It was late at night, and for the most part, all of Odaiba seemed to be at peace, however, that peace was broken when, from a mountain range not far from the city, a shockwave of unknown energy surged out, passing through the city, causing the power to go out as the city went dark, the lights all going out.

But perhaps most frightening was when the shockwave passed over Odaiba's maximum security prison, cutting power to the complex, which was soon followed by the sounds of rioting, fighting and gunfire.

-Hours later-

With power having been restored to the city a short while ago, within their base, most of the Protectors, with many in their hero outfits, minus their masks or helmets, waited on Davis to see what was going on, not only for any news on what happened last night, but on a few announcements he had for the team.

It had been a year since the Nightfall Incident, with the Night Queen, Kari Kamiya, and her Dark Legion being defeated and locked away, and for the most part, Odaiba had endured, with V-Force and the Protectors being declared the number one heroes in the city.

Currently, Cody was at the monitors, listening in to reports on the blackout as Suzie stood next to him, leaning over to watch the screens, along with Izzy and Henry, who took an occasional glance to look over and see his girlfriend, Azumi, on the couch chatting with Mimi, Zoe, Angie and Nene, mostly talking about trivial things as they waited for their leader.

Meanwhile, Tai was chatting with TK, Mikey and Takuya on possible training regiments to help improve the team's fighting capabilities, while Joe would cut in and explain the possible physical damages they might inflict on themselves from Tai's ideas.

Finally, looking out of the city, Rika listened to the conversations going on around her, but kept a worried look, being the only one on the team who knew what Davis' announcement was, and hoped things would work out for everyone.

Soon enough, the elevator door to their base opened up as Davis, wearing his V-Force armour, his helmet being carried under his arm, came out, turning around for a quick second as he held his hand out, as though signaling others to wait a moment, before he turned and walked over to the other Protectors as they gathered around him.

"Alright guys, I know you're concerned over the blackout, and while I have info on it, it's best that we get through the announcements first." Davis said to the group, seeing them all nod in agreement before he continued. "Now, as all of you are aware, the Odaiba PD has been running the Redemption Project for almost a year now."

The group nodded at this, with many having mixed views on it, with some thinking it would was a good thing, a way for those who took a wrong path in life to get a fresh start, while others saw it as a way for villains to get out of prison quicker, to undermine the system and escape at the first opportunity, and return to their wicked ways.

"Well, the first four candidates have gone through their paces, and have been assigned to the Protectors. Now you guys know all of them, and know what they have been through. I know it'll be hard to trust them, all I ask is you guys give them the chance." Davis then said, looking to each member of the team, seeing their hesitance, but also their trust in him.

"Now, the first one joining us, the only thing he changed is a part of his costume." Davis then added as he turned turned, were a figure emerged from the elevator, one the group knew well, with many smiling, including TK, while Tai frowned slightly, seeing Matt Ishida, better known as Fang, walking towards the group in his former villain attire, only now he had forgone the helmet and now wore a pair of tech shades over his eyes, which he removed as he approached the others, smiling to see TK and the others, before returning Tai's glare.

"No offence, but he's had a lot of second chances. What's different about this?" Tai had to ask as he continued to glare at Matt, before TK moved in front of Tai and said with a confident smile. "This time, I'm going to be there to make sure he sticks on his path."

"And if he doesn't, I'll leave him in a body cast for the rest of his life." The young blond then added with a continued smile, causing most in the room to sweat drop at how TK could say that with a straight face, while Matt did his best not to gulp at his brother's words as he moved to the side, believing that keeping quiet for the moment was his best move.

"Ok..." Davis then said, clearing his throat, before continuing as he then said. "The next one also didn't change much, other than part of his outfit. And yes, I made sure he was on the level before signing off on him."

The Protectors were confused by Davis' words, before their eyes widened to see a familiar face and former foe walk up next to him, revealing Tagiru Akashi, better known as Fusionist, still in his outfit of old, only now he was without his mask, leaving most of the protectors either glaring at him or looking slightly frightened, remembering the devastation power the former villain had.

Mikey, however, only had a smile on his face, having been Tagiru's sponsor for the program, and was happy to see the brunette after so long.

"Wow, this place is fancier than I imagined." Tagiru said with a whistle as he looked around, before his eyes landed on Nene as he smiled and said. "Hey there, beautiful, hope you missed me."

"Please tell me you did just join the program to flirt with me again." Nene replied with a growl as she glared at Tagiru, remembering that he had helped the Night Queen once to use her against her teammates.

