Lightning Max trembled with exertion. His bruised and battered body screamed for rest, but he pushed on, launching multiple kicks at the green giant that was the Deep Sea King, his leg darting through the multiple openings Puri Puri Prisoner's attack had made. After fighting relentlessly for almost fifteen minutes, the duo of heroes had started working together like a well-oiled machine. Puri Puri Prisoner handled the full-on assault, receiving the brunt of the monster's assault and dishing out damage in return. Lightning Max exploited the openings created by the prisoner's attacks, dealing as much damage as possible in the short windows of opportunity with his explosive-packed kicks.
The two heroes weren't the only ones to experience a growth in ability. As the rain slowly grew heavier, the Deep Sea King was gradually increasing in size, power and speed, rising far above his previous levels.
And while the heroes were tiring fast, the monster's endurance was unending. Lightning Max and Puri Puri Prisoner knew they were fighting an uphill battle where the slope was increasing in steepness. But they had no choice. They had to protect the citizens that had fled to the evacuation shelter; they were the last line of defence until backup arrived and they didn't need any ordinary hero squad, they needed the best of the best - S class heroes. But it looked like they wouldn't receive any aid.
Lightning Max could feel that if help didn't come within the next couple of minutes, the Deep Sea King would overwhelm them for sure.
Saitama and Holocho hurtled down the highway to J City. It seemed like the entire city had fled via this single highway - beside them and going in the opposite direction was a never-ending river of cars and vans hastily crammed with belongings. However, they had run past what looked like a pickup truck stuffed with an assortment of as many heroes that could fit in and on it. Holocho could see the shock and frustration as they blitzed past them; the heroes in the truck realised that they would never be able to defeat and claim fame from the monster in J City.
Holocho smiled and waved, much to their irritation. The truck quickly disappeared from view.
Genos soared overhead, his rockets trailing long orange streaks of exhaust across the sky. He had his new prototype arms equipped, vastly increasing his speed and power, but he was barely keeping up with the two heroes down below.
"Oi Genos, can't you go any faster?" Holocho shouted impatiently. He was brimming with energy and anticipation; each step he took towards the city in the distance was bringing a potentially exciting closer to him. The monsters he had faced in Z City were merely pests, dispatched in one hit, but the monster in J City was posing a serious threat to both an S class and A class hero combined. He hadn't had a good fight in what felt like forever.
"This is my maximum current speed," Genos replied, shouting over the wind whistling by as he lowered his altitude. "I can push my core above 100%, but that would greatly diminish my combat capabilities."
Holocho huffed but accepted Genos's statements. The trio continued running and flying toward the growing city in the distance in silence.
Genos had a neat game of Pong going on in his cybernetic mind. He was battling the CPU, locked in an intense rally for the first point. He decided to leave his body in autopilot mode as he diverted more and more of his attention on winning against the CPU which was proving to be a wily foe. Somewhere in the back of Genos's mind, he noted the relentlessness of the CPU's fighting style and how effective it was in picking apart his defences.
Suddenly, he was jerked out of his video game as a call notification popped up on his HUD. His body nearly veered into a car as he transitioned roughly back into manual flight mode.
"I must talk to Dr. Kuseno about that…"
Genos realised who was calling him.
A microphone attachment assembled itself on Genos's cheek. "Hello… yes… I understand. I shall try. Anything else we should know?"
Genos's eyes hardened.
"I understand."
"Wassup, Genos?" Holocho yelled, hearing Genos muttering faintly.
The flying cyborg's serious face somehow grew even more serious. "The Hero Association called. The S rank hero Puri Puri Prisoner and the A rank hero Lightning Max have been defeated in combat. We must hurry, there are no capable heroes able to face the monster left in the area."
"Oh, sounds as if the monster's not too weak," Holocho commented. Frowning, he added, "What's the monster doing now then? Destroying buildings?"
"Its current purposes are unknown, but many civilians will be in danger if it continues in its current path." replied Genos. "To the evacuation shelter."
Holocho nodded. Turning to Saitama, he asked, "Should we speed up?"
The caped baldy had overheard their conversation. He no longer bore his trademark dull, expressionless visage.
"Yes."
"See you later Genos!" Holocho called as they increased their speed.
