As He Wills It

  Dreamstress' eyes sparkled vividly with life, a wide giddy grin spread on her face from ear to ear, her feet kicking behind her as she lay on her stomach on her bed, giggling uncontrollably as she held her tablet and stared at the returned-to-normal screen with dilated puppy eyes. “Hmhmhmhm~ Those monsters sure know how to make an entrance~” she chuckled to herself, getting up from her bed with a hop and doing some quick whimsical stretches before beginning to head out with renewed energy. Oh FINALLY!!~ This is what you were saving up just for me isn’t it?~ Oh my oh my, how audacious~ I wonder what else my beloved has got in store for lil ol’ me~ She thought excitedly in deep delusion, exiting her room and trailing her fingers across the walls of her mansion as she casually went down the stairs with a renewed pep in her step. Oh how I love that- that thing!!~ She sighed dreamily and exited the building itself, staring at the emotionless guards positioned at the entrance as she stepped out onto the very edge of the Sahara desert. That reminds me. She frowned in annoyance and closed her eyes, visualising and counting all the heartbeats around the mansion. Sixteen in total. Yep, that’s all my cannon fodder- I mean bodyguards accounted for~ She opened her eyes and smirked, looking at one of the two guards positioned at the sides of the main entrance and tilting her head before giving the glassy-eyed woman a tentative flick on the forehead. The bodyguard didn’t react at all despite the small trickle of blood emerging from the wound on her forehead, her eyes completely glazed over as she maintained her stance firmly. Number Three had a very particular deal with the people she employed as bodyguards; she would rob them of all emotion and imbue in them a sentiment of complete obedience and loyalty to her during their work hours, and subsequently erase all memory of their time there once they went back home - plus of course the insanely high pay. It was a win-win in her eyes, and the people working for her seldom quit or complained about it. It’s simply logical, isn’t it? Of course I wouldn’t want anybody spying on me.

  Her eyes scanned the environment and she took a deep breath, stretching her arms once more and straightening her back, closing one of her eyes as the other glowed with energy, the colors within them meshing with each other lazily. She then began to walk towards her left, doing light hops as she wandered about towards her private airfield where her private jet would be waiting for her. Ahh, it’s really been a while since I got to take this little thing for a ride, eh? All I’ve been doing lately is using cars or Warpbreakers’ portals. She mumbled something to herself inaudibly as she finally stopped right outside the plane’s door, her hand slowly reaching for the lever on its side that would make the stairs come down for her. But then just as she was about to touch the metal, her arm froze in place, her irises suddenly igniting in light and she turned her head sideways, her left eye glaring behind her and at the man who had been following her since she left the mansion. The man spoke, his hands in his pockets lazily and his eyes devoid of light as he stared down at the Celestial, standing about fifty meters away from her, “Where are you going, Michaela?” His question was blunt, and his voice betrayed no emotion. Dreamstress sighed, retracting her hand from where it was stretched towards the jet and turned around to face the man, her expression one of tedium and perhaps even disgust. “Oh, it’s you~,” she muttered lifelessly, “What are you doing here, Destructor? Isn’t it a bit late to say ‘sorry’ for betrayin’ us? Not that I’d care either wa~y, seeing as I was ranked above you even before you defected. Oh and good job on disguising yourself as one of my bodyguards, I only noticed someone had been replaced when you started following me~!”

