Before this chapter begins, I want to state one thing, and I know I've said it before, but it bares repeating: Luz is a villain in this story. She is not a hero. At best she's an Anti-Hero and not an Anti-Hero like how Deadpool is an Anti-Hero, an Anti-Hero like how Venom is an Anti-Hero—and not Marvel Movie Venom, I mean Comic Book Venom. Those are two very different beasts. At worst, she's a miniature All For One in terms of villainy, and we all know how vile that bastard can be from time to time.

Now, with that being said, onto the chapter.

[Opening Song: SPECIALZ – By: King Gnu]

*The scene opens with a disembodied voice singing "You are my special" as drums and the sound of a turn table synthesizer follow it. As that happens, it shows Luz, no longer dressed in a hero costume but rather in a black trenchcoat with various decals, a white shirt, a purple skirt held up by a black belt with a golden buckle, a pair of spotted cat-themed stockings that reach just below her knees, a pair of black shoes, and a black fedora, standing atop a building, looking over the town of Gravesfield, Connecticut. The disembodied voice once again says, "You are my special." Luz narrows her now crimson-red eyes, glaring down at the town with anger and nostalgia.*

*The drums pick up in volume and are joined by an electric guitar, while at the same time, the title, "The Owl House - All For Luz," appears, with the Japanese Kanji "フクロウの家 -すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in a smaller font. The large number 2 is still next to the title; however, instead of being the colour yellow, it is now a crimson red colour, as the final "You are my special" rings out.*

*As the opening begins in full, the scene cuts to Hunter sitting on a chair in a dark and empty room, a spotlight lampshading over him, his sword made of light plunged into the ground, his eyes narrowed, and his demeanour prepared for a battle, whilst dressed in his Golden Guard attire, minus the mask. The scene cuts to Millie Ravenclaw creating a small army of Abominations, and much like Hunter, her expression is one of determination, prepared for whatever battle was about to come as a disembodied voice sings*

"Come on, let's dance to the edge and tumble down again."

"The town stands tall, post up at the end."

*Mid verse, the scene shifts to Sophia coated in a massive amount of dark energy, like that of a blackened flame, her eyes filled with both bloodlust and anticipation, whilst Jonah slowly fades into existence behind her out of a purple cloud, looming over her, arms crossed, no longer wearing the gas mask with a large smirk on his face, as Charlie sits on his shoulders, arms resting on his head as the disembodied voice continues.*

"Let's struggle on to the edge of death 'til nothing is left."

"Dance wildly. The bold are those who claim their respect."

*The scene changes to Luz walking down the barren streets of an evacuated Gravesfield, the ends of her trenchcoat swaying back and forth in the wind, her hands in her coat pockets. As she walks down the road, red sparks dance over her body as she glares down a police blockade.*

*She outstretches her left hand, the red sparks leaping off her arm. A dark purple aura follows suit alongside the red sparks, mixed with golden sparks of energy and red. A smirk takes up her visage as a wave of yellow and black energy rushes forward, forcing a scene transition as the disembodied voice continues.*

"I love you, baby."

"Sing again 'till the morning comes…"

"No matter your sorry state…!"

"The childish games you play."

*As the scene transitions to something else, that being of a group of monsters with their brains exposed atop the roofs of buildings, one of which is on all fours like an animal, another is made of nothing but pure muscle, and another is more feminine appearing with a slender build with what appears to be vines coiling around their fingers. Each of them is on a separate building, and each of them are faced by Millie, Sophia, and Jonah, respectively.*

*Meanwhile, Luz is staring down Hunter as Luz takes off her fedora, revealing white hair rather than her usual brown hair. Not even a second later, the two charge at one another, Hunter with his sword drawn and ready to use and Luz with a manic gleam in her eyes and her right fist pulled back, ready to engage. All the while, as all of this is happening, the disembodied voice continues to sing*

"You burn through to my heart. Let me cherish you always!"

"Don't ever run 'cause you know too well, You Are My Special!"

*As the chorus begins to play alongside the action, the animal-like Nomu charges at Millie as she fires balls of flames toward it with increased fervour, eyes wide with panic behind them, as a group of abominations go to dogpile the beast. The muscle-bound Nomu engages in a fist clash with Sophia, shockwaves bounding out from their attacks meeting in the middle, each countering their attacks with another's attacks. Finally, the feminine-looking Nomu whips metal-infused vine whips toward Jonah, who keeps ducking and weaving as smoke. At the same time, the Nomu seemingly keeps predicting where Jonah seems to be appearing to avoid their attacks. All the while, the disembodied voice continues to sing.*

"Drive my heart in two; I feel it is beating anew!"

