The Second Archon War: Lord Mushu

The world swam for a moment, and Kenta felt strangely lightheaded. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in darkness. He blinked a few times, looking around. What had just happened? 

<It was those damn kids, Great Lung. Please, it wasn’t my fault! I can still be useful to you!> 

There was a man on his knees, a bunch of thugs with guns standing around him. Most were young men, with tattoos visible on their skin, as well as an assortment of guns and crude weapons. They were also all universally filthy, which made Kenta wrinkle hise nose. 

“Alright,” Kenta said slowly looking around. “Ya punks got about ten seconds to explain to me just what the fuck is goin’ on.”

<It was Chen, Great Lung! He is a disgrace to the Azn Bad Boys!> another of the punks said, his voice sounding tough, but Kenta could hear the squeak of fear in his words. 

“Great Lung? You talkin’ to me?” Kenta demanded, frowning at those around him. They were speaking Chinese. Why the fuck was he in China? Was he in Hong Kong again? This didn’t smell like Hong Kong. That Commie Keqing might be a wacko, but she at least knew the importance of keeping the streets clean.

The toughs eyed Kenta strangely, but they were obviously frightened of him. Well good. At least they had some sense. 

<Uh, yes, Great Lung. You called us hear to punish Chen and then deal with those punks calling themselves the Undersiders. They will learn the price of defying the ABB!> another punk said. He had a bandana covering his face like he was some sort of gangbanger. Sheesh. Kenta thought he’d run all those off a long time ago. 

“I ain’t gone by Lung in a long damn time. It’s Mushu now, ya idiots. Now, what the fuck is-” Kenta paused and slapped at a hornet that had just flown up and tried to sting him. “Damn insects. Now, what are ya morons-”

An entire swarm of biting insects and a carpet of spiders rushed at the gangsters, and at Kenta. He immediately detected they were possessed by a demon, and not one that had been properly exorcised neither. 

“Oh for Eternity’s sake!” Kenta snarled, turning about. He breathed out, Electro crackling in the air and easily frying the bugs. “Right. You idiots stay right here. Don’t run, you’ll just die tired. Someone just got cute.” 

He didn’t bother transforming; instead he turned and strode towards the building where he could smell the demonic stench coming from. This was a fairly powerful demon, though its host seemed rather inexperienced or just plain dumb. Attacking a dragon with insects? Please. 

More insects and spiders buzzed at Kenta in a massive swarm, but he just snarled at them. The cloud of Electro that engulfed them easily turned them into charred ash that blew away on the faint breeze. There was movement on top of the building, and Kenta sighed. The idiot was running. 

He lept up, using Electro to boost his muscles, and landed on the roof. A slender figure in a black body suit was booking it away from him, summoning more insects. 

“Don’t bother running. Iffin ya surrender now, I promise not to eat ya,” Kenta called. But the fleeing figure just put on another burst of speed. 

“Well, I tried,” Kenta muttered, sending another crackling cloud to deal with the bugs. He turned into a bolt of lightning for an instant, appearing in front of the small figure. He reached out a single hand, grabbing them by the throat, and lifting them up of their feet, which kicked wildly, trying to hit Kenta in the chest. The hands tried to use a thump lock to loose Kenta’s grip, but they were no Brute, so it barely even registered. 

“Alright, let’s see who ya are,” Kenta growled, using his other hand to rip off the mask. It was surprisingly durable for what looked like silk, but it still ripped under his grasp. He started, seeing the frightened face of a young girl, about Ami’s age, actually, looking back at him. 

“A kid?” Kenta said. He sighed. “I ain’t killin’ no kid. Alright. Don’t try and run, and don’t send no more bugs after me neither. Bad for the environment if I gotta fry all the insect life, ya see. Now. I’m gonna set you down, and you’re gonna do the smart thing, and listen for a bit. Then we're gonna have a nice talk, alright?”

Kenta gently sent the girl down. He’d already loosened his grip, so she could definitely breathe alright. She landed on her rear end with a thump, and Kenta squatted down in front of her. 

“Now. I can smell that yer a parahuman. That’s nice. Do ya know what that means?” Kenta asked in his most fatherly tone. 

The girl glared at him, though she was squinting something fierce. Nearsighted, probably. “I’m not becoming a villain and joining your gang! I’m not even Asian!” she spat. 

He cocked his head to one side. “Gang? Cute. Though that’s a funny thing to call the Tenryou Commission. Don’t see what bein’ Asian has to do with diddly though. However…”

He stroked his face and frowned. He was wearing a mask, which was dead unusual for him. He pulled it off, holding it up and frowning at it. It looked like a dragon mask made of steel, though not a friendly sort of dragon at all. More like something a gangster would wear. He shrugged, and tossed it aside. Whatever. He turned back to the girl. “I get the impression this ain’t Japan. So, kid. Who do you think I am?”

“You’re Lung,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “Leader of the ABB. One of the most powerful capes in Brockton Bay.”

Brockton Bay? Where the hell was that? He’d heard the name before though, but where? Oh, right. That was where Legend hung out these days. And that one girl who’d rekindled a Vision lived. What was her name? 

