Against all odds, the Natural Disasters turned up to the press meeting looking near spotless. Full hero outfits, with not even a hint of exhaustion between us. A few strained smiles, but we had seen so far behind the curtain by this point that public relations felt like even more of a performance than it really was.

To his credit, Kingston didn't drag out the event. For either his benefit or ours, none of the Disasters were required to speak. We were props. A new toy on the shelf to show off to the masses. We received applause when the Director mentioned our efforts in stopping the greater threat that followed the Arena attack. Grateful that we had saved his life directly, along with all the other potential citizens that were protected by our actions.

It was actually somewhat humbling. Most of our effective roles involved mass murder or wandering into gray areas outside the purview of Goldarch. Having personally skirted most of the normal responsibilities of a hero within the city, it was nice to see the people who were benefiting every time we foiled a villain or World Government agent.

After the retelling of the attack, Kingston went on to assure the populace that there were measures being put in place so that such an event could never occur again. He was smart enough to note that no plan was foolproof, but through the strength of spirit of Goldarch, and the combined efforts of its heroes, we would prosper even in the most trying times.

A decent segue into introducing us as the new team to work within the outskirts, to protect against threats outside city limits. There were some hushed murmurings among those gathered, but at a glance the reception seemed to be positive on the whole. Once it was time for the Director to field questions from the press, we were ushered out - to return to our 'duties'.

Officially, heroes didn't get a fortnight of vacation.

"Relatively painless," Roxy murmured as we left the back door to where the Meteor sat.

Ren didn't agree. "I think my cheeks are cramping from smiling so much."

My attention had been elsewhere during most of the conference, so I didn't comment. Belle, however, had seemingly gotten the picture even with my silence.

"Disappointed he didn't show, Dubs?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

[I don't know what you mean.]

Thankfully, the others were too busy caught up in complaining to pick up on what we said. Was it such a bad thing to be vigilant? With villains lurking within the city, I had to be on guard. Just in case Utterdark or… some other less important foe came to interrupt proceedings.

Belle didn't buy my deflection for a second and gave me a smug grin.

The back of the Meteor opened up as we approached. Clara was inside, monitoring the area as well as working on one of her many projects on the side. Of course, that just reminded me again of what today's duties actually were.

Going to an abandoned office block to beat each other up.

Clara had explained the grand prize for the last hero standing as a reward of a percentage of her waking hours, to use her however we deemed fit. She had stared at me as she had said that, so the assumption was that she was offering one of us some tech. Although she would love to outfit all of us in her creations, she only had so many waking hours.

Most of the Disasters weren't incredibly excited to be fighting the others, but we all had ideas for what a new device could offer us.

"I have some good news, Gunquake," the techie announced as we piled into the vehicle.

[Utterdark?]

"No…?" She furrowed her brow. "With the rate at which our new base is being constructed, I can have your ammunition storage up and functional to a basic level tomorrow."

[Excellent. It has been too long since I've been at my full potential.]

I took a seat at the front beside Roxy, and the back door of the Meteor rose to shut us off from the city.

My reduced ability had been a topic of discussion the previous night, when we were discussing the rules for today's fight. It could be argued that my artifact-based gun-arm was my superpower, so was it really a fair battle if I couldn't be at full strength? I waved most of those worries away.

Five ten-round magazines on my belt, and a few other tricks Clara had slid me on the sly. Not because she wanted me to win, I was sure. As my sidekick, she had to push me to be the best I could be. I had worked around worse debilitations than having to switch magazines manually. It was just a matter of how I planned to deal with each of the heroes.

The Meteor hummed into life and started moving toward our destination.

Roy could now briefly move faster than I had any hope of reacting to. Even with Reflex. While he wasn't the most damaging out of us, if he could hit ten times as often without retaliation, then he didn't need to be.

Belle had shown a new use of His powers. Rather than shields or bad luck, she could invoke delusions in a small area. Fully shutting me away in a living nightmare had pushed beyond the maximum of her capabilities, but even the fact that she had that option had totally rewritten how I viewed her combat prowess. I was in no hurry to live through a repeat of yesterday.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ren was perhaps the weakest in the planned battle arena. The enclosed rooms and corridors of an office block didn't play to her newfound ability to fire her bow at extreme distances. Still, she had been calm this morning. Despite the disadvantage, she had been wearing the rangefinder and glove as additions to her hero outfit. Then again, I knew better than to underestimate her.

Last, Roxy was… well, it was fair to say she was the most likely to win. When the entire structure would have just been a suggestion to her even before she unlocked her volcano powers, this was truly her battle to lose. Now that she had worked out how to create armor plates, walls, and miniature cannons from her lava abilities, I saw her as a major threat. With her combat experience and inventiveness, I'd have to outplay her to survive.

I wondered what the others thought of me.

After yesterday, they might have more confidence in their ability to beat me. It was certainly possible, especially if they got to me after someone else had worn me out. Thus, the real game of tactics had begun. I could tell the others were also thinking about it, as they were unnaturally quiet.

