Immortal centered himself. He knew he should be prepared for them to have a plan to kill him, which made him all the more at fault that he underestimated their planning and adaptability, uncoordinated and inexperienced as they were. As expected the blowback of using magic after the overload was worse than ever as his insides were scorched by his outburst, again a mistake he could only take responsibility for. It did not help that he used fire as a distraction on the surface earlier. He tamed the flames into Certepe; against the midnight crescents, emerald sparks twinkled and burned like stars. These sparks would sear through the Hippo’s electric barrier to make way for the cold void to cleave true.
GalvanGal could not contain her lances as they carved into concrete, stone, and hardware alike. Computer racks burst from overload and pipes that had been wrenched open spewed out steam. Unleashing so much energy should have been a wasteful burden, especially in her condition, but instead, she smiled like she was standing on clouds. The truth, the one she knew better than anyone, is that power is only a burden when it is allowed to go to waste unused. Yes, the euphoria she felt now, and every other time she stretched her output to the limit, was a testament to that truth. If there was ever a time to go all out, it was right now. Right now, only overwhelming power would do. Though the lances had enjoyed their amethyst concert heedless of danger or authority, they gathered on GalvanGal’s arm in anticipation of the promenade.
Aaliyah projected bubbles to protect her allies from the chaos around them. Maintaining them against lightning strikes took her full focus. The lances that cracked her bubbles were only leashed down by the coming of something worse. She let down the bubbles so that the others could come to her for one reinforced shield, but only Kenny and Garrick leaned onto her.
Todd had darted forward. The kindling within his arm left a trail of pixel embers that danced with amethyst sparks. His head was filled with the pounding of glitched heartbeats. He knew better than anyone else that he was screw up that never thought things through. He wanted to commit to making a difference for once and it led to where he was now. But the one thing he knew for sure was that his brother was behind him now and he would never abandon him again no matter who tried to rip them apart. There was nowhere left to run. All that was left was to do and die. This life has been an oil spill and the oil way forward is to set it ablaze.
Certepe could devour whatever magic they attack with. Immortal raised his swo—Kenny slowed his sword arm from behind Aaliyah’s bubble. Having Hippo aim at you in an enclosed space is concerning enough, but now the other kid is priming to take off like a rocket. Even if Aaliyah’s bubble can endure the backblast, the sheer firepower will cave in the whole facility including the employees. It might bring down the whole site.
A passionate salsa of lightning and fire tore down the drift, dancing to the thunder and sizzle as they brought ruin along their path. Their frenzied hysteria needed no patience to reach its mark, and their reward was a Golden Meadow that reached all the way to the arms of the one who had set the salsa. That meadow covered the walls and the ceiling to stabilize the structure. The shape of lightning ringed by fire was gilded in the blink of an eye, and that golden ice fell away in glittering flakes like dandelions in the wind.
GalvanGal and Todd’s arms were both encased in golden ice. The Immortal, under the glove and sleeve of his free arm, was frostbitten to the bone, from his finger tips to his heart. Restoring life and blood paradoxically drained him further, but nonetheless, he began his steps forward.
With that, most of their offensive capabilities have been depleted. Garrick’s toy army has been decimated and his gauntlets rendered inoperable. Hippo surely cannot maintain her interference in her state.
Immortal used a sliver of magic to peek for the location of the employees. They had gone up the other elevator to escape the facility but now they were trapped by a bubble that Aaliyah covered the surface with. This barrier also prevented Immortal from perceiving or communicating beyond it.
No. It only prevented the meager amount of energy he was using from getting through. By spending the rest of his mana that was safe to use, Immortal teleported the employees to the other side. The portals he opened, after so much repeated use, left a hole in his stomach that he dared not pry further. Any other magic use would also be more dangerous, but that was no matter, for his enemies were depleted of the only advantage they had.
“So whaddaya think?” Hippo heaved through haggard breath as she knelt, “magic is pretty awesome right? It’s the only reason you’re alive right now. I think you’re the one who said that makes you a demon.”
“Relying on magic for everything is what a daemon would do. This was merely one tool among many. The rest of you are nothing without your magic.”
“Well… you’re the one trying to bring hell on Earth. Compared to being nothing, I think you’re a lot more like a demon than we are.”
“You never were good at thinking.”
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Immortal raised his sword arm once more. Kenny had poured everything he had to pause that arm just a moment ago; he would need a bit more time for the strength to do so again, time that GalvanGal did not have. There was nothing to slow the guillotine when it fell.
An explosion from his back rocketed Todd forth, frozen arms outstretched, and shoved GalvanGal out of the way. Todd’s arms took her place in the lunette and were lopped off. Kenny cried out at the sight and had to be held back by Aaliyah and Garrick. Todd knelt down in the same spot Hippo was just in, with his stumps of ice dangling at his sides.
“Todd! Why would you do that!?”
