Hmm, I guess all I'll say is enjoy!
NEW YORK CITY RUINS
Back at the battlefield, where the Dark Ones were still in a shock by Nega-Gwen's display of power, they finally realize that the heroes have escaped. Nega-Harold merely growled, and kicked a nearby piece of wreckage, while Nega-Izzy just kept her straight face, as per usual. As for Nega-Zeke and Nega-Gwen, they went through what would always happen between them.
"It's your fault that they got away, eh!" Nega-Zeke accused, pointing a finger at Nega-Gwen. Nega-Gwen looked down, feeling downfallen, as well as a little bit of anger towards her superior.
"You can't do anything right, you filthy trash!" he continued. Nega-Harold chuckled sadistically, while Nega-Izzy just stared at the scene, not interested at all.
"We would have killed them if not for your little stunt, eh! Next time, I won't be so kind to only yell at you! I'll kick your sorry ass until you get the message, got it!?" he yelled, scowling at the scapegoat of the Dark Ones. Nega-Gwen slowly nodded, with a small frown on her face. Nega-Zeke glared at her once more, before thinking what their next course of action would be.
"We'll sleep in that there ruined apartment… except for Nega-Gwen, eh. You can sleep on the street out here, filthy trash," he added with a smirk. Nega-Gwen sighed, and lied down on the spot she was standing. Nega-Zeke and Nega-Harold both laughed bitterly at her before walking inside the building. Nega-Izzy silently followed.
As she lied there, Nega-Gwen thought about the fight before, and how she was treated. All she ever was on the team was a scapegoat. Just someone to blame for their troubles. Well, Nega-Izzy didn't act like that, but then again, she was about as enthusiastic as a door knob on anything. For a moment, she thought about just leaving the team, going off to find her own path. Nah, that wasn't the way to go. She was scared of the world, and what unknown things lay in it. For now, she would stick with the Dark Ones, she decided finally. With that sad thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning…
Gwen was the first to awake, as usual. She always awoke about half and hour before sunrise everyday for some strange reason. Ezekiel rose with the sun, Izzy woke up exactly eight hours after she had fallen asleep (no one was ever sure how that was scientifically possible, but it happened), and Harold slept in until 10:00 everyday. It was a rather strange schedule that their bodies did everyday, but there was no way that they could really change it. But, enough about that. As Gwen really woke up, she could smell breakfast in the small tent. She looked toward the kitchen area, and saw Zen… with an apron? He had a small little breakfast bar set up, with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and some coffee. Zen noticed that she was awake, and beamed.
"Morning… umm, you know, I never really found out your names," Zen realized. Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"If you were paying attention when the Dark Ones introduced themselves, you'd know that I was Gwen, and who the others were," she replied sarcastically. But, immediately after she said that, she felt a little guilty. That was strange. She was always sarcastic with everyone, and really only felt that same feeling when she talked to… No, that was crazy. She loved Trent, and only Trent… right? Gwen's confusion was cut off by Zen chuckling.
"I suppose. That's weird too, I usually am pretty smart," he boasted. Gwen stood up, making sure not to accidently wake up the others.
"You know, I never would have imagined that you could cook like this," she commented, trying a slice of bacon. As if taunting her previous thoughts, he had cooked it just the way she liked. Of course, this was probably just a coincidence.
"Mmm, this is just the way I like my bacon," she praised, without really thinking. Zen raised his eyebrow.
"Really? What a coincidence then!" he exclaimed. Gwen took a sausage, a piece of toast, and a small cup of coffee. Zen took off his apron, fixed a breakfast of his own, and joined the former Goth at the small table that he usually ate at alone.
The two ate in silence, until Zen tried to make some small talk.
"So, there's one thing I never understood since I heard that Heather was defeated. If you guys could defeat her before, why wait until now to get rid of her?" he asked. Gwen chuckled. She remembered that Zen didn't know about their trip back in time. She took a good fifteen minutes explaining the whole trip, as well as adding in anything that he didn't know. The whole time, Zen listened attentively, nodding and reacting appropriately to the story. Gwen had a particularly hard time speaking of Trent's fate. It was then that Zen noticed the ring on her finger.
"He was close to you, huh?" he asked, staring at the diamond on her finger. Gwen rubbed her finger across it.
