Chapter 14. Muscled Maniac
With that one word the Muscled Maniac dropped to one knee, an immense pressure washing over him. It was so intense the heavily reinforced floor beneath him cracked from the man's weight being pressed into it. This, along with a visible red aura throbbing all around him, pushing him down. The man growled and resisted the aura, lifting his knee off the ground and even taking a shaky step, but a step nonetheless. Right as it seemed things would end quickly, a wave of energy within the man rippled out with surprising force, pushing back my suppression. It wasn't a match against the quality of my energy but the pure quantity couldn't be ignored. We both retracted our impressive auras and glared at each other.
"So it was you, the source of that immense power...it was like a beacon. I wouldn't be surprised if others were on their way at this very moment. But you have impressed me and because of that I will look past the blatant disrespect you graced me with." The man spoke, his rash voice sincere.
"You use so many big words for being a meat-headed Muscled Maniac, you know." Xavier coldly stated, his tone still filled with a lack of emotion.
A vein bulged from the man's head at the continued disrespect and casual demeanor that I showed.
"You cocky bastard, just because you tanked one of my attacks doesn't mean you can look down on me so." The man said stepping forward, physically towering over me.
Without warning the man moved, fast, throwing his giant fist directly down and onto me. I dodged at the last possible moment, the fist mere inches from hitting me. As it met the ground the shelter shook from the force with the ground cracking even more. Snarling with anger the man threw various attacks at me but they all missed their mark, passing through the air harmlessly. My body felt like it was moving on pure instinct as everything still felt surreal. More specifically it felt like I had stopped consciously moving the moment I initially entered the room.
"Is dodging all you can do runt?" the man questioned agitatedly.
Almost on command, I suddenly kicked at his legs, making him lose balance. His large figure crashed into the ground, and I wasted no time. Before I had even kicked him, my entire body lit up red. In a reverse of positions I aimed my fist down for a strike, but in this instance, my attack hit where the Muscled Maniacs hadn't. Instead of simply breaking bones or damaging him my fist sunk through his body leaving a hole as my arm stuck into his chest.
Ripping my arm out and ready to strike a second time the man pushed away jumping from his back into the air and onto his feet in a feat of athleticism. Even with his hulking figure, he was still quite agile. My fist met the ground and completely smashed it, a huge hole formed from the blow.
The Muscled Maniac suddenly roared, his chest healing ridiculously fast, but not only this he was changing. His skin turned red, which might not sound unusual but instead of the familiar glow of red, his skin was dyed a deep and vibrant red. He also seemed to be...growing. His muscles bulged out making him look even more impossible, not only this but he was getting taller. His face looked unrecognizable with the egotistical look he had being replaced by that of a deranged lunatic. He went from looking like a monster to a demon, all he was missing were the horns and a tail. His clothes also were completely shredded, but thankfully the transformation protected his precious jewels.
After the transformation finished my skin crawled, the hair on my body standing on edge. Faster than I could have anticipated the newly transformed monster shot toward me, expecting an attack I steeled myself for it. However, instead of a punch or kick he just continued to barrel at me, his side making contact with me. I got sent flying through multiple highly enforced shelter walls, only stopping as I made contact with earth beyond one of the walls. The amount of power behind the hit shocked me back to reality, my body taking a critical amount of damage.
I coughed up blood and exited the wall groaning in pain. The monster seemed preoccupied with getting to me, which would take a bit of time. But as I had regained a bit of my awareness, the situation and events that just transpired jumped forward in my mind. Tears welled up in my eyes but weren't allowed to flow freely, as my fury burned them away. There was no room to be scared of losing control, not that the fear even registered to me. It was as simple as letting the overwhelming feelings inside loose, but this time I remembered everything after.
It was like flipping a switch, it felt natural, right, like this was how I was supposed to be. Crimson energy started pooling where I had been injured, healing me much faster than the natural healing had. "This must be my healing ability." I thought to myself hysterically. Using the ability came to me as naturally as breathing, my body quickly in peak condition once again.
I felt the monster of a man approaching and scowled, "I would make him pay, make him whimper in fear, yeah." As these thoughts flowed through my mind unimpeded, my body began crackling with intense crimson energy. I felt this usage of the crimson energy was not only flawed but detrimental, however, the only thing on my mind was revenge.
As my rage festered I could feel the Muscled Maniac drawing ever closer so I decided to meet him halfway, or a fourth of the distance between us. I climbed through the gaping holes in the walls making my way back to him. Stepping through a hole leading into the dining room the wall across the room was smashed, the Muscled Maniac stepping through, lowering his body to fit inside. We glared at each other, both of our expressions lost in dark emotions, specifically anger.
For me, the rage bubbling deep inside was from the loss of the members of the shelter. They were essentially family to me, this sentiment growing more and more so the longer I had been here. But now, they were either dead or critically injured, with the cause of it right in front of me. For him, he was simply upset I was still alive, this, along with the disrespect I showed him earlier.
