Part 53
Look Out Stan Lee! We Stole Your Idea!
By Ash the Wanderer and BobCat
Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, and, thanks to the power of the internet, what's yours is also mine.
In Bludhaven, things were going as they usually did.
His name was Nolly. He was a small time runner in a city that had thousands of his kind. His crimes were necessary, as he lacked the education or the intellect to do pretty much anything else. He had accepted his fate, and hopped that some day he could be more then a glorified messenger boy.
Well, Fate had answered, but not in the way Nolly had wanted. He had been promoted from runner to scapegoat.
They were six of Bludhaven's "finest", but the only thing fine about them was the possessions they had somehow acquired on a job that allowed them $30,000 a year, after taxes. They had long ago learned that to get anywhere in Bludhaven, one has to get dirty. These cops were beyond dirty. They were so filthy the term "pig" truly fit them.
Their dilemma was simple. In the process of a supposed arrest, they had instead killed a drug dealer and stolen his money and drugs. Wanting more cash, they had concocted a plan: Find some sucker, deal with him, plant a small amount of said narcotics on him, and claim they brought him down running, and that information was clearly erroneous on how much "material" the dealer had possessed. No one important would raise any eyebrows (they were busy with their own schemes) and life would go on. Except for Nolly. He was the chosen scapegoat, and dead men tell no tales.
No one heard the faint cries as the six pounded Nolly with clubs, their feet, and anything else they deemed appropriate. And no one would have listened even if they did. Nolly was as surprised as any of them when the cops let off, backing up to talk. He could hear their whispers.
"Well, we've gone too far to stop now." One of them said, and they turned back to him. Nolly wondered if his death would redeem him enough to get him into heaven, if there was such a place. Surely hell couldn't be any worse then Bludhaven.
"You know, just one unknown scumbag with this much juice? It does seem a tad hard to swallow. I kinda wish we had another body…" another said as they surrounded Nolly again.
"Looking for another target gentleman?"
The cops whirled to look at Erik, as he stood in the middle of the street.
"I volunteer."
Sam was bored. He had been hogtied into helping them with this Bludhaven mess, but it had been a dull dull job. The only interesting thing that had happened was when a new tear seemed to be opening. But the computer had only registered it for a second, and seeing how nothing new seemed to be happening, Sam figured it had been a glitch. He sighed. Bored bored bored…
Sam's board lit up as it registered something. This time, it stayed.
"Finally!" Sam said, and he quickly punched a few buttons. After seeing the info, he began tapping more keys as he pulled out a phone.
"Phil, we've been monitoring the radio frequencies in Bludhaven. I think we have something. A group of police officers are…"
"UNDER ATTACK! I REPEAT, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" one of the cops yelled. He had no idea what had happened. One second they had been beating up some guy they had picked to take the fall, and then some guy wearing black had dropped in and gone berserk on them. They'd used their clubs, but he'd barely seemed to feel the blows. A few punches and kicks later and they had retreated back to their squad cars, firing all the way. The dark man (was this the Nightwing they had heard of?) had followed like he was shot at all the time.
And unfortunately for the corrupt officer, his car was the closest. And he was all alone.
"Attack! Send…"
Erik's fist smashed through the window, grabbing the cop's jacket and yanking him back, slamming the top of his head into the roof. Stars spun in the cop's vision as he was dragged back, but he recovered enough sense to realize that he was still in the car to a small degree, and the door was…
"NO!"
Erik slammed the door on the cop's head as hard as he could. There was a grunt of pain and underneath it, a low cracking noise. The door bounced back from the force as the cop slumped sideways, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose.
Then Erik slammed the door again, this time on the bridge of said nose. The cracking was much louder this time, as the cop slumped over, his brain torn to shreds by pieces of his broken skull.
More bullets whined. Erik dodged them, counting the shots. As it came to six, he sprinted around the car and ran at the second of the three there was. Two more cops were there, and the one with ammo opened fire as the other one frantically grabbed for a speed loader. Erik dodged the shots, his computer giving him the trajectory of the bullets and moving him away long before they could hit him.
The cop popped the speed loader in.
Erik closed the distance.
He snapped the barrel shut.
Just three feet.
He aimed and…
…Erik grabbed his arm and yanked it up, twisted it so the gun was directly under the cop's chin. The cop's eyes widened as his finger completed the command he had just sent, squeezing the trigger. As most of the cop's head exploded out the top of his skull, Erik was already dropping the body. He spun towards the other cop as he tried to get off a point blank shot.
Erik spun his arm upward as his claws snapped out, and just as the cop was shooting, brought his claws down as hard as he could.
The officer looked stunned.
His gun split into three pieces.
And then he did.
As the horizontally trisected corpse fell, the bone structure proving nothing to Erik's incredible strength and laser-sharpened talons, Erik ducked under the car as more shots flew his way. The last three had seen how Erik had dealt with their fellows and had abandoned controlled shooting for wild bursts of desperate fear. Three more…
"Three little piggies, to make a piggy pie…" Erik sang to himself, loud enough for the cops to hear.
The shots wavered. They needed to reload.
"There's nothing like the sound when you hear a piggy die!" Erik yelled , as he hopped over the car and charged. He aimed for the closest cop, who was standing next to the front of the car.
Guns reloaded, as Erik suddenly dove and flipped, propelling himself into the air.
The cop fired. Missed.
And Erik came down on the hood of the car, his hand punching through the metal roof and digging deep into the guts of the vehicle. The cops aimed…
And Erik yanked the car battery free, flipping up and away from the shows. His fingers contracted on the car part, punching holes in it.
He landed next to his chosen target. Stunned, he tried to turn.
And Erik whipped the battery out, sending the acid used in the mechanism spraying out in an arc. It splattered across the cop's face. Sizzling filled the air as he dropped the gun and screamed, his face melting off.
His fellow had gone for the shotgun inside the car. As a horrid stench filled the air as his partner stumbled around in agony, he brought the larger weapon up and aimed at the dark man standing on the other end of the car.
Erik stepped in front of the acid-burned cop as the other one fired. Had the cop still had eyes, he would have tried to move, but he didn't and hence took the shot full in the chest, mercifully ending his torment. Erik ducked before the cop could get off another shot. His eyes scanned the ground, looking at the cop's feet on the other end of the car.
"I might use a gun…" Erik whispered, and then got a better idea. He set his legs for leverage, grabbed underneath the car, and yanked/shoved with all his might.
The cop gasped as the car tipped up and tried to retreat.
Too late.
The cop screamed as his car was flipped over and onto him, two tons of metal rolling onto his legs and smashing them to pulp. He fell, the car now upside down and on top of him. In the process, he'd lost the shotgun. All he could do was scream.
Erik calmly walked around the car, looking at the ruined officer. His face filled with disgust.
"I might use a car." Erik finished, and kicked the cop in the head, breaking his neck. Five down, where was the last one?
"Don't move!"
Erik heard the hammer cocking behind him and turned. The officer was standing fifteen feet away from him. Smart. He'd used the time Erik had spent killing the other two to put some distance and get a bead on him.
"Hands up!" the officer screamed, quite clearly maddened by what he had witnessed. Erik smirked, knowing just what would happen when he did.
He raised his hands anyway.
"I surrender."
And activated the magnet in his metal hand. The cop squawked as the gun flew from his fingers and into Erik's. In one second, the situation was reversed.