"He was the love of my life," she replied quietly. She looked down, slightly saddened by thinking back to how Trent had gone. Zen walked over, and gave her a reassuring hug. Gwen didn't fight back or protest, nor did she think much about it. Within the next couple of hours, the others slowly woke up and took their own share of breakfast. They ate in silence, still a little surprised by the appearance of the Dark Ones. They also planned to try and take them on again today. At least they had a secret resting place in case the Dark Ones proved to be too much once more. To be honest, the scene would be simply too boring to describe, so we're just going to send them on their merry way for round two against the Dark Ones.
NEW YORK CITY RUINS
The Dark Ones seemed ready to face the heroes as well, judging by how they were standing altogether when the heroes arrived.
"This time, you're going down," Nega-Zeke taunted, still a little pissed at Nega-Gwen… as usual. Nega-Harold stepped forward, and pointed to his hero counterpart.
"Don't think I'll be so easy this time!" he threatened. Harold took a fighting stance, and beckoned his evil self forward. Nega-Harold growled, and rushed at Harold. The two were left to their own fight, while Izzy ran at her Nega self, screaming crazily as usual. Nega-Izzy just watched and waited until she came close, and then ducked, hitting Izzy at the back of her knee. The blow knocked Izzy to the ground. Nega-Zeke and Ezekiel had already begun their fight, trading hit-for-hit. Zen had decided to help out Harold and Izzy, since their opponents seemed to be the toughest. As for Gwen and Nega-Gwen, Gwen knew to be careful about getting her Dark One angry, so she just waited to see what she would do.
Harold tried to block all of Nega-Harold's aggressive attacks, hoping to spot a hole in his defense. For one brief second, he saw an attack, but Nega-Harold had also seen a way to get Harold at the exact same time. So, Nega-Harold quickly punched his good self in the jaw, while Harold used a roundhouse kick. The two were sent stumbling in opposite directions, nursing their wounds. The two glared at each other briefly, when Harold let out a yell and tried attacking his evil counterpart. Just like before, every attack was blocked, until Harold bashed his head into Nega-Harold's. The blow sent them both stumbling backwards again. But, Harold recovered first, and began his assault on Nega-Harold by socking him the stomach. He followed up with a knee to his chin, and a 360 kick to send Nega-Harold backwards. Then, he used his powers quickly, and managed to freeze Nega-Harold in time, since he was rather dizzy at the moment. He used this as an opportunity to unleash all kinds of combinations on Nega-Harold before letting time resume. With all the pain coming quickly and harshly, Nega-Harold fell to the ground, with Harold grinning in victory.
Izzy wasn't having that kind of luck against her evil self. Nega-Izzy may not have truly cared, but damn, she could fight! Izzy tried all kinds of complicated and usually effective attacks that she had learned in her crazy youth, but Nega-Izzy always had a counter that knocked Izzy backward. Eventually, the girl started letting out crazy yells as she was now just desperate to land a blow on her. Nega-Izzy merely knocked Izzy's attacks away, and punched the psychopath in the jaw with ease. Finally, Izzy had gotten extremely angry. She used her telekinesis to try and bring the wreckage behind Nega-Izzy right onto the unmoving girl. But, Nega-Izzy stopped the ruins without so much as blinking, and began to mentally push it towards Izzy. The two were in a battle of the mind, and for once, it looked like Izzy really had something to worry about. Finally, Izzy decided that she couldn't push the building remains back at Nega-Izzy, and instead shot it back behind her. Then, an idea struck her.
"Why don't you attack me?" she challenged cockily. Big mistake, as Nega-Izzy was far more aggressive and quick than when she was countering Izzy's attacks. She had mastered telekinesis, and used it to leave Izzy wide open while she pummeled her. Then, it finally ended when Nega-Izzy used her powers to launch Izzy flying. The crazy girl struggled to get back up, but could not, and just lied there in defeat. Just before she passed out, she noticed Zen step in to take on the stoic fighter.
As a ninja, Zen could keep his frustrations down rather easily, now matter how badly he was fighting. This proved to be effective, as he and Nega-Izzy were in the midst of a seemingly endless battle. Both could block one another's attacks, but even when Nega-Izzy used her telekinesis, Zen still found a way to defend himself. It looked like neither would land a blow on the other at all, until Zen had somehow managed to duck under Nega-Izzy's oncoming punch, and kicked her in the stomach to send her flying. He then leaped up, drawing a sword from his back as he did, and began slicing at the stoic warrior. After a few slices, Nega-Izzy did a flip to stop, and Zen smacked right into her, bashing heads. The two began falling to the ground, and Zen somehow found the strength to swing his arm around and elbow Nega-Izzy in the chest. When they landed, Nega-Izzy had the air knocked out of her as Zen jumped to his feet, sheathing his sword. Nega-Izzy lied on the ground for a moment, before getting to her knees.
