Part 1 - Regroup
The group sat silently around the meeting table as Beth reviewed the reports. She looked up, a look of defeat on her face.
"It's not good news, I'm afraid" she said, with a tone of sadness.
Cherry and Becky searched the other Hero sims; they were either deserted or had been occupied by Sal's forces. They did manage to find Codi, Ricca, Elisha, and Mel; they will be with us soon. No luck searching the groups. The additional sister power will certainly help, but its unlikely to be enough considering what we're facing.
"What about Super?" Becky pressed. "That's the one we're all waiting to hear about; where is she?"
"I should just let Cait tell you. Cait?"
Cait stood up, closing her eyes for a moment before she started.
"We got her back," she said, drawing a breath, "But I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say we rescued her." Everyone turned to look at Cait.
The place where Sal was holding her was a fortress. We had to fight our way through dozens of weird, grotesque things I'd never seen before. We finally got to where she was; she was chained up being forced to listen to rap music 24/7. We lost two of the warrior sheep fighting our way out of there. Annie was injured. But Super is in a coma and hasn't shown any signs of coming out of it. Even if she wakes up, who knows if she'll still have her powers after what she endured?"
"You mean WHEN she wakes up" Cherry corrected.
"Yes of course. When she wakes up" Cait said, gently putting her hand on Cherry's shoulder.
"We've got her resting downstairs, and a steady stream of classic rock is being piped in" Beth said. "I'm not sure what else we can do for her at this point."
"There's one more thing", Beth added. "While rescuing Super, Cat and Cait stumbled upon this map. It shows Asgard and the Dock as targets and Heroes as the primary target. There's no doubt about it now. They'll be coming. And soon.
Part 2 - Super
Several days passed. Beth stayed in her lab, Super remained in a coma, and the rest of the group was close to going stir-crazy. The monotony was broken when the sisters arrived, along with Mid, Zel, and Bejiita, The Particle Physicist, who had come to offer assistance. Hugs were exchanged, Bejiita joined Beth in the lab, and Cherry & Becky immediately whisked their sisters off to see Super. Beth had called for an all hands on deck meeting at 5:00, so reluctantly Cherry, Becky, Ricca, and Elisha left to attend the meeting while Codi and Mel stayed behind with Super.
"Ok, here's where we stand", Beth said, a tone of seriousness in her voice. "The addition of the sisters, Mid, Zel, and Bejiita, helps, but we don't have enough forces to defend both Asgard and the Dock. Since Asgard is of little strategic importance and the only way they can directly attack Heroes is via the dock, I've decided to dedicate all of our forces to defend the dock".
"What?!" Cait exclaimed, "We're not even trying to hold Asgard? I can't believe you will give it up without a fight!"
Beth sighed "If we try to defend both, we lose both. If we dedicate our entire force to the dock, we at least have a chance of holding it, and without the dock they can't attack the club. We can work on re-taking Asgard at a later date, but for now, yes, we're giving it up without a fight.
"Well, if we're going to hold the Dock, then we better get a battle plan ready," the voice came from the back of the room. Everyone turned to see Super standing between Mel and Codi.
"Oh my god, Sis!" Cherry shouted, jumping up to run and hug her. She was tackled by Becky halfway there.
"Chill your jets, shorty. Do you want to knock her on her ass? She just recovered"
Cherry glared at Becky but realized she was right. The whole group got up and surrounded Super, the first happy moment they'd had in weeks. It would be short-lived.
Part 3 - Preparing for Battle
Everyone jumped as the warning siren blared out. It was Asgard. As expected, Sal's forces were going after the low-hanging fruit first. Cait was still furious with Beth for not preparing a defence for Asgard, but Beth stood her ground; Both venues could not be held. The Dock was more important, and that was where they would make their stand.
Beth's defense plan for the docks was simple. Abby had created new, armored costumes for everyone and some cute hats for the sheep. Ranos was to use his ability to mind-lock with the sheep and form a defensive perimeter around the landing zone with the electric sheep, reinforced by Becky with her ring of power. Mel and Cait's powers complemented each other with Cait having the ability to focus and direct sound and Mel having the ability to amplify sound. Together they formed a formidable first line, along with Mid and her optic blasts, Zel and his freeze power, and Benji's particle accelerator. With Becky focused on reinforcing the perimeter, and Super out of action Wyn was the only remaining flyer. She was to provide the air support, attacking with her fire blasts and keeping them off balance. Codi, Ricca, Abby, and Cat were the fighters forming the last line, along with Cal using his magic to slow the enemies and making them easy targets for the soldiers. Cherry, Beth, Annie, and Super remained at the club.
