Alexis, Aaron, and Wes are running through the forest; Clay is hot on their tail.
Alexis: So, when are we going to stop running and face this guy?
Wes: Well, It’s not like we have much of an edge on him; he should know about our quirks from the Sports Festival. Running might be our best option.
Aaron: I hate to say it, but Wes is right. Not about the running part, but if this guy knows what we’re capable of and our weaknesses, he could be a real issue.
Wes: Thanks…?
Aaron: We know he can redirect our attacks, but that shouldn't matter since he’s our only target. The bigger problem is that he seems incredibly durable.
Wes: Yeah… he took a rocket to the face like it was nothing…
Alexis: We need to make a decision soon, we ran all day, so we’re going to exhaust ourselves if we keep doing this.
Aaron: Yeah… good point; we’re gonna have to just bite the bullet and see what happens.
Wes: I disagree with that, but if that’s what you guys want to do, then so be it. (Look at us, we’re in over our heads, and if this is how it is for us… I can’t even imagine what it’s like for everyone else.)
Justus, Zach (with his tail out), Kevin (30%), and Jace all surround Adonis on the ground as Angel is circling above him, holding Gus.
Adonis: You puny losers don’t stand a chance against Adonis!
Justus: Gus, spray him down!
Gus exhales a purple smoke cloud that engulfs Adonis.
Justus: Everyone! Stay back!
Zach, Kevin, Justus, and Jace all back up to avoid being caught in the smoke.
Zach: Did that get him?
Kevin: I sure hope so!
A few moments pass.
Jace: Maybe it-
Adonis jumps out of the smoke lunging at Angel and Gus.
Angel: Oh crap!
Gus: He didn’t inhale any of the gas! Are you kidding me!
Adonis swats Angel and Gus out of the sky.
Angel and Gus: AHHHHH!
Adonis: Bye-bye, birdies!
Angel and Gus slam into the dirt and are knocked unconscious by the collision. Adonis makes a loud thud as he lands on the ground.
Adonis: That’s two for Adonis, 0 for the losers; Adonis is great at holding his breath!
Kevin: Probably because you have so few brain cells! They don’t need as much oxygen!
Adonis: Very funny, little man!
Zach and Jace both look scared.
Zach: That’s it? He took them out that easily?
Jace: Oh man, this isn’t good…
Justus: Stay calm, you two. We can’t lose our cool!
Adonis pulls out two balls that look like Darian’s capture bubbles.
Zach: What are those?
Justus: I don’t know, but they look like trouble.
He expands and pushes the bubbles against Gus and Angel, capturing them.
Adonis: Adonis likes Darian’s capture bubbles; they make collecting the prey so much easier for Adonis.
He then shrinks them down and hooks them to his belt.
Jace: He got them!
Zach: Oh no!
Kevin: It’s alright, guys! We’ll get them back!
Justus: (This isn’t ideal for us; we’ve already lost two of our comrades, and we’ve barely even gotten started.)
Justus surveys the rest of the field and spots Darian trapped inside his own capture bubble.
Justus: (It looks like they defeated one and chased the others into the forest. So, I guess they’re doing better than us, but I wonder how their pursuit is going.)
Jagger is running through the forest, Silver and Eve aren’t far behind.
Jagger: (God fucking dammit! How did I get myself into this mess? I wasn’t planning on fighting Verdugo myself; my quirk doesn’t match up well against his. I was hoping to have Clay and Darian deal with him, but here I am, tucking my dick between my legs and running! On top of that, the magnetic chick is tagging along…)
Jagger notices Hayze is missing.
Jagger: (I wonder if he went after Ivy… Well, then, the fool will be captured easily, which is good for us since he is on the list. That means we’ll definitely be bringing back two of the nine targets with us. I’ve got Ash Wright with me, but unless I get away from these two, I’m not going to be making the return trip.)
Silver and Eve aren’t losing any ground on Jagger.
Silver: He’s going to have to stop eventually, and we’ll take him down when he does.
Eve: Yeah, but watch out, just one of those needles will have us down in an instant. Look at what happened to Blair and Mr. Walker.
Silver: Don’t worry, I won’t forget. And speaking of Blair… I hope we see her and Hayze again. It’s noble of Hayze to try and save her, but he may have just sealed his fate as well.
Eve: Let’s not think about that; concentrate on our current objective.
Silver: I am, but we may never see our friends again.
Eve: If we take this guy out and interrogate him, that might not be the case.
Silver: Then I guess we need to pick up the pace!