"You people who wear the uniform have a responsibility. You are to protect and serve the people. You have failed. You have abused your power, used it to harm rather then help. People like you sicken me. Six police and not one Pure soul amongst you? This only strengthens my resolve. This town must be cleansed of all people like you. So officer, you have the right to remain silent…"
Erik fired five times. The first two were precise shots through clumps of nerves in the arms, completely disabling the limbs. The next two were aimed at the legs for the same result. The last one blew off the officer's testicles. The pain hit in such a wave the man's ability to scream was literally shorted out.
He swayed there for a second.
"Forever." Erik finished, and blew the officer's head off with the last shot. The body flew back and collapsed, as Erik tossed the gun aside.
"Vengeance is in town, you'd better…"
And then Erik went silent. He was still being watched. He glanced over to where Nolly had been, but he had long since fled. The street was quiet. It was just him and the corpses. But if Erik actually believed himself to be alone, he had a bridge he could sell you…
Blades flashed out of the darkness. Erik leapt away as five razor-sharp daggers embedded in the ground where he had just been standing. He twisted in mid-air…
And then a lady in red swung out of the darkness behind Erik and clubbed him with a powerful blow, using the ball shaped bludgeon she held to maximum efficiency. Erik grunted as his flight up was changed into a plunge down and tried to adapt accordingly…
Which he never got a chance to, as a huge man stepped out of the shadows and swung out of his arm, smashing Erik like a baseball through the air. He flew across the street and went crashing through a pile of trash cans.
The lady in red landed delicately next to the huge man. Up close, it was revealed that red didn't make up all of her costume. However, the blue material with the emblem of the British flag and the gold markings on her torso armor couldn't make up for the deep, menacing crimson color of the armor that covered her shins, arms, torso, and mask. There were even a few sections on her ponytail. Several sheaths on said armor had knives in them, along with the spear and club she held.
The huge man had no weapons other then his fists and muscles, and he preferred darker colors. He wore dark cowboy boots, jeans that were tied with several belts all knotted together at the waist, gloves, and an armored vest plate that had a picture of a horse of it. The only thing on him that wasn't dark was the bandanna he wore under his cowboy hat, His features were wide and blunt: a true bruiser.
A few seconds later the knife-thrower joined the duo. He wore the darkest outfit of all, a leather costume that covered every part of him except his fingers (although with the sickly yellow color the digits were, maybe that was for the best). Even the mouth of his mask was stitched shut, and yellow eyepieces concealed his eyes. He was the most heavily armed of all, as it seemed he had daggers strapped everywhere. Along with long bandoleers of daggers attached to his arms and legs, he had daggers attacked to his shins, thighs, forearms, shoulders, and even some on his mask, on either side of his ear.
"Thought you never missed, Brutale." The large man chuckled at their recent companion.
"Shut up Stallion." Brutale countered.
"He has a point Brutale. Had it not been for me, he might very well have been fleeing." The lady in red said.
"Don't patronize me, Lady Vic! You aren't in charge here. Wait, he's waking up." Brutale said as the trash cans began to move. He looked at the mess Erik had wrought. "My god, this man is a lunatic."
"Don't mean nothing to me. Money's money, and any chance to pound someone is fun." Stallion said, cracking his knuckles.
"Don't underestimate him Stallion." Lady Vic, as Erik pushed the garbage off of himself and stood up. He glared at the three people across the street from him. Well well, looks like I got Blockbuster's attention after all. Now to keep it.
For a moment the four stared at each other, as Erik analyzed everything he could see and had…experienced and instantly formulated a battle strategy.
Stallion couldn't believe it. The guy was smiling.
"Odd…" Erik said, as he wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth. "I don't recall anyone playing "Send In The Clowns."
Stallion blinked, then realized he'd been insulted.
"THAT'S IT! I GET HIM FIRST!" Stallion roared, and charged.
"Wait you idiot! Don't…argh!" Brutale growled, and pulled out more daggers.
Erik stood there, calmly, waiting, as Stallion closed in and Brutale cocked back his arm…
And then he leapt, moving sideways and kicking Stallion just as he was about to grab him. Stallion stumbled sideways a step…
And Brutale's daggers, meant for Erik, all plunged into one of his massive legs.
"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Stallion roared. "BRUTALE, YOU MORON!"
Brutale didn't get a chance to reply, as Erik was now charging at him. He pulled out more daggers and…
Erik leapt over him, kicking him in the back of the head. Brutale nearly got impaled on his own weapons as he fell face first into the street.
Lady Vic's eyes widened behind her mask as she now realized she was the intended target. She raised her weapons and…
"Ladies first!" Erik snapped as he slashed out with his talons. While it missed her spear-like weapon, her club weapon (Erik believed the weapons were called an Asegai and a Knobkerry, from the Zulu tribes in Africa. Maybe) was sliced to bits, not to mention a good part of the armor on her hand. She grunted and stabbed at Erik, who dodged aside and kicked her in the side. She whirled with the blow and lashed out with her own kick, driving it into Erik's gut. Erik flipped backwards and rolled away from the stabbing blows that followed.
"That…was…my grandfather's!" Lady Vic cursed as she tried to punch a rising Erik. Erik dodged aside and kicked her remaining weapon (That was the Asegai. Or maybe THAT was the Knobkerry. Eh, no matter, they were both gone) out of her hand, then whirled and side kicked her in the sternum. Lady Vic crouched and pulled twin hand-held triangular blades out of her boots and swiped at Erik, drawing a line of blood across his chest. Erik countered with a right hook, cracking Lady Vic's mask and sending her stumbling backwards.
Erik snapped his talons out as Lady Vic slashed at him again.
His upward slash shattered her blades and dug several deeps gashes all along her side, the tips of her blades cutting one of the supports of her mask and nearly slicing her ear off. Staggered, she fell prey to several punches and a knee blow. So strong…
"I'm as enlightened as any man…" Erik said as he whirled, "BUT GO MAKE ME A SANDWICH, BITCH!"
The thrusting back kick caught her full in the chest, knocking her right off her feet. As her vision whirled and threatened to go black, Erik turned back to Brutale, who had finally recovered.
More daggers flew at him. Erik leapt away as they hit the ground, one of them nearly hitting the injured Lady Vic. Erik hit the ground in a roll and dodged more daggers.
"Dammit! Stand still!" Brutale cursed as he fired off more and more blades. The closest he got was a glancing blow along Erik's calf.
Then Erik was in front of him, and with unbelievable speed, his hands shot out and grabbed Brutale's arms.
"Let's see you toss those with both your arms broken!"
And Erik did just that, snapping one bone clear in half and virtually crushing the other. Brutale screamed before Erik head butted him, his mask providing no protection. Brutale staggered back as Erik lead go of him, and then he spun and smashed Brutale with a heel roundhouse kick. Brutale spun through the air and landed face first on the ground, groaning.
Calmly, Erik walked over to Stallion, who had finally managed to pull the last of Brutale's daggers out of his leg. He growled at Erik's contemptuous smirk.
"Gonna rip you…!" Stallion yelled as he lunged, but Erik leapt over him again. Stallion felt his head get lighter and realized he had lost his hat. He turned. No, he hadn't lost it. Erik had swiped it as he flipped over him, and was now wearing it.
That was all Stallion got to observe as Erik let him have it full in the face with a metal punch. Stars exploded on his vision.
And then Erik cut loose, hammering Stallion with a combination of kicks and punches from several martial arts styles. His reflexes dulled from the first blow, Stallion couldn't defend against it and was smashed around like a rag doll.
The blows finally stopped, and Stallion was left swaying on his feet, looking at the punk who had beaten him up while wearing his hat. How can he…be so damn…strong…
Erik took the hat off and placed it back on Stallion's head.