His anger was selfish, he wanted power, to be respected, to do as he wished, it was all so vian. My rage could also be viewed as selfish but it was rooted in empathy. It was still unhealthy sure, but the discrepancy in our feelings only fueled my anger. It felt like he had no right to be so angry, his emotions just seemed so, shallow. He would feel what true anger felt like, the loss and grief inside all bottled up into revenge and directed right at him.
Roaring with rage, I sprang forward, my feet kicking off the ground with so much force, impressions were left in my wake. Preemtivly, I reared back my fist, ready to strike. The man also sprang forward, throwing his fist forward to meet mine much faster than before, even with his new bulging muscles. The moment our fists clashed together a wave of Crimson energy pulsed out, a piercing ringing noise accompanying it.
Stumbling back for a moment I tried to regain a combat-ready position but the sight in front of me broke my focus. I could see that the room had been bisected by the pulse of energy, a clean slice having cut through the floor, ceiling, and walls. The cut was a few inches thick and not very deep but the peculiar part was the deep red glow emanating from it. This, along with the formation of small cracks that seemed to be growing out from wherever the pulse had cut through.
The clash itself was also interesting, although our fists met, the force felt equal and like I hadn't really hit anything at all. I knew I did from the slight stinging in my hand and its apparent damage to the surroundings, but it was strange. The Muscled Maniac also seemed to be assessing the situation, standing an equal distance away from the bizarre sight as I.
I wasn't sure how long I could keep fighting like this so I regained my composure and got into a ready stance. I also didn't know how long the Muscled Maniac could continue fighting, but if the previous exchange was any sign, this fight could be too close for comfort.
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As we clashed again it was obvious one of us had the advantage. With our speed and power being somewhat equal, combat experience would be vital. I felt I had some amount of experience merely by the fact I was able to keep up with the high-speed fight at all. But as far as technique went? It went as far as reacting to his movements and trying to hit him, through the rage this was the extent of my techniques. The Muscled Maniac on the other hand had gotten this powerful by fighting other monsters out there. It was for this reason, I was simply outmatched. My reckless rampaging fight style only gave me a small chance against the experienced grasp he had on his power and ability in combat.
It didn't take long before our exchange showed this apparent disparity, as I went in for another punch. What I had thought was a blaring opening and my chance to strike, was instead a feint. My fist met air and I was now completely open to a counter from the Muscled Maniac. On top of this, the feint had fooled me so completely that his attack was already in effect, his fist plummeting straight down. I had no time to react as time seemed to slow, his fist mere inches from my face. Memories flooded forward as if my life was flashing before my eyes.
The mental block that had been plaguing me until now lifted, the sudden influx of information stunning me. However, the reason behind why I had been suppressing the memories and why I had suddenly remembered them sprang forward as a specific memory stood out. I was fighting a woman and she had this ability to summon barriers. She wasn't all that powerful, and the barriers were a mere annoyance but the pure collateral damage we, and specifically I caused, was horrifying. In our wake, regular humans were killed so easily and mercilessly, like a vehicle through a swarm of bugs. It was enough to make me puke on the spot, not to mention all the similar memories where I had done the same.
After this memory, another one took its place, one in which I was using barriers. I didn't get much more time to understand what was happening before my body reacted. The energy that had been infusing my body and empowering it was sucked away, being transferred to the barrier forming above me. The Muscled Maniac's fist met the newly erected barrier that was floating above me and hit it with a resounding boom. The sound from the clash made my ears ring but I didn't have time to concern myself with anything but the current fight at hand.
Anticipating his next assault, I supported the barrier from beneath and kept it stable. As I made contact with the barrier I sensed that I could no longer take back the energy that had been infused into it. Even so, I could still infuse more energy into it, increasing its durability which was definitely appreciated. It wasn't long after the first punch, the one that had almost hit me, when his fist slammed into the barrier again.
Fist after fist hit with devastating force, the frequency of them only increasing as his rage reached new heights. The barrier was holding strong against the onslaught, but I knew it wouldn't protect me forever. I was fortunate that his rage and ego had taken control because at any moment he could have easily kicked at me. But he instead opted for punching the problem until it went away, which, I didn't have a problem with. The constant barrage of attacks suddenly ceased as the Muscled Maniac formed his hands together and slammed them down with all his might. This worked a bit better than the previous attacks had as the barrier cracked. It was a shift in the battle and I knew now was the time to act. Glancing around, I noticed where the room got bisected from the pulse of energy earlier and I got an idea. Moving right as his fists came down I scurried on over to the other side of it, watching as the barrier shattered just as I had moved. Without my added support it easily gave and as a plus, there were now shards of the barrier embedded into his hands. Getting to work immediately I started forming the barrier inside the strange square indent in the walls, floor, and ceiling. I mean just looking at it, it was definitely asking for a barrier to be right here. It fit perfectly and once formed the strange energy that seemed to have been corrupting the enforced material got sucked up into the barrier. I used the remaining Crimson energy I had left to create the barrier and it was huge.
