Spectacular World-Chapter 214: Aarush

Aarush Brenner hated Supers.

At an early age, he had learned quickly that the world was not meant to be a place where people could all be equal. The fact was that there were simply people who stood taller than others. Supers were above humans. Even so, though, Aarush wanted to help humanity any way that he could, yet he refused to work alongside Supers. That was why, despite being more than qualified for a position as a high-ranking Hero Branch officer, Aarush instead became a cop.

For years, he served the public, doing his best, but in a world with superheroes, the role of a single police officer was small and almost unneeded. They weren't even used for cleanup most of the time since the Hero Branch would deal with that. Instead, they were sent in as a first line of defense, meant to be sacrificed to gauge the threat of the danger and determine what level of hero was needed. This led to his hatred of Supers to grow as he watched good men and women be slaughtered, only for someone like Lady Time or Fable to swoop in and save the day.

Supers were not humans. They were nothing more than wild beasts that craved violence. Even Full Monarch was no better. Every time a battle involving a Super happened, the world would be left in ruins. Maybe it was just a street, or maybe it was an entire city; either way, Supers were not gentle, nor were they safe. In a way, it was the ultimate cosmic joke.

Then the day came when Aarush met the woman of his dreams. She was a scientist working for the Hero Branch, and they had met by pure chance. He had been dropping off supplies to a nearby lab, chasing after some serial killer, when he met her. She had been assigned to the case, testing out some new invention.

In a novel, it would have been love at first sight.

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It wasn't that, though.

They argued, and they bickered, and they yelled. It took months before they could even work together and even longer before they were able to consider the other's feelings. Aarush honestly couldn't remember why they ended up together. Perhaps it was simply because they spent so much time around each other that it was the only conclusion left to be made. Or maybe that resentment did fade, and something better took its place. In the end, it didn't matter because this was the point where the item he would cherish above all was created. Kyle was born, and both of them finally had something they both agreed on. They would keep their son safe no matter what.

His wife died years later. While overseas, a Murder Game had started. She hadn't been a player, but she was one of the poor people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lucifer had killed his wife.

Aarush Brenner utterly hated Supers.

Aarush Brenner would do anything for his son.

Aarush Brenner would even become a Super. He would walk the path of evil and journey straight into hell. As long as Kyle could live, as long as the thing he cherished most remained, then he'd gladly throw his life away hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

"R- Remember what you promised." Aarush felt his teeth shatter and exploded in his mouth, his bones twisting and the flesh of his skin tearing. He dropped to his knees, gasping, and glared up at the Emperor. There was no other choice. Heroes hadn't given him hope; heroes weren't able to keep his son safe; heroes weren't able to do what was needed. And so, Aarush gave up his soul and allowed himself to be twisted and shattered. "S- Save my son."

The Emperor removed his hand away from Aarush's head. "I almost feel sympathy for you. I, too, am a father who would do anything for his child. If you weren't a human, I might even have been willing to find a different solution, one that does not result in your death. In the end, though, you're part of the race that got my wife and daughter killed. Unlike you, though, I don't need to run away and hide. I have the power to keep my own family safe."

Aarush couldn't hear any of this, and even if he could, he likely wouldn't have responded since his mouth was sealed shut, flesh growing over it. His body began to expand, and his bones exploded inside of his body, jutting out of him. The Emperor could control and twist souls, forcing a Super's soul into the body. The process wasn't easy, and it would always corrupt the soul within the body, shattering it and leaving only an insane Ego behind that would mutate and twist the body, now that the humanity in it was gone, thus leading to the creation of a monster.

The Emperor was strong, easily one of the greatest villains in the world, yet he couldn't fully control the souls and thus could not decide what power he wanted to give the target. In some cases, like Hell Hound, he would hit the jackpot and create a soul so grand it trumped all others. Hell Hound had been created using the corpse of his daughter, and he had forced a brand new soul into her, but as he discovered, just because that brought the body back, it did not mean it was his daughter.