"Yippe-ki-yae, cowboy."
And Erik leapt, bringing both his feet up and smashing them under Stallion's chin. Stallion flew backwards in a flip and landed in the same garbage cans he had thrown Erik into not five minutes ago. He groaned and finally passed out.
Erik landed and brushed himself off.
"You really need to hire better help Blockbuster."
Grabbing Stallion's meaty leg, Erik dragged him out of the trash and back into the street. He passed by Brutale, who was trying to get up.
"Are you still moving?"
Erik stomped on his head. That stopped the movement. He dumped Stallion and tossed Brutale on top of him, and then headed for Lady Vic.
Lady Vic had had better luck, but she was still on her knees. Her mask, cut and broken, finally gave up the ghost and fell off her face as Erik approached her. Underneath was a lovely young blonde.
"Ohhh, aren't you pretty?" Erik said, and kicked her in the face, feeling satisfied as he felt bone break. "Not so pretty now."
Erik dumped Lady Vic's unconscious form on top of her two companions and stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.
And then the phone rang. Erik's eyebrows arched, and he swiftly located the phone clipped to Lady Vic's leg.
"Desmond here. Have you successfully exterminated our pest problem yet, Lady Vic? Lady Vic?…Hello?"
"Hello Blockbuster." Erik said in a cool whisper. There was silence at the other end of the line.
"Who is this?" Blockbuster finally said.
"You forget after the beating I gave you? Wait, he did say something about a new memory…very well Blockbuster, let me remind you. My name is Vengeance. Your assassins are dead. And soon, you will be too."
"Do you have any idea whom you speak to, child!" Blockbuster roared over the phone.
"Do you?" Erik replied. "You have no idea what you face Blockbuster. But you will. Until then, you'd better learn to fear me, because your empire is going into the abyss. See you soon." Erik chuckled, and crushed the phone, cutting off Blockbuster's angry reply. He let the wreckage sift through his fingers as he tried to figure out what he was going to do with the assassins.
His eyes strayed to a nearby closed garage, and inspiration struck.
A few minutes later, Erik walked out with a container of gasoline. He opened it as he reached the piles of bodies again.
"Tempo…Oh, I'm stuck in the middle with you…" Erik sang, and splashed gasoline on the three assassins. He danced a bit and splashed some more. "And I can't get you out of my head…" More dancing, more gasoline. "Stuck in the middle with you…"
He was out of gas. He tossed the container aside. Should he wait for them to wake up? No, too much trouble. Besides, they would wake up soon enough. He pulled out the matchbook he had swiped from the same garage and struck one.
"MMMMM, barbeque!"
And then his match went out as a strand of something wet and sticky came shooting out of the rooftop shadows and extinguished it. Erik stared incredulously at this new happening before a new strand shot out and swiped the matchbook.
"HEY!" Erik yelled, breaking the strands off his hands. He detected movement going over him, and then he knew he wasn't alone again. Slowly, he turned around as the figure lowered itself down in front of him, upside down. He was dressed in a costume that most would consider garish, with an odd combination of red and blue, with black designs across his arms and torso. A mask covered his face, with white, teardrop shaped openings. He was currently suspended from a convenient lamppost by a strand of the odd substance that had extinguished Erik's match.
As if things couldn't get any stranger. "And just who the devil are you?"
"Just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman." Releasing the web strand, Spiderman fell to the ground, bending his knees to absorb the impact. He held up the matchbook. "And you really shouldn't be tossing these things around like that. I mean, you could hurt somebody."
"That was the idea." Erik retorted, and concentrated. Once again, this one was Pure, but... he was oddly familiar. And why do good people keep trying to mess up my mission?
Spiderman shot a pair of web lines at Erik. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with matches?"
Growling, Erik ripped apart the webbing. "What was that supposed to do?"
Spiderman cursed. He muttered under his breath, "That never really worked for Parker either..." The two stood, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
(To those of you who think this out of character for Spiderman, how right you are. It is, in fact, Phil! Yes, True Believers, out semi-heroic Saiyan superhero has come up with a new plan to deal with this Villainous Vigilante! (Co-Author's Note: Villainous Vigilante? Erik is an anti-hero! Then again, that doesn't sound as good) By suppressing the great strength of his Chi, he hopes that he can confuse Erik sufficiently to gain the upper hand. He has opted to take on the guise of Spiderman because, hey, what are the odds of running into the real deal in a DC Comic universe?
However, there was another aspect to his plan. It had occurred to Phil when he had read over Erik's dossier in detail. The idea had been triggered when the report said that marriage had really calmed him down. Phil had initially been reluctant to believe this, having seen what Erik was capable of. However, if that was true, that meant that the following equation was true: Marriage=Calm Erik. Therefore, No Marriage=Enraged Erik. And then there was the corollary: Enraged Erik= Erik that isn't using cybernetic tricks. Phil couldn't exactly annul the marriage, but there was another way to attack it.)
Phil interrupted the stalemate. "Yo, tall, dark and vengeful! What's round, made of metal and has a stone on it?"
Erik looked confused. "What?"
With a single, smooth motion, Phil shot out a line of webbing. He had instructed the symbiote to make it thin, so it only attached itself to a small band on Erik's fourth finger. Phil jerked back on the web line. "Yoink! The answer is: your wedding ring!" Phil slid it onto his right hand. "Hmmm. What kind of rock is this? Diamond?"
Erik's biological eye widened for a moment, due to the shock. Then, something in his head clicked. Gone was the calm, collected, intelligent murderer. In his place was a wild animal that only wanted blood. (Not much of a difference, is there?)
"You give that back right now!" Without any thought to style or technique, Erik rushed forward, metal talons shining in the dim light.
Almost casually, Phil leapt over the attack. Erik went straight through a brick wall. Phil didn't seem to notice. He landed on a nearby wall, acting as if he cared more about the wedding ring. "Nope, looks like cubic zirconium. Tsk tsk. I'd have thought that you could afford better."
Erik charged back out of the building he had just made a new wall for, his hands flaming with barely contained crimson energy. "Burning Misery!" The duo of red energy beams slashed through the air, blasting a gigantic hole in the wall.
Unfortunately for Erik, Phil was already webbing away. "Then again, we super types never did have too much to live on, and the recent economic downturn has really hurt us all."
"Burning Misery!" Phil leapt up, letting the attack pass through his legs.
"Miss."
"Piercing Strike!" This time, a smaller ball of energy flew out. Phil pulled what is commonly known as a "Matrix," as the energy attack singed his symbiote slightly.
"Missed again. Maybe you should consider another hobby. You aren't very good at this."
Erik's talons were consumed with the same red energy. "Piercing Strike!"
Phil performed a back flip over the attack and continued his running commentary. "I mean, no offense, but you aren't even on par with the Shocker, and that's saying something. At least he manages to connect occasionally."
"Give me back my precious!" Erik managed to get out before Phil cut him off with a glob of webbing to the face.
"What are you, Gollum?" Phil smirked.
Erik tore the webbing off his face and leapt forward, attempting to slice "Spidey" in two. Phil didn't oblige. He moved as if Erik was in slow-motion, leaping up, landing in the middle of Erik's back and then pushing down. He sprang away, while Erik was smashed face first into the concrete.
Phil said, "Well, sir, would you like something to go with your cement? May I suggest the impact webbing?" Phil pressed a button on one of the silver wristbands on his wrists. It sent out a few gray spheres the size of ping pong balls. When they hit the still recovering Erik, they instantly expanded outwards, encasing Erik in a cocoon of webbing.