"You're cute, but not that cute." Tagiru said with a laugh, before looking at Mikey, his expression becoming serious as he then stated. "Someone offered me a challenge to see if being a hero would be better for me, and I rarely refuse a challenge."

Mikey nodded at this, while the rest of the team understood what he meant, having spoken often with the fiery hero on his words with Tagiru, and his desire to help him.

"Next up is an old friend of ours, whose changed a lot, and hopefully you all can see that. She's calling herself Firebird now." Davis then said, where another figure walked in from behind him, who held her left arm with her right hand, looking down at her feet with some nervousness, unsre how things would turn out, while the group recognized her through her new outfit as Sora Takenouchi, formerly known as Red Phoenix.

Having discarded the Red Phoenix outfit the second she was free from Kari's dark hold, Sora was now wearing a bright red body suit, which ran down her arms and stopped at her thighs, not only showing off her shapely legs, but the amber flame pattern on the lower section of her outfit.

Matching thigh high boots were set upon her feet, while a small eye mask covered her face, allowing the others to see her maroon coloured eyes, alongside the uneasiness within them.

The room remained silent for a few moments, causing the uneasiness in Sora to rise, fearing that they would reject her for all that she had done, especially Tai.

However, before anyone could even blink, said brunette quickly closed the distance between himself and Sora, setting his hands on her waist as he lifted her up, twirling her around a bit, before pulling her into a loving kiss, one she willingly returned before hugging him tightly, tears of joy in her eyes to know that he accepted her, that he continued to love her, while Tai was more than thrilled to have her back in his life, not caring as most of the group smiled at this, while Matt just tried to look anywhere but at the pair, and Taigru, in his usual manner, just rolled his eyes and said. "Just get a room, you two."

The pair ignored Tagiru as they shared another kiss, before breaking their embrace, smiling at one another as Sora then moved over to Tagiru and Matt, all three looking at Davis, knowing what was coming next, and all three having mixed opinions on what was going to happen.

"And the last one to join us has changed everything about her, and hopes for a new start. Everyone, meet Dawnbringer." Davis then said as he stepped out of the way, revealing the last individual, where the Protectors took in the figure's outfit.

The individual was definitely female, based on her figure, wearing a mix of silver armour and white robes, with ancient runic symbols written along various parts of the metal, while in her right hand was a white colour staff that was inscribed with the same runic symbols, with the top of the staff shaped with a shining white gem and set between a set of angel wings.

Finally, the figure wore a helmet similar to Davis', only her helmet was silver in colour, and appeared like a crown on top instead of the V-shape of Davis' helmet, concealing her face, though behind her mask, a warm and hopeful smile graced her face.

The group took a moment to wonder who this individual was, before Cody's eyes widened in shock as he began to say. "Wait... don't tell me she's..."

At hearing the nervousness in Cody's voice, Dawnbringer sighed, before reaching up with her left hand, placing it on the face of her helmet, which made a small hissing sound as it unlocked, allowing her to remove it and reveal her true face, the face of Kari Kamiya, formerly known as the Night Queen, who smiled sadly, waiting for the group's response.

Unfortunately, it was the response she had expected as Angie cried out in panic. "What the hell!? They actually let her out!?"

Most of the Protectors, save for Tai, Rika and the other former villains, then got into fighting stances as they glared at Kari, before Davis quickly moved in front of his love and said. "Whoa, whoa guys, calm down, she's not our enemy anymore!"

"Sorry, Davis, we trust you, but you let your feelings cloud your judgement when she's involved." Takuya said in an apologetic voice as he and the others glared at Kari, thinking she had manipulated Davis to get her into the Redemption Project as a means of escape.

However, the group felt further confusion as Rika moved over to Kari, before the redhead looked at the group and said. "If you don't trust Davis on this, then trust me. Afterall, I was her sponsor."

This surprised the group, with Nene looking at Rika as though she had lost her mind.

Placing her hand on Rika, Kari smiled at the redhead, before moving past her and Davis, where the brunette bowed before the heroes, her old friends, and those that once served her.

"Your mistrust is understandable. I have done terrible things in the past, so I won't ask you to trust me, only for you to give me the chance to one day earn it." Kari said to the group, knowing she had done horrible things to many within the room, and knew that the path before her would not be an easy one.

The brunette's eyes then widened as she was then pulled into a comforting embrace, looking up as tears formed in her eyes to see her brother hugging her, a smile on his face as he said. "I'm glad you're back, and I'll help you down this road no matter what."

