Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!

Beowulf, slayer of Grendel and his mother, spoke in his deep Norse timber. "The bear-warrior has faced worse odds. Power means nothing without honor, and this one has none."

Achilles, his invulnerability making him confident, nodded grimly. "The perfect warrior agrees. We've all heard Hermes's account—this Parker rules through fear and murder."

Quetzalcoatl's serpentine form coiled tighter around the pillar. "The Feathered Serpent who created humanity will not see mortals oppressed by false gods."

Jason, captain of the Argonauts, stepped forward with the authority of one who had claimed the Golden Fleece. "We all remember what happened to Theseus," he said grimly. "Our brother tried to prevent Parker from participating in that race—the one where Atalanta was involved—and Parker murdered him in cold blood for the interference."

The room grew darker as the assembled champions remembered their fallen brother.

"Theseus was a hero," Orion declared, his hunter's instincts sharp with anger. "He died trying to protect the honor of competition, and this monster killed him like he was nothing."

Bellerophon, tamer of Pegasus, clenched his fists. "The slayer of the Chimera will avenge our fallen brother. Theseus deserved better than death at the hands of that tyrant."

Chione's eyes blazed with cold fury. "Then you condemn mortals to live under the boot of a tyrant! You would let him rule through fear and violence!"

"Rule?" Hector laughed, shaking his head. "Goddess, you still don't understand. He doesn't want to rule anything. He wants to be left alone to protect what he loves. It's we who keep forcing confrontation."

Cassandra nodded sadly. "They won't listen, brother. They never do. The gift of prophecy is also a curse—to know the truth and watch others choose destruction anyway."

She moved toward the exit, Hector following. Cleopatra and Isis rose with regal dignity, their decision made.

"Where are you going?" Perseus demanded.

"To find a very deep hole to hide in," Cassandra replied without turning back. "Because when Parker Black decides you've become a threat to his family's peace, there won't be enough left of you to bury."

As the four dissenters left, the remaining champions looked at each other with grim determination.

"So be it," Chione said, her voice carrying the finality of winter's end. "If they lack the courage to face this threat, we'll handle it ourselves."

In the corner, Hercules tried to speak, to warn them of what they faced, but only blood came from his lips.

None of them noticed the shadows growing longer in the room, or the way the temperature had begun to drop despite Chione's presence.

Parker Black Nyxlith had many enemies now.

But they had no idea what they had truly chosen to face.

"We would preserve what little sanity remains," Cleopatra replied coolly, her regal bearing unshaken by the accusations. "Unlike the rest of you, we know the difference between courage and foolishness. And yes—" she lifted her chin defiantly, "I will not deny what my heart knows to be true. But my feelings do not blind me to reality. They illuminate it."

Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu and perfect prince of Ayodhya, who had remained silent until now, spoke with divine authority. "This being has shown nothing but contempt for divine order. We cannot allow such defiance to continue unchecked."

"Exactly!" Hanuman growled, the devoted monkey general's loyalty to his lord absolute. "If Rama says we fight, then we fight. No mortal should possess such power."

Gilgamesh laughed harshly, his kingly pride wounded. "The king of Uruk will not bow to some upstart! Even if the footage is real, it only proves he must be stopped before he grows stronger."

Cú Chulainn's scarred hand tightened on his legendary Gáe Bolga spear. "The Hound of Ulster has never backed down from a fight. Power or no power, he bleeds like any other."

Sun Wukong leaped down from his perch, his golden staff materializing in his grip. "The Monkey King who challenged Heaven itself won't be cowed by fancy light shows! I've fought the Jade Emperor—this Parker is just another tyrant who needs humbling."

Susanoo's voice rumbled with storm-fury. "The Storm God of Japan agrees. His arrogance must be checked before he decides all mortals are his to command."

*

High above the mortal realm, in the crystalline halls of Olympus, the gods gathered in emergency session for what had become a weekly occurrence since the Manhattan incident. The divine assembly bore the haunted expressions of beings who had witnessed something that challenged their fundamental understanding of power.

Zeus slumped on his throne, the weight of cosmic dread visible in his ancient features. "One week," he said, his voice hollow. "One week since we witnessed Parker Black Nyxlith casually dismiss Hercules and erase Ma'at from existence. One weeks of sleepless nights wondering what else he's capable of."

The scrying screen still showed the aftermath—Manhattan slowly rebuilding, the Street Rat's complete disappearance, the Painter's utter obliteration. Not defeated. Not banished. Simply... gone, as if they had never existed.

Hermes paced frantically, his usual confidence shattered. "Zeus, we severely underestimated what we were dealing with. When we first suggested using the champions and the blessed against him, we thought... we thought he was just an enhanced mortal with unusual resources."

"We all did," Athena admitted, her strategic mind still reeling from the impossibility of what they'd witnessed. "The way he stopped their battle by simply removing the concept of conflict? The casual authority with which he unmade the Painter's reality? That wasn't power—that was fundamental control over existence itself."

Ares, god of war, spoke with uncharacteristic quiet. "I've seen battles across millennia. I know what combat looks like. What happened in Manhattan..." He shook his head. "That wasn't a fight. It was a cosmic force correcting minor irritations."

Apollo's golden lyre lay silent in his lap, his usual musical confidence replaced by stark fear. "The Painter could literally paint reality into new shapes. His powers were something that even we would have struggled to contain if he grew another week. And Parker destroyed both the artist and his Ma'at without even... without even trying."

Poseidon's trident trembled in his grip. "And the Street Rat? A Shadow Bearer with enough power to hold Hercules in combat for hours? Just... vanished. Not killed, not imprisoned. Gone. As if Parker decided he simply didn't need to exist anymore."

Hera leaned forward, her queenly composure cracked with desperation. "Which brings us to our current crisis. We've been planning this champion assault for weeks, but after what we witnessed..."