Phil clapped his hands together, as if to remove dirt. "And that's that. That's a nice little toy, there. I salute you, Scarlet Spider."
Then, there was a bright flash of red energy. When Phil could stand to look again, Erik stood there, a bright crimson aura now surrounding him ala the Z Warriors, or Phil. He pointed his hands at Phil.
"FEAR'S VOID!"
The gigantic ball of energy flew straight towards Phil. The ersatz Spiderman leapt to the left, barely managing to avoid the attack. It burned into the side of a decrepit apartment building, vaporizing the bottom two floors. The building leaned dangerously on its damaged side.
Phil's eyes were as wide as saucers under his mask. "Mama mia! That's a spicy meat-a ball!" He leapt forward, attempting to catch Erik in the face with both of his feet. In mid flight, Phil felt his danger sense go off. It wasn't quite a Spider Sense, but rather a combination of the Force and his Chi senses. Whatever it was, it told him that he had goofed.
Erik, still in his rage mode, lashed out, grabbing Phil's right hand. He cried out as he felt a few bones crack. Then, as suddenly as the crushing sensation had begun, it ended, and Phil was thrown into a brick wall. Phil was unable to move for a moment, and expected Erik to capitalize on his weakness. The predicted attack never came. As Phil rose to his feet, he saw why. Erik was placing the ring back on his finger, checking it for damage.
Erik, satisfied that his precious ring was intact, glared hatefully at Phil. "Look Bug-Boy, or whatever you call yourself, you may be pure of heart, but for that stunt, you WILL suffer! Nobody does that to me! And for your information, wedding bands don't even HAVE a stone! That's the engagement ring!"
Phil waved Erik off, as if he was inconsequential. "Look, I'm sure your boyfriend could buy you a new one."
Erik lost what little composure he had regained. Phil swiftly clambered up the wall. He was surprised when Erik came bounding up behind him in hot pursuit, using his claws and any handholds he could find or create to make his way up the incline.
"What the?" Phil reached the edge of the roof, and used a handstand to flip into a squatting position. From there, he sprung off to the other side of the roof.
Erik wasn't into finesse at this point. He used a nameless energy attack to slash through an entire section of the roof, then leapt up, coming down with a loud thud. Phil was amazed he wasn't frothing at the mouth.
"Y'know, I could sue you for copyright infringement. I mean, I'm supposed to be the wall crawler here."
Erik only snarled. While he wasn't foaming like a rabid dog, he certainly sounded like one.
Phil put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't realize that you and your "life partner" were in such bad economic straights." Phil ended up leaping over another energy bolt. "Tough crowd."
Erik charged forward. Phil decided that instead of dodging, he would use Erik's momentum against him. With a grunt of effort, he grabbed the charging vigilante and tossed him over the roof. Phil panted. He wasn't used to using this kind of effort without Chi! Even if his symbiote was doing most of the work. Phil heard a crackling in his ear, and Ralph's voice filled his earpiece.
"How's it going?"
"Oh, I just tossed him off the roof."
"WHAT? Phil, might I point out he can't fly, and tossing people off buildings is usually kinda fatal."
"Relax Ralph. He has a million tricks. He'll come back up." Phil said. And waited.
And waited.
"He certainly is taking a long time to come back up. Are you sure he hadn't gone splat?" Ralph said.
"Yes! No! I…damn!" Phil cursed, and ran to the end of the roof, peering down.
And then Erik swooped up, but not in the way Phil had expected. He yelled as Erik literally flew up, and took a few steps back, his eyes widening behind the mask.
Erik was crouching on a…(no way, he couldn't…but he had a…) glider. The black metal device, looking like a giant metallic bat was about seven feet long. Erik stood on it, a bit unsteady, but he appeared to know what he was doing.
"Surprised? You see, I was expecting someone who could fly. So I had my friends sent this little device they had given me as a gift, a little evening of the odds. But after that little debacle we just went through, I figured it would be useful now as well." Erik said.
"You stole the Green Goblin's glider!" Phil said.
"I stole the WHAT from the WHO?" Erik said, looking genuinely confused. Phil resisted the urge to hit himself. Well, this didn't matter, as the glider appear to have no weapons and…
"Perhaps you don't know what this means to me…" Erik said, as he lifted his hand with his wedding band. "This was given to me by a woman who is my life, my heart, my soul, the light that fills my darkness. No one steals it, AND NO ONE MOCKS HER. You are Pure, hence I won't kill you, but for what you did…you are going to rue waking up this morning! HAVE AT YOU!" Erik snapped, and blasted at Phil. Phil shot a strand of webbing and gaped as Erik impossibly reversed direction and blasted away from it, although it looked like he nearly fell off in the process. He doesn't know how to use the glider. I'd better take him out before he does! Phil thought.
Phil leapt into the air, fired a pair of weblines, and swung towards Erik in a wide arc. "Y'know, this whole glider thing is getting kinda monotonous." He swung over Erik, barely missing him as he ducked down. The dark vigilante once again struggled to maintain his balance. "I mean, first the Green Goblin, then the Hobgoblin, Jack O' Lantern, Demogoblin... it's been done, buddy!" Phil released the strings of webbing and somersaulted through the air, landing and sticking to a wall.
Erik ignored Phil's banter. He thrust his hands at Phil. "Smoldering Blood!"
Phil released his hold on the wall, dropping out of the way before the bolt of crimson energy could vaporize him. The fact that he was currently five stories up didn't worry him too much; Phil simply whipped out another webline and got out of the way of the falling debris. "OK, now I'll admit THAT'S new."
However, Erik wasn't standing still. While Phil was in mid-swing, Erik swooped down, barreling into the ersatz webhead. Taken by surprise by the attack, Phil let go of his webline and fell.
Erik managed to steady himself. For an instant, he wondered if he should attempt to help his falling foe; after all, this "Bug-Boy" or whatever was strong and fast, but didn't look overly invulnerable. And he didn't want a being as pure as this one to die on his account.
After all, that would be far too easy.
Phil managed to shake the cobwebs from his head in mid fall. At about twenty feet from the ground, he landed feet first on a flagpole that jutted from the side of a building, bending his legs to absorb the impact. It bent dangerously downward under the strain. Taking advantage of the makeshift springboard, Phil leapt as it snapped back upwards, catapulting him towards Erik. The man on the glider barely managed to back out of Phil's reach.
However, Phil proved that he didn't need to be in arm's reach to hurt Erik. He pressed down on a pair of triggers on his wrist mounted bracelets. Instead of more impact webbing, a small spray of tiny needles flew out. The barrage from Phil's left arm missed altogether, but most of the missiles from his right wrist slashed into Erik's left arm. He grunted in pain as they were embedded in his flesh. "Argh! What the hell?"
Phil smirked under his mask. This was fun! "Stingers. Another patented Scarlet Spider toy. You know, you give us superheroes a really bad name." Continuing the arc of his swing, Phil managed to keep pace with Erik. "I remember back in the good old days when the heroes believed in a little something called the judicial system." Phil ducked under a punch and continued his monologue. "I mean, that IS why my tax dollars go to the courts. Something to think about."
Erik snarled in reply, "The courts are often worse than those they judge."
"My, aren't you cranky today." As Phil's momentum began to fade, his symbiote sent another line of biological webbing towards Erik. He glided backwards, but nearly fell off of the glider doing so. Shifting his weight forward to regain his balance, Erik growled.
"Fool! You've tried that already! I can rip through this stuff like paper!"
