Lucian's voice filled the chamber with cold philosophy.
"Everything that happens today is happening according to plan. A game of chess is a universe of infinite possibilities. Pawns move in countless unpredictable ways. Yet the purpose always remains the same. A true player pursues the mind of the king. In this case the mind I want to break is Quicklightning."
He tapped the board, making several pieces flicker.
"Electron is not foolish enough to unleash his true strength outside Voyage City. Doing so would alert Jerry who sits like a king on the other side of the board. Or that holy demon knight who could erase him from existence in a heartbeat." Lucian smiled as if he were praising a well behaved child. "He has learned to use intelligence. How delightful."
Lucian turned away from the board and walked toward the far end of the chamber. Two men knelt there with trembling hands pressed against the floor. They were the same robbers Rio had captured earlier that morning. Their faces were soaked in sweat and tears.
"We did not mean for any of this to happen" Marty begged. "We only wanted money to help the people in the slums. We only wanted to steal from the bank. We never wanted chaos."
Lucian Stark stood tall over them. His golden hair shimmered like a faint halo although his expression remained calm and cold.
"You did nothing wrong" he said quietly. "Your part in this game is over. It is time."
Before either man could speak again, Lucian's hand flickered. His palm vibrated at an impossible speed and phased into both their chests. Their eyes widened with shock as their hearts stopped instantly. Lucian withdrew his hand without a single drop of blood touching him. The men collapsed in silence.
"They die as pawns. That is their purpose."
Lucian returned to the holographic chess table. He pressed his finger onto a knight piece and slid it forward toward the Electron rook. A slow smirk curved across his lips.
"It is time Johnny. Time for you to lose your sanity."
A soft laugh escaped him. Then it grew louder.
"Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha."
The scene returned to the battlefield outside. Archex hovered before Electron amid floating debris and fractured skyscrapers.
"So you cannot fight me without hiding behind your cosmic powers. Pathetic. Is this how you want to change the world. Come on. Fight me and stop talking and…"
Electron appeared instantly before him. His voice dropped to a whisper inches from Archex's face.
"You talk too much for a human child. But if you want to fight me so badly…"
The glow around his body dimmed. His raging energy calmed to a stable burn.
"I can put on a fight for you if you want."
He glanced at a pile of iron metal rods. With a single stare he manipulated the rods with telekinesis and bent them into gauntlets infused with a fragment of his power. He tossed them toward Archex.
"Hey kid" Electron called out.
"What is it man. And thanks. But why" Archex asked as he caught the gauntlets suspiciously.
"Relax. It is not dangerous. I am not going to kill you. At least not yet." Electron pointed toward the sky. A blazing sphere of energy hovered above them like a newborn sun. "You see that up there."
"Yes. What about it" Archex said as he stared upward. The sphere crackled with terrifying power. He activated his thrusters and rose into the air to face Electron.
"Perfect. Now that thing up there could consume your entire solar system in seconds. While it is building up with my energy I want to offer a truce" Electron said with a smirk.
"What do you mean a truce. You are going to leave us alone" Archex asked with confusion in his voice.
"Yes. Given your immense determination I might give your species a chance of survival. But only on one condition."
Rex reduced his cosmic power until only a dim light glowed across his skin.
"What condition" Archex asked as he clenched his fists.
"You have one minute to defeat me. If you fail the ball of energy will wipe out this city and this planet instantly." Electron pointed again. "Your time starts…"
His sentence was cut off as Archex blasted forward and delivered a fierce uppercut to his chin. The strike hurled Electron across the city. They crashed through the air and began exchanging rapid blows. Rex kneed Archex but Archex blocked it with the gauntlet and punched him back as they smashed through a skyscraper.
Archex shouted as he unleashed a blast. "Stop fighting against humans. That mass of energy could destroy not only humans but the entire solar system. Think about your family. Your friends. Your parents. Think about creatures from other worlds too. Why should we suffer for a crime we did not commit."
He fired another blast but Electron absorbed it and redirected it. A beam of light cut through the building behind them and sliced it apart. A metal rod shot through the debris and stabbed into Archex's leg. He gasped in pain as Electron flew toward him and sent him hurtling into the sky. Archex coughed out blood as the air rushed around him.