Hands clad in fingerless black gloves gripped another rusty iron rung of the ladder leading to the roof of the decrepit brick building it'd been affixed to. The scent of blood and sweat wafted up from where the subject of her latest job laid unconscious far below. With Meridia's steel pipe lightly clanging against the final few rungs, she reached the top of the building, and she glanced down one last time to the alley below. Once sure that her target hadn't miraculously recovered, she promptly walked off to the other side of the roof.

For a time, she stood there, vigilant. Her steely gaze scanned the streets and alleyways visible to her, and she took advantage of the brief lull in activity to catch her breath. Tonight had been a busy one, but she wasn't ready to call it quits yet. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins, informing her that she could go longer yet before she inevitably crashed. She could still save lives, temporarily remove a few more criminals from the streets in that time.

But for now, it appeared as though the universe would cut Dawnbreaker a reprieve, for not a single sorry excuse for a villainous soul dared show their face. Still, Meridia would stand guard over this small section of her hometown, at least for a little while longer.

Her vigilantism had made the summer flow by. She had spent her days training in isolation, at the gym, or with her tutor at her self-defense course classes. When not putting those skills to work at night, she made time to cook with her mother to keep her from worrying. But more often than not, after sneaking out, Meridia's evenings were spent going about her duties defending Detroit from the scumbags that could be found all throughout the city. The only times she would allow herself a night's rest were the occasions where her thoughts and reaction times had become so muddled from lack of sleep that she couldn't do anything but collapse in her bed. She'd wind up sleeping far into the afternoon the following day, but she always threw herself right back into the fray as soon as she thought she was capable of handling herself in combat again.

As a consequence of this routine, the school year would soon be back to haunt her again at what felt like a record pace. Meridia knew her approach to the vigilante work she'd grown accustomed to performing the past few weeks would have to be altered at that point, but that was a problem she'd solve when the time came. In the meantime, she would remain content to observe the proof that her efforts thus far were paying off in an increasingly undeniable way.

Before she had finally given herself the name of Dawnbreaker and made an example of the man who attacked her months ago, criminals had walked alone. Perhaps back then, they felt justified in the assumption that they were immune to justice, that their drug deals and assaults would remain unpunished. Not three weeks after Dawnbreaker's crusade on crime began, though, the confidence so many thugs had possessed crumbled into dust. Now, Meridia found that most criminals moved in groups. Their strategy didn't protect them from her or from the punishment that they so sorely deserved.

In addition to intensifying her training regimen, Meridia knew that her combat ability improved even faster when she put the basic lessons she learned into practice out in the field. Formerly intimidating brutes with dangerous Quirks that she would've never dreamed of defeating slowly became far less imposing as her combat skills grew over time, eager to overcome the challenge their mere presence posed to her. The consequence of her skills being forged in the crucible of life-or-death scuffles every night meant that every facet of what made up her fighting style exploded in efficiency and effectiveness. Meridia found that she could call upon larger and stronger barriers with her Quirk far faster than ever before; her steel pipe started to feel like an extension of her soul and her hand-to-hand capabilities made up for any scenario in which she and her weapon were separated.

Some criminals who fought Dawnbreaker called her a freak of nature, and in a way, they weren't wrong. Meridia had honed herself into a machine in record time, but it was all by necessity for the work she knew she had to do. Sometimes she'd still get hurt in the line of duty despite her skill; her flesh was prone to injury as anyone else's she fought. Fortunately, the injuries that she received were minor enough that she could always hide or hand-wave them away without much issue.

Sometimes, she'd even ignore the minor cuts and bruises she sustained. Why? Because at the end of the day, the battle she flew into so readily each night would never end unless she played her part to the best of her ability.

But no longer was she isolated in her efforts.

Other vigilantes had also taken the stage. United by the banner of inspiration Dawnbreaker gave them, many more hopeful hometown heroes took to the streets to make a difference under the cover of night. Meridia always remained aware of the movements of her fellow fighters and the vigilante names which they identified themselves with, but never once did she approach them in the flesh. From time to time, she would find ways to secretly leave them notes as to how to most effectively go about their operations, but Meridia remained too wary to run the risk of being double-crossed. As much as she respected those who followed in her footsteps, she wasn't in any position to claim superiority or direct leadership over anyone.

Nevertheless, through her independent efforts and the vaguely united ones of the vigilantes that saw Dawnbreaker as an inspiration… crime levels were falling. In an old city like Detroit, the effect they all had would seem insignificant at first, but the fact remained that their actions did have an effect on the world around them in the first place. Add in the attention that her alternate name brought her thanks to the prestigious place in vigilante society it earned her, and Meridia's deepest desires were finally being fulfilled. Only a few weeks after Victor attacked her, and it felt as though she was already on the path to becoming the arbiter of her own destiny.

At that thought, Meridia's eyes fluttered shut for a minute and she simply let the summertime breeze flow past her face on its journey to parts unknown. Disconnected from the hero world she thought so little of, she felt fulfillment in her self-assigned duties. For the briefest of moments, she wondered if she should let herself turn in early, for once.

Then she heard an unnatural poof, and that desire vanished like lightning unleashed in a storm as she whirled around to face whoever dared approach her. She was then greeted by the sight of a well-dressed stranger, his black cargo pants, vest, and button-up shirt impeccably tailored. At first glance, he appeared rather harmless.

But Meridia sensed something sinister beneath his skin.

She brandished her pipe. "Don't think that you can sneak up on me that easily."

He raised his hands in mock surrender but the curve of his lips reminded Meridia of a snake. "Hey, hey, don't need to get all uppity. We're both obviously night owls, so maybe you should relax a little."

"Night owls, huh?" Meridia echoed. Through the moonlight she inspected the stranger, and assumed he couldn't be more than two years older than she was, he carried himself like he'd long since embraced a life of crime. "I don't think I've ever seen a night owl, or even someone in this entire damn city who looks like you, so drop the act. We both know you're not some random kid off the street who decided just to say hi."

"You've got good ears, looks, and a brain? Nice," he commented with a slimy arrogance that made Meridia's skin start to crawl. "Y'know, it makes me think… we could use someone like you in our crew."

Meridia gave a short huff. "Take a hike. Flattery won't get you anywhere, so do what's good for you and leave before this gets ugly."

The stranger let his head loll to the side and his smile became even more snake-like. Meridia's eyes landed upon a very particular mark upon his neck, and it was clear he wanted her to see it. "You're giving me a chance to go? Now that doesn't sound like the big bad Dawnbreaker everyone's been talking about. What gives? Don't wanna fight?"

"No, actually, I don't." She lowered her weapon slightly. "You're a member of The Pantheon."

He smiled, almost predatory. "What gave it away?"

Meridia narrowed her own eyes. "Don't play dumb. That tattoo on your neck. Anyone who pays attention to crime in this city knows that's the symbol of The Pantheon."

"You're observant too," he said. "You don't just have brains, you're observant. I like that."

"I don't care what you like," Meridia retorted. "I don't care about you and your gang, either. But I'm not your enemy for now."

"Not right now, eh?" the guy questioned. "So you want to square off against us someday."

She stared, unamused. "Given my track record when it comes to people who like to make trouble for people who can't protect themselves, I like to think that should've been abundantly clear already. Besides, I've got other bones to pick right now. Other thugs I need to keep an eye out for."

"Good point, good point…" He trailed off, only for his leer to appear again a second later. "None of those other thugs would happen to be named Carl or Dave, right? I've gotta look out for my best buds, you understand."

"Quit stalling," Meridia spat. "Why are you here?"

"Because my bosses want to challenge you to a fight," he said. "Some of our boys are a little scared of you. The big men back home want to set them at ease."

"So your bosses want me to try and take down their gang. They think I'm nothing to be scared of? That sounds like a challenge," Meridia said, and the words she said next flowed with abnormal ease. "Maybe I will give them that fight then, sometime soon."

"Hey, a hard 'maybe' is still a good answer too. Not sure they'll be happy with that answer though. I wouldn't make them wait too long if I were you!" He pulled a crumpled piece of construction paper from his pocket and extended it toward her. "So you know where to find us."

Meridia didn't move, and only said coldly, "If I decide to take you up on your offer, I'll know where to find you."

"Fair enough," he said with that oily smirk.

"What's your name anyway?" Meridia asked.

The stranger pointed at himself with feigned modesty. "Me? Oh, I'm just a small-fry officer in the gang, but you can call me Hermes."

"Alright, Hermes…" she said, seemingly testing out his name. "What's to stop me from pulverizing you right now to save myself some trouble?"