The group seemed to calm down after this, before Azumi looked at Rika and asked. "Are you sure we can trust her? Last thing we need is some Shadow Demon running rampant in here."

"There won't be any Shadow Demons, at least not from her. She's mastered Light Magic faster than anyone I've ever seen in my life." The mystic heroine replied with a small twitch in her eye, remembering how Kari had learnt everything from the first book she gave her, one that took the redhead a year herself to learn, with Kari learning its secrets and techniques in only a week, a reminder of how much of a progeny of magic the brunette really was, and of the powerful pull of Light within her.

While a reluctance remained within the room, Davis then moved in front of Kari and Tai, where he looked at his teammates and said, expressing his trust and confidence within the former villains. "I've said it before, but I really believe everyone who is willing deserves a second chance. We all know each and everyone of these individuals, some more so than others. I know for a fact that the Redemption Project was not just for show, and that none of them would be here unless they were truly dedicated to making amends. All I ask is that you give them a chance as you would if you were in their positions."

Though hesitant, most of the group nodded in reply, knowing how much this meant to Davis, to Tai and to TK, and would see how things would play out.

Nene, however, continued to glare at Kari, before saying with an angry tone. "Fine. But the moment she turns on us, she's done."

Most of the group sighed at Nene's words, but understood them, remembering how Kari had used the idol heroine in her plots, while Rika frowned at Nene, knowing that her anger was due to something else.

Bowing once again, Kari walked over to her fellow reformed villains, who all smiled in their own ways, with Sora having forgiven Kari a long time ago, having felt and seen what the younger girl had gone through.

Even though she could not act to defend her, having grown a bond with her once again, almost like the sister she never had, Sora made it her duty to protect and look out for the brunette, no matter the cost, not only wanting to help Kari out due to their bonding friendship, but Sora also wanted to keep Kari protected for Tai, knowing just how much his sibling meant to him.

The group then looked over at Davis, expecting the announcements to be over and for them to discuss what happened the night before, only to be confused as Davis had a nervous smile on his face.

"So... last thing... we have someone else joining us, and will be working with Cody and Joe on the side. She already knows who we all are, and didn't give me much choice in having her join in... mostly because our parents would kill me." Davis said, muttering the last part, but most heard him as those who knew what he meant widened their eyes in shock, while Matt paled as he put two and two together, just before the elevator door then opened, revealing a young woman, looking to be the same age as Sora and Mimi, only she wasn't in a super hero get up, but instead, she was wearing a beige business suit alongside a lab coat and had similar spiked maroon coloured hair to Davis'.

While a few of the group were confused by the newcomer, Kari, Tai, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, TK and Matt were shocked to see Davis' older sister, Jun Momotiya, smiling at them as she walked in with a bag in hand, while Matt, remembering his younger years when said girl used to have a crazed fan girl crush on him, gulped and thought. 'Maybe staying in prison was a better idea.'

"Hey guys, nice to see you all." Jun said as she happily approached the group, before looking at Matt, where she glared at the blond and added. "I know I was too much to handle in the past but I have changed, I have grown up. Not to mention I'm not into guys who can't get their act together."

Matt felt like he was sucker punched at the comment, before Izzy cut in and approached Jun, where he said with a smile. "Hey Jun, good to see you. Davis told me about some of your designs, and I was hoping to see some of them."

"Of course, Always love to see my work appreciated." Jun said in reply, expressing a sweet smile as she opened her bag, taking out several gizmos, causing most in the group, especially Matt, to look on at Jun with a continued confusion.

"For those of you who don't know her, this is my sister, Jun. She's a graduate at one of the top tech schools in the world, a scientific genius in her own rights, along with Izzy, of course, and an avid inventor, who wants to use her technical skills to help out the team." Davis informed, surprising the heroes, while shocking Matt that the annoying fan girl from his past was now a tech genius.

"We'll set up a workshop for you here." Davis then said to his sister, who smiled at her brother and replied with a smirk. "Good, I already have twenty ideas I want to get started on, like a way for Thunderstrike over there to use her speed and velocity as a more destructive weapon."

This caused Angie to blink with a slight confusion, not sure as to what the girl meant, but before she could ask, Davis then continued as he got down to business.

"Now that that's all out of the way, let's go over what happened with the black out." Davis said as he walked over to the monitor station and typed on some keys, bringing up a virtual map of the city.

"Late last night, there was an electromagnetic shockwave that emanated from the mountains, which knocked out power for a few hours. Now for the most part, the city was ok, but the prison suffered a major short, causing cells to open and for the prisoners to riot." Davis explained, alarming and concerning the Protectors as to what they were told.