Phil's smirk intensified. "Who said I was aiming for you? Cool off, buddy." Yanking with the proportionate strength of a spider, Phil cut one of the supports out from under a nearby water tank. The large structure of wood and metal fell on its side, expelling its contents upon Erik. Under the weight, the glider struggled to keep Erik airborne. Phil took advantage of his opponent's temporary immobility by tackling him.
However, as the downpour continued, a change came over Phil as he entered its watery confines. He became about six inches shorter, and his hair went from short and brown to long and a medium shade of blue. His skeletal structure shifted significantly, and Phil's chest and hips widened at the expense of his waist. In short, Phil went from a he to a she.
Phil cursed. She had forgotten about her Jusenkyo curse. Activated by cold water, it temporarily reshaped her the form that Io had worn during the Silver Millennium. She released Erik and landed on a nearby lamppost.
Erik didn't notice, however. He was more concerned with the fact that he was plummeting towards the ground. "GLIDER!" The glider swiftly responded, changing its angle to catch its user. It wasn't the cleanest of escapes; Erik let out a loud "whuff" as the air was knocked from his lungs.
Phil wasn't about to give him a chance to recover. Curse or no curse, she wasn't going to let him win this time. She sprang forward, landing upon the glider's rear portion. By this time, Erik was on his feet. He felt a bump as the weight load on the glider increased by fifty percent and looked back. Phil extended a portion of the symbiote from her hands across his eyes. "Guess who, big boy!"
Erik was temporarily taken aback by the change in attacker. However, his fighting instincts kicked in and he elbowed her in the gut. "Sorry, I've never been into games." As she fell toward the ground, Phil barely had time to touch a wall. With a hard jolt, her progress was halted.
Erik looked at his new assailant. This one was also pure, and familiar. In fact, so familiar... a smirk crossed his lips, even as his mind roiled in confusion. Now it's a female? WTF? Oh, I'll just roll with it. "Y'know Bugman, er woman, um, whatever, implants aren't healthy if it's more than one cup size larger."
Now it was Phil's turn to imitate a mad dog. With a feral snarl (which, since it was with Io's vocal chords, sounded more cute than intimidating), she leapt straight at Erik.
"Up." She passed just under the rising glider. "This is very... intriguing. So, how long have you been a transsexual?"
Phil heard a buzzing in her ear. Ralph's voice said, "Phil, don't give in to the rage!"
Arthur said, "I must agree, Squire. Thy curse is annoying, but thou must not allow this vile cur to use it to his advantage."
Phil came to a stop on a rooftop. "Where the hell did he go?" Phil's "Spider Sense" went wild, and she barely managed to duck under Erik's next swoop. "Damnit! He's starting to get the hang of that thing."
Erik shook his head, lazily flying in a circle around Phil. "So, fem-boy, just how hard is it to balance with those things?"
Phil quipped back, "Well, it isn't the easiest thing in the world, but there are fringe benefits. I mean, your wife sure seemed to enjoy playing with them last night."
Erik lost his temper again. "WRONG ANSWER, BITCH! INSANITY LIGHT!" A slightly larger bolt of black energy flashed down. Phil barely managed to get off of the rooftop before the blast exploded. The building burst into flames, and it began to bend as the heat warped its metal supports.
Phil touched her earpiece. "Ralph! Is there anyone in that thing?"
"Negative. Erik wouldn't have launched it if there had been. According to my records, it was condemned."
Phil muttered, "Mighty convenient, that." Sure are a lot of condemned buildings in this city. Well, it's an old town. As Phil swung from another line of webbing, Erik swooped down again.
"This time, you cocksucking bitch, YOU'RE STAYING DOWN!" Erik's talons popped from their cases, and he began to zip around Phil, slashing and hacking at the neo-female. She barely managed to avoid having a major limb hacked off. She was forced to the ground as her webline was sliced in two.
During one of Erik's assaults, she surprised him by leaping straight for him. He instinctively ducked, and was curious when she didn't attempt to punch him.
Then, from the tail end of the batlike glider, smoke began to be coughed out. As forward momentum halted, Erik shot out a grappling hook, and the glider clattered to the street below. "What the..." Then, he noticed the sticky substance that had coated the exhaust port. Then Phil was on him, fists lashing out. Although the blows were nothing compared to even the weakest of Z Fighters, it was enough to send Erik stumbling backwards. Phil didn't notice him pushing a small button on his right arm as he weathered the storm of blows.
After a nasty uppercut, Erik lay on the ground. Phil stood over him, her blue hair flapping in the previously nonexistent breeze. "Now, for the last fucking time, YOU ARE UNDER AR... OUCH!" The glider swooped down, catching Phil in the back of the head. Erik leapt back on it.
Erik smirked in a predatory manner. "Your webbing is flammable. It was just a manner of turning up the heat with my Slave Circuit. Now, I wonder if you're flammable too?" His right arm began to shift, returning to its flamethrower configuration.
Phil's symbiote noticed this immediately. It had two weaknesses: fire, and high frequency sound. Survival had always meant being able to tell what produced either harmful byproduct, and all of its animal instinct screamed for it to RUN. Seizing control of its liquid form, it forced Phil away from the man with the fire. Phil cried out, "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
In a voice that was more mental images than words, the symbiote said, "FIRE! Fire bad! Need run!"
"No you don't! We can make it!"
Erik didn't hear her conversation. What he did see was that she was attempting to retreat. "Not likely, bitch. CRIMSON RAIN!"
About eight blasts zapped out of Erik's hands, but they flew not at Phil, but at a wall above her. As brick and metal was blasted from its normal place, gravity took control. Phil and the symbiote were both forced to release their webline as they were pelted by debris, and fell to the ground with a loud thump. A second later, she was buried in rubble.
Erik circled above a few times, and, sensing that Phil would survive, flew away. After all, he had bigger fish to fry.
When Erik was out of eyeshot, the pile of debris exploded in a flash of golden flame. Her hair had shifted to a bright yellow, and her eyes from brown to turquoise. Using a bit of telekinesis and Chi, she heated up some of the water that was lying in a puddle at her feet and dumped it upon herself, thus returning to her proper gender. He shifted out of the Super Saiyan state, and collapsed to the ground. He panted. Releasing his Chi reserves had allowed him to recover from some of his exhaustion, but the numerous injuries from his fight and fall caught up with him. His arm protesting the entire time, he reached back into his pocket and grabbed a Senzu bean. Phil's Chi flared to life around him, although he didn't go Super again. "That is it! No more mister nice Saiyan!" With a bright flash of light and a bang, he was flying in the direction he had seen Erik take at mach five.
Elsewhere...
Blockbuster sighed. This is the part of the job I hate the most. Although most wouldn't see Mr. Desmond's job as the local crime lord as a business, at this stage of the game there was little difference between himself and the CEO of a large company. He certainly made as much, and had the satisfaction of knowing that he didn't answer to anyone.
At least, there wasn't anybody officially over his head. However, just like any real CEO, he had to deal with the "shareholders." In reality, they were his underbosses. They controlled small cells of his organization; he still dictated policy, but they handled the day to day operations of his empire. They really had no power individually, but if they could all agree on something (it didn't happen very often), they did have enough leverage to force his hand. He usually kept this agreement to a bare minimum by playing them off against each other. However, right now they had managed to reach a consensus: Blockbuster was incapable of dealing with this new threat.
As Blockbuster saw it, there were two ways to go about it; lie to them as to the nature of the problem and hope he could deal with it before they found out. The pro were that it would give him the time he needed to deal with this "Vengeance." The con was that if they did find out, he would look even weaker than he would have otherwise. So, he had gone with honesty; tell them exactly what had happened. This would reveal his weakness, but he would control exactly what they saw and heard. Also, it would allow them to prepare their people as much as they could for the coming onslaught.
