The dense crowd stands stunned in silence, eyes wide and mouths agape, as the act of betrayal unfolds. Faces contort with shock and disbelief, some whispering in hushed tones, others frozen in place. Many gasp audibly, clutching their chests or covering their mouths, while others exchange glances of suspicion and anger. The atmosphere thickens with tension, emotions shifting from confusion to outrage. Some avert their gaze, unwilling to watch, while others lean forward, captivated by the sudden rupture of trust. The air feels heavy, charged with the weight of betrayal.
“What?!” Ray shouted in bewilderment as he stood up. Elio senses Mig’s heat signature rapidly approaching, he turns toward his direction and holds out his palms, releasing a blast of steam towards him; “That traitor seems to not understand that a bit of steam isn’t gonna damage me!” Mig thought, rushing forwards, coming to a stop and striking the air by spinning his tail. “Wait, where’d he go?” He asked, slowly realizing that his vision’s become hazy; “I don’t understand, I’m not under the effects of any- that bastard! He used that burst of steam in order to fog up my vision like I’m some mirror! Then he must have weaved out of the way, along with Ray in order to ensure that I got distracted!” Mig realizes, quickly wiping his eyes with his hands.
Elio speeds down the staircase, carrying Ray over his shoulder, he reaches the bottom and darts past the crowd. “Are you sure that’s gonna keep him away for a bit?” “Of course it is! Steam condenses on cold surfaces, and since he’s a bug, it’s naturally gonna stick to him easier!” Elio explains. “I see. Also, where are we going?” Ray asked, sounding a bit nauseous. “Huh? I’m just getting us to an area with less people around, I was also thinking you could give me directions on where a potential store that sells knives or just blades in general is. Julia told me that you’re incredibly good with them, so I want us to have the best fighting chance possible. Also, you good man? You sound… sick.” “Yeah, I’m fine, my stomach just feels weird cause I’m not used to moving this fast, nor being carried. How the hell are you even moving that quickly with my weight? I’m four-hundred thirteen pounds!” Ray commented in surprise.
“Oh, that?” Elio asked, hopping over a railing before answering; “I have a max squat of four-hundred eighty-five pounds, and that’s without any heat to boost me. I can increase my physical strength by a lot, depending on how high I raise my body temperature, so carrying you isn’t too big a problem.” He explained before coming to a halt. “Why are we stopped?” “Is there a martial arts shop anywhere?” “Well, yeah, there’s actually one in this city.” “Alright, cool! So look up the address!” Elio takes his phone out of his pocket and reaches back so Ray can take it. Ray grabs ahold of it; “No password, now get to it, and hold on tight!” Elio commanded before taking off again.
Suddenly, a car falls from above. Elio whips out of the way, turning to the left and diving forwards. The sudden movement makes Ray drop the phone, as it gets crushed by the car, the two hit the asphalt. “You alright, man?” Elio asked as he stood up; “Yeah, I’m fine. I dropped your phone by accident though.” “Shit, then could you tell me which direction the shop’s in?” “Yeah, northeast from here, like five miles.” Ray answered. Glancing up, he notices Gastronaut in the air, an entire swarm of cars circling around him.
Gastronaut sends his arm forward, making the cars plummet from the sky, tumbling chaotically as they descend. Upon impact, a few slam into the street with deafening crashes, metal crumpling, glass shattering, and tires exploding on contact. The force of each collision sends debris flying in all directions, leaving mangled wrecks strewn across the pavement, smoke rising as the ground trembles under the weight of each violent landing, and more to come. Elio weaves to the side by rolling out of the way of an oncoming car, quickly standing up and performing a sideflip, dodging another one, Ray dives backwards, becoming liquid and slipping through a manhole cover. Elio jumps backwards while doing a 180 twist as a car lands right in front of him, as more are about to strike down, he continues his evasion by performing a series of back handsprings before spotting a car flying towards him horizontally, leaping high in the air while tucking in, performing several backflips.