"StarCorps is currently investigating where the shockwave came from, and the Vigilant are keeping an eye out for any trouble in the city, we have bigger fish to deal with as, during the confusion, four familiar faces escaped from the prison." Davis then told the group as he brought up four photos, causing the Protectors to glare at images of Ryo Akiyama, known also as Ironfist, Yolei Inoue, known as Dark Hawk, Ryouma Mogami, better known as Asta, and Michael Hendrick, the gunman known as Deathstrike.

Seeing Deathstrike's face again, Matt unconsciously moved his hand over the area he was wounded in, while TK clenched his fist, remembering how the gunslinging villain nearly killed his brother.

Looking over at Kari, Sora, Matt and Tagiru, Davis began to say to them with a solemn smile. "For this one, I'm going to have to ask that you guys stay here, but if there is any information you can give..."

"Fourth Street and Third." Kari quickly replied, confusing the Protectors as Cody brought up the area, showing an old factory that was long out of commission, before the brunette added. "It's a Cartel safe house. Deathstrike used it often to communicate with the rest of the organization. He'll probably call for an extraction team to get him and the others out of the city."

"Wow, quick there to sell out your old pals." Nene said as she glared at Kari, where the brunette replied with a glare of her own. "They weren't friends. Deathstrike joined the Legion for his own gains, as did most of them."

"Besides, I don't mind seeing that asshole get knocked around for shooting me." Matt then added with a growl, not noticing Jun look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, it's a place to start at least, let's head out." Davis said as the team prepared to leave.

"Wait, you're leaving us alone with them!?" Cody then let out with a little more panic then he intended as he looked at the former villains, who all signed at his behaviour, even though they understood it.

"I'll stay behind." Rika said as she looked at the group, who nodded as they headed out, knowing that the former Legionaries were on the run, unequipped, and probably without backup.

What was the worst that could happen?

-Moments later-

As the Protectors headed towards the possible location of the escaped villains, each were in deep thought regarding their newest members, their former enemies turned allies, each with their own opinions on the subject.

However, out of all of them, it was Songbird who was having the hardest time mentally accepting them, particularly Kari, and not only because of her time as the Night Queen, nor using her against her team, but for another, more personal reason.

There was a part of Nene, though small, that thought, with Kari locked up for good, that she could finally have her chance to win Davis over, to finally be with the man of her dreams.

It had even appeared that, despite showing affection every now and then, that Rika had backed off as well, and the idea of having no rivals for Davis' affection pleased Nene greatly.

Now, however, those ideas and dreams were shattered with Kari not only freed, but now a part of the Protectors as well, with Rika's help apparently.

'What is wrong with you, Rika!? This was our chance! How could... no, why... why would you bring her back into our lives... into his life again?!' The heroine idol thought bitterly, feeling anger and betrayal by the redhead's actions, before refocusing, hoping that Kari's old puppets would put up a fight so she would have a reason to take her frustrations out on them.

Meanwhile, back at the Protectors' base, after scanning through some camera footage of the area, Cody said through the comms. "Guys, four individuals did enter the building a few minutes ago. Can't see much, but based on how one of them looked, it's definitely Asta, so we can assume the other three are Dark Hawk, Ironfist and Deathstrike."

"So... this is what you do for them?" Kari questioned, expressing curiosity in her tone from the seat of the couch she sat upon, where she, Sora and Matt watched Cody work, while Rika, Joe and Jun looked over Cody's shoulder and at the monitors, before the group turned and looked back at the brunette, with Cody trying to be nice as he said in reply. "Yes... I alert them on anything that the police pick up so they can get to the scene quickly."

"I see... Your father would've been proud of you." Kari then said with a smile, hoping to show Cody that she did appreciate what he did for Davis and the others.

Said boy was about to then launch into a rant against her about what she would know about honour, before calming down as he remembered that Kari and Davis were there for him after his father, an officer in the Odaiba PD, gave his life to protect others, and knew that she meant what she was saying, causing him to nod at her words.

But remembering he had a duty of his own, Cody turned back to the monitors.

"So, anything to eat around here?" The group then heard Tagiru ask as they then turned to see the brunette looking through the kitchen, before finding the supplies to make a sandwich, and began putting something together, where Matt raised an eyebrow and asked. "Why are you so calm about all of this?"

"What's there to be worked up about?" Tagiru asked back, expressing a big and confident grin as he stated. "They're going to go in there, kick Ryo, Yolei, Ryouma and Michael's butts, again, and then come back, it shouldn't be any issue for them."

