ALSO, I RECOMMEND you read the last chapter before or after this chapter aka The Agency: Gen-Factor.
It informs a lot of this chapter and some other stuff going on.
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Emergence 2.13d
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Zeke stumbled back, his palms instinctually flickering with blue energy as he stared at the monstrous creature that had once been General Eiling, standing tall and massive in the heart of the empty airfield. "Wh-wh-what the hell was in that flask?" The words slipped out of his mouth without him meaning to, fear more than anything else piloting his response as he tried to process the nightmare unfolding before him.
The beast of a man let out a deep, guttural chuckle, the sound so low and gruff that the only sign of it being an actual sound of mirth was the cruel smile the tusked mutate wore widely and proudly across his altered face. The expression was a twisted mockery of human joy, the general's features contorted into something primal and savage as he regarded Zeke with gleaming red eyes. “Very good question, boy,” the hulking man began, rolling his massive shoulders as he spoke, the movement causing his muscles to ripple and bulge beneath his leathery skin. “And forgive my age, but I’ll have to tell you a little story first.”
“What?” Zeke blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion as he tried to make sense of the general's words. A story? Now? Is this guy for real?
Another low chuckle spilled out from the General's maw, the sound of it sending a shiver down Zeke's spine. “You see, I found out about four years ago that all my exposure to that odd radioactivity making metalheads like your precious Captain Atom gave me a little unwanted gift in the form of an inoperable brain tumor.” He paused to let out a pleased groan, flexing his arms as he visibly grew another inch or so, his already massive frame expanding with each passing second. “I knew I was going to die, but I wasn’t going to waste time with that bullshit chemotherapy. I wasn’t going to pussy out and die a weakling. And, thankfully, the US military has all sorts of special little wonders available to its loyal sons and daughters.”
Loyal? Zeke mouthed the word, disbelieving.
“Some special little synthetic genetics cooked up by taking some metahuman scum out of the American prison system and opening them up so you can see how they tick. When they finally can’t take it and give up the ghost, then you tear them apart molecule by molecule," the general continued, his voice taking on a note of gleeful malice as he spoke. Visible trembles ran through his pale, graying body, muscles and veins twitching and moving like worms just underneath his textured, thick-looking skin. “Now the more you try to get out of it, the more it tears you apart from the inside out. Me, I’ve never asked for much. All I needed was to stay healthy for as long as possible. So putting some of that good stuff right into me as thanks for my years of service, well, it made me stronger and healthier than any man my age had a right to be.”
The boy in blue clenched his teeth. Observe.
General Wade Eiling Lv ???
The General
????????
????????
????????
Fuck.
The monster paused to groan again, the fangs in his mouth growing again, widening and thickening into large, threatening things more than sharp slicers. “...Granted, I was still going to die anyway, after several long decades but I wasn’t going to die weak, " Eiling growled, his voice a rumbling bass that seemed to reverberate through Zeke's very bones, as the old man flexed his fingers, each digit nearly the size of his wrist. “Now, I would have stopped there. That is, until… a good friend of mine put me in contact with an acquaintance of his south of the border with a penchant for some special steroids.”
Special ster- Zeke's eyes widened further, the realization hitting him like a punch to the gut. "Bane!" he blurted out, the name slipping from his lips before he could stop himself.
“You’ve heard of him. Smart boy.” Veins bulged grotesquely again, only to then tighten across the man-monster's arms, visible and bulging, the blood pumping through them almost noticeable across his stretched skin as he let out another low sound of pleasure, growing yet another few inches in height. “Now, Bane, that smart ol’ bandito, told me he’s been cooking up all sorts of new little potions, ever since some idiotic cultists left him some new ingredients to play with.”
“Kobra-Venom,” Genesis whispered slowly, realizing something else that sent a chill down his spine. We never destroyed the rest of the Blockbuster or Kobra Venom because we escaped the island. Oh my God, Bane has stronger Venom!
