"It's so good to see you!" said Cherry as she hugged Phoebe tight.
"It's good to see you too!" responded the former heroine, returning the hug.
"Sorry to cut this reunion short, but we need to go if we don't want to get caught in the net," said Andy.
"You're right. Let's go!" order the blonde surprising Phoebe who had never seen her friend so serious before.
They went down the alley to find a parked van waiting for them.
"Hey, guys! Good to see you again Phoebe! Greeted Oyster from the driver's seat.
"Oyster!" said Phoebe happily.
"Step on it, we need to go!" order Cherry.
"On it," he said and the engine came to life.
"It's so good to see you again Phoebe! I thought you died 5 years ago," said Cherry.
"I thought you died!"
"Me and my family left Hiddenville the next day after the prom. Where is your family, if you survived, then-"
"They didn't make it Cherry," the formed heroine said in a whisper as her eyes became hooded.
Cherry hugged her best friend. Phoebe welcomed human contact. "I'm so sorry Phoebe," she said and the car became silent.
Phoebe stared into empty space as the image of Hell that Hiddenville became appear in her mind's eye. The flames that consumed everything, the anguish-filled cries of people were begging to be saved.
"Phoebe, I know we can't bring your family back, but we can stop further tragedies from happening again. We can bring back peace and freedom to the world by stopping Max."
"Invictus," corrected Phoebe through clenched teeth. Her Max and Invictus were two different people. Because there was no way Max would do any of the things Invictus has done. She believed that with every fiber of her being. She had to.
Cherry on her part understood. "Right, Invictus. We need your help, Phoebe, we can't beat him without you."
"Even if I helped you, it wouldn't make a difference. He has the Thunder family powers and Dark Mayhem's and who knows what other powers he had gathered over the years."
"We know, and we have a plan. We can really use your help."
"You will go with your plan with or without me, right?"
Cherry smiled. "You know me too well. So, you in?"
Phoebe sighed tiredly. She knew that she wasn't ready to face Invictus, she will never be able to face, but one thing she knew for sure: she wouldn't let any more people she loved died. "Alright, I'm in."
Cherry smiled. "Alright, then. We can discuss the plan when we reach our base."
As silence reigned once again in the van, Phoebe's eyes began to close as today's events finally took their tool.
In the middle of the ballroom, Max stood before his eyes cold and emotionless. He had just taken Dark Mayhem's and their family powers. The way he was looking at their family made Phoebe put herself between him and the rest of the family. She wasn't sure, but she could swear she saw a flash of hurt.
"When I am finished with the Hero League," he said, his tone authoritative and detached. "I want you to be alive. To know that I succeeded. Goodbye," he said and turned to leave.
Phoebe woke up with a start, her breath coming in pants, breaking into a cold sweat.
"We're here," announced Oyster.
Everyone got off and entered the abandoned depot. As soon as Phoebe entered the first she saw was Gideon. Said boy turned at the sound of the door opening and was shocked to his crush. The shock quickly wore off and he rushed to capture her into a bone-crushing bear hug.
"PHOEBE!" he yelled happily.
The former heroine let out a laugh. She had been so alone that she even missed Gideon. "Hi Gideon," she said, returning the hug as best as she could.
"Wolfgang!" a voice from behind Gideon said.
"Wolfgang?" said Phoebe as she went to hug the German.
"Hey Phoebe," a voice and Phoebe looked up and saw a legend: Captain Man.
"Captain Man..."
"You seem alright."
"It's thanks to you, you saved me five years ago."
He shook his head. "You don't need to thank me. I did what was natural. And I'm sorry about your family."
"Thank you," she said softly as she tried to not think about her family. "Where is Kid Danger?"
"He's around here, helping Charlotte."
"Call them. We need to talk strategy," ordered Cherry.
5 minutes later
"Alright, let's start," said Cherry. "Our spy informed us that Invictus will go to visit the ruins of Hiddenville to pay his respects for the dead. That's when we'll ambush him and try to capture him."
"Capture him? We should kill him!" said Andy with venom.
Cherry shook her head. "We're freedom fighters, not assassins."
"Not that much of a difference. And that is no reason to spare that monster!" he seethed and Phoebe nearly flinched.
"We'll try to capture him," said Cherry forcefully. "We'll kill only if we have no choice. Grab your gear, we leave tomorrow at dawn."
Once the meeting was adjourned, Cherry came and lead her to a locker. "I managed to save this," she said and opened the door, revealing her old superhero costume. "I think it still fits."
Phoebe was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. She remembered all the happy moments: hanging out with her friends and family, school, training. She even missed Max's pranks and their bickering. She was happy that it still fits. Afterward, she went to bed, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't sleep. In one week she would see Max again after all this time. But it wouldn't be her Max, it would be someone else. She shook her head. It shouldn't be so hard. Max and Invictus are two different people. Max may have acted like a jerk, but he had a good heart in the end, Invictus is a monster. She could do this. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but feel apprehension. In the end, exhaustion won and she was finally asleep.
10 days later
They arrived at the ruined city and it took Phoebe all her willpower not to break down and cry. After reassuring Cherry and the team she would be fine she got into position. According to the spy Cherry had in Metroburg, Invictus would teleport here in a short while with his personal guards and walk around the abandoned city, silently paying his respects. When they reach the Thunderman family household they would ambush Invictus and capture him. From her hiding spot she couldn't see anything, so she had to rely on her hearing. Sure enough, heavy footsteps were heard coming her way.
"Now Phoebe!" said Cherry and jumping from the spot, she attacked the closest guard. Having been caught off guard, the bodyguard was the first to be knocked out. She attacked the second, who blocked her punch, but she quickly dropped down and swept his feet. The third attacked her using his electric staff. It hurt, but she shrugged it off and pushed him with her telekinesis. The other one got up and started to attack her, she jumped back and used her telekinesis to throw him into his friends and used her freeze breath on them.
"Impressive," said cold, deep voice said bringing her attention back to the lone figure in polished black armor, with a helmet covering his face, with a black cape that hung on his broad shoulders. "It's been a long time, Pheebs."
Thank you for reading. If you have any feedback don't hesitate to review or just PM me. Cheers!