"And, unlike any of you, I'm not worried about winning over the love or affection of a lover or a sibling." Tagiru then added as he took a bite out of his sandwich, causing Kari, Matt and Sora to flinch slightly, knowing that he was hitting the right spots.

"Then why did you join the Redemption Project?" Rika then asked as she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes lightly when she saw him shrug a little before he gave his answer.

"Like I said, Mikey gave me a challenge, and I don't back down from a challenge, especially from him." Tagiru said in reply as he expression changed from his relaxed persona and to a serious one, where he added. "There was a time I used to look up to him, back when we were younger... the guy you could always count on... but after that day, I didn't think there was anyone a person could really count on but themselves."

"But, after seeing that the guy you could count on became a hero, and an annoying one at that, I guess I wanted to see what the world was really like from his eyes... and if it's worth saving." Tagiru finished, with everyone, save Kari, still a little freaked out by how quickly his personality can change like that.

"Well... so long as you don't pull what you did during Nightfall again I'm ok with that." Matt said with a small shutter, remembering how Tagiru took some of his former allies and fused them with himself to fight the Protectors.

"I'll save that for the 'We'll all die otherwise' scenarios." Tagiru replied with a smirk as he went back to his snack, while the others turned back to the monitors, where Matt noticed Jun looking around, taking in parts of the base and the equipment, before taking out a notepad and jotting down some notes, allowing the blond to take in how much the maroon haired girl had changed over the years, not only mentally, but also physically, seeing how her body had become more voluptuous over the years, before quickly looking away, hoping she had not caught him staring.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Jun did notice, but ignored it for now, focusing on her work instead of having Matt Ishida's eyes on her.

While it was true in the past that she would have killed for the blond to even look at her like that, as time went on, Jun found herself feeling betrayed by Matt's life of crime and run in with the law, while also finding herself inspired by her brother's heroism, leading her on her current path in life.

She had however, for a short time, started to respect Matt again when Davis told her that he had been out of trouble for almost three years, but that respect was lost once again when she found out that he had been the masked villain known as Fang during that time.

'I'm sorry, Matt, but if you want me to even like you as a person again, you're going to have to work for it.' Jun thought as she looked back at the monitors, seeing that it was show time at last.

-Meanwhile-

Within the broken down factory, Deathstrike quickly opened up a concealed locker hidden in one of the walls, taking out two pistols similar to his old tech ones, before throwing a short sword over to Dark Hawk, before taking out a small beacon that he activated, hoping the Cartel would pick it up and extract him and his fellow escapees from the city.

Save for Asta, all four former Dark Legion members were in prison fatigues, with the demonic gunman now looking like his old self after the seal containing his demon friend was removed, while Ironfist had grabbed his cybernetic arm and reattached it to himself once again, leaving Deathstrike and Dark Hawk the only ones needing to improvise.

"Alright, the signal is sent, there should be a crew coming to pick us up in an hour." Deathstrike said as he looked at his allies, with Ironfist and Asta nodding at him, while Dark Hawk narrowed her eyes.

"And what about getting back into the prison?!" She asked in anger, wanting to go back and free her lover, Ken Ichijouji, also known as Stryker, who was unable to escape with them.

"Listen here, you nut job. You want to go back and get locked up again, that's on you. As for us, we're getting the hell out of here!" Asta said back, believing he had already helped Yolei enough and that if she wanted further assistance, he would need compensation.

But before the arguing could continue, there was a crashing sound as the nearby wall bursted open, causing the villains to shield their eyes, before widening them to see almost all the Protectors glaring at them.

"Oh, come on!" Ironfist let out with great frustration, where he then questioned. "How the hell did they find us already!"

"I have a feeling our former employer had something to do with this." Deathstrike said with a sneer as he glared at V-Force, holding his pistols tightly as he did so.

He then looked over at Seraph and smirked, before asking. "How's your brother doing?"

"Quite well, actually." Seraph replied with a smirk of his own, especially seeing Deathstrike seeth in anger, having believed that he killed Fang when he shot him, only to now learn he failed.

"It's over, so just turn yourselves in and you won't be harmed." The leader of the Protectors said to the four, hoping that they could end this peacefully, but found the villains responded as expected.

"I am not going back to prison, you hear me! I'll..." Deathstrike started to say as he aimed his pistols at the heroes, along with Asta bringing his tommy guns out, while Ironfist and Dark Hawk looked ready to fight.