Back at the club, Cherry was furious that Beth had not let her join the fight.
"I wield the most lethal power we have!" she fumed, "And you're not even letting me help!"
"'Wield' is an interesting choice of words Cherry. Yes, the B-Stream is the most powerful force I've ever seen, but you can't control it. You're just as likely to take out our own team as the villains, and we can't risk it.
Cherry slammed her fist down in frustration; she knew Beth was right; it was just annoying that she was always right. She knew of only one other person who had the B-Stream, and neither of them could control it. The best she could manage is to contain it, and on rare occasions that she'd lost control disaster had ensued. Beth was right; she'd be more of a hazard than a help out there.
"Well, what can I do to help then?" She asked.
"Take care of Super" Beth responded. "We've got to get her back on her feet; we're going to need her for the final battle".
"Final battle?" Cherry frowned. "I thought this WAS the final battle."
Beth smiled a half smile. "Let's hope you're right," she said before retreating to her lab.
Part 4 - The Battle for the Dock
With Beth back at the club and Super out of action, Becky took charge of the Heroes forces. She aligned them exactly as Beth's plan laid out. Now there was nothing to do but wait. The wait was a short one. Without warning the attack came, but it was not what the Heroes were expecting. They had prepared to fight an army of villains, but what attacked them was an army of grotesque monsters.
They attacked from boats and the deepest depths of the sea. The Heroes fought back, easily defeating the first wave. The Heroes breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a short-lived respite.
The second wave was double the numbers of the first. Flying creatures now came from above, the attack from the sea continuing. Wyn did what she could, but she was outmatched.
Becky was forced to redirect some of her shield energy to protect the Heroes on the ground from aerial attack. Amongst the chaos, the enemy started to break through the line.
One of the electric sheep, went down. Ranos tried to keep up, marshalling the sheep to close gaps in the line, weakening the defence. The second line held initially, with Mel, Cait, Mid, Zel, and Benji furiously fighting off the attackers. Eventually, more and more started to break the line, Abby, Codi, Ricca, and Cal were fighting for their lives.
Abby swung her soup ladle furiously, taking out enemy after enemy. "What the hell are these things?" Abby shouted over to Cal. "I've never seen anything like this before! Every time I CLOBBER one, they don't die; they just turn into a mound of goo and slink away!"
"I know", Cal shouted back, "I've never seen anything like it either.
Back at the front line, another electric sheep went down further, weakening the perimeter, and more and more of the enemies were getting through. Suddenly a strange red and black creature broke through and headed straight for Becky; she didn't see it until it was almost on her. She hit it with a power blast, but it was too late. The creature detonated in a titanic explosion, and when the smoke cleared, Becky was gone.
With Becky's shield down, the remaining sheep were quickly overwhelmed, and the creatures poured in unhindered. Abby was 2nd in command and promptly took charge. She quickly ordered the remaining heroes to retreat to the club. The Dock had been lost.
Part 5- Despair
The Heroes were exhausted. There had been no other significant injuries, but Becky and several of the sheep had been lost. The sisters held each other in a group hug, sobbing in despair over their lost sis. Suddenly Cherry's Tool Detector(TM) alarm went off and a call came in on the main viewscreen. It was Sal.
"Well aren't you a motley looking crew?" he chirped. "I have to admit you put up a good fight back there, but the fact is you never had a chance. I'd like you to meet my partner, The Necromancer. He's responsible for raising that army that just kicked your butts, and every time you "kill" one he raises back up again. So you see, my army is inexhaustible, and thus unbeatable. I just wanted you to see what your up against before we come to finish the job. I'll even give you a chance to recharge your powers, and for Beth to reinforce her meager defenses. It's more fun when you fight back. Three days. That's how long you've got. Enjoy your final hours."
The viewscreen went blank.
"I'll show you who's meager" Beth muttered.
The Heroes sat around the table in silence. Everyone looked at Beth.
"Well?" Cal demanded finally. "What are we going to do? How are we going to beat these things? C'mon Beth, I know you've got something cooking, you always do."
"I'm sorry, I got nothing" Beth stated glumly. We're facing an enemy that can't die, and will just keep coming and coming and coming until we're all exhausted. I hate to say it but Sal is right. We have no chance.
