Only four paces separated them now, and Ratcatcher felt herself hesitate. The man had changed almost completely, his legs becoming more like pylons of liquid metal, each ending in a claw capable of eviscerating her entire torso with a single stroke. The arms became massive, with armored fists that grew larger than her head. He looked at her with cold fury, angered by the girl's words.

What chance does she have? Her weapon is gone; if she tries to strike or scratch this enemy, she will only shatter her own bones. Eight looked larger than life, larger than anything...

So what? Ratcatcher reached out, grabbing Elina by the torso. Both Mr. Other and Eugenia were far scarier. If the Other was here, Eight would’ve bitten the dust. And Eugenia would’ve pulverized the bastard with a breath. Ha, Mom would’ve knocked Eight around too! None of them would have given up. And neither will she.

“Third choice. A joint-tactical retreat!” She grabbed Elina, lifting the shocked girl.

It was so simple! Lead Eight away from Carlos, keep him focused on you until the police arrive, and boom! He loses. Ratcatcher felt like a genius.

Eight simply charged and swung with his oversized arm. The blow that was bound to miss suddenly became almost inevitable as the blade on his wrist lengthened, preparing to cut both girls in half at the same time. And his speed! The giant size hasn’t hindered the bastard one bit!

A body landed between them, shattering the blade and damaging Eight's arm. The ground shook, and a scream of crumbling metal pierced the air. Someone attacked the Number, the girl saw a large man facing up the killer made of steel on an equal footing. Bladed hands and sharp front legs closed in on the newcomer from four sides, and the man in white dodged the arms, elegantly avoiding a thrust aimed at his face. A fist larger than the girl's body slammed into the steel leg and broke it in two.

Ratcatcher wasn't sure what had happened next, but now it was Eight who backed up to the fallen Carlos, whips of steel sprouting from his spine and slashing violently at the ground in front of him. Eight's legs splintered like pieces of wood, becoming four stalks of steel. His expression changed, first to one of fear, then to one of utter rage. Not a cold and calculating rage like before. No, this was pure and mindless rage.

The person who saved them dodged the incoming whips, simply striking them in the blunt sides with enough force to shatter the steel and leave half weapons on the ground, not unlike Ratcatcher's own tail. Their savior emerged from a small crater left in the ground by his forceful landing. Standing only a head shorter than Eugenia, the man had a massive build; his shoulders looked like hills placed on a human body, and his chest was wide enough to shield both of them. Ratcatcher knew little about proper clothing and such, but even she admitted that the man's white clothes —coat, jacket, shirt, and pants —were exceptionally well made, hindering his movements in no way, while being durable enough to endure his violent landing.

"Okay, what happened and why are the police in an uproar..." The newcomer began to ask in a rich and commanding tone. Seeing two wounded children, the man quickly took off his white coat and placed it on their shoulders.

"You…" Elina hiccuped. "You are the fallen Elite… The monster’s brother…"

Ratcatcher frowned, unsure what she meant. The Elites were the three strongest individuals in Iterna. Lightbringer, an abnormal who could reach the speed of light. Artificer, an ingenious inventor and the founder of the Elites. And finally, Eugenia Mylli, the Redeemer, the Sword and the Shield of Iterna. And all three were still in service.

"Yeah, yeah," the black-haired man spoke in a surprisingly kind voice. His face reminded the trainee of the Redeemer. The two were clearly unrelated, yet the sheer otherworldly perfection of his almost sculptured facial features betrayed an extensive level of surgical intervention. "Hold on and fear nothing. It will be over soon."

"Argus!!!" A roar pierced the sky. Eight stomped on the ground, breaking the stone. He crouched like an animal, drool pouring from his mouth. Taking several deep breaths, Number pulled himself together and regained his former composure. The metal on his body receded, giving him a human-like build, and his legs returned to their natural shape.

Even his eyes changed. When Eight looked at the man in the expensive white business suit, his eyes changed color to match Argus'. Almost in disgust at the resemblance, the pupils dilated, becoming two shiny wet orbs. Gone was Eight's cold and calculating gaze, the one that tried to take advantage of every mistake, replaced by a sea of pure hatred. The look of an amateur fighter. A look of an outsider willing to torture and kill for fun.

"I thought I smelled something rotten. Maximillian, are you resorting to bullying children now? I'd call it pathetic, but you know." Argus chuckled, not in the least bothered by the change before him. "You're already a pathetic, dead echo of my brother."