"Put you under the spell, consume the future as well!"

"In that maze of you, we rendezvous…!"

"A daze that I never felt. You Are My Special!"

*The scene changes to Luz and Hunter exchanging attack after attack, blow after blow, dodging each other's punches, kicks, and beams of light and fire. Luz plants her hand on the floor as a wave of decay speeds toward Hunter, who turns into light and blips behind Luz, raising his weapon over his head to cut her in half, only for a barrier to be erected around her and for her to blast him with a wave of pure energy, knocking him back.*

*As Hunter lands, wings made of light sprout from his back, and his right arm becomes larger and larger until it matches the size and density of a massive cylinder. Luz does the same thing with flames; only her arm is covered by a million other tinier arms, and spikes appear out every little orifice of the arm as they can before the arm is bathed in a coil of flames.*

*The two charge at one another, both reeling their arms back and just before their fists collide, the scene zooms out to an overhead shot of the state of Connecticut; all the while, the Disembodied voice finishes the song as the beat fades out with a final guitar riff.*

"Dancing to your tune, the whole world spins out of hue!"

"No, no, no, don't relax, the demon's breaking its shell!"

"In that maze of you, we rendezvous!"

"No matter what they tell, You Are My Special!"

"We're Special!"

[Hero No More – Part 2]

Tension built in the air as the army of SWAT soldier's stared up at what could only be described as a demon made manifest. Red eyes that glowed with hate, a small that radiated malice, and coupled with the claws, the fiery wings, and the literal dragons coming out of Luz's back, "Demon" didn't even begin to describe what they thought they were looking at.

The Devil was a better descriptor. Pure, unmitigated hatred given flesh. How such a thing was possible, none of them knew. All that they knew was that they were staring at what could possibly be an unstoppable force. But they had to try. They had to try and yet they couldn't bring themselves to say a word, to lift their weapons.

For what were they to do against something that looked to be a God?

But even if it was all for nothing, someone had to try. Ranger took a step forward, and while his heart pounded in fear, as a hero that was meant to protect his country from threats like this one, he had to try something. He knew that fighting wouldn't get them anywhere, so maybe, just maybe, diplomacy would work?

Luz stared down at him, her head tilted to the side in a mocking gesture. For a moment, Ranger faltered, but nevertheless, he wouldn't be struck down by fear. "STAND DOWN, LUZURA! THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BECOME A FIGHT!" Ranger shouted as Luz continued staring at them.

She could tell that they were afraid of her. A few of them were shaking in their boots. That was how scared they were. She couldn't blame them, if she were in their position, she'd be just as scared. A part of her felt sympathetic.

"Maybe I should give them a chance. Just one, though," Luz thought as she scoffed, a taunting gleam in her eyes. "Luzura? No, idiot. Didn't I just tell you that I quit?" Luz said, her tone mocking. Then, her expression turned cold, and her tone took a sudden shift from mocking to serious. "Now, I'm only going to give you one chance. Turn around and leave. If you do, I'll spare you. All of you. Don't force my hand."

"FORGET IT! TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED! NOW SURRENDER PEACEFULLY, AND WE CAN DISCUSS THINGS WITH THE SENATE! MAYBE IT WON'T BE SO BAD?" Ranger shouted as Luz sneered. Was this bastard seriously suggesting that?! Her blood began to boil with rage, her eyes seemingly glowing even brighter as she snarled.

"Won't be so bad?! It was the bureaucrat's in charge that put me through hell, and now they seek to do it again! Well guess what, I've had enough! I refuse to be their pawn anymore! From this day forth, you all shall know fear! I. AM. ALL FOR LUZ!" Without so much warning, one of the dragon head's mouths opened as a purple light began to glow from the back of its throat, whereas the other had fire start to pool in the back of its throat.

In the blink of an eye, the right dragon head fired out a beam of purple light that cut through SWAT vehicles like butter, leaving dark purple explosions in its wake, as the left dragon head doused the crowd in blistering white-hot flames. The other heroes dodged out of the way, as did some of the SWAT officers, but most were reduced to ash and/or blown away by the beam of light.

"SHIT!" Ranger shouted as Monkey King stood next to him, eyes wide in disbelief. Monkey King looked over at Ranger, trepidation in his eyes.