Hell Hound's soul was so grand that part of her power bled over into the weapon she wielded. The mace of Hell Hound could negate and cancel out powers, but it had a weakness. It could only affect powers that it was swung into. While the weapon remained motionless, it lacked no ability. This was how it could be moved or teleported through Battery's portals, or why Story Maker was able to move it. Only in an act of using the weapon would the power within it activate. That shard of a soul was still held within it, and so instead of simply twisting and adding a new soul to Aarush, the Emperor simply moved that soul into Aarush's body and added fuel to it to strengthen it.

It wouldn't be a second Hell Hound. Hell Hound truly was a one-in-a-billion chance, but it would still result in a Super he needed. One that could let him turn the tide of the battle.

Aarush's body exploded with a surge of power. His skeleton began to stretch within his body, forcing him to expand and growing him until he stood at ten feet tall. His legs and arms were lanky, and the expansion caused several of his ribs to rip their way through his flesh. Black metal stabbed out of his bones, and it surged like a liquid crawling up him and covering his flesh from head to toe. His mouth sealed shut, and his eyes cracked and faded away, leaving only a pair of glowing orbs in their place. Cracks appeared all along his gut, and it began to rip and tear, jutting open into a large mouth that snarled. Aarush looked almost alien now, and if anything, he resembled a small version of the suit the Beast had first worn when it attacked Oleander City. The mouth expanded wider and began to inhale just as Battery came crashing down through a portal.

Battery felt his eyes go wide, and the crater was filled with the sound of cracking glass as all the Giants crumbled and shattered, their broken shards being pulled into Aarush's stomach. Battery's aura also broke, the pieces flying off, and his portal sealed shut. His eyes lost their light, the blue and black fading, leaving him with simple brown eyes that barely had time to process what just happened before Aarush's fist soared out and rammed directly into Battery's face, hard enough to nearly snap the man's neck. Battery was launched back, flying across the crater.

"Does this tactic seem familiar to you?" The Emperor called out in a booming voice. Lucifer and Legend remained on the sidelines, silently watching. "Hell Hound existed for a single purpose. She was made to get close and place a seal upon the entity known as Full Monarch and drain him of his power and strength. History seems to have a way of repeating itself, doesn't it, 'Full Monarch'?" The Emperor spat out the name. "Full Monarch was able to easily break past that attempt and shatter Hell Hound in a single punch, even while his power was sealed. Likewise, Aarush here serves a similar purpose. His body absorbs and devours imaginary energy, creating a field in which such energy simply can't exist. In other words, so long as he stands tall, no more Giants, no more lasers, and no more portals. Have fun."

Aarush soared across the ground. His feet didn't raise and fall like normal steps. Instead, wheels seemed to jut out of his heel, shooting him forward at blistering speeds. Battery lifted his arms up just in time, blocking another strike as Aarush unleashed a devastating punch, generating a sonic boom.

The entire world had watched as the man announced himself as Full Monarch and then began to do battle with the Emperor, Legend, and Lucifer, all at the same time, and now yet again, they were forced to watch as Battery began to get pushed back. Aarush's strikes were inhumanly strong, the air catching on fire, as the monster unleashed punch after punch. His strikes came out hard and fast, working more like a machine than a mere monster. Even so, though, Battery still wasn't done.

Battery smashed a fist directly into Aarush's chest. The black metal cracked and dented, getting caved in, as Battery's strike blasted Aarush back and sent the monster ramming into the wall of the crater. Casually, Battery wiped the blood away from his lip. "You should have tried and tweaked the power. Did you seriously sacrifice Hell Hounds' weapon to create this guy? He no longer has the power the weapon did. He can't negate all powers, just imaginary energy. Even without my energy, though, my body is still that of a Super, one who has been rebuilt from my title of Ruler several times already." Battery punched his chest, his smirk growing. "I'm still strong enough to rip this guy to bits, and as soon as he falls, I'll get my power back and rip Hell Hound's weapon out of him and finish slaying you all!"