  Miguel continued to stare down at her without moving an inch, his amber eyes only glowing the lightest amount, speaking once more, “I asked you a question.” Three’s face contorted in annoyance at his words, sticking her hands on her hips and leaning forwards towards him, her eyes scanning him up and down slowly before she finally answered his question, “Fine, mister former Celestial. I’m going to Denmark and give that little message from a couple of minutes ago the benefit of the doubt, y’know? I’m being proactive~!” she answered, sticking out her tongue a little like a child would, grinning playfully while closing her eyes to conceal the flash of light that would be flowing out of them while she spoke. Really? Did it HAVE to be Miguel of all people?? Michaela thought to herself venomously, concealing it behind her innocent grin. Well, it’s okie-dokie. I’ll just give him a small dose of trust in my words and he should get off my ba~ck. He isn’t the kind of man who would target me if he thinks I’m doing a good thing. But then her hopes were instantly dashed when Miguel lifted one of his feet and smashed it against the ground of the runway hard enough to crack the concrete with a booming sound, making Dreamstress’ eyes fling open in surprise. “You’re lying,” Miguel answered calmly, his eyes beginning to glow more potently, “You think that after all these years I’d forget the feeling of your power trying to pull wool over my eyes? I can tell that my trust in you has been artificially raised.” That’s the worst part. The rebel thought internally, his mind contorting in on itself. I really do believe her, even if I KNOW she’s lying. If I wasn’t already familiar with this feeling I would have just walked away.

  Michaela’s mood soured, her eyes narrowing as she assumed an upright position, her face contorting in mild displeasure while her previous attitude vanished. “I was hoping that would be the case, if I’m honest. You really want to do it the hard way~? Fine~ So be it. Get out of my way, tha~nks,” Three stated with a malicious smile, her eyes pulsing with multicolored light while swishing her arm to the side, as if shooing the rebel away while a single drop of blood ran down from her nose. I hate having to put in effort. She complained internally. Destructor’s eyes promptly glazed over and lost their light, his head bowing as he began to take various steps backwards, complying with the orders given to him. Michaela stared at her enemy for a couple of seconds, as if to ensure that he really was under the influence of her power before turning around to face her gold plated jet with a satisfied smirk. She once more extended her arm towards the lever on the side of the machine, her hand gripping the object before a voice once more rose from behind her, making her freeze on the spot for a second time as her eyes widened in alarm and her smirk disappeared. “You didn’t answer my question, Michaela. Not honestly, at least. Where are you going?” Miguel calmly demanded to know once more, having not moved beyond the couple of steps that Three had personally witnessed, his arms still crossed, a drop of his own blood now running down his nose. Dreamstress hesitated, her eyes quickly re-narrowing as she got a handle on her emotions, her grip on the lever getting so tight that the metal bent around her fingers. She answered after only a short pause, her eyes glowing so potently that the part of the jet directly in front of her was reflecting the pink and light purple colors, “I’m going to Iceland to kill the first monster I see. Happy now? I don’t understand how you’re doing thi~s, but, being straight with you, if you keep it up I’m going to kill you,” she growled, her eyes darting to the side so she could keep Destructor in her peripheral vision.

  The rebel stood there for the next couple of seconds, his amber eyes semi-closed, pondering Michaela’s words and prodding around inside his head for any sign that she had messed with him any further. He answered once he realised that she really was being genuine this time, “I see you’re still as crazy as when I was a Celestial. Why would you do that? You know for a fact that that message was real, I know you do,” he called out, his voice only betraying a minor hint of displeasure. He lifted up his chin slightly to have a better look at the world’s most beautiful woman, although he did so without an ounce of lust in his glare, “Shouldn’t you be doing everything in your power to make sure that the week-long truce is used as best as possible?” he finished with yet another question, further annoying the Celestial. Michaela harrumphed, letting go of the lever to turn around to look at Miguel once more, taking a step towards him while her eyes shone in a brilliant psychotic light, adopting her signature playful yet innocent smile out of nowhere. She only answered once she had taken a couple of seconds to really scan her opponent up and down, trying to figure out how he had resisted her previous order and coming up blank, “That’s what pretty much every other Celestial would be doing right about now, sure, true! But not me~! You see, my personal agenda would benefit a teeny tiny bit from the global panic that this war’s gonna inevitably bring. Therefore, it’s only natural that I’d want to fast forward to it, riiiiight~?”