“Close, but not quite. He calls this Titan,” the hulk in front of him crowed as Zeke went through a series of worrying realizations. Eiling only smiled as his fingernails began to darken to a jet black, the color quickly spreading across his nail beds like spilled ink. “It supposedly enhances the metahuman abilities of the user, that is… if they’re strong enough to handle it.”
Sharp teeth grinned wide. “Now, me, as a metahuman with the power of living long and strong and healthy, I’m pretty sure I’m in the driver’s seat of a body that’s unstoppable…”
The beast of a man groaned, shooting up several more inches in height as his body continued to warp and twist.
“Invulnerable…” he growled, hunching forward slightly as his arms grew even thicker and longer, the limbs elongating until they hung down nearly to his knees, the muscles bulging and straining against his skin.
“And Immortal.” With that, he let out a roar that had the thirteen-year-old sidekick in front of him stumbling back from the sheer force and sound of it, Zeke's eyes wide with raw, primal fear as he stared up at the easily-seven foot tall monster towering over him.
> [Paralyzing Fear] negated by Gamer's Mind.
As soon as the translucent blue words flashed in front of his field of vision, Genesis felt a wave of calm wash over him, the overwhelming terror that had gripped him just moments before fading away to a dull, distant throb in the back of his mind.
“You’re… you’re a monster," Genesis said, his voice surprisingly steady despite the way his heart was pounding in his chest, the words slipping from his lips before he could stop them. This was the Eiling he knew from the comics and tv shows he somehow remembered despite his lack of other, more personal memories, the selfish psychopath who managed to change his outsides to resemble who he was inside.
This was THE General.
A massive, pale hand lunged for his head, the movement so fast and sudden that Zeke barely had time to react. “YOU CAN CALL ME THE GENERAL AND BE NICE ABOUT IT, YOUNG MAN!”
Zeke hurled himself back across the parking lot and into a flip before landing catlike with one hand and both feet on the ground, blue eyes wide as he just barely avoided a grasp that could have pulped his skull like a rotten tomato, to say the least.
> [Acrobatics] Lvl Up!
>
> 9 —> 11
"POWER BOOST!" Zeke shouted, his voice ringing out across the lot as his body flooded with the golden light of his physical energy. He could feel the power surging through his muscles, the sensation of it like a rush of pure adrenaline as he leapt high into the air to avoid The General's attack. Taste something I've been training since last week! he thought to himself, a fierce grin spreading across his face as he cupped his palms together low and at his sides.
Blue light began to pool together in between his hands, the energy of it crackling and sparking as it grew in intensity with each passing second. In under a heartbeat, a roiling basketball-sized sphere of power forced his hands apart. But Zeke held on, his teeth gritted with the effort of it as he launched both palms forward, screaming loud as he did so. "HADOOOOKEN!"
The blast of energy shot forward like a cannonball, the force of it enough to send Zeke flying back through the air as it rocketed towards The General with blinding speed. The monster instinctively held up a hand to shield his face, his eyes going wide with surprise as he realized too late what was coming.
> Skill Created!
>
> Mana Thruster
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> Mana Thruster Lv 1
>
> You've heard of weaponized exhaust. Try an exhaustized weapon.
>
> For a sudden burst of speed or change in direction, propel yourself while in mid-air with the force of your mana. After all, a weapon's output is in direct proportion to its potential as a maneuvering thruster.
>
> Cost: 25 MP to activate, 10/s
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> [Mana Burst] Lvl Up!
>
> 35 —> 36
"WHA-" The General's words were cut off as the blast slammed into his arm and exploded like a bomb, the impact of it sending a shockwave rippling through the air and pushing Zeke further upwards into the air. "NNNYUUURRR!!" The general let out an odd, guttural scream of pain, the sound of it more akin to an injured beast than a man as the energy exploded against his flesh, the force of it enough to cave in a car.
Superhuman flesh tore with a sound like a sandbag being ripped apart, bluish blood bursting out of The General's body in a geyser of gore as his massive, mangled arm fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Zeke dropped down at the same time, the golden light surrounding him fading slightly as he cast a careful look at the grunting, groaning form of The General, the man gripping the stump of his arm with his other, still-intact one as the asphalt beneath him was stained with a growing pool of purple blood.
