The spiral staircase led them to an immense chamber bathed in cold blue light. As they stepped onto the final floor, they finally beheld their target---Steel.
He sat upon a massive throne of polished metal, a towering structure that resembled both seat of power and mechanical altar. Behind him loomed a colossal metallic tree, its branches extending across the ceiling like chrome veins. Steel himself was a vision of inhuman perfection---his entire body forged from a liquid-silver alloy that rippled with each subtle movement. Though he wore only simple black trousers, his metallic physique rendered clothing almost irrelevant. Every feature, from his chiseled face to his flowing metallic hair, was meticulously crafted. There wasn't a trace of humanity left in him---he had transcended flesh completely.
His mercury eyes fixed on Michael. "Michael Florescent," Steel's voice resonated with unnatural depth, vibrating through the chamber like a cathedral bell. "I've awaited your arrival for an exceedingly long time. At last, you stand before me." His lips curled into what might have been a smile. "Unfortunately, your journey ends here. You haven't the slightest chance against what I've become."
Michael stepped forward, the Shimobe Blade gleaming crimson at his side. "You've only witnessed a fraction of our capabilities, Steel. The guardians you set before us saw merely glimpses of our true strength." His eyes narrowed. "Now, you will face the full power of the Angels of Justice."
Steel rose from his throne with fluid grace that defied his metallic nature. Each movement produced a symphony of subtle mechanical sounds, yet appeared unnervingly organic. "You truly don't comprehend what you face." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper before exploding in volume: "YOU STAND BEFORE A GOD!"
With nothing more than a casual flick of his wrist, Steel unleashed a shockwave that distorted reality itself. The air compressed, then exploded outward in concentric rings of pure force. Michael, James, and Violet were hurled backward as if struck by an invisible tidal wave, their bodies crashing against the distant walls with bone-shattering impact. The floor beneath Steel fractured in a perfect circle, metal and concrete reduced to dust.
Violet recovered first, her eyes narrowing with deadly focus. Her hands moved in a blur as she charged both guns to their maximum capacity, the weapons humming with escalating energy that caused the air around them to ionize.
James pushed himself to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He channeled unprecedented power into his right gauntlet, causing it to glow with such intense blue energy that it cast shadows across the entire chamber.
Michael deployed his biomechanical wings, the crimson appendages unfurling with mechanical precision. Energy crackled between the feather-like blades as he concentrated his power, preparing for a coordinated assault.
"Now!" Michael commanded.
Violet unleashed a barrage of energy bolts, each shot precisely calibrated to exploit the weaknesses she'd identified in Steel's composition. The chamber filled with blinding purple light as hundreds of energy projectiles converged on their target.
Steel didn't dodge. Instead, he extended both arms, palms forward. The energy bolts struck his metallic skin and---impossibly---were absorbed, the metal of his forearms glowing white-hot from the transferred power.
"Is that all?" Steel asked, his voice eerily calm.
In that moment of distraction, James and Michael attacked simultaneously from opposite directions.
"CRESCENT MOON SLASH!" Michael roared, the Shimobe Blade trailing crimson light as he executed a perfect diagonal cut.
"ALMIGHTY FIST!" James thundered, his gauntlet leaving a comet trail of blue energy as he aimed a devastating punch at Steel's temple.
The two attacks should have caught Steel in an inescapable pincer movement. Instead, he moved with impossible speed, shifting his body at the exact moment of impact. With his left hand, he caught the edge of Michael's blade between his thumb and forefinger. With his right, he intercepted James's fist, absorbing the kinetic energy without so much as flinching.
"Predictable," Steel whispered.
Two simultaneous counterattacks followed---Steel drove his knee into James's solar plexus with such force that the sound of cracking ribs echoed throughout the chamber. Simultaneously, he twisted his wrist and sent Michael spinning through the air like a ragdoll, the vigilante crashing through one of the metal support columns before slamming into the far wall.
