Londyn stood on a hill, arms crossed. In front of her, a grav-jet lowered to the ground and dropped its exit ramp. She let out a sigh as Aurora Legion disembarked.

Honestly, how was a high school’s attendance coordinator the hardest one to negotiate with here?

She took stock.

Captain Hot Devil.

Aurora Legion.

The Gray Slayer.

Majestic Moth.

Master Elegant Katana.

She let out a sigh. Dragontooth and Gentle Gloom were fairly close by but were still finishing up a mission, no telling when they’d arrive. She’d feel a lot better if they could wait for Miss Dayal to recover but she had already missed one chance.

She wouldn’t miss this one. This would have to do.

Londyn hoisted her grav-cannon and motioned to the heroes.

“All right team, let’s bring them in. Stay sharp, these guys are both slippery and powerful. They will not give you a chance to react if they can help it.”

Everyone nodded and the heroes moved in.

The team surrounded the hut, slowly approaching. Suddenly the door knob turned and Londyn raised her fist. The heroes paused, taking up positions and reading their stances.

A beautiful young woman walked out, in her late teens or early twenties at oldest. She made eye contact with Londyn.

“You must be the director I’ve heard so much about.”

“And who are you?”

“That is beyond you, mortal. As is the fang in your possession. I will be taking it.”

Londyn’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t think so. We have you surrounded, surrender now and we’ll bring you in quietly.”

The girl yawned.

From behind Londyn.

Londyn’s eyes widened.

“The time for quiet is over, mortal.”

The girl tilted her head as a fireball passed it by.

“Get down!”

Londyn leapt forward, rolling on the ground as Captain Hot Devil threw another fireball. The girl grinned and held up a bare hand and caught the fireball with naught but her skin.

The fireball dispersed, leaving behind unblemished palm, not even a hint of ash upon it.

“Well, heroes, show me what you can do.”

The Majestic Moth flew into the sky and let out a flash of light. Meanwhile Londyn charged and launched a grav-bolt. The girl made no move as the bolt hit her dead center.

“Honestly, are you even trying?”

The heroes gulped. Londyn nodded over at Aurora Legion and they leapt into action. Icy Rose raised her hands and a frozen cyclone surrounded the girl.

Who leisurely walked out of it.

A pink triceratops roared and charged her down. The girl raised her hand.

And backhanded the dinosaur, sending it flying through the air.

Wonder Knight landed behind her, grabbing her.

“Now Void!”

Voidspeaker lifted his hand and fired a black beam into the girl. She lifted an eyebrow.

“Careful with that, cultivators do not take kindly to losing cultivation. Me, on the other hand?”

She shimmered faintly and a spark of light appeared along the beam, erasing the black light as it flew towards Voidspeaker. When it arrived it exploded with a bang and Voidspeaker flew through the air.

“You are trying to suck the ocean through a straw.”

The girl took a step forward, breaking out of Wonder Knight’s grip. His eyes widened as she put a finger in front of him and flicked his forehead. The boy cried out and flew back, smashing into a hill.

The heroes gasped and grunted. Captain Hot Devil looked over at Londyn.

“Director, with Voidspeaker down, we don’t have many options to bring her in alive.”

“No…we don’t…”

The girl simply grinned at them.

“LIke I said, are you even trying? It seems you don’t understand who I am yet.”

The girl shifted her shoulders slightly.

Suddenly the heroes dropped to the ground, a massive pressure crushing them. It felt as if the weight of the world had landed on their shoulders.

And then it was gone.

The girl was grinning at them.

“Get it, now?”

Majestic Moth let out a cry as sweat dripped from his brow. He screamed as he thrust his hands forward, a beam of light and sparks surging forward. The girl yawned as the beam hit her head on, and strolled through it. The Majestic Moth winced and jumped into the air, flapping his wings.

And the girl was up above him.

She tapped her toe on his back and he slammed into the ground.

Londyn grit her teeth.

“Light her up! Don’t hold anything back!”

The Gray Slayer took aim with his magnum, pulling the trigger.

The girl’s hand flickered and she held it up. She held several silver bullets in her hand, and then swung it. The Gray Slayer stumbled back as his magnum exploded into pieces.

A roar pierced the air, a pink dragon landing behind her, head pulled back. Meanwhile Captain Hot Devil landed in front of her, fists blazing. The Captain swung his hands as the dragon swung its head.

Two cones of fire lit the world, swallowing the girl.

The girl blew her breath out lightly.

