Chapter 41

Darkness.

It was only a matter of minutes after the group of fighters had arrived at Wood Oak City when everything changed. The bright lights from the city skyscrapers and street lamps suddenly switched off abruptly in succession, leading the whole place into darkness. The team understood that the Y-Syndicate had now taken full control of Wood Oak's power supply and were behind the outage.

The city was now in ruins and by the time Adam and the others flew in via helicopter. Many places were burning as a result of multiple explosions that the twins had planned around the city. They, and the media, had blamed these attacks on the group of heroes. The smoke left in the air was thick even though they were standing outside on the damp streets after it rained. The fires in the distance provided some light, but by now the sidewalks felt deserted.

They looked up towards the entrance of Wood Oak Central Hospital. The buildings around it were all out of power, but they could see the hospital was now running on its own emergency generator. Again, the entrance to the place felt more like the aftermath of an apocalypse rather than a public building. It was empty with beds and wheelchairs abandoned in the emergency department whilst papers were scattered all over the floors. The windows were shattered and glass was everywhere under their feet. It was clear that an explosion earlier had decimated the entrance to the hospital.

The team cautiously made their way up the stairwell under the dim blue lights switched on from the generator.

"Can you hear that?" Adam paused in his tracks with caution after hearing screaming in the distance.

15 police officers wearing shields and holding batons instantly charged down the steps towards them. Without hesitation, Shiva was first to react, breaking the first police shield using his signature dashing moon kick. Floyd, who was close behind him then lifted two of the officers up with ease, crashing their skulls together effortlessly in mid air. The scene quickly turned into a fighting brawl that was over in a matter of seconds due to their fighting efficiency.

"We're just gettin' started!" Adam smirked, rolling up his sleeves with a hint of excitement under his breath.

They were cautious as they continued to climb up the steps, covering each other in case any more enemies dared to surprise them. Cherry felt startled for a moment with her guard up as one woman tried to reach for her arm.

"Help me, please!" The lady in her mid 40s appeared with blood all over her hands and neck.

"What's goin' on?" Adam asked her with concern.

"I need to get the rest of the patients out. Everyone else has left!" She panicked with tears in her eyes.

"Looks like they wern't kiddin' about the bomb in here…" Floyd remarked.

"Please, theres not much time…"

"Calm down. Where is it then?" Blaze asked her.

"I think it's in one of the elevator shafts. I can hear a beeping sound up there…."

"More fighters are coming!" Cherry shouted with urgency after hearing footsteps running up the stairs. "What should we do?"

Blaze was quick and decisive to answer her, "how many can you see?"

"At least 20!"

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Adam, myself and Axel will hold them off for now in case we have to use our powers. Cherry and Shiva, your two of our fastest movers. Get any civilians out as quick as you can, we'll cover you!"

"What about the bomb?" Max asked.

"That's where you and Floyd come in. He's the best expert amongst us to disarm that thing and the two of you are the strongest to hold open that elevator shaft."

"I gotcha," the wrestler nodded.

"Yeah, we can do this!" Floyd agreed.

Within seconds, the group were ambushed by more fighters, but they stuck to the plan. Axel, Adam and Blaze made it easy for Cherry and Shiva to get the civilians past the ruthless thugs that were attacking the building.

"Just like old times then, huh?" Axel remarked at Adam after throwing a blond male fighter called Dylan backwards. His kick had narrowly missed Adam's skull.

"Thanks, man!" Adam replied. "I can't remember the last time the three of us were stood here together whoopin ass like this!" The boxer grinned.

"Don't get too celebratory boys, these aren't even their best fighters!" Blaze pessimistically folded her arms having just suplexed one of the punkish female fighters down the stairwell. She then stood, idly running her fingers through her long brown hair, almost bored with her enemies now lying helplessly on the ground.

"I gotta admit, you've progressed well as a fighter," Axel complemented her.

"This is nothing. It's amazing what resilience does to a person, don'tcha think?" She answered bluntly, brushing past him.