"What the hell are we supposed to do against something like that!?" Monkey King exclaimed as Ranger's expression was one of distress. This was the worst case scenario, and yet, deep within Ranger's mind he knew this would've happened. He had hoped that maybe he could've de-escalated things, but clearly that wasn't a possibility.

"We're heroes, she's the villain… As much as it might be impossible, we have to try," Ranger said, looking over to Cross, Thorn Prince, and Dark Matter. "You take the right, we'll take the left!" Ranger said as Cross threw up a thumbs up, as Luz stared at them, looking at the destruction she had caused with a neutral expression.

Combining Energy Dragons, Bullet Laser, and Pyrokinesis worked wonders, reducing their small army to a handful of SWAT officers and the heroes. Vehicles were destroyed, and large swathes of asphalt were damaged. Civilians ran away to get to safety, which was good. She didn't want to kill innocent people if it could be avoided. That being said, she wouldn't lose sleep at night if a few did die because they got caught in the crossfire.

As she watched the civilians leave, she noticed that Monkey King had moved from where he had taken cover from. He was advancing on her left, meanwhile The Children Of Hope were advancing on her right.

"Ah, a pincer attack. Unfortunately for them, it won't work," Luz thought as her metallic claws fanned out a little, a smirk taking up her visage. "One more chance! Run away, and I'll spare your lives! If you don't, then I'm not responsible for what happens afterwards!"

"Only cowards run away, Villain!" Monkey King hollered, rushing toward Luz with his bo-staff in hand. He leapt onto one of the destroyed remains of the vehicles, then, with all the strength he could muster, he jumped toward Luz in an attempt to hit her in the head with his bo-staff.

In that moment, time seemed to slow for just about everybody watching the ensuing fight. Monkey King's bo staff was mere inches away from connecting with its target, and his expression was one of determination and anger. Determination for wanting to at least land a single blow against someone was powerful as Luzura, and anger for the betrayal at hand.

But, it didn't last long.

In the blink of an eye, all of that determination, anger, and the undertone of righteous fury was severed in the most literal sense imaginable. Faster than anyone could have reacted to, Luz's metallic claws cut through Monkey King like a sword through paper, slicing him into five clean pieces of flesh, bone, and sinew with what appeared to be practiced ease, his bo staff clambering against her shoulder before falling to the ground.

Wide, horrified eyes stared up at Luz, who didn't appear to have a care in the world. Although, she did look disappointed. As if it was something that she hadn't wanted to do. Or, because she was expecting something more. Either way, it didn't matter to the people watching. All they saw was Luz unceremoniously cut down Monkey King like it was nothing, bored expression and all.

Blood stained the metal claw blades as she flicked her wrists, drops of blood hitting the floor alongside the pieces of Monkey King. All Ranger could do was stare in abject horror at what he had witnessed. Someone he considered a friend and a rival in strength cut down in less than a second.

"Told ya to run. Now look at what you made me do? I thought you people had some survival instincts, but I guess not." Luz said, disappointment oozing from her voice as she looked down upon the four remaining heroes.

Some of the SWAT officers raised their weapons to shoot at Luz, only for the left dragon head to swoop down and grab all of them in its mouth, before crushing them to paste. At the same time, a blood spear barely grazed past Luz's head, as she frowned.

"Oh, please, is that all?" Luz mocked, looking over to Cross as she flicked a wrist, silently dismissing Energy Dragons. The moment she did that, Luz charged full speed ahead toward Cross, and in the blink of an eye, one moment she was in front of the Fox News building, and in the next she was mere inches away from Cross.

Cross's eyes widened, but before Luz could dispatch her, a ball of red energy slammed into Luz's side and sent her flying across the city, slamming her through several buildings. Luz outstretched her hands to try and grab the ball of energy, but only succeeded in her hands being crumpled, as if the ball was made of gravity.

After flying through several more buildings, and resulting in her being halfway across the city, the red ball of energy exploded, blasting her through two other buildings, but just before the orb exploded, she erected several forcefields in front of her to mitigate the damage and to prevent her clothes from being destroyed.

As she crashed into one final building, Luz stared out at the line of destruction that had been caused by a single one of those orbs, and was impressed. Also jealous, because that was awesome.

As Luz stood up, dusting off small bits of debris from her clothing, whilst minor cuts and wounds healed over, several of the people within the building that she had finally stopped in began to run for the nearest exit.