Hermes shrugged casually. "Nothing, really. I'm disposable, but…" He gave her a wry look and held a single condescending finger in front of his face. "You wouldn't want to have a target painted on your back and run the risk of getting ambushed in the meantime, would you? You'd get a lot more street cred if you waltzed into our base and won without even trying to take down a small-fry like me before you got there, y'know?"

"I'm not exactly hurting for street cred," Meridia said with a raised eyebrow. "And what makes you think I won't win regardless?"

"My bosses seem to think you won't," Hermes said, shrugging as if it didn't affect him. "But even if you don't accept our offer, the big boys back at base are going to make their move eventually. They won't just wait to see if you'll turn out to be a problem for us – you are basically the de facto leader of all the vigilantes in the city these days."

Meridia's lips flattened into a line. "I have no allegiance to them."

"But they feel one to you," Hermes countered. "You're an inspiration, Dawnbreaker. My bosses can't let you unify the other vigilantes under your banner. We need to make an example of you; eliminate the threat before it becomes one." A malevolent grin grew upon his lips. "But hey, don't worry. If you lose, you ain't an issue. You'll be free to walk away. The other vigilantes will see you for what you are and we'll be free to focus on the cops and the heroes."

'So they'll let me walk away, huh? Bullshit, they will… but it's not like it'd be the first time I've ever put my life on the line for a big mission.'

She smirked. "As if you goons could take me down."

Hermes' grin widened. "That's the spirit! Oh, and if you want a little friendly advice? Be ready for anything. For your sake."

Meridia said nothing. She wasn't dumb enough to think anything about this guy was friendly.

With a nod, Hermes hopped into the air, and a crimson cloud of smoke exploded from his chest with a poof that obscured him from view before it collapsed back in on itself. It only took an instant, and when the smokescreen dissipated, Hermes had vanished without a trace.

Meridia sighed. "So this means he has some kind of teleportation or warp-type Quirk at his disposal, and he's only supposed to be one of their petty officers. Great."

With some hesitation, Meridia returned her gaze to the street below one last time. Skin prickling with unease, she found herself itching intensely for another fight. But every inch of the city she could see remained as barren as when she had first ascended the building. She felt almost disappointed. She'd need to be at the top of her game when she confronted The Pantheon.

Every second she could scavenge to better strategize and sharpen her skills could mean the difference between life and death. Despite The Pantheon's reputation, though, they were little more than a bunch of crooks who had particularly high opinions of themselves. She was Dawnbreaker, the vigilante. She had her own reputation and a name to forge in this city. In no world would she let her battle to improve her hometown be cut short by some street thugs.

Maybe other people would see the feat of facing The Pantheon alone as an almost certainly unfair fight, but she was on the side of right, and she would be ready. And after her victory, she would have ensured that she would live to see another fight and be propelled ever closer into the realm of legends for her valor. Soon, her name would be enough to strike fear into the hearts of criminals and make them think twice about their actions.

Without a look back, Meridia started home. She'd be ready when she confronted The Pantheon, and after that, everyone would know that she was the only one who could protect her city. It wouldn't be too soon.

Eventually, Meridia could no longer delay her destined battle with The Pantheon. Meridia's unexpected encounter with Hermes had happened only five nights ago, but as early as two days after that meeting, she had begun to feel the anticipation of the fateful fight bubbling up beneath her skin. The time had come to head out and test her mettle against those who thought it wise to challenge her.

So it was that Meridia presently found herself hopping along the familiar and filthy rooftops of Detroit as she stealthily made her way to The Pantheon's hideout. In the distance, the shape of the not-so-inconspicuous warehouse loomed. Even from her vantage point, graffiti could easily be seen, illuminated by the moon and the few unbroken street lamps lining the sidewalks around it. Over the course of her previous patrols, she'd come across the warehouse before, but only now did she realize that the graffiti wasn't merely the sign of some of the gang's loyalists. It was possible that the warehouse wasn't merely one of the gang's hideouts; it might be their actual headquarters.

Given the fact that it was nestled firmly in the center of the sizable slice of the city The Pantheon called their territory, Meridia was inclined to believe the latter.

Not that she was going to walk in there unprepared. Before she had left home, Meridia had taken extra care to be as prepared as possible for whatever would be waiting for her within that warehouse. She didn't merely take extra care in her stretches, or make some mantra to keep her keenly focused on the task at hand, either. Hidden beneath her pants, on her belt but beneath her shirt, and stowed away in her pockets, were a very deadly array of knives that Meridia would whip out the second she thought it necessary.

At least she didn't have to worry if any of the individuals she would soon be fighting were armed. Light Barriers provided her a level of protection that not a single thug she fought thus far proved strong enough to penetrate, and it had only grown into a stronger shield over the past few weeks. Given the fact that she'd very likely have to play dirty and pull out every trick she knew to survive, let alone win, that steady strengthening her Quirk had experienced was more important now than ever before. It was a power that had protected her from certain doom before, and it would undoubtedly serve that purpose again tonight.

After all, the worst-case scenario she could imagine – aside from simply being swarmed by the gang when she entered their warehouse – would be if one of the gang's leaders decided to fight her themselves. Each of the three ringleaders' reputations spoke for themselves, but Meridia remained confident in her ability to weather whatever storm they threw at her in a one-on-one fight. Indeed, Pro Heroes had fallen at their hands before, but in Meridia's eyes, almost every average pro in Detroit tended to be some mix of weak-willed, ineffective, or completely underqualified for the job they signed up for. If she, a fifteen-year-old vigilante could protect the city's citizens better than they could, then it probably wasn't unreasonable to assume that she stood a fair chance in the trial to come.

She also had a flawless track record of victories at her back to bolster her confidence.

Meridia arrived at the door to the warehouse. All was quiet outside save for the chirps of crickets and brush of a breeze past her ears, but from within, the rumble of an indeterminate number of voices alerted Meridia that there'd most likely be an audience waiting to witness her arrival. She gripped her steel pipe to steady her nerves, and with one last deep breath to help her don her mask of confidence, she entered the building.

Her assumption that there would be an audience inside was proven true.

All the warehouse consisted of a series of steel beams stretching to the ceiling, and a dirt-covered floor. The middle of the warehouse lay barren, but dozens of thugs lined the walls on either side like an impenetrable fence. At the back end of the space, opposite the entrance Meridia had just come through, were three men stationed atop a concrete slab.

In the center of the trio was the purported head of The Pantheon. She had heard descriptions of the hypnotic effect of his milky white eyes, but now, standing before him, her attention was captured more by how large he was. He was shirtless and built with such well-defined muscles that they may as well have been sculpted from marble, and it was clear from the way he sat that he knew it. Meridia could clearly make out the large set of blue lightning-shaped tattoos on his bulging shoulders, and the way he sat atop the only chair, his hands resting leisurely on the armrests, his posture that of a man who thought himself a god.

He called himself Zeus.

Poseidon stood to his left, famed trident in hand.

Hades stood to his right, a cigarette in his mouth.

Hermes was the only other individual she recognized in the warehouse. He stood apart from the leaders and the crowd on the walls, instead opting to lean against one of the steel supports.

"Hey, Dawnbreaker! Long time no see!" Hermes called out. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show up."

She stopped in the center of the warehouse. "As if I'd chicken out of a fight against a bunch of thugs like you guys."

Zeus smiled beneath his thick, braided white beard. "Hermes. Not many in our family would dare to deliver the offer I wished to be conveyed to Dawnbreaker in the first place, let alone by themselves. For your efforts, I thank you."

"Not a problem, boss man!" Hermes proclaimed.

Zeus' cold gaze turned back to her. "Now, Dawnbreaker. I have heard a great deal about you. Your ferocity in the face of danger, your stalwart sense of justice, the many great deeds you have accomplished in the eyes of many in this city. To see for myself that the person behind so many amazing feats is someone so young… I must say I'm impressed."

Meridia remained silent, her expression neutral as she scanned the crowd for the slightest hint of an impending ambush or some other form of foul play. Not a single soul in the entire building seemed to have moved an inch yet, though all eyes remained fixed on her.

"I do mean it, you know," Zeus continued. "Even though your attacks have whittled away no small number of our once-thriving catalog of potential allies, I hold none of it against you. You are a woman of conviction. To worry yourself about the future business of those you deem lesser men through your actions would be folly. Yet still, your actions against those many inferior fighters have culminated in you standing before the three living gods of The Pantheon tonight." His bulky arms gestured to Hades and Poseidon, then back to himself in such a manner that oozed arrogance. "I imagine you've been made aware by Hermes as to why we extended to you the offer to meet us here."