Karma enters the cabin carrying Fatal; Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri are sitting against a wall together.
Lilith: Is she alright?
Karma: I don’t think so.
Karma places Fatal on the ground next to Walker.
Karma: I’ll go get the first aid kit.
Karma walks off, passing by Jake napping on the floor.
Demetri: How can that guy be napping at a time like this?
Isaiah: To be fair, we’re just as useful as he is right now.
Demetri: *frustrated grunt* I hate sitting here doing nothing!
Alden: Then why didn’t you go out when you had the chance?
Demetri: Shut up, Alden! You’re the biggest coward here!
Alden: Takes one to know one!
Demetri: That doesn’t apply there!
Alden: Says you!
Alden and Demetri stand up and get in each other’s faces. Isaiah attempts to get between them.
Isaiah: Guys! Calm down!
Lilith: Yeah! There’s no need for us to fight!
Demetri: *frustrated grunt* Whatever!
Alden: Fuck this!
Alden and Demetri storm off to opposite sides of the cabin. Karma returns with the first aid kid and looks after Fatal’s wounds.
Karma: (Alden’s dumb, but he’s right… Everyone here had the chance to prove they aren’t cowards… including me. Our friends are out there fighting dangerous opponents on our behalf… all because we were too afraid…)
As Ivy maneuvers her way through the forest, she hears noises coming from behind her. She looks over her shoulder and spots Hayze far behind her.
Ivy: Huh?
Ivy slows down slightly.
Hayze: (I can’t let up, I have to keep following her for Blair’s sake. But… honestly… I have no idea what I’m going to do when I catch up to her.)
Ivy continues staring at Hayze over her shoulder.
Ivy: (Why is he following me? Does he not realize what’s going to happen to him if he doesn’t stop?)
Back with Wes, Aaron, and Alexis.
Aaron: You guys ready?
Alexis: Yup.
Wes: Not really, but you’re gonna do it anyway.
Aaron: You know me so well.
Wes turns to the left, Alexis turns to the right. Both take cover behind trees.
Clay: Huh?
Aaron leaps into the air, spins around, transforms his arms into grenade launchers, and fires at Clay.
Aaron: Eat this!
Clay: With pleasure!
Clay makes his whole body metallic, causing the grenades’ velocity to increase. Clay braces for impact, but when the grenades make contact, they don’t explode… Instead, a smokescreen surrounds him.
Clay: Smoke grenades? If you think you can escape me, then you’re mistaken!
Aaron: *from afar* Who said anything about escaping?
Clay: What?
Aaron transforms his arms into rocket launchers and fires two rockets into the smoke; Clay takes the rockets head-on and gets sent flying backward from the explosion.
Clay: *grunts*
Alexis and Wes watch the battle from behind their cover.
Alexis: (His quirk seems powerful on the surface, but it comes with an obvious flaw. Any attack fired is instantly redirected towards him, meaning his opponents can’t miss. He’s durable but not invincible, so if we keep hitting him over and over again, he’ll go down eventually.)
Aaron transforms his arms back to normal, the smoke clears. Clay gets up using a tree as support.
Aaron: It was pretty bold of you to chase after us, you really think you can beat all three of us?
Clay: Covering me with smoke so that you could hit me with a powerful attack was clever. But if you think you have my quirk figured out, you’re wrong. I’m an elite warrior, and you three are just students.
Aaron: I think it’s pretty funny how much you’re underestimating us. We’re more than just “students.” We’re hero students, and we’ve fought way stronger opponents than you.
Clay starts laughing.
Aaron: Did I tell a joke, or are you one of those people who laughs when they’re afraid?
Clay: Do you guys realize that my team and I know your quirks inside and out? That Sports Festival that you competed in gave us a lot of insight.
Aaron: (Oh, I didn’t forget… and while you may be right, there’s one move I didn’t get to use during the tournament that will throw you for a loop.)
Clay: I know the little dumbass is only helpful for boosting your attacks.
Wes: (Hey!)
Clay: And the chick’s useless when she runs out of paper. I can eliminate those two with ease. And don’t think that means I view you as a threat. Trust me, I know how to handle a grenadier like you.
Clay changes back to normal and taps his palm against the tree he’s standing next to. He then charges at Aaron. Aaron transforms his right arm into a shotgun.
Aaron: No magnet? No problem!
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Aaron points the shotgun at Clay and pulls the trigger, but the bullets go straight for the tree Clay was just next to.
Aaron: (What!)
Clay attempts to punch Aaron, but he blocks it with his shotgun arm.
Aaron: Nice try! Take this!