  Destructor’s eyes widened slightly at these words, pondering them as she continued to approach him step after deliberate step. She didn’t use her power on me this time either. He reflected. I can’t sense any strange artificial emotions within me. Still, she could just lie while not using her power like a regular person would. And indeed she had just utterly lied. She continued to grin unnaturally as she closed the distance between them slowly, her own head swimming in her surprisingly extremely calm and collected thoughts. Kronos… Why did you put Miguel in my path like this? He can’t stop me. No one can stop me. No one but you, of course~ Dreamstress’ long hair swished from side to side behind her along with her hips, having practiced the red carpet walk so thoroughly that her body followed its rhythm by muscle memory. Is this a trial? Are you testing me right now, Kronos? You made this war happen, I already know that much. You want it to happen as soon as possible, right? My hunch must have been correct, then~!! You want me to- no, you NEED me to start it for you~ Fine, dear, I guess I’ll just have to wipe away this traitor for good. The fourth most powerful creature in the world only stopped once the distance between the two old comrades was a mere three steps, her eyes closing as she tilted her head and stuck out her tongue a little, “Right~?” she asked once again. Destructor’s fist slammed against her face almost immediately after this, his knuckles digging into her skull and fracturing it slightly, a loud booming sound reverberating through the air from the sheer force of the impact as the hero was sent flying backwards through the air before slamming against the wall of her mansion and causing it to crumble all around her like she had crashed against glass. “Sorry, Michaela,” Miguel grumbled, cracking his knuckles as his eyes began to glow softly with amber light, “But even if I believed you, no justification would be enough.”

  A few seconds passed of eerie silence following the punch, Destructor remained still where he had delivered the hit with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, staring intently at the hole in the wall of the mansion for any sign of life. None of the guards moved or even reacted to the incredibly loud noise and property damage that had just been wrought, and no other humans or even animals lived anywhere near this place, so it really gave Miguel the impression that he was standing in the middle of an abandoned cemetery. That was, at least, until the rubble began to move and Michaela slowly rose among the dust floating around the air, the light coming out of her eyes illuminating the dust around her, a thick trickle of blood running down from her forehead and another from the edge of her mouth. Destructor unfurled her arms, slowly getting into a fighting position, his eyes widening ever so slightly upon witnessing just how little damage Michaela had actually sustained. I hit her pretty damn hard, too. He thought in slight surprise. I was barely using my power, but still. She’s no joke, as expected. Michaela’s mouth slowly began to twist maliciously into a wide grin that did an awful job at hiding how angered she was, the whites of her eyes bloodshot, “What’s the big idea, Destructor, old friend?! I was planning on being nice and letting you off for old time’s sake!! All you had to do was be a good boy and do as you were told, but you just threw my generosity away. Now look at what you’re making me do!” she grumbled, stepping over the rubble and finally emerging from the cloud of dust. She had spoken in a way that made it clear that she had no intention of actually implementing any sort of blame shifting or manipulation, and was merely speaking like that out of habit. Miguel raised an eyebrow, but otherwise remained still, “You know, you were one of the few Celestials I genuinely thought was rather bearable. It’s sort of saddening that you want millions to die.”

  Michaela chortled, her voice coming out as a bit harsh and almost coughing-like. She pressed her thumb against one of her nostrils and exhaled hard, causing a bit of blood to come out of her nose, before doing the same with her other hand on her other nostril. She then interlocked her fingers and raised her hands into the air, stretching a bit, giggling slightly, “You misunderstand. I don’t want to kill millions. I’m merely… following the script, you know? Ah, you wouldn’t really get it, though. Well, that’s good and all~ Kill yourself, Destructor,” Dreamstress ordered with a swish of her hands, her eyes flashing with malevolent energy. Immediately, Miguel’s eyes glazed over lifelessly and he threw a wild punch straight at his throat, aiming to crush it completely at the behest of the heroine. At the very last moment, however, right before his throat was caved in by his own hand, energy sparked back into Destructor’s and he managed to divert his fist ever so slightly with grit teeth - his knuckles connecting with his chin instead. The impact was followed by a painful cracking sound, his head being forcibly swung to the side by the hit, dislocating his jaw entirely and nearly snapping his neck. Miguel’s eyes, now with renewed energy within them, darted away from his fist and towards Michaela as he was forced to take a step back, his face contorted into an angered frown while grabbing his dislocated jaw with his other hand, “You are truly as mad as I remember you, old friend. You really have absolutely no remorse, do you? I, too, was planning on being nice, but you leave me no option either. If you won’t even tell me why you do this then I’ll have no choice but to assume you’re a mere sadist who enjoys suffering, you know,” he hissed and snapped his jaw back into place, subsequently spitting out blood.