She hardened her gaze. "I've gotten the gist."

"Good!" Zeus clapped his hands, but his eyes were icy. "Then I imagine you'll wish to be done with this test of strength sooner rather than later. It's always been the fate of the impactful few in society that they have little time for idle pleasantries. Such is our curse."

"It sure seems that way," Meridia said. "You'll keep your word and let me leave this place if I fail this little test of yours?"

His smile acquired a snakelike edge. "Of course. Honor among the great legends on either side of the law should be a given."

Meridia knew it was a lie; nevertheless, that didn't change anything. Throughout this encounter with the Pantheon, she'd simply have to overcome any obstacles that they threw against her in order to survive.

"Oh, and one more thing," Zeus said, an ominous edge to his voice. "I know your actions have earned you quite the number of loyalists among the vigilantes. We've made sure to eliminate the strongest threats among them, which is to say… all of them."

Her stomach lurched and a cold sweat broke out over her body. "What!?"

Zeus chuckled, but there was nothing pleasant in the sound.

"If it makes you feel any better, many of them put up a decent fight," Poseidon said, his voice chilly. He lifted his free hand, and a horse composed of water and jagged rock slithered into existence and coiled around his forearm. "I took care of them myself. Their deaths were swift, though I cannot say the battles that preceded their ends were painless. You should be proud – most of them fought and died well."

"Don't worry, my dear," Zeus said. "If you are who you think you are, I'm sure you can inspire another set to rise up and follow you, hm?"

Meridia's grip on her pipe tightened. "You son of a bitch, I'll kill you!"

"You may try," Zeus easily dismissed. "But for now, I wonder if you're up to the task before you first. Hermes! Take out the garbage you brought into this place."

"You got it, boss." Hermes pushed himself off the support beam, cracking his knuckles as he started toward her. "Sorry doll, this ain't anything personal. I'll make it painless."

"Try me," Meridia growled.

His smile was cruel. "That's the spirit."

With an implosion of crimson smoke, he was gone.

The next second, Meridia heard a familiar poof and an unnatural breeze brushed past her neck. She led with her pipe to put up a block as she whirled around. With her hands secured at the top and bottom of her weapon, the kick that he unleashed the second he came back into existence harmlessly connected with the steel of her pipe. Hermes pushed off her weapon to jump back a few feet. He backflipped through the air and landed with a toothy grin, his confidence clearly overpowering any sense of caution a sane sort of criminal might possess.

Meridia's trial by combat had only just begun, but already she was developing a plan.

Hermes' first move told her a great deal despite its simplicity. His sudden disappearance only to appear behind her clarified that his Quirk was a teleportation-type power which very likely only worked on himself. In addition, no one else around the warehouse had started to move in, which told Meridia that she could focus solely on her only adversary at the moment. Even if there was no limit to how often Hermes could use his Quirk to teleport, she remained confident in her ability to stay on the defensive until such a time came that she found an opportunity to strike back against him.

In spite of the rage simmering in her blood, Meridia tried to remain calm. She needed to fight at her best. She needed to prove herself and get out of this place alive.

But first… she needed to make these bastards bleed.

She idly threw her weapon into the air, only to immediately use the implement to point at her opponent when it landed back in her hand. "What's the matter, Hermes? Too worried that you won't be able to beat me now that I've seen your Quirk at work? Or are you the same kind of scared son of a bitch that you told me a lot of these other bastards are?"

"Nah," Hermes said. "Just giving you one last chance before I take you apart. I've only been part of the gang for a few months now but I've already faced a ton of sorry little shits like you before. All of them think they'll be able to keep up with me in a fight – then I kick some ass, cave in a few skulls… you get the picture."

"That sounds like a challenge."

"You won't be the exception."

Meridia smirked. "Then come at me."

Hermes gave her a devilish look. "Gladly."

Crimson smoke consumed him once more.

In a blur of motion, Meridia moved and blocked the kick that Hermes sent at her from his new position to her right. He evaporated into the air again before she could counterattack.

Her ears twitched to his presence overhead as another poof pulsed through the air.

Hermes came crashing down to stomp on her, but a swift step back and his foot only collided with the ground. He smoothly used his Quirk again, this time approaching with a heavy punch from her left. She blocked it with a well-timed barrier and prepared for his next move.

Same as when the fight started, he rushed her from behind.

Meridia successfully blocked his strike with time to spare. Hermes' air of arrogance wavered as he was swiftly obscured by another crimson cloud.

His next attack came at her from the right with an animalistic haste behind his punch.

Her next barrier blocked him with even more ease.

Hermes tried to crash down on her from above.

Meridia was already on the move before the smoke from his power's previous use disappeared.

Another kick came at her like a rocket from the left.

Another barrier blocked his hasty attack like a time-tested wall.

'Behind, right, overhead, left. That's his attack pattern. If it holds up like it has been for the past two cycles then that means he's going to come at me again from behind… now!'

She caught the angry punch that came at her from behind with one hand. Her other lashed out with her weapon and delivered a brutal blow to Hermes' head. He let out a pained shout, but Meridia kept up the offensive and threw her pipe into a reverse grip in her other hand. Without missing a beat, she crouched to carry the momentum and with a quick twist of her feet, let centrifugal force feed even more force into the follow-up she aimed at his leg.

Hermes screamed at the top of his lungs when his knee caved in with a sickening crunch.

Meridia didn't move as he hit the dirt.

Hermes' continued cries of pain echoed throughout the sudden silence of the warehouse as she simply stood. Her eyes remained fixed on her vanquished foe.

"What's the matter, Hermes? I thought you were gonna take me apart? Then again…" Meridia's expression shifted into a sneer. "You did say I was observant, so maybe you should've thought twice before you assumed you'd be able to beat me."

Hermes' only response was to whine in pain as he cradled his destroyed knee.

Meridia's gaze scanned the warehouse through the haze of dust settling around her. The faces she saw were a mix of disgust, anger, surprise, with a vast undertone of trepidation underlying the looks. That sight brought her no small amount of satisfaction.

Dawnbreaker was out for blood.

"What?" she shouted at the onlookers and her voice cracked the silence like a whip. "Did you think I'd be taken down that easily? Now come on, I haven't got all night to show you who you're dealing with!"

Motion drew her attention to the concrete slab and the three leaders of The Pantheon. Poseidon remained perfectly at ease, attention alternating between her and Hermes. Zeus' expression was inscrutable beneath his beard and those milky white eyes. It was Hades who expressed clear revulsion, and as his eyes encountered hers, he growled and took one step forward-

Only for Zeus to stop him with a raise of his hand. "No, Hades. I want to see this ant writhe a little longer before it's crushed."

Hades sneered. "You heard the man! More of you! Attack! Put on a show for us!"

As no fewer than ten men rushed forth like starved beasts let loose from their cages, Meridia's blue eyes glared like daggers at the trinity of gang leaders that presided over her test of strength like the gods they made themselves out to be. Yet despite the overwhelming odds against her, Meridia didn't feel an iota of fear. She hadn't come this far to die now.

Which meant it was time to show The Pantheon exactly what happened to those who crossed her.

With the assistance of the entire police department and every able-bodied pro Captain Benson and the police chief combined could call in to help, the time had finally come for the law to fall down upon The Pantheon. The warehouse that served as their base of operations was located three weeks after Snipe first found himself in the familiar streets of his hometown, and a few more had passed to allow for better coordination between all individuals who would be involved in the upstart gang's day of reckoning. Eventually, the day came that all parties had agreed upon, and the combined force of the police department's best riot officers and local and out-of-town Pro Heroes both surrounded the gang's warehouse under the cover of night.

Snipe was situated atop the roof. He and many other pros would play the part of shock troopers who would ambush the gang members from above while other members of the raid drew their attention elsewhere. Indeed, it was a simple plan, but the amount of work put in and the number of able-bodied men and women assembled to put an end to The Pantheon couldn't possibly be understated. Only a few weeks ago, it had seemed as though Detroit's law enforcement agents would have to declare the city in a state of emergency, but now?

Now they stood on the cusp of perfectly executing an almost textbook government crackdown against an organization that once seemed almost impossible to conquer.

Over the course of his time working with Captain Benson and many other pros, Snipe's keen observational skills quickly picked up on the fact that the ineffectiveness of Detroit's loyal law enforcement agents wasn't due to a lack of effort on their part. The police and pros of the city weren't blind to the decay that Snipe saw upon his arrival, but they were missing something that was fundamental for a superhuman society to possess.