That actually worked? Zeke thought to himself in surprise as he watched The General writhe over the loss of his arm. It’s over? But even as the thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t make himself believe it would be that easy.
“It’s not over, boy, but nice try,” The General growled as evil red eyes glared his way, his voice a rumbling bass as he raised that same limb high and proud, the wound already beginning to seal over before the sidekick's eyes.
Odd and disgusting squelching noises filled the air as pale flesh began to shift and move, the stump of The General's arm pulsing and throbbing as it started to regenerate. “I could heal rather quickly before all this, but now, I can survive ANY ATTACK!” The General roared, his face splitting into a twisted grin as the flesh of his arm began to shift faster and faster, the blood flow halting entirely as the wound sealed shut. “I can REGROW ANY LIMB!”
With an explosion of flesh and purple viscera, The General's arm returned in all its full inglory, the limb bursting forth from the stump like some grotesque parody of a flower blooming. Zeke felt his stomach turn at the sight of it, bile rising in the back of his throat as he watched the monster flex his newly-regrown fingers, a look of savage glee on his face.
“I FEEL NO PAIN," The General bellowed, his voice a deafening roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth beneath their feet. He took a step forward, his massive frame looming over Zeke like a mountain of muscle and sinew, his eyes glowing with a malevolent red light.
I'm cooked, Zeke thought to himself, his heart dropping lower than his stomach as he realized exactly how bad his situation was. This guy's just as bad as he was in the comics and at least half as nuts. What the hell am I supposed to do against something like that?
"Oh no," he said aloud, the words slipping from his lips before he could stop them.
“Oh, yes, did I mention the enhanced senses in this body? I can smell the adrenaline in your sweat, the fear in your veins,” The General replied, his lips peeling back in a smile that was a horrible sight for anyone with eyes. “Really, I could simply make a break for it. But at this point, I want to kill you and that pansy Adams for the sheer… pleasure of it. Better run.”
Okay, so he's just aa insane as the comics… great. "Alright, ugly," he said, his voice surprisingly steady as Gamer’s Mind kept him mentally in one piece at those terrifying words. "You want me? Come and get me."
And with that, he turned and ran, his feet pounding against the asphalt as he poured every ounce of speed and agility he had into his movements. Behind him, he could hear The General's roar of rage, the sound of it echoing through the night air like a clap of thunder.
Faster, Zeke thought to himself as he pushed himself harder, his legs pumping like pistons as he tore across the parking lot. I have to go faster. I’m smaller and more agile, so that means I'm quicker and harder to catch. The Captain knows where I am so he’ll be here soon. All I have to do is outlast this guy.
Behind him, The General's roar of rage split the night air once more, the sound of it drowning out the pounding of Zeke's own heart in his ears. "YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" the monster bellowed. "SOONER OR LATER, I'LL CATCH YOU, AND THE-"
“MANABURSTBURSTBURSTBURSTBURSTBURST!!!!”
Interrupting The General with about several dozen blind-fired energy blasts was the best idea he ever had to shut the crazy monster up, the man’s enraged screams like music to his ears.
“I’LL CRACK YOUR SKULL WITH MY TEETH AND SLURP OUT YOUR EYEBALLS, YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
…Okay, that not so much.
The General let the threat hang in the air, the promise of it sending a shiver of fear down Zeke's spine. He didn't want to think about the very possible likelihood of that, the quick and messy end the General just described to him.
All he could do was run.
But even as he ran, he could feel The General's presence behind him, the monster's heavy footfalls shaking the ground with each step, the sound of his ragged breathing filling Zeke's ears.
Zeke risked a glance over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he caught sight of The General bearing down on him like a freight train, the monster's massive frame filling his vision as he closed the distance between them with terrifying speed. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, BOY!" The General roared, his voice a deafening bellow that seemed to rattle the ground. "I'LL CHASE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH IF I HAVE TO!"