"Beth", Cherry said softly, "You've got to let me try. That Necromancer must be close to keep raising those things. If we can figure out where he is, Wyn can fly me in and drop me nearby, and I'll just let it loose, full force. It won't matter that I can't control it; I'll be close enough that if I let it all out, then everything will be destroyed. If we drop that Necromancer, we should be able to take out whatever's left."
"Cherry, that's suicide." Beth responded. "They'll be all over you as soon as you hit the ground, you'll never even get a chance to unleash."
"Well we're all going to die, including me, if we don't try something. Do you have a better idea?"
Beth sighed and shook her head.
"I didn't think so" Cherry said softly. Then with a half smile she said "We can call it 'Operation CherryBomb'.
Beth hated the idea. They would lose Cherry and could all prove to be for nothing. But there were no other options. She wouldn't just sacrifice Cherry; there HAD to be another way.
"Let me think about it, ok? Give me 2 days to come up with something. If I can't come up with an alternate plan, then I'll let you try".
Beth returned to the lab to try and figure out some other way to defeat this menace, but there did not seem to be any other way. Two days later, the Heroes reconvened.
"I'm afraid you're right," Beth said sadly. "Operation CherryBomb is our only chance. I'm so sorry, Cherry, I let you down," She said, almost in tears.
Suddenly a soft voice from the back of the room said quietly, "So, I heard through the grapevine y'all could use some help..."
Everyone's head snapped around.
"Nawwww, it can't be," Abby said, visibly shocked.
"OMG" Cherry screamed, jumping up and running over to give her friend a huge hug (she does that a lot...)
It was Az.
Part 6 - A New Hope
"How ya doin' hun?" Az said with a smile, happily returning the hug. Everyone jumped up and followed suit, resulting in a massive group hug. "It's great to see y'all too. And I'm not alone, I found this little guy wandering around outside..." Az said just as a sheep went trotting across the room and happily started walking in a circle. "What's up with this sheep? All he'll eat is beans." Az asked curiously. Cherry smiled and shrugged.
"Oh yeah, I also found this little cutie wandering around out there" Az Beamed.
"BECKY!" Cherry screamed as her sister emerged from the shadows with a big smile. Cherry ran over and grabbed her sis in a massive hug (I told you she does that a lot...), followed closely by her other sisters.
"Easy shorty, I just had this costume cleaned!" Said Becky with a big smile. "And watch who you're calling a 'little cutie' Red!"
Az chuckled.
"Wait a second Az; I thought you had died in the explosion?" Abby said cautiously.
"Nope. That's what I wanted everybody to think. I went underground and changed my name. I'm going by Hope these days. Cal was the only one who knew I was alive, and he was the one who let me know about your current situation. I knew he was innocent and stayed in touch with him all these years, but I had no way to prove it. I knew y'all would eventually figure it out on your own though.
"Took them long enough..." Cal muttered.
"Hope huh? That's going to take some getting used to, but Hope it is" Abby replied.
"Hang on, how did you even get in here?" Beth asked.
"Through the back door" Hope responded
"We don't have a back door" Beth grunted.
"We do now..." Abby remarked, peering around the corner.
Hope shrugged and continued looking at Beth. "As you know I have the B-Stream power same as Cherry, and the same problem, I couldn't control it. I've spent the last 7 years learning to control it, and I've finally mastered it!" She looked at Cherry. "I can teach you too hun. And it won't take 7 years. I had to figure it out on my own, but with my guidance I can teach you to control it in a week!"
"You have 12 hours," Beth said flatly. Take Cherry to the training area and teach her to control the B-Stream, and I'll work out a new plan. We may just have a chance now. With two controllable B-Streams, we might have a chance.
"I'd forgotten how much she pisses me off", Hope grumbled. "12 hours? Seriously?"
"11:59 now. Beth said. "Stop arguing and start teaching; time is not our friend here. While you two are at it I'll go fix the 'back door'" she said with a frown.
Hope frowned, but nodded. "C'mon Cherry, let's do this thing."
The two friends headed off to the training room, taking the last, best hope of the Heroes with them.
Part 7 - Dissention
"Well? How did you make out?" Beth asked anxiously when Az and Cherry emerged from the training area.
"Well, she has very basic control over it. Basic meaning she most likely won't kill any of you, but I'm not sure she'll actually kill any monsters either. She can aim it in a general direction, but lacks the fine control to target an enemy." Hope replied.
