Stretch Man: Volume 3

In the vastness of space, countless creatures carved out their worlds. Wars erupted across sectors, planets were conquered, and life flourished endlessly throughout the Living Realm.

The Morphelians of planet Morphelis, the Cordanions of planet Cordania, the Martians of Mars, and countless others spread across the stars.

Beyond the Living Realm existed others. The Magmabeasts roamed the Between Realm, the Whisperfiends lurked within the Whispering Fade, and the Porcelain Dreads crawled through Hell itself. Across all twelve realms, monsters inhabited even the furthest reaches of existence.

The Living Realm alone contained six omniverses stationed within a transcendent outerverse. Each 6D omniverse held infinite 5D hyperverses, each hyperverse contained infinite 4D multiverses, and every multiverse branched into infinite 3D universes.

Yet across all infinite existence, no creature had ever reached the pinnacle of true power.

None except for Spaceless.

But that was only because he was born with it.

Within the Atrium of Origin, Spaceless was found upon his throne of void stone—he was the ruler of twelve realms within an endless void. Though that void wasn’t all—he stood even prouder as the overseer of the infinite timelines.

Spaceless sat alone in his room within the Atrium of Origin, surrounded by paintings gifted by many across the hundred trillion years the realm had existed.

As he sat silently, bored and alone, a flick of his finger erased a loud galaxy. Silence returned. He exhaled.

“I yearn,” he muttered, “for anything but this eternal echo.”

He destroyed certain universes when they got too powerful, or erased countless hyperverses when they threatened his rule.

Despite his supposed ego, he’s only ever erased four omniverses.

That was over a trillion years ago.

Someone crossed the line.

That was the first time Spaceless unleashed his true power.

But before that, before even the twelve realms, Spaceless was a lonely creature in an endless void. He didn’t even have a physical form. So he created one. That was the moment he released his true power.

He continued to create—he continued creating thousands of things, until one of his creations spawned a being—the Hellish Arbiter.

“Ahh, a creature made of pure malice. Intriguing,” said Spaceless, smirking.

He kept making more concepts, each one spawning an Arbiter until he had eleven total.

“Rats. I can’t think of any more of these arbiter things…”

After the concepts were completed, he began making the realms, the infinite verses, and finally, the cathedral within the Atrium of Origin. The massive structure was beautiful, but it felt empty.

That’s when it happened—the final arbiter. The Heavenly Arbiter erupted from the ceiling of the cathedral, placing itself at the entrance of the massive building.

Despite the arbiters filling each realm, he still felt overworked watching over the infinite lives existing around him at all times and controlling the realms.

That’s when Spaceless decided to create Gods—Gods that could rule over some of the aspects he created.

He first made Timeless, the God of Time. He could make sure nobody messed with the fabric of time too much, and accidentally destroyed their universe.

He then created Omni Lord, the God of Destruction. He destroyed any threats against the omniverses in order to keep them in balance.

Next was Voidreign, the God of Life and Death. He controlled who lives and dies in the entire outerverse, helping the people pass on to either heaven or hell.

Following that was Visionkeeper, the God of Fate. He saw over the lives of everyone that Spaceless was originally forced to watch.

Lastly, he created Stickman God. He needed someone to rule over the Gods and make sure they did their jobs correctly, so he stole aspects of everyone else’s character and mashed them together to create—

—A father.

Stickman God was the keeper of the four deities, making sure they didn’t attempt to overthrow Spaceless.

Luckily for Spaceless, the four Gods were surprisingly more chill than he thought.

After creating the twelve realms, he decided the gods needed help.

First he made angels, tasked with watching over the pure souls of the Atrium. Next came archangels, the divine mercenaries under the Omni Lord. He followed with cherubs, divine guards of the God of Fate. Next he made shadow arcs, creature of pure shadow energy who work under the God of Life and Death.

He searched his realms, looking for anything he could that needed guarding.

Finally—he spotted it.

The

A few hundred billion years later, he created trillions of bacteria and sent them to Earth’s waters. That tale is long and full of scars—but it sparked the legend that shaped Earth forever.

Now, the planet is filled with wondrous creatures. The mega-continent split and wars shaped the governments into what they are today, and people fluctuated in strength over time.

After the first meta-human, The Progenitor, massacred his village using his time powers, meta-humans sprawled out throughout the entire planet.