Fuck it. Fuck you. Fuck this. FUCK! With a grunt of effort, Zeke poured on an extra burst of speed, mouth open as he shouted three simple syllables. “POWER BOOST!”
In a burst of gold light, he kicked off the ground and leapt backwards into the air, his superhuman enhancement making the most out of propelling his small body dozens of feet high. The wind whipped at his face, his heart pounding in his chest as he soared through the night sky, the ground falling away beneath him like a distant memory.
“YOU IDIOT!” The General laughed as he leapt up after him, superhuman legs carrying him just as high as Genesis’s own leap had with ease. The General laughed as he leapt up after him, superhuman legs carrying him just as high as Genesis's own leap had with ease. The monster's massive frame seemed to fill the air, his outstretched hands grasping for Zeke like the claws of some nightmarish beast.
“MANA THRUSTER!” Calling on his newest skill with panic in his voice, ragged twin cones of blue light burst from his hands, carrying him several feet higher into the air and out of the General's reaching grasp before he let it sputter out. The force of the thrusters sent Genesis spinning, his body tumbling end over end as he fought to regain control.
> [Mana Thruster] Lvl Up!
>
> 1 —> 3
Skills jumping that fast? Zeke let out a somewhat crazed laugh inside his own head. If I couldn't already guess this was a boss fight… He knew just how much faster his skills seemed to jump in experience when in an actual fight compared to training, and the greater the threat to his life, the stronger they seemed to become.
“WHA-NO!” The General's roar of frustration and rage echoed through the night air, his massive hands grasping at empty space as Zeke shot just out of reach.
Spinning in the air as he felt gravity begin to drag him down, Genesis focused his energy, the blue light within him pooling in his cupped palms again as he faced the General as they both began to fall. The world seemed to move in slow motion, the wind rushing past his ears as he gathered his power.
“HADO-” He paused with the words on his lips. Hands curled at his sides, high in the air, body glowing like a yellow flare, an idea came to the sidekick’s mind, one he immediately jumped on as soon as he had it. Without wasting a second, he visualized what he wanted to have happen, the path of the energy and how he intended to guide it from the clump of his energy he had contained within his palms. “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He let the blast go without letting the blast go, the ball of energy extending outwards from his palms in a sustained beam the width of a basketball, burning like a searchlight in the middle of the night as it drove itself right into The General’s surprised, screaming face. The force of it was incredible, the recoil sending Zeke flying backwards through the air unintended for the second time in a single minute as the beam slammed into the monster’s skull with the force of a speeding car.
> Skill Created!
>
> Mana Wave
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> Mana Wave Lv 1
>
> When out of ideas, just fire a large beam.
>
> Channel the power of your mana into a continuous, beam-shaped wave of raw energy. This focused wave is capable of sustained damage, making it ideal for confronting tougher opponents or breaking through barriers.
>
> Emits a continuous beam of energy that can be directed at targets for sustained damage.
>
> Base Damage: 25% of INT x (Skill Level + [50% of Mana Burst Skill Level])
>
> Cost: 50 Mana, 20 per second
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> [Mana Wave] Lvl Up!
>
> 1 —> 6
>
> [Manipulation: Mana] Lvl Up!
>
> 3 —> 5
The beam blasted the general directly in the face, Zeke holding the beam for as long as he could manage as the thing seemed to widen from basketball-width it started as to slightly wider the longer he pumped energy into it, despite feeling the drain with every passing second. He could feel his mana reserves depleting rapidly, the energy pouring out of him in a constant stream as he focused all his will on maintaining the attack.
Just a little longer, he thought to himself, his teeth gritted with the effort of it as he poured as much as he had into the beam.
The General let out a roar of pain and rage, the sound of it nearly drowned out by the deafening hum of the beam as it slammed into his face with unrelenting force. It drove him back, back, back, until finally, with a thunderous crash, it sent him crashing head-first into the parking lot below.
The impact was tremendous, the force of it enough to crater the asphalt and send shockwaves rippling outward in all directions. Car alarms blared to life, their shrill wailing filling the night air as the entire parking lot shuddered and shook, the ground itself seeming to tremble with the aftershocks of the collision.