Meanwhile, the two strongest members of the group approached the elevator shaft with caution. As predicted, the doors to the shaft were sealed magnetically shut due to the power outage.

As Floyd stepped forward, Max held out one hand in front to stop him.

"What is it?" Floyd asked.

"Sometimes thugs like to jump out of these things unexpectedly. Just keep your eyes open kid".

And as Max went to open the doors, Floyd replicated the gesture in stopping him this time. "Let me. These doors could be electrically charged. It won't shock me if I try to open it."

"Be my guest…" Max casually shrugged.

With ease, Floyd pulled open the doors which to his relief, produced no electric current.

Below they could see a 10 floor drop with the top of the elevator below them stuck somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd floor.

"Damn that's one steep drop down there!" Floyd took a deep exhale.

"Can you make the climb?" Max asked as the two of them looked up, noticing the bomb they wanted flashing right at the top close to the roof of the building.

"Yeah, just hold the doors open in the meantime for me."

"Sure thing!" Max nodded. The wrestler then pinned himself between the doors of the shaft to prevent them from closing between his back and his feet, whilst Floyd climbed the inner wall using the surrounding cables.

Impressively, the Maori fighter wasn't just physically strong, but he was one of the smartest members of the team. He had been well trained in disarming bombs, creating bombs as well as bomb disposals by Dr Zan. And it didn't take him long to figure out how to stop the device.

"Just one more wire and…"

There was a slight pause and a moment of him holding his breath. Then finally, the bomb device fell silent, it stopped bleeping and Floyd took a long exhale of relief.

"Told you, I got this. Now let's get the hell outta here!"

Strangely however, Max had become unresponsive. It was as if he was ignoring everything that Floyd was now saying to him.

"Hey Max, did you hear me? We can get out of here now, I'm coming down!"

Just as Floyd started to climb down the shaft, Max's demeanour suddenly switched. The wrestler unexpectedly removed a small grenade from his back pocket, pulling out the pin then throwing it mid air into the shaft. The grenade landed between two of the cables situated close to Floyd.

"Max what the hell are you doing?!" He started to panic as he frantically climbed down. But it was too late. Max decided to remove himself from between the doors, before they abruptly slammed shut, leaving Floyd stuck inside the shaft in darkness. Within seconds, the grenade Max had thrown exploded. It filled the whole shaft with smoke, causing Floyd to fall several levels down until he landed hard and unconscious on top of the roof of the elevator stationary several floors below them.

Max had now left Floyd for dead, but the others knew that something was wrong as soon as they heard the explosion and the building shaking around them.

"Do you think it's the bomb?" Cherry worriedly asked Shiva.

"No. That would have caused the whole place to explode…."

The two of them remained focussed, doing their best to calm down any civilians and hospital staff that were moving to safety.

Max then appeared at the entrance to the hospital where Blaze, Adam and Axel were still fighting. His face was red and he appeared to be distressed and in a sweat.

"Max! What's wrong? What happened?" Blaze asked him with concern, placing one hand gently on his shoulder.

"It's Floyd! He disarmed the bomb but it caused another explosion up in there. I need help getting him out of the shaft, he's trapped in there!"

"Okay, I'll come with you," Adam snappishly replied.

"...No!..." Max hesitated for a moment, turning his gaze to Axel.

"What do you mean?" Adam queried, confused by his answer.

"I er… I mean I need the two of you to come with me! One of us needs to keep the doors open…. The kid's heavy!"

"More fighters are coming right now, but the civilians are almost out. We just need 5 minutes tops!" Axel replied.

"It's ok, I can hold them off. Go and get Floyd out." Blaze nodded, reassuring him.

"But the plan was that we stick together…" Axel worriedly shrugged.

"I know, but you gotta get Floyd out of there! Besides, once Shiva and Cherry get the civilians to safety, they can come back and fight by my side. I'll be ok!"

"Ok" Axel sighed. "Just be careful".