This was the start of a new brand of military power—superheroes.

But not all power came from evolution. Some came from the cosmos.

Some were chosen.

Others were cursed.

Stretch Man was one of the firstborn not from Earth’s will, but from the chaos Spaceless had unleashed.

He was never meant to be a hero.

He was a forced reincarnation, courtesy of the arbiters.

The universe’s job was to force him and two others to remember that part.

Now, cities beamed with light, and the skies burned with capes. Governments built hero registries. Corporations sold hero merchandise. The age of cosmic balance was long gone—replaced by rankings, rivalries, and revenge arcs.

But the void never forgot.

Spaceless watched.

And for the first time in a trillion years… he moved.

“My my… This isn’t good at all,” Spaceless said, inspecting Visionkeeper’s findings.

Within the viewing, Stretch Man and Prosopheous were speaking.

“Then, he left. I don't know what he told this man, but I needn’t ask.”

Spaceless sighed, standing from his celestial throne and shaking the void around him. “That archangel was already on thin ice for his treason… no matter. It’s time, Gods. The three will finally learn their purpose.”

Spaceless left his throne room within the Atrium, pacing through the massive halls in silence.

Right as Spaceless made his way toward the entrance, Prosopheous teleported into the cathedral. “My star archangel. We need to talk.”

The angels stared in fear at Spaceless as he towered over Prosopheous with a look of pure malice.

The archangel reluctantly stepped forward. Suddenly, Visionkeeper appeared beside Spaceless holding his All-Seeing Orb.

“Please explain what you told this man,” Visionkeeper inquired.

Prosopheous sighed, fearing his time was up.

“I told him how his power will be his downfall. I've heard rumors of three concepts of the outerverse that could change the scope of everything. Those three concepts could even threaten the rule of Spaceless—or so I've heard. The arbiters chat loudly, you know,” Prosopheous claimed, his voice breaking under the stress of the creator of everything staring down at him.

Stickman God narrowed his glowing eyes, entering the hall beside his father. “How strong is this man, anyway?”

Prosopheous showed hesitation for a moment, but he continued anyway. “I don’t know. But I do know he defeated Nyxara in battle.”

A tense silence fell in the temple.

Then—Timeless spoke.

“Defeated her, huh?” he said, half to himself. “I see. This human is pretty powerful. Whatever you do, don’t let this become a Brozemus situation.”

Prosopheous nodded, feeling the stress like hands around his throat.

“I fear it may be too late for hope, sire.”

Back on Earth, Xavier—the one now under God’s watchful eye—woke up with a start.

His heart pounded. He rose slowly from his bed, a pot of tea whistling on his stovetop.

He couldn’t remember what he dreamed, but he felt like something ancient had seen him. Judged him. Measured him.

And wasn’t done.

“Xavier,” Nicole said, standing in front of his fridge. “You okay?”

He looked out the window, eyes distant. “Yeah. Just a weird dream. Why’re you in my room?”

She frowned. “I ran out of coffee and you had the next best option. Anyways, what was your dream about?”

“…I think I saw God. Or one of his cronies, at least.”

Meanwhile, Visionkeeper’s orb flickered, Xavier’s energy growing distant.

“Somehow his energy is rejecting my watch. Only a certain group of creatures could do such a thing…”

The orb finally stabilized as Xavier calmed himself. The orb showed him standing before his window. The window was slightly cracked, wind howling around him. He cracked his knuckles, then his neck, and stared down at a city that didn’t know how close it was to collapse.

Spaceless watched.

“It begins,” he whispered.

Meanwhile, back on Earth...

Xavier made his way through the wormholes stopping right when he reached the top floor. He rested atop the building, his body stretched across two skyscrapers like a hammock of muscle and anxiety.

He sighed.

Another mission was done. Another headline that twisted everything out of proportion.

“STRETCH MAN OR STRETCH MENACE?”

He hated those kinds of questions.

As he retracted to normal size, his comms crackled.

“Xavier. You good?” Nicole’s voice came through.

“Define ‘good,’” he muttered, walking along the rooftop edge. “I just took down another one of those government robots.”

“Tough luck,” Nicole muttered. “Well, I've got some unfortunate news then…”

Xavier perked up.

“What could be worse than what happened last night?”

Nicole's tone turned serious.

