TEN YEARS EARLIER…

      RENATA SOLIZ STOOD in the centre of the empty field, directly in the path of the approaching figure.

      She had her long black hair tied back and was wearing grey jeans and a plain red T-shirt. The only thing that marked her out as anything other than a normal girl was a pair of thick leather gloves and the black Zorro mask she’d “borrowed” from her little brother.

      The midday sun broke through the clouds and illuminated the tall man making his way towards her.

      Renata stood her ground, watching him approach.

      Though Dioxin was still twenty metres away, there was a stench of death about him: a putrid, damp, fungal smell that reminded Renata of the rotting timbers in the basement of her grandmother’s house. He sneered at her as he stomped forward over the rough ground, his grin spreading across the blotched yellow and red skin of his face like an opening wound. “Haven’t you got the sense to run away, little girl?”

      He continued walking towards her, the grass dying where his bare feet touched it.

      Renata watched him carefully. She knew all about Dioxin, knew what he could do. His skin oozed a thick, clear, acid-like venom and if his touch didn’t scorch the flesh from your bones, it infected you with a deadly poison.

      Dioxin stopped a couple of metres away. “Seriously. Run away.”

      Energy had told Renata that of all the villains she had faced, the one who scared her most was Dioxin. Ragnarök was incredibly intelligent, strong and fast; Brawn was four metres tall and capable of knocking a moving train clear off its tracks; Slaughter was a ruthless killing machine; but they were nothing compared to Dioxin.

      “So what do they call you?” Dioxin sneered.

      “Diamond.”

      Dioxin looked her up and down. “What’s the deal here, kid? Don’t tell me that you’re one of Titan’s crew! You’re what, fifteen?”

      “Fourteen.”

      “Fourteen. And you think you can stop me?”

      With that, Dioxin lunged towards her, his poisonous arms outstretched.

      Paragon