Battery's speech was suddenly cut off as his side was torn open, and his blood spilled out. The Emperor pointed a finger in his direction and sent out another unseen slash. "I think you've underestimated the situation. Sure, you might be able to beat my new toy without your energy, but do you think that will happen while fighting the three of us?" Lucifer took to the skies and spun around, unleashing a wave of feathers that impaled all across the battlefield, while Legend vanished and reappeared behind Battery, smashing a fist into his face.

Battery gritted his teeth and felt his back burn as dozens of feathers stabbed into it. He slammed a fist into Legend's stomach and threw the man back, but before he could go on the defensive, Aarush appeared next to him, unleashing a powerful slap to his back, shoving the feathers in deeper, and smashing him off of his feet. Battery broke his fall with a roll and stood up, about to throw out a punch, but shadows jutted out of the ground, forming into a pair of chains that wrapped around his wrist, binding them. The Emperor used his manipulation of the darkness to strengthen them and then formed a pair of thick knuckle dusters around Aarush's fist right as the monster unleashed another punch directly to Battery's face.

Aarush grabbed Battery's chain and forced the man's arms up. Then he brought his other fist back and began to brutally slam it into Battery's body over and over again, tearing at the man's flesh and cracking several of his bones. While he did that, Legend, Lucifer, and the Emperor all took aim. The Emperor formed a jagged arrow made of black fire and launched it out, while Lucifer sent a screaming orb of the Dead Virus, and Legend's suit opened its mouth, blasting out a wave of golden energy. Right before the attack could land, though, three golden great swords smashed into the crater, each so large it formed a barrier around Aarush and Battery, blocking the attacks.

"Don't think this fight is going to be a four-on-one!" The Victorian came smashing down into the battlefield, another golden sword already flung over her shoulder. She wasn't alone, either.

"Mr. Larison!" Cinder came ramming into the side of Aarush, throwing the armored man back and dropping Battery to the floor. "Are you okay?"

Battery groaned and looked up, meeting Cinder's eyes. He looked away quickly. "Don't let your guard down. We're still on the battlefield."

Cinder felt a grin cross onto her face, and she looked away as well. "When this is all over, you and I have a lot to talk about."

Another person landed on the ground, and Battery looked up, finding the Tallest Wave. "What's the situation?" He asked.

Poseidon twirled her trident around and hummed. "Sky managed to heal Cinder and the Victorian, but the others are still needing time to recover. She's focused on Money Tree right now and luckily can save his arm. Fable and Lightning Empress are heading over here next the moment they're healed up, followed by Myth once he recovers. Paragon is staying behind since she's still banged up, and Beta as well as White Wolf are remaining behind to keep her safe."

Battery nodded faintly and let out a sigh. He didn't know every detail about the Path they were on, only the basics that Lois had told him. Things weren't going the way he liked, though. His ideal situation would have been to arrive first, followed by the Victorian and then lastly Myth. The plan had been for him to take down Legend and put him down for good, leaving just the Emperor and Lucifer. With all the Lords in a good position, plus himself, Fable, the Victorian, and Beta, taking the two of them down would have been more than easy. Things hadn't gone to plan, though, which is why he made his change.

He had sent everyone away and blew himself up, catching all the villains in the blast. Fairy Queen, Golden God, and all the Immortals, and any other villain that was present were all caught in the explosion, while the good guys were given a chance to recover. He had been confident he could hold off all three Rulers alone at least until their recovery was gone, especially since they didn't have a way to permanently put him down. Part of him debated dying again. If he were to die, he'd still revive since that wasn't an imaginary energy ability and was something he simply had for being a Ruler. If he were to die, his body would yet again be rebuilt even stronger, and he might get the power-up he needed to beat Aarush, though it was too risky since each death would erase more of himself, and he no longer knew how much he had left.

If he died any more, he'd risk twisting into something like Lucifer, Legend, or the Emperor. All three of them were no longer humans and were instead twisted shells. He'd become the embodiment of his title and would likely twist fully into a Giant. The thought of something like that happening sent a shiver down his spine.