“Uh huh. Interestin’. I ain’t gone by Lung in a long time, so far as I can recall,” Kenta said, stroking his chin. He frowned. Then looked down at his arm. He started. Tattoos?! He still had some, of course, but his limbs were free of them, seeing as they’d been reforged by Ei. Something weird was going on for certain sure. “Call me Mushu, kid. What’s your name?”

“I haven’t thought of one yet,” the girl muttered, peering at him. “But you’ve seen my face now. That’s against the rules.”

“Rules? Kid, I don’t know what rules you’re talkin’ about. Look, we got off on the wrong foot, I guess. Fine, you can call me Mr. Wang. Now, what’s your name, kid?”

The girl swallowed. “I’m not telling. You’d hurt my dad.”

“If your dad knew you was running about and picking fights with dragons, he might be a tad upset at ya,” Kenta chuckled. “I got a little girl, iffin ya didn’t know it. She’s nine now, makin’ me go bald and stuff. But every time I found out she’s been out with Ami and Clara again, I like to have a heart attack. So, your pops know you're out here?”

Mutely, the girl shook her head, looking a bit pale. “You…you don’t sound like Lung. I didn’t think you spoke English very well.”

“Ha! I don’t. I ain’t speakin’ English, kid. Listen real careful like to what I’m sayin’. You just hear English. I’m speakin’ Japanese,” Kenta said with a chuckle.

“That’s ridiculous, you-” the girl cut off, blinking rapidly. “You…huh. That’s…weird.”

“That’s what us dragons can do. Or didn’t you notice there was five of us now?” Kenta laughed. 

“Uh, no. Um, you’re not actually planning on killing those kids they were talking about earlier, are you?” the girl asked. 

“No, but I do think we need to do somethin’ about you,” Kenta said, pointing to the girl. “‘Cause you just pulled a stupid and put bugs all around us. Cute, but it won’t work.”

She paled slightly the straightened up. “I’ve got black widows, wasps, hornets, bees, all sorts of nastys. Even you aren’t immune to all that.”

“Goddamn conflict drive,” Kenta growled. He grabbed the girl. “Hold still, this won’t hurt ya.”

The girl screamed anyway and the bugs swarmed in, so Kenta did the most expedient thing and transformed. He didn’t get all that big, only about 10 meters long. But he roared in the girl’s face at the same time he launched an attack at the metaphysical level. He’d done this often enough before that it wasn’t that hard. He found her demon easily enough, and grabbed the damn thing. 

SO, YOU LIKE SPIDERS, DO YOU, DEMON? 

The Demon pulsed and writhed, clearly not expecting the attack, especially not from what it had thought was a tiny and insignificant specimen. You’d think the damn things would learn by now. 

WELL. ENJOY BEING A SPIDER. ALWAYS THOUGHT MURASAKI WAS CUTE, AND THIS GIRL COULD USE A FRIEND. 

It took a bit of finagling, but it wasn’t all that hard. He’d done this often enough, and been around Murasaki long enough to see how to rip off a chunk of the demon and remake it. From the outside, it took no time at all, though from Kenta’s perspective he was at it for days of hard work. 

Back in the normal world, the girl stopped screaming, staring up at Kenta in pure shock. 

NOW, CHILD. DO YOU STILL WISH TO FIGHT ME? Kenta rumbled. 

“N-no,” the girl whispered, a single tear tracking down her cheek, her eyes incredibly wide. 

GOOD. Kenta shifted back, standing over the girl and folding his arms. “And as for you. You’re bound to this mortal child now. You must serve her for the rest of her life, and perhaps beyond it. This I charge you with. It is your punishment, for daring to face a dragon.”

“You, what did you do to me?!” a small eight-legged figure demanded, waving two front limps frantically. “I was collecting such wonderful data! She was a perfect specimen! She had already self-ostracised herself! I didn’t enhance her conflict drive at all! She was already driven towards conflict! She would have made such a wonderfully chaotic specimen!” 

The girl slowly turned to look down at the spider, which was about the size of a cat or a small dog now. “You…where did you…?”

“Mistress!” the spider hissed, spinning about. “We must smite this fool! Come, have I not given you enough power already!? Summon the swarm, strike him down for his insolence!”

“You can tell her to shut up, you know. She has to obey you,” Kenta said with wry amusement. 

“Um, be quiet,” the girl said.

The spider huffed and crossed its front legs like arms, obviously fuming, but it listened. It had to. Kenta had gotten the binding right, but he always found it more amusing when the demons were mouthy. This was going to be especially entertaining. 

“Now, let’s try this again. I am Lord Kenta Wang, the Electro Dragon, aspect of the Eternal Guardian,” Kenta declared, folding his own arms over his chest and puffing it out slightly. “What is your name, mortal child?”

“T-Taylor. Taylor Hebert,” the girl said, her eyes looked on the spider. “I…I just wanted to…to be a hero.”

“Well, I suppose you came to the right dragon then,” Kenta chuckled. He knelt down by her. “Go on. Give her a name. She’s yours.”

Taylor turned to frown at Kenta. “You’re not Lung, are you?”

“Well, I said so, didn’t I? No. I’ve not been Lung in a long time. Now, we need to figure out-”

Kenta cut off as the sound of a motorcycle sounded, and then rattling gunfire from those idiots below. “Oh lightning strike them, those morons WOULD go and try an’ shoot someone. Come on, kid. Let’s go sort this out.”

