So this is it huh, the end of the fight and the end of part 2 of the story. I feel like a few words should be said in honour of this….if anyone has any let me know.
I don't own Worm or Ben Ten, for like the 16th time now.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x
Someone was going to die.
As the rain poured down onto deserted streets, washing away the rubble and blood of the previous battle, the three combatants knew it. There was no promise or proclamation. No oaths in blood or tears. Not even the briefest vocalization of the fact.
But instinctively, they all felt it. Only one person would walk away from this fight, and each fighter here was determined to make sure it was them.
Victoria's teeth clenched as she shot towards her opponent, cape flapping in the wind with her fist cocked back and ready to let loose.
Lung towered over the street, his reptilian body surrounded by steam and glowing red with heat as he gathered a storm of flames within his chest to burn his adversaries to the bone.
Chimera stood between them, his damp black hair matted onto his face as he glared hatefully at his two challengers.
Reaching into his well of abilities, Chimera felt his perception of time slow to a crawl-the world around him now moving at a fraction of its normal speed. Each raindrop became visible, his two aggressors now moving as if through water. With these few extra seconds gained, he analyzed his surroundings. That girl from earlier-she hit hard, but couldn't take much punishment herself, she shouldn't be an issue, but he had more than her to worry about. Lung-turns out the guy lived up to his reputation, he was tough. And the longer they fought, the tougher he seemed to get. Plus him turning into a LITERAL DRAGON, seemed to be doing a lot for him. He was a handful on his own, but add little miss hero and things might start getting a little hairy for him. He had to play this right.
He looked to Lung, a torrent of fire starting to flood out from his throat.
He looked to the girl, flying closer by the second and getting ready to clock him.
A plan formed in his head, causing him to smirk malevolently.
He waited a few more seconds, allowing the girl to get closer, before in a blur of motion-he moved.
He caught her in one hand, slamming her into the ground before he sprouted a large crystal wall from the street to smash her into-the girl grunting from the harsh treatment. With his palm pressed up against her, he molded a vest of crystal over her torso, entrapping her against the wall.
He gave her one mean smirk before turning intangible and sinking into the ground.
Victoria barely even got a second to realise what happened before being consumed in a giant ball of fire-the large attack detonating with a loud thunderclap that echoed through the abandoned city streets.
The smoke cleared, showing the already ruined street was now completely immolated, the ground glowing and smoking, the surrounding buildings having their walls cracked and covered in soot from the force of the explosion. At the other end of the street, in a large pile of shattered crystals, Victoria laid groaning-her shields taking the brunt of the damage, but not saving her from the heat and impact of the shockwave.
Lung growled, turning his long neck in every direction for his real opponent.
Chimera's ghostly form shot up from the street, solidifying and rocketing into Lung's lower jaw, his mouth forcefully clicking shut with his head jerking backwards. Chimera circled back around, his wings buzzing madly before ramming into Lung's large chest, knocking the draconian villain onto his back, the impact rattling the street. Atop his chest, Chimera molded his crystal hand into a large spike before stabbing deeply into Lung's heart.
Lung swiped Chimera off of him, the villain being launched through entire city blocks and skidding to a stop a few streets over. Shaking his head, Chimera stood up slowly, his head spinning from the powerful blow. He looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of Lung, now airborne and hurtling his massive bulk down towards him. Before he could make a move, Lung was blindsided when a truck suddenly flew into his face, knocking the giant man to the side and having him fall on and crumble an apartment complex. Momentarily distracted, Chimera was unprepared when Victoria suddenly appeared in front of him,snarling with a small white car clenched tightly in her hands-she reared back, twisting her body and swung as hard as she could, the front of the car bashing heavily into his face. He stumbled back, Victoria continuing the assault and smashing him over and over-the vehicle breaking and crunching with every connected hit.
She flew up lifting the crumbled car above her head and brought it down like a hammer-only for Chimera to catch the blow with his magma arm-the metal quickly turning red and beginning to melt as he squeezed it between his fingers.