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  Three’s eyes widened slightly at this, having half-expected the fight to end right then and there with Miguel crushing his own neck, but then her eyes quickly narrowed back down as she got into a fighting position, lowering herself close to the floor and leaping forward, closing the distance between the two enemies in the blink of an eye. She took the time to answer the has-been Celestial as the palm of her hand covered his face in the blink of an eye and her claw-like nails gripped the side of his jawline, slashing them across his face ruthlessly as she flew past him with speed that shouldn’t be possible for someone whose power was supposedly mind control, “Come on, Miguel. Is there any point to this conversation at all? We all know how everything ends, don’t we?” she asked mockingly as she landed back on the ground in a crouching position a couple of meters away from Destructor, blood suddenly spraying out from the diagonal lines traced by her claws. Michaela rose up, turning her head to the side to observe Destructor while shaking her hand to get the blood off her nails, “I’m beginning to think I’m the only sane person on this earth. Do you really believe in free will, Miguel, when he exists?! He who tramples on human dignity like it’s nothing, all because of his mere existence. I hate it! I hate him!! With every damned fiber of my being, too. You ask me why I’m doing this?! It’s the same fucking reason I do anything at all. It’s just me lashing out at fate - at Kronos - nothing more and nothing less. He sent you here, even if you yourself don’t realise it, to stop me from accelerating this war, didn’t he? And I won’t let him!!” Dreamstress growled, baring her teeth for once as she seemingly revealed her cards and motivation to Destructor, laying bare with pure and utter venom in her voice her disdain for Kronos and everything he stood for. And she, once again, had blatantly and unapologetically lied about everything.

  The rebel raised a hand to his face and wiped it with a single movement, making blood fly off his face and splatter the ground nearby before turning around to face the hero with a smoldering scowl. The wounds over his face had been shallow, and the bleeding flowing from the four scratch lines running along his face was already beginning to subside. His irises were brimming with a blinding amber light, his body contorting and the muscles all over his body convulsing slightly as if he had worms crawling under his skin, making for a rather gruesome sight. Michaela merely watched unimpressed, her eyes gliding over Miguel’s body before rising up so that their eyes met. Destructor raised an arm towards her, pointing a finger directly at her forehead, “You are a fool and a disgrace, Dreamstress. Your obsession with Kronos was always pathetic to look at, even from the perspective of someone who could watch it from up close. Just because he might be influencing the way the world spins, doesn’t mean you’re allowed to start a slaughter in the name of opposing him. I will continue to act on my convictions, and I will continue to follow my own will no matter what. I don’t care if Kevin is somewhere in the shadows pulling the strings like you say he is; at least I will act to do what I believe is best here and always, while your only motivation is apparently being petty.” Three grimaced at these words, her stomach churning in genuine frustration, putting her arms to her sides as she too turned around to meet the former Celestial face to face, her claws bared. “You don’t understand, again,” she hissed, “I don’t care what you think I’m allowed or not allowed to do. The only person on this damned planet who can dictate that is Kronos, and only then because his power makes him a god. Is it not my duty as a human to rebel against god?” And with that final sentence it became obvious to both of them that conflict was truly inevitable. Neither of them would budge, not willingly at least, and that fact had become crystal clear.