He stomped over to the edge of the roof, Taylor following after with Charlotte perched on her shoulder. The damn idiots from earlier were shooting at a man in armor who was roaring forward on a clearly tinkertech bike, and Kenta sighed. He felt sort of responsible for these idiots, who seemed to think he was Lung, and their boss somehow. So he hopped off the roof, landing amongst them, and ripping a gun out of one’s hands. 

“Will you stop it!? Ain’t no way guns are legal, and ya don’t fight a cape with a damn gun! Are you all stupid?!”

“Uh…Great Lung…no, but…he’s from the Protectorate,” one of the gangbangers said. 

“Great. Just what I needed. Pissing off the damn yanks again,” Kenta growled. He tossed the gun aside as the motorcycle pulled up. “You all sit down, right here. On your hands! Yes, sit on your hands. NOW!”

The gangbangers looked confused, but complied. Nodding in satisfaction, Kenta strode over as the rider dismounted. That suit looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Right, sorry about that, the boys need some reeducation. Don’t suppose there’s a way we can settle this peaceable like?”

“Facial recognition match. I’m taking you in, Lung,” the man said, whipping out a halberd. That, combined with the voice, triggered something.

“Oh come on, Colin! Be reasonable!” Kenta said, spreading his arms wide. “Look, I know that the guns are illegal and stuff, you can take ‘em! I ain’t so sure how I ended up here, but-”

“How do you know my name?” the man growled, then took a swing at Kenta. He didn’t want to mess with whatever tinker tech Colin had stuffed into his weapon, so he drew his katana in a smooth motion and parried. 

“Wadda ya mean, how do I know yer name? Yer datin’ the Dendro Dragon! Hell, you babysat for us that one time when we was at the UN!” Kenta snapped. Then he sniffed the air. Hold on…

“I don’t know where you got that information, Lung, but you will not intimidate me with my identity,” Colin growled, then attacked again.

“I’m startin’ to think this ain’t Earth Bet no more,” Kenta growled, easily parrying the blows. Colin was good, but he hadn’t trained in Origin Bladework with the Narukami Ogosho. “Ya still got yer demon, Colin. Or don’t you even realize that?”

Colin didn’t say much, which was usually something Kenta could respect in a man. But he was getting tired of this. So he ended the fight the easiest way he knew how, and transformed. This time, he didn’t skimp on size. 

I AM THE ETERNAL DRAGON, Lord Mushu rumbled, hovering above Armsmaster as a massive thunderstorm formed above him. He didn’t need to use physical force to pin Colin down, the man’s halberd slipped from nervous fingers as Mushu cranked up his divine aura as far as it would go. FOR WHAT REASON DO YOU ATTACK THE GUARDIAN OF ETERNITY, MORTAL?

“I…I…” Armsmaster gasped, then grabbed his polearm, using it to force himself up. The man had grit, though his demon was also pumping him full of power at the moment. “I am the law in this town, Lung! If you defy the Protectorate, then-”

YOU ARE A GUARDIAN WHO HAS LOST HIS PURPOSE, SEEKING ONLY HIS OWN GLORY. YOU HAVE GIVEN IN TO VENAL DESIRES AND ABANDONED ETERNITY. COLIN WALLIS. I HAVE MEASURED YOUR SOUL, AND YOUR SINS ARE GREAT. WILL YOU ABANDON YOUR DUTY, AND SEEK ONLY YOUR OWN ELEVATION, OR WILL YOU EMBRACE ETERNITY, AND BECOME THE GUARDIAN FATE MEANT YOU TO BE?

“I…” Collin shuddered, then raised his halberd. “This is my city, dragon! I will protect these people! Even if they’re ungrateful wretches who refuse to recognize my efforts, I won’t abandon them!” 

VERY WELL. THEN YOUR VISION SHALL BE REWARDED, MORTAL. NO LONGER WILL YOU HEAR THE WHISPERS OF DEMONS. THE POWER IS NOW YOURS. USE IT WISELY. 

A bolt of lightning struck Armasmaster, blowing apart his armor and halbard, and melting his bike. He collapsed to the ground, nearly naked and shuddering as Electro washed through his body, purging his soul. He was much more far gone than Taylor had been, so the process was a bit more painful. Also, Mushu was more than a little irate, so he had been much less gentle with the grown man then the young girl. 

Still, his task was now complete. Mushu shrank back down, and turned to the gangbangers. They had stopped sitting on their hands like he’d told them, but they had all fallen on their faces and were bowing to him in worship. 

“Get up. Go, find all those who claim to serve me. Tell them that The Great Lung has a command for them,” Mushu declared. 

Slowly, the gangsters looked up, faces slack in awe. “Y-yes, Great Lung?”

“No more shall the Asian Bad Boys be a scourge upon the land. My servants will be guardians of the people. No more shall we perpetuate violence, sell poison or subjugate the weak and vulnerable. Those who serve me shall be Guardians of the people, who protect the weak, give succor to the needy, and steward the land. This is my command. Go, and see it done. For I shall be watching.”

“It…it will be done, Great Lung!” they gasped, and got shakily to their feet, then hurried off. 

Mushu snorted and nodded to himself, then turned to Taylor. She’d had Charlotte lower her on a rope of silk, but was staring at him in confusion.