“Still courting losers and genetic rejects, brother?” Eight or Maximillian returned a chuckle in a contemptuous tone. “I do suppose that failure begets failure. You know the drill.”

"I tremble with anticipation," Argus said in a steely tone, and Ratcatcher felt the ground shake beneath her. It was a faint tremor, more like some kind of movement beneath the surface.

The monster’s leg moved to stand on Carlos’ body, and a sharp hook moved toward the boy’s neck. Ratcatcher stopped breathing, seeing how Argus made a courteous bow, spreading his arms wide, and the creature raised his hand, letting a finger to extend toward the man’s eye. Slowly. So impossibly slowly. And completely focused on the man.

No. This was no longer Eight. The trainee became sure of it. Something far more terrifying had taken his place. And at the same time, stupider. Eight would’ve already killed this Argus by now. He sought to torment and denigrate, but his blows meant death, and he kept control of the battlefield. This… Maximillian had nothing but blood-curdling glee in his eyes in anticipation of the coming torture, forgetting the children altogether. The girl laid her palm on Elina's body and prayed that she knew the silent language of the Academy. The instructors had only taught her a few months ago.

When I grab Carlos, shoot me with your shockwave. Don’t worry about breaking anything. I am tough. Ratcatcher tapped out the words quickly, feeling her heart race.

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She didn’t wait for an answer and slithered from underneath the coat, dropping to all fours and remembering Dad’s lessons. Her breathing almost stopped, but the muscles of her arms and legs still moved, pushing the impact back and forth, both straining and keeping the body ready. When facing a fearsome enemy, pretend to be a non-factor. Don't draw attention to yourself.

“Your debt to me is long overdue, brother,” Maximillian continued as his finger grew. “And believe me, once I am back in the realm of the living, I will swipe aside all and everyone, including that scrap of flesh bearing my genes.”

“Hm.” The other man stood unbothered by the steel that was about to reach his eye. “Your sperm gave Augustus his life, but do you know something interesting?”

"No, but I am sure you will enlighten me, Argus." Drool fell from the mangled jaws; small irises floated in the oversized pupils focused on Argus’ face.

Let the enemy run his mouth. Good. He doesn’t pay attention to me. She only looked at the claw on Carlos’ neck. It slowly rose up. And down. At almost equal intervals.

"You were never his father," Argus said. "Not once. It’s me, whom he chose to call dad. It’s kind of funny and a little bit sad. But I am deeply grateful to have another son. One of the few good things you’ve ever done in your miserable, sad and pathetic life."

"Let this feeling sustain you while I am taking you apart…" A vein appeared on Maximillian’s neck.

Ratcatcher charged, timing her advance with the rising claw. She bounced off the stone with just her fingers, pushing her muscles to the limit and shooting herself forward like an arrow. She crossed the distance to Carlos in a heartbeat, wrapping her arms around his body and almost pushing the dying kid from underneath the steel foot.

During her life in Scrapyard, the girl saw plenty of wounded. She even saw a man bleeding out after a spider tore through the artery in his leg. Even a tourniquet did not help. And then another person died in acid; even Mak's help could not heal the massive burns that exposed the swollen insides. But Carlos’ body... To say that it was devastated is to say nothing. Ribcage, all but removed. Kidney, disappeared. The upper part of his pelvis disintegrated, leaving bone shards free to pierce his intestines. An incision tore both the internal and external carotid arteries. His lung was gone; its remains lay on the ground! The boy’s right side was, by all rights, gone. Not just wounded or badly damaged, but essentially ripped off by Eight's hooks and blades. And yet Carlos was barely bleeding.

He should have been dead by now. But the poor boy struggled, sucking in air with erratic breaths. A crack in his head revealed a substance encasing his brain, protecting it and preventing it from leaking out.

Maximillian looked down, remembering her existence for the first time. He began to raise a hand, and at that moment Elina snapped her arm, hitting the girl with the full force of her blast. Both she and Carlos flew like balls into the building behind them, and Ratcatcher had barely enough time to make a turn in the air and hit the wall with her backpack instead of letting Carlos get hurt.

And everything else seemed to resolve itself. As she ran away, carrying the ruined body in her arms, a pillar of steel broke out of the ground, shattering the finger that almost touched Argus' eye. Argus himself exploded the concrete beneath his boots, leapt at the enemy, and delivered a hook strong enough to send his opponent cartwheeling with a dent in the steel’s face. Scratching the stone surface with his claws, Maximillian managed to arrest his movement before he could fall back into the flames.