"That Quirk seems interesting," Shigaraki noted as Luz smirked.

"Already ahead of ya," and with that, Luz lunged forward, kicking off with as much strength as possible, the force of the kick being enough to destroy the entire wall behind her, causing the building now far off in the distance of where she was to collapse in a heap of dust and rubble. With her hand outstretched, and while Dark Matter was distracted trying to help Cross, he couldn't have noticed Luz mere seconds away from grabbing his face.

Luckily for him, Thorn Prince wrapped his brambles around Luz's wrist and, with as much strength as he could muster, slammed her into the ground, briefly winding Luz long enough for Ranger to stomp down on her stomach and activate Earthshaker, with the goal of sending a miniature earthquake through her body.

It worked, causing Luz to cough up a large amount of blood with eyes wide. Not that she felt any pain due to Pain Nullification; the only thing that it did was shock her briefly, hence the wide eyes. Ranger snarled, glaring down at Luz with hatred of his own. "THIS FOR SAMSON, YOU BI—"

Unfortunately, Ranger didn't have enough time to react to Luz grabbing him by the ankle with her free hand and turning him into dust. A process that happened so quickly that Ranger didn't even realize it until half of his body was reduced to nothing but ash in the wind. By that point, he was already dead.

And just like that, Heroes for Christ were gone in less than a minute. Leaving only The Children Of Hope. In that same instant, Luz activated Multiplier to lift herself out of the crater in the asphalt. She retracted the extra arms before spinning around on Thorn Prince with two-foot-long claws courtesy of Spear-Fingers and cutting him neatly into five halves, killing him as well.

As Luz adjusted herself, she looked around her surrounding area, noticing the carnage and destruction as she dusted her arms off. Blood stained her hands, but she didn't care all that much. Typically, if she had a large amount of blood staining her, she would've gone into a panic attack or manic episode.

But, she didn't. It wasn't because she was "over" what had happened at the camp. No. If she had to guess, it was because she was probably already having a manic episode. "Oh well, whatever," Luz thought as she finally noticed that Dark Matter and Cross were gone. Although, she could see them in the distance. They were running away. They dared to run from the mess they started?

Frowning, Luz cracked her neck from side to side, before her frown immediately turned into a wide, almost manic smile. "Well, if you wanted a chase, then ya shoulda just asked!" Luz shouted, wings of flame sprouting from her back as she kicked off yet again, speeding toward them faster than a bullet.

It was so fast, in fact, that it a large burst of sound followed her take off, generating a powerful enough shockwave to make a near three foot deep crater. In less than a second, she was already behind Cross and Dark Matter. Luz outstretched her hand again, reaching out to grab Dark Matter, only for Dark Matter to turn around, and in the blink of an eye, produce another red orb from the tip of his finger.

Remembering what happened the last time, Luz came to a complete stop as the ball of red energy shot out toward her. She dodged to the right, only for the ball to explode and send her through another building, buying Cross and Dark Matter a little more time.

Cross looked over her shoulder, running as fast as she could. "How much time did that get us?!" Cross exclaimed as Dark Matter began to breath raggedly as he ran alongside her.

"A couple seconds, if we're lucky! Just how strong is she?!" Dark Matter shouted back as Cross skidded to a halt, eyes wide as Luz hovered in front of them, arms crossed with a look of annoyance on her face, flaming wings flapping to keep her in the air. "How…"

"How? Simple, I just kept moving. I didn't stop. I used the momentum that red ball of energy gave me and used it to intercept you, all the while protecting myself with barriers," Luz explained matter-of-factly. "Honestly, having multiple powers is just so convenient. Truly, you never stood a chance. That's why I was shocked when you actually tried to fight me. You could've just, I don't know, walked away and I would've let you. Honest. But now, I'm afraid I can't do that."

"You killed Thorn Prince… You killed Ranger and Monkey King…. They were your co-workers not even a few hours ago! Why!?" Cross shouted as Luz tilted her head to the side. As if confused by the question, which only further made Cross angry. "WHY?!"

"I just told you. You aimed to fight me. So I fought back. It's not my fault you're all so weak," Luz replied, emphasizing the word "weak" before seemingly flash-stepping in front of Dark Matter, grabbing him by the face, and activating All For One. In a flash of red sparks and a scream from Dark Matter later, he was without a power.