“You see… we’ve figured out who the number eight and nine hero is.”

Xavier grimaced. “Well, actually—I also figured it out.”

Nicole let out an audible groan from beyond the comms. “Told you he knew, why else would he have left last night?”

Naomi scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Well my bad…”

Nicole chuckled, continuing her conversation with Xavier.

“Sorry about that. Anyway, you know Cipher and Flashy are the eighth and ninth heroes?”

Xavier rolled his eyes, getting up from the edge of the tower.

“Hello? Do you?” Nicole asked again.

“Yeah dude,” he said.

“Oh, my fault. Anyways, we need to talk. Meet me where you fought that unit.”

Xavier transformed into his Devilcry form, charging up pressurized air. Xavier didn’t even question her—he knew it wouldn’t be worth it.

“Aight.”

She darted off, arriving at the city in less than a second. A few moments later, Xavier landed in the city nearby. He rushed over, arriving at a coffee shop. Nicole, spotting her partner, followed in his trail.

“Notice how banged up that tower over there is?” Xavier asked, pointing at Peter’s office.

“Uhh, yeah? Wasn't that where you had your battle?”

He cut her off.

“Yeah, but someone else was there.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “What—who else?! There’s no way you fought two people alone…”

Xavier shook his head, sitting down next to Nicole. “Well you’re right about that. Flashy was there too.”

“Why was he there?” Nicole asked, ordering an espresso. “And who's the other guy?”

Xavier ordered a black coffee, not even glancing at the menu. “Because he wanted to reveal his placement, but Cipher—or Peter—interrupted our talk. Also, Winston was there, apparently teaming with Peter.”

Xavier readjusted his hero mask before continuing.

“He attempted to teleport Flashy and me into space to kill us, but Luna actually helped us out.”

Nicole stared at Xavier, her eyes piercing the tired his.

“Luna??? Why the fuck didn’t think to tell us any of this??”

Before Xavier could explain himself, Prosopheous appeared directly behind him.

“Xavier, look out—”

Right as Nicole attempted to warn him, Prosopheous stabbed his sword straight toward her eye. She just narrowly weaved beside the blade, catching her breath.

“Who’s this guy now?” she yelled.

She kicked aside her table, nearly knocking over their barista as she rushed toward the archangel.

She jumped above the archangel, throwing her leg into his head.

He weaved below the kick, grabbing her leg and slamming her into the ground. Nicole bounced off the ground, spine nearly shattering from the force of the slam.

Prosopheous slid beneath Nicole, quickly approaching Xavier with his sword reeled far behind himself.

He swung the blade, slicing Xavier’s arm open. The heavenly energy enhanced blade burned at Xavier’s skin, causing him to reel back in agony.

“Shit! What the hell is happening??” Xavier cowered, gripping his arm as his flesh burned away slowly. He wrapped his finger around the wound, covering it for now as the archangel continued its assault.

Nearby, Nicole slowly rose from the ground, her nanobots restoring her skeleton.

“You’re toast, gold head.”

“That was weak, Nicole. Oh—sorry, Xavier. I've been ordered to assassinate you.”

Xavier, ever the stubborn type, transformed into his Devilcry form. Horns protruded from his head as his skin blackened and demon sigils replaced his blemishes.

His arm flared up, the burn becoming more intense as the demonic energy eclipsed his mortal energy.

“Crap, it’s a holy blade?!”

Prosopheous chuckled. “Of course it is, demon.”

“Don’t matter to me! I won't go down without a fight,” he exclaimed.

He stretched his leg forward, kicking the archangel square in the jaw.

Prosopheous was launched out of the coffee shop through a massive window, landing in the wreckage of Peter’s office.

Xavier rushed over to Nicole, the two recollecting their thoughts.

“Explain. Now.”

“No time, but I have something that could help us.”

He reached into his belt, pulling a glowing orb from his back pouch. It glowed with heavenly energy, its power nearly shattering the walls of the coffee shop.

“Oh—sorry about the damages by the way!” Xavier exclaimed. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, throwing a thousand dollars onto the table.

“If I win this fight, I’ll bring you more.”

The barista fainted, her coworker catching her before she hit the floor.

“God bless you, Stretch Man!”

He winked, rushing outside with Nicole.