Violet seized the opening, crossing the distance between them in milliseconds. She pressed both guns directly against Steel's eyes and pulled the triggers simultaneously. The point-blank energy blasts should have obliterated his head entirely.
Steel's face contorted momentarily as the energy drilled into his eye sockets, causing molten silver to leak down his cheeks. But even as Violet continued firing, the damage began to reverse itself---liquid metal flowing back into place, reforming his eyes with terrifying speed.
With serpentine quickness, Steel's hand closed around Violet's wrists. The metal of his fingers liquefied, then resolidified, crushing both her guns and the hands that held them. The weapons exploded in a shower of sparks and twisted metal.
"Your toys are broken," Steel observed coldly.
His other hand shot forward, fingers elongating into metallic claws that pierced Violet's abdomen. Before she could activate her healing abilities, Steel transformed his arm into a massive hammer and slammed it into her skull with devastating precision. The impact shattered her cranium and sent her flying backward, a trail of blood marking her trajectory as she collapsed in an unmoving heap, crimson liquid pooling beneath her platinum hair.
"VIOLET!" James roared, a primal sound of pure, unadulterated rage.
He charged at Steel, channeling every ounce of energy into his remaining gauntlet. The blue glow intensified until it was painful to look at directly, arcs of lightning crackling around his arm as he prepared to unleash his most devastating technique.
Steel stood motionless, waiting. When James's fist was mere centimeters from his face, Steel's hand shot up with blinding speed, catching the punch in his open palm. The collision generated a thunderous boom and a shockwave that shattered the remaining windows in the chamber, but Steel didn't move so much as a millimeter.
With his free hand, Steel conjured a metallic rod from his own substance, the tip reshaping itself into a needle-sharp point. Without hesitation, he drove it through James's abdomen with surgical precision, avoiding vital organs---not out of mercy, but to prolong his suffering.
"You've always been the weakest link," Steel whispered as he twisted the rod inside James, eliciting a choked scream. "A boy playing at being a hero."
Steel withdrew the rod, then delivered a vicious kick to James's head that sent him careening across the chamber. James's body left a smear of blood along the floor before coming to rest near Violet's unconscious form.
"Where is the other one?" Steel's voice echoed ominously as he scanned the chamber for Michael.
The answer came in the form of a crimson comet descending from above. Michael had taken to the air, his wings fully extended as he plummeted toward Steel at supersonic speed, the Shimobe Blade wreathed in flames so intense they left afterimages in the air.
"CRIMSON COMET SLASH!" Michael roared, his voice carrying such power that it momentarily drowned out the sound of his descent.
But Steel had anticipated this. At the last possible instant, he sidestepped with perfect precision, avoiding the killing blow by mere millimeters. As Michael's momentum carried him forward, Steel manifested a double-edged sword from his arm and drove it between Michael's ribs with devastating accuracy.
Michael gasped, blood spraying from his mouth, but even in his agony, a smile crossed his face. "You're close to me now," he whispered.
Before Steel could react, Michael twisted his body and brought the Shimobe Blade around in a horizontal arc. "CRIMSON DRAGON ROAR!"
The katana erupted with crimson flames that coalesced into the shape of a dragon's head, its jaws open in a silent scream. The conflagration engulfed Steel completely, temperatures so extreme that the metal floor beneath them began to melt and run like water. The force of the attack sent Steel hurtling backward, his metallic skin glowing white-hot from the heat.
For the first time, Steel showed signs of genuine damage---portions of his liquid metal form had hardened and cracked under the intense heat, revealing glimpses of machinery beneath.
Steel staggered, then straightened. His damaged exterior began to flow and reform, cracks sealing themselves as his perfect appearance restored itself. A sound emerged from his throat---laughter, cold and hollow.
"Very impressive, Michael," Steel commended, his voice carrying a hint of genuine respect. "I suppose it's time I stopped holding back."