“You…you’re not like a normal cape, are you?” the teen asked. 

“What I tell you, Taylor. Now, your dad know you’re out here?” he demanded. He knew the answer, but she needed to tell him herself.

Mutely, she shook her head. “I see. Your dad, what’s his name?”

“D-Danny. Daniel. Daniel Hebert,” Taylor said. 

Kenta blinked. Wait, Taylor Hebert, daughter of Daniel Hebert? He did know that name. That settled it. This wasn’t his home. He’d figure it out later though. For now, there was a hurt little girl right here, and he needed to protect her. 

He stepped forward, resting a hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Your dad, he a good man?” she nodded silently, tears starting to leak down her cheeks. “He love you?” 

“Y-yeah…”

“Then you know what you must do, don’t you, Taylor?”

She scrubbed at her face, nodding. Then she frowned. “Wait, how come you’re talking all formal and fancy now, instead of that bumpkin accent before?”

“Difference between Kenta Wang and Lord Mushu. Kenta’s just a jumped up thug. Lord Mushu is the Electro Dragon and Guardian of Eternity. He knows how to talk all fancy. Even if he prefers not to. Now, come on, kid.”

Transforming into his small form, Kenta hopped up on Taylor’s other shoulder. “Lets go have that talk with your dad.”

Danny was sitting in darkness, the TV off, feeling so, so worn down by the day. He knew something was up with Tayor, but he just didn’t know how to talk to her. It felt like everything he did drove her further away. He couldn’t lose her, but he didn’t know how to keep her. Whenever he tried to confront her, it just devolved into sulks and lies. How was he supposed to help his baby girl, when he couldn’t even keep things together? 

The front door creeked open, and Danny found himself on his feet, hurrying forward. The light flicked on and he was blinded for a moment. He blinked back the tears from being near blinded, and food Taylor nervously standing in the doorway. He didn’t see anything else for a moment, and raced forward, wanting to hug his baby girl. Then he paused. Did she even want to hug him? Would he just push her further away if he smothered her?

“Uh, hey, dad,” Taylor said, and Danny saw the bruises on her face, the ripped clothing, though it did look rather odd. “I, um…I’m sorry, I…” Tears filled her eyes, and to Danny’s shock, she stepped into his arms. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” Danny said, his own eyes misting up as he squeezed Taylor tightly. He just held her for a moment, before pushing her back to get a look at her. “Are you alright?”

“I, um, yeah, I’m OK, I guess,” Taylor sniffled. 

“Taylor, if anything’s happened, you know you can tell me, right?” Danny said, his voice rough. Please. Please let her talk to him. He didn’t know what he could do, but he needed to know she was OK. 

“Uh,” Taylor glanced behind herself, and Danny peered over her shoulder. Then he swore loudly and tried to shove her behind him as he spied a giant purple lizard and a giant purple spider. What were these, some sort of biotinker creation?

“Go on, kid,” the lizard said. Wait. Was that-

“Eddie Murphy?” Danny blurted.

Taylor snorted, and grinned at him. “I know, right? He sounds just like Mushu from Mulan!”

“I’ll have you know, that is my name,” the little lizard, or…dragon? Said, folding his arms over his chest. “Someone goofy ass practical joker of a NEET decided it would be cute to name me that, but it’s stuck. Grown on me a bit over the years too.”

“Uh, right,” Danny said. What was a NEET? He glanced at Taylor, something dawning on him. “Wait, Taylor…did you…?”

“Um, dad, I sort of…triggered,” Taylor admitted. 

“INDEED! Your spawn was chosen as a most BEAUTIFUL source of data, specimen! Her desire for conflict was GLORIOUS, and with my BRILLIANT methods of collection, she and I would have produced the most stunning date the network had ever seen, such that she could have become the very QUEEN OF THE CYCLE!” the little spider cackled. 

“Um, those are my powers. I named her Charlotte. She’s uh, well, I’m starting to think she’s some sort of megalomaniacal super villain,” Taylor admitted. 

“Don’t worry about it, most demons are like that until they calm down a bit,” Mushu said. “If she gets to be too much, just kick her a little and send her to bed with no data.”

“What!? Mistress, please, do not treat me so!” the spider begged, suddenly crawling up Taylor’s leg to perch on her shoulder to Danny’s horror. “Have I not bequeathed you with incredible powers? We simply must gather data to…to…hmm.”

“To what?” Danny prompted, his eyes narrowing. 

The spider waved her forelegs. “Well, I was going to say to complete the Cycle, but that would result in the complete annihilation of mankind, and I sense that is not what you desire, is it?”

“Uh, no!” Taylor said, her tone horrified. “I was going to become a hero, not some crazy world-destroying villain!” 

“A pity. Very well, mistress. I will endeavor to ensure that you become a most GLORIOUS heroine, casting down that pretender Alexandria and the rest of those pathetic fools, ruling over this world as their uncontested hero!” 

“I don’t think you know what being a hero means,” Taylor said, glaring at the arachnid. “How about you let me come up with the plans and you just do what I say.”

“Hmph. A most boring proposition. I have already iterated over 12,000 ways you can achieve complete domination over this city, and attain revenge upon those who have wronged you! Aren’t you interested in hearing them?” Charlotte said, rubbing her legs together in a most wicked fashion. 