"So, even with all the augmentations, these are the limits of an ordinary body," Maximillian hissed through bent fangs, sounding surprisingly calm. "Annoying. It is time..."

“What, after all that boasting, you are turning tail?” Argus asked, and another pillar of steel rose beside Ratcatcher. It wrapped around the girl’s body like a snake, dragging her to safety. “How about it, echo of my retarded brother? You and me. I’ll use no power. Heck, I’ll even sweeten the deal and only use my right arm. If I win, this host of yours is mine to take.”

“Funny guy,” the other man rocketed his shoulder, and a sound of police sirens came in. Maximillian turned his body to the left and looked up at the crackling flame that erupted from the building. “Eight. Have we achieved everything we wanted?”

“Hey, Maximillian?” Argus asked.

“What now?”

“All the times I comforted you at night? All the words of encouragement I spoke to you? None of them are true, merely the delusions of a hopeless optimist.” The man in the white suit made a cutting gesture in the air, returning the trainees to the safety behind him with the steel pillar. “You are a bitch. And I will always be a winner.”

Another tremor came, and this time it wasn't gentle. The ground and even part of the building around Maximillian erupted, spraying swaths of concrete upward and making the killer look around in alarm. Amid the destruction, steel capsules rose; their doors opened, unleashing countless tendrils that hungrily pulled the downed enemies inside. Once inside, the tendrils straightened their prey, wrapping the bodies like ropes. Smaller tendrils of metal were pushed into mouths, holding them open and securing tongues. Ratcatcher saw needles pierce the unconscious bodies, and the capsules were sealed and disappeared underground.

Slowly, Maximillian turned to look at Argus, who raised a middle finger with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“See the difference between us?” Argus asked. “Where you are blabbering, I act. You don’t get to kill anyone else today, bitch.”

"You called me an echo, didn't you?" The creature asked carefully. "I am far more than just an ‘echo’. I am humanity incarnate, the imperfect answer to the imperfect question. I am not just the sum of the original’s thoughts, dreams, and memories; I am the original. My conscience lives and thrives through the bodies of others. As long as a single one of my creations exists, I am eternal. You stand in the presence of a god of the new world, the one who will scour everything clear and build a kingdom worthy of his glory! Once my restitution is complete, none will be able to stand against me. And you dare to address such a being as a ‘bitch’?"

"A rambling bitch who spits tedious spiel," the other man said easily. "I mean, think about it. You call yourself a god, yet you plan to run from a mortal. What kind of god could know fear, let alone act on it? And the only restitution you will get is unmaking. The dead should stay dead."

"Ever wrong, my brother. On all accounts. I get it." A smile appeared on Maximillian’s face. "You are stalling for time."

“Took you long enough. Then again, you never were the brightest,” Argus gloated, always keeping the trainees behind him.

The steel that held her and Carlos... Ratcatcher wasn't sure how to explain it, but she felt that Argus controlled it. Looking down into the cracks in the road, she saw where the steel came from. It peeled away from the heaters, then merged and twisted before wrapping around her. It confused the girl a bit. If the man can control metal, why can't he just collapse this Maximillian Eight into a ball? It should be easy!

Police cars rumbled down the street, and men in Iterna's blue uniform rushed out, pointing guns at the creature.

"Useless. Oh, and Argus? I have someone to kill. The honor is yours, servant," the creature's voice shifted, and now it was Eight who spoke, looking directly at the Ratcatcher. "Officers! It's so good to see you at last! What I took from you, I now return! Adieu to all concerned for today."

The officers fired energy bursts from their stun guns, and even Argus lunged forward, only for the steel around the man's body to disappear, leaving him naked. The eyes shifted again, expanding and contracting incessantly. A moan of pain escaped the man's lips, and then his body expanded like a balloon, tearing across his flesh.

He popped up, spreading a torrent of blood and guts before the first energy bubble or Argus could reach him, and Ratcatcher froze in place when viscera landed on her hood and Elina’s face, with blood splashing in their eyes. Elina whimpered and fell to her knees. And Ratcatcher vomited, finding the golden earring at her feet. The man's skeleton stood for a few breaths before his bones began to fall.

"Shit," Argus cursed.