Hearing a mighty ruckus from outside, John Bones Henry bursts through the door, not knowin what to expect on the other side.
Seein the lifeless body of Paragon's truest hero, Henry knows what has to be done.
"WADE!"
Darrin Wade looks at him coolly, his cheeks stretching like arms into a smile like the cat that ate the canary.
"You've come at last. How does it feel to be rendered obsolete twice? First by the steam shovel, and now by your precious hero's powers being absorbed into my own?"
Flying into a rage, John attacks Darrin. A scuffle takes place on the platform, though it is clear that Darrin is holding back.
"In time," he says, "all will come to know the extent of my power. And nothing you have can stop me. Now play with this."
Darrin Wade disappears into the aether while an aspect of Ruladak appears in his place, attacking immediately. Henry picks up his mighty hammer and says
"No."
"No."
"NO! Last I checked, I got a choice. Last I checked. . .I got hands! Just like Positron, Sister Psyche, Pyrocitic One, Face of the Beast, Elauria, Operative 120988, Fizzbin, Omnibrute2 and every single hero in this world got hands!"
Ruladak began to buckle from strike after strike, unable to break John Henry's will even with the mightiest of his strikes.
"AND AIN'T NO STEAM SHOVEL, NO EVIL, NO MONSTER CAN MATCH THE FURY THAT POURS OUTTA THEM PALMS! I GOT HANDS!"
With a titanic smash of his hammer, his own armor buckling from the sheer force of his blows, Ruladak began to unravel, Wade's voice in the background.
"Perhaps I should have gone back and researched ways to kill past versions of you off!"
Thoroughly outmatched, the aspect began to fade from this plain of existence, as John approached Statesman's lifeless body. Henry picked up his hammer and shattered a stone lying next to the corpse.
"These rocks ain't never been shackles. Just a bunch of dust that didn't know to part ways when it sees our footsteps. The fight never ends. Not now, not ever. And just so you know, Wade. . .I beat that steam shovel."
Seeing through the eyes of the fading aspect, Darrin Wade stares as Henry leaves his hammer in tribute.
Silent, like they could smell the rain coming.