Zeke let the beam flicker and die, his arms falling to his sides as the energy drained from his body. It was only then that he realized just how high above the ground he had shot himself up during the intense battle. His eyes widened as gravity took hold, and he started to plummet back towards the unforgiving asphalt below.
"...Fuck," he muttered under his breath, the wind whipping past his face as he fell.
Panic gripped his heart, but he fought it back, refusing to let it consume him. He had to think fast. With a deep breath, he thrust his hands below himself and shouted, "Mana Thrusters!"
Cones of brilliant blue light burst to life from his palms, the energy surging through his body and out of his fingertips. He staggered the thrusters, carefully manipulating the output to control his descent. It was a delicate balancing act, using the remainder of his energy to break his fall without sending himself careening off in another direction.
With a grunt, Zeke landed on all fours, his hands and knees slamming hard into the asphalt not too far from the General's unmoving body. The impact sent a jolt of pain through his already battered body, and he gritted his teeth as the notifications flashed before his eyes.
-25
As soon as his body hit the ground, it began to rumble again. Blue eyes widened. Oh n-
A pale, massive hand rushed out, and Zeke instinctively flared his Willpower, the golden aura of physical energy surrounding his body as he tried to dart back.
But it was too late.
The giant palm struck him with the force of a wrecking ball, swatting him like a regular person would a fly.
It had just as much effect.
- 377
- 92
- 64
- 52
- 31
- 19
- 7
- 7
- 8
- 3
- 1
- 1
Pain exploded through every nerve in Zeke's body as he was sent flying, the world spinning around him in a dizzying blur. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, his breath driven from his lungs by the impact and the light from his eyes as his skull cracked against the ground hard.
+ 1 VIT
+ 1 VIT
+ 1 VIT
+ 1 VIT
> [Resistance: Blunt Force] Lvl Up!
>
> 25 —> 27
A ragged gasp spilled out of his throat, his chest burning and his body on fire with agony as his eyes snapped open. "Wh-what…" he mumbled, his words slurred and barely coherent. What.
His arm lay limp at his side, a useless slab of meat and bone. He stared up at the night sky, the stars blurring together into a hazy swirl of light, confusion warring with his thoughts as he tried to remember what happened.
> Bruised - Moderate
>
> -2% STR
>
> -2% SPD
>
> Recovery: 30 Minutes
>
>
>
> Fractured Skull - Moderate
>
> -20% INT
>
> -15% WIS
>
> -10% Reflexes
>
> -15% Accuracy
>
> Recovery: 8 Hours
>
>
>
> Fractured Ribs x 2 - Severe
>
> -10% STR
>
> -10% VIT
>
> Recovery: 4 Hours
>
>
>
> Broken Arm - Serious
>
> -20% STR
>
> -10% Accuracy
>
> Recovery: 4 Hours
>
>
>
> Concussion - Serious
>
> -15% INT
>
> -20% WIS
>
> -15% Reflexes
>
> -10% Accuracy
>
> Recovery: 6 Hours
>
>
>
> Sprained Ankle - Moderate
>
> -10% SPD
>
> Recovery: 45 Minutes
…oh.
...Ow.
Zeke blinked away the blood in his eyes and blinked again as he realized there was blood in his eyes. The ground began to rumble and the boy turned his head slightly. It was then that the memories came flooding back, and he remembered exactly how he had gotten here.
The General stood several meters away, the monstrous figure taking its sweet time lumbering over. Somehow, he seemed even taller than before, towering at a good eight feet tall. “I told you, boy.” He chuckled again, voice a guttural rumble. “There’s no running from the General. All this time you’ve been running me around, I’ve been getting bigger. Bigger, stronger, tougher.”
Zeke's blue eyes narrowed, and he forced a smirk onto his bloodied face. "R-r-really?" he rasped, his words broken by the pain that wracked his body.
“What?” The General frowned, confusion clear on his monstrous face. “Really what?”