Gastronaut changes the car’s trajectory, it follows Elio’s movements, he aims his hands up, firing a gust of wind to quickly change his direction, diving straight to the ground. Elio moves fast, running from the car, he then jumps up towards one of the falling cars, hitting the roof and jumping off of it. He then lands on a semi, dashing along it before leaping for the side of a building. The car dodges the others, still tailing him. Right as it’s about to hit him, a manhole lid hurls through the air, destroying the car upon impact before hitting the side of the building, getting lodged within its metal frame. Elio looks down and sees Ray dodging the falling cars; “I’ll be alright, just get back here as fast as possible!” He shouted at him. Elio fell to the floor, landing on his feet before nodding.
“I’ll be back, minutes round trip. That’s all!” Elio thought. He then takes off through the cityscape at blazing speeds, his movements a blur. He weaves through crowds of people, vaulting hurtling over benches, even sliding under an oncoming truck. He approaches a construction site, launching off of a ledge and flipping mid-air before landing on a rooftop. He continues his rush through swift, fluid motions as he leaps between buildings. “Hang in there, Ray, I’ll be back soon. And Reggie… I can’t wait for this night to be over.” He pondered as he leaped off a tall building in a freefall, looking at the city below.
June 7th, 2018. 8:20 PM.
Ray continues to dodge cars that are being hurled at him, he stops moving when he feels a hand grab his ankle; “Shit! Guerilla!” He shouts as he looks down, seeing his hand come out of the ground. “What will you try, Ray? Are you going to liquify yourself, or turn into gas? You’ll just combust when that truck falls down onto you, and I know you don’t possess the strength to catch an F-250.” Guerilla pondered, holding tight to prevent Ray from moving. Ray’s eye darts around; “Wait, that telephone pole!” He realizes, he then twists his torso like a corkscrew and holds his arms out, releasing gasoline from his palms and firing it in all directions as his torso returns to normal. Ray then starts using his free leg to start moving towards the pole as his captured one grows limp, stretching as he keeps getting closer. The car falls down, Guerilla’s hand moves out of the way just in time as it crushes Ray’s leg, Ray doesn’t react at all.
Gastronaut watches as Ray’s leg liquifies and returns to him; “How the hell?! Should have either been critically injured or blown up, depending on what he did! Wait…” He paused. The memory of their fight at the casino plays in his head, he remembers when Ray slung his arm forward to grab him; “Now I understand! He was able to stretch his own limbs by making his limbs a certain percentage of liquid, granting him elasticity! Did he learn that because I’m a Martian?!” He said to himself. “GUERILLA! GET OUT OF THERE!” He shouts at the top of his lungs. Right as he shouts, Ray strikes the pole with his foot, causing it to fall forwards.
The street is set ablaze upon the downed power line hitting the asphalt, flames crawling rapidly along the pool of gasoline. Bright orange and yellow tongues of fire dance wildly, fueled by the chemicals, creating a chaotic, intense heat. Smoke billows upward in thick, dark plumes, filling the air with a pungent, acrid stench. The relentless fire spreads wildly, consuming everything in its range as the flickering light casts eerie shadows against the surrounding buildings. Ray stands amidst the flames, taking a deep breath.
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Guerilla phases out of the roof of the building that Gastronaut’s hovering over; “Ray’s fucking insane! A lunatic! He set the whole intersection on fire!” “I can see that! Just let me attack him already! I’m sick of having to stay way up here!” “I know, Gastronaut, but we have to wait for Mig! He’s on his way with the power nullifiers right now!” “Screw that! I’m going down there so he doesn’t get away!” Gastronaut retorted. He flies down before Guerilla could get another word out. “Fine, I’ll be on the lookout for whoever shows up first, Mig or Elio…” Guerilla muttered.
