You're probably wondering why The Spire—and yes, I air quoted—hasn't come to stop me yet.
Like, shouldn't a council of righteous demigods, billion-dollar tech, and motivational speeches have already launched an all-out attack?
You'd think.
But here's the problem.
I'm the Superman.
And they don't have a Batman.
They've got Valor, who's built like a Greek statue and thinks like a soggy sandwich. They've got Dr. Quantum, who can calculate the curvature of spacetime but panics when his soy latte order gets messed up. And they've got Titania, who—despite her gorgeous rage and punching problem—still thinks this is a fight she can win.
So, no. They haven't made a move.
Because deep down, they're scared.
And they should be.
Power, baby.
---
Now, don't get me wrong. I want them to act. I want the Spire to finally stop pretending they have control over me. Because the moment they step foot into my world?
They're playing my game.
And I never lose at my own game.
---
Case in point: it's midnight. The city is asleep, afraid of what I'll do next.
I'm floating above the skyline, sipping bourbon from a crystal tumbler while the moon reflects off my bare chest. I've got Nova lying on the couch behind me, naked except for a smile, purring something about setting the moon on fire just for fun.
And I can feel them watching.
A dozen satellites. Hidden drones. Spire-issued surveillance tech trying to be subtle. Cute.
I raise my glass to them.
"Enjoy the view," I mutter.
---
Back at The Spire, they're definitely planning.
I know how they work—Valor pacing, voice hoarse from shouting. Titania slamming her fists into reinforced walls. Quantum trying to calculate an equation that ends with me not obliterating them.
They're not strategizing.
They're stalling.
Because they know once they come after me... there's no going back.
And I'm not just a rogue hero anymore.
I'm the storm.
---
And just as I'm savoring that thought—
She arrives.
Not Titania. Not Nova.
A ghost.
Her name is Lilith.
We used to call her Phantomheart when we were both still pretending to be heroes. She could phase through walls, move without sound, kill a man without ever being seen.
She was my first.
First sidekick.
First mission partner.
First... well, everything.
I thought she died in a mission gone sideways. Turns out?
She just disappeared.
And now?
She's sitting in my penthouse, legs crossed, dressed in all black, with a look in her eyes that says she's been watching me for a long time.
"How'd you get in?" I ask.
"I never left," she replies.
Nova stirs on the couch. "Another one? Seriously?"
Lilith smirks. "Relax, princess. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help."
I arch an eyebrow. "Since when?"
She stands, walks toward me, trailing one finger down my arm like a memory returning.
"Since the day you stopped lying to yourself," she says. "I saw it coming. The fall. The shift. The god waking up inside the hero. You finally stopped kneeling to people who aren't even worthy to touch your cape."
I look at her, slowly.
"You believe in what I'm doing?"
> "I believed before you did."
Nova looks between us, slightly unnerved. "Okay, weird question. Are you two...?"
"Yes," Lilith says.
"Definitely," I say.
"At the same time?" Nova asks.
We don't answer.
---
Outside, thunder rumbles.
Not from nature.
From The Spire.
They're mobilizing. I can feel it. In the tremble of the ground. In the frequency of the drones above me. In the way Titania's heartbeat has been hovering near my airspace all night.
She's coming.
With friends.
Probably with chains.
I welcome it.
Let them see what I've become.
Let them try to put the god back in a cage.
---
Later that night, I'm in bed. Lilith on one side, Nova on the other. Both asleep.
I lie awake, staring at the ceiling.
Because I can feel her.
Titania.
Hovering outside. Not approaching. Just... watching.
Again.
I could call out to her.
But I don't.
Because the next time she walks through my door…
It won't be to stop me.
It'll be to choose.