Cross stared at Luz with wide eyes, stumbling backwards as Luz tossed Dark Matter aside, who groaned in pain, writhing on the floor. Luz stared at her right hand, before smirking. "Oh, I know this one. Now I know why this looks so familiar. Same as that other kid from back at the camp. Ha! That's hilarious!"

"Huh?" Cross muttered as Luz turned to face her, turning her palm out to face the sky as she extended both her middle and index finger forward like a small ramp. Then, she began to chant something, her eyes gleaming with what appeared to be excitement.

"Nine ropes, polarized light, crow and shomyo, the gap between within and without," Luz said aloud, as the orb of blue and red appeared on either side of her hand. Cross's eyes widened, alarm taking up her visage as she turned to run, but before she could, Luz dipped both the index and middle finger down as the two balls fused to create one large purple orb. "Hollow Purple!"

The orb of purple energy shot out faster than Cross could've avoided, and blasted through her like nothing, along with anything else in its path. For five miles long, the purple ball of death and destruction carved through the earth, destroying everything in its wake, before it eventually fizzled out.

There was nothing left of Cross. Not even a single fragment of clothing or armour. It was as if she simply never existed. The building that she stood behind, a small Pizza Hut, was now nothing more than a frame with a massive hole that revealed the trail of destruction caused by the Hollow Purple. Thanks to Stamina Negation, Luz was fine, but if she didn't have that, she would've passed out due to the amount of energy that would be needed to use such a move.

Dark Matter stared at the destruction caused by Luz, his body shaking as Luz looked over her shoulder at him. Her peering, crimson red eyes bore into his soul as he inched away, trying to make distance between himself and Luz. Luz, for her part, turned to face him, her expression blank. As if what she had just done wasn't worth lingering on.

"P-Please! S-Spare me! I-I-I surrender!" Dark Matter cried out as Luz shrugged, turning and walking away. Dark Matter blinked, confusion written on his face he slowly stood up. He watched as Luz left, creating wings of flame and flying off.

Dark Matter stood there, watching as the person who murdered his friends just… flew away. He fell to his knees, his eyes filling with tears as he cried. Anguish, rage, grief, and sorrow stained his cries as his screams filled the streets.

Later that day, Dark Matter, his real name Carlos Mendez, was found in his bedroom by his father hanging by a rope on the ceiling, with a note next to him that simply said "I'm sorry."

[XXXX]

"We have to do something," A man with black hair and brown eyes said, looking over his shoulder at three other people. The first was a woman with ash blond hair and green eyes, the second was a man with silver hair and a beard with blue eyes, and the final one was a woman with brown hair and black eyes. All three of them were white, as was the man who stood with his back turned to face them.

All four of them were dressed in suits with red and blue ties, with the man with silver hair and the woman with brown hair having blue ties, and the man with black hair and the woman with ash blond hair wearing red ties.

The first to speak up was the woman with brown hair, who was frowning, a distressed gleam in her eyes as she spoke. "What are we supposed to do? You saw what she did just now. Mr. Green, you know as well as I do that the only thing we'd be doing is throwing men at her to die."

"I concur. Mrs. Radcliffe is correct. What do you suggest we do, Charles?" The woman with ash blond hair added as Mr. Green sighed, turning to face the table with his hands behind his back. Mr. Green, or Charles Green, was the current sitting head of the Senate. He had took the position after Douglas Burns died, seeing as he was his successor and all.

The emergency vote held to put him in power was only a day ago, and already he was enacting plans to ensure that both Abberant's and Regular People wouldn't be at each others throats. In his first day, he had signed a bill to ensure that Abberant's had the same rights as "The Regulars" as his Republican constituents had begun calling them.

Not that it particularly mattered. He was only doing it to prevent civil unrest. That, and it was to get his popularity up with the general populous. The same populous who was currently up in arms after what just happened in North Carolina. From Luzura betraying America and killing the other top two Hero Teams with terrifying ease, to the over a thousand people who died as collateral.

There was also the fact that Governor Rogers died in a helicopter crash not too long ago, and his assistant, Jennifer Murphy, took his place vowing to make sure that Luzura, who was now going by the ridiculous name All For Luz, would pay for what she had done in North Carolina. Not that Charles believed that anything could be done.

Which was why when he faced the rest of the table of Senators, he had a visibly concerned expression on his face. "I was hoping you guys had ideas. Because, frankly, outside of nuking wherever All For Luz might be, there isn't anything we can do. Even then, I don't know if that'll put her down. Or if that's even worth the risk."

