It was beautiful.

Moon Protector looked down at the planet he had sworn to protect and enjoyed the simple beauty of Nexus. From space, the planet was a wondrous mixture red, blue, and green, and Moon Protector could even see the three major continents. Arces, Pandal, and the Thousand Isles; the last was a reminder of what would happen if the heroes failed their duty.

Once, the Thousand Isles was a major continent. A huge landmass like Arces and Pandal, but an Incursion had destroyed it and now it was a continent consisting of tens of thousands of islands. All because the heroes and villains back then failed to stop the Incursion in time.

Moon Protector wondered how much longer it would be before the heroes failed again.

A ping told Moon Protector that the door behind him had opened. He turned and saw a woman dressed in a prim and proper business suit. The woman was not masked, indicating she was not a hero. Facial recognition software in his mask told Moon Protector her name was Tomako, one of the station secretaries. The station secretary had an apologetic look on her face and she gave Moon Protector a low bow.

“Sir, the meeting is about to start. Please follow me.”

Moon Protector nodded and followed the secretary into the hallway of the space station. Overlook Station was an international space station orbiting Nexus forty thousand kilometres above the planet's atmosphere. Built with cutting edge technology by the greatest mad scientists on Nexus, Overlook Station had facilities that allowed the heroes to response to any threats to the planet. It had wings for Science, Magic, and Superpowers, and boast unmatched levels of security for the station’s inhabitants.

Moon Protector and Tomoko walked all the way to the end of the hallway and pass through a door. A small group of heroes was already inside; Lady Cauldron, Waveman, Brother Day, Madam Quasar, Wild Potion, they were some of the most powerful and influential heroes on the planet. Even on Overlook Station, this was some gathering. Moon Protector frowned. Someone was missing.

“Where’s the Old Man?”

“The Old Man of Pui has send word he will not be joining us.”

Tomoko was the one who answered, and Moon Protector couldn’t help but be surprised by that. The Old Man had a long career and had always been an exemplary hero. He almost never ignores a call for assistance.

However, there was no need for Moon Protector to ask for the reason. His head turned to the holographic display screens lining the walls of the room. They were showing the threats within the numerous regions on Nexus, and what the more interesting villains on the planet were doing. Aided by countless satellites, the heroes had the whole of Nexus under surveillance. Moon Protector had no doubt most ordinary people on Nexus would strongly object if they knew exactly how much surveillance they were under.

However, it was a necessary evil. Anything less and they might have missed the Invasion Gap at Glowing Falls. Moon Protector quickly found the screen showing the man of the hour.

The Sweet Fist.

Moon Protector sighed. The man was a villain, but he did respond to the Emergency and by all accounts, did well. In any other circumstances, Moon Protector would follow the rules of the truce and gave the villain a pass for the next few days, but what he did in Glowing Falls was so amazing it was just not an option. Sweet Fist was the reason for this meeting, and they need the Old Man for this.

“Send word to Pui again,” Moon Protector told Tomoko. “Inform the Old Man of Pui his presence is needed on Overlook Station and request his immediate-“

“Forget it. Even if he came, he won’t talk.” Moon Protector glared at Wild Potion who gave him a condescending smile. “Secrets are power. I won’t tell you the formula of my potions. What makes you think the Old Man will tell you how Sweet Fist made a new mystic?”

As the leaders of the Fraternity of Heroes and the Alliance of Champions respectively, Moon Protector and Wild Potion had a certain rivalry. A rivalry that had fostered a certain dislike for each other, but Moon Protector would admit that the heroic alchemist make some good points at times.

“Do we know if the Old Man even have that information? Does he know how Sweet Fist did this?” Waveman asked as he pointed at a screen that show the moment when Sweet Fist turned Bradley Brown into a mystic. A camera in Gamma Base had captured the moment, and the video has been shown countless times over Nexus since.

“Chances of that are good,” Lady Cauldron replied. “After he created that new mystic, Sweet Fist conferred with the Old Man for a long time.”

“What about getting it from the source?” Madam Quasar pointed at the screen showing Sweet Fist. “Why ask the Old Man when we can get the information from Sweet Fist directly?”

“Villains are not allowed on Overlook Station.” Brother Day immediately objected. The mage’s hatred for villains was well-known, and he seems to have an extreme dislike of Sweet Fist despite never meeting him. According to Brother Day, Sweet Fist gives him a bad feeling.

“So we go down and talk to him. The man did make a point of saying he is willing to trade for information.” Lady Cauldron suggested.

It was a sensible suggestion. When he confronted Sweet Fist and the Old Man during the briefing, the two old mystics did not hide the fact they were exchanging information and had practically announced it to the public. However, Moon Protector saw one big problem with that idea and he was not the only one who saw it.

“We have nothing to trade.” Waveman said with a shake of his head. “Sweet Fist was willing to trade his mystic knowledge in exchange for the Old Man’s mystic knowledge. We don’t really have a lot of that.”

“What about the third mystic? The one Sweet Fist made at Glowing Falls.” Madam Quasar asked. “Maybe he will be willing to talk.”

Moon Protector had to admit that was a good idea. The group looked at each other, each wondering about the feasibility of the idea. Moon Protector brought up the information of the man and was reading it when Wild Potion spoke.

“The boy was Sweet Fist’s man even before he became a mystic. It seems unlikely that he will betray Sweet Fist now.”

“True, but it’s worth a try. It does state in his record that Bradley Brown flunked out of a hero academy. That means he wanted to be a hero once. Let’s offer him a chance to make his dream come true.”

“You want to make him a hero?” Brother Day asked Moon Protector with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s not a real villain. His record is filled with petty crimes. We had offered villain support with far worse record than him that chance before.”

The group looked at Wild Potion who nodded after a moment of indecision. “I’ll get someone on it, though I’m not sure how effective it will be. Sweet Fist had quite a reputation while in prison, and he has been living up to it since his release.”

“You don’t think villains will betray other villains?” Brother Day sneered.

“I am saying Sweet Fist is a ruthless old-school villain. We can only hope the boy is dumb enough to betray him.”