The earth trembled beneath the weight of a god's rage.
Sultan rose slowly from the rubble, his figure outlined by swirls of glowing energy. His eyes, red as fresh embers, scanned the heroes with contempt.
"I might have underestimated you mortals…" he muttered, rolling his neck. "But a god… will always be a god."
He raised both arms.
Reality warped.
Buildings twisted upward unnaturally, as if caught in a storm. Cracks spiderwebbed across the battlefield, and the very air pulsed with fury.
Then—he dropped it all.
CRASH!
The earth trembled beneath the weight of a god's rage.
Sultan rose slowly from the rubble, his figure outlined by swirling arcs of molten energy. His eyes, red as fresh embers, swept over the battered heroes with contempt.
"I might have underestimated you mortals…" he muttered, rolling his neck with an audible crack.
"But a god… will always be a god."
He raised both arms.
Reality rippled.
Buildings twisted upward unnaturally, steel and stone warping like putty. Cracks spiderwebbed through the battlefield, raw energy swirling with fury.
Then—he released it.
CRASH!
The ground ruptured. Debris rained like meteors.
"Move!" Vilex roared, shoving Hi-Tech and Sage aside. The rest barely escaped the cataclysmic impact.
But Sultan was already moving.
His fists hardened into stone. He surged toward Mega Panther, each step a quake.
"Come!" Mega Panther roared, leaping in.
Too slow.
BOOM!
Sultan's punch struck like a battering ram, lifting Panther off the ground. He snatched Panther midair, gripped his throat, and slammed him into the earth.
The ground cratered violently.
Panther lay stunned.
Sultan stepped past him.
"Worthless leader," he sneered, eyes on Vilex.
Vilex raised his bow—too late.
Sultan hurled him skyward. In an instant, twin stone pillars burst from the earth, clapping together midair—a thunderous shockwave echoed as they crushed Vilex between them.
The team leader fell limply from the sky.
Frost advanced next, ice and water spiraling like twin dragons around his form.
He hurled a massive icicle with perfect precision.
Sultan caught it. Smirked. Stabbed it through Frost's arm.
Frost cried out, staggering.
Then came a brutal kick—crack! Bones shuddered under the impact.
Frost flew backward, landing hard.
Super Bolt flashed in.
A barrage of lightning-fast punches rained down on Sultan—blinding to the eye.
But Sultan stood still, letting the hits land.
He watched.
Analyzed.
Then smiled.
With a stomp, he split the ground beneath Super Bolt's feet.
The speedster fell—but Sage opened a glowing portal midair, yanking him free just in time.
"Focus, Sage!" Vilex's weak voice called.
Sage clenched his fists, arcane light crackling across his body. He summoned a glowing magical whip, lashed it forward, and coiled it around Sultan's arm, pulling with all his might.
Sultan grunted, yanked back—then hurled an energy blast.
Sage twisted, barely redirecting it skyward.
"You're stronger than you pretend," Sultan said coldly, gripping the whip. "But you fear your true power."
CRACK!
A thunderous punch sent Sage flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
Blaze caught him mid-fall.
"Rest for now," Blaze whispered, laying him down.
Blaze's eyes blazed crimson. His sword ignited with roaring flame.
With a shout, he charged.
The flaming blade met Sultan's fists in a dazzling shower of sparks. Blow after blow, Blaze pressed forward with fury.
But Sultan's smile widened.
With a flick of his fingers, stone hands erupted from the ground, grabbing Blaze's legs.
"Burn all you like," Sultan sneered.
WHAM!
Massive rocks slammed into Blaze—again and again. His flames flickered, his body straining under the crushing force.
Across the battlefield, the heroes had fallen—one by one.
Sultan stood tall, supreme.
He turned his gaze upward.
---
"People of Ultra City," his voice boomed, hijacking every screen and speaker.
"Look at your protectors. Broken. Helpless. Weak. What hope remains, when even your champions kneel before me?"
---
Elsewhere — The Evacuation Zone
Citizens watched in silence.
"They're losing…" someone whispered.
"This can't be happening. Call for backup!"
"They need the Hero Association!"
The panic spread like wildfire.
Inside the mobile command center, Layla stood silently.