Aaron tries to punch Clay with his other fist, but Clay blocks it with his free hand.
Clay: Oh, I can take anything you throw at me!
Clay twists Aaron’s wrist and bends it upward, spraining Aaron’s wrist; Aaron winces in pain, causing him to close his eyes. Clay seizes the opportunity and uppercuts Aaron.
Aaron: *pained grunt*
Alexis: (Aaron!)
Wes: (We’ve gotta help him!)
Alexis and Wes run out from their cover and stand facing one another with Clay between them. Alexis readies three paper shuriken. Wes turns his whole body into a mirror.
Alexis: (I’ll throw the shuriken, and even if I miss, Wes will reflect them.)
Clay: (Amateurs… these kids are in over their heads.)
Clay crouches down and places one of his hands against the ground.
Alexis: You’re going down!
Alexis throws the shuriken. Clay leaps back as the shuriken head straight towards the ground.
Alexis: (What?)
Wes: (Something’s up! That’s the second time one of our attacks missed for no reason!)
Clay snickers.
Wes: Alright! Explain how you’re doing that!
Clay: Why should I? Shouldn’t you already know?
Alexis: Don’t play games! Otherwise, we’ll start running again! We don’t need to fight you; you’re the one that needs to fight us!
Clay: That’s true, but do you really think I’m going to just let you get away?
Alexis: (He’s calling my bluff, dammit!)
Wes: Who even cares! I just want to know how you’re using your quirk when it isn’t even active!
Aaron: Wes, it’s pretty simple.
Everyone looks over at Aaron as he gets up from the ground.
Aaron: His quirk is similar to yours Wes, he can make surfaces he touches become coated with the same material as his body. The execution seems slightly different since he needs to use the palm of his hand rather than his fingers. He also doesn’t seem to be able to use it on other people. Otherwise, he could have turned my hand into a magnetic surface when he grabbed it.
Clay starts clapping.
Clay: You figured it out pretty quick. I’ll give you that! But you’re missing some critical details.
Aaron looks down at his left hand; it’s sprained.
Aaron: (Looks like I’m gonna be restricted to my right arm for the rest of this fight. That’s not what I would have wanted, but we’ve gotta take this guy down.)
Silver and Eve are still in pursuit of Jagger; they’ve made up some ground on him.
Jagger: (I can’t shake these bastards! And if I keep running, then I’ll lead them straight to the rendezvous point… they’ve forced my hand.)
Jagger leaps into the air, spins around, and fires 10 needles at Silver and Eve.
Eve: He’s made his move!
Silver: And it’s a bad one!
Silver blocks the needles with a wall of silver dust. Finally, the three of them stop running and face off against each other.
Jagger: Well, I guess it’s time I teach you two a lesson in pain.
Silver: Don’t even try to act cocky! If you thought you could win this fight, you wouldn’t have had us chase you this long!
Eve: Yeah, running isn’t exactly a sign of confidence.
Jagger gets a frustrated look on his face.
Jagger: I’m gonna enjoy taking you two down!
Silver: Okay, but there’s one thing we have to decide.
Jagger: And what might that be?
Silver: Which one of us gets the first crack at you.
Jagger: What?
Silver: What do you say, Eve, rock, paper, scissors for who gets to fight him?
Eve: That’s so rude, and I love it.
Jagger: Are you two really not taking me seriously?
Silver and Eve play rock, paper, scissors, but both throw scissors.
Silver: Hey, don’t copy me.
Eve: You’re the one copying me!
Silver: No, I’m not!
Jagger gets even more frustrated and starts walking towards them.
Jagger: I will not be made into a joke!
Eve leaps toward Jagger and punches him in the face.
Jagger: *pained grunt*
Eve: Gotcha!
Jagger flies backward and tumbles against the ground.
Jagger: Damn you! Huh!
Silver sends a wave of dust heading straight towards Jagger. Jagger barely avoids it by dodging behind a tree.
Silver: Almost had him!
Eve: It’s alright! We’ve got him cornered!
Jagger catches his breath, staying behind the tree for cover.
Jagger: (I have to hit him just once, but he wears a protective layer of silver armor on his body, so his head is my only option. My attacks are dead silent, so he’s going to have trouble protecting himself if I can get out of their sight.)
Silver: Hey, are you gonna just hide behind that tree or what? You talked a big game, but you’re looking a little small right now.
Jagger jumps out and fires another set of needles at Silver; he again blocks them with a dust wall.
Silver: That was your best? Really?