Gastronaut charges through the air, deactivating his jetpack before touching the street; “I’m surprised you’d come down here by yourself!” Ray taunted as he put his fists up. Gastronaut spreads his arms out, allowing for the burning gasoline to float up, creating two giant fireballs. Ray’s eye widened in realization; “I can see the shock on your face. Every time we encountered each other, I only made solids weightless because I never found an opportunity to use liquid against you, but now you’ve given me the chance.” He explained. Quickly, he rushes forward, ready to slug Ray in the face, Ray dodges, rolling on the ground and standing up fast. “How are you not catching fire?!” He shouts while spinning, avoiding a right hook from Ray.
The two start to brawl with one another as the fireballs float beside Gastronaut. Flames lick the air around them, casting shadows that flicker like ghosts on the burning street. The two clash violently, a blur of fists, kicks and exaggerated movements. Ray swings his arm, stretching it forward to land a punch that snaps back with a rubbery recoil. Gastronaut ducks low, his torso bending and twisting like a spring, a fireball hurls toward Ray before Gastronaut launches a high kick, elongating his leg and slicing through the smoke. Ray backhands the fireball, turning it into countless micro fireballs as it flies past him, he then side steps out of the way before the kick hits him.
Ray spins around, hurling his arm toward the manhole cover and grabbing it upon seeing the other fireball flying towards him. He retracts his arm, holding the cover with his hands. Gastronaut redirects the fireball, having it fly upwards to strike him from above. Ray quickly holds the cover up, shielding him from the attack, but at the cost of him pressing his knee on the floor. “Perfect!” Gastronaut thought before sending the mini fireballs towards Ray, they strike his back in a rapid fire manner. His stance staggers; “Damn it! I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up!” Ray panicked.
Gastronaut charges forward, crashing into Ray and knocking him back. As Ray rolls to get up, Gastronaut sends a punch, the force whipping Ray’s entire body sideways. Ray rebounds, squashing low to the ground before springing back up, stretching high to deliver a spinning backhand strike, curving unnaturally, as though he were bending physics. He strikes him hard, the impact denting his helmet completely as he’s struck on the dome of his head. He falls back, quickly stopping his fall as he makes himself weightless, hovering off the ground; “Shit! That was too close! Had I reacted any slower, my jetpack would have exploded!” He panics. Ray gets ready to strike him to the burning street, but Gastronaut saves himself by using the manhole cover and having it fly towards him, grabbing onto the cover, he zooms out of the range of his kick.
Gastronaut lets out a deep sigh of relief, as he looks up, he sees a figure of golden light running down the side of a building; “Mig!” He shouted. Quickly, Gastronaut stands up on the lid and rides it like a hoverboard, he turns around and flies high into the air, speeding around a building. Ray gets in a defensive position, as Mig closes the distance, Guerilla phases out of the ground and fires a bullet at Ray. Aware of his strategy, Ray lets the bullet pass through him by making his torso become liquid, it flies towards Mig and bounces off, flying back at twice the speed. Guerilla lets the bullet phase through him, he rushes towards Ray, and as he turns around, he strikes Ray in the face with the back of his rifle. He staggers back, holding his hand up to his face.
Gastronaut surfs down from the sky, angling himself in the right position, he kicks off the manhole cover, sending it towards Mig. Mig puffs out his chest, reflecting the lid and sending it towards Ray, the flat side hits Ray in the back, knocking him forward, his face hitting the floor. Guerilla does a short hop spin, phasing through the ground before rising up and striking Ray in the stomach, forcing him into the air, Gastronaut swiftly flies down and catches him, putting him in a Nelson hold. “Mig, pass me one, quick!” He shouted.
“Way ahead of you!” Mig shouted back, grabbing one of the power nullifiers, a black strip of metal made to wrap around the neck. Right as he tosses it in the air to Gastronaut, Elio, now carrying a scabbard and its sword around his back, rockets through the air, his body streamlined with his arms pulled back and legs extended forward. Wind whips past his face as he hurls downwards, his feet cover the power nullifier, trapping it under them as they hit the pavement. He lands hard, smashing the nullifier as his feet slam into the ground with a crack, his knees bending deeply to absorb the impact. Momentum carries him forward, his heels digging into the asphalt as sparks fly, trailing behind. He slides, leaning back slightly, his tuxedo flaring out like a cape, before grinding to a halt, gravel skidding under his soles. He straightens, still and poised, the echo of his landing being drowned by the sea of fire. The power nullifier is nothing more than ruined machinery and parts.