"Th-the third person th-thing," Genesis said, his voice tight with pain but still carrying a hint of laughter. "Aren't you b-b-b… better than that?"
“What is THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?”
"N-nothing," Zeke replied, and now he actually was laughing, despite the blood that poured from his mouth with each chuckle.
“WHAT? WHAT’S SO FUNNY?”
“Nothing, m-man.”
“I DEMAND YOU TELL ME! WHAT IS SO FUNNY.”
Zeke's laughter died down slowly over a few seconds until it was nothing more than a slow rattle. His chest burned with the action, his ribs shook painfully against his sides and who even knew how the hell to describe the cavalcade of pain that was his arm?
Finally, he fixed the General with a defiant stare. "...T-that you don't know what stalling is."
“WHA-”
Having waited long enough for his mana to tick back up, Zeke snapped his one good hand up and let loose a one-handed Hadoken. The energy ball charged up faster than it ever had before, fueled by his desperation and the last dregs of his power.
The energy bomb exploded right in the General's face, launching the man-monster off his feet and sending him scattering across the parking lot, just as he had done to Zeke seconds ago. The fanged monster sat up, letting out yet another guttural roar of pain and rage. “YOU,” he lumbered to his feet, one eye missing and purple blood running down his face again. “YOU ARE-”
"Still stalling," Zeke interrupted, a pained grin on his face as he pointed his hand into the sky. A bright light filled the airfield, drawing the General's attention at the same time as a loud sound made itself audible. KBOOOM!
“Sonic boom? Wh-” The General whipped around, moving surprisingly fast for his bulk.
“EILIIIIIING!!!” But not fast enough to avoid the screaming silver form of Captain Atom slamming into him with a superhuman punch at several times the speed of sound, the superhero screaming his lungs out. The punch slammed Eiling hard into the ground, the asphalt rippling from the force as the hulk of a man struck the parking lot and bounced back up into the air.
A screaming Captain Atom held an open hand out and the air burned.
KKKKRRAKRRUHH-VOOOOM!
The blast tore through the air, a searing lance of pure energy that slammed into the General with the force of a thousand suns. The monster went flying, his body ripped apart by the sheer power of the attack. A trail of thick, viscous purple blood followed in his wake, splattering across the tarmac in a gruesome arc. The General's mangled form crashed into an airplane hangar with a thunderous impact, the metal structure crumpling like tinfoil under the force of the collision.
Captain Atom paused in midair, hovering in place as he cast a worried, pupilless scarlet glance in the direction of the immobile Genesis. "EZE- GENESIS, ARE YO-"
The sidekick, his body broken and battered, managed to raise a trembling hand, giving his mentor a weak thumbs up. "I'm fine," he croaked, his voice barely audible over the ringing in his ears. "I will be fine. Don't ask. Don't. Not fine but I will be." He let out a pained groan, his face twisting into a grimace. "Just kill that bastard already. Please."
Captain Atom set his jaw, his chrome silver skin gleaming in the eerie light of the airfield. Fists, eyes, and chest symbol burned a vicious red, something that Genesis had never seen the man show, whether in person or on a screen in his research. It was terrifying.
"I'd reprimand you on your language, but I'd be a hypocrite." He gave the boy a tight nod, his expression grim and determined. "Understood. Eiling's mine."
As if on cue, the General pulled himself up from the wreckage of the hangar, his body already regenerating from the devastating blast. The hulking monster let out a bellowing roar, charging towards Captain Atom with a fury that shook the very ground beneath his feet. "ADAMS, YOU PANSY!" he screamed, his voice a guttural, inhuman screech. "FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"
"No," Captain Atom scowled, the chrome silver-skinned superhero raising a glowing fist. Energy crackled around his arm, his eyes narrowing with a cold, calculated anger. "I'll put you down like a dog."
Genesis watched, his vision blurring at the edges, as a single quantum-atomic-whatever blast lanced from the Captain's fist. The beam of pure destructive force blasted into the pale-skinned bastard, the impact seeming to explode the General's upper body in a shower of gore and shattered bone. The monster was sent flying back, his ruined form slamming into the ground with a sickening crunch.