"That's fine," said Beth, because you can. Cherry can fire in the general direction of the hordes, and you can target the leaders. Ok, everybody here's the plan; the same basic formation as before. We don't have the Electric Sheep or Becky this time, so my outer defences will provide the perimeter defence. Az and Cherry, I want you two on top of the Volcano. Incinerate anything that comes into range.
"You got it!" Cherry said eagerly.
"Wait a second, what do you mean you don't have Becky?!" Becky asked angrily. "I'm fine and ready to fight, and I want some payback after the last time!"
"Nope, you and Super are staying back with me." Beth replied calmly.
"That's BS!" Becky screamed "Your last plan nearly got me killed, now you're keeping 2 of our most powerful fighters out of the fight? You better re-think this 'plan' of yours, because I think it sucks!"
"Back with Me!" Beth barked. "That's Final!"
Becky stormed off furiously.
"She's right, Beth", Super said calmly. "I may not be at 100% yet, but you will need us out there. Even WITH the 2 B-Streams, we're facing a nearly invincible army."
"I'm with Super", Abby said. "If we're going to go down, let's go down fighting, not with our two most powerful Heroes sitting on the bench. That's just insanity."
"You guys are just gonna have to trust me." Beth sighed. "We might need a little insanity to get us out of this one."
"Your last 'plan' nearly got us all killed". Cait added. "You'll have to excuse us if we're not all jumping for joy about going out to face an invincible army of monsters without Super and Becky.
"Well it seems I'm not the only one who thinks this plan sucks" Becky said as she returned to the table.
"Look, we don't have time to argue about it. You guys looked to me to devise a plan, and this is it. Now I expect all of you to follow it. That's it, end of discussion. Now get ready to fight; zero-hour is coming up fast." Beth turned and went back to her lab to make some final calculations.
"Damn bossy bitch", Becky muttered.
The Heroes did as they were expected and got ready to fight, following Beth's plan. But it was clear they had lost some confidence in their leader.
Part 8 - Last Stand
At 5 minutes before zero hour the viewscreen lit up again.
"Hello little Heroes" Sal taunted. "I hope you've used the last 3 days well, as in preparing for all of your funerals. Your time is up."
The viewscreen went dark again.
"SAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! Becky screamed, pumping her fists in the air.
Beth frowned at her, then addressed the group.
"Ok this is it gang. Let's show them what Heroes can do."
"What if this doesn't work? We'll be overrun, and Sal wins?"
"No" said Beth. "I've worked out a failsafe. But it's extremely dangerous, so I'm holding it back as a 'last resort. No time to explain it now; you'll just have to trust me."
"I'm starting to get tired of that line" Becky grumbled.
Everyone quickly got into position and got ready, managing to repel the first wave, the outer defences holding. Hope and Cherry blasted them into oblivion before they reached the club.
But they just kept coming, wave after wave, with only an occasional break in the action. Beth had pinpointed the position of Sal and the Necromancer, but they were out of range of even the B-streams. Super begged Beth to let her go and try and take out the Necromancer, but they had blanked the area in rap music. The Heroes fought bravely, but it was clear. Even WITH the power of 2 B-Streams, this battle would only end one way.
Finally there was a short break in the action, and Beth ordered the Heroes to regroup in the cave.
"Beth, this isn't going to work. We're nearly exhausted, and they just keep coming. Whatever this failsafe of yours is, we need it now, because one more wave like the last one and we'll be finished" Abby said desperately.
Beth nodded. It was a desperate act, but she knew it was time. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it was all they had left.
Part 9 - Heroes: Forever
"Hope, Cherry." Beth started. "You need to cross the B-Streams".
"Are you insane?!" Hope exclaimed "We can't do that, it's madness!"
"Why?" asked Cait.
"It would be bad." responded Hope.
"Ok shut up everybody and listen, we don't have much time. Super, can your eye beams reach Sal and the Necromancer from here?"
"Sure" responded Super, but not with enough force to take them out. Not at this range."
"I don't need them to have much force, but can you reach them?"
"Just watch me" Super said.
"Ok, Hope and Cherry, I need you to cross the B-Streams right on Super's eye beam. It will act like a lightning rod and direct the energy right to where she's focusing it; right on Sal and his annoying little friend."
"I don't know Beth... we've never tried this before. I can't control it that well; what if I can't get it on Super's beam? And we don't even know what will HAPPEN when we cross the streams. Just that it would be bad.
"I have faith in you" Beth Smiled. "And sometimes you have to risk a little bad to achieve a greater good. Ok, get ready, here they come."