He swiped it from her hands and swung, connecting it with her raised arms as she guarded her front, the hit tossing her across the street and through a store window-the glass leaving shallow cuts all over her body and clothes before her shields could replenish.
Not even given a second to breathe. Chimera was quickly reminded of Lung when he was suddenly snatched up by the giant dragon's claws. Lung lifted him up into the air before spiking him into the ground, his massive frame cratering the ground before Lung threw down his large fists-pushing him deeper and deeper into the ground with every heavy blow that landed, until he was eventually buried deep in a hole. Chimera groaned quietly, his vision swimming from the fierce punishment he just took. He blinked, a bright light blinding him before he was drowned in a concentrated flood of fire, the red hot flames pushing him deeper into the crater.
Lung's head was seized back, the stream of fire carving through the surrounding buildings, leaving behind trails of molten slag as Victoria yanked his head to and fro by the crown of horns .
"Back off Lung!"She growled while pulling,"He's mine!"
Lung wrenched his head free, stretching out his wing to swat her aside and refocus on Chimera.
He roared in frustration when he saw Chimera was gone.
Lung spread his senses, turning every which way and listening for anything that might give him an idea of where Chimera might show up from-forgetting that there was another participant in this fight.
Victoria zoomed in, fists held out in front as she flew towards Lung.
"I said back off!"She screamed before impacting Lung's cheek, his head snapping to the side with a loud crash as he staggered and fell onto a building.
Lung glared up at her with his molten eyes, the rumbling in his chest being the only warning she got before he opened his jaw, a wave of fire spewing from his throat. Victoria swerved in the air, wincing when the fire got too close and she felt the immense heat that came from the flames. So distracted by the fires, she was unprepared for when Lung leapt forward and entrapped her within his claws. Even with his twisted mouth, Lung smirked down at her as he began to squeeze, making the young heroine groan and struggle in his grasp.
Victoria grit her teeth as Lung crushed her in his claws, the pressure slowly building to the point where she could feel her shields begin to struggle against the force.
When it seemed like he was just about to break her, he stopped-causing Victoria to blink in confusion.
Lung's head spun around, eyes locking on the twisted form of Chimera, smiling pleasantly as he stood on the roof of a building, one foot on the ledge and his crystal arm leaning against his knee. One of his lower arms rose up to wave at him.
"Don't mind me,"He said dismissively,"By all means, keep going."
Lung growled murderously, tossing Victoria away and charging for the other villain.
Chimera watched him approach, smiling all the while as Lung bellowed and raised his fists above his head. Chimera jumped into the air, his wings carrying him higher as Lung smashed the building into rubble and dust. Lung raised his head, seeing Chimera hovering in the air and smiling challengingly at him.
"Come on!"He shouted before shooting into the air.
Lung spread his wings, the large bat-like membranes stretching out before flapping powerfully, a huge gust of wind displacing the rain and propelling Lung's body up and after his opponent.
Victoria picked herself off of a flattened car, frantically looking around before spotting the other two capes ascending into the air. She prepared to follow after them before she was stopped by a brief flash of pain in her side. She looked down, grimacing as her hands gently went to her ribs. Peeling back the ruined fabric of her dress, she noticed a long jagged gash across her side, a constant stream of blood leaking from the opening. Her breath hitched, the injury reminding her of the one her sister had healed on that night three weeks ago. The same night that had dragged her down from her proud heights and shattered her image of invincibility. Her throat began to constrict. She stepped back, falling onto the wrecked car and sighing exhaustedly. In this momentary drop of peace, she was finally allowing herself to stop and think.
Her skin felt hot, her mouth was dry, and the pain in her side made her feel uneasy-vulnerable...weak. Her lips began to tremble while her eyes burned. Ever since that night, she was choked by rage and helplessness. She'd snapped at Dean when he was trying to help, she'd pushed away Amy when she was just trying to be there for her. She could barely even sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes all she saw was that bastard's smug face leering down at her with his foot on her neck. She'd broken her desk one night when she woke up crying and swinging-only to spend the rest of the same night sobbing in the bathroom as she washed her face.