Silver sends the pile at Jagger again; Jagger runs through the forest with the dust chasing behind him.
Silver: He’s trying to get behind me the way Hayze did at the Sports Festival, he’s done his homework, but the circumstances are different this time.
Eve: How so?
Silver: I have you to watch my back.
Jagger eventually maneuvers behind Silver and Eve, but Eve’s watching him like a hawk.
Jagger: (This shit is following me so closely it feels like it’s sentient for Christ’s sake! Whatever, it’s time for my next move.)
Jagger starts firing one needle at a time at Silver and Eve.
Eve: Silver! 10 needles incoming! They span from your 4 o’clock to 8 o’clock!
Silver: (Huh, so he’s staggering his attacks now to cover more ground; too bad I’m prepared.)
Silver opens his second to last container of silver dust. Silver recalls his dust following Jagger, and the two piles combine to form a dome around himself and Eve, blocking Jagger’s various attacks.
Jagger: (Now they can’t see me!)
Jagger ducks behind a tree.
Jagger: (The fool did precisely what I wanted him to!)
Silver turns around to face Jagger’s direction and lowers the dome.
Eve: Where is he?
Silver: I don’t know, but he played that smart.
Eve: What do you mean, he still hasn’t hit either of us?
Silver: He wasn’t trying to; he wanted us to lose sight of him. I had to protect us from his attacks, but now he’s hiding somewhere.
Eve: I get it; now he can launch a surprise attack.
Silver: Exactly.
Eve: So, what’s our plan? Couldn’t we just take shelter in your dust dome until we locate him?
Silver: Normally, I’d be okay with that, but in this case, we can’t allow him to get away. He has Ash remember?
Eve: Shit! You’re right… so we have to get our hands on him!
Silver: Yeah, he’s mimicking Hayze’s strategy from our match. He’s using the trees as cover so he can take potshots. The difference this time is his attacks are much quieter, so this could be even more difficult.
Eve: Well, I’ll be your second set of eyes. We aren’t letting him beat us.
Silver: No, not a chance.
Adonis tries to punch Jace, but Jace keeps springing away to dodge.
Jace: Can’t catch me, you overgrown idiot!
Adonis: Nobody calls Adonis an idiot!
Adonis starts to lose his balance; he looks down to see Zach has his tail wrapped around his ankle.
Adonis: Get off Adonis!
Adonis tries to grab Zach, but suddenly he’s hit upside the head by Justus’ shield; Adonis slams into the ground and causes a mini-earthquake on impact.
Adonis: *frustrated grunt* Adonis will get you for that!
Justus catches his shield and attaches it to his wrist holster again. Jace runs up to him.
Jace: Damn, that thing is powerful! You just knocked him into next Tuesday!
Justus: Today is Tuesday.
Jace: Oh…
Adonis stands up, but Kevin jumps on the back of his neck and starts punching him, causing him to lose his balance again and slam face-first into the ground. Zach runs up next to Justus and Jace.
Zach: So, are we just gonna keep whaling on this dude because it feels like it’s doing nothing?
Justus: Unfortunately, stalling him is our best plan at this point. Hopefully, some of the others will return from their battles, and we can combine our forces to defeat him.
Jace: Not to sound pessimistic, but this guy took a beating from Ms. Fatal. Even with more firepower, I don’t know if we can take this guy out.
Zach: He makes a good point, Justus. And this may be working, but what happens if he captures another one of us?
Justus: We make do with what we have. Like I said, this is our best plan for now.
Jace: Well, I have an idea…
Justus: What is it?
Jace: Well… Kevin’s 90% assault did a number on you, Justus; how do you think it will do against this dude?
Zach: Yeah! He ripped your freaking arm out of its socket, for heaven’s sake!
Justus: It has crossed my mind to have him do that, but Kevin will be captured if it doesn't work. On top of that, Kevin is a berserk animal at that level of power; he could potentially start attacking us as well. It’s too risky.
Jace: Yeah… I guess you’re right.
Zach: We gotta take risks at some point if we want to get back Angel and Gus; if this guy takes off with them, what do we do?
Adonis swats Kevin off of himself and starts getting up.
Adonis: Adonis is angry! Adonis will break the tiny humans!
Zach and Jace start backing up with scared expressions.
Zach: I think he’s mad!
Jace: No shit man! And he’s gonna come for us first!
Justus: Stay calm and keep fighting!
Justus starts charging at Adonis.
Adonis: (This one is on the list! Adonis will take him captive and head to the rendezvous, Adonis can’t stay here much longer, everyone else is already on their way there.) Adonis will crush you!