In a nasal voice, a short, weasel like man whined, "Now Mr. Desmond, are we to understand that even your best agents were unable to deal with the new threat and are, in fact, crippled or worse?"
Blockbuster frowned slightly. The sharks smell blood. Mr. Franklin, as the tiny man was called, had risen to control over the Fifth street section of his empire. To this day, he had no idea how Franklin had reached his position. Unlike most of the underbosses, he lacked either strength or any real charisma. In a way, that made him the biggest threat to his power; because he was the kind that didn't often lead, people tended to underestimate the tiny man. Also, although he was annoying, he was quite good at steering people to reach the conclusions he wanted them to reach, and they would be convinced that they had had the idea on their own. Blockbuster held back an arrogant smirk. Is the little insect finally making his move?
"And now, some maniac is ripping through our gangs, primarily because our organization is only loosely united. I propose that the time for a new, strong leader is now!" There were general murmurs of approval.
Blockbuster sat at his reinforced chair and steepled his fingers. "I see. So, I'm too weak to lead, am I? Do you want Mr. Franklin here as your overboss?" Suddenly, all murmuring stopped. Desmond smirked. None of the fools had gotten any inkling that the tiny man had been leading them towards the only "logical" solution: turning control over to Franklin. As there was no response, Blockbuster walked behind Franklin. "Now then, Mr. Franklin. I believe I've cut away any support for your little coup d'état." Grabbing him by the throat, Blockbuster picked him up and spun him around so that they were eye to eye. "You see, your mistake was attempting to outsmart a man who sold his soul to the devil for intelligence. You assumed that I would knuckle under because of the current threat. Well, my friend, you were wrong. DEAD WRONG!"
Blockbuster was about to snap the little bastard's neck when there was a tapping at the window behind him. This was followed by the sound of breaking glass. Blockbuster spun about to see a dark figure riding atop a batlike glider. He was vaguely familiar; Blockbuster felt a distinct feeling of deja vu.
The figure floated there, his vehicle seeming to ignore the Law of Gravity. "Hello, Blockbuster. Ready for round two?"
The voice... it clicked. "Vengeance!"
"My, on your first try to." responded Erik dryly. "Let's see... you deserve some kind of prize... I know! Seeing the current economic crisis, I'll help you out by streamlining your management!" Before Blockbuster could respond, Erik had blasted in. Desmond found his face on the receiving end of the glider's battering ram like end, and was sent through a nearby wall.
Several of the underbosses unholstered their firearms. Others fled for the door. Erik leapt into the air, his talons leaving their housings. He landed in front of the entrance before any escaped. "I think you have been in your positions too long. I suggest we impose some serious term limitations." He stabbed a man in the chest, eliminating both lungs with one attack. The man fell with a gurgle of blood. "All in favor... SAY DIE!" Erik was airborne once again, even as a few rounds of ammunition filled the air where he had been a moment before. A few rounds impacted those who had fled, but their deaths went unnoticed.
A man dressed in an expensive Italian suit was the next to go down, as his head and body parted ways. Next came a middle aged woman who was dressed in a dress that would have been more flattering on her before the ravages of age. She found out the hard way that one needed a jugular vein to live.
Two men opened fire at Erik from near the window he had just flown it. Erik barreled at them, totally ignoring the gunfire. He grabbed them, one in each arm, and kept going, flying back out the broken window.
"Hope you had a lousy summer, because you're GONNA HAVE A GREAT FALL!" Erik yelled, and let go. As the men screamed at the horrors of gravity, Erik did a tight 180 degree turn and flew back into the room, this time upside down. He reached another man firing at him and punched, his fist going right through the man's chest and exploding out his back. Erik turned the right way back up and removed the body from his arm like it was a fleck of lint.
Franklin sat in the corner, whimpering, as his remaining associates were cut down one by one. Finally, Vengeance turned his attention to him.
Franklin was clawing at the wall as if he could dig his way out. "Please! Don't hurt me! I'll give you anything! Anything at all!"
Erik, with a look of disdain evident on his face, stared at the terrified little man. Eh, why not? He deserves it.
"Hmmmph. You are all alike. You thing that you can do whatever you please, inflicting your horrors upon humanity. Drugs, prostitution, selling guns to kids... all for your own benefit. The little boy who can't get enough Heroin finances your new Mercedes. The teen who wants to shoot up the bullies that torment him buys your new TV. And because you end lives for your possessions, you become convinced that those possessions are of equal value with a life. Do you know how much I've been offered in my career?"
As his voice rose in volume, a katana seemed to melt from his right arm, as various cybernetic parts fashioned it from items already in storage.
"DO YOU? WELL, I'VE NEVER BEEN SWAYED BY BLOOD MONEY BEFORE, AND DAMNED IF I START NOW!"
With that, Mr. Franklin found the katana stuck in his chest up to the hilt. He attempted to move, but it became obvious that he was pinned to the wall by the weapon. Erik grinned as he twisted the blade. He released the hilt of the sword, and left the man to die.
By this time, Blockbuster had regained his feet. "YOU! THIS TIME, YOU DIE!"
Before Erik could respond, a sonic boom shook the room, knocking Blockbuster from his feet again. Phil blurred into existence in front of Erik and punched him out of the window.
Erik called out, "GLIDER!" The metal vehicle responded, maneuvering itself underneath the falling vigilante.
Erik halted the glider, looking at Phil in extreme annoyance. "You again! First Bug Man Woman, or whatever it was, now you! You two in cahoots or something?"
"It doesn't matter. Because this time for sure, you are…!"
Erik put his hands together and fired a blast at Phil. Phil dodged it, only to have it come around and nearly hit him in the back. While he was distracted, Erik flew over to the shattered window where Roland Desmond/Blockbuster, his suit torn and his eyes blazing, was watching the battle. Erik smirked.
"A little goodbye present Blockbuster!" Erik said as he held his hands up. Black energy exploded to life on them. "INSANITY LIGHT-ARRRGGHHH!' Erik yelled as Phil ploughed into him from the side. He got the blast off, but it went wide.
But it still headed in Blockbuster's direction. He felt the wind whistle as it flew past him, and he turned as it flew through the hole in the far wall.
"Oh dear…"
The blast exploded and every single window on the floor, along with the ones above and below it, blew out in a firestorm of power and wreckage. The top of the building sagged and then collapsed, breaking into a million pieces as it fell off the skyscraper and onto the streets below. Fortunately, no one was there (and Phil couldn't help but think Erik would have never used that attack if that wasn't the case). He blurred away and reappeared in front of Erik. Erik stopped the glider and they floated there, looking at each other.
"Perhaps I haven't made myself clear. You are under arrest, and there are two things you can do about it. Nothing, AND LIKE IT!" Phil snapped. He threw out his hands and dark purple energy enveloped them. "SHI SHI HOUKOU DAN!"
"Cease." Erik said.
And the jets on his glider suddenly cut off, and Erik was falling. Phil's attack went right over his head, zapping off and blowing up in the harbor. Phil's eyes widened.
"Re-engage!"
The jets fired again, and Erik zapped right underneath Phil before swinging up in another incredibly tight 180 degree arc. Phil yelled as the glider rammed into his spine, and then snarled as a large clamp spun out and slammed around him, locking him to the glider. Erik turned around again, and Phil found himself upside down and attached to the glider.