Seemingly.
"...hhahaha…" a guttural laugh emanated from the crater where the General had fallen, his body already knitting itself back together. Captain Atom's scowl deepened, his fists clenching at his sides. "Like I told your little tagalong, I can't die," the General spoke again, rising to his feet, his body covered in thick, congealing purple blood but entirely whole once more. "Unstoppable, Invulnerable, and Immortal, if you didn't hear the spiel the first time."
"You… regenerate," Captain Atom said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the situation.
“Exactly.” The General’s hand gripped a ruined car, fingers digging into the chassis like butter if butter could squeal like mangled steel, and easily tore the thing in half with a lazy pull, showing off strength that was nothing short of monstrous. “How do you s-stop the unstoppable?" With barely even a grunt, the pale muscled monster threw the thing with enough force that the air buckled with a sound like thunder.
“Easily.” The Captain didn’t flinch.
His eyes flared red, and energy burned from his gaze, lighting up the parking lot yet again. In under a second, the thrown car wreck was melted slag between both Captain and General.
“As easily as I can do this.” The cold expression on Captain Atom’s statue-like face didn’t shift as he quickly raised his arm, the motion smooth and without hesitation. His hand flared with the same angry light as his eyes and chest insignia, different from their normal calm white or bright yellow and with a sound like a muffled bomb blast, a harsh red beam the size of his fist shot out.
“RRRRA-!!”
Another.
“RRR-!!”
Another.
“AA-!!”
Anot-
“AA-!!”
Ano-
“A-!!”
A-
“!!!”
Six in quick succession, like the world’s most powerful automatic rifle, burned the night a bright blood red as Captain Atom launched a scattershot across the General’s body, leaving visible holes through his entire form leaking blue blood as he stumbled backwards then forwards, nearly dropping to his knees. Each beam had punched all the way through the monster, leaving perfect steaming holes in him like the world’s Ugliest sample of Swiss Cheese without going any further than that.
It hadn’t even harmed the asphalt behind him.
That's... th-that's... Zeke blinked blearily from where he lay on the asphalt, trying to think past the haze of pain. That's insane control.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Maybe now you're beginning to understand," the General snarled as he rose back to his full height, his face twisted into a vicious, fang-filled grin as he leered at the stoic Captain floating opposite him. He hunched over, his muscles once again bulging grotesquely beneath his pale skin as he healed with that squelching noise as if like a giant slug. "I'm just like that Shaggy Man monster your precious League fought. Immortal, Unkillable and Unstoppable!"
"...Perfect."
The General blinked, confusion replacing the sadistic glee on his monstrous face. "What?"
Genesis blinked, and in that infinitesimal moment, the world stuttered, reality itself seeming to glitch as Captain Atom moved with a speed that made his own eyes question if physics could even function that loosely. In a fraction of a literal blink of an eye, the silver-skinned superhero covered a quarter of a mile, his form vanishing as he seemingly teleported in front of the General.
With a single, devastatingly precise blow, Captain Atom's fist slammed upwards, connecting with the underside of a giant chin in a spray of purple viscera and raw, unbridled force. The impact was so intense, so unbelievably powerful, that it literally exploded the General's jaw, shattering bone and rending flesh in a gruesome display of superhuman might.
The shockwave from the punch rippled outwards, the very air trembling as the General rocketed upwards, and the lone car in the parking lot was sent tumbling, the trunk spilling open and boxes sent flying. The chrome-skinned hero pursued his enemy, eyes blazing with rage.
"FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS!" Captain Atom roared, voice thundering loud enough that echoed across the airfield. He lashed out with another punch, his fist slamming into the General's chest with a sickening crunch as it visibly caved inwards. Ribs audible shattered beneath the blow, fragments of bone tearing through pale flesh as the monster's body convulsed in agony.
"FOUR YEARS, EILING!" Another strike, this time to the General's face, the force of the impact exploding his regenerating jaw again before it was fully whole. Purple blood sprayed from the wound, painting the shattered asphalt below.