“My little girl ain’t doing any of that,” Danny said, sticking a finger in Charlotte’s face. 

“Dad! But, but I have powers now! You know, with great power comes great responsibility and…stuff,” Taylor said, looking at him desperately. 

Danny swallowed. “Yeah, I know, sweetheart, but…look. We’ll call Alan in the morning, and figure out how to get you into the Wards and stuff.”

“No! I don’t- that’s not-”

“Joining the Protectorate ain’t such a good idea. I don’t know if they’ve tapped into the Abyss here or not, but even if they haven’t, they probably got a dead god in the basement. If I what I saw of Armsmaster is any indication, they ain’t in such a good head space right now. I’m thinking joining them is a bad idea,” Mushu said, hopping up onto the kitchen counter. 

“And are you some sort of…spirit guide? Like in the movie?” Danny said, turning to Mushu. “That’s a bit odd, my family isn’t Chinese. At least, not that I know of.”

“Eh, that don’t matter so much. I got a little girl, bit younger than Taylor there. Headstrong thing, and I know she gotta be looked after,” Mushu said with a shrug. “See, I don’t know how everything works here, but it seems I got me a gang already that needs reformin’. I was gonna take Taylor under my wing so to speak, teach her how to be a proper Guardian, and to respect the dictates of Eternity. Maybe teach her how to use her demon properly.”

“She will require no such instruction! I will teach her how to access her powers myself!” Charlotte huffed. She leaned close to Taylor’s ear and whispered, “Mistress, I can teach you how to control oh so much more than simple arthropods…”

“Yeah, no. I put a lock on those powers for a reason. Insects only, and a hard cap on it. You were giving her too much access to all that. Enough to drive a person crazy. She’s gotta work up to the big stuff, and it’s completely against the principles of Eternity to mind control sentient beings. So none of that,” Mushu said, pointing at Charlotte. 

“Wait, so, um, do I get different powers then? Or did you just neuter me?” Taylor asked, sounding defeated. 

“One step at a time, kid. And let me talk to your dad for a moment. You folks mind if I change real quick?”

Danny frowned, then glanced at Taylor. 

“Uh, he’s actually Lung. Sort of, I think?” Taylor said. 

Danny sucked in a breath. “Wait, Lung? Of the ABB?”

“No,” a deep masculine voice said, and Danny looked up, and up, and up, into the purple eyes of a giant of a man. “I am what Kenta Wang, the man once known as Lung, should have been. Not a thug out for only his own power and glory, but the Guardian of Eternity, who uses his strength to protect all mankind.”

“Oh,” Danny said, feeling slightly lightheaded. “So, uh, you’re…from an alternate Earth, or something?”

“Somethin’ like that. I’ll need to get home, eventually. Got a wife and a kid, even if they’re spendin’ all their damn time in France these days. Anyway, Taylor, you stay with your father, talk things out. You got school in the morning?”

“Uh, yeah,” Taylor admitted. 

Mushu, or Lung, or Kenta, whoever he was, nodded. “I’ll let you decide how to play that. Don’t rightly know how all things work here, but you ain’t some parahuman who plays dumb games to generate conflict. You’re a Guardian now. You protect the helpless. That includes yourself, you hear? Charlotte, you’re on full lockdown unless Taylor’s ass need’s savin’. Then and only then can you unleash your full potential, and even then, you use only the minimum force required to keep her safe. Understand?”

“I am under no obligation to serve you, dragon!” Charlotte hissed, then squeaked and hid behind Taylor’s head when Mushu’s head thrust forward towards her. 

“I ain’t askin’. I’m tellin’. Taylor don’t have to have a cute little mascot runnin’ around to help her learn the ropes. I could just eat you, and give her only the power she needs. So, what’ll it be, spider?”

“It will be as you say, Lord Mushu,” Charlotte grumbled. 

“Glad we understand one another,” Mushu rumbled. He leaned back, then stuck out a hand to Danny. “You’ve got a fine daughter, Mr. Hebert. With your permission, I’ll teach her how to control what she’s got. It’s a heavy burden, but one I think she can bear.”

“I…” Danny swallowed, the let his hand be enveloped by Mushu’s, and gave it a hearty squeeze. “Yes. If you can help my girl, you do it, sir. And I’ll do whatever is needed to support her.”

“Once, you were a man of Ambition and Vision, Daniel Hebert. Perhaps, if you can reignite that, you’ll be recognized once more. But I’m not certain how that works here. Farwell. I’ve got to go see those idiot gangsters don’t do somethin’ stupid again.” 

With that, Mushu stepped out of the house. Danny went over to the window with Taylor, then gasped. An enormous serpentine dragon rose up over their neighborhood, glowing with power and crackling with purple lightning. It snacked off through the night sky, and Danny had to pity anyone stupid enough to get in its way. 

Then he turned to Taylor, who looked back at him nervously. He didn’t know what to say. So instead, he just hugged Taylor. 

That seemed to be the right thing, because she hugged him back. Somehow, it would be alright.

