Orion was pissed.

His battle with Stella didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. If anything, it just gave him more fuel to fight everyone else.

Oscar and Xiomara went on the offensive first. Together they sent a powerful torrent of sweltering fire in his direction, pinning him down while everyone formed a circle around him. The plan was a simple one—surround him and keep him boxed in like a shark in a tank.

There was only one problem—Orion was more than capable of destroying the tank. However, he wouldn't be able to take them all at once. He was strong, but he wasn't omnipotent. With enough focus and a lot of luck, they could take him down.

Victor, Andre, Emily, and Theo rounded out the left side of the circle while Chase, Isra, and Mateo took the right. Mateo had taken the form of a teenaged grizzly bear; not quite as frightening as a fully grown one, but big enough to do some damage. Victor brandished his weapon, as did Chase. Both prepared for Orion to spring at them at any given moment.

While Oscar and Xiomara focused their fire on Orion, Emily pelted him with sonic arrows. They screamed through the air before exploding, sonic rings shooting out the metallic arrowheads. Orion grunted as he tumbled backward. He was pushed up against a piece of crumbling concrete that had fallen from the ceiling.

Most of the ceiling was gone now. The walls were still trembling, as Dr. Johansson's self-destruct protocol continued to rip the lab apart. He thought the ceiling caving in was the last of their worries, but then the floor started to give way to the inside of the mountain. A rocky abyss met his eyes as chunks of the ground crumbled and fell.

Gulping, Oscar continued focusing on the task at hand. Sweat poured down his face as he felt the temperature around him amp up. Steam poured off his body. Gritting his teeth, he willed his flames to go up in temperature. His orange fire quickly turned blue while Xiomara's remained the same. The two contrasting color streams swirled around each other like vibrant dragons dancing in the air.

Orion blocked the flames with his forearm. They cascaded past him, licking the massive stone fragment behind him. With a grunt, he ducked from the twin streams and surged forward. In an instant, his hand was wrapped around Oscar's neck.

It felt like a boa constrictor had coiled around his throat, slowly and agonizingly squeezing the air from his trachea. His eyes bulged as he kicked out, desperately trying to free himself from the golden-eyed Prime's clutches.

Andre stormed Orion with his steel fist cocked back. The sound of his metal hand connecting with the Prime's jaw reverberated around the room. The force of the punch sent Orion through the air, but his feet were back on the ground in seconds.

Oscar fell to the floor. His hands flew to his neck, which had been seconds away from snapping into pieces like a twig. Wheezing, he offered up a 'thank you' to his savior.

"Don't thank me yet."

Victor was the next to attack. He teleported in behind Orion and delivered a flurry of quick strikes from his katana all over his body. None of them even drew blood. He might as well have been constructed out of solid titanium.

And Oscar thought Chase was impenetrable.

Orion's mouth twisted into a snarl. He lashed out at Victor. His hand caught the man on the side of the face, sending him flipping through the air like a ragdoll. Victor teleported just before he hit the ground and safely rematerialized on one knee a few feet away.

"This isn't working," he shouted before wiping the blood from his cheek.

He was right. Nothing they threw at Orion was even slowing him down. If Stella in her star mode couldn't take him, what made any of them think they could? It was a hopeless battle.

Oscar turned to Chase. "What do we do?"

The blond opened his mouth, but no words came out. His blue eyes were wide with fear. His hands trembled at his side. He was afraid. Terror swelled in Oscar's chest.

We're screwed.

Mateo, still in bear form, rushed Orion with Emily firing off more arrows just behind him. Theo zoomed about, doing his best to keep Orion's attention off them. While they kept him busy, the rest of them regrouped. Oscar found himself knelt beside Stella, who was just coming to.

Her hair was plastered to her face due to the blood leaking from various cuts and gashes dotting her once flawless skin. Most of her jumpsuit had been burned away during her fight with Orion. Despite her injuries, she still managed to speak.

"Cassie...save Cassie..."

Oscar screwed his face at her. "Cassie? Who's Cassie?"

She pointed weakly in the direction of the young girl they freed earlier. She was awake now. Her black, soulless eyes were narrowed into slits. The white hospital gown she wore fluttered in the wind pouring in from the massive gaps in the ceiling.

The entire sky was visible now. Soon, the floor would be gone as well.

"You're the one who needs saving right now," Oscar told Stella. He grabbed her arm and draped it over his shoulders. He instructed Xiomara to do the same. "We gotta get you outta here."

"Cassie...don't let them take Cassie..."

As Oscar and Xiomara helped her up, he flagged down a dumbfounded Chase. "Go get Cassie! We gotta get everyone out of here! This place is about to—"

Steel beams whined as they buckled under the weight of the explosions rocking the lab. They all froze as the floor shuddered as if an earthquake was rippling through the land. Even Orion stopped to look at the ground. Cracks riddled the tiles. With every passing second, more of the floor gave way to the hollowed-out mountain The Acropolis was built into.

In a flash, Theo scooped up Isra and rushed her out of the room. He repeated the act with Mateo, who had shifted back to his normal, teenaged-boy form. Oscar watched him fade into a silver streak as he dodged the growing holes in the ground.

He would be coming back for Cassie after dropping Mateo off. Though, there might not have been a room to return in a few minutes.

Oscar looked around with his heart thundering in his chest. His eyes searched for the doctor, but he couldn't find her through the clouds of dust and smoke filling the air. She had likely fallen to her death ages ago.

He wouldn't lose any sleep over it. She was the reason the room was collapsing in on itself.

Nearby, Chase had managed to shake himself out of his stupor and had gone full commander mode. He started barking orders at everyone, but Oscar could barely hear them over the sound of the lab falling away like a stale gingerbread house.