Nicole’s eyes widened, still locked on the orb in his hand. “Isn’t that a Synergy Merge Orb? I thought only Nyxara—”

Xavier lowered his head. “She snuck up on me, I didn’t want to—”

“Don’t. Let’s just kill this guy and go home.”

She gripped onto Xavier’s hands as he chanted the words—

“Synergy Merge!”

A bright light emerged from the two, one so bright it replaced the blue sky with a green hue. Civilians all around covered their eyes as their red and green energies swirled around in a storm of power as their souls bonded at the molecular level.

The two joined within an eruption of bright light, encompassing what's left of the entire city within their glow.

An explosion rang out, knocking everyone nearby to the ground and sending the construction machines airborne.

Prosopheous quickly saved the construction workers, flashing all around before landing face to face with the glowing entity.

As the light died down, a fused warrior stood tall where Xavier and Nicole once were.

Their body was drenched in white electric markings from torso to toe—upon their head was a mask that covered all but their neon blue eyes. Their costume was primarily navy blue with hints of silver and black lining all the way down to their steel toed boots.

Their gloves were sharp at the cuffs and fingerless, and red lightning crackled throughout their form like a spotlight.

Suddenly, the fusion flashed forward, landing several hundred hits on the archangel in a split second. Prosopheous stumbled back, but he didn’t waver. He only grimaced.

“Now this will take too long.”

“Whoa missed me—don’t wanna get tagged by the quick-witted Livewire!” the fusion joked, cracking their knuckles.

Prosopheous dusted off the debris, walking toward Livewire. The archangel gripped his sword tightly, his emotions flaring more than his overwhelming power. The sword grunted, shaking in his hand.

“Whoa, whoa! Calm down… Let’s just cleave, man! They won’t know what hit ‘em!” Steeltor growled, squinting its one eye as Prosopheous softened his grasp.

The archangel remained silent, only dropping into an angelic fighting pose. His wings sprawled out as he unleashed more of his own power. His sword chuckled, its one eye closing as it readied itself.

Livewire followed, sparks flying around their body as their limbs waved around in the wind.

Meanwhile, Spaceless and the five other Gods watched the battle unfold on the All-Seeing Orb. Spaceless leaned forward for the first time in eons.

“Now that... is new. I just hope our star pupil can redeem his past mistakes with this one…”

Prosopheous cracked his neck.

“You think fusion will save you?” he growled. “You think synergy can match divine wrath?”

Livewire smirked.

“Hope so. All I know is it’ll make this more fun.”

With a sudden crackle, Livewire vanished, reappearing behind Prosopheous mid-air.

His entire body whipped around as he landed dozens of spinning heel kicks on the archangel. Each strike shocked Prosopheous, being laced with lightning. Prosopheous raised his blade to stop the barrage—the shockwave shattered every window within three blocks.

“Ouch! That’s my eye!” Steeltor grumbled.

Glass rained like glittering snow as Livewire and Prosopheous recovered.

Nicole’s voice echoed inside the fusion’s mind.

“We’ve got him on speed, but not on strength. We’ve gotta transform.”

Xavier replied, “Will it be my form, yours, or a combo?”

“Guess we’ll find out.”

The sparks and bolts around Livewire intensified—lightning arced into the clouds above, pulling in thunder like it was charging an ancient cannon. The air pressure dropped. Demonic glyphs replaced the lightning that covered their body, and green energy appeared around their form. Horns protruded from his head, and a tail stabbed through their costume.

“It’s a combo!” cheered Livewire.

Cars down the street flipped from the raw force emitting around them.

Prosopheous narrowed his eyes.

“So you’ve chosen death by Overdraw.”

He slammed his palms together, summoning a spiraling circle of golden glyphs. They emerged from his wings that were glowing increasingly more intensely. He grabbed Steeltor, stabbing it through the glyphs.

A blinding golden light emitted from the glyphs, shifting Steeltor into a divine monster of strength and skill.

“Ohh yeah!! Let’s do this,” the blade grunted.

Steeltor suddenly extended over three times its length—the blade roughened into a serrated mess of spikes, the hilt gaining a spine of silver and gold. Diamonds coated themselves across the center of the blade, its beauty blinding all those near—except for Livewire.

It transformed into a blade of pure judgment—Heavenrend, forged from divine verdicts and sealed sins.

