Mantroid looks down upon Victoria, confused and amused. "How did a woman like YOU beat the Mad Hunter?"

Victoria tells him nothing, only glaring back at his jagged figure, like his mere presence is unconnected from reality.

He scoffs, "The Other mentioned that you'd be chattier." He snaps his fingers and a cage of flames surrounds them both. "Silence will only serve to-"

Okay, this guy's getting annoying. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Fine. Let us dance.", Mantroid scoffs as he unsheathes his greatsword, wielding it with ease.

Victoria quickly looks around, trying to find a weapon of her own. Suddenly, it hits her. Literally, as Mantroid tosses one of the oars at her chest. "Ow.", she says before picking up the oar. How chivalrous.

Mantroid strikes at Victoria, spinning around with the greatsword in his hand. She barely manages to dodge the attack by falling onto her back and rolling away from him.

Dazed, Mantroid slows down and attempts to catch his breath, leaving him open for attack. Victoria does not hesitate to hit his back with the oar three times in a row, putting a crack in it.

Mantroid then turns back around to face Victoria and manages to swat her away, sending her tumbling across the roof. As she shakes her head to wake herself back up, she spots the villain charging at her like a raging animal.

Without a moment's hesitation, she rolls out of the way, leaving Mantroid to crash against the wall of flames he created. He burns briefly, rushing to pat himself down and extinguish the flames.

Again, Victoria makes quick work of Mantroid's backside, striking at it with the oar several more times.

But amidst the darkness within Mantroid's body, a voice - that of a boy no older than 13 - weakly calls out to Victoria: "Help… me."

As she looks inside, she can see the boy sitting there, entangled in dark webs. "I'm gonna get you out of there!"

Mantroid's head spins 180 degrees, spotting Victoria in a moment of shock. "I find that unlikely." Again, he slashes at Victoria manically, trying to take her down.

For a meek little human, she's doing a good job dodging his attacks still.

For a meek little human, she's really good with that oar.

For a meek little human, she's really starting to piss him off.

Mantroid roars into the sky, enraged at her continued survival. "Be still and DIE, God damn you!"

He again attempts to impale Victoria on his sword, she dodges the attack almost easily. "No.", she smugly responds, tooth-bearing grin included. With his back once again turned to her, she strikes at his spine with her oar, shattering the armor and exposing the boy within - Chris Eriksen AKA Captain Spirit - to the light of the Astral Plane.

As Mantroid recovers, Victoria leaps into his body to recover Chris. She grabs his arms and begins pulling him out of the tar-like goop housed within Mantroid's armor.

Victoria pushes onward, to the light, but she quickly notices that the light is waning; Mantroid's armor is re-sealing itself. And so, she pushes forward, with Chris still in tow, and the light grows stronger.

Fortunately, the two escape Mantroid, jumping out at the last possible second, into the open. But the villain only laughs: "You think I need the Captain to kill you, girl?"

"Sure looks like it." His body's falling apart, melting away like ice cream left in the Sun.

Mantroid grits his teeth and roars as he attempts to harden his body. It's working, just not very well. "No matter! I must make the most of what time I have left!" To save himself some more time, he snaps his fingers once more and the fire surrounding the three vanishes.

Make that two , as Chris is lowered back indoors to the safety of Jessica, Taylor and Courtney. It's just me and him now , Victoria internally remarks.

He charges at Victoria, filled with rage as he swings his sword at her.

She doesn't have to dodge, instead using her oar to slice off his attacking arm. It lands on the floor, melting away like an ice cube. This should be easy! Slowly, menacingly, she approaches him, raring to strike in her combative stance.

Mantroid is so full of fear that he fails to notice that she's leading him to the edge of the rooftop. As he realizes almost a second too late, he falls over. He hangs on with his spare hand, but he knows it won't last. "You may haven't beaten me, but you won't defeat the Master!"

Victoria scoffs. "I highly doubt that." She aims the oar at his face and demands, "Start talking before I start smacking! Where's your boss?"

"Ah, the Black Goat." Mantroid cackles, relishing in his truth. "If you really want her, she's located in the Neon Re- er, in the Wet-Dry World…" Suddenly, it hits him, as seen in the shock on his face and in his voice: "Wait! That's not what I was gonna say!"

Weird. Eh. "Thanks for your cooperation." Victoria smacks his hand, sending him falling onto the barrel of lava he had prepared down below, which explodes as he lands on it.

Within seconds, the lava inside the building begins to pour out from the vents in the hallways. As Victoria returns, Jessica asks, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Never better.", she answers with a smile on her face.

As life returns to "normal" (for now, at least), Victoria spots another reunion: Lyla hugs Chris tightly. "I'm glad you're safe!"

As Chris returns the hug, he asks her, "Where's Daniel?"

RING RING. Victoria walks over, avoiding several stray puddles of lava, and picks up the phone. "Hello?"

On the other end, Max answers, "He's safe."

I know that voice... "Max?! You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Victoria holds herself steady, almost about to cry with the knowledge that her friend is safe. "B-but how- I mean, thank God you're alright, but I don't get it."

"It's a long story. How are you holding up, Vic?"

Victoria clears her throat and answers, "I've been pretty busy. Just defeated my second supervillain." She chuckles to herself, "Hey, maybe you can give me some training when this is all over?"

Max laughs with Victoria before answering, "We'll see. Where are you headed now?"

"I'm thinking the beach. Mantroid told me where the Black Goat is."

Confused, Jessica asks, "There's a beach?"

Victoria points to one of the nearby windows, where she can see a sandy shore a walking distance away. "That's how we're gonna get her. 'Wet-Dry World', he called it."

"Well, just wait on my signal, okay?", Max asks her.

Victoria resolutely answers, "Okay. Talk to you later!", before hanging up.