Someone who could lead them. Someone who could inspire them to perform at their peak even when all seemed lost and the tasks they had to tackle seemed almost insurmountable. Snipe would never say that he was that leader. He felt he was merely one man among a team of pros and police officers who had greater potential to protect their city's future than he ever could, and that all they needed was a single win to direct them on the path to continued success.

Whether he was credited as their prime motivator down the line, though… that was up to the good men and women who risked life and limb to protect their hometown to decide. In this moment, Snipe's only desire was to provide as much power and confidence to the people on the right side of the law as he could.

And that simple desire inspired clarity in his mind.

One of his hands rested on the butt of his pistol, while the other pressed on the ear guard of his gas mask. "Captain Benson. All the pros we assigned to aerial ambush duty are in position and ready to crash this party. How're things looking on your end?"

Static preceded his response. "Things are going just fine. No one's been detected, and almost every officer and pro is in position. All that's left is for the groups on the ground to get situated, then we'll get this show on the road."

"Good to hear. Still don't wanna give the go-ahead for this entire operation, though?" Snipe asked. "It'll look good on your profile if you can report you started the biggest crackdown the city's seen in years."

"Heh. You should know better than to try and offer me the glory, Snipe," Benson said. "I know you think I deserve the honors, but between the two of us, you've put in the most overtime hours here."

Snipe snorted lightly. "What? It ain't normal 'round here to live off espresso?"

"Not when you're making calls and running errands to neighboring cities for three days straight, no," Benson said, but a sudden pause on his end indicated his attention had wandered elsewhere. "Alright. Left and right assault squads are ready. Swap to the open channel and give the signal. It's time for The Pantheon to be put in their place."

"Well, here it is, then. Moment of truth," Snipe muttered.

He was about to twist his ear guard and adjust his communicator's frequency to the task force's open channel when a sudden motion from below drew his gaze down through the dirty glass panes of the rooftop. What he saw inside made him hesitate and drew his attention to what appeared to be a high-octane fight that was already in progress.

'What in the world…?'

"Snipe? What's going on up there?" Benson asked.

Snipe's eyes narrowed. "I don't know. There's already someone having a scuffle with The Pantheon on the inside."

"What? Don't tell me it's one of our own."

The outside world seemed to fade away while Snipe observed the scuffle. The two sides of the encounter were readily clear; a slow and steady stream of The Pantheon's lower-level thugs that entered the fray at random from the perimeter of the warehouse versus a single black-clad girl who consistently kept every newcomer on their toes the second they got in range. Her limbs, golden barriers, and the steel pipe in her hand, moved in a whirlwind as the tide of bodies that came at her fell as quickly as they came at her. Outnumbered ten to one at any given time, by some miracle, the unnamed and unknown girl was holding her own.

In a flash, a knife appeared in her free hand and stabbed directly into the back of another thug who seemed to think a telegraphed tackle would catch her off-guard. Snipe knew he couldn't start the raid before he had some idea who and what he was looking at.

"Snipe? Talk to me. Do you know who's down there?" Benson asked, this time a level of force behind his words.

"No. No, I don't," Snipe responded. "I think it might be a vigilante."

Benson cursed. "Describe their appearance."

"Female. Definitely young. Blonde hair. All-black outfit with fingerless gloves. She's armed, too – seems to favor a steel pipe but she's got some knives hidden beneath her clothes," Snipe quickly described. "Looks like her power lets her make defensive barriers wherever she wants."

"Dawnbreaker," Benson said. "Every crook we've found that's been attacked by her has given us that same kind of description. Snipe, we might be about to knock out two birds with one stone here."

"Yeah…" Snipe trailed off, only half paying attention. "I got that. What's the plan now?"

"Play it by ear. If she tries to escape once we break in, we'll send a small detachment of pros to take her in. If she sticks around to help us at all, we take her in when we have the opportunity after the fact."

Snipe nodded. "Copy that. I'll give the go-ahead in one sec."

"Got it."

A strong gust swept through his dreadlocks. His body and soul remained ready to do what needed to be done, but his mind was anywhere but focused solely on the coordinated strike he was about to perform. Contrary to every lesson U.A. had ever taught him as to how a hero should arrest any and all vigilantes they came across in the name of the law, several thoughts concerning the ferocious strength Dawnbreaker was putting on display ran through his head instead.

Dawnbreaker was no damsel in distress. She was the same age as any other hopeful hero that was admitted to a hero academy back in Japan, but there she was in the thick of an unwinnable fight with dozens upon dozens of crooks and criminals. With a wild swing of her weapon across a brutish woman's face, yet another opponent fell to the ground in a heap.

Snipe knew that when this raid was all wrapped up, he needed to speak with her. He needed to know what on God's green earth made her so confident. So headstrong. Potential discontent with Detroit's current state of being or not, the fact remained that she'd just thrown herself headfirst into a situation that many Pro Heroes would fear to find themselves in alone.

There had to be something more to her that he was missing, and the only way to find out what made her tick was to make sure she came out of that warehouse alive.

One of the leaders of the gang started to move, and Snipe switched the safety off of his pistol.

'Hang on just a little longer, kid…'

As the fight dragged on, each of Meridia's breaths came out heavier than the last. Every move she made to avoid another attack and counter with one of her own further added to the fatigue in every part of her body. Her muscles burned. Every minute that passed drained away her dexterity and her stockpile of knives. Powerful and prodigious at the art of combat though she might be, every now and again another thug would land a successful blow on her. Ten minutes into her trial by fire, and her body already showed the signs of injuries – some hidden by her clothes, others not.

Yet with the fire that blazed in her heart, Meridia refused to relent.

They'd killed people who'd believed in her. She never let them see her in person or speak to her directly, but she had been their inspiration to take to the streets in the name of vigilante justice in the first place. Now, due to her inaction and indecision as to if she should ally with even one of them, all of them were dead.

She couldn't let the loss of their lives mean nothing. She'd press on for as long as possible and may their murderers pay for the massacre they committed in blood.

Meridia plunged another knife into her most recent adversary's thigh and threw her other arm in an arc to strike at his wounded leg as she rushed by. The man fell with an agonized scream to the ground. The completion of his fall punctuated a pause in the nonstop combat as a few goons hesitated to continue their assault. She immediately took advantage of the lull to whirl around and face the three leaders of The Pantheon again.

"Is this all your goons have got?!" she roared. "I've defeated stronger fighters than what you've been throwing at me!"

Zeus boomed another laugh. "Oh, so you seek more of a challenge! For the good fight you've shown me thus far, I'll indulge you with such an honor. Hades! As you were the one of us who showed such a desire to defeat Dawnbreaker yourself, I unleash you! Show no mercy."

"Oh, I didn't plan on it," Hades said darkly.

He started toward his prey, the golden buttons of his crisp, double-breasted suit gleaming in the artificial light. The slow clip of his formal shoes against the concrete belied the menace in his slow, steady, supremely methodical stride.

"Hope you get a kick out of this last scuffle, Dawnbreaker," he said. "Because when I'm done with you, they won't be able to identify your body."

Her hand tightened around her pipe. "I've heard that same threat a dozen times, and it's meant nothing every single time. I'm not going to die here!"

One at a time, Hades' feet ignited as his perfectly-polished shoes kicked unnatural sparks in his path, whereupon deep orange flames erupted and consumed all from his knee down. A thin cloud of smoke enveloped him, but through that demonic debut of his power, a wicked smirk remained visible. Meridia involuntarily tensed at the sight.

"Funny. I've heard that same thing a dozen times before," he intoned, placing his hands in his pockets. "Let's see if that statement holds up after a little while, eh?"

Hades' entire body tensed.

Meridia fixed her sights on him.

And the next thing she knew, Hades was right in front of her.

He twisted through the air with practiced ease to build momentum with his left leg, leaving a trail of fire and smoke in his wake as it rocketed toward her head. Through a combination of instinct and sheer luck, Meridia threw up a barrier just in time to block the potentially lethal kick. The barrier protected her from the blow, but shock and horror manifested in her heart instead of relief as she witnessed what havoc one of The Pantheon's leaders could unleash. Her barrier had saved her life…

But it also cracked like glass to shield her from that single kick.