Right on que the final assault started, and it was larger than all of the previous waves combined. Sal intended to finish them off this time.
"Super! Light up the target!" Beth screamed
Super was visibly strained, but she hit the target dead center.
"Cherry! Hope! Let her Rip! Give it all you've got, and cross on Super's Beam!"
Hope ignited first, intersecting Super's beam perfectly. Cherry strained as she tried to focus the energy building inside her; she closed her eyes and raised her balled fists. Suddenly, she stopped; a strange calm seemed to come over her. She opened her eyes, glowing white with the built-up power inside her, and then ignited her stream. It intersected Super's Beam and Hope's stream spot on perfect.
Instantly a massive surge of energy raced along Super's beam, precisely as Beth had predicted. When it reached the target, nothing happened at first. Then a bubble appeared, small at first but expanding slowly in all directions, and it was annihilating everything it touched.
Sal and the Necromancer never knew what hit them. As soon as the Necromancer went down, all of the vile things he had raised went down too. But the bubble was still expanding, destroying everything it touched. Beth immediately understood the nature of the B-stream. It was anti-matter. They had created an expanding bubble of the most powerful force in the universe, and it was coming right for them.
"Shut it down! Shut it down!" Beth screamed! Immediately Hope, Cherry, and Super terminated their powers, but the bubble was still coming. It started to dissipate as soon as the streams were shut down, but it was clear it wouldn't dissipate fully before it reached them . They had one, maybe 2 minutes before it arrived.
"Ok, everybody, huddle up!" Beth yelled. "Get in as tight as possible. Becky! It's up to you now. We need a force shield. Give it all you've got; our lives depend on it!"
"Was this why you held back Super and me from the fight?" Becky asked; Beth looked back at her, no words needed.
Becky focused and created a force bubble around the group. The group all joined hands with her giving and gave Becky their strength. It was enough. The cave imploded, and rocks rained down around the group. Becky's shield held throughout.
Becky dropped the shield, the smoke cleared, and the sisters collapsed in exhaustion. The others stood up and looked around at the devastation. He hadn't managed to kill them, but Sal got some of what he wanted. Heroes: Infinity had been destroyed.
"Beth?" Cherry said weakly from underneath a pile of her sisters
"The club blew up again..."
Beth laughed. Just a chuckle at first, but soon she was roaring with laughter, and everyone else joined in.
"Wait a minute, what are we laughing at?" Becky said after a bit. "Our club is destroyed, we need a whole new flock of sheep, and we have no idea what happened to Sal.
"I have a headache" Ranos muttered.
"And Ranos has a headache" Becky added.
"Well, we did just survive a direct hit from the most powerful force in the universe, so I'd say that's something to be happy about" Beth responded.
"SECOND most powerful force in the universe!" Becky corrected, flexing her bicep playfully.
"So where do we go from here Beth? Like Becky said we've got no club, only one sheep, And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted!" Abby said
"We'll build up the flock in no time" Beth said. "If Sal is still around, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but my gut feeling tells me it's over. As for the club? Well, it was time for a rebuild anyway. I've already got plans for a new, improved club, at an all new location. We're going to have a club for the Villains too. Maybe if they have a place to hang out and chill they'll stop being such tools! You guys can all just take a few weeks off, I'll have the rebuild up and running before you know it.
"I might have known you'd have something up your sleeve" Abby chuckled.
"Of course" winked Beth. "Don't I always? Clubs come and clubs go, but Heroes is Forever!
The End!
That's it gang! I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of Heroes: Infinity, and I hope you all enjoy the next chapter in the Heroes saga, Heroes: Forever. We'll be opening on September 9, and hope we'll see you all there to open up the next exciting chapter of Heroes!
Heroes: Forever Staff:
Beth - Cub Owner, Mastermind, Club Builder, Story Editor, and Kick-Ass DJ
Cait - Club Owner, Sound Manipulator, and Kick-Ass DJ
Cherry - Club Owner, B-Stream Weilder, Story Writer, and Kick-Ass DJ
Becky - Power Ring Wielder and Kick-Ass DJ
Cal - Magic Wielder and Kick-Ass DJ
Abby - Soup Ladle Wielder, Costume Designer, Principal sponsor and backup DJ
Super - SUPER and Backup DJ
Az(Hope) - B-Stream Wielder and occasional guest DJ
Cat - Fighter, Stripper, and Host
Annie - Fighter and Host