Within less than a minute, the three men were upstairs back to where Max and Floyd had started. As soon as they forced open the elevator shaft, they could see Floyd amongst the smoke helplessly lying on top of the roof of the elevator several floors below them. It was hard to assess the damage to his body at this stage, but the fighter was down on his front with blood pouring heavily from the side of his head.

"I'll hold these doors whilst you two lift him out. He fell all the way from the top of the building," Max pointed up.

"Even though he managed to disarm that bomb?" Adam queried.

"Yeah, there was a second explosion that came from elsewhere. You must have felt it shake the building…"

Adam nodded with agreement. "Yeah, but we need to scan the rest of this building in case there are more bombs up in here." Whilst Adam spoke, Axel felt the pin rotating underneath his sneaker that came from the grenade. He immediately became suspicious of Max and the situation.

"Hey Adam, why don't you hold the doors open. Max and I will pull Floyd out", Axel suggested.

For a moment, Max hesitated as he stared down into the shaft. "Go on, start climbing down…" Axel ordered. Eventually, the wrestler complied and the two of them climbed down separate cables that led to where Floyd's body was.

"Why'd you do it?" Axel questioned Max as soon as they jumped to Floyd's side on top of the elevator.

"Do what?" The wrestler frowned.

"Pull that grenade. You almost killed him!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Max shrugged as he lifted his hands in the air.

"What's going on?!" Adam shouted down at them from several floors above, echoing through the smoke.

"Why'd you do it, huh?!" Axel shouted this time, pushing his old friend to one side. He then pressed his arm against Max's sternum, forcing him back towards the edge of the elevator's roof.

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Don't lie to me!" Axel angrily snapped as his other fist sparked, almost in flames.

Suddenly, Max's innocent glare turned into a callous smile whilst his eyes began to redden. This reaction caught Axel off by surprise. The wrestler then aggressively grabbed Axel's t-shirt then he violently threw him forward. Axel ended up painfully crashing into the other side of the elevator shaft. He was lucky not to have fallen through the gap.

Adam had no choice but to stay where he was, staring down in shock at what was unfolding as he held open the doors above them.

Axel quickly forced himself up to standing, after underestimating the severity of what Max was doing. The two old friends instantly started to kick, punch and block each other, but there was no holding back from Max. This wasn't just a friendly brawl or one of their average disputes or sparring matches. It was clear that Max wanted Axel dead at that moment and Adam could see that the wrestler had led them into a trap.

The fight between them was violent and bloody. Any opportunity Max had to supplex Axel into the elevator roof below them, he took without hesitation. At one point, the three men, including Floyd who was unconscious, fell into the stuck elevator itself once the roof was broken from the fight. For Axel, the back of his head had felt like it had been in a train wreck. He was disorientated, bloody and almost unconscious having never expected any of this to plan out. All he could see was Max's red eyes glaring at him from the other side, determined to end his and Floyd's life.

Up until now during the fight, Axel had been reluctant to use his firepower against Max. But right now, he had no choice. The wrestler was now in full attack mode, punching holes through the elevator walls as Axel dodged his fists from the ground. Then, Max prepared himself for his signature atomic drop that Axel was all too familiar with. The fighter timed himself at the correct moment, emitting a ray of fire around his own body. Never had Adam or Max witnessed Axel's dragon wing as powerful as it was here. It burnt through the entire side of the elevator, causing Max to fall out whilst burning. The wrestler tried his best to grab onto the cables and the wall of the shaft by his side, but the fall through the gap was too fast and heavy. Within two seconds, Max's back hit the ground level floor and there was a high chance that he didn't survive the fall.

Axel immediately stared down from the side of the elevator with regret, but Max wasn't moving. "MAX!" He frantically yelled out to his friend several times, but there was no response.

Adam stared down from above in shock at everything that had just happened. Why did Max switch in the way he did? Why did he attempt to kill Floyd before violently turning against Axel? None of it made any sense and Adam froze in fear that his friend may now be dead.