“Now, let the battle commence,” Prosopheous sneered, lowering his hood and removing his golden mask.

The clash was instant and brutal. Livewire's lightning-charged fist collided with Heavenrend's divine edge, creating a sonic boom that rippled through the continent. The ground beneath Birmingham cracked like broken glass, spreading outward in a perfect circle for miles.

Prosopheous spun the massive blade overhead, its weight seeming to bend reality itself. He brought it down in a devastating arc, but Livewire was already moving—stretching sideways around the attack while Nicole's emerald energy crackled through Xavier's demonic form.

"Too slow, angel boy!" Livewire taunted, snapping back like a rubber band and driving an electrified knee into Prosopheous's ribs.

The archangel staggered but didn't fall. Instead, he grabbed Livewire's extended leg and spun them like a weapon, hurling the fusion through three buildings before they could retract.

Each crash turned the building into pure ash, their lightning frying everyone and everything in their path.

"Your mortal forms betray you," Prosopheous called out, his voice echoing with divine authority. "Even fused, you are still bound by flesh."

Livewire erupted from the rubble, their body now crackling with both emerald overdrive energy and demonic sigils. Xavier's voice boomed from the fusion:

"We gotta end this fast! People are dying!”

The fusion launched into the air, its fist beginning to expand. It grew beyond human proportions—beyond building size—swelling to dwarf the entire cityscape. The massive appendage cast Birmingham in shadow as it reached the size of the land mass itself.

Prosopheous's eyes widened. "Impossible..."

The punch came down with the force of a falling moon. Prosopheous raised Heavenrend to block, but the sheer mass and velocity of the attack was overwhelming. The divine blade held for a heartbeat before the impact sent the archangel rocketing through the Earth and into the mantle.

The archangel shot through the planet, breaking into the soil until he emerged on the other side of the planet.

He didn’t speak, he only fired back through the hole, crashing into Livewire and sending both of them into the atmosphere. They fired past the Earth, past satellites, then past the Moon—the three of them streaked through space like a golden comet, their trajectory carrying them beyond Mars, through the asteroid belt, until they finally crashed into Jupiter's storm-covered surface with an impact that sent crimson clouds spiraling into the endless void of the universe.

They stood face-to-face on the gas giant's surface—or rather, what passed for a surface in the storm-wracked realm where solid and gas met in eternal conflict. The archangel's robes were torn, golden ichor dripping from wounds, but his grip on Heavenrend remained steady.

“Beat them, dude! You shouldn’t be losing this!!!”

Prosopheous scoffed, ignoring his talkative sword.

"You would bring this battle to the realm of gods?" Prosopheous asked, his voice carrying across the cosmic winds. “This planet is sacred, you know. You'll pay greatly for this—”

A punch triple his size broke his focus, landing with enough force to send shockwaves through the entire solar system.

The archangel quickly recovered, swinging Heavenrend in a wide arc. Its edge carved through Jupiter, leaving a trail of severed storms and crust. Livewire narrowly ducked under the blade as bits of the planets floated aimlessly into space.

Livewire stretched and weaved around barrages of sword strikes, their body coiling around the archangel's attacks before snapping, sending both fighters tumbling through the solar system’s other planets.

They traded blows as they soared—Prosopheous's divine blade clashing against Livewire's lightning-charged fists, kicks, and air blasts. Each impact sent tremors throughout the solar system, Jupiter crumbling to dust from the shockwaves.

"You're tearing this galaxy apart!" Livewire shouted over the chaos.

"Then perhaps you should surrender," Prosopheous replied, driving his knee into the fusion's solar plexus.

The archangel smirked, following the knee with a right hook. He landed a left uppercut to their jaw, then slammed his elbow into their forehead. As Livewire spun wildly, Prosopheous grabbed them by the leg, throwing them further into the system.

Instead of surrendering, Livewire reached far—he grabbed onto a nearby asteroid, pulling it in toward the archangel. The massive space rock crashed into Prosopheous with enough force to shatter it into millions of shards.

With the archangel distracted, the fusion grasped his arm, attempting to Saturn’s surface and slingshotting both of them into the outer solar system.

It was there, in the cold darkness between worlds, that they caught the attention of something ancient.

The Celestial Arbiter hung motionless in the void—the Silence—a being of such immense power that stars bent their light around its form. It had been observing the cosmic dance of planets and asteroids, maintaining the delicate balance of celestial mechanics.