It took about two days for Mushu to track down Oni Lee and Bakuda, and “explain” to them how things worked now. He also had to pull their demons out and reset their brains. Bakuda wasn’nt too bad, though she was a real piece of work that Kenta was going to need to keep on a short leash. Oni Lee was so damn far gone that he was barely human anymore, poor bastard. Mushu did his best to fill the man’s missing soul with bits of his demon, but what resulted was more a loyal pet than an actual person. A real pity. 

Reorganizing the ABB was a pain in the ass as well. They were all gangsters and scum, though thankfully no one was stupid enough to challenge Mushu. So they didn’t listen real good when he told them ‘no more crime, no more drugs, no more whores.’ But he didn’t really need to sleep, so he was able to spend all his time sitting on their idiot asses and forcing them to start acting like real humans. 

He set about on several construction projects, rebuilding the portions of the city of Brockton Bay his gang controlled. He even planted a Thunder Sakura, though it wasn’t as powerful or as impressive as what Ei could manage. He had enough Authority to manage it though, and the free power soon had the slums at least starting to believe Lung and the ABB had turned over a new leaf. 

He was overseeing the burning of several hundred kilos of various illegal drugs, when the Protectorate showed up, led by Armsmaster. 

“Master, shall we fight?” Oni-Lee asked.

“No, Lee, we’re not fighting them,” Taylor told the maniac. She was Mushu’s official right hand lieutenant now, largely because she was both more stable than Lee or Bakuda, but also because she wasn’t a complete piece of shit like they were. Lee didn’t seem to care, but Bakuda resented the hell out of Taylor. She was currently in time out with no powers until she saw sense, something she hadn’t believed Mushu was capable of striping from her until he had. 

“We ain’t startin’ nothin’,” Mushu said, folding his arms over his chest as the Protectorate approached. He frowned at one of them. Was that Miss Militia? Where was her power armor? “But we ain’t backin’ down neither. Taylor, if this gets hot-”

“I can help in a fight!” Taylor protested.

“Well, yeah. I was gonna say, if this gets hot, screen us with insects, and do your best to neutralize the soft targets,” Mushu said, frowning at her. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”

“Oh. Oh! Yes sir!” Taylor said eagerly. 

“Lung!” Armsmaster called. “Stand down, and prepare to be arrested.”

“I don’t think so, Colin,” Mushu shouted back. “You and Hannah-”

“Um, sir?” Taylor interrupted, tugging on Mushu’s sleeve. “Um, their identities aren’t public. You, uh, you probably shouldn’t toss those around.”

Oh, right. That. Stupid ass game. He cleared his throat, “Uh, sorry about that, Armsmaster. You and Miss Militia can step forward and parley with me, but I will not be going to prison today, or any other. There is too much work to do.”

The Protectorate spoke quietly for a moment, before Colin jerked a nod and pointed to middle of the street. Mushu ambled forward, Taylor at his side. She had on a mask, though not the weird bug-eyed thing she’d made before. Mushu had explained that sort of thing was intimidating, and not very heroic. He was trying to work the girl up to not trying to hide who she was. To obfuscate your identity was not a thing of Eternity. But a domino mask was a compromise, at least. 

They met by the median, with Miss Milita holding a rifle, Armsmaster with a newly constructed Halberd on his shoulder. Good. Mushu hadn’t meant to destroy his demon, more replicate what Lord Buer had done to the man. Or his alternate self, leastways. 

“Lung. You are engaged in criminal activity. Very public criminal activity. The Protectorate can’t stand for this,” Armsmaster said bluntly. 

“Uh huh. How ya feelin’, Colin? Hannah, I suppose we’ve met before. Though this is on better terms. Sorry about the whole shoutin’ your identity thing. Not used to people hidin’ who they are,” Mushu said, folding his arms over his chest. 

“How did you learn our identities, Lung?” Hannah demanded, her tone tight.

Mushu sighed, and glanced at Taylor. She shifted from foot to foot. “Uh, his name isn’t Lung, anymore. This is the same man…sort of. He’s from a different Earth.”

The two capes glanced at Taylor. “And who are you, girl?” Colin demanded. 

“I…” Taylor swallowed, and looked up at Mushu. He nodded. Slowly, she reached up, and removed her mask. “I’m Taylor Hebert. You can call me…uh, I still haven’t really thought of a name…”

“Secret identities are not an aspect of Eternity. We have no need for games,” Mushu rumbled. 

“I have come up with several excellent titles for you, Mistress!” Charlotte declared, crawling up out of the pouch on Taylor’s hip. Neither Hannah nor Colin reacted, so they clearly knew about her. “First, Queen Administrator! A title similar to my own, once! Second, a more insectile one, such as Skitter!”

“Just…just call me Taylor,” the girl sighed, giving the heroes a weak smile. 

“Bold move, showing us your face after throwing in with a villain,” Colin said, his own face still obscured behind a helmet. 

“We’re not Villains! We’re helping people!” Taylor bristled. 

“You’re openly in possession of illegal drugs,” Miss Milita pointed out.

“We’re disposing of them!” Taylor said, pointing. Several Guardians, Mushu flatly refused to call them the ABB any longer, had on masks and were dumping drugs into a large burning pit. It was the entire store, and there was a lot of it. 

“That’s not the proper way to dispose of drugs,” Armsmaster said.

“Alright, so what is the proper way?” Taylor huffed. 

“Turn them over to the police, obviously,” Miss Milita said, shaking her head. 