Battery went to say something, but before he could, he felt something yank on the chain that was still wrapped around his wrists. The chain had expanded and become so long that Aarush had managed to keep a grip on it when he had been launched back. Now the villain yanked on it as hard as he could, dragging Battery across the field and toward him.

"No!" Tallest Wave and Cinder both yelled out and went to counterattack Aarush, but Lucifer came crashing down between them.

"You two aren't going anywhere." Lucifer slammed a fist forward, attempting to use the Dead Virus, but Cinder managed to blast herself away with her fire, getting distance. Poseidon went to dodge, but Legend appeared behind her and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her away. The villain slammed Tallest Wave into the ground and dragged her across it, grinding her into the floor.

Finally, that left the Victorian, who glared at the Emperor. The Emperor casually walked toward her, still holding Story Maker, and as soon as the two neared each other, they both struck out with their swords. White met gold as longsword grinded against greatsword. "You're nothing more than a relic from the past." The Victorian hissed out. "Here and now, I'm putting a stop to you! I'm going to do what my father couldn't and finish you off."

The Emperor blocked her swing and smashed his other arm out, ramming a strike into the number one hero's stomach, causing her to wince. The Victorian didn't back down, though, and reached out, grasping the Emperor's arm by the wrist and squeezing down, cracking and denting his armor. "You're nothing more than a failed product." The Emperor grunted. "You should have never been born. You have no right to be where you are now. Your power isn't your own. You're simply using the embers of your father's power, and it's not even the full force." The Emperor head-butted the woman, knocking her back and forcing her to let go. "How much longer do you think that power will last!"

"Just shut up!" The Victorian twisted and rolled with the strike, smashing her sword down hard. The Emperor teleported away at the last second, using Story Maker and reappeared behind the hero, ramming his sword through her back. The woman grunted and struck out with her elbow, shattering one of his horns and cracking his helmet. "It's your fault my dad is dead! You couldn't get over your grief! I might be everything you say I am, but you're worse than me! You had a happy life, and yet you threw it all away because of a single bad thing that happened to you! You don't deserve to be happy ever again! You failed to keep your family safe! Humanity had nothing to do with it; you were just too weak!" She spun around again and rammed her fist harder into his face, shattering his other horn and breaking his helmet.

As the broken helmet fell, Nier's face became visible. His blonde hair was mostly gray and white now, and his red eyes were filled with hate and rage. "I'll kill you!" He struck out with his sword, slicing it into the woman's shoulder. "Go to hell, you bitch!"

The Victorian dropped her sword and grabbed the Emperor by the throat and began to squeeze down. "You first!"

Over with Legend, he kept dragging the Tallest Wave through the ground, but then his arm was ripped out of his socket as the girl's body became heavier. Gravity twisted and expanded, and the Tallest Wave forced herself out of the ground, ramming a fist directly into Legend's face, hard enough to shatter and crack it. The suit was blasted back and rolled across the ground. Not skipping a beat, the Tallest Wave then slammed her foot down as hard as she could, sending out an intense chill and a wave of cold that froze Legend's body, encasing it in a thick barrier of ice. When she was done, the Lord took a moment to clean the blood away from her mouth.

"You're Legend, right?" She asked quietly.

"I am number one."

The Tallest Wave gave a weak nod. "I was there when you died." She said quietly. "I was with Myth. You saved me from the Beast nearly three years ago and stayed behind fighting it off so he and I could escape. Do you remember that?"

"I am number one..."

"You're not much for talking." The girl let out a weak chuckle. "Because of what happened, I became something I'm not. I was twisted and molded." The Tallest Wave looked down at her hand and felt her stomach flip a little. Her fingers were now connected with webbing, and her flesh was covered in scales that were getting thicker and thicker. "In a way, I guess I am sort of in the same boat as you. Hehe. Boat. Get it? 'Cause I have water powers... Yeah, anyways, I'm slowly becoming something else, losing myself. The Lord in me is trying to change my body and form. I used to be Poseidon, but... Well, now I honestly don't know what I am anymore." The girl whispered quietly. "I guess I'm afraid that I'm going to change one day and not be able to go back. I thought I would blame you, that I'd resent and hate you for turning me into this, but now that I'm actually here and looking at you... Well, honestly, all I feel is a wave of pity."