As each of us devised counters, traps, and ways in which to escape each other, we made it to the office block in what felt like minutes. Since it was on the outer edge of the east side of the city, it took much longer than that to get here. In a quiet area partly being demolished for renovation, we wouldn't get interrupted during our games. I imagined that Clara cleared it with the higher-ups, who would have warned any heroes in this area what was happening.

Roxy sighed as the Meteor pulled up outside the thick fencing.

[Reminds you of that time as well.]

She turned and gave me a grim smile. Her breakthrough had come about when I goaded her into nearly killing me. I still bore the scar from that event. Cybernetic ribcage lived on within my chest, replacing whatever shattered remains had splintered through my internals after she had given me an open-palmed strike.

We weren't playing those high-stakes anymore, and neither was I so reckless with my own mortality.

[This time, I won't let you win.]

Any gnawing guilt playing on her mind melted away, and the super rolled her eyes.

"Alright, Disasters," Clara announced, drawing our attention away. "You already understand the rules and have drawn lots for your starting positions. Try not to kill each other or collapse the building on yourselves. I will send a signal when it begins."

Acknowledgement came via silent nods or stoic grunts. They were all taking this seriously. Good.

The League didn't set heroes against each other often enough. Villains may be cut from the same design, but even that could be too… orchestrated. I believed Kingston held similar views. Goldarch had been held back by the other Directors. Satisfied to sit on their hands and be content with the power within the city, keeping to themselves on the continent.

But the reality was that we could be one of—if not the—strongest city states. However, if every hero received the same training and freedom as we did, then the World Government would have no choice but to interfere directly. War would harm the general citizens. There was a delicate balance between proactive safety and resilience. We were on that cutting edge, which made days like today important.

Maybe it was my old life bleeding into my current, but knowing how to kill each other would make us stronger. Every Disaster needed to be able to beat a Chevalier in solo combat. If that was the potential threat coming to Goldarch in the future, then it was the bare minimum.

"I always get the short straw," Roy murmured as he looked up at the building.

Twenty-five floors tall. One of us every five floors. Top and bottom probably had an advantage, whereas the middle had it rough. It just depended on how people decided to move.

Given that I had drawn the middle lot, I wondered what the speedster was complaining about. We were keeping the positions secret from each other.

//Clara: Rockslide may enter first. //Clara: Then every minute after, someone else.

The super gave us all a look before turning and walking down the gravel pathway to the derelict building. Most windows were either barred or covered, but those that were open no longer had any glass fittings. It was dark inside, and I imagined most furnishings had been long stripped.

"Nervous, Dubs?" Belle asked me.

[Are you kidding? I was built for exactly this.]

She wagged a finger. "Ah, but you're not going to kill us."

[Clara said to try not to.]

The banter didn't seem to improve Roy's view of the situation. He was tapping his feet, eyes still running up and down the building. "I'm in after Rox," he said idly. "Otherwise I'm going to…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but nobody was going to stand in his way. After checking his watch for the fifth time, it had finally been a minute and he walked off toward the entrance. I turned my gaze to Ren.

The elf had been standing, a typically stoic scowl on her expression, although her eyes were closed. Her artifact bow hung in the air beside her, gently bobbing up and down.

[Three-way rock, paper, scissors for who goes next?]

"Scissors," Ren said.

I frowned and looked at Belle. The gunslinger shrugged. "Paper?"

[Fine, I'll go next.]

With a sigh, I stretched out my arms and neck. Cybernetics didn't need limbering up, but there was something about the motion that helped relax me. As much as I was looking forward to skirmishing with my friends, I was missing having a proper home to go back to afterward.

Not only for privacy and comfort, but I had been missing Warlock. The prefab in the outskirts wasn't exactly a safe place for him, so he had remained under the League's care. I decided that channeling some of the ire toward Chevalier ruining our homestead into the current fight was a good idea.

A minute had passed, and it was my turn. I walked down the wide pathway to the open entrance of the office block. Dust and gravel spread into the gloomy interior. Out of sight of the heroes waiting outside, there was a slim staircase to my right. I gave the reception area a quick glance before making my ascent.

Now that I was inside, it really did remind me of the time I fought Roxy. The calm and chilly atmosphere within plain walls of bare concrete. The way my boots echoed slightly against every stone step. The looming and enticing violence.

It didn't take too long to get to the fifteenth floor, even though it was quite a walk. I pushed through a door that scraped through debris along the way. An open-plan office greeted me, although it looked anything but. The windows to my right were open, allowing a cold breeze to run through. The left-side windows were covered with wooden slats. There was no furniture throughout the office, but a few waist-high walls separated sections in places.

I continued through, hoping to get to the middle of the building. Then I'd have equal options of going to either side staircase. If Roxy didn't immediately put a hole straight through the center of the structure.

After two similar rooms passed, I stopped in a corridor that once had a small sink and set of cupboards. Almost by instinct, I tapped the side of my nutrition canister. All good.

//Clara: Everyone is in position. //Clara: Get ready to start in 5…

I pulled a magazine from my belt and slotted it into the open magwell in my arm.

Time to do what I did best.

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