“Yeah, why would you do that? There is no reinforcement to stall for. This battle is already over.”
“It’s not over,” Todd grunted, “I’m okay, Kenny, everything’s going… to be okay,” he continued in growls. Todd looked GalvanGal in the eyes as she slowly regained her breath and chipped cracks into the icy cuffs on her arms.
Moving on, Immortal raised his sword again. Kenny pushed his the limits of his strength to catch that sword arm in a whirlpool, only to watch as Certepe let go, allowed to fall and bite into GalvanGal, puncturing her on her shoulder, her stomach and her hip. The angle was off and it did not pierce as deep as expected, but stomping it in should be enough.
No, the emerald flame that Certepe was imbued with should had more reaction than this. Did it get wasted on Todd? It didn’t have a reaction to him, but now that Immortal is looking, there was no blood because the stumps were cauterized. Now, the ice on Todd’s arms started to melt.
“Everything’s okay,” Todd growled again, “I won’t let him take another inch, even if I have to go beyond one hundred percent to do it!”
What was he talking about? That’s not how percentage works when it comes to maximums. Is he going to turn himself into a human missile again?
Todd pushed himself to stand up as gold melted down. Emerald and amethyst ember swirled around those sad stumps until a burst of flame shattered what ice remained. The inferno concentrated down into molten-plated arms with blazing veins that spilled embers. The unsteady static and chromatic haze that followed his flames was no more; the fire that had always burned inside was now crystal clear.
The combination of Hippo’s and Mine’s energy was absorbed and gave form to his spirit within. I guess that would make the percent thing work. Magic is always so annoying.
Immortal readied to riposte whatever attack was about to spring, but Todd lunged at GalvanGal instead. Todd knocked the word out of her and covered it in a thick coat of lava that melted into the floor. He turned back to Immortal only to be met with a palm that tapped his head and flash froze his whole body.
“Another wasted effort, you were better off attacking me directly,” Immortal opened and closed his hand, clammy, and his blood was filled with sharp rime, but not immobile or dead yet. The next use would be the end of him, but none more would be needed.
Immortal lunged and the tips of his claws were on Aaliyah’s throat before he was stopped in mid-air. She dropped to her knees in shock but was pulled up just as soon by Garrick who hurried her to GalvanGal. Kenny held him for as long as possible. Even as Kenny bled from his nose and eyes, he squeezed out every second he could until he collapsed flat on his belly. Unslowed, Immortal spun to land on his feet.
“You’ve learned to conserve your energy by concentrating on specific points and bodies, but regardless, you are no dragon.”
“I never wanted to be a dragon,” muttered Kenny as he strained to bring his arms to his chest, “I thought I wanted to be a hero,” he used his elbows to push his upper body off the floor, “but it turned out that I don’t know anything,” he pulled up one knee to continue pushing, “but I did learn one thing for sure,” he bled still, stumbled a bit, and almost fell over, but in the end, he stood, “no one got anywhere by giving up!” roared Streaker.
“Do you have anything to say,” asked Immortal, “feel like throwing your life away now will make up for every mistake?”
“No,” said Garrick.
Garrick and Streaker stood in the way of the path to the real two problem children. Certepe’s bite is not easily overcome; even if that celestial healing closes the wounds, Hippo and Aaliyah won’t have much power to spare between them, especially if they waste their reserves on barriers of interference.
Streaker could no longer control the flow of time, but the image in front of him still slowed. The shift in weight. The muscles being primed. The fear of death. Whether it was by experience or instinct, he recognized the signs of an oncoming comet.
It was a blur to all onlookers, but Streaker and Immortal looked each other in the eyes as a fist grazed over his shoulder. An elbow smashed into Streaker’s face but did not stop him from getting a grip on Immortal. That limited mobility was not enough to stop Immortal from weaving a breath away from a broken gauntlet being swung his way. Garrick tried to get one more swing in but a hook from the free arm knocked him down. Immortal lifted his elbow and drove Streaker into the frozen wall. As much as Streaker didn’t want to let go, he could only watch as his grip was torn away. Now Immortal had his hand on Streaker’s face and pinned him against the wall. Streaker’s hand was crushed, and before he could yell his head was slammed into the wall, hard enough to crack gold.
As Streaker slid down into unconsciousness, Garrick grabbed Immortal’s waist from behind. Unable to budge him, Garrick was helpless as he was pulled up by his hair and choked. None of the desperate flailing swayed Immortal’s grip, yet at the same time, the circuit tango that Hippo had shared with Garrick prevented his neck from being snapped and his windpipe from being crushed. The same went for Kenny back there. She would have been better off attacking with her full strength by herself; the barrier at least prevented outside intervention, but why spread energy thin like this?
Once the flailing stopped, Immortal tossed the half-corpse aside. Only two were left, and one of them was on her back, still clutching at her bruises and catching her breath.