"YOU LAUGHED BEHIND MY BACK!" Captain Atom's voice was raw, filled with a pain years in the making. He unleashed a flurry of blows, his fists pummeling the General's body with a relentless, almost methodical fury. Each strike was punctuated by a blinding flash of energy, the power of the quantum blasts tearing through the monster's flesh, only for it to regenerate moments later.
"LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN LAUGH NOW!" With a final, earth-shattering roar, Captain Atom raised both hands above his head, clasping them together in a massive hammerfist. He brought the blow down upon the General's skull, the impact echoing like a thunderclap. The monster's head exploded in a shower of gore, his regenerating brain matter splattering across the tarmac below.
As the General's body plummeted back to earth, nothing more than a broken, twitching husk, Zeke watched with wide, disbelieving eyes. The sheer brutality of the beating, the raw, unchecked power that Captain Atom had displayed…
A part of him, the part that wasn't reeling from his own injuries, couldn't help but feel a morbid sense of satisfaction at it.
Mission Success!
General Unleashed
General Eiling, in a desperate move, has ingested a secret formula, transforming him into a hulking man-monster. Your mission is simple, survive or die.
Objective:
Subdue or hold off the transformed General Eiling until backup arrives. [✓]
Success: 25k XP, +5 to STR, +5 to VIT
Failure: Death
> Level Up!
>
> Lvl 17 → 18
>
> You are now Level 18.
Alright, I'm good now, Zeke thought to himself, his vision beginning to blur at the edges. The adrenaline that had been keeping him going, the sheer force of will that had allowed him to cling to consciousness, was finally beginning to fade. The pain from his injuries was a constant, throbbing presence, threatening to drag him under at any moment. He could feel the sticky warmth of his own blood seeping through his tattered jumpsuit, the metallic scent filling his nostrils with each labored breath.
Just as unconsciousness was about to claim him, a glint of something metallic caught his eye. Zeke blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion as he focused on the open box lying near his head. The tape that had once sealed it shut had come loose, likely during the chaos of the brawl, and now its contents were spilling out onto the ground beside him. Observe, he thought, the familiar command coming to him almost instinctively.
> X-Ionizer (Unique)
>
> An item created by the advanced minds behind the Captain Atom project after studying alien technology. It's function is to alter the state of normal matter into a metamaterial (or vice versa) for the process of working with otherwise unmalleable materials.
An X-Ionizer? Zeke's mind raced, the gears turning despite the fog of pain and exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him. I thought that was… When I was at STAR Labs, I heard about that. But they said it was just… hypothetical?
Zeke's eyes scanned the translucent blue screen that had popped up in front of him, his brain struggling to process the information through the haze of his concussion and the throbbing pain of his skull fracture. Yet, despite his injuries, the concepts seemed to click into place, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in a way they never had before.
Yeah, if you could rearrange and compress atoms even in just a linear way, you could basically create some crazy metamaterials, he mused, his thoughts coming faster now, the fog of pain momentarily pushed aside by the sheer fascination of his discovery. Man, you could probably turn a butter knife into something crazy like a mini-Wolverine claw. But you really couldn’t do that without some crazy super-advanced tech. Best bet is to just artificially alter the structure of whatever you’re working on with some kind of “synthetic” lattice with like… some specific metahuman power or something. Before he could even try to put more thought into what kind of metahuman power you would need, another screen popped up in front of him.
> Threshold: 50 INT
>
> Threshold Exceeded.
----------------------------------------
> Unlocking Module.
>
> Concept Understood: X-Ionizer
>
> Blueprint Unlocked: Energy Infuser
What.
The word echoed in Zeke's mind, a simple, stunned reaction to the sudden influx of knowledge. It was as if a floodgate had been opened, a torrent of information rushing into his brain, filling his thoughts with schematics and diagrams, formulas and equations. He could see it all in his mind's eye, the intricate workings of the device, the precise calculations required to make it function.
> Perk Gained: Super-Natural Inventor
>
> Invention System Active.
HUH.