The two heroes disappeared into the distance, leaving Genos behind in the dust. He stared down the long highway in awe at the heroes' tremendous speed. Shaking himself back to his senses, the cyborg accepted what he had to do to stand even a small chance of catching up to them before the monster was defeated.
"Power up core to 200%."
His body flared with harsh orange light. The energy gauges in his HUD shot all the way into their warning zones. Crimson alerts flashed urgently, warning Genos of the great strain his decision had induced on his body.
As Genos's velocity skyrocketed, he mentally praised his master's wise methods and teachings.
Sometimes one just had to make compromises.
J City was fast approaching the two heroes on the ground.
"Hey mister, do you know where the emergency shelter is?"
"Oh, I don't."
Holocho face-palmed. They didn't know where they were going. By now, they were deep within the concrete labyrinth of the city.
"Shouldn't we stop and look it up or something?"
The Deep Sea King walked steadily, leaving large footsteps imprinted on the tarmac behind him. Unbeknownst to him, he was walking in the direction of the evacuation shelter where many of the city's fleeing citizens had sheltered, waiting out the invasion of the Sea Folk.
The monster was in a good mood. He had just disposed of the two arrogant gnats that called themselves 'heroes'. At first, he had played around with them out of pure sadistic boredom, but they had quickly grown irritating - the burlier of the two exceptionally so. Everything about him had been so… extra. Extravagant. He felt a deep disgust towards him even now, especially after he had transformed into that ghastly 'Angel Mode'.
The Deep Sea King shuddered at the memory of the fully nude Puri Puri Prisoner.
As for the other pest… well, he was just another weakling crushed underfoot.
However, the first human he'd faced was an oddity. He seemed to have no allegiance to monster or man but instead seemed to fight for his own cause. Not that he had anything against that, but the human fighters he had observed from the depths of the sea all belonged to some sort of organisation that protected the weaker humans. Maybe that man had been part of a rival organisation?
The Deep Sea King cast that thought aside. The human was an interesting opponent, a challenge in his dried-up form, but, like the other heroes, he'd been weak, far too weak to even properly injure him.
A faint scent drifted into his nose. The monster took a deep breath, inhaling a vast lungful of air.
"Aaahhh…" he growled, a low, distorted rumble. "I can sense them. Multiple presences."
He traced the scent through the air. It lead his nose towards a large concrete dome rising out among the buildings not very far away. The Deep Sea King's fish-like face twisted into an expression of relish and hunger. The humans had all gathered in a single building. It was going to be a massacre.
"Papa!" a young child called, looking up to his father with wide eyes. "Are those big scary monsters still outside?"
His father, an average man with blonde curly hair and well-defined jawline smiled down at his son reassuringly. "Don't worry! Someone will defeat them!" he said confidently. "We're safe in this shelter anyway! A single monster can't take on 5000 people at once!"
He gestured at the large crowds of people standing around in the massive arena. Sounds of chatter and laughter filled the air, everyone evidently relaxed, confident in the ability of the heroes sent to face the threat outside. Either that or the Hero Association staff were doing a good job in keeping them and the atmosphere in general calm.
The arena shook as a tremendous force assaulted it from the outside. The lights flickered, plunging them into darkness.
Before the refugees had time to scream, a gaping hole formed on the side of the shelter. Dark light and rain spilled in. A monstrous looming shadow appeared amongst the dust and debris.
The Deep Sea King bared his teeth in a vicious predatory grin. His eyes widened in excitement.
"Nice to meet you!. And goodbye!"
The refugees screamed in terror. This monster had broken through what they had thought was an impenetrable shelter wall. They stood no hope of surviving.
"Wait! We surrender! If you have a demand, we'll meet it!" a wavering voice shouted. The screaming and panic faded as a brave soul stood up to their doom. "Just don't attack us! Please!"
The man gulped nervously. Multiple beads of sweat dotted his face as he realised what he was doing - standing up to a monster that had broken through a missile - proof shelter with only two hits. The man - a C class hero who went by the name of Allback-Man - raised his shaking hands in a universal gesture of surrender.
The monster paused, seeming to consider his offer. Suddenly, his mouth gaped and the monster bellowed with scornful laughter. "Surrender? You die either way! I'm still gonna kill you! My demand is that you scream! I'm gonna slowly rip you all limb from limb!"
A terrible chill descended over the refugees. Icy fingers of fear crept down their paralysed spines. Each and every one of them realised that they wouldn't be able to survive the next few minutes. They needed a miracle.