And then Erik went into an acrobatic display across the sky, putting on a one man show for an audience only he could see. Phil yelled and tried to get his bearing as the glider flew up and down and all around. He was used to flying, but he had never tried flying upside down while doing stunts, and it was proving massively disorienting. It was hard to zap the glider when he wasn't even sure which way was up.
"LET ME GO!"
"If you insist."
And the clamp opened, and Phil found himself flying through the air.
Right throw the window of the condemned building Erik had been heading for. There were various noises as Phil came to a not so perfect landing.
Snarling, Phil exploded out through the ceiling, as Erik flew up and did a long lazy arc, coming back towards him.
"Phil, calm down! This is his plan: Making you so mad you can't think! You have to use tactics! Do what you did before: Make HIM see red!" Io chimed in.
"I have to agree with the lady, Squire." Arthur said.
Me no like him. He have fire. Fire bad. Well, couldn't get advice from all of them.
"Make him mad huh?" Phil said, thinking about what snatching his wedding band had done to Erik, along with the comments about Celeste.
"HEY! JACKASS! YOUR MOTHER WAS A WHORE! YOUR WIFE IS A WHORE! YOUR KIDS WILL ALL BE WHORES!"
That did it. He couldn't see Erik's reaction, but the way he drastically changed direction and put his glider in a steep dive towards him was enough. He flew up to meet it. He'd catch the glider, and then maybe he'd toss Erik through a few buildings before he finally arrested him.
Erik kept his dive.
"Uh Phil, he may be mad, but is he really mad enough to dive directly at you?" Io said.
"What?"
And then Erik suddenly leapt up and off the glider. Phil's eyes widened. He jerked back as the glider zoomed past his feet and then Erik landed on him, fists first, sending him back down and into the roof of the condemned building. Phil smashed through several floors as Erik shot off a grappling hook and swung back into the air, his glider coming back up and swooping underneath him. He landed on it and flew away.
"My my, my luck is certainly holding out." Erik commented as he flew away. He gave Phil three seconds before…
The whole top of the building exploded as Phil floated up, his aura shining ten feet around him, a bright molten yellow.
Back at Blockbuster's ruined building, a huge figure clawed his way out from under the rubble. He looked at the damage and roared to the heavens, swearing that he would see Erik dead before the night fell again.
Elsewhere, a tall athletic figure wearing an armored bodysuit that had some similarities to Erik's, except this one had a blue stripe running down the shoulders and arms, watched. His eyes were blank, totally white behind his mask, but even they could express his confusion and wonderment as he watched some wacko fly on a glider around exploding buildings halfway across the city.
"What the hell is going on?" Nightwing said, and then decided he would find out for himself. A swing on a rope later, and he was gone.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE MESSING WITH!?!?!?!?" Phil roared, his aura turning into swirling, flaming energy. It focused around his hands as he raised them up. "I'LL SHOW YOU…HAH!" Phil yelled, and fired a blast off at Erik.
The glider's jets shifted and Erik flew away from the blast. Phil fired off attack after attack and the sky above Bludhaven filled with fireworks as Erik somehow dodged blast after blast, now handling the glider like he had flown it all his life.
Off on another roof, Ralph cursed and turned on the radio.
"PHIL! STOP! YOU'RE GONNA TRASH THE CITY!" Ralph said, and emphasized his point with some Force usage. Phil growled and ceased.
"You're right. Why am I shooting at him? I'm faster then that damn glider!"
And Phil blasted across the sky, a sonic boom ringing across the city. Erik's eyes widened as he suddenly found a smirking and very content Phil flying right along beside him.
"I do think up close and personal is so much better." Phil said, and aimed his hand at the glider.
"Brakes." Erik said calmly.
And the glider stopped on a dime. Phil suddenly found himself flying alone. He realized what had happened and slammed on his own brakes, turning around.
WHAM! Erik flew the glider right into Phil. Phil went flying backwards and did a few flips before he righted himself. His anger came roaring back.
"Phil! Control!" Ralph said on the radio. Phil reached up and checked for blood as Erik swooped around, like he was taunting him.
"Phil, listen. I'm gonna connect with you and use the Force to let you lock on a shot to his glider. Once that's gone, he'll be helpless for a bit. Catch him and arrest him, and whatever you do, do not let him go splat!"
"Just a little?"
"No!"
"Damn." Phil said, and held out his arm.
"Ok…I got it. Fire!"
"Improved Kamehameha!" Phil yelled, and fired off the blast. He watched it streak towards Erik.
Erik changed direction, but it followed him. He did it to a more extreme degree and it still followed him. Phil smiled and waited.
Erik changed direction again and headed right for Phil, the blast gradually catching up to him as he flew at him.
"Oh no ya don't." Phil said, and blurred away. Erik cursed and turned the glider around, reversing the jets so he was now flying backwards. He aimed his hand at the approaching laser beam.
"Piercing Strike!"
Nothing came out.
"Piercing Strike! Piercing Strike! What the hell!" Erik said. He then realized his glider was considerably heavier again, and looked down to see Phil hanging on it. He smiled and waved, holding up a small device.
"Reality Checker. And reality says that people can't focus and fire energy out of their hands." Phil said. Erik swiped at him, but Phil let go, turning off the Reality Checker and clipping it back on his belt as he watched Erik fly on. The option of canceling out his blast with a blast of his own was now lost to Erik: If he did it, the resulting explosion would trash his glider and probably him too. Good thing his blast hadn't gotten within range of the Reality Checker, or…
"EMERGENCY EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Erik yelled, and suddenly jumped up.
And Phil gaped as Erik's glider suddenly split into three parts and each flew in a different direction. The blast became confused and spiraled around, finally flying off into the sky and god knows where.
Erik plummeted, but he clearly had things in control, as he shot off another grappling hook and used the momentum of the fall to swing up and across. The terminal velocity would have torn a normal man's arm right out of the socket, but Erik's metal limb weathered the strain with no apparent ill effects. Erik flipped and landed perfectly on a moving train, the wood cracking under his feet. He stood and looked for his glider.
Then Phil blurred in front of him, his teeth bared and his fists clenched. For a moment, the two stood on the fast moving train and looked at each other.
"You know, I have fought alien armies, nigh-invulnerable magical beings, genetically perfected bionic warriors, and heartless queens (Io voiced a protest at that one, but Phil silenced her with the mental equivalent of a hard look) with immeasurably powerful artifacts at their command, and yet, somehow, you have managed to become a bigger headache then ALL OF THEM COMBINED." Phil growled.
Erik struck a combat pose and started doing martial arts motions.
"Your headache…" Pose. "Is about…" Another pose. " To become…" One last pose, and Erik seemed poised to attack.
And then, strangely, he suddenly lowered into a crouch, his hand on one cheek, looking content.
"Worse."
The platform smashed across the back of Phil's head, the cheap wood shattering all around Phil as he was smashed down onto his face. As the pain exploded, the small part of Phil's mind that could still think realized Erik had been doing the poses to distract him, until the train had reached the overhang.
Erik leapt up and over the platform just before he hit it.
"GLIDER!"
His glider swooped in and reformed, flying below him. He landed on it and flew off as Phil tried to get to his feet. Erik was right, his headache had gotten worse, on all sides. A low growl built in his throat.
Then his eyes widened as he realized Erik had turned around and was flying back at him.
WHAM! Erik flew right into Phil again. His wooziness from the previous blow kept him from mounting any effective defense, and the blow tossed him off the train.
At least the landing was soft, as Phil fell into the mucky, muddy swamps that the train was driving past.