After his attack was nullified, Hades wasted no time. He used the barrier Meridia still hadn't let fade away as a platform for his own purposes and launched himself into the air, his hands still in his pockets as his gaze never once left his opponent's head. One of his legs lifted up to face the roof and unleashed a sudden burst of flame, accelerating his gravity-bound fall and throwing even more momentum into his next attack. The same leg that belched out that hellish flame was now the weapon that would let loose his next attack. No matter where it landed, Meridia was sure the damage wouldn't be unlike a kinetic rod being dropped from orbit.

Which was why she almost immediately decided her best course of action was to commit herself entirely to defense. As Hades was about to complete his destructive descent, Meridia doubled back a few feet and threw up a wall-sized barrier.

Hades' landing was even more devastating than she expected. His flaming foot created a network of cracks throughout the foundation of the warehouse, but another sudden expulsion of flame from his leg turned his simple kick into a bomb. The barrier that Meridia raised in her defense fractured more severely than the last, but Hades immediately spun to reveal the unexpectedly long range his legs provided him. He unleashed a speedy ax kick without so much as a wasted breath and tore through the rest of Meridia's barrier like paper mache, and the side of his foot crashed into her abdomen like a hammer.

Meridia let out a gasp as she was sent skidding across the warehouse. To her dismay, her body bounced into the air as she started to slow down, but Hades had already raced ahead of her to continue his savage assault. Time seemed to slow as he raised his foot to unleash what looked like a push kick aimed at her ribs. Meridia's mind raced as she desperately raised a last-second barrier between her body and her opponent's foot.

It was as if each of Hades' kicks could only grow stronger with each attack. With what she could only imagine was minimal effort on his part, his push kick punctured through her barrier and met its mark at her ribs. The air was driven out of Meridia's lungs in a breathless cry, though her last-second defense saved her bones from being broken.

'No… it can't end like this!'

The second she stopped back at the center of the warehouse and realized that her opponent was taking a deep drag of his cigarette as he lazily walked toward her, Meridia's hand immediately flew down to her foot and grabbed hold of a knife. Even as she gasped for air, through the power of adrenaline alone, she provided the knife enough force and precision to sink straight through Hades' skull when it connected. It'd be a death blow.

Hades didn't even bother to look away as he effortlessly kicked it aside with the sole of his shoe.

"W-what…?" Meridia gasped.

"You do realize that pros aren't the only professional fighters out there, right?" Hades said, smoke streaming from his nostrils as he exhaled. "My Quirk, Hotstepper, lets me ignite my feet and throw a ton more force and fire into everything I do in a fight. So when I asked one of my boys on the black market to get me some tools to help me out, they showed me some shoes with iron soles."

Meridia stumbled to her feet. After only two dampened blows, the effort it took to raise her pipe in even a half-threatening manner was immense.

"Still got some fight left in you, huh?"

"Enough to spite you," Meridia huffed. "Because you bastards killed the brave men and women who were only trying to put an end to people like you while all the heroes in this city haven't been able to do a thing. Even if you break my bones and drive the air out of my lungs, I'll keep fighting! I won't let their deaths mean nothing!"

He glared. "We'll see about that."

In an instant, his foot flew like a missile into her stomach.

She only distantly heard the shattering of her bones through the indescribable pain. Her ears rang and she saw double as Hades sent her to the ground without mercy. His shoe dripped with blood, and it took her darkening consciousness a few moments to realize that it was her own. Her body collapsed to the dirt as another kick connected with her broken ribs.

Blood gushed from her mouth as she struggled to turn over. Hades loomed over her and she squinted up at him through blurry vision. Defiant to the last, she made a desperate attempt to swing her pipe at his legs. He easily kicked the pipe away.

His leg stomped down, and Meridia screamed as her arm cracked beneath his flaming foot. Her eyes met those of the man who had effortlessly destroyed her, and she saw no empathy in them. An emotion Meridia hadn't felt in months washed over her as the world faded in and out.

Fear. She was about to die.

In what she would only ever be able to explain as an act of spite, she used the last of her strength to replace her expression with her familiar mask of determination. Even if she was about to die, she wouldn't give her assailant the satisfaction of seeing her afraid.

"So… I remember you told me that you'd keep fighting even if I broke your bones," Hades said with a slight tilt of his head. "Looks to me that you lied about that bit, which means that you're just like every other cocky son of a bitch that's tried to take us down before. Big surprise."

"Fuck you," Meridia wheezed.

"You never cease to impress, Hades," Zeus boomed from his dais. "Watching you work is always a pleasure, but I believe it's time for this show to reach its conclusion!"

Hades' foot hovered formidably over Meridia's face, its unnatural flames too far to burn her, but the heat they exuded radiated down like a bonfire. Hades smirked as the flames flared brighter, but movement from an unknown figure overhead caused her attention to waver for a moment.

'Is that…?'

"It would seem that your life comes to a close here!" Zeus mocked from the edges of her consciousness. "At the hands of one of The Pantheon's strongest, so will end the tale of Dawnbreaker! You should be honored! Now, Hades!"

Hades' leg tensed. "With pleasure."

Meridia's fingers dug into the earth and every beat of her heart was painful. She willed her eyes to remain open for the killing blow. But it never came.

An instant before Hades' leg could move, the sound of glass shattering overhead pierced through the fog surrounding her senses. Hades' eyes widened in shock as a gunshot rang through the air. He launched backward, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the bullet blasting toward him.

Someone landed directly in front of Meridia as she struggled to pull her broken body away. The man standing before her seemed larger than life from where she lay. The harsh tungsten lights of the warehouse surrounded him in silhouette as she blinked. Her breath came out in a rasp, yet she still managed to discern some details. He wore a cowboy hat, gas mask, and a long red cloak that obscured almost everything except an arm that held a still-smoking pistol.

Meridia's mouth fell agape. 'That's…'

"A Pro Hero! You must have a death warrant coming here all alone, you little shit!" Hades snarled, blood pouring through the wound at his side.

"Who are you?" Zeus demanded.

The newcomer flourished his pistol. "The name's Snipe. I'm here tonight to take all of you criminals home in handcuffs. Hope you don't mind."

"Why are you here, hero?" Meridia grunted in barely more than a whisper. "You're insane if you think you'll be able to beat these guys by yourself."

Snipe looked over his shoulder, and his next words gave her pause. "Now, what kind of hero would leave a kid like you all alone in a bad spot? Besides…"

Silently, Zeus stood to tower over everything else in the room. Even through the dirt and blood, Meridia could feel his powerful presence. She wanted to scream for whoever this 'Snipe' was to simply abandon her, but sweat stung her eyes, and her attempt to wipe them away struck her with the realization that they were tears. She didn't know him, but he was the first hero who'd given a damn enough to save her, and he was about to die too.

Why had she been so foolish? Why had she thought she could succeed here? At least she'd done what she'd set out in part to do. She'd made a name for herself – Dawnbreaker, the vigilante that single-handedly inspired so many people to follow in her footsteps only to get them mercilessly murdered by the Pantheon's men.

"I'm not the kind of Pro Hero that'd dive right into The Pantheon's home base without one hell of a good plan to back me up." Snipe's free hand emerged from his coat and rose to the ear guard of his mask. "Operation Olympus is a go."

Everything after that single sentence happened seemed even more unreal.

A swarm of heroes and riot officers crashed into the building from almost every angle.

A score of gang members that avoided the crush of the initial attack scrambled into action.

Zeus whipped out a stun gun from his pocket and jammed it into his own torso. His veins bulged and electricity crackled along his flesh as he let out a bellowing roar, but a pair of burly heroes crashed into him before he could even attempt to charge at anyone.

Poseidon gripped his trident and conjured a fearsome quintet of water-and-rock horses that each appeared from the thin air behind him. He sent each one rushing forth to devastate any group of officers that dared approach him, but every offensive strike was reduced to lifeless snow by a trio of well-coordinated heroes with their assortment of suitably icy powers.

Hades was the only person who didn't move. For a time, he stared at the suddenly impossible situation The Pantheon was forced to face in disbelief, but unbridled rage made his lip curl in an animalistic way. The flames around his feet intensified into deep blue.

"Dawnbreaker!" Hades roared. "You led them here, didn't you!? I'll kill you for this!"

Hades blasted into the air with a burst of energy from his blue flames. A plume of black smog trailed behind him as he rocketed high enough to set his sights on her, and another explosive kick into the air turned his leg into a fiery lance from hell. Meridia was so drained by blood loss and broken bones that she couldn't hope to dodge or defend herself. She couldn't do anything except watch and wonder if her last moments would hurt?

But Snipe pulled his trigger seven times before Hades even closed half the distance. Four bullets pierced through each of his legs, two through his shoulders, and the last ran through one of his arms. Hades' flames faded away as he roared in pain.