"Not bad," she told him, not sounding too impressed. She stood up, and the two continued their intense fight.
Meanwhile, Gwen had accidently angered Nega-Gwen again, as indicated by the loud screech, and dark purple eyes. Gwen prepared for what was to come. Nega-Gwen rushed at her, and brought her fist out, dragging Gwen by her stomach. Gwen was being dragged, and had no way of stopping. Nega-Gwen finally skidded to a halt, sending Gwen forward. The two then had a short stare down. Gwen ran to attack Nega-Gwen, who waited for the attack. Gwen saw Nega-Gwen bring her fist back, and knew what was coming. As she drew closer, Nega-Gwen launched her fist at Gwen's head. Gwen quickly ducked, and rammed Nega-Gwen in the chest with her shoulder. The blow knocked Nega-Gwen back a few steps, and she glared at Gwen. Nega-Gwen then suddenly lurched forward and head-butted Gwen. The hit left Gwen dazed, which Nega-Gwen used as an opportunity to roundhouse kick Gwen in the face, sending her stumbling to the side. Nega-Gwen saw Gwen stumble down onto the ground, and smirked. She leaped into the air, and brought her elbow down on Gwen's spinal chord again, paralyzing the hero.
As for the Ezekiel and Nega-Zeke battle, that one didn't exactly go so well for either side. The two had excellent attacks that they executed, but they could not block for their life. Ezekiel had a bruise on one jaw, along with a broken nose and a bump on his head. Nega-Zeke had a black eye, bloody nose, and a few scratches along the side of his face and neck.
"Tired yet, eh?" Ezekiel taunted, before taking another punch in his already sore ribcage.
"In your dreams, eh!" Nega-Zeke shot back, before he was kicked in the shin. The two swung their fists forward, hitting each other in the jaws at the same time. Some spit flew out of their mouths, and a tooth from Nega-Ezekiel was knocked out. The two fell to the ground in pain, on their backs. They both breathed heavily, worn out from the battles. They got on their hands and knees, and looked around. Harold had gained the upper hand against Nega-Harold, and Zen was fairing well against Nega-Izzy. But, both Gwen and Izzy were down on the ground, and Nega-Gwen had powered down from being enraged, and seemed tired out. Ezekiel had a feeling that now was a good time to retreat, and quickly disappeared over to the two girls. He dropped them off in Zen's hideout before returning. He called out.
"Harold! Zen! Let's go, eh!" he yelled. Zen rushed over with ease, while Harold merely stopped time to get over there without a hitch. The three guys disappeared, leaving an enraged Nega-Zeke, along with the battered and bruised Dark Ones.
ZEN'S HIDEOUT
The guys arrived to find that Gwen had found the strength, despite her paralysis, to heal herself and Izzy. She healed the others as well, and they were all seated around the small table.
"Well, I personally think that we did better that time," Zen began.
"Most of us," Izzy added, looking down. Gwen patted her on the back.
"It's alright Iz. We'll get them next time… I hope,' she trailed off. The five heroes looked around at each other, before agreeing to just rest around for a while.
NEW YORK CITY RUINS
"This is all your fault again Nega-Gwen!" Nega-Zeke screamed. Nega-Harold and Nega-Izzy were both resting already, while Nega-Zeke had once again singled out Nega-Gwen as a source of blame. Nega-Gwen was looking down, but could slowly feel anger building inside her.
"I merely took out Gwen, as I should have," Nega-Gwen mumbled. Nega-Zeke scoffed.
"And yet, Ezekiel managed to snag her from right beneath you and escape, eh?! You're nothing but a failure!" he shouted, Nega-Gwen looked up at Nega-Zeke, her eyes beginning to turn purple.
"Shut up!" she shot back.
"Don't talk back to your leader!!!"
"You're no leader; you're nothing but a fool whose power had gone to his head!"
POW!
Nega-Gwen quickly socked Nega-Zeke in the jaw before taking off. Nega-Zeke stood back up and shouted after her.
"You'll regret ever doing that, Nega-Gwen!" he threatened after her. Nega-Gwen just kept running, not sure where she was going, or what she would do.
Well, next up in my schedule in the premiere of my new series that will be called 'TDI Case Files', which I have mentioned several times before. It will be explained in its first chapter, at which point I will then put in the big confrontation in 'More Than Just Playing the Game'. So, watch out for those two! R&R!