  “That’s it, then. You really are as self serving as always,” Miguel sighed, suddenly breaking into a sprint as he barrelled towards the hero, an arm raised and poised to strike. He was surprisingly fast for someone of his size and build, crossing the distance between them in a split second, his punch aiming right for the center of the hero’s face. Michaela’s eyes narrowed, her feet swishing in a backwards half-moon arc at the very last moment as she moved her body sideways, the punch narrowly grazing her nose as Destructor flew past her and slammed his fist into the ground with a destructive boom, leaving a crater where he had impacted. Really, old friend? You still aren’t using your power? I feel insulted. Michaela surmised, once more her face breaking into an apathetic grin. “Fear me,” Michaela ordered, her flowing irises flashing with energy, the rebel’s body instantly stiffening as he was in the process of getting back up, his eyes glued to the floor. The Celestial smirked, stepping over to her enemy as he remained still with his knees on the ground, paralysed in irreconcilable terror while cold sweat ran down his face. Dreamstress stopped once she was standing right in front of his head, having circled around him, “If you aren’t going to use your power then I’ll just take the free win, y’know~” she hummed in a sing-song manner as she slowly and deliberately began to raise her foot into the air. Miguel managed to just barely move his head up and stare at Michaela in spite of the overwhelming weakness currently gripping his entire body, Dreamstress showing off her inhuman flexibility as her foot reached a perfectly vertical height. That’s… A guillotine. The ex-hero realised, his throat closing up right as the Celestial brought down her heel with the full intent of chopping Miguel’s head in half like one would a fruit. But then, right as her talon was about to reach Destructor’s cranium, she lost her balance, causing her to tumble unexpectedly. “Eh…?!” she wondered out loud as she fell in seemingly slow motion, turning her gaze as she noticed one of the rebel’s hands wrapped around her other ankle, with him pulling it towards himself.

  “But how-?! How do you keep defying me?! Answer me!!” she demanded to know, her voice full of genuine confusion, her eyes darting towards her still kneeling opponent as her head finally hit the ground, dust flying off around her. Destructor slowly got to his feet while still not letting go of Michaela, his face contorted in anger and displeasure, a second trickle of blood beginning to come out of his other nostril, suddenly pulling her towards him and causing her to scrape painfully against the asphalt floor. Dreamstress tsk’d, seemingly pretty unbothered by being dragged across the ground, her eyes igniting with light. Destructor was suddenly enveloped by an irresistible desire to be honest with Michaela, a feeling which he was fully aware was fake and yet couldn’t help but follow. Your power is truly disgustingly unfair. He thought in frustration as he finally answered the curious Celestial’s question, “It's simple, you mad bitch. I AM using my power, idiot,” he answered, taking the opportunity to suddenly swing Michaela over his head in as wide an arc as he could before letting go once the semi-circle was about to finish. Dreamstress’ eyes widened in surprise at her opponent’s counterattack, having once again assumed he would be defenseless towards her ability, “You’re- WHAT?!” and then she hit the ground with surprising force, her pupils shaking violently as her ears began to ring, her entire being quite literally bouncing off the concrete as if she was made of rubber, becoming airborne once more. He’s using his power?? But he so obviously isn’t! And yet- My power is absolute. He spoke the truth. But how-?! She forced her body to stop feeling the pain from the impact in an instant, her eyes re-focusing as they went from violently shaking and unfocused to narrowed and sharp like a cat’s, swiftly turning towards Destructor to observe him more closely. The muscles all over Miguel’s body were contorting and convulsing in unnatural ways, his entire body wriggling in a manner that could only be called disgusting. Michaela grit her teeth, realization dawning on her while twisting her body mid-air in order to land on her feet as gracefully as possible - only for the rebel to suddenly appear besides her with unnatural speed right as she was about to land on the floor, a fist flying directly into her face from above which slammed her against the floor with such power that the asphalt was deformed into leaving a hole that perfectly matched Three’s head shape.

