Unlike radioactive energy, nuclear energy didn’t really have any perks or hidden traits to it that could be used to benefit the user. Compared to the mutations and radiation poisoning that radioactive energy granted, nuclear energy only had one thing that made it stand out: pure destructive power.

Blasts of energy capable of causing massive explosions, beams that could slice through concrete, punches strong enough to shatter flesh—this was what made Form One: Nuclear Version a far more powerful transformation than the one Rosalina had given me. The energy flaring out of my body was proof of it: a body struggling to contain the overwhelming power igniting all at once.

Yet, despite all that power within my grasp, I never thought I’d find myself so helpless—my head shoved into a goddamn toilet. It wasn’t like I could taste the water or the piss particles or the literal piece of shit on the tip of my teeth, but this was the last place I wanted to be in.

“You are so fucking dead for this you know that, right?!”, I shouted, competing with the strength of Daemon’s foot on my head. “I’m not just gonna blast you, I’m gonna rip you apart!”

“This is where your desires lie, Hunter,” said Daemon. “A toilet filled with piss and shit—the most disgusting place a person can think of.”

“I swear to God if you flush this toilet, I will-”

He flushed the toilet. The brown rod smeared all over my face as it swirled around the bowl and eventually went down the drain. The confusion I held that a toilet was somehow running ten years into a post-apocalyptic world was not greater than the initial disgust, the initial anger that this was my current situation.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”, I screamed, banging on the toilet.

“This is how others affected by your daughter’s virus and by your selfishness will view your goals. Something that should be flushed down and left for the rodents to feast upon.”

“You think I give a damn about what any of you humans have to say about my goals? The day I lost my humanity was the day I lost my connection with you people, and the only thing that keeps me human in this world is the hope that I can save Sunshine. How dare you try to diminish my wants knowing that you’re a father too… Don’t lie and say you wouldn’t do the same to protect your family!”

Daemon paused, seemingly taking my words to heart with the way his foot’s strength slightly weakened. “If your love drives you so much, then let me provide you with a solution. Have your daughter turn into a zombie.”

“That’s a horrible joke,” I replied in disbelief.

“People with powers like us turn into Type Two Radions upon being bitten. Bite her and she’ll be infected with your zombie essence. Wait a couple months and she will be like you. Technically, Sunshine will be dead, but she’ll still be your daughter and that virus will be gone for good. Doesn’t that sound perfect for you?”

My daughter as… a zombie?

“That’s never gonna happen,” I murmured, my fingers piercing through the toilet.

“Speak loudly.”

“I said… that’s never gonna happen!”

At that moment, my clone from before burst through the bathroom wall in front of me, roaring as the toilet’s installation broke completely. If there was one thing Daemon was right about tonight, it was that I had become cockier and rasher. Though, it wasn't just me. My clones had taken on the same traits, and I knew there was no way it would settle for being a sacrifice so I could hit my Omnibeam.

He would much rather settle for a role like this…

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“Nuclear Jet!”

The last of the duplicate’s energy exploded out of his hands, blasting him into Daemon’s chest. Blood and toilet water stained the stalls as his feet sank deeper into the flesh until a chest was no longer there. Not even a second passed after I regained my bearings before we were teleported out of the bathroom and back to the town.

“I should've known that attack wouldn’t kill him,” I said to my clone who was sitting on a broken bench. “I would say thanks for the save, but you took way too long to save me. What the hell were you doing that whole time?”

“I was waiting for the perfect moment to strike while you were taking a nosedive in a toilet.” My clone crossed his legs and sighed. “I think it’s about time you call yourself the clone while I call myself the original. The only one of us who’s done significant damage on that asshole is me.”

“Significant would be the wrong word to use.”

Our attention shifted to Daemon, casually walking up to us as if my clone didn’t just cave his chest in. Well, judging by the undamaged state of his body, it was like that never even happened.

My clone sighed even harder. “Man, I am really tired of fighting this guy. He just comes back from every attack we land on him.”

“Maybe you’re just too weak,” I responded.

“You’re just calling yourself weak, you no-brain fool.”

“People shouldn’t bicker this much so early in the morning,” Daemon cut in, tossing a bunch of debris to the roof of a nearby building. “Show some respect to the rising sun.”

“The hell are you talking about? It’s the middle of the–oh!”

Night had finally turned into day, and yet we didn't know whether it happened naturally or Daemon played a part in it. Considering the uncaring manner he went about taking a seat next to my clone, I had a feeling it was the latter. My clone stayed put, obviously not wanting to look like a coward near the enemy.

“You know, with how strong you are, why don't you just kill my daughter and capture me right now?”, I asked. “I hate to say it, but it really wouldn’t be that hard.”

Daemon pulled out a golden necklace from his khaki pants pocket and wore it around his neck. “Because I need you two up here for the time being. I will not give the reason as to why.”

My clone laughed. “Let me guess… There’s something else about my daughter you want that you can only get if she’s alive. That’s why Dante was so adamant on keeping her alive when he took her hostage. I owed that guy five hundred bucks for like a year maybe. If he wanted to teach me a lesson, he or his guys could’ve mailed me her head, and yet he never did. ‘Cause your little group didn’t want him to.”

Daemon chuckled, caressing his beard. “A good mind is a good trait for a parent to have. Tony Corleone has a good mind. I don’t like him, but I’d be a fool to not admit that. Although, with a brain as big as his, his strength is lacking. The first time he opposed me, he became forty-four men shorter. Now, he keeps his mouth shut whenever we’re in the same room.”

“How about knocking your head off your shoulder and making sure you never come near Sunshine again?”

“Strength? Did my example make you change your answer?” It sounded like he found my comment amusing. “Strength is good. Jesus Hernandez is strong—so strong that he earned himself the nickname ‘The Devil of the Apocalypse’. It’s a stupid name, though he’s earned it. However, he was so worried about his own strength that he never took the time to care about his son’s strength. Now that boy is nowhere to be found, and Jesus is prancing around the surface like a silly animal.”

“We’ll just keep guessing til we get the answer,” I said, keeping my distance from the two. “Love is what makes a good parent, obviously.”

“Mmm, love. Yes, that can definitely be a parent’s single most important quality.” His tone was a little patronizing, like a teacher speaking to a student. “I loved my children very much. I used to skip work days just to watch my daughter’s hour long school plays. I’d take an earful from my boss as long as I could watch one of my son’s basketball games. Yeah… I really loved them both.” His tone became somber. “That was until one of them bit a chunk out of their own mother and the other…”

“So if it’s not intelligence, strength or love, then what’s the greatest quality a parent can have?”

He turned to my clone, eye sharp and judgemental. “Some damn common sense. The common sense to know you and your child needs to eat to survive. The common sense to know that your child is a fragile being. The common sense to know your daughter is going to die no matter what you do, and the best course of action is to let it happen.”

An eerie silence followed, the weight of the man’s words crashing onto us. There was no room in our heads for a deep consideration of Daemon’s supposed “lesson”. The only thing there was the strong desire to give this piece of shit the strongest punch my body would allow.

However, that plan was stopped immediately. It was as though Daemon had read our minds the way he easily blocked my duplicate’s attack.

Daemon pointed a finger at me. “Your daughter’s currently near Topside Mountain.”

I rushed forward, yet my legs betrayed me just as quickly. The world around me became a blur, like I was moving at the speed of lightning.

I wasn’t going forward anymore—backwards was Daemon’s chosen direction.

Backwards to… I didn’t know where!