Adonis charges at Justus as well. Jace and Zach look at each other with fear in their eyes and gulp.
Zach: We’ve gotta help!
Jace: Yeah! We can’t chicken out now!
Zach and Jace charge toward Adonis as well.
Justus: You’re going down, you big bastard!
Justus throws his shield at Adonis and hits him in the teeth, cracking Adonis’ right incisor tooth and stunning him. Justus catches his shield, jumps onto Adonis’ arm, and runs up it.
Justus: (I’ll go for his eyes, if he can’t see, then he can’t fight!)
Justus leaps toward Adonis’ right eye, but Adonis covers his eye with his other hand.
Adonis: No chance, tiny!
Justus uses Adonis’ hand as a springboard and backflips away.
Justus: (His reactions are quick even though he’s big.)
Jace and Zach leap past Justus.
Jace: We got him, Justus!
Zach: Yeah, leave this to us!
Justus gets worried.
Justus: No! Wait! Stop!
Adonis swiftly grabs Jace and Zach, one in each hand.
Adonis: Got you!
Adonis starts squeezing Jace and Zach.
Jace and Zach: AHHHHHH!
Justus: Put them down now!
Adonis: Sure! But first, I’m gonna squeeze the life out of them!
Justus gets frustrated.
Justus: (My poor leadership led them into this! I have to act quickly!)
Justus and Adonis suddenly hear a blood-curdling roar.
Adonis: Huh?
With his eyes pure white and red skin, Kevin comes out of nowhere and fractures Adonis’ jaw with a single punch. Adonis drops Zach and Jace and is sent flying through the air as Kevin chases him.
Kevin: DIE!
Justus runs over to Zach and Jace.
Justus: Are you two okay?
Jace: *groans* Yeah… it just hurt a lot…
Zach: Same here…
Justus: That’s good. It looks like Kevin was worried for your safety and took matters into his own hands.
Adonis slams into the ground with a loud thud; Kevin jumps on his chest and starts punching repeatedly.
Adonis: AHHHHH!
Zach: That’s it, Kevin! Take him down!
Jace: He’s gonna do it!
Justus: No, Jace… look closely… Kevin’s already slowing down.
Kevin has steam coming from his body as his barrage of punches begins weakening.
Adonis: YOU’RE TOO WEAK FOR ADONIS!
Adonis backhands Kevin, sending him flying with more and more steam pouring out of his body. He smacks and tumbles against the ground, knocked unconscious.
Jace: Kevin!
Zach: Aw man… this is bad!
Adonis gets to his feet, breathing heavily and holding his chest in pain.
Adonis: You’re lucky Adonis can’t kill you because Adonis really wants to!
Adonis grabs a capture bubble and starts walking towards Kevin.
Zach: He’s gonna get Kevin!
Jace: What do we do?
Justus starts running towards Kevin and Adonis.
Zach: Justus!
Jace: What are you doing?
Adonis expands the capture bubble and crouches down to capture Kevin, but Justus intercepts him and gets captured instead. Adonis shrinks the bubble and hooks it to his belt.
Adonis: Dummy! You let yourself get taken to protect your friend I’ve already defeated. Adonis is ashamed.
Zach and Jace look panicked.
Jace: Justus…
Zach: He sacrificed himself to protect Kevin.
Adonis looks in his pocket. The rest of his capture bubbles have been destroyed due to his various falls.
Adonis: Looks like it’s time for Adonis to leave.
Adonis runs into the forest.
Jace: Zach! What do we do?
Zach: I- I- I don’t know!
Jace: We have to do something! He has Angel, Gus and Justus!
Zach hesitates.
Zach: We- We have to chase after him!
Jace: Alright, let’s go, we can’t let him get away!
Jace and Zach run into the forest after Adonis. Karma, Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden are watching from the cabin. Demetri punches the wall.
Demetri: Goddammit! He got Justus too! And we’re sitting here doing nothing!
Karma: That’s it… all of them are out in the woods… What if nobody comes back? What if that’s the last time we see any of them… I can’t stand this!
Isaiah: If only we were out there too, I know it might not help… but if none of them come back… I don’t know how I’ll be able to look at myself in the mirror and live with who I am.
Alden: Yeah, I don’t know how I’ll be able to look at you either.
Hayze is still chasing Ivy.
Hayze: (When is she gonna stop? She knows she can overpower me easily, so why does she keep running?)
Ivy looks over her shoulder at Hayze and just stares at him.
Ivy: (Why… why isn’t he afraid?)