Episode 10: Shadows in Paradise
The riverside park in Rhino Valley was cordoned off by emergency services within the hour. The crew slipped away under Nathan's illusions before the real authorities arrived, following Devonte through winding backstreets and hidden park trails.
Devonte's safehouse was a spacious loft above an old record store in the quieter arts district. Vinyl covers lined the walls, and the scent of incense and coffee replaced the usual mildew and gun oil the crew had grown used to.
"This place is wired with a few tricks I picked up from some off-grid Glimmer runners," Devonte explained as he locked the reinforced door. "Signal jammers, false identities in the building's system. Should buy us a night or two."
Kevin dropped onto a worn couch, the Mythical Matrix's circuits dim but still faintly glowing. His body ached from the fight with Gillan Dahmer. "They're turning innocent people into disposable weapons… just to get to me."
Wyatt sat beside him, wrapping a bandage around his burned arm. "It's not your fault, Kev. The Pillar's desperate."
Peter leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his super durability letting him shrug off the worst of the damage. "Desperate means sloppy. We use that."
Nathan was quiet, staring out the window at the glittering city skyline. Devonte placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder.
"You good, Nate?"
"Not really," Nathan admitted. "Gillan said there are more batches coming. If they're flooding the city with potion-born hunters…"
A heavy silence fell.
Derek (Volt) was tinkering with a small device at the table, blue sparks dancing between his fingers. "I can try to tap into the city's power grid. Look for unusual Glimmer spikes."
Ferrum Ironfist stood like a statue near the door, his armored presence making the loft feel smaller. "In my timeline, this is how it started. The Pillar creates an army of broken souls, then opens the Garden. Everything ends in hunger."
Devonte pulled out a hidden laptop and started typing. "I've been tracking weird shipments into Rhino Valley for weeks. Crates labeled 'medical supplies' coming from East Hollow. Probably the potion ingredients."
Midnight – Rooftop Overlook
Kevin couldn't sleep. He stood on the roof of the record store, wind whipping through his hoodie, staring at the peaceful lights of Rhino Valley. The Rampager mantle felt heavier, like it was pressing him toward something inevitable.
Footsteps approached. It was Devonte.
"My cousin says you didn't want any of this," Devonte said, offering Kevin a soda. "But you're carrying it anyway. That takes guts."
Kevin took the can but didn't open it. "Every time I use this power, it feels less like mine. Like the Rampager wants to break everything."
Before Devonte could reply, the night shattered.
Multiple rifts of unstable white-blue energy opened across several rooftops. Out poured a new wave of potion-born hunters — at least a dozen this time. These ones were stronger, more stable than the park batch. Their bodies glowed with forced Glimmer mutations: one with bladed tentacles, another whose skin had turned to living glass, and a third that floated with telekinetic fury.
Leading them was a hooded lieutenant of Gillan Dahmer — a woman with pale skin and glowing veins, holding a fresh vial of shimmering potion.
"The Pillar's will be done!" she screamed. "Bring us the Rampager's heart!"
The attack hit hard and fast.
Kevin activated the Rampager mantle, circuits blazing bright white-blue across his chest and arms. He leaped from the roof, slamming into the lead hunter with a destructive shockwave that cratered the street below.
The crew mobilized instantly.
Peter charged out of the loft like a battering ram, his super durability letting him tank glass shards and telekinetic slams. "Come on, you fake-ass monsters!"
Nathan created a massive illusion field across the district, making entire buildings appear to shift and confusing the potion-born. Devonte surprised everyone by revealing his own minor Glimmer — Echo Pulse — sending disorienting sound waves that disrupted the enemies' coordination.
Derek and Ferrum worked in deadly sync: Volt supercharging iron constructs that Ironfist launched like guided missiles.
Wyatt stayed close to Kevin, pipe now reinforced with scrap metal from Ferrum. "We got you, man!"
The battle raged across rooftops and streets. Kevin moved like a storm of destruction, shattering potion-born one after another. But the new batch was tougher — they adapted, healing minor wounds with unstable energy.
The female lieutenant drank her own potion mid-fight. Her body elongated horrifically as she grew six extra bladed arms. She lunged at Kevin, screaming.
"You will open the Garden for us!"
Kevin roared and met her head-on. The Rampager mantle surged violently. For a terrifying moment, his eyes glowed pure white-blue. He grabbed two of her bladed arms and shattered them with raw kinetic force, then drove a devastating palm strike into her chest.
The lieutenant exploded in a burst of unstable Glimmer essence.
As the last of the hunters fell, the crew regrouped, breathing hard. But Devonte suddenly pointed toward the river.
White-blue lights were rising again — larger this time. Pillar enforcers, drawn by the massive fight.
And in the distance, a familiar sickly-sweet scent mixed with chaotic laughter echoed faintly.
Applehead? Or something worse?
Nathan's face went pale. "They're not just hunting us anymore. They're turning the whole city into a trap."
Kevin clenched his glowing fists. The Mythical Matrix burned with purpose and fear.
Rhino Valley's beauty was about to be stained with war.
End of Episode 10