Zack watched in horror as Kaine loomed over Rachel. She had bounced off the building with a sickening thud, landing at his feet in a mess of tangled hair and blood.

“Damn,” Kaine smiled. “I broke her.”

“You bastard!” Zack cried. Kaine only laughed.

“It’s over, Zack,” he said. “This is what we sports fans call an interception.”

Zack felt his fingers instinctively grip the Magnometer in his pocket. Rachel was down. He had to help her.

“Give me the Magnometer,” Kaine said. “And I’ll let you get your girl to the hospital.”

Zack meant Kaine’s clear blue eyes. He didn’t detect any lies. Still, he knew Kaine couldn’t be trusted.

All through this, Rachel didn’t stir on the ground. She could have a concussion.

Or worse.

Kaine seemed to grasp Zack’s mental arithmetic. He shrugged his shoulders, relaxing his posture in the process.

“Look, Zack, the longer this drags on, the worse it gets,” Kaine said. “My best guys are tracking your friends…the ones who did that little song-and-dance outside the Alpha House…”

Perry and Blake.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Kaine said. “They’re probably dead.”

Zack’s eyes widened.

“Dead…?” he said, surprised at the sudden escalation.

Then again, why should he be surprised at this? Kaine had brutally attacked both her and Rachel, and left Rachel a bloody wreck at his feet. He was an ex-Marine who was perfectly willing to commit harm against fellow students, heroes or not.

“I don’t mess around. The Magnometer is the key to everything,” Kaine said. “And a deterrent is only effective if it’s applied consistently.”

Could his friends really be dead?

Kaine shrugged once more. “But you never know. Maybe one of them is alive.”

“But the only chance you have is if you give me the Magnometer,” Kaine said. “I’ll call them off.”

Zack’s mind raced at the options. Rachel needed help. If Kaine was right, Perry and Blake were beyond help. But he still had to try.

But…

No.

Zack looked around at the smoldering wreckage in the distance. A once grinning gargoyle lay shattered on a lawn, its smile now a broken mess of jagged stone. All for Kaine and his fool’s errand.

“They knew the risks,” Zack said. “I’m taking you down.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Kaine gave him an appraising smile. “Maybe you’ve forgotten…you take me down and you go down too. Your hands aren’t exactly clean here, bud.”

Zack shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. We can share a jail cell for all I care.”

“Well, roomie,” Kaine said with a smile. “I wish I could say I’m disappointed but-”

Kaine vanished from sight.

Zack knew the strike would come soon. He had fought Kaine before and trounced him easily. This time should be no diff-

Once again, Zack felt Kaine’s hot breath on his neck. He pulled back his elbow to strike him in the neck, only for his elbow to bounce off of hard rubber. He heard Kaine chuckle. Zack twisted around, preparing for a roundhouse kick, only for Kaine to vanish the moment Zack’s feet left the ground.

Still in mid-air Zack’s eyes fell upon Kaine reappearing at his side. He tried to move but he was helpless, still locked in the maneuver. Kaine launched a blow into his side, tossing him through the air like a rag doll. He fell to the ground mere feet away from the still-motionless Rachel. He managed to go limb at the last moment, preventing any serious damage, but his body still lay uncomfortably twisted like a broken action figure.

“It’s over, Kestler,” Kaine stood over him. “Your allies are down. And so are you.”

“That’s not completely true,” Zack said with some effort.

He managed to grab the brick-like receiver in his pocket. Summoning the Knightbrand armor had its own risks. There’d be no way to hide his identity once he finished armoring up in front of Kaine, but it meant saving Rachel, it was worth it.

Zack began to punch the signal into the receiver, only for a powerful kick to his side to lift him up into the air. He fell down to the ground once more, the receiver scattering along the sidewalk.

“Calling for Daddy, huh?” he heard Kaine bellow.

“Not an option!” Kaine cried. Zack’s eyes whirled around to spot the receiver a foot away. He quickly reached for it, but Kaine…or rather Kaine’s foot . . . beat him to it.

Zack could only watch as Kaine’s massive size fourteen foot stomped on the receiver, smashing it into a million pieces.

He found himself audibly gasping.

The receiver, his sole link to the Knightbrand armor, now buckled and crumpled under Kaine’s massive weight. He kicked aside the broken remains of the receiver as it was little more than an empty beer can.

It wasn’t just his only means of summoning the Knightbrand armor. It was an invention crafted by his father’s own hands.

It was one more link to his dad, now broken and shattered beyond repair.

“It’s just you and me,” Kaine said as he appeared in front of him, grabbing Zack and raising him as he drew back his right fist.

Zack used the gesture to regain his footing and balance. An eruption of spit exploded from his mouth, sending Kaine staggering back, cursing. Zack assumed a fighting stance and rushed forward trying to take advantage of his blinded foe.

He surged forward, trying to work Kaine like a punching bag. His jabs bounced off of Kaine’s ribcage with Zack’s bruised fists the only sign of visible damage. Zack staggered back, realizing what he was up against.

Kaine was covered in body armor from head to toe. He even had a neck guard, protecting him from the same maneuver he had tried earlier. In short, Zack realized there was no way he could easily win this fight. Kaine was protected from both blows and bullets, and given his teleportation powers, there was no way he could gain the upper hand.

The only way to do any real damage was to land a blow to Kaine’s unprotected face. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, and Kaine liked to talk a lot, so he wouldn’t wear anything that impeded his ability to gloat. It could be his downfall.

Zack rushed forward, trying to bash Kaine’s head in with his fist, but Kaine vanished every time he came into view. He soon realized how hard this was going to be. With Kaine’s teleportation abilities, he could simply vanish every time Zack telegraphed a blow.

He cast a glance down to Rachel’s still body. She could be hurt. Or worse.

Before Zack could move to help her, he felt Kaine appear behind him. He tried to twist around to face him, but Kaine moved too fast. His massive elbow curled around Zack’s neck. Zack felt the pressure almost immediately as Kaine began to squeeze.

“Let’s end this!” Kaine said.

Zack’s breathing came harder and slower. Darkness flooded in, faster and thicker until only the black remained.