Thoughts raced through the hero's mind, each one getting more desperate than the last.
"Is he mad because heroes killed his buddies? This is really bad…"
"It's pitiful, but I should stall until S class and A class heroes arrive. Or should i join arms with the men here?"
"No, this monster broke into a missile-proof shelter. How can I buy time? He's gonna attack any second!"
His legs blossomed with warm moisture.
"Oops…"
"I peed my pants…"
"I'm so pitiful…"
The monster stepped forward, looming over the lone hero. Its mouth opened wide in a grisly smile, its sadistic mind going crazy with anticipation as it prepared to devour the fragrant morsels of meat that stood helpless before him.
"Hyaah!" a man shouted, rushing to Allback-man's side. The B class hero Jet Niceguy had stepped up, overcoming his paralyzing fear. If he was gonna die, the white and red android thought, he may as well face it head-on.
"G...Graah! I'm gonna fight too!" shouted another man, the C class hero Bunbun man, jumping to join the heroes at their side, his muscles bulging with tension. His large black afro glistened with sweat.
Another man leaped into formation, hands moving in snake-like fashion as he settled into a fighting stance. "Cool… Let's work together." 'Snakebite Fist' Snek said, gathering his nerves as he tried to sound as cool and collected as possible. "At rank 38, I may be at the bottom, but I'm still class A. Let's do this!"
The refugees blinked and stared at the four brave men before them. They muttered amongst themselves, wondering if what they were seeing was real.
"Heroes?"
"There were heroes here?"
The hopes and morale of the terrified crowd started to shoot up, buoyed by the sight of the valiant knights facing off against almost certain doom. Their chatter rose in volume until it became a roar of relief and hope.
But they were silenced by the sight of the four heroes being violently and ruthlessly batted away, the monster sending them flying into the shelter walls with a single swipe.
"Quiet, weaklings!"
The monster rose to its full height, towering menacingly over the panic-stricken refugees.
"Now, beg and plead before me like the worms you are as I devour you all!"
Genos stood on the edge of the hole the Deep Sea King had smashed open in the side of the shelter, observing the monster below. He could see the unfortunate fates of four brave heroes who had tried to stand up to the beast - smashed into a wall, knocked senseless. This monster was evidently not your garden variety threat. He would have to take this more seriously.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the cyborg leaped into the air, landing smoothly before the giant monster. Underneath his wet blonde hair were a pair of fiery, glowing amber eyes.
"Oho! A challenger appears!" rumbled the Deep Sea King. "But I'm afraid I don't have the time for any more scuffles-"
"I am here to eliminate you." Genos stated. He charged forwards, putting all his power into increasing his velocity to the max in the short amount of space between him and the Deep Sea King, resulting in an explosive flash of blinding light bursting out from his rocket boosters. Just before he reached the off-guard monster, he brought his arm forth in a lightning-fast punch. Genos could feel skin torn and bones shattered by his metal fist as it made contact with the monster's jaw. But Genos wasn't done. Machinery embedded on his forearm unfolded, exposing multiple incineration cannons that released several intense jets of fire into the monster's face.
The Deep Sea King soared into and through the evacuation shelter's wall, carried by the sheer force of Genos's flames. The shell-shocked refugees could the monster's screams fading into the distance. As the smoke and flames cleared, all that was left was a smouldering hole in the wall of the shelter and multiple buildings behind.
Genos looked through the hole in the wall vigilantly, combing the streets beyond with his optical sensors. He could hear the people behind cheering in relief and joy, but knew better. This monster had astonishing regenerative abilities, shown by the fact that it wasn't at all injured when Genos finally caught up to it despite it having fought against an S class hero and several others.
His vigilance paid off. From the corner of his eye, Genos could see a large figure hurtling towards him at a startling speed. He blasted backwards in a back flip, narrowly dodging a grab that would have definitely ended badly for him.
The Deep Sea King had evidently been injured. Its face was deformed - its cheek had a large hole, showing the monster's lethal blade-like teeth, and Its jaw was bent to one side. But that didn't stop the monster from being any less murderous.
"Now I'm mad!" the monster snarled through its mangled mouth. "I'm going to mess you up!"
Genos settled into a defensive fighting stance.