“Oh, um…” Taylor glanced at Mushu. 

He nodded. “A fair point. Very well. You can take them all. We have a detailed inventory. This is all the ABB had.”

“Aren’t you the ABB?” Colin demanded. 

“No. We’re the Guardians. We protect people,” Taylor said firmly. 

“You’ve been fighting with E88,” Colin pointed out.

Taylor glared at him. “They’re fucking Nazis! Of course we-” 

TAYLOR. 

Thunder rumbled, and both Miss Militia and Armsmaster jumped, glancing up at the sky, where dark clouds had suddenly formed. 

“Sorry, sorry. Um, they’re filthy Nazis, ma’am. Of course we’re fighting them. It’s what any real American would do,” Taylor said, cringing at first, then forcing her back to ramrod straightness. 

“Hatred is destructive. It is the enemy of Eternity,” Mushu stated flatly. “Those who would hate because of my followers race will be dealt with.”

Hannah turned to Colin. “Ok, look, I’m going to have to agree with the supposed villains here, Armsmaster. They’re Nazis. I might not like the ABB, but to call the E88 anything but scum is a lie. If they have it out, so be it.”

“Starting a war in my city is unacceptable,” Colin said. He glared at Mushu. “You said I was to be a guardian. Well, I’m guarding my city. From you, if I have to.”

“Good,” Mushu said, nodding. “But you don’t. I think we can work together, Colin. You always were reasonable, for a Yank. Tess had good taste.”

“Who is…Tess?” Colin asked, looking uneasy. 

“If you don’t know…then I’m sorry.” Come to think of it, he should reach out to her. Though finding her might be tricky. She’d been a computer program or something before she’d received her Vision. 

“So, you’ll turn over the drugs to us?” Miss Milita asked, turning back to Mushu. 

“They’re yours. I recognize your Authority in this matter,” Mushu said with a nod. “Taylor will oversee the transfer.”

“Where is Bakuda? There were explosions a few nights ago,” Colin asked. 

Mushu sighed. “I took away her powers. She’s currently on lockdown. If she doesn’t behave…I’ll consider turning her over to you. Sans powers, of course. Her demon might be too destructive for someone of her temperament. They remind me of young Clara’s.”

Both Hannah and Colin stepped back in horror. “You…you can strip someone of their powers!?”

“If they have a demon, yes. Though it’s more that I kill the demon, or subdue it. Can’t over use it though. That would attract…his…attention.” Mushu glanced around. “I’ve not seen Maou the Golden. Where is he? Any sign of him?”

“Who?” Colin asked, shaking his head. 

“You would know him as Zion. Or Scion. It matters not. He is the King of Demons, and the ultimate enemy of eternity. Be wary of him. He is one of the few things both Eternity and the Protectorate agreed were a threat,” Mushu said, turning away. “Now, I have much to attend to. Take the drugs and depart. You may schedule another meeting with me through Taylor.”

Mushu could feel the Protectorate’s eyes on him, but they did nothing to try to stop him. 

The rebuilding took another month. Mushu threw himself into the work. He had learned that Japan was gone, thrown into ruin, and had mostly pieced together what was different with this world.

No Archons. 

This meant that when Leviathan had attacked…he had been defeated. He could piece together the events of Lung’s life after that. Afraid, despondent, and bitter. He’d become a low level crook, never using his abilities to their fullest. Living in fear of a greater evil than himself. 

Well, that was over now. Mushu had no idea how he’d get home, but he desperately needed to. His wife and daughter were his Eternity. Without them…well. He’d find a way home. 

He was seeing to the training of the Guardians, having spent the weeks beating them from gangsters to real soldiers, when Taylor ran up to him one afternoon. 

“Lord Mushu!” she cried, her face pale. “Endbringer attack!”

“Where?” he demanded, turning towards her, his expression stormy. The Endbringers still existed in this world. Just the Simurgh, the Behemoth, and Levithan, but that was far too many. 

“Not far, Boston!” Taylor gasped. 

He nodded. “Get on,” he ordered. “We’re going.”

Taylor didn’t argue, scrambling aboard Mushu as he transformed into a great dragon, then took off in a burst of thunder, traveling as swiftly as the sound of its clap. 

They arrived over a city that was already beginning to flood, the waves crashing against it. Various capes were already attempting to stop the damage, Mushu thought he recognized Eidolon ironically enough, while others evacuated civilians. He lowered himself above a building, and Taylor and Charlotte hopped off. 

SEE TO THE SAFETY OF THE CIVILIANS, Mushu rumbled to Taylor

“What about you? Are you…you’re going to fight it, aren’t you?” Taylor asked.

NO, TAYLOR, Mushu growled. She looked at him aghast, but then he clarified. I AM GOING TO KILL IT.

“You know…I actually think you can,” Taylor whispered. She bowed to him, as he’d taught her. “Good luck, sir. I…I believe in you.”

YOUR FAITH IS APPRECIATED, MORTAL CHILD. NOW GO. GUARD THE DEFENSELESS. I SHALL SEE TO THE DEFENSE. 

Mushu raced towards the shoreline, then paused over the edge of the waters. A robot flew up to him, and to his surprise, Tessa’s voice came out of it. 

“Lung, we’re grateful you-”

MUSHU. LUNG IS NO MORE. 