The last Meridia would ever see of the man was his limp body as it sailed straight past her and was caught by another pro before it hit the ground.

"Well I can't approve of what he tried to pull, but Hades sure as hell gave that attack everything he had," Snipe commented. "Too bad bullets are faster than almost every crook on the planet."

Blackness finally encroached everything in Meridia's vision. "Y-yeah…"

Snipe knelt beside her. "Stay down, kid. You fought well, but it's time for us adults to do our jobs and take over from here."

Despite her reflexive desire to stay awake and spite the pro's very reasonable order, she fell unconscious almost immediately after he finished speaking.

Meridia woke with a start.

Her first instinct was to blink the sleep from her eyes and regain some kind of awareness of her surroundings. A thin sheet of soft material covered her from the waist down and a thicker sheet pressed up against her. The bed she lay on was uncomfortable, and as consciousness came back to her, she winced from the pain. She looked away from the bright lights and sterile white tile and glanced at her arm to find it secured in a cast, while a small inhale made her realize her ribs were all bandaged up. She could tell she was in a hospital, and fear overtook her, but she still didn't have the strength to move an inch.

"So I see you're finally awake."

She rolled her head to the side in surprise to see Snipe at her bedside. After a long moment of silence in which she simply stared, she said, "Do you wear that costume everywhere? It seems like it'd be a nightmare to have on all the time."

Snipe shrugged. "Only when I'm on duty. That just so happens to be most of the time, which is why I don't think you can expect to see my face anytime soon."

Meridia stared straight forward. "Right."

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you might be wondering why you aren't handcuffed to that hospital bed," Snipe said. "It took me a lot of work to convince Captain Benson not to have you chained down, but I got him to lay off eventually. Not like you'd be able to run off anywhere with the condition you're in, after all."

"If you're expecting me to erupt into tears because you did me this one extra favor, I'm not going to," Meridia said defiantly. "But since you're the first Pro Hero that's given enough of a damn to save me in the first place, I should probably say thanks. So… thanks."

"Considering what you went through before we busted in and took down The Pantheon, I can't say I'm surprised to see that you're a tough one," Snipe commented.

"You say that…" she paused. "Yet I almost got myself killed back there. Isn't this the part where you talk down to me for half an hour because I played right into their hands?"

"I don't have any plans to do that, kid," Snipe said.

She held back an impatient huff. "You don't have to pretend to be nice. It won't lessen the blow of what we both know is gonna happen next."

"And what would that be?"

"Oh, I don't know… the part where you read off my list of crimes and remind me where I'm headed once I'm all healed up?" Meridia proposed. "You don't have to tell me. Vigilantism is a crime. I'm going to jail. I know."

Snipe silently spread out his cloak to reveal the clipboard in his lap and the mix of normal clothes and basic armor that he wore underneath. The moment he grabbed the clipboard, Meridia rolled her eyes and let out a scoff. Of course he would bring a bunch of paperwork with him to read off to her. Apparently he was just like every other self-righteous Pro Hero that America produced, despite what she'd thought before this point.

"Meridia Lucas, aka Dawnbreaker," he recited. "Wanted for several dozen counts of vigilantism and an equal number of assaults with varying degrees of severity, alongside a recent charge of interference in the coordinated law enforcement offensive against a local gang. I don't reckon that you need me to read out every single charge you've racked up."

"No, you don't," Meridia confirmed. "So you lied. You really did come here to list off my crimes. To remind me how many people got hurt or killed because of me and make sure I understand how much better you are than me because you're a hero and always have the moral high ground when it comes to dealing with people like me. Then you'll ship me to a cell and walk away with a warm fuzzy feeling in your chest, knowing that you were the one who put the menacing Meridia Lucas in a detention center. If that's all you came here to do, let's just get this over with. I don't have all day."

Several seconds passed where Snipe remained silent. Meridia simply stared at the wall intensely.

"Hey, kid," Snipe finally said. "Just before, when I said that I wasn't gonna talk down at you like you thought I would, I didn't lie. What you just said tells me a hell of a lot more about you than you might think."

She glared at him. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Really," he deadpanned. "With the way you're acting, I can tell you're carrying a lot on your shoulders. You blame yourself for what happened to the other vigilantes here in the city, and you probably hate heroes like me with a passion. Now I don't mean to overstep my bounds, but… why might that be?"

"Remember how I said you're the first Pro Hero who's ever cared enough to save me?"

Snipe merely waited for her to continue.

"That's why. I've lived in this goddamn city all my life and never once have I been saved by a hero. Whenever I needed it most, whenever I was being beat or mugged or worse…" Her eyes squeezed shut and she took in a long, shaky breath. "No one saved me. I turned fifteen a few months ago and you are the only hero who's ever bothered to save me in my time of need."

"So you became a vigilante."

"Yeah. I did," Meridia said bitterly. She rubbed her eyes before opening them again. "But why do you even care? You don't have to care about me. You did your job and now you'll get paid for doing it. As far as I'm aware, a hero doesn't have to care about the criminals they lock up to be told they're one of the good guys."

"I know that ain't part of our job description here in the States, but to answer your question…" he shifted in his seat. "I care because I think I see something in you that maybe no one else does."

"What?" she asked confusedly.

Snipe shrugged again. "Determination. Confidence. Self-assuredness that a lot of heroes in this city lacked up until our little takedown of The Pantheon brought out the best in them, but that you somehow have at fifteen years old. I can tell you for a fact that probably more than a good eighty percent of heroes in this country don't have that same spark you do."

Her throat tightened. "I'm still going to jail, though."

"Not necessarily."

She paused. "How?"

"I'll get to that part soon, but first, I want you to be honest with me," Snipe started. "You don't strike me as the type that'd be afraid to go to jail just because of what you did, which tells me that you might be afraid about being locked up because of something else. Am I right?"

"Something like that," Meridia admitted, only to groan in pain as she absentmindedly tried and failed to sit up on her own.

"Need a hand?" Snipe asked.

She nodded, and Snipe stood and gingerly helped her to set up a series of pillows to cushion her back against the hard frame of her hospital bed. Once she'd been situated, Snipe returned to his chair a relatively respectable distance from her personal bubble.

"But yeah…" Meridia continued, somewhat hesitant to open up any further about the fears that plagued her to someone who was essentially a stranger but determined to press on anyway. "You were right. I am afraid. For my parents. They've always done so much for me for as long as I remember – that's why I've always trained and fought as hard as I have. I didn't want to make them worry about me any more than they have to. They deserve to be happy, and now… any chance that they ever would be happy is about to be ruined when they find out about all this."

Snipe sighed softly. "I see. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt if I told you that they've already been told about what you've been up to. All they really cared to talk about was if you'd be okay or not, so at least you don't have to worry about them too much. You've got good folks."

"I do…" Meridia's face fell, and her throat constricted once again. "But now that's about to be taken away from me. It doesn't matter how much my mom and dad love me or that they only care about if I'm safe. Unless you have some way to change the law, I'm going into a cell."

"I wish I had that kinda power here, kid…" Snipe confessed. "But even though I can't change the law here in the city, what I can do is tell you about another option. One that'll keep you out of trouble and maybe make your parents' lives a little easier at the same time."

Her heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"

"Well, let me tell you a little something about me first," Snipe said, his cloak shifting slightly as he crossed one of his legs over the other. "I'm not from America. Not anymore, at least. Detroit might be my hometown, but I never planned on staying here long before I made my way back to Japan. Then I ran into Captain Benson and he briefed me on the situation with The Pantheon, we coordinated Operation Olympus to take down their whole organization over the next few weeks… you get the picture."

"Right, but…" Meridia paused, her brow furrowed. "I don't understand what any of that has to do with me. Or that offer you mentioned."

Snipe chuckled. "Yeah, maybe I should've cut to the chase a little faster. Alright, I'll just go ahead and tell you what my offer is in full, then. You can decide whether you want to give me your answer right away or ask a few questions before anything happens. Sounds good?"

She nodded numbly. "Yeah. I mean… yes, sir."

"Heh. You don't have to call me 'sir,' kid. You're old enough to be my little sister, so don't go and make me feel like I'm one foot in the grave just yet," Snipe joked, his finger pointing with a fake accusatory edge at her for a moment before it fell. He let his other foot slide back onto the ground, and the atmosphere in the room became suddenly more intense. "But back to business. I want to offer you amnesty. I'll bring you to Japan whenever I leave and you'll be given a fresh start. Another chance to live your life without your criminal record around to ruin things for you."