A cone of air cut through the Captain’s flames, launching him back, bouncing across the ground. Meanwhile the girl casually swung her hand behind her. Another cone of air cut straight through the dragon, dispersing it into light.

A giant glacier burst forward, encasing the girl.

And then it shattered into pieces.

The girl appeared behind Pink Star and Icy Rose. Chronolock rushed behind her to intervene. The girl tapped each of the surrounding girls once and they flew back and into the ground.

Master Elegant Katana walked before her, drawing his golden blade.

“I see, you are a cultivator, are you not?”

“Ah, one of those way of the sword types, are you?’

He took his stance.

“Indeed.”

She crossed her arms.

“Then you should understand you’re outclassed.”

He nodded.

“Indeed.”

And leapt into the air.

“But a master swordsman never backs down from a challenge! That is what it means, to be elegant!”

He spun in the air, drawing a graceful golden arc with his blade.

The girl caught it between her fingers.

“Then I will trade pointers with you, master. Elegance means waste, weakness.”

Her other hand curled into a fist.

“It is nothing compared to strength!”

She slammed the swordsman in the gut. His eyes bulged before he flew back.

And then a glowing purple sphere slammed into the girl’s chest, exploding into a singularity.

Then the singularity moved up, the girl balancing it on her finger, not a hair out of place despite the gale force winds blowing in her face.

She pushed her finger forward and the singularity popped, purple light streaming through the air.

Londyn grunted as the girl flickered and appeared before her, lifting her by her collar while yawning.

“How boring, I’ve seen that one before. Thought the director of all people might have some neat tricks.”

Londyn reached into her pocket and slapped a dome on the girl’s back. The device glowed purple and the air around the girl distorted.

“How’s that? You’re now experiencing a hundred times normal gravity.”

The girl yawned, lifting her free hand to cover her mouth. Londyn grit her teeth and pressed a button on her wrist. The ground beneath the girl cracked and began to sink.

A thousand times gravity, and the girl just stared at her, stretching her free arm in a wide circle. She then reached up and grabbed the dome, crushing it in her hand.

“Yeah, I’ve met kids with more tricks than you. This is kind of disappointing, to be honest.”

Just then a green beam struck the girl. A shadow started to grow as they heard a yell.

Dragontooth fell from the sky, slamming her fist into the girl’s cheek.

And cried out, swinging her hand around.

“Ow ow ow! What are you even made of?!”

“A dragonkin? You’re kind of weak though.”

“Weak?!”

The girl flicked Dragontooth and she vanished, a cloud of dust rising from the nearby hill.

“Yep.”

Meanwhile Gentle Gloom flew in behind her, reaching for the girl.

There was a flash of light and he too flew into the ground with a cry.

“Not a good idea to try and possess a cultivator that’s stronger than you, you know?”

The girl turned back to Londyn, still held in the air, hands clutched around the girl’s hand.

“So, Director, is this all your little League can do?”

Londyn grit her teeth.

“Ah well, play time’s over then.”

The girl narrowed her eyes.

“Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

She leapt into the air, leaving a crater on the ground.

With Londyn still in her grasp.

Bob let out a sigh, rubbing his temples.

So she didn’t go for it.

Of course, she would pick now of all times to stop caring about Eternal Night’s face.

Guess he’d have to dig into his diminishing stock of cultivation elixirs. There was still a rival sect or two that might put up a small challenge with sufficient resources. Maybe.

He sighed again. This would be a lot easier if he knew what she was thinking. Oh sure, she said something about the ILS holding some magic artifact...but Bob felt something didn't add up in all this. She had cooperated with him for many years now and she knew he had ties to the ILS, so the sudden aggression had thrown him for a loop. Until he understood the full picture, he needed to act very carefully. Or, to be more accurate, there wasn't much he could do to stop her, all he could try to do was guide her thoughts and decisions. And to do that he first needed to understand them.

And if he was honest...he did not want to consider her a threat to be dealt with.

And then his phone rang.

“Hello Linda.”

“Bob! The Director’s been kidnapped!”

“By whom?”

“She was tracking the latest attacker and encountered some girl! She beat down the entire strike team and made off with the Director.”

“...I see.”

“What are we going to do?!”

“...I’ll handle this.”

“Bob?”

“I know who it is. This is beyond the League now…but I should be able to do something.”

“...I got it. Bob…good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Bob closed the phone. He heaved a sigh and held his head.

She took Londyn?

Why on Earth would she kidnap Londyn?! What conceivable benefit would that...

He stopped.

His eyes widened.

"So that’s what this is about."

It seems he had made a mistake.

And now he would have to fix it.