Luna was nearby, sat motionlessly beside Celestial Arbiter as she controlled the tides universe-wide.

But as Livewire and Prosopheous's battle brought them careening through their domain, the Celestial Arbiter turned its attention to them. For a moment that lasted an eternity, the ancient entity studied the two combatants.

Then, slowly and respectfully, it bowed.

The gesture sent ripples through spacetime itself. Both Livewire and Prosopheous paused their battle, struck by the profound reverence of the moment. They were witnessing something that perhaps no mortal had ever seen—an arbiter acknowledging worthiness in beings far beneath its cosmic station. Or so they thought.

"Even the arbiters recognize your potential," Prosopheous said, his voice carrying a note of something that might have been respect. "But potential means nothing without the will to use it."

He raised Heavenrend high above his head, and the blade began to grow. It expanded beyond its already massive proportions, stretching until it dwarfed moons, planets, then the entire void itself. The weapon became a construct of pure divine judgment, its edge sharp enough to cleave reality itself.

"This ends now," Prosopheous declared.

The swing came with the force of colliding galaxies. Livewire tried to dodge, tried to stretch out of the way, but the blade's sheer size made evasion impossible. It caught them full-force, sending the fusion hurtling back toward the inner solar system at impossible speeds.

They tore through the asteroid belt, leaving a trail of pulverized rock in their wake. Mars became a brief red blur as they passed. The Moon's surface cracked from the atmospheric pressure of their passage.

Atop the Moon, a species cowered in fear as their home tore to shreds. Queen Selunara, feeling the affects of the battle, gathered her guards. The legion worked together, forming a gravity barrier around the entire planetoid.

“Hopefully this holds,” lamented the queen.

Finally, they struck Earth's atmosphere after microseconds of being space-bound, their form burning like a meteor as they plummeted toward the surface. They crashed into the wide body, but they didn’t stop. The sheer speed of their descent completely vaporized half the Earth's ocean.

Steam rose from the ocean as Livewire’s electric energy replaced the entire ocean. Every fish in sight was completely vaporized as Livewire slowly rose from the ocean depths. Their fusion form was battered, crackling with unstable energy, but their eyes still blazed with determination.

"Round three?" Xavier's voice echoed from within the fusion, defiant despite their injuries.

"Always," Nicole replied, her emerald energy flaring back to life.

High above in the cosmic void, Prosopheous began his descent back toward Earth, Heavenrend shrinking back to its manageable size. The battle was far from over, and both combatants knew that the next exchange would determine not just their fate, but the fate of the world below.

Spaceless, peaking over the other Gods as they watched their show, smiled at the orb with great conviction.

"Fascinating," he murmured. "They continue to surprise me."

Before Livewire could react, Prosopheous was already standing before the fusion. He flash-stepped behind Livewire, landing a powerful chop on the fusion’s neck that sent them flying toward the empty chasm.

The fusion was finally out of commission.

“You fought hard, but you still need to die.”

Prosopheous raised Heavenrend, charging a heavenly blast. “This should vaporize you like the demons you are,” he murmured.

As he charged up his attack, preparing to end Xavier once and for all, someone else suddenly intervened.

“Dont even think about it,” the figure said, gripping the archangel’s neck from meters away.

“You won't be the one to end him.”

Prosopheous sucked his teeth, turning to face the new adversary.

“I see… " You think you can defeat me?” he gloated, swinging Heavenrend snarkly.

Winston simply flicked his pinky—the motion struck Prosopheous’s heart, knocking him out on the spot.

“The only person who can kill you—is me,” Winston muttered, opening a portal as the fusion began to wake up.

The fusion’s light dissolved, leaving Xavier and Nicole floored in what used to be the Mariana’s Trench. Above them, the stars seemed different somehow—as if the very cosmos had shifted during their battle.

Xavier struggled to his feet, his body aching from the separation. "Did you see—?"

"Winston," Nicole finished, her voice hollow. "But how did he know we were—"

Her words died as they both realized the same thing.

He'd been watching. Waiting.

And now, somewhere in the void between worlds, an unconscious archangel was at the mercy of Earth's most dangerous hero.

Xavier looked up at the sky and felt a chill that had nothing to do with the morning air.

"What have we done?"