The ice groaned and shattered as Legend forced his way out of his and flew toward her. He unleashed a strike, but she caught it with ease, her left arm morphing into a squid tentacle that wrapped around his limb and began to break and shatter the metal, making Legend groan in pain since he felt all the damage his suits would take.

The Tallest Wave then rammed her trident through him. "I think it's only fair if you take responsibility."

Meanwhile, at the other part of the crater, Cinder dodged another wave of the Dead Virus. She twisted her body and struck out, launching a beam of fire, but Lucifer lazily blocked it with his wing. "Do you remember who I am?" She demanded, and she felt her rage start to bubble back up.

Lucifer cocked his head to the side. "Obviously, you're the Lord of the Sun."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it! Why the hell did you visit me so long ago! Why did you give my father the Dead Virus!" She screamed out, and her eyes ignited, unleashing a wave of lasers.

Lucifer casually opened his book, and another page flew out. A wall of ice formed in front of him, blocking the strike as Snowdawn's body formed. "If you think I remember every victim I've ever visited, then you're wrong." The man said in a flat tone. "The fact is, I have no idea what you're talking about, and I honestly don't care. You're pathetic. One look is all I need. Your soul is a mess, and your body is in an even worse state. You didn't get patched up, did you? You flew straight here, ready for a fight. Was your rage for me worth it? You're in this broken state."

Cinder felt an intense chill shoot through her, and she stared into the blank eyes of Armin. Her laser stopped, and she felt tears in her eyes. She went to say something but stopped. It didn't matter. This wasn't Armin. Not the one she knew. It was just his soul being subjugated and forced to obey. Like all of Lucifer's victims. Like Kyle. That caused her rage to double, and her eyes blazed even hotter. The ground beneath her melted as she lifted off of it, floating. She was finally flying, the same way the Victorian would, no wings or anything, simply defying gravity, yet she was so angry she didn't even process it.

"I'm going to kill you." She declared.

Lucifer looked unimpressed and opened his book, more zombies rising up and surrounding Snowdawn. "You really are a child. You're nothing like the last Lord. You will never be the next Full Monarch."

'Keep a cool head, Cinder-' The Brightest Star tried to say, but it was no use.

Cinder took off at a high speed. She struck out, ramming through one zombie, blowing it to bits. Ice and other powers rained down around her as the zombies all struck out using their powers. They began to swarm her, several of them beating on her. Letting out a growl, she unleashed her laser again and spun in a perfect circle, slicing through the horde. Lucifer dodged it, however, by taking to the skies. She was about to follow him but then froze when she saw Snowdawn again. He was torn in half from her laser, his body burning up and melting. Then, suddenly, she realized she wasn't staring at his body. It was actually an ice statue. A blade of ice tore through her chest as Snowdawn appeared behind her and impaled her. He had stopped time.

Cinder gasped, feeling the sharp pain, and she forced herself off of the blade. She spun around and threw out a punch but stopped at the last second. She couldn't do it. Her arm shook and she wasn't able to hit her friend. That was a qualm Armin didn't have as he stabbed her again in the side with claws and tried to freeze her insides.

She flew back, getting distance from him, but then suddenly was tackled from up above as Lucifer rammed into her. She smashed into the ground, and he sat on her back and grabbed her by the neck. "Move an inch and I'll pump you full of my Virus." The man hissed.

Cinder squirmed and tried to glare back at the man, but he forced her head down. "Now's really not the time to mess with me." She growled, and her body ignited in a wave of intense fire. Lucifer grunted in pain and jumped off of her. She got back to her feet, her fire going out, and she unleashed another wave of lasers out of her eyes, blasting Lucifer's arm clean off and forcing him to drop his book.

