Chapter 8: Fighting Dirty

Mysterion finally reached Stan's house and watched in shock as his friends ran away with Trent in pursuit. He quickly followed them, his cape billowing out behind him.

Trent chased the boys until they reached the local playground. He grabbed Cartman, who had been lagging behind and gasping for breath, and flung him at Stan and Kyle. Cartman fell on top of his friends and the three boys struggled to get up as Trent pulled out his switchblade. Mysterion snuck into the playground, pulling a smoke bomb and his lighter out of his belt.

"Your superhero friend can't save you now," Trent taunted to the pile of terrified boys.

Taking that as his cue, Mysterion lit the smoke bomb and threw it. It landed right at Trent's feet and went off, enveloping him in a cloud of smoke. As Trent coughed and tried to fight his way out, Mysterion ran over to his friends and hauled Cartman to his feet. Kyle and Stan gratefully stood up and dusted themselves off.

"Guys, run!" Mysterion yelled. "I'll deal with Trent."

The three boys hesitated, their eyes on Mysterion's scar.

"I'll be fine!" Mysterion insisted. "Just go!"

Stan finally nodded and motioned for Kyle and Cartman to follow him. The boys ran out of the playground and back into town. Meanwhile, the smoke faded away and Trent emerged, coughing and spluttering. Once he got his bearings, he shot daggers with his eyes at Mysterion.

"Well, if it isn't Mysterion the Garbage Man. I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Same here," Mysterion replied. "Where have you been hiding?"

"I wasn't hiding, I left to make sure my nose wasn't broken," Trent explained. "Lucky for you, it's not."

"Pity," Mysterion said stoically. "That would have made an interesting mug shot."

Trent opened his mouth to reply, but finally noticed that he and Mysterion were the only two in the playground. "Where'd they go now?!"

"You'll never know," Mysterion answered, pulling a firecracker out of his belt. "You're not going anywhere until we finish our fight."

"I don't have time to deal with you right now!" Trent snapped.

He turned to leave the playground, but Mysterion lit the firecracker and tossed it in the bully's path. Trent staggered back in alarm as it went off, one arm raised to protect his face.

"What the fuck?!"

"You'll just have to make time," Mysterion snarled, pulling out another firecracker and tossing it up and down in his palm.

Trent scowled and raised his switchblade. "Fine. Have it your way."

Just relax, Mysterion mentally coached himself. If I keep him off guard and he doesn't touch me, I think I can beat him.

"I will."

Mysterion lit the second firecracker and threw it at the chain-link fence behind Trent to distract him. Trent flinched when it went off, ducking to avoid flying shrapnel. Mysterion advanced and punched him in the cheek, but to his surprise, Trent didn't double over in pain like the day before. The bully merely shrugged it off and tried to slash at Mysterion with the switchblade, but Mysterion swerved out of the way in time.

"You call that a punch?" Trent jeered. "That was weak compared to what you hit me with yesterday!"

"I'm just getting started," Mysterion replied, hoping he was right.

He lit another firecracker and tossed it behind Trent again. When Trent ducked, Mysterion kicked him in the stomach. Once again, Trent absorbed the blow like a sponge and made another swipe at the superhero. Mysterion leapt back and quickly thought of a new strategy. If punches and kicks weren't working, then he knew Trent would be no match for his Taser. He briefly took his eyes off of Trent as he reached down to his belt to grab it.

Suddenly, Mysterion found himself lying on the ground and rubbing his throbbing temple. Trent, who had ran forward and struck Mysterion's forehead with the handle of his switchblade, crouched down and raised the knife. Mysterion flinched, expecting the bully to stab him. Trent cut off Mysterion's utility belt instead and straightened up, dangling the belt by one of its broken leather straps.

"Enough of your bag of tricks," he scoffed, tossing the belt aside. "Get up and fight me like a man!"

Mysterion stiffened; he hadn't expected this to happen. Still, he stood up and got into a defensive stance.

"Very well. Put down the knife."

"Make me!"

Mysterion backflipped away from another swipe of Trent's switchblade and dodged a few more attacks. He decided to follow his strategy from the night before and wear Trent out before striking back.

"Come on," Trent yelled impatiently. "Make this worth my time, you coward!"

"I'm not a coward," Mysterion snapped, moving away from another blow. He soon found himself backed up against the chain-link fence with Trent inches from his face.

"I don't like people who lie, Mysterion. I know you're scared of me!"

"No, I'm not."

Trent angrily struck Mysterion across the face with the handle of his switchblade, directly hitting the scar on his cheek. Mysterion almost sank to his knees, but Trent yanked him up by his sweatshirt and pinned him against the fence.

"Don't give me that crap," Trent snarled. "I heard what you told them last night, how you 'froze up' once you found out who I really was."

"So you really were acting unconscious after you hit the wall," Mysterion muttered as he struggled to free himself. The scar had opened up again and drops of blood were trickling down onto his sweatshirt and Trent's hand.

"So what if I was? Now tell me, why are you so scared of me, Garbage Man?"

