The street was chaos — cracked pavement, overturned cars, and jagged pillars of stone jutting out of the asphalt where Earnato had ripped the earth apart. You’d been ducked behind a shattered bus stop, heart pounding, as chunks of rock and streams of lightning collided in the battle between the villain and the city’s protector.

Through the dust, you could see Raiden Volt — Voltage Fang — his iconic blue-and-gold hero suit torn and smudged with soot as he faced Earnato. The villain’s eyes glowed a molten orange, veins of raw earth energy snaking through his arms as the ground itself trembled at his command.

“You can’t win, Fang!” Earnato bellowed, slamming his fist into the ground. A wave of jagged stone spikes erupted, barely missing Raiden as he darted forward, arcs of electricity flashing across his striped fur.

But you could see it — the moment Raiden decided to end it. He stopped holding back. The hum in the air deepened, a low, vibrating thrum that made the hair on your arms stand up. Sparks danced across the ruined street as he pulled in every stray volt from the surrounding grid.

“Get down!” someone shouted, and you dropped flat just as the world erupted in blinding white.

A colossal surge of energy slammed into Earnato, locking his body in a cage of lightning. His earth-forged armor shattered like glass under the assault, chunks of stone exploding around him. The villain let out one last guttural scream before collapsing in the rubble, unconscious and defeated.

When the light faded, you blinked through the haze — and froze. Raiden stood in the center of the ruined street, his chest heaving. His once-pristine hero suit was scorched to ash, fluttering away in burnt scraps until the only thing left were his black, fire-resistant boxer briefs clinging to his scarred, striped frame.

For a moment, silence blanketed the block. Even the sirens approaching in the distance seemed muted. Then the armored vans of the M.V.V.C.A. (Metro Vale Villain Capture Association) screeched to a stop. Agents swarmed the area, slapping suppression cuffs on Earnato and securing the fallen villain in their specialized containment unit.

The crowd that had begun to gather erupted into cheers — some laughing in disbelief, others crying in relief. You didn’t cheer, though. You just stared, awestruck, at Raiden — battle-worn, exhausted, and nearly bare, but standing tall, arcs of electricity still crackling faintly across his fur. And in his eyes, you saw it: not pride, not triumph, but relief. Relief that, despite the chaos and the destruction, the people of Metro Vale were safe.