A few hours earlier,
Elowen walked alone.
The evening crowd flowed around her like a river splitting around a stone ,people glancing once, recognizing her uniform, then looking away.
Rank E.
The weakest.
The disappointment.
She kept her head down, fingers curled tightly around the strap of her bag.
She had almost made it past the intersection when a familiar voice cut through the air.
"Well, I'll be damned."
Her steps slowed.
She didn't turn.
"Still wearing the uniform?" Drake continued, amused. "That's confidence. Or delusion."
Her shoulders tensed.
Lightning crackled faintly as he stepped into her path.
They weren't on duty. No cameras. No oversight.
Just him.
"Elowen," he said, dragging her name like it tasted bad. "Didn't think you'd last this long."
She tried to step around him.
He blocked her with ease.
"Relax," he said. "I'm just surprised. I mean , how many missions did we lose because of you?"
His gaze swept over her, slow and deliberate.
"You ever notice how quiet it gets when you walk into the briefing room?"
A few people nearby slowed. Watched.
No one intervened.
No one defended her.
Drake leaned closer. "You don't belong among heroes."
She clenched her jaw. "Move."
He laughed.
"You know what the civilians say?" he continued. "That heroes like you make them nervous. Weak ones."
He reached down, scooped up a handful of dirt from a construction site beside then and dumped it over her head.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Elowen froze.
Dust clung to her hair, her shoulders, her uniform.
Drake stepped back, satisfied.
"Look at you," he said. "Perfect."
People stared.
Some with pity.
Some with disappointment.
Some with open disdain.
No outrage.
No sympathy.
Just confirmation.
Elowen's hands shook but she didn't strike him.
Didn't scream.
Didn't cry.
She walked away.
Drake's laughter followed her long after she walked away.
Elowen didn't run.
She didn't argue.
She didn't even wipe the dirt from her hair until she reached the end of the street.
She stood there, back straight, fists clenched, while the city moved around her.
People stared.
Some whispered.
Some looked away quickly, embarrassed for her, not him.
A child tugged at his mother's sleeve and asked something Elowen didn't hear. The woman glanced at Elowen's uniform and sighed.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Disappointment.
That was what hurt the most.
A hero who wasn't strong enough was worse than a villain.
Elowen sank to her knees once she turned the corner, the noise of the street fading behind her. Her hands pressed into the pavement, shoulders shaking as something inside her cracked open.
Tears spilled freely, hot and humiliating.
She cried silently, because even now, she didn't want anyone to hear.
Drake's words echoed over and over.
You don't belong.
You make people nervous.
Weak.
She had trained harder than anyone.
Sacrificed more.
And still,
She was a joke.
By the time the sun disappeared completely, the tears were gone.
What remained was worse.
Nothing.
No anger.
No grief.
Just emptiness.
Night fell.
And Elowen stood.
The rooftop was cold.
Wind tugged at her cloak as she stood at the edge, looking down at the city far below. Traffic lights blinked red and green like a heartbeat she no longer felt connected to.
Below, the convoy moved.
Six armored vehicles.
Hero sigils glowing proudly.
Kaelen stood beside her, silent as always.
She wore black from head to toe now, cloak wrapped tightly around her body, a smooth mask covering her face. Only her eyes were visible, reflecting city light like broken glass.
Minutes passed.
Kaelen spoke first.
"You were afraid earlier," he said.
She didn't look at him.
"Yes."
"You're not now."
"No."
He studied her profile. "Why?"
The wind howled between buildings.
Elowen answered calmly. Too calmly.
"I chose not to care."
Kaelen's brow furrowed slightly. "That's not an explanation."
"All I want is power," she said. "If doing this gives me more, then whatever happens… happens."
She paused.
"I'm tired of being human."
Kaelen didn't respond right away.
Below them, the convoy slowed as it entered the designated route.
"You changed quickly," he said at last.
"I didn't," she replied. "I just stopped lying to myself."
For the first time, Kaelen looked unsettled.
"You understand what this mission costs," he said.
"Yes."
"And you accept it?"
She hesitated.
Just a heartbeat.
"I accept myself," she said finally.
That answer disturbed him more than fear ever could.
Kaelen stepped forward and raised his hand.
Two fingers.