Mysterion answered with a question of his own. "Why are you calling me a coward when you're the one who ran away with your tail between your legs?"

"I didn't run away-"

"Trent Boyett, playing possum and running away from a fight," Mysterion jeered. "Hard to believe you were once the toughest kid in preschool."

"How do you know that about me?" Trent demanded. "Who are you?!"

Mysterion struggled harder to break free. "My identity is a secret."

"Oh yeah? Then let's see what you're hiding behind the mask."

Trent pocketed his switchblade and reached for Mysterion's black eye mask. Mysterion frantically turned his head to the side and grabbed Trent's hand in a claw-like grip. He wasn't sure if Trent knew what he looked like under his orange parka and didn't want to risk it.

"No, don't!" he gasped, almost falling into his regular voice.

Trent kept pushing his hand forward and managed to grab hold of the mask. Just as he started to raise it, Mysterion, in an act of desperation, kneed Trent in the crotch as hard as he could. Trent grunted and doubled over, which allowed Mysterion to break free and fix his mask. Trent angrily straightened up and pulled his switchblade back out.

"That's it!" he bellowed. "I'll expose you for the coward you are!"

Mysterion jumped up as Trent ran forward and kicked the knife out of his hand with enough force to send it flying toward one of the basketball hoops. While Trent watched it fly away, Mysterion kneed him in the stomach and punched him in the head. Trent fell to the ground, slightly stunned by the sudden force of the attacks. To further hurt and humiliate him, Mysterion bounced off the fence and slammed his butt into Trent's face. Trent cried out in pain and clutched his bandaged nose.

"You're the coward, Trent," Mysterion scoffed. "You need to learn to stop relying on your weapon."

As Mysterion got to his feet, Trent leapt up and flipped the superhero's cape over his head as far as the question mark would allow. He grabbed the back of Mysterion's underwear and gave it a sharp yank upward.

"And you need to learn to stop wearing your underwear outside of your pants!" he retorted.

Mysterion tried not to cry out as Trent suspended him by his underwear to a wire sticking out of the fence and began to brutally punch and kick him. All of Mysterion's attempts to fight back proved to be futile, so he dangled helplessly like a piƱata and held his arms up to guard his face. Once Trent was sure his new punching bag had been beaten enough, he pushed Mysterion's arms down so he could better glare at him.

"Listen," he began darkly, "I don't know who you are or what you know about me, but I came back to South Park to finally have my revenge on the people who got me arrested. I've waited a long time for this, and you keep getting in my way. And the more you interfere, the longer I stay! So do me a favor and stay the hell out of this!"

Trent shoved Mysterion's face into the chain link fence and made his way over to the basketball hoop to retrieve his switchblade. He desperately wanted to finish the superhero off, but he decided to deal with him later after he'd found his true targets.

Mysterion weakly raised his head and spotted his utility belt lying a few feet away from him. Ignoring his new bruises and aching muscles, he unhooked himself off the fence and crawled over to the belt, pulling out the Taser and handcuffs. He snuck up behind Trent and zapped him in the back with the Taser as he was bending down to pick up the knife. Trent howled in pain and fell on his face, twitching and groaning.

"You also need to learn to stop walking away from fights," Mysterion said condescendingly.

He had just handcuffed Trent's wrists behind his back when he heard a nearby cry for help. Across the street, two thugs were beating up an old man and rummaging through his wallet. Mysterion hesitated, looking back and forth from them to Trent. He had to save the old man, but feared that Trent might escape or attack him again. He quickly unlocked one of Trent's wrists and wrapped the chain around the pole of the basketball hoop. He closed the cuff on the wrist again, effectively trapping the bully.

"Don't even think of trying to escape," Mysterion ordered, slinging his belt over his shoulder. "I'll tell Sergeant Yates to come pick you up later."

"So you are a cop!" Trent groaned, trying to shake his wrists free.

"No, I just help the police protect the city," Mysterion answered. "I have enough on my plate already, and your little revenge plan is making things harder for me. So do me a favor and stop attacking my friends!"

Mysterion stepped over Trent and, after pausing to pick up the switchblade and shove it in his belt, limped across the street to help the old man. The two thugs instantly ran away when they saw him coming and Mysterion hobbled after them as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, Trent shakily got to his feet and tugged hard on the handcuffs, hoping the strain against the pole would break the chain. He began to panic when he heard a police siren in the distance, not knowing that an eyewitness to the old man's robbery had called the cops.

"No! I'm not going back to juvie! I'm! Not! Going! BACK!" he yelled with each yank of the handcuffs.

When the police car arrived, Trent tugged once more with all the strength he could muster until the chain finally snapped. He slipped the broken cuffs off his wrists and ran out of the playground in the opposite direction to escape the cops. The police, oblivious to Trent's presence, aided the old man and got his testimony.

"You'll pay for this, Mysterion!" Trent hissed, sprinting down the street. "I'll get you before Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny!"


Hello everyone, thanks for the reviews and PMs! Once again I apologize for the wait, I was busy with finals and other stuff. Luckily, I got a 4.0 this semester!

Stay tuned for the next chapter! :)