Her fists clenched painfully, the cuts on her hands blaring in protest. It wasn't fair, this, all of this, it wasn't fair!
Through blurred vision, she looked around at all the destruction, the fire and smoke, the broken buildings and shattered streets-her heart squeezed with grief. Being a hero was fun, she loved the thrill of fighting bad guys. But as she looked around her, gazing in numb reverence at the sheer magnitude of the ruination around her, she realized that she had no place in this battle. This was beyond her. Heroes and villains? No, not anymore. Brockton Bay-her home-was a playground for monsters. And what did she think she could do to stop it?
Her face crumbled as the tears began to flow, she dropped her head in her hands and wept.
She wept for her family-broken and utterly lifeless.
She wept for her pride-stolen from her and dashed right in front of her eyes.
She wept for her home-ruined and barely standing.
Her hands went to her hair, clenching fistfuls of hair as she sobbed in the desolate city.
It was too much.
What could she do?
Hiccuping and sniffling in the silence, a memory slowly crept into her mind. One from almost a lifetime ago, when she had first gotten her powers and began to be a hero. Aunt Sarah was lecturing her about what New Wave was supposed to mean, what their goal and message was as a team of Independents-she was hardly listening at the time, so excited to be like her family and fight crime. Though, one thing stuck out to her, even as she barely paid any attention, one thing she said always rang proud and clearly in her head:
"Victoria, listen to me, being a hero is not as easy as you think it is. When you're out there, and you're in the heat of the moment, there's so much to think about and consider-and so little time to make a decision. People's lives depend on you making the right call. But, what you do and don't do is always a coin flip: there will be a chance you'll succeed and a chance you'll fail. Truthfully, most of the time you'll probably do both. Unless you've got a good precog on your side, there's no chance you'll always make the most sound judgements. But that's okay, you're still human. And as long as you do everything in your power to do what you believe is right; then you'll make a great hero one day, I promise."
'Did I do it aunt Sarah?'She thought miserably,'Did I do the best I could, for what I thought was right?'
Her pondering was interrupted by a loud roar, causing her to look up into the sky. The clouds dispersing as plumes of fire tore through them while Lung and Chimera battled in the storm, the two monsters no doubt violently tearing each other apart.
As she felt the rain across her face, staring up at the heavens that were being filled with rage and heat, Victoria felt in her heart, the answer to her question.
No.
No she had not done her best.
Has she ever done her best? Did she ever go into anything with nothing but the utmost seriousness and determination to do her best and triumph? Or had she always been lax? Relying on her image and powers to keep her safe instead of pushing herself to be greater than who she was? Her jaw tightened at the answers she already knew.
So then, if she knew all this, then the new question was; when was she gonna start to do her best?
An explosion echoed through the air, lighting a spark in her core that caused her hands to slowly close into fists. She breathed in deep before releasing it in a slow sigh as she stood up.
She focused her gaze on the sky, the spark growing into a burning fire that ran through her veins, muting the pain as she steeled her heart.
No time like the present.
She rocketed into the air.
Through rain and wind she soared, her cape and dress flapping in the turbulence as she ascended. It wasn't long before she breached the layer of clouds, her eyes immediately falling on the battle between the two beasts.
Lung seemed to have grown some more, now sporting another set of wings and arms as he flung waves after wave of fire at Chimera, who was flying circles around his larger adversary, blasting away at him with his eye laser and laying a barrage of large crystal spikes at his weakest spots-the biggest shards being jammed into his stomach.
Victoria beheld this-feeling her heart pound frantically in her chest. She gulped nervously, yet still determined to fight.
While the two were distracted, she shot higher up into the air, soaring past the storm clouds and into the light of the half-moon-the pale glow momentarily blinding her before she spun around, her eyes zeroing in on the glow from Lung's fire.
Clenching her fists, she descended, gravity and her own propulsion working together as she reached terminal velocity in seconds.