“Very well. Mushu, we are grateful you are here. You have battled Leviathan before, are you able to hold the line with the Brutes?”

THIS BATTLE WILL NOT GO AS YOU THINK, THERESA. YOU ARE NOT THE DRAGON I KNEW, BUT STILL, I SENSE THE GUARDIAN WITHIN YOU. HOLD YOUR FORCES BACK. I SHALL DEAL WITH THE BEAST. 

“We’re going to have to work together, Mushu. This is an Endbringer it-”

THIS IS A PATHETIC REMNANT OF A DEAD GOD AND A MADMAN’S DELUSIONS. I WILL SPEAK WITH EIDOLON LATER. NOT NOW. BUT THE LEVIATHAN HAS NOT TRULY FACED ME BEFORE. THIS DAY, IT SHALL KNOW WHY I TOO AM CALLED ENDSLAYER. 

“Endslayer? What do you-”

I WILL TRY TO LIMIT THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS CITY. FOCUS YOUR FORCES UPON SAFEGUARDING IT. FOR THE POWER I MUST UNLEASH TO SLAY THIS DEMON BEAST WILL BE UNLIKE ANY THIS WORLD HAS WITNESSED BEFORE. 

With that, Mushu lowered himself down, hovering over the waters. He roared, a wordless battle cry, but one with Authority. One that demanded an answer. 

And from the depths, arose the thing he remembered all too well. 

LEVIATHAN. YOU WERE THE BAPTISM IN WHICH LUNG WAS DESTROYED. ONCE MORE, YOU SHALL BRING FORTH MUSHU, he roared at the creature. NOW, COME FORTH, AND WITNESS TRUE ETERNITY.

Disappointingly, the Endbringer was mute. A pity. Even Apep had partaken in witty banter from time to time, and Mushu had rather enjoyed it. Maybe he had spent too much time around Ami. 

Still, the thing attacked for all it was worth, sending water and fury at Mushu, even lashing out with its tail to strike him. 

He recalled barely keeping up with the Leviathan. Of needing Ei to face it. That had been more than a decade ago. Before he had truly grown into his powers. Before he’d really even had them. 

Things were different now. 

To call it a battle would have been an over exaggeration. Battles were drawn out, bloody affairs. This was a fight. It wasn’t an easy one, true, but Mushu had long ago surpassed a baseline Endbringer. True, he would have lost badly to the Omega or even Alpha Behemoth and the Twins both, but he hadn’t fought them alone. Nor were they as weak as this creature. 

He took the Leviathan’s blows, then infused the waters with Electro. The demon beast clearly knew nothing of Elemental Energy, and it was taken aback by the Electro Charged reaction. Mushu didn’t give it a break, diving into the Endbringer with fang and claw, snarling and chomping down for all he was worth. The things hide was as tough as he remembered, but Ei had taught him long ago how to attack not just at one point in time, but throughout all Eternity. He ripped off the Endbringer’s right arm, then tossed it aside, his claws buried in its flesh. 

It didn’t seem to care about the wound, using water echos and blasts that could cut through tungsten to assault Mushu. They hurt him, to be sure, but not badly. Only a little blood was even drawn, and Mushu was regenerating more rapidly than the Leviathan. 

YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A BEAST, Mushu growled, the slammed the Leviathan to the ground, sending up sprays of water and sand. 

The Endbringer lashed out again, swiping with its tail and hammering Mushu with enough water to drive him back. He let go with his claws, floating back up in the air. The creature below him regarded him, and Mushu could feel the demon beast calculating. He was something new. 

Time to give the demon more data than it ever bargained for. 

Rearing back, Mushu focused the Electro in the storm that was rapidly swelling above Boston, then directed it downwards and into the Leviathan. A massive bolt of lightning struck the creature in a dazzling burst, but it was not alone. Bolt after bolt fell from the heavens and blasted the Levithan, blowing chunks out of it and driving it down. 

Still, that wasn’t enough to put an Endbringer down, and Mushu knew that perfectly well. Simple physical attacks were not nearly enough. The Leviathan tried to retreat, having taken enough damage in mere minutes to the point where it felt threatened. That wasn’t satisfying either. 

BEAST! WITNESS NOW, TRUE ETERNITY! BEGONE!

Opening his maw wide, Mushu summoned forth all the Authority he held, and breathed out a massive stream of Electro, imbued with his power as a Guardian and the desperate need to protect this city and its people. The beam slammed into the Leviathan, piercing its very heart as the Electro Authority washed over it not just in the moment, but in every passing instant of transience throughout Eternity.  

When Mushu shut his jaw, the Leviathan’s head rolled off the gaping hole in its chest, and its torse flopped down in the shallow waters with a splash. Waves rolled over it, and Mushu grunted.

Did Ei ever really need my help to kill it? 

Probably not. But she had always understood the importance of having troops to lead into battle. 

Mushu watched the water pass over the corpse, then turned. He found a city full of mortals looking back at him, there eyes wide. 

I KNOW NOT HOW LONG I SHALL REMAIN HERE. BUT WHILE I DO, I WILL BE THE GUARDIAN OF THIS WORLD. 

Then he went to go find Taylor. There was work to be done. 

Author’s Note:

Happy April Fools!