Suddenly, they heard a groan. Floyd was thankfully starting to gain consciousness and was opening his eyes. Axel immediately knelt down by his side.

"Wha… how did I get inside the elevator?…. MAX! He…he is…." Floyd looked up at Axel confused and alarmed.

"It's ok. Adam and I are gonna get you out of here".

"Max set this up," Floyd panicked.

"I know,"

"Why, why would he….?"

Without responding anymore, Axel lifted one of Floyd's metallic arms over his bloodied shoulder. "Come on, we need to get you out of here. Think you have enough strength left to climb up that wall? I'll help you!"

"Okay… I think so!" Floyd caught his breath back.

The two of them climbed their way out of the elevator and its shaft until they reached Adam who was waiting for them above. Once they were out, the three of them glanced down through the smoke with regret and fear written over their faces.

"I'll go this time. You hold the doors, we have to save him…. Do you think he's still alive?" Adam worriedly asked.

"I don't know," Axel shook his head with regret. Without a second thought, he was the one who started to climb back down the shaft to rescue Max. But then, the three of them heard a loud scream coming from outside.

"DADDY!"

"Cherry!" Adam was instantly alarmed.

"Those fighters must be here," Axel replied as he quickly climbed back up and out of the shaft.

"What about Max?" Floyd asked.

"We'll come back for him once the others are safe," Axel nodded.

By now, Adam had already run away as fast as he could towards the stairwell, leaving the two other guys to catch up. If his daughter was in any danger as they suspected, there was no second thought or waiting around for Adam.

The three of them ended up at the entrance to the hospital on the ground level, but Shiva, Blaze and Cherry had all moved outside on the streets and were being surrounded by Syndicate fighters.

Up until this point, Adam had no idea how the fight had planned out or how they got here. All he could focus on was the fact that he could see Diva gripping tightly onto Cherry with a venomous python strangling her neck.

Blaze who was standing opposite them only a few feet away, had her own grip around a signal fighter, whilst Shiva was fighting back against the metallic powers of Koobo.

"It's ok Cherry, I won't let this bitch hurt you!" Blaze shouted as she tightened her grip around the signal's neck.

Diva confidently smirked back at her female rival, "Come on Fielding! Finish what you started all those years ago!"

"Hurt my friend's kid and I'll kill you!"

"Who says I'm gonna hurt this little girl, huh? But it's up to my serpent at what he does…."

The white python slithered further, tightening its hold underneath Diva's hands and around Cherry's neck. The teenager was now starting to pass out into a sleeper hold against Diva's chest as the snake restricted the air through her windpipe.

"LET HER GO!" Adam snarled as soon as he ran onto the scene.

"Very well…" Diva coldly smiled. As she pushed Cherry forward, her snake flashed into a bright green colour. It then leapt forward, digging in its fangs hard above Cherry's left shoulder blade. The young girl cried out in pain for a split second until falling unconscious on the ground with her muscles dormant.

Adam instantly lost his nerve, charging aggressively towards Diva with yellow sparks flying from his fists. "Sworrrrd Strike!"

His fist hit the ground, ripping the snake in half and causing Diva to stumble back. She stared up at the SIF officer with shock on her face as he continued his assault towards her. Diva fought back kicking, scratching and slapping, but Adam wasn't taking any shit from her. With one kick to the back of her head, he knocked her out cold. He then continued to kick and punch her on the ground without realising that Diva was now unconscious. Axel found himself pulling his friend back, where Adam was fighting full of emotion blindly.

"Nobody threatens my daughter! Understood?!" Adam spat down at Diva's body.

"It's ok, she's out cold. You can arrest her later…." Axel calmly said behind his back. "...come on, let it go. We need to get help for Cherry…"

Adam nodded, taking a deep sigh of relief. His hands were shaking and his pupils were dilated in fear and anger. Never had the others witnessed him in this state before.

"Hey! We need to do something about this!" Blaze shouted over towards the others as her and Shiva knelt down next to Cherry's struggling body. The girl was now in a sweat and her back was bleeding as an open wound from where the snake had struck her.