Piercing through the cloud barrier like an arrow, she honed in on Chimera's bulky form as he hovered in place, watching Lung's eye regenerate after being gouged out by a vicious stab. He was unprepared when Victoria suddenly slammed into him from above, briefly stunning him as the speed and power she rammed into him exited the air in his lungs and caused him to release a choked cry of pain and surprise. The two fell in a tangled mess, grappling with each other as they snarled and tried to overpower one another in the dizzying descent.
Chimera eventually threw her off of him, launching her away and realigning himself in the air. She caught herself soon after, leveling out and glaring at him defiantly. He glared back, the two only stopping when a loud roar reached their ears. Their struggle had given Lung enough time to spot them before he flew after the pair, his silver scales burning with white hot fire and descending from the clouds like a fallen angel.
"Alright, that's it!"Chimera hissed in annoyance.
He flew towards Victoria, firing a large fireball that caused her to dodge to the side, and distract her long enough for him to go invisible.
Victoria looked all around her, searching frantically for Chimera before she felt a heavy weight clutch around her neck. She reached up, attempting to free herself from whatever it was before a powerful hit smashed her in the face, disabling her shield before she gasped in pain-feeling what felt like 5 large knives stabbed into her stomach.
Chimera reappeared, her head in his large crystal hand and the black talons on one of his lower arms sheathed in her abdomen. He leaned in close to her, sneering as he looked into her wide trembling eyes and growled,"You're done."
He forcefully ripped his claws out, hearing her release a cry of agony while a brief spray of blood shot out of her stomach. He tossed her away and watched dispassionately as she fell to the city below.
"Now that that's outta the way,"He said, turning back to the rapidly approaching Lung,"Where were we?"
Lung glared, the talons on his four arms shining and ready to tear him to shreds.
Chimera shot up to meet him, his crystal hand once more turning into a giant spike. Lung swung his scaled arm, the blow being inconsequential as Chimera turned intangible and had the massive strike go right through him before he reformed and scraped a large gash on Lung's neck as he passed, blood momentarily flying out from the forceful opening.
Chimera turned in the air, quickly catching the injury seal itself back up as Lung swung around, his giant wings disbanding clouds as he tried to fly back up.
A sly smirk stretched across Chimera's face.
'Gotcha.'He thought maliciously.
He clenched his crystal fist, slowly opening it up as a large jagged crystal spear began to grow in his palm.
Holding his new weapon in both hands, Chimera dive bombed after Lung.
Lung finally adjusted himself in the air, looking up to find Chimera descending upon him with a mad smile on his face. Lung spewed an ocean of flames at him, Chimera holding up his magma arm-blocking and absorbing the fire as it poured out of Lung's mouth. When he was close enough, Chimera released the energy stored within his arm, detonating a powerful explosion that cleared all the clouds surrounding the two and hurling Lung through the sky, the villain roaring in pain as a few patches of scales had been blasted off his body. Chimera collided with Lung in the air, finding one of his exposed spots before lifting his spear over his head and stabbing it into the soft flesh below him. Lung bellowed as Chimera shoved the long spear deeper into his abdomen, the jagged edges painfully ripping muscle and sinew as it tore through and imbedded itself into his chest.
Chimera jumped off of the falling villain, his wings buzzing loudly as he flew up and watched with a smile as Lung collided with the street, his impact shaking the city as he bounced and skidded across the ground, turning block after block into piles of rubble with his massive body.
Lung growled, lifting himself out of the mountains of dust and debris he had wound up in. He looked up to the sky, finding Chimera's bulky body hovering in the air with his arms crossed triumphantly.
"Hey Lung! Guess what?"He called out, smiling sinisterly,"I win."
He lifted his crystal arm, pointing it towards Lung and clenched his fingers.
Lung's eyes widened as a stabbing pain erupted in his chest, causing him to roar in agony. He toppled over, his hands went to his chest as he felt his insides sliced and pierced. Soon, green crystal spikes shot out of his stomach, rivers of blood spraying out as the wounds were unable to close with the crystal spear in his chest growing more and more, the jagged spines intertwining with his bones and muscles-making it impossible to dislodge.