Elio performs a quick sideflip, sporting a grin, getting ready to rush forwards. “Mig, throw me the other one, fast!” Gastronaut yelled. Mig quickly throws him the device, Elio dashes; “Like hell, I’ll let you have that!” He shouts, jumping into the air to grab it. “Elio, it’s a trap-” Ray shouted as Guerilla fired a bullet toward Elio. He reacts by drawing the longsword from its sheath and holding it with two hands, positioning it in the bullet’s trajectory. The bullet hits the blade and deflects; “Thanks for the heads up!” Elio shouts before catching the power nullifier with his teeth and landing on the ground.
Ray quickly lets himself turn into liquid, slipping out of Gastronaut’s grasp, solidifying himself once he begins falling. “Elio! This way!” Ray shouted as he hit the floor, jumping down the manhole. Elio follows while sheathing the blade, dashing quickly before performing a short hop and firing a blast of wind from his hand, propelling himself down before Mig, Gastronaut or Guerilla can grab him in time. As he lands in the sewer, he drops the power nullifier and onto his hand as his free hand loosens the strap to the scabbard and tosses it to Ray; “Here.” He said. “Thanks.” Ray replied as he caught it, strapping it to his chest and taking out the sword. “Heh, a medieval longsword. Not bad, Elio. It’s got a good weight to it.” He comments, twirling the sword. “Good, cause I sure as hell wasn’t about to grab a katana. Anyway, I wish I’d known earlier about the fire, I would’ve grabbed some marshmallows for us to roast.” “Don’t worry about it, I’m not particularly big on sweets.” Ray replies while beckoning for Elio to follow. He starts running through the sewer with Elio keeping pace. “By the way, that fire looks like it’s been going on for a bit. How did you last that long to begin with?” “Oh, that? I liquified my body to a certain percentage, specifically by twenty-five percent. I turned my body into strychnine, a chemical that’s difficult to ignite.” “Oh, I see. I had no idea such a thing existed.” Elio responded.
“Anyway, more importantly, what’s the plan?” “Well, for now, since you have that gizmo on you, I say we try using it on one of them.” “Sounds like a good plan to me, but who do we use it on? Surely not Gastronaut!” “Gastronaut’s an immediate no! He may be the most dangerous, but his power’s the easiest to deal with! It’s between Guerilla and Mig!” Ray replied. Elio put his hand up to his chin “Hmm…” He groaned, casually vaulting over a railing. “Well, let’s see, if we get rid of Guerilla’s permeation, he can’t snipe at us anymore.” “But if we do that, we’re still stuck with Mig’s reflection.” “So it’s either we get rid of the easier one, or we get rid of the harder one and have an easier fight from then on, and frankly, I’m more compelled with getting rid of Mig’s powers. The problem is, how do we go about that? This place isn’t exactly the best for using electricity to bypass that light barrier of his, you know?” Elio asked.
“I think I know an idea.” “Really? What’s that?” Elio asked curiously. “A few years back, I had a scuffle with them in the sewer.” “Julia told me about that, but what does that have to do with our current situation?” “It’s simple. Mig’s power is all about light, and while electricity can pass through, I do know of another weakness. On that day, he grabbed onto me as I fell into the sewage, and when I sank to the bottom, I tried grabbing his ankle, and my hand wasn’t reflected.” “Wait, seriously?!” “Yeah! I didn’t know why at first, then it hit me. He can only use his reflection technique if there’s light, but we were so far below the murky water, those lights couldn’t reach us.” He explained. Elio’s eyes widened; “I get it now!” He replied.
“Yes, exactly, Elio!” Ray responded while grinning. He looks up at the lights going down the sewer; “Once they catch up to us, that’s when we’ll hit the lights!”