"Cherry!" Adam yelled in fear.

"We need to find the right anti-venom, fast. It's already in her bloodstream," Shiva commented whilst examining the wound.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here…." A voice from behind them suddenly interrupted. The fighters each turned around then looked up, witnessing a man in a cream-colored coat next to a lady in a dark grey dress. Both had hair almost white in colour with piercing blue eyes. Axel felt taken back, almost disappointed having seen the twins in person for the first time. He'd expected a lot more muscle and aggression like their father, but could tell that these two emitted a different type of danger and malice about them.

"YOU!" Ms Y hatefully spat, glaring into Shiva's eyes.

He simply folded his arms and kept his mouth shut, not for one second breaking the intense stare between them.

Behind them were several army tanks, police cars and ambulances that the twins were now in control of.

"What the fuck do you want then?!" Axel stood up as the others surrounded Cherry.

Mr Y then bit his lip with anticipation on his face before answering. "I have waited a long time to finally have this conversation with you, Stone. It's simple really. I want vengeance for my father's death!"

"Your father was a crook, a liar to this city and an evil bastard. He deserved everything he got!"

Mr Y tutted and shook his head at Axel. "Uh, uh. That wasn't for you or your friends to decide now, was it?"

"He deserved a fair trial!" Ms Y interrupted, yelling at them agitated.

"Fair trial? He had all the attorneys in his pockets! We tried that twice already, you're delusional if you think that's justice!" Blaze shouted back.

"You'll pay for what you did!" Ms Y promised.

"Come on then, show me what you've got little bitch!" Blaze stood.

Mr Y then placed one hand in front of his sister as she began to reach for her sword, "not here, it's too dangerous" he whispered in her ear.

Right now, things were not looking good. The team were surrounded by dozens of fighters along with their weaponry. Koobo slowly stood up, having taken a beating from Shiva with some of the metallic parts of his body now scattered in the road. He quietly stood behind Mr Y along with an army of thugs and fighters behind them. This felt like the calm before the storm.

Mr Y was the one who then decided to break the silence. "Want to save the girl? Well, we have the antivenom you need,"

"In exchange for what?" Axel answered.

"For your life….. And hers…" he turned his stare towards Blaze.

"You can take me. But leave her out of this!"

"You know I can't do that. We both know Axel, who struck the knife into my father's back. Even if it was your fault…."

"No," Axel quietly shook his head.

"It's ok. It's the right thing to do, Cherry's just a kid," Blaze reached for his hand, making the decision to also turn herself in. She then turned her attention back towards the twins. "You got me surrendering on one condition."

"Name it!" Ms Y snappishly replied.

"Once you give them the anti-venom, you let our friends and all the civilians here go. And no more bombings!"

"That sounds like three conditions, not one…"

"Shall we do this the easy way or the hard way?" Blaze insisted, reaching her hands forward.

Axel couldn't help but look at her with anxiety on his face, "don't do this," he said with sadness in his tone.

Blaze gave him a defeated, but reassuring smile. "They can't put me through any hell they haven't already. If we don't make it out of here alive, we wouldn't have died for nothing…" she whispered back.

"Start tying their hands so they cannot access their powers!" Ms Y ordered. The couple stood still, sacrificing themselves for their friends and the greater good. Pain and vengeance was written all over Adam's, Floyd's and Shiva's faces right now, but they understood that Blaze and Axel had no other choice.

"The antivenom… NOW!" Adam insisted, holding out one hand. One of the fighters named Margaret stepped forward holding shiny glass bottle with green liquid inside. "She needs to drink this," she instructed.

Mr Y turned to his fighters, content with the outcome and their surrender. "Tell Shadow to ready my helicopter and bring it around immediately. These two can go in separate tanks back to Y-Tower. I'm not taking any risks!" Blaze and Axel were then forced forward with their wrists tied behind their backs.

Adam quietly knelt down next to Cherry's body, gently opening the bottle Margaret had handed him.

