"A level 3 is the kind of stuff that makes third or fourth page. Level 1 and Level 2 are business as usual. Maybe you can get an interview with that heroic cop that wrestled with the demonic monkey, or some sob story with the squad of the QISS that didn't pull his head down quickly enough.
They can make the news, but they get old quick.
Level 3 now, you can get something out of them. You can have visuals of fire flying and ice covering the street. You can get photos of the winning hero or the last words of the villain before getting away. Now that's real hero show business.
Sure, it's nothing to lose a night at. As I said, fourth, third page at best. Stuff for the secondary channels, the kind you glance at once while scrolling down on the website, maybe open it if it happened close home, or if you're bored. We get plenty of 3 as it is, and that report on the economy or the Oscars trump them every time. If there is a 4, or, damn, a 5, rampaging somewhere else in the country, you wouldn't even hear of 3, for sure not on the main channels.
Do this makes them insignificant? Not a long shot. Local news will be crammed full of 3 that shut down streets, rob banks, or whatnot. Do this makes them important in the big picture? Not really.
As they say, "a three ain't no four." Why? Well, because superheroes slam them all down, that's why.
- Richard Woodsworth, retired journalist
Dark didn't know what to think. One moment, he was scrapping hard, being burned and shot and electrocuted while he threw black armored soldiers around like ragdolls. He was hiding while heavy-caliber bullets smashed to pieces both street and walls around him, darkness flowing around and inside him to heal his wound, his heart thundering in his chest.
Then, this… whatever this was supposed to be.
And… he had no idea how to react. Was he supposed to be amazed, or something, for the waterworks and pretty lights?
To be honest, the only thing he was amazed at was the ruthlessness. Humans got killed, he felt them crumple under his fists. And this water-girl was throwing magical girl signs? That was cold, too much even for him.
Except… he was wrong, he realized with a start, looking around.
Extending from the big, central snake-mass, tendrils of water curled around the downed soldiers, holding them carefully or just laying protectively over them. As Dark watched, they carried the soldiers away, laying them down on the street behind the girl. They stirred even as they were moved, moaning and groaning.
None of them died. Not even one. Sure, their armors were bent in more than one place and they didn't look anywhere near combat-ready, but they were very much alive.
He didn't kill a single one. That magical girl sign had all the reasons to exist.
For some reason, that made him mad.
Growling, he looked at himself. The infusions of shadow had made him stronger. He was taller than before, lankier and thinner. His hands had grown even larger, the fingers longer and sharper. If before he had looked more on the human side, now he did so toward the spider. The long limbs reminded him just of such a thing.
The darkness had spread even more. Now, there were fewer places of pale skin than what was covered by black chitin. He could feel it reach up to half his face, the edge a soft, writhing pressure beneath his skin.
Grinning, he raised his arms, clutching his oversized fists. He felt strong, much stronger than before. And before, he had been already confident that he could take that water-girl on. He was no dumb chrome machine, standing still and taking it. But now, he could take three of them at the same time, he was sure of it.
His heart beat faster. She would be a bigger challenge than those armored guys, though, no questions about it. This was going to be fun.
"Stop right there, evil-doer!"
He looked up. Still perching on the water-snake's top, the water-girl pointed dramatically at him. Her eyes sparkled and were hard like the sea under the midday sun.
"I see your rampage," she declared. "And I, Acquamarine, Water of the Elementals, won't allow it to continue. In the name of Summer City and the boundless sea, surrender at once, or face watery destruction!" She stroke the salute-pose again, no wink this time, only righteous indignation.
Dark felt his excitement takes a downward turn. The boundless sea? Watery destruction? Really?
"That's stupid," he deadpanned. His voice sounded like gravel on glass now, but she didn't look impressed.
She gasped. The sea in her eyes went around in waves. "So rude! Beside villainous!" The serpent twisted and inflated, turning into a ring shape into which she bounded around like an excited fish. "I'll have you know that Acquamarine style is famous and renowned across all of Perryvalt. Why, more than any other Elemental!"
Dark rolled his eyes. He had no idea what Perryvalt or the Elementals were, but one thing was for certain: this was ridiculous.
"Be serious," he growled.