He glanced over his shoulder at the exit.

It was too far away. They wouldn't make it before the ground fell.

The panic that had been building in the pit of his stomach vanished, only to be replaced by absolute dread. Swallowing hard, he readjusted Stella's arm over his shoulder.

This was surely the end for them. But if it was going to be the end, they might as well have gone out with a bang. He handed Stella off to Xiomara and instructed her to make her way to the exit.

"What about you?" she asked him with tears in her eyes.

He grinned. "I'm gonna right some wrongs." He planted a kiss on her forehead before urging her to go.

She reluctantly made her way for the exit with a hobbling Stella latching onto her for dear life.

His smile disappeared. The sound of the ground rumbling and shrapnel burning around the destroyed lab faded to a dull buzz in the back of his head. He kept his eyes on Orion. Setting his jaw, he lifted his chin slightly. It was time to end Orion—once and for all. The others must've had a similar thought.

Like a team, the remaining eight of them formed a loose circle around the supercharged Prime.

He had lost his javelin to the abyss below, leaving him with just his two hands and a wide assortment of powers bestowed to him courtesy of Dr. Johansson. His golden eyes shifted from person to person as they approached.

"You're not making it out of this room," Chase said while pointing his blade at the Prime.

"Funny," Orion said. "I was going to say the same."

A tense silence passed between them for a moment. The lab around continued to quake and deteriorate. Soon, there wouldn't be a room for them to stand in.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Orion arched an eyebrow.

Oscar charged his fists with flames. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life, hombre."

He squeezed his eyes shut and called upon every ounce of fury he carried deep within his heart. For years, it fueled the fire he used to exact his revenge against Atlas. It served him well, keeping him warm when he slept under bridges in the winter. The mission kept the fire burning in his heart alive. Destroy all his enemies. That was the mission.

Those around him were once foes. He would've done anything to watch them burn. But not now. They weren't friends, but they weren't enemies either.

The only enemy he had right now was Orion.

Scowling, his eyes snapped open as he felt his body temperature spike. Flames poured from his palms and spiraled up his arms, eating away at the material of his jacket until it became a vest. Smoke rolled off his clothes and spilled across the cracking floor.

A fiery skull reminiscent of something he would've seen on Día de Muertos erupted from Oscar's chest. It coiled around his neck before engulfing his head like a helmet. More fire poured from his chest and wrapped him in a red-orange glow. He was covered head-to-toe in fiery armor. He stepped forward.

Orion watched him. Silent. Calculating. His golden eyes and stoic expression showed no hint of fear. That was fine. Oscar would show him fear.

A wry smile stretched the Prime's lips. Oscar's frown deepened, a crease in his glowing face. His eyes burned—literally—with the force of a thousand suns. He was going to knock that smile right off Orion's stupid face.

Punching his fist together, sparks flying from his knuckles, he took another step forward.

"Hasta la vista."

With a trail of smoke following him, he charged. His body seemed to be moving on autopilot. As he and Orion traded blows, he couldn't help but be amazed at himself. The fact that he was even keeping up with the Prime surprised him. He wasn't sure how he summoned the fiery avatar surrounding him, but it seemed to be fueled by the rage he carried inside of his heart for years. As he fought, he felt it slowly melting away.

But as it disappeared, he felt his energy levels dipping by the second.

Gritting his teeth, he lobbed dozens of fireballs Orion's way as he zipped around the sky. He dodged falling pieces of concrete without even looking as if he had a sixth sense. With his lip curled, he unleashed a torrent of blue energy eerily reminiscent of Angus' energy blasts.

Oscar dove to the side and scrambled behind a large block of stone. His chest heaved as he pressed his back to the rock. His fiery aura was fading. Sweat poured down his face, dripping from his chin.

Whatever power he had called upon...it wasn't enough.

Around him, he saw the others doing their best to keep Orion occupied.

But with the lab falling increasingly deteriorating and none of them being able to fly, there was only so much they could do.

Chase chucked his holo-shield at Orion. It sailed by harmlessly like a frisbee. Victor engaged next, teleporting in and around Orion. His crimson katana sliced through the air, each strike missing the golden-eyed Prime.

Orion unleashed a bolt of black energy. It caught Victor in the chest and threw him across the room. This time, he couldn't teleport before he hit the ground.

Emily rolled out into the open floor before letting off three explosive arrows. Two exploded either side of Orion's face while the third was stopped in its tracks by his hand. The arrowhead went off in his face. A black cloud distorted his face for a brief moment. Once the smoke was clear, Emily's shoulders slumped.

"Oh, come on!"

Theo and Andre were racing toward Xiomara and Stella, likely trying to help them to escape. The lab wouldn't be able to withstand much more. Within minutes, seconds even, it would fall to the bottom of The Acropolis. Water had begun to pour in from the waterfall outside the compound. It gushed down the walls and through the opened ceiling, cascading downward like tears from titans in the sky. The heavy streams rivers dropped to the base level of the facility.

Oscar gulped as he watched them from his hiding spot.

Out the corner of his eye, he spotted Xiomara approaching the exit with Stella still draped over her small body. She was struggling with the older girl's weight. Theo and Andre couldn't navigate the chasms opening throughout the room. They were cut off.

Oscar's heart jumped into his mouth as he watched Xiomara and Stella hobbling toward the exit. They were so close. Just a few more steps—

Another explosion. Bigger than all the others.

He reached out to hold onto something but there was nothing to grab hold of.

A chilling cracking noise echoed around him. For a split second, everything went silent. Oscar felt like he was flying. He felt free. He closed his eyes.

He found himself tumbling through the air, wind whipping through his hair.

Then everything else came crashing down with him.