However, before the blond villain could finish talking, he, Dark Hawk and Ironfist were consumed in a bright blue light, which vanished just as quickly, along with the three villains, surprising the heroes, and Asta as well as being left behind.

"What... but... where...?!" Asta said in shock as he looked around, before turning his head back, seeing that he now stood alone against the Protectors, where his own survival instincts kicked in as he dispelled his weapons and drew his hands in defeat.

"Cody, where did they go?!" V-Force asked through his comms.

Back at the base, Cody typed frantically on the control panel, trying to find a camera angle as to where the other three villains went, but could not find them, while everyone else looked at what happened with surprise and shock.

"I can't find them anywhere, they just vanished!" Cody replied, before Jun, having watched what happened, added. "It looked like some kind of molecular phase shift."

"Jun, in English!" V-Force yelled back, where HiTech answered for her.

"They were teleported away." He informed, but had to ponder. "But to where?"

-Meanwhile-

When they reappeared, Deathstrike, Dark Hawk and Ironfist found themselve not only in a dark lit room, but also feeling woozy, not used to the type of fast travel they had experienced, where Yolei tried to hold in the nauseating feeling she felt, while Ryo questioned with some cautiousness as he looked around. "Where are we?"

"Apologizes for the rough travel." A mechanical, but feminine voice said through the darkness, causing the villains to look around as the voice then said. "As for your friend, his... companion made it impossible for me to lock onto him. I'm afraid he had to be left behind."

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Yolei asked after the nausea passed, where she drew her blade defensively, not liking the change in scenery or the idea of a mysterious benefactor coming to her aid.

"You could say that I am new in town, and I have big plans, all of which could include the three of you. And in exchange, I will give you what you desire most right now, revenge. Revenge against those who defeated you, who humiliated you and threw you in prison." The voice then said, causing the three to look at one another, before Deathstrike asked. "And if we say no?"

It was then that the lights came on, and the three villains got a better look at their surroundings, finding themselves in some kind of tech base, with automated machines operating factory lines, computers, and other equipment, before seeing that they were completely surrounded, finding themselves circled by a battalion of troops, all clad in blue body armour, with matching helmets concealing their identities, showing off a glowing red, acting as a visor, while all were armed and ready to open fire on command with advanced energy rifles in hand.

"Then I am sure you know the answer." The voice then said, causing the three former legionaries to turn toward what looked like a throne, only for their eyes to widen as they took in the figure's appearance.

"Now then, do we have a deal?" The figure asked with an amused tone, causing the villains to look at one another, a silent agreement between them, before Michael looked at the figure and asked in reply. "What's first then, boss?"

-Protectors' Base-

After dropping Asta off with the authorities and returning to their base, the heroes bombarded Cody with questions, trying to figure out how the villains escaped, where they went and so forth.

"Guys, I can't find them anywhere, ok! Stop! Jun even tried to track the transport signal and came up empty handed!" Cody yelled, trying to get the heroes to calm down for a moment so he could speak.

"Do you know where they went?" Nene then asked as she glared at Kari and the others, thinking that they knew more than they were telling.

"No, we have no idea. I've never even seen a teleportation like that before." Kari said in reply, where Tagiru then added as he pointed at Kari. "Besides, we never needed a tech-like teleporter, she just opened those dark portals for us."

"He's right, this was something, or someone else." Davis said to the group, knowing that something else was going on, and that his teammates shouldn't be pointing blame so quickly, the actions of which caused Kari to give a small smile at Davis' trust.

It was then that a beeping sound was heard, before one of the monitors changed, showing Thomas Norstein, better known as StarCorps' Cobalt Warrior, displayed, with the blond looking upon the Protectors with the continued seriousness he was known for.

"Thomas, did you guys find anything out there?" Davis then asked, glad something came up to take their minds off of what happened for the moment.

"Yes and no, as you can see." Thomas said back as he panned the camera, causing everyone in the protectors' base to widen their eyes in shock, seeing a large part of the mountain range gone, a massive, smoldering hole in place of what was once there, leaving only some barbed wire fences as evidence of something having been there.

"What was the 'yes' part to?" Tagiru questioned, not sure how anything could have been found from the site.

"This was on the fence." Thomas said in reply, holding up a battered sign that was apparently attached to the fence at one point, causing the heroes' eyes to widen at the sight of the logo of the defunct KnightCorps upon it.

AN: A new chapter has begun, who is the mysterious saviour of the former villains? What caused such devastation? Will the former villains find the redemption they seek? Stay tuned and find out.