'Wait!' The Brightest Star made her pause for a moment. 'Something isn't right. Why didn't he just kill you? He could have hit you with the Dead Virus but didn't?'

"Who cares?"

'I do!'

She was about to argue, but suddenly, Snowdawn rammed a hand into the back of her head, and she gasped as her entire body was encased in ice. Lucifer landed back down and grabbed his torn-off arm, forcing it back into place and mending the wound. He then picked his book back up.

"You're quite useful, Snowdawn. Perhaps I'll start using you more."

Over in the middle of the crater, Battery felt himself get dragged across the ground by Aarush. He was lifted off of the ground and dangled like some sort of punching bag. Aarush's other arm split and formed, breaking into multiple other arms, each balling into a fist. The arms shook and began to vibrate so hard that they ignited in flame, and Aarush struck out. Every punch caused his multiple limbs to unleash powerful sonic booms that ripped through the air and burned holes in Battery's costume. Battery's cape ignited and began to burn up as Full Monarch's suit started to melt away. Aarush didn't stop and just kept punching. He was nothing more than a mindless machine, striking again and again, and again, with everything he had.

The world watched the battle with bated breath. Even with the delay, it wasn't looking good. Beta could only do so much to make it look hopeful. Despair began to eat away at the masses. It wasn't looking good.

This was the Path, though.

Max Lightning had seen it long ago and spoken with the Loudest Thunder about it. In turn, this story had been forcefully passed down to his daughter, Lois, who had glimpsed it and decided that it was for the best. This was the journey to a happy ending.

Aarush's strikes slowed to a crawl as the monster grunted. His body had been pushed to its limits, drawing out all of his power just so he could seal Battery's energy away and weaken the man. A human couldn't handle that, though, leaving just a twisted monster, but even a monster could only do so much.

"Are you done yet?" Aarush's head snapped down and he glared at Battery, who was still alive and smirking. Battery's entire torso had been turned into a nasty red, his costume having a massive hole in it, and he was bruised and battered but far from done. "My turn." He flexed his arms, shattering the chains, and dropped to the ground. As soon as he touched down, he lifted his arms up and entered a boxing stance. Aarush tried to strike out, but Battery was faster. "Left." Battery smashed his fist into Aarush's side, shattering the metal and caving it in, causing the monster's body to twist. "Right." His right arm came out like a powerful jab, slamming into Aarush's jaw and twisting the creature's head all the way around. It was a simple one-two combo, the same jabs he had showed Hope months ago, yet it had done the trick. "Sorry." Battery's smile faded. "I guess you've suffered a lot, huh? Lost all hope in heroes and Supers, thinking that the only choice you had was to walk down this Path. I'm sorry we couldn't save you." Battery brought both his arms back and stepped forward, thrusting them out as hard as he could and hitting Aarush so hard in the chest that the monster's torso exploded. "You're done now. You did pretty well, Aarush." Aarush's broken pieces began to rain down, scattering across the field. "Go ahead and rest now."

The corpse of Aarush crashed down, now in a heap. Battery turned away, not looking at the man, and he faced the battlefield just in time to see the Victorian come flying past him. He dodged out of the way, letting her crash somewhere behind him, and he came face to face with the Emperor.

Before the Emperor could do anything, though, a bolt of lightning, followed by an arrow, smashed down into the back of the man, causing him to stumble. Up in the air, Lightning Empress floated down, using the wind to also carry Fable.

"It's over." Battery declared. His power hadn't fully returned yet, but he could feel it start to trickle back. All he'd need to do now was rip out Hell Hound's weapon from Aarush's corpse. "You lose."

The Emperor let out a low chuckle. "Still as foolish as ever. Tell me, what happens to energy when the container that holds it breaks?"

Battery's eyes went wide, and he spun around, finding Aarush's corpse, which was now glowing and starting to expand. With a growl, Battery leapt forward, throwing himself over the body.

"It leaks out." The Emperor stated, and for a second time, a massive rush of energy was unleashed as the landscape exploded.