"W-what?" Meridia stuttered in disbelief. "B-but I can't just leave, right? I don't know the first thing about how to speak Japanese, how that country works, and… I can't just run away and leave my parents to fend for themselves all alone. Not here."

Snipe's hand emerged from his coat and made a flippant gesture. "Technically, you wouldn't have to worry about any of that. You could easily send them money or things they need overseas after you get settled – maybe have them move over to Japan someday to start a new life of their own, too. As for your other concerns?" He shrugged. "I can tell you for a fact that with me around to help, you'll be able to run through a crash course of everything you'll need to know to get by before you learn the language perfectly just fine. It'll be weird living in another country for a little while, but you'll get used to it."

"Okay…" Meridia sent him a slightly suspicious look. "Wait, who would I be living with? And what's in this for you?"

"You'd likely live completely independent, contingent on someone sticking around to visit and monitor your behavior, from time to time," Snipe explained. "And there ain't nothing in this deal that's motivating me besides acting as any moral man should. If I didn't help someone with hero potential who didn't do anything wrong besides wanting to help their hometown, what'd that say about me?"

His answer calmed some of her nerves to know she'd have her independence there, but it made her mind race with an endless number of new thoughts and other concerns. Hero potential? "Say I do take this offer and somehow adjust to suddenly moving overseas after a little while. What… what would you expect my 'new life' to be, exactly?"

"Well now, that's up to you. But you still want to help people, right?" Snipe asked.

She nodded. "Y-yeah."

"Then there won't be a problem. The school year over in Japan starts in April, so you'll have plenty of time to learn the language and all the other things you'll need to know before you go on and enroll in a hero academy," Snipe explained simply. "Trust me when I say that you'll see that the heroes in Japan, while they're not all exceptional people that are bound to reach the top ten ranks someday, are a real impressive bunch of folk. Nothing like what you're used to here. You'll be able to fit right in and keep helping people just like you were before – maybe a little less brutally than you have in the past, but you get the picture."

"But enrolling in a hero academy costs money no matter where you go," Meridia pointed out. "My parents couldn't afford to put me into a hero academy even here in the states, so how could they-"

Snipe raised his hand to call for silence. "Don't worry about that. If you work hard enough and impress the right people, it isn't uncommon for some exceptional students to get the financial assistance they might need while they're in school. Since you've already impressed me, I can give you some financial help and a personal recommendation, besides. Should get you off to a good start."

Meridia opened her mouth, but no words came out. On impulse, she pressed her lips together into a thin line as her throat continued to involuntarily snuff out any efforts she could've made to respond, and tears welled up behind her eyes. Her head moved to face the wall in front of her again and she squeezed her eyes shut for what felt like an eternity before she finally decided to open them again. This couldn't be happening, but it was.

"This…" she choked out, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "This can't be real. It's too good to be true. Just yesterday I was one of the city's most wanted vigilantes and now I'm being offered the chance to start my life over. I'll be able to help my parents and other people at the same time, keep my dream alive… it's almost impossible to believe that any of this could be true."

"Meridia," Snipe said, and she looked in his direction.

He removed his gas mask.

The first thing that stood out about his face was how unexpectedly tan it was. Even though it was apparently always covered by a mask, with relatively dark skin, his features soon revealed his Hispanic descent. Scars crossed his face; one across his nose, one above his lip, several smaller ones at random spots everywhere else she could see. There was still one attribute about his face that stood out above all others, though.

His eyes. Widened with clear concern that was only further exemplified by the deep brown of his irises and the thick eyebrows above them that furrowed deep into his brow, the look in his eyes was softer and more genuine than what Meridia could have ever dreamed of seeing expressed on a hero's face before now.

Snipe set his mask down in his lap. "I wouldn't be making this offer unless it was all true."

Meridia said nothing. She wanted so badly to say yes. To leave Detroit behind and set out on a new path. How could she pass something like this up? It would give her the chance to become everything she'd expected other heroes to be. But could she really leave her family behind? Snipe made it seem so easy, but would it be? Would they be safe here?

"It took me almost as long as you've been out to convince everyone here that you deserve this second chance," Snipe went on. "I made them realize the same thing I did the minute I laid eyes on you. That you have potential," Snipe stressed. "More than a lot of the heroes out in the field back home that I shared the same class with, back in the day. The police here want you out of the picture to keep any more vigilantes from taking the law into their own hands from here on out. If you take this offer and head on over to Japan with me when I leave, you'll still be able to do good for the world and keep any more vigilantes' lives from being lost."

Her shoulders trembled. Well, that certainly made the choice easier. If she didn't take this offer, she really would be put in jail here. Going might be the only chance she'd have to help both her family and herself. But with the pressure of the decision removed, now the raw reality of what this sudden shift meant for her and her family hit her.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as Meridia's emotions finally overwhelmed her. When she found the strength to speak again, she looked Snipe dead in the eye. She delivered her answer with a shaky nod, and collapsed back into her pillows to hide her grief behind closed eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Meridia lost track of how many times she said those words in the hours that followed.

Never before had Snipe taken on a mission like the one he was soon to embark upon. In the few years since he acquired his hero license at U.A., there was something of a familiarity that he had come to associate with his career. He associated hero work with the firefights which often broke out as he put an end to crimes throughout the day or lent a helping hand to another hero. He associated hero work with well-coordinated strikes against organized crime in which he often considered himself to be an effective piece of the puzzle that could most efficiently take down some upstart organization. In recent times, he extended his association of hero work with going out of his way to help his hometown's very own pros come into their own and become the best versions of themselves that they could be.

Compared to the prospect of offering a vigilante girl he didn't even know about until a few weeks ago amnesty from her crimes in the form of a free flight halfway around the world, all those familiar feats and activities he engaged in sounded downright quaint. Yet in spite of the strangeness of the mission, he wasn't worried. He wasn't tense.

He was at peace.

Perhaps part of that was because of the summer breeze that brushed past his dreads and sent his cloak aflutter. It could've been because of how the stars in the sky seemed to shine brighter than ever as they twinkled before the sunrise. It could have even been because of the value he found in some time spent in quiet contemplation. On a whim, Snipe chose to embrace his moment of silent serenity and clarity of mind. He shut his eyes beneath his mask and let himself live in the moment.

Finally, he figured out the invisible 'something' he had been missing since before he even flew back to his homeland. His extended stay in Detroit had indeed helped his hometown in ways he could've never imagined on his way back into the city, but the remedy to the hollowness that plagued him for so long was much more than the satisfaction that came with doing a good deed for the place that turned him into the man he was today.

He had saved a life. He didn't just stop a criminal or save an old man who got mugged right before his eyes. His actions earned him the opportunity to give someone a do-over. It would bury him in more paperwork than ever before for the foreseeable future and turn him into a probation officer, but it'd be worth it. The number of times Meridia thanked him before she passed out in a pillow soaked with her own tears made him believe more strongly in that certainty than anything else he had faith in before in his life.

He felt that he could finally think of himself as a hero that could be called extraordinary without the compliment being classified by his subconscious as flattery coming from his fellow pros and common folk alike. 'Fulfilled' wasn't even close to being a powerful enough word to describe how he felt, right now.

Snipe's attention was brought back to reality as another aircraft landed on one of the runways in the airport behind him. He couldn't afford to lose focus and get lost in limbo forever. Spiritually fulfilled or not, it wouldn't be long before the months and years-long mission he assigned himself finally started. He needed to be at the top of his game.

His phone buzzed with an incoming text and he retrieved his phone from his pocket. It seemed Captain Benson might have a few more complaints to make about Snipe's young charge yet.

Got a call from Meridia's parents. Told me they should be there soon, so look alive. Oh, and just so you know, I read the report you left on my desk the other day. Now I know I gave you a ton of crap for the decision you made to suddenly invest so much in that girl, but… maybe I'm the idiot here. Maybe most of us here at the station are too bound by the books to understand why the hell you're risking your reputation on a vigilante you just met, but we owe you one for how much you helped us out. So from me to you… good luck.

Now that was something Snipe hadn't seen coming.

Snipe typed out a quick thanks and wished his old officer friend nothing but the best until a time came that their paths crossed once again. Satisfied, Snipe let himself smile warmly in the privacy of his mask as he switched his phone to airplane mode. Benson wasn't someone who would change his mind when it came to matters of law enforcement lightly, even more so when vigilantes were part of the discussion.

'You're a good man, Benson. Hope you stick around long enough for me to stop by sometime.'