The barrier looked different compared to the previous, it almost looked alive. The Muscled Maniac roared at my continued stubbornness and made his way to the barrier. The roar, by the way, shook the room, and so did his fists on the barrier. While he pounded away at it I slumped to the ground and sank into my memories as there was no other path in front of me. With my energy completely drained I thought there might have been some last trick I could play to give me the advantage. Digging further I came across one of my first interactions with another person with powers. They were healing from my attacks at an elevated rate, and in the end, I had barely edged out a victory. After absorbing their energy I had been able to use this ability of theirs.
It appeared I could steal abilities and use them as my own, but I didn't see how this could help me in the moment. For one, if I did have some ace up my sleeve I was completely out of energy and couldn't use said ace. Secondly, if I wanted to use the Muscled Maniac's ability, which seemed like a superior enhancing ability, I would have to kill him; and at that point, I wouldn't need his ability. And there was still the issue of no energy. But that was all I could do, think of anything and everything no matter how ludicrous and I still had nothing. being overwhelmed by the situation I gave myself away to the anger, any rational and logical parts of me that had been persisting burning away.
I screamed as my soul burned, the rage consuming me using a source of power I didn't know existed to fuel a transformation I didn't know I had. It was the same transformation the Muscled Maniac had used. I hadn't absorbed his ability from him so there was clearly a lot I didn't know about my strange ability.
Before, my build had been nice, not too lean but not too muscular. With this transformation, my muscles strained against my clothes and gave me the appearance of a bodybuilder. My muscles weren't as impossibly proportioned as the Muscled Maniac had first been, and especially not after his transformation, but they were still impressive.
The barrier I made, which had been giving the Muscled Maniac a good deal of trouble, was immediately shattered by my fist. It crashed through the barrier with only an intermediate amount of effort and sunk into the monster's chest. My throat immediately burned from how hard I screamed as my fist blasted a hole in his chest and sent him flying. I had no time to marvel at my new strength as pure hatred drove me forward.
Using as much force as possible I dashed forward, meeting the Muscled Maniac before he even hit the wall to send him into the floor. I was moving so fast and using so much force that vapor steamed off my body. It still wasn't enough, however, as I could sense the monster was still alive. Even if he was dead I wouldn't be satisfied, I would smash him into a pulp, it's what he deserved. Before I got the chance to make good on my ambitions the man glowed a furious red.
I was pushed back for a moment and disoriented by the sudden flash of light and the sensation afterward. The Muscled Manaic laughed maniacally while simultaneously screaming in pain, it sounded like he had gone fully insane and given up. Juxtaposed to this, however, was the chilling feeling coming from the monster. It was similar to the last time he had transformed and letting myself feel scared made me snarl.
The Muscled Manaic stepped out of the hole I had smacked him into and looked completely different. Instead of being a bigger hulking monstrosity, he was now smaller than I had ever been. Steam was pouring out of him and his figure looked uncanny. His muscles looked as if they had been forced into his body and compacted down, the fibers occasionally snapping and healing back up. If his previous form was a trump card that burnt him out, this form was a suicidal move. It was like an animal stuck in a trap that decided to attack even if it meant its death.
An easy way to deal with this transformation would be to simply evade or get away, letting the ability kill him. Even if I thought of this in the moment this strategy would have been difficult considering how much of a boost of power this seemed to give him.
"Some bullshit powerup, once again, ha! I'll steal this transformation too if I have to, you fucking monster!" I screamed.
Like an homage to the start of our previous clash, our fists met as we shot towards each other. The pulse of energy that radiated out from the impact this time was more like a shockwave, decimating the surroundings. It once again felt like we were equal, but this time we were. Our fists were almost the same size now, as well as our bodies, and we were both so lost in rage that simple attacks would be the extent of our combat prowess. Not only that but the fact we were comprable in strength, speed, and reaction time once again. The only limiting factor now was how long we could keep this up, I felt myself starting to wear out but the Mucled Maniac was literally killing himself the longer he fought.
The anger inside of me begged to also use this secondary powerup but at the thought of it a sensation stronger than my rage pushed it down. At this point, I would kill myself if it meant this monster would die, but my body refused.
Our fists met again and again, the shockwaves of pure destructive force that shot out destroying the room further. As the fight continued it was very noticeable that our actions mirrored one another. Our legs arced out toward each other in a head kick only for them to stop as we connected. Jabs, punches, kicks, elbows, any attack was met with the same in turn. We were stuck in this cruel dance, a snarl stuck onto my face with the Musceld Maniac having a crude smile. Just the pure fact he seemed to be enjoying this sent me over the edge. Nothing...nothing! Would stop me from pummelling my fists into his face until there was nothing left.