The force of the blow sent me reeling, a cosmic punch to the gut. I stumbled back, my vision swimming momentarily. Before me stood…it. The Mega Nomu Luther had unleashed. It was a Frankenstein's monster of stolen power, a grotesque tapestry woven from the captured abilities of heroes I knew—heroes I now realized had simply vanished.
That's where they went. Luther…he'd been kidnapping them, and civilians too, using them as raw material for this…thing.
Purple skin stretched taut over bulging muscles. Red eyes, burning with malice, scanned the room. Black fangs, longer than my hand, dripped with an unidentifiable fluid. A jagged scar bisected its face, a permanent reminder of its creation. It towered, easily over 24 feet tall, dwarfing even Mt. Lady in her giantess form.
Around me, the other Heroes stirred, a collective gasp of disbelief and dawning horror. We tried to move, to coordinate, to bring down this behemoth, but it was too strong. Each movement was sluggish, each step heavy and leaden. Fear, icy and sharp, pierced through my resolve.
I glanced towards the back of the warehouse. They were still tied to the chairs. I ripped through the restraints binding Peter and Amy. "Get out of here! Hide!" I barked at Amy, pointing towards a maze of stacked crates. She didn't hesitate, sprinting away. Peter gripped my arm. "Be careful, Anos!"
"Always am."
The others had engaged the smaller villains now--joker, doctor doom, loki, hela, and venom. But they were faster, stronger than they should be. I realized why. Quirk enhancement drugs. From Japan? How the hell did they get here? And why London? Most of us were from America, or at least based there.
The Nomu roared, a sound that vibrated through my bones, and began tearing through the warehouse. Crates shattered, steel buckled, concrete cracked. Every swing of its massive arm was an earthquake. This wasn't a battle; it was a demolition derby, and we were the crash test dummies.
I tried to freeze it with my powers, focusing all my energy, but the Nomu swatted me away like a bothersome fly. My body slammed against a metal beam, and pain bloomed in my side. I gasped, struggling to my feet. The other heroes fared no better, their attacks deflected, absorbed, or simply ignored. We were useless against this thing.
Fine, focusing on the smaller villains. Each punch I threw was met with bone crushing force. These villains were quirk enhanced and it showed. Every move was strategic and powerful, this was not there normal strength.
I finally forced some distance, a searing question burning through me. "Luther! Why are you doing this?!"
He laughed, a high-pitched, manic cackle that echoed through the chaos. "Power, hero! Control! Isn't it obvious?"
The same old song and dance. Villainy 101. But beneath the surface bravado in his eyes was another. He wanted revenge on me. He wanted to see me fail. That...was normal too. Everything with me was normal.
He grinned, a flash of teeth in the dim light. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the villains vanished. Gone. The Nomu remained, but Luther was gone, and so were his cronies
I looked around. The damage was catastrophic. Everything was shredded, pulverized, and destroyed. The others were helping each other, a grim tableau of pain and resilience. I stumbled deeper into the warehouse, driven by a sense of dread.
And there they were. Civilians, heroes, all bound and beaten. Japanese. Kidnapped. Bloodied, bruised, and unconscious. My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat.
I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling, and dialed Dad. He answered on the second ring. "Dad, it's me. We need immediate assistance. London, warehouse district. Multiple casualties, possible quirk enhancement drugs involved. And…we need you to contact the Japanese hero association."
He didn't ask questions, just barked orders. "I'm on my way with a rescue squad. You stay put, Anos."
"Can't." I replied, already turning away. "I'm going after it."
"Anos, damn it…"
"I have to, Dad. This is just the beginning." I hung up, ignoring the protest in his voice. He knew me. He knew I wouldn't back down.
I left the warehouse as the first sirens wailed in the distance. The other heros stood outside, faces grim. "Meeting. Now," Hulk rumbled, his voice resonating with barely contained rage.
We had to salvage the damage, contain the situation. But more than that, we had to figure out what was coming. This felt bigger than Luther, bigger than anything we'd faced before.