Lung let out a loud deafening bellow, the excruciating torture of being torn apart from the inside out causing him to convulse and tremble. His entire body was eventually lifted up on a mountain of spikes, the crystals continuing to ravage his body as they grew shredded all throughout his body, protruding out of his shoulders, back, legs, neck and mouth, blood and scales erupting from every spike that blasted through his body like a scarlet fountain.
Chimera landed just before his foe, watching in satisfaction as Lung was hoisted up in the air like a grand monument for all of the city to see. Twitching and agonized as he was from his position, Lung's eyes still zeroed in on Chimera, his burning pupils shining with unfathomable levels of pain and hatred.
"Aww, don't look at me like that, you're gonna make me cry,"He snickered,"You were the toughest thing in this stinking place, and I took you down. Let this be a lesson to everyone here, nobody messes with me, anyone who does, well, you got the idea."
He held up his crystal arm.
"Thanks for all the fun big guy, it was a blast!"
He clenched his fist.
A giant crown of crystals pierced through Lung's head, skewering his brain and killing him instantly. His twitching slowed as the light in his eyes faded, leaving behind a giant draconian corpse, covered in blood and viscera.
Chimera looked at his work appreciatively.
'Not bad at all.'He thought smugly,'My best work yet. But I feel like I'm forgetting something...oh yeah!'
He took off from the ground, leaving the defeated corpse of his enemy behind as he went to tie up a loose end.
Within a large crater, trembling from torment and fear, Victoria Dallon lay dying.
She clutched her stomach futilely trying to stem the bleeding. Pained tears ran down her face as waves of intense pain rippled across her stomach from the large stab wounds.
Her face was pale, and her breathing started to hitch. She knew; she didn't have long.
The acknowledgement of the thought brought a new wave of tears down her face as she reflected on everything she ever said and did. All the people she unwittingly hurt and pushed away. If she had more time, she 'd tell them all how much they really meant to her.
'Mom, dad, Amy, Dean…'She thought morosely, while sobbing quietly,' I'm sorry, i'm so sorry.'
As she cried, a loud impact startled her, causing her to turn her head and see the face of the one responsible for all her misery.
Chimera smirked teasingly down at her.
"Aww is the wittle hewo cwying?"He mocked before chuckling cruelly.
"You son of a bitch!"She weakly hissed. He smirked.
"Now that's just mean."He admonished,"No need to be so nasty."
Her fists clenched in frustration and hatred of his attitude. He sneered down at her.
"You should've just walked away."He spat,"I let you go the first time, that was a mistake. Now, I'm here to make sure you don't come back."
He stood over her, leering down at her with his mocking eyes.
"I'll ask you one last time."He began,"Any last words, hero?"
She mustered up the last of her strength to meet his gaze and grinned nastily.
"Oh?"He inquired,"What're you so happy about?"
She laughed with a strange derangement to her voice. If she was gonna die, than she was gonna go with this bastard being as angry with her as possible.
"You're fucked.''She croaked softly, her words causing him to frown,"You think you're so tough, ha! You stupid bitch. You stayed here too long. They'll come for you. The Triumvirate, they'll make you wish you were never born. When they show up, you'll be crying for mercy."
Her grin widened.
"Your only chance would be to run away, but even then, they'll get you. You won't escape."
She laid back, staring up at the sky as the rain began to clear, her face oddly serene.
"Too bad I won't be able to see you get what you deserve."She whispered.
Chimera stared down at her, an aggravated expression on his face as her words struck a chord in him. He lifted his foot over her head, Victoria gently closing her eyes as she waited.
Teeth grit at the peaceful expression on her face, Chimera considered what she said, the challenge burning a hole in his chest. With a sharp click of his teeth, the sharp bones sparking off each other, he growled down at the accepting teen,"Let em come."
He stomped down.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Welp, here we are. The end of the fight, plus the end of part 2. Gonna be honest, not sure how I feel about it. I feel like it didn't go the way I saw it going. Oh well, nothing to do but do better next time.
When next we meet, we'll be in part 3 of the story.
Review and tell me what you think, stay safe and have a good night.