"Ah!" She scoffed. Dramatically. The waves made a merry little dance. "A Villain demanding seriousness from Acquamarine? Now this is a day I'd never think I see!" She declared putting a hand on her chest, also dramatically. "It is you that must stop at once! People are hurting because of your actions! Brave men and women are putting their lives on the line! In the name of this fair city and the upholding of peace, I beg you to stop at once and surrender peacefully!
Dark sighed, tuning her out. He wasn't sure if he found the dramatic, heroic-y kind of way this girl spoke cheesy or just downright depressing. Either way, it was terrible.
He hoped she could throw a few punches at least.
Snatching at the already broken wall, he flung a fistful of brickwork at her, being, with his large hands, more than enough to crush a man.
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The snake's tendrils whipped out as she threw a hand out with a, also dramatic, shout. The tube of water whipped at the projectile, slapping it aside like it was made of metal.
"Ah!" She exclaimed. "So you refuse to surrender? Do we have to fight?"
Dark planted his wide and spread his hands. Wasn't she going to shut up already?
"Yeah, we have," he snorted.
Acquamarine's eyes twinkled, dangerously. The sea in them rose up, cheerful and destructive. "Ok."
Dark blinked.
A waterfall worth of water crashed down on him with the violence of a freight train. He moved, out of instinct than any willful intention and the already mangled corner crumbled beneath the pressure. His hand was flung back from where the jet hit it, water spraying against him.
Spluttering, he saw another tendril jab his way. Not being able, and not wanting, to dodge, he raised his arms to defend himself. The tentacle of water slammed against his forearms like a sledgehammer, breaking apart to wash over him. He squeezed his eyes from the water whipping against his face and tried to hold on, but the pressure was too intense. He was flung off his feet and against the wall of the building behind him. Brickwork cratered inward as he slammed against it, the water flattening him against it. He fought against it, but it was relentless, the water jetting against him like a pack of angry dogs.
Just as he thought he was making progress, something violently pushed against him from beneath. He wasn't ready for it. He was launched upward, slamming against the underside of a balcony. Dazed, he didn't see the tendril of water whipping around his ankle.
He yelped as he was violently pulled forward. The sky and the city exchanged place before his eyes as the momentum threw his stomach to his feet.
He fell down a moment later, welcomed by the frame of a car that crunched beneath his body. He slammed against it like a meteor, the car almost curling around him as it careened across the street, sparks flying as metal carved through asphalt, before slamming against a shop entrance with enough strength to make the building it was inset in tremble all over, its windows cracking or just breaking outright.
Dark angrily shook the daze away. Pushing his hands into the metal around him, he broke it apart with a furious snarl, freeing himself. He had just regained his footing when another jet of water smashed against his chest, pitching him backward.
He crashed through the window and into the shop in a mess of glass and pieces of car. Slamming against a sofa in exposition, he careened across a smooth floor, furnishing piling up behind him until he came to a stop.
Blinking blearily at the water draining around him, Dark wondered what train had just invested him. Oh, right. No train. A damn water-girl he was going to rip to bits.
Snarling, he got up. He was in a furniture store, the large, smooth space littered with waterlogged couches and smashed wood.
He was still wrestling with his thoughts, when there was a splashing sound and Acquamarine appeared. The girl floated inside a water serpent two people-thick. It formed into large arches as it bound across the street and into the store, the girl half-swimming and half being pulled inside of it, the tails of her costume flattening behind her just like a jellyfish's skirt.
The sea in her eyes had kicked in, dark and heavy and turbulent.
With a shout, she threw a hand out. Dark threw a ball of furniture at her. The jet of water pierced through it like a dog gnawing a bone. By the time it smashed it way in, Dark was already moving.
Bounding across the floor, he swiped at Acquamarine. His claws found nothing, the serpent smoothly twisting beneath his arm. Acquamarine lifted a closed fist and punched with it. Dark barely managed to avoid having the jet of water punch into his face. He stumbled, planted his foot and threw himself forward with a screech. She jumped over his tackle, the serpent arching above him like a ribbon being pulled up.