"So, are you suggesting we do nothing?" The man with silver hair asked, his tone incredulous as Charles sighed, slumping into the seat in front of him, his hands over the back of his head as Charles groaned. He had no idea what to do.

To make matters worse, President Trump had fled to Hawaii with his family to "avoid the fallout", leaving Mike Pence in charge for the time being. The Media was up in arms due to the stunt Fox News pulled, and to make matters even worse, he was being flooded with demands from his peers to have Luz executed for her crimes.

Which, to be fair, she totally deserved. But the issue was not only catching her, but then having something strong enough to damage her. Team Beacon, or rather, what was left of it due to it being officially considered disbanded by Connecticut and with the remaining members being hunted down for Conspiracy To Work With a Terrorist, were the only ones that had the technology on hand to disable powers. There was a good chance that it was now destroyed before the building was abandoned.

"What is there to do? Seriously? Look at the facts, aside from a nuke potentially being enough to deal with her, what can we do?!" Charles asked, his expression one of exhaustion and desperation as he sat up straight and staring at the rest of the senate, who all looked at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"Mr. Green, your behaviour is highly unprofessional!" The man with silver hair said as Charles scowled.

"Oh, piss off, Bircham! You saw what she did! There is nothing that we have that can deal with her! We've seen her regenerate limbs in the blink of an eye, and that's not mentioning the fact that she seems to get stronger the more she gets hit. Not to mention she had one of the most powerful powers in the form of Limitless! You've seen the roster of her powers, Limitless mixed with Stamina Negation means she can spam those purple orbs, and you saw what they were able to do!" Charles ranted as Bircham sighed.

It was clear that they were in a lose-lose situation. They either sat back and did nothing, while watching the country burn to the ground at whatever it was that Luz Noceda planned to do—if anything at all—or throw soldiers at her until she's put down, if that was even possible with the current technology that they had at their disposal.

A chilling silence filled the Senate meeting room as Charles stood up from his chair, slicking back his hair as he brushed his hand through it. He tried to think of something, anything, but there was nothing.

Nothing.

They had nothing.

If they had just executed Luz after the camp debacle, then none of this would've happened. If they had just ignored Governor Rogers and did what they wanted to do, they could've saved themselves the trouble that they were facing. To hell with the notion that it would've made them look bad. It was the people's safety over the life of one mentally ill teenager.

Finally, after another minute of silence, Bircham spoke. "Well, there is one thing that we can do. But it would require us getting in contact with the Witch Hunters Association."

"Absolutely not! We are not asking those terrorists for help!" Mrs. Radcliffe exclaimed as Bircham frowned.

"Then what else do you suppose we do? They want Luz Noceda dead just as much as we do," Bircham said as he steepled his fingers together, looking over at Charles as he continued. "As much as I hate to admit it, those people have some of the strongest powers at their disposal. For example, the modern day Jack The Ripper, Jonah Smith. I doubt Luz could survive her body rotting from the inside out. At some point, her regeneration would give out, and she'd die."

"You're entrusting the countries safety with a pedophilic, serial murderer and rapist?" The woman with ash blond hair spat, disgust in her voice as Bircham scoffed.

"What other choice to we have, Gertrude? Not to mention that former boxer, Sophia. Or that individual with four powers—Hunter I believe his name was. For a time, he worked with Luz. We saw how powerful he was. The only outlier seems to be that Charlie individual, who can warp people places. Of course, there's also the one who seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. Riley, if memory serves me correctly," Bircham continued as he leaned back in his chair.

"Let's be honest with each other, ladies and gentlemen. The only thing that we want is to ensure that our country is protected. Charles, The WHA is our only hope as of now. I know that probably infuriates you, due to them having been responsible for killing your Grandfather-in-law. Domenico was a good man, and what they did to him was wrong, but we have to move past these differences if we want to see this country live another day," Bircham stated matter of factly.

Charles stared at Bircham, aggravation in his eyes. He wanted to say no. Truly, he did. He wanted to walk out of the room and end the meeting early, but Bircham had a point. As much as he wanted to disagree, he had a point.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he inhaled, then exhaled. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but as the saying went: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He dialled the number that he remembered Jonah having, back when Jonah was still a good kid. Back when he went to the church every day.