Filthy, hurting, and angry that Erik was again somehow showing him up, Phil slowly stood. In the back of his mind, he wondered why the swampwater hadn't caused him to change again (maybe there was too much mud and not enough water?) Before he could find out, he blew the mud off him with a power up and floated up, glaring at Erik's flying form.
"Ralph, can you do that lock on thing again?"
"Sure Phil…but won't he just split up the glider again?"
"Yes…but this time, I won't aim for the glider."
"Phil!"
"Just do it!"
"I will not let you zap him!"
"Oh no, the blast is for the glider."
"But you said…"
"DO IT!"
"Ok, got it!"
Phil raised his hand and fired off another blast. Erik watched it approach and follow him as he tried to dodge.
"Not this again. Emergency evasive maneuvers, again!" Erik said, and jumped off the glider as it split. The blast flew by…
And Phil blurred into existence in front of Erik, grabbing him by the shirt. Erik's eyes widened as Phil smiled, a gruesome smile.
"This game ends, now." Phil hefted Erik over his shoulder, and cocked his arm back. "PULL!" Erik went flying through the air and found himself on the receiving end of a bolt of energy. It kept him airborne while Phil prepared his next assault.
Phil spread his arms out. "Multiform Technique!" Phil's form blurred for a moment, until there were four where one had stood. All four blasted up after Erik.
As the Chi bolt finally dissipated, Erik almost got a chance to call for his glider. Then, Phil's fist knocked the air out of him. The impact sent him flying towards the ground, only to find that there was another Phil in his way. This time, Phil's copy spun around to give his kick extra momentum.
Before Erik could loose his inertia, yet another Phil blurred into existence before him, grabbed his shirt, threw him upwards and spiked him like a volleyball. This continued, with three of the Phils playing an airborne game of volleyball with Erik.
The remaining Phil wasn't idle. He had filled the air with hot Chi, then used the Soul of Ice technique to make sure that he was putting off cold energy. Then, he flew in a spiral, reaching a predetermined midpoint, and thrust his fist upwards. Phil cried out, "HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!" As the hot and cold fronts met, they produced a gigantic whirlwind.
Bruised and bloody, Erik looked down in time to see the cyclone whipping up towards him. The three Phils had placed him directly at ground zero. "Ah, shit." For a few moments, Erik knew what those cows stuck in a twister felt like, as strong winds robbed the air from his lungs, and pelted him with debris. Then, the wind stopped, and he was in free fall once again.
He sucked in a breath. "GLI... OOF!" Phil, having remerged into one being, had shot up at Erik as fast as he could go. Both of his fists impacted Erik's gut, stopping him from calling for the glider. The two flew up and up, until they were about at ten thousand feet. The air was much colder and thinner there, but Phil didn't seem to notice.
Grabbing Erik by the front of his shirt, Phil slapped his face back and forth for a few moments. Only when Phil sensed that Erik was on the brink of blacking out did he halt his assaults.
"You're pretty good, kid, but you must understand…the Physics Police, they always get their man." Phil said, as Erik twitched a bit, his eyes glazed. His hand brushed Phil's side in some futile last gesture of defiance. Phil smirked and continued to gloat, thoroughly enjoying himself. "We do. By any means, by hook, by crook…"
Erik's hands seized on something and yanked it off Phil's outfit. Phil's eyes widened as Erik's eyes cleared, and he held up the Reality Checker.
"Bye bye." Erik said, and pressed it.
The laws of Physics took over, and suddenly Phil found himself plummeting, his ki flight power deactivated. He let go and flailed at Erik, trying to get the Reality Checker back. Erik yanked it away, as he pulled at his arm, trying to remove something.
"YOU MORON! LOOK WHAT YOU DID! WE'RE FALLING!" Phil screamed, as Erik pressed something on the Reality Checker. "GIVE THAT BACK!"
Erik did, but not as Phil expected, as he suddenly reared back and smacked the Reality Checker onto Phil's chest. Button down first. Phil felt the stickiness. Glue.
"No, actually, YOU'RE falling." Erik said, and kicked Phil, sending him flying backwards and out of the Reality Checker's sphere. He whistled and his glider flew up and under him, carrying him away. "Happy landings, ossifer!"
Phil ignored the taunt as he frantically pulled at the Reality Checker. But the adhesive Erik had used was apparently very quick drying. Phil tore and yanked, as the ground rushed up to meet him. C'mon, c'mon, C'MON…
The Reality Checker tore free, and Phil smashed the button down. It deactivated.
And then Phil hit the street at terminal velocity, going right through a car and leaving a crater in the concrete. The last second deactivation had kept Phil from being splattered all over the street, but even his immensely strong body was knocked silly by the impact. As new colors danced in his vision, Phil's last words were curses towards Erik.
Ralph ran over to the crater, followed closely by Ecks.
"Phil! Is he ok?" Ecks said, worried, as Ralph reached out with the force.
"Yes. He isn't even injured, well, severely. He'll have a nasty bruise. C'mon Phil, wake up." Goddamn vigilante. Just when you think he has a bad hand, he pulls a card out from under his sleeve. The cost: A whole lot of property damage to Bludhaven. The Chief is gonna have our asses…
"Ralph!"
"What?"
"He's coming back!"
"What?" Ralph said, and turned around as Erik finished his dive down to street level at one end of the street and blasted at them. I thought he'd be long gone by now! What the hell is he trying to do, take us ALL out? Well, if he wants to be a fool and walk right back into our arms just after he barely escaped them, I will gladly let him! Ralph said, and ignited his lightsaber. "Ecks! Give me some room!"
Ecks ran to the side, and Ralph hefted his lightsaber as Erik blasted at him. Time for a Return of the Jedi moment, and while it ain't a speeder bike, it'll do! He lifted the lightsaber and…
Erik suddenly changed course, zapping to the side and away from Ralph.
Right towards Ecks.
She squealed in surprise and tried to move, but she was too slow. Ralph gaped as Erik blasted past him and snatched Ecks off the street, and her squeal turned into a scream of distress.
"RALPH!"
"ECKS!" Ralph yelled, as Erik flew off with the would-be Sailor Senshi. He growled, sounding like Phil, and reached out with the Force. The glider hadn't escaped unscathed from the fight, and Ralph had seen the damage on one wing as Erik had swooped past him. His mind focused on that damage, visualizing it in his mind, and struck. Force Push!
The right wing suddenly snapped off, and Erik squawked as his glider shifted and went out of control. The straight line became a weaving zigzag as Erik fought for control.
Ralph watched, and then he realized that he had miscalculated. He had expected Erik to leapt off the glider and hence leave Ecks. He hadn't expected Erik to keep trying to fly the damn thing!
Ecks screamed as the glider lurched around the corner, Erik still trying to get control.
And Ralph's heart lurched as he heard the explosion, and then he was running, heading around the corner.
The glider was a burning ruin at one end of the street, along with the crater it had left in the building when it had crashed. Ralph faltered, looking at the flames as they licked at the building. Ecks' last scream echoed in his mind.
I can't sense her. That either means she's unconscious or…
Ralph sensed that Phil was beside him, and he wanted an explanation, but for the moment, all Ralph could feel was failure.
A while later, Ecks slowly woke up. As she did, she slowly processed she was in a chair, and that she was restrained. The last thing she realized was that she wasn't alone. She opened her eyes and blinked at the light. Then she saw Erik standing against the wall, and wished she hadn't opened her eyes.
"Your companions have been hounding me since this whole mess began, you among them. Yet I have no idea why…"
And then Erik was in her face. She stared into his lone organic eye, a cold crystal blue, and the other one, a dead metallic silver.
"I'd like to know, young lady. And I'd like to know now."
End Part 53
