Archex sighed. "Let us kick some ass." He shot forward and soon spotted a glowing figure near the city dome. "He is more electric looking than I imagined." He laughed.
Electron turned slowly. "What is funny human. You do not see it. That is why you laugh like a monkey."
Archex raised his hands in surrender. "I am sorry. I needed a moment to digest what I am seeing. I watched a full evolution of a being that was under my power just minutes ago." He regained his focus. "Alexa. Can you read his energy level."
"I am attempting to. His energy level is too high. I cannot calculate it. It exceeds measurable limits."
"Stop Alexa" Archex said before looking at Electron again. "That is way higher than Evolve when he destroyed the city two years ago. You are insanely strong. So what do you see that I do not."
Electron's voice deepened. "Everything in a new way. I see all things."
Archex frowned. "What do you mean everything."
Electron spoke calmly. "I see matter and elements. I see the air. I see molecules and atoms. I see beyond this city. I see the stars. I see the worlds we came from. I see the world we are. I see what we shall become. I see every single electron in existence." He looked toward the tallest building and breathed deeply. "I have transcended. I have evolved. I am the ultimate atomic source. With this power I can do this."
He raised a single finger. The tallest building exploded into dust. Countless other buildings within sixty kilometers followed in a chain of destruction.
Archex flew desperately through the collapsing city. "This is one of the worst ways to become a cosmic version of yourself." He unleashed a massive light cannon.
Electron swatted it away effortlessly. "You think you can fight me with light. You are mistaken human child. I see your end. You cannot win. You will fight knowing you cannot win."
A quantum electromagnetic pulse burst from him and shattered the city dome. Glass rained downward yet every shard was frozen in the air by his control.
Archex smirked. "Not so smart with physics are you."
He fired a psionic laser at one suspended glass panel. The beam reflected from one shard to another then ricocheted multiple times until it struck Electron directly in the chest and reached deep into his core. Electron staggered and fell but regenerated instantly and shot back upward into the sky.