Back when they were friends a long, long time ago. Back when Jonah was fifteen, and Charles was seventeen. Back before he went to that camp, and came back a monster. He closed his eyes, a part of him hoping that he was dialing the wrong number, but when the ringing stopped, and when he heard that familiar southern drawl, a shiver clawed down Charles' spine.

"Oh, well would ya look at that! If it ain't my good ol' partner Charlie Green! It's been forever since I heard from ya. What can I do fer ya, Senator?" Jonah said as Charles scowled.

"Jonah. I need help. From you and the WHA. I'm sure you've seen the news by now," Charles said as Jonah laughed.

"You bet yer ass I 'ave. Gotta say, that little scamp has gotten quite the power-up since she first blew into town. Ya know, the ironic part was that I had that family pinned to be my next target before she got swept away that camp. I had plans, ya know. Woulda been fun, hehehe…" Jonah teased as Charles sneered, but quickly regained composure.

If it wasn't for the fact that he needed his assistance, he would've had the bastards location tracked and the FBI and SWAT team arresting him on the spot. Jonah made his skin crawl in ways only a cockroach could. Even then, that was doing a disservice to cockroaches. Even cockroaches would scuttle away from a bastard like Jonah.

"So what stopped you from—"

"It's not as fun without the kid to watch as I mutilate and rape their parents. Knowin' full well that they're next and there's nothin' they can do 'bout it. Although I guess in her case it would be parent, since her father already kicked the bucket years before they were even on my radar," Jonah interrupted as Charles stomach churned. He wanted to puke. The more this bastard talked, the more he wanted to change his mind.

"Keep calm, Charles. Keep calm…" Charles thought to himself, sighing. "I see…. Changing topics, if I give you the go ahead to kill her with you and your team, with zero government intervention, on the sole exception that whatever location you choose for the battle to take place be evacuated, will you do it?"

There was a long pause of silence, and it sounded like Jonah was talking to someone else away from the phone. After a few moments, someone else that Charles didn't know spoke.

"You promise?"

Charles was taken aback by how young they sounded. If he had to guess, it was Hunter, aka Brightburn. Charles pursed his lips, biting back whatever remarks he could give, before finally answering.

"As the head of the Senate, and as a personal advisor to acting President Donald Trump, I vow that The United States Government, Military, CIA, FBI, or Connecticut police force will stand in your way. If requested, they will back you up should the need arises. All we require from you is a time, date, and location. We'll set up the evacuation protocol for that area, and ensure every civilian, homed or homeless, will be removed from that location before the deadline," Charles declared, much to the other senators shock.

Gertrude went to interject, only for Charles to give her a stern glare, silencing her as she backed down. After a few more moments of silence, Hunter finally responded.

"Gravesfield, Connecticut. You have twelve days to evacuate the entirety of Gravesfield. The battle will commence not a moment later. To be extra sure, evacuate as much of the surrounding area as possible, in case the fight goes beyond Gravesfield's borders. We have no idea just how far Luz will go. Before you ask, we have our ways to get her to the intended location."

"Very well. I'll issue the orders now." Without missing a beat, Charles hung up the phone, before looking at the other Senators with a stern look in his eye. "Twelve days. Evacuate all of Gravesfield, effective immediately. Leave no shelter unturned, no house unsearched. I want that town to become a ghost town by the time we're through. Do you understand?" Charles stated as Bircham nodded.

"I'll contact the Governor right away, sir."

"This is a terrible idea. We shouldn't be asking terrorists for help, nor giving them leeway like this," Gertrude said as Charles frowned.

"Unless you have a better idea, which I doubt, then be sure to let me know. Until then, this is the best we've got. If this doesn't work, and should they fail to kill Luz, then we'll drop a nuke on Gravesfield. It's the only way, hence the evac order," Charles stated as Radcliffe's eyes widened.

"Hundreds of thousands of people will be homeless if we do that! Not to mention how far that would spread. It wouldn't be just Gravesfield that gets effected! It'd be the entirety of Connecticut! Half the state would be left irradiated, and the other half would need to be rebuilt for literal decades! You can't possibly be serious, Senator Green!" Radcliffe exclaimed as Charles sighed.

"It's either that, or that monster wrecks havoc on America. If that doesn't work, then God helps us all. Because The Devil walks among us should we fail, and I know for certain that if this fails, I'm signing my own death warrant. If you were smart, you would to. Now, if you excuse me, I have some things that I need to get done. Meeting dismissed."

