"Wow. So, you found this in, what, three days?"
Taylor nodded as she nibbled on a taco, still staring at the papers on the table between us.
"Wow. Well. The good thing is that this does verify that something bad happened to Emma over the summer before your freshman year. The bad thing is that aside from the police report and Alan Barnes getting those ABB gangbangers sent to jail, it's unclear what exactly happened. They got separated after getting pulled out of the car and they were apparently saved by Shadow Stalker before she went Wards." I scratched my head. This was making me think of Rune who was still back at my house, slumming it on my couch at the moment. "I guess some things got implied, but nothing verified outright aside from assault."
"That doesn't make sense though! Why'd Emma change off that?!" Taylor angrily slammed her taco back on her plate. Soft tortilla flapped onto ceramic as carnitas, onions, and cilantro scattered. "I was her best friend! She could have... no she SHOULD have relied on me. I would have been there for her."
She bit her lip.
I sighed.
"I don't want to point fingers... but it might be Shadow Stalker."
She gave me a very confused look.
"What?"
"Look, Taylor, I know you look up to heroes. And that's good. But many people who trigger are broken people. Some overcome that and become greater than themselves. Others fall to depravity or just imitate heroes to feel powerful. If I'm being honest, I consider Shadow Stalker to be in that last third category. She has some odd perception that might have been the result of her Trigger. Things are black and white for her for the most part. Predator and prey. I think she rubbed that mentality off on Emma somewhat when she saved her." I paused, taking a mouthful of burrito, the carne asada feeling like ash in my mouth.
I felt awful about the whole situation. It was all just so dumb. Teenagers taking the wrong lessons from what happened in life. It happened all the time. Hell, I did it too. Teenagers are mostly pretty stupid as a whole.
"You know I talked to Hess and Emma to get them to back off you right? Emma said some weird stuff that I guess didn't click with me until now." I mean, it was pretty much just speculation for me at that point. Now we had proof. "She said you were a weakness she had to purge. But it was more as if she was trying to cut away her past as something weak and you were just the unfortunately perfect outlet. I was so taken aback that I asked what would happen if I could prove to her that you were strong."
I paused again.
"I'm not sure now if that's a 100% good idea. Honestly, I'd prefer it if we just got her counseling. She said she'd stop if you proved that you were strong, but I think that it would only strengthen her crazy. I... look I don't know her like you do. Think over it and tell me what you want to do. Whatever it is, I'll do my best to help."
Taylor sat there quietly staring at the papers in front of her, absentmindedly now poking at her now barely-taco with a fork.
"...How though? Uncle Alan cares a lot about Emma and her sister, but he's really OCD about keeping up appearances. If we make it look like Emma needs mental help, he'll go ballistic and try to sue. Probably. That's honestly what I feel."
I nodded.
"Lawyers respect the laws the least. That's the irony. They're not there to do justice or champion anything, just get paid to twist words and convince people one thing and one thing only. That the other side is in the wrong and their side is innocent." I laughed weakly, "That's the sad truth."
Hell, those were ROOKWOOD's own words to me.
Makes you wonder why the hell Brandish ever became a hero.
Wait, vigilantism used to be illegal a long time ago. Pft. Figures.
Taylor sighed as she half-heartedly put her taco back together.
"I need to think about this." She decided. "This is a lot to consider at once."
"Take your time. There's no need to-"
We were interrupted by a rumbling echo in the distance. Something bigger, more angry than any animal I had ever heard. Like something out of a Jurassic Park movie.
"What the heck?" Taylor muttered, "What the heck was that?!"
The guy at the register of the Tex-Mex place we were eating at fumbled through a drawer for a TV remote and switched the channel of the TV in the corner of the restaurant. It was a beat up old thing that might have been top of the shelf if we traveled 10 years back in time. Now? It was just noisy junk.
Noisy junk that played the news.
"-aking News! Right now all citizens in the vicinity of 12th and Coleman to evacuate IMMEDIATELY! The Cape Villain known as Lung has begun an attack against a group of E88 who are defending a building with heavy weaponry! It is surmised that there will likely be an extended gang war in the immediate area! Once again-"
I ignored the rest of the broadcast as I turned to Taylor.
"Stay here! Call Danny and wait! You can't head home with a gang war between us and the house."
Taylor shot out of her chair.
"Wait, Joe, that's LUNG! You can't-"
"I've got this. Stay. Here." I said before running out of the restaurant.
I ducked quickly into an alleyway, stripping off my shirt and jeans, my costume appearing on my body before I even reached down to pull up my shirt over my head.
I pulled up the mask, crouched, and the ground beneath my feet exploded.
"Houston Smash!"
I flew into the sky like a rocket, my lungs straining as the thin air refused to give me enough oxygen to be comfortable. Luckily, breathing was merely a luxury for my body and unnecessary as far as my body was concerned.
I turned to the South East and saw plumes of flame and heard the 'daka' of guns going off.
Wade! Get off your ass! You killed Oni Lee, so this shit's half your fault!
I can fucking see that! Been surfing the news and keeping an eye out all day since you left for school in case ABB pulled something crazy! I'm practically there and waiting for you to drop!
Why the hell is Lung attacking E88 shit? He should be on the back foot because without Oni Lee, he can't effectively defend his territory. Hell, suicide-clone ninja-man was probably the ONLY reason why nobody made a push for his shit!
You know, I think he might be, I don't know, maybe just so beyond the point of fury that he doesn't care? Or it's BECAUSE he can't defend he needs to attack so prove that he shouldn't be fucked with? Or maybe he straight up is just acting as a huge target to draw the PRT to him so some mercs or grunts can break out Oni Lee? Might wanna make sure Panacea is properly protected if he pulls this shit off. As far as I know the two of you are the only public healers who can return him to normal. I left that bitch one foot in the grave. Literally.
He ain't pullin' off shit!
I launched myself in the direction of the fight, vaulting further toward the scene of battle. Once. Twice.
Lung had ramped up a good amount and while it was hard to tell, he was still at least three times as wide as anybody I could see below. I focused briefly on the senses of Deadpool below. Flashes of light danced across his form, bullets impacting and screeching against metal scales, as Lung lumbered about tossing people left and right. He stopped and turned to the E88 beginning (though both accent and some sort of mouth disability) to monologue sounded like he was trying to call somebody out to fight him.
So then I punched the air above me and using Vector Push to begin forcing myself down like a meteor.
Emphasis on Meteor.
"ARRRRIIIIIZOOOOOONNNNNNAAAAAAAA-" I roared as I brought down the MOTHER of all diving elbow drops down "SMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
Right on top of Lung's neck like a human atomic bomb