"Escape now!" he yelled at the onlookers. "You will be caught in the crossfire if you stay!"
The refugees were thrown once more into a great panic.
"Run away!"
"Get outta my way!"
"Craaap!"
The Deep Sea King felt as if its blood vessels were about to burst. With an insane, delirious grin, it yelled, "Not one of you… Is getting away!"
It burst forward in a rush of speed, forcing Genos to fire up his boosters to meet it in a head-on collision. The monster savagely punched at Genos's face while the cyborg attempted a kick at its now fully-healed face. His foot planted itself square in the monster's face. However, the monster's punch thudded into Genos's forearm, warping the tough metal. Boosters in Genos's heel fired up, delivering a blast of flame onto the monster's head, obscuring its view, while propelling the cyborg away from the Deep Sea King's wild punches.
The monster yelled in pain and anger, but was given no respite as Genos assaulted it with a series of punches, hammering the monster's body. With a finishing uppercut, he ended his combo with an attack that launched the monster up and through the wall of the shelter.
The Deep Sea King smiled as he soared through the air. The cyborg was making a fatal mistake - exposing him to water. But his smile was quickly wiped off his face as orange flames engulfed him from below.
The monster roared in agony, but it had a counter - it puffed out its body, expelling air, dissipating the cyborg's flames. However, Genos was quick to press his advantage. Flying into the air above the monster, he gathered energy in his eyes.
"Lightning Eye!"
His eyes let out a blinding flash of light. The light washed over the monster, penetrating deep into its eyes.
"My eyes!" it exclaimed.
Genos grimly noted the effectiveness of his stunning attack as he clamped his arms together and brought his fists down on the monster's face, sending it hurtling into the shelter. He quickly followed up, rocketing into the monster and launching another vicious combo attack.
"Machine gun Blows!"
Genos's fists were sledgehammers, brutally striking the stunned monster over and over. The shelter walls gave away from the force of his blows, sending them plummeting into the floor below, Genos pummelling the Deep Sea King as they fell. They landed in a heavy heap, throwing up dust and debris. Fleeing civilians stopped to gape, but they continued fleeing with renewed fear at the sight of the Deep Sea King striking at Genos with all his strength once again, the impact of his fist crashing against Genos's forearm blowing away the dust.
The Deep Sea King laughed maniacally as he pushed against Genos, slowly forcing him down.
A small girl, holding the hand of her father as she fled, saw Genos's struggles against the giant, terrorising monster. She clutched her teddy bear tighter in her grasp as she her terrified and innocent mind decided that she would support him as best she could.
"You can do it!" her small voice called out.
Genos heard her support and smiled internally. It was always good to know that people supported him, especially when he was fighting a tough foe like the monster before him. But his gratefulness suddenly turned to horror as he observed the Deep Sea King's actions.
"Silence!" the monster yelled, spitting a glob of green saliva. As it arced towards the girl, the monster gloated, "Now you melt!"
"No!" Genos shouted, realising the danger the girl was now in. Using his free hand, he fired a wide beam of flame, hoping to evaporate the acid before it landed on the girl. The flames engulfed the spit, successfully evaporating it, but in his moment of distraction, the Deep Sea King brought his other hand into play, punching Genos deep into the ground.
Genos grunted in pain and surprise. He tried to bring up a defence against the Deep Sea King, but it was no use. The monster took full advantage of Genos's incapacitation, launching a barrage of blows. Each punch shook Genos to the core and he was helpless against it.
"Structural integrity at 60% and decreasing!" he thought urgently, eyes darting from notification to notification in his HUD. "Lightning Eye disabled!"
The Deep Sea King laughed sadistically. "How does it feel, worm? To have your own attack used against you!"
Genos inhaled deeply.
The Deep Sea King heard him. Leering, he taunted, "Oh? You're still not done? Do you have another worthless card up your sleeve?"
"300%!"
Light and flame burst out of Genos, engulfing the entire area with a bright, searing inferno. The monster flew backwards, knocked away by the explosion of power that rushed out of Genos. The Cyborg now glowed red, the result of the insane amount of heat his stressed and pushed core was giving out.
"You're dead."
A/N: Things are starting to heat up. Man, I love writing Genos.
I'm happy it's the holidays now, I can finally get some rest. I hope you all have a good Christmas.
Review:
rjconanan333: Thanks!