The sound of an old engine's grumble cutting out brought Snipe's attention a short distance over to his right. He stood and observed as Meridia and her parents slowly emerged from their outdated vehicle. Meridia heaved a small suitcase from the trunk that likely contained almost everything she owned but otherwise looked only moderately uneasy as she glanced toward him. She even gave him a sort of shy wave of sorts before retrieving an old, stuffed backpack from the trunk as well.

Her mother and father hid their emotions much less effectively. Her mother's lip tilted up in a wistful smile that failed to mask the sadness she felt, while her father attempted to look happy for the new beginning Meridia had been given with an only slightly higher degree of success. Snipe couldn't find it in himself to intrude as the family of three engaged in a group hug that would likely be the last physical embrace they'd be able to share for the foreseeable future.

Only when the moment was done did he finally approach. "Mr. Lucas. Mrs. Lucas. It's good to see you made it here alright. I hope you didn't have too much trouble getting here."

Lucian gave a tired, dismissive wave. "Not at all. We're used to odd hours. It's just that…"

Ellen intertwined her fingers with her husband's. "It's hard to say goodbye to our baby girl. Just a week ago we were in the kitchen making dinner together and now our only child's going overseas to start a new life. Maybe even become a hero. It's all so sudden."

"I understand your concerns completely, but try not to lose too much sleep over it," Snipe advised. "I'll make sure she's able to keep in touch without much fuss, and more importantly, that she's able to adjust without being overwhelmed. I can't quite think of anyone over the pond who would be better qualified to help out if she comes down with a case of culture shock or homesickness other than myself."

"With all you're doing for us…" Lucian sighed. "I feel like we can't thank you enough."

He tipped his hat. "Much obliged, but you don't need to thank me. I'm just acting like the kind of man that I can respect. You ready, kid?"

Meridia chewed her lip. "Yeah. I think so. Mom? Dad? Stay safe, alright?"

"Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about us," Ellen reassured her. "I hear that a few more pros from out of town that came in to take down that gang a little while ago have decided to stay in the city. We'll be just fine."

"Oh. Good…" she trailed off.

Snipe tilted his head toward her parents. "Go on ahead, kid. One more for the road."

Meridia looked at him for a moment, then down at the ground for a long few seconds.

Shel then crashed into her parents, wrapping her arms around them in an almost vice-like grip as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her jaw clenched as her parents bent over to embrace her with all the love that their bodies alone could convey. Snipe felt an odd mix of joy and sorrow as he watched.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much," Meridia choked out, muffled by her father's chest. "I'm so sorry for everything I did. I'm sorry for making you worry. It's all because of me that-"

Lucian hushed her as he stroked her back. "Don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, I promise. You did what you thought was right and you messed up, but now you have a chance to help people and live out a better life than the one either of us have ever been able to provide for you. We're going to miss you with all our hearts, but this won't be forever. We'll see each other again one day."

His daughter squeezed them a little tighter. "I love you guys so much…"

"We do too, sweetheart…" Ellen whispered. "Not a single night will go by when we don't think of how proud we are to have you as our daughter. Now… go and become a hero. Be who you've always wanted to be."

It took a little while longer before she finally let her parents go, but eventually, their true final embrace came to an end. Meridia turned around to accompany Snipe as he started into the large airport, though her gaze stayed firmly fixed over her shoulder at the sight of her parents as they tearfully waved their daughter goodbye. Only when they faded from view did she finally force herself to look away. Snipe gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before they began the rather arduous process of getting through security – made even more arduous on account of the hero's firearm – but his young charge relaxed eventually. She was still clearly filled with worry in the face of her imminent emigration, but her determination to make her parents proud and make the most of the opportunity she'd been given shined brightly through the fear.

After they made it through security, they sat down in a pair of uncomfortable seats at the gate. All that was left for them to do now was wait for the flight that'd take them halfway around the world to arrive.

"So, uh…" Meridia started, hugging her backpack to her chest. "I guess this is it, huh? Or, almost it, anyway."

"Yep. I reckon it is." Snipe leaned back in his seat. "You look a little tense, though. Never flown before?"

"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod. "Kind of nervous. What kind of plane are we gonna take, anyway?"

Snipe pointed out the window at an incoming craft. "I believe that's our ticket out of here."

Meridia did a double-take at the sleek charter jet taxiing toward the gate. "Are you kidding?!"

"Nope. It's top of the line. Figured I'd treat you to an easy flight since you're going so far away from home," Snipe said easily.

"Snipe, you've already done so much for me. You didn't have to do that on top of everything else," Meridia said softly.

He shrugged. "Well, it's my treat. I can't tell you to get used to this kind of luxury in the future, but I can tell you that you'll probably get along just fine when you adjust to life in Japan."

"Right. Thanks again."

"Not a problem," Snipe returned easily. "I know from experience how much of a nightmare it can be when you move across the pond. I prepared for months before I left for Japan and still nearly lost my mind, but I also didn't have someone else from the States to help keep me sane. Take things one step at a time, and you won't get hit too hard with culture shock. It's the least I can do to help out a friend."

She gave him an odd look. "Wait, friend?"

"Would you prefer I just called you 'kid' all the time?" he amusedly returned.

"No, no! That works!" Meridia backpedaled.

Snipe stood. "Then let's get ready for our flight."

Meridia matched his pace as she slipped her backpack onto one arm. "Right! But I do have one last question before anything else happens. You said that I'd be able to enroll in a hero academy. Did you have any school in mind?"

Unbeknownst to her, Snipe grinned. "Indeed I do, friend. Indeed I do."

"Well… what's it called?"

"Oh, it's a real little school that I went to back in the day. You've probably never heard of it before. It's called U.A. High School."

"What?!" Meridia squealed.

Snipe said nothing. He wasn't one that messed with others often, but he couldn't stifle the burst of laughter that Meridia's reaction brought out of him. Maybe later he'd bore her with all the details about how the entrance exams were run and the scholarships she'd have to fight for to pay her way through such a high-end education, but for now, he just wanted to ride this rare high of unbridled happiness for as long as he could. Hell, even then he probably wouldn't stop beaming beneath his mask.

In just a few minutes, both of them would fly off into the sunrise and start the next leg of their adventure together. It would be a new start, and for once, he couldn't wait to see what the future would hold.

Authors Note: So uh… yeah. This chapter we didn't get back to Jomei and Dawnbreaker's little chat. Not that I didn't want to but uh… this chapter is a big boy. Didn't want to overstuff it any more than the bloated mass it already turned into to hit all the beats I wanted it to, in the end. But as for development notes…

Yeah, Meridia's a fool for a good chunk of this chapter. She's cocky and sure of her own skill to the point that she really doesn't make the right call when it comes to The Pantheon, but my biggest hope is that I was able to portray that she wasn't in the right state of mind in the beginning and middle parts of the chapter. I also hope that she didn't come across as a Mary Sue (ergo why I had her get hurt and later dismantled by Hades) too, but I also didn't want to elongate this flashback into any more chapters than it already turned into just to give her a training montage of sorts. Oh, and yeah, the action in this chapter was a bit of a problem for me, but there was so much ground covered characterization-wise for Snipe and Dawnbreaker here that I think my shortcomings when it comes to action could hopefully be forgiven. I'm telling you man, Snipe n' Dawnbreaker are like super break-out fun characters to write. I mean, I expected Dawnbreaker to be fun since she's an OC but… you get the point. Snipe's a cool dude.

Oh! Time for some actual trivia at the end of all this. I didn't get to show what all the gang leaders could do in earnest, so here;

Hermes: Quirk - Teleportation. Rather self-explanatory and easy to understand, so basically just think of Nightcrawler's power and you're pretty much good.

Hades: Quirk - Hotstepper. It lets him ignite his legs and give them a lot more 'oomph.' The amount of smoke in his lungs determines how hot his flames can get and for how long they last. He can also detonate the flames at will. Think of it as Bakugo and Todoroki's left side combined… but just with your feet instead of sweaty hands.

Poseidon: Quirk - Water Horses. His power lets him create horses made of water and rock like what you'd see GoW 3 Poseidon use at any given time. He needs to stay hydrated to make more, but typically one or two uses of his Quirk will be enough to get him through any given fight. He can control them in a manner similar to Dark Shadow, albeit without the benefit of pseudo-intelligence like what Tokoyami's Quirk has

Zeus: Quirk - Electrocharge. By electrocuting himself, he gets stronger. Nora Valkyrie from RWBY if she were a man, greek, and several other enormous differences that render this comparison absolutely absurd, but I'm rolling with it anyway!