"WAIT!" Shiva abruptly halted him as Adam began to place the liquid towards her lips.

"What is it?" Adam frowned as Shiva took a smell of the bottle.

"This isn't antivenom…."

"What?!"

Shiva instantly smashed the bottle on the ground that exploded into a hazardous green liquid, causing Margaret's skin to burn under her feet.

"This is poison!"

Axel and Blaze immediately stared at each other alarmed, realising that the twins were never going to stick to their word. They began to fight the armed guards around them whilst their hands were tied before they could force the two of them into the tanks.

Out of nowhere, a bright powerful purple lazer struck the two tanks on each side, catapulting both of them through the air and breaking them into pieces. Floyd sat down on the ground, catching his breath having annihilated the tanks using all the power he had left inside of him. This gave Axel and Blaze the opportunity to run back towards their friends.

"Untie my hands!" Blaze insisted as she leapt forward towards Adam. Shiva did the same for Axel.

"ABORT! NOW!" Mr Y ordered as he and his sister fled towards the helicopter.

"You're mine now!" Axel paced forward with his fists on fire, glaring with anger towards the twins who were now retreating.

"And mine too!" Blaze snarled as she started to bring her palms close together. The Syndicate fighters stood their ground, ready to fight and defend their leaders so that they could escape.

Whilst this was all going on, Adam turned to Shiva with fear on his face that they had no antivenom to save Cherry.

"I know a place in ChinaTown, less than 10 minutes from here. Let me take her. The doctor there will save her!" Shiva placed one hand on Adam's shoulder, but Adam was frozen with tears in his eyes as Cherry's condition was deteriorating by the minute.

"Help your friends, they need you! You have to trust me and let me take her! I'll do everything I can, I promise." Shiva insisted.

So many things were going on in Adam's head at that moment. They were all in serious danger and his daughter was dying in his arms. Yet, in that moment, the man who once made his life hell, the man who he struggled to work with and trust was now the only hope in saving Cherry, his daughter.

"I will do everything I can to save her, I give you my word. Please, every second counts…" Shiva pleaded.

Quietly and calmly, Adam gracefully handed over his child to his old enemy. Shiva gave him a nod of reassurance as he took Cherry in his arms, carrying her whilst running in the other direction away from the crossfire. By now, both Axel and Blaze were using all of their powers together, creating chaos for the Syndicate thugs surrounding them. But they were starting to struggle having been outnumbered. It was a relief when Adam joined the fight by their side, with the trio against their enemies like they had never fought before.

The fires they created quickly caused further explosions on the streets and within surrounding buildings where more bombs had been planted. This resulted in many of the enemy fighters to retreat and flee, whilst the team of heroes were left stranded amongst the explosions. Axel, Blaze, Floyd and Adam urgently took cover wherever it was possible as all the landmarks around them exploded consecutively into an inferno. The last one to start flaring up in flames was the hospital itself, even though the civilians from it were now waiting safely in the distance.

"NO!" Axel shouted from the ground, remembering that Max was still in there. He leapt up with speed, running towards the entrance to try and to save his friend, but as he reached the melted doors, he could feel Blaze pulling him back.

"Don't go in there, we have to wait!" She shouted with tears running down her face. As he turned around to face her, the whole building exploded, projecting the two of them back into the street.

There was a brief moment of silence once the explosions came to a halt before they could open their eyes.

"Are you ok?" Axel worriedly stared down, noticing Blaze underneath his body. In that split second, he had done his best to try and shield her from the explosion.

"I'm ok," she replied to his relief, coming away from it all with a handful of cuts and bruises, but nothing more serious than that.

The four of them sat up in silence, staring at what remained of the decimated hospital just metres away. They understood that there was no chance that anybody would have made it out of those explosions alive, not even Max.

Axel stared at the flames with guilt in his eyes. He was holding tightly onto Blaze where she was crying in his arms. Adam and Floyd also felt a sense of guilt and sadness for Max whilst they looked on in horror, realizing that their friend was no longer with them.