Dark barely managed to hold himself from slamming face-first on the floor. Then a waterfall crashed down on him, slamming him face-first on the floor. Snarling, he rolled out of the way, and kept doing so when he saw the jet of water carving its way toward him.
He kept rolling, then planted a hand into the floor and jumped at his feet. The water smashed against his shoulder, but he just powered through and out of the way.
A column he hadn't noticed was suddenly in the way, and he smacked against it. For a bad moment, he expected another pummeling, but the jet of water didn't chase him right away.
Wondering why, he glanced at the column behind him. It was a stout affair, all silver decorations and bright paint. Twenty meters away, there was another one.
"A load-bearing column?" He wondered, punching into it. Plaster and brickwork flew everywhere as he dug into the column, before hefting a whole section of it. He threw it at Acquamarine.
"Hey now!" The girl chided, the serpent smoothly bounding out of the way as the column crashed into a sofa. The sea in her eyes was on a full-on storm as she jabbed a finger forward.
Dark ducked beneath the jet of water, turned and ran. Something cracked above him. He ran faster.
Water smashed into his back, almost pitching him to the ground. He fell, scrambled on all four, then threw himself forward.
The column crumbled under his shoulder.
"Think fast!" He screeched as he barrelled straight through it.
He didn't stop. He kept running, bounding on his long legs toward the exit. Cracks sounded from all over the ceiling. Pieces of plaster cascaded down.
Dark made it out a moment before everything came crashing down.
Something big crashed behind him, and something hard jabbed itself in his back. He tripped, and fell. He rolled on the asphalt until he slammed against a wrecked car. By that point, all he could do was just lay there and pant.
After a few moments, he got up.
The furniture store was a mess. The columns he had broken weren't enough to bring the entire building down, but a good half of it, including all of the exposition section, had just sagged and crunched beneath its own weight, turning into a big heap of broken masonry. The air was filled with dust. But more importantly, no sight of Acquamarine.
Dark took a breath and whooped, pumping a fist into the air. Yes! Take that, you water-girl-thing-whatever!
It was hard, he wasn't going to lie, harder than anything the black armored guys could ever hope to do. But thick skin and quick thinking had won the day. What a victory.
She talked like she was some kind of big shot. Maybe she was. Maybe now he was a big shot too. Why, bigger, since he beat her. Dark laughed.
His laughter was interrupted by bullets smacking against his shoulder.
Turning, he saw one of the black soldiers. The man – or woman – panted, looking very much unsteady on his feet as he pointed a rifle his way.
Dark grinned and got up. The man fired his rifle twice before he reached him, yanking the weapon out of his hands. Not to be deterred, the soldier took out a big combat knife.
Holding the rifle, Dark wondered about smacking him with it just for thinking he could hurt him with that toothpick. But he didn't. Instead, he watched him, thinking.
Nah. Boring.
He threw the rifle behind his shoulder. No point on pummelling weaklings. Challenges, big fights, he was all in for them. But one-sided beatings didn't feel right. He had no taste for them.
Grinning at the man, he made to walk away. That had to hit a nerve, because the soldier jabbed the knife at him. It felt like someone scratching his belly.
Dark frowned down at his stomach, and at the very tiny, barely visible scratch on the black chitin. He frowned at the man, that still held the knife up.
Dark lifted a hand. The street erupted.
Well, not exactly. It wasn't fire or shrapnel or explosive concussions that tore their way all across the street. It was water. Hydrants blew up as water jetted through them. Sewers and gutters erupted. Dark watched a manhole jump at the top of a building-tall sprout like a dolphin on a wave.
He turned.
A column of water pierced out of the collapsed store. Rubble that had to weigh a whole lot juggled on top of it like children's toys thrown up by the current.
Acquamarine emerged from the ruins, swimming up inside the column. She looked very much unharmed. Why, if a speck of dust had fallen on her bright blue costume, it had long been washed away.
Her gaze moved around for a moment, before settling on him. Dark thought that before there was a storm in the sea there. It had been a watersport compared to the raging, lightning-whipped maelstrom he saw now. Something heavy settled at the bottom of his stomach.
He looked back at the soldier. The soldier looked up at him. Maybe he was imagining things, but now Dark felt that he was the one grinning now.