The city ignited.
Villains moved instantly.
Shadows detached from rooftops. Sigils flared and vanished. Underground exits burst open as operatives flooded the streets below.
The first explosion shattered the convoy's formation.
Aerial escorts spiraled down in fire.
Heroes shouted orders.
Chaos bloomed.
"Elowen," Kaelen said. "Your turn."
She closed her eyes briefly and reached inward.
She felt it immediately.
The gem.
Even sealed, even distant it responded to her presence, pulsing like something alive.
She extended her hands.
The containment ward rippled.
Cracked.
Then shattered completely.
Alarms screamed.
Kaelen moved.
So did the villains.
Elowen stayed back, watching.
Heroes clashed with shadows. Magic tore through concrete. Lightning split the air.
Then,
She felt it.
A familiar surge.
Her breath caught.
Drake landed hard on the street below, electricity crawling over his armor.
Rank B hero.
Frontline striker.
The one who humiliated her.
Even masked, even cloaked he recognized her energy.
"No way…" he muttered.
His eyes snapped to her.
"Elowen?"
She froze.
Just for a second.
That was all it took.
Lightning snapped from his hand, ripping through the air.
And tore her mask away.
Her face was exposed.
The world seemed to stop.
"You?" Drake stared, disbelief twisting into disgust. "You're with them?"
She didn't answer.
"Drop the stone," he said sharply, stepping closer. "You don't know what you're doing."
His tone softened, falsely concerned.
"You're scared. I get it. You've always been scared."
The same words.
The same look.
Her fingers tightened around the gem as she pulled it free from its cradle.
"Look at you," Drake sneered. "Still weak. Still hiding."
Something inside her trembled.
Not rage.
Realization.
She really wasn't welcome anywhere.
Drake raised his hand.
Lightning gathered far more than before.
Enough to erase everything in front of him.
Kaelen was still fighting outside the chamber, unaware.
A subordinate shouted into his comm.
"Drake has eyes on her!"
Kaelen turned too late.
The lightning surged.
Time slowed.
The gem flared violently in Elowen's hands.
Power flooded her body, burning, tearing, overwhelming.
She gasped, knees buckling but she didn't let go.
She guided it.
The lightning bent.
Curved.
Reversed.
Drake's eyes widened in horror.
The redirected blast hit him like divine punishment, launching him through five buildings in a storm of fire and debris.
Silence followed.
Elowen collapsed, breath ragged.
The gem dimmed.
She had held back.
Instinctively.
Kaelen arrived just in time to see her fall.
He caught her body as consciousness slipped away, the stone still clenched in her hands.
Shock crossed his face.
Fear followed.
He looked at the destruction.
Then at her.
"…What have you done?"
Sirens wailed in the distance.
And far below, buried beneath rubble.
Drake still breathed.
Kaelen didn't hesitate.
He shifted Elowen's weight carefully, adjusting his grip so her head rested against his shoulder. Even unconscious, her fingers remained locked around the gem, knuckles white.
"She doesn't let go," one of his subordinates murmured.
"She won't," Kaelen replied. "Not anymore."
He looked once more at the destruction—five buildings scarred, the street torn apart like flesh.
Then he activated his comm.
"Nyssa," he said. "Find Drake."
A pause. Then,
"…He's alive," Nyssa replied. "Barely. Multiple fractures. Severe internal damage."
Kaelen closed his eyes briefly.
"Can you reach his mind?"
"I can," she said. Then hesitated. "But it won't be clean. He's slipping in and out. His memories are unstable."
"That's fine," Kaelen said coldly. "Erase everything involving Elowen. The rooftop. The gem. Her face."
"And the rest of tonight?"
"Blur it. Fragment it. Make him doubt himself."
Another pause.
"He'll need a Rank A healer to survive," Nyssa warned. "If an S-rank gets to him… they might notice the damage."
Kaelen's jaw tightened.
"Do it anyway."
Moments later, bright light flared at the far end of the street.
Aegis Vanguard had arrived.
He watched from the shadows as their healer dropped to her knees beside Drake's broken body, hands glowing as she fought to stabilize him.
Drake's eyes fluttered once.
Then went empty.
Kaelen tightened his hold on Elowen and vanished into the night.