A junior officer approached. "Ma'am, the people are requesting reinforcements. Should we—?"
"No," Layla said coldly.
She activated the city-wide comms. Her hologram appeared across every screen.
"You're asking for backup now?" she said, voice sharp. "Where was your support when these heroes were saving your lives? When you called them weak and turned your backs on them?"
Silence.
"This is when they need you most. Not your doubt. Not your fear. Your faith. Your voices."
She stared directly into the camera.
"No backup is coming. No one out there gives a damn about what happens to Ultra City. You know why heroes haven't been sent here? Because we don't rank. We're not important enough."
A beat of silence.
"So if they fall… we all fall."
She ended the call.
From the crowd, a voice rose. "Hero Squad…"
Then another.
And another.
"Hero Squad! Hero Squad!"
Soon, the city was roaring.
---
Back at the base
Johnathan chuckled. "You know Ultra City is one of the top cities in the country, right?"
Layla smirked. "I know. But they needed to hear it that way. Sometimes people only wake up when they feel what they might lose."
Johnathan nodded. "You're terrifying. I like that."
---
The dust had barely settled.
The battlefield lay silent—save for the crackle of fractured stone and the low groans of fallen heroes.
Sultan loomed above them all, arms crossed, eyes blazing with divine triumph.
"All this strength… wasted," he spat.
"You mortals think courage alone can defy a god?"
His words echoed across the ruined city.
The citizens, watching on screens, sat frozen in horror.
Then—
A spark.
Faint at first, but growing.
CRACKLE.
A bolt of electricity arced through the air.
From amidst the rubble, a figure stirred.
Sultan frowned.
"Hmph…?"
The crackling intensified.
Emerging slowly, eyes glowing with raw lightning, Thunderstorm rose—bloodied but unbowed.
Electric arcs danced across his battered frame. His fists clenched.
A murmur rippled through the watching citizens.
Then, on the battlefield, Sultan spoke:
"So. You are the first fool stirred by that little cheer," he mocked.
"Didn't they just chant for your replacement?" His smile turned venomous.
Thunderstorm's voice was low—but steady.
"Shut up."
A single word. Heavy with resolve.
Sultan blinked.
"I don't care what they said," Thunderstorm growled. Lightning now coursing through every vein, illuminating his scars.
"I care about the people. I love this city. And I'll die to protect it."
Far away, in a modest home, Bethany and Tomika watched, eyes brimming with pride.
Thunderstorm stepped forward, electricity snapping beneath his feet.
"You awakened your powers recently, didn't you?"
He narrowed his gaze at Sultan.
"They're unstable. I can feel it. If you truly controlled them—you'd have wiped us out by now."
Sultan's eye twitched. His divine aura flared dangerously.
"You're one of those," Thunderstorm continued. His voice cut through the air like a blade.
"The world wronged you… so now you'll burn it all. A tragic tale."
He shook his head slowly.
"You know who else suffers? Everyone.
Children go to bed hungry. People fight cancer alone. Orphans beg for scraps."
His fists clenched tighter, lightning surging.
"And yet they don't destroy the world to soothe their pain."
Sultan's body trembled with fury.
"You DARE—?! My people were enslaved! Tortured! Forgotten!"
His voice thundered. "And you say I have no RIGHT to vengeance?!"
Thunderstorm took another step. Unflinching.
"No," he said softly.
"I say you are a coward."
Sultan's divine energy spiked violently.
The air warped with his rage.
"You could have turned your pain into strength," Thunderstorm said. "Into justice. Into hope."
He pointed at Sultan, eyes crackling.
"Instead, you seek destruction. That's no god. That's a broken man hiding behind power."
Sultan ROARED:
"YOU KNOW NOTHING! MY PEOPLE CRIED FOR HELP—AND NO ONE CAME!"
Thunderstorm's voice rose, unwavering:
"And now you cry for revenge?
Fine. Cry me a river."
BOOM! Sultan's aura exploded outward.
"You are going to DIE!!" he screamed.
Thunderstorm squared his stance. Sparks of lightning now blazing across the battlefield.
"I've heard that before," he said calmly.
"But this time… I'll fight back."
The two stood opposite each other—one crackling with divine fury, the other with defiant lightning.
Their clash was inevitable.
The storm had only just begun.