  “GAH-!!” Michaela exclaimed, her hands extending to her sides to grip the floor from under her and push herself off the ground before Destructor could continue to relentlessly pummel her. She jumped backwards as soon as she was on her feet without bothering to ascertain the position of her enemy first, which ended up being the correct choice seeing as Miguel’s punch caved the asphalt even further right where her head had been a mere couple of seconds prior. Miguel’s eyes darted over to Dreamstress the moment he realised his attack had failed to land, the amber glow coming off them acting almost like a searchlight as the hero continued to take various backwards hops, her teeth gritting. “You have new tricks!!” Michaela exclaimed, her voice coming out as amused and playful, despite her twisted expression betraying the depths of her anger, “How does this shiny new toy of yours work, Destructor?! Answer me!” Miguel’s entire body shook for a split moment as he was overcome by Three’s power, only to shrug it off soon thereafter and begin to pursue his prey by leaping off the floor with such force that it cracked under his feet. Michaela grit her teeth, turning around to face away from the rebel as she landed after one of her hops, breaking into a full on sprint as the world around her began to blur. I can’t afford to keep him in my sights if I want to outspeed him… Damn you, Kronos! Fine!! I guess I can’t call it a proper trial unless it was actually challenging~ But seriously? Miguel of all damned people?! “To answer your question…” Destructor suddenly began to respond, his voice coming out as strained, clearly speaking against his own will, “I’m simply making all mass growth be converted to density instead of volume.”

  Miguel, aka Destructor. He used to be a Celestial until he betrayed the World State to join the Rebellion after the Soothsayer Incident. His power? Everyone assumed it was that he could simply become a giant at will, acquiring the strength and power that would logically come from this transformation. It was really quite a simple power, despite the immense strength it could grant. But only now did Michaela realise how dead wrong they had been all along, of course. His power isn’t to just become big, it’s to generate mass within himself at will - only he used to only use it to add more volume to his body. But it seems he has learned a way to store up all his mass within the same volume instead, keeping his size the same!! All just to counter lil ol’ me’s fighting style?~ You really know how to make a girl feel extra special, don’t you Migueeee~l?? Too bad I love someone else already~ Michaela suddenly stopped in her tracks, slamming one of her feet on the ground right as she landed after a jump, digging her talon into the asphalt in order to get a good grip as she used the momentum to twist around and face Destructor in a split second, her claw-like nails poised to strike. Miguel’s eyes widened for a moment as he put himself in a defensive position, still flying through the air towards the hero and unable to stop his movement. “UNGUARD!!” Dreamstress ordered, jumping off the ground to meet him head on and swiping directly for his face. Destructor grit his teeth and parted his arms right in time for Michaela’s nails to dig into his cheek and her palm to wrap around his face for a second time, dragging him along with her on her flight path before slamming him into the floor with intense power. “How’s it feel to be on the receiving end, old friend~?” Three goaded with a false smirk, one which was wiped clean off her face when Miguel suddenly rose up from the dust cloud far faster than the hero could have ever predicted, a punch suddenly slamming right into her ribcage which sent her tumbling backwards like some sort of tumbleweed, spit and blood flying off her mouth while her eyes bulged in shock. “I could ask you the same thing, Celestial,” Destructor grumbled, a few trickles of blood running down his cheek from where Michaela’s claws had pierced.

  Number Three’s power, Psychogenesis, was one of those few powers that affected not the surroundings, but rather people themselves. It was also one that could easily be confused for mind control the same way Immortalis’ Everliving could be easily confused for rapid regeneration. Alas, however, that is not how her ability functioned at a fundamental level; it is nothing as ridiculous as forcefully wresting control of a target’s mind, leaving room for them to fight and wrestle control back. Her power wasn’t something that a simple difference in force of will could overcome, or else she would have died many times by now at the hands of incredibly strong willed opponents that made the mistake of thinking this way. Her real power came in the shape of two distinct yet also complementary abilities; total control of the endocrine system and the ability to spark small amounts of electricity within the brains of her targets. If she were to order you to “drop your weapon and stop resisting” the order of events would be thus; a spark of electricity would fire inside your brain, forcing you to open your hand and drop whatever you were holding, and subsequently your body would be flooded with the specific hormonal cocktail necessary for you to feel an irrefutable sense of submission towards her, ensuring the second part of her order. There exists no orthodox counteraction, no way, shape, or form to stop her. Hers was an existence truly deserving of being Number Three of the Celestials, a sheer force of nature that in any other era would reign undisputedly supreme at the peak of the world. And yet, despite this, at that very moment… She was facing her natural predator.