And with that, Charles left the room, his head hung low and his hands in his suit pockets. He felt as if he had done the right thing, but a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he was only lying to himself. Lying to himself to make himself feel better.

Regardless, he knew that what was done was done. There was nothing that he could do now. The fate of America was in the hands of a few terrorists, and should they fail, then all bets were off. He just wished there was another way.

Unfortunately for him, such a reality didn't exist.

[-To Be Continued-]

[Ending Song: YELLOW – By: Yoh kamiyama]

*The ending begins with Luz dressed in her hero costume, floating in the darkness of the void, eyes closed as she drifts about in the emptiness of nothingness, only to be grabbed by blackened tendrils formed out of the void and pulled down in the abyss. On the other side of the void, she's thrown to the ground, her hair white and her eyes open and blazing red. As she stands up, strings are attached to her shoulders, and she begins to move on her own toward the edge of what is revealed to be building; all the while, a disembodied voice sings in the background.*

"Simply put, all purity was hung away on that day, see."

"My curiosity had gotten the best of me."

"Was sweeter than a cake, but it wasn't filling."

"Like dancing with a puppet, so cold and empty."

*It continues as Luz falls down what seems to be an endless amount of distance toward the ground, her strings still attached to her body as she frantically starts to pull them off. Each string represents figures in her life, staring with her past principal, then the judge who sentenced her to that camp, Adrian Rogers, and finally her mother*

*Once the final string is pulled, flaming wings spread from her back just before she lands on the ground below, breaking her fall. As her flaming wings come out, her hero outfit burns away and is replaced by the black trenchcoat adorned with several patches and a bi-sexual flag pin, a pink shirt, a purple skirt with a fluffy white hem at the bottom, held up by a black belt with a golden buckle, and a pair of black ankle boots. When she lands on her feet, she dusts herself off, turning to face the street before her as the voice continues to sing.*

"Closet doors shut behind us."

"Huddling, our bodies hidden in the darkness."

"We'll sleep the night off and change when light comes."

"Or so I like to say."

*Across the street is Luz before she changed into what she is now, smiling and hanging out with her mother. Luz turns away, ignoring their presence, but when she turns, she sees another scene of her and her mother playing at the playground, having fun. Luz scowls before turning around and running down the street, trying to ignore her past and everything tied to it.*

*But as she runs down the street, she comes across the car crash that she was in when she was a child; as the younger her crawls out from the wreckage, staring at the crushed body of her father, bloodied, mangled, and broken. As all of this is happening, the voice keeps singing.*

"I'm just a child; I can't help it!"

"Don't go please, oh please, I'm begging."

"I'm so pathetic, a life built on selfish cries."

*Mid-verse, Luz turns to look away, only for her to be surrounded by a literal horde of small versions of her, all pointing at her as she looks up to see her father staring down at her, disappointment on his face as she begins to fall down a hole that opens up in the floor beneath her. She reaches up toward the hole before it's covered, and she's locked away in darkness, falling down once again, tears in her eyes as she keeps falling deeper and deeper as the voice continues.*

"All the toys were put away."

"I swear I'll change this time!"

"Still, I crawl for when I wore innocence like before."

"(Ah, ah, ah, ah!)"

*As the beat drops, the darkness around her turns to a bright yellow mixed with rainbow spirals. She falls past stuffed toys, trains, and books of various types, along with photos of her childhood and photos of her and Julia. She finally lands on the ground, surrounded by her childhood, showing her all the positive things she remembers being around.*

*However, when she narrows her eyes, they all go up in flames, replaced with her recent memories. Tragedy, loss, and death and suddenly, she's no longer tense. Instead, she's relaxed as the surrounding walls return to a drab black mixed with gray. A statement that she's more comfortable with this kind of stuff than all of the happy go-lucky things she used to be surrounded by. While all of this happened, the disembodied voice continued to sing.*

"Love's a high, sober up, you'll throw it all away."

"I've laid to waste all those feelings just to stay safe."

"But see this low-life now, still stuck in her ways."

"I wonder if there's a summer where I'll really change?"

*The ending begins to end as Luz walks down a hallway filled with memories of the recent past, of all the death and destruction both caused and not caused by her. The deeper she walks, the more of a smile takes up her visage as she finally reaches a door. When she opens it, she steps out onto a grassy field, except this grass is orange, and the skies are yellow with purple clouds. She's finally made it to The Boiling Isles; all the voice in the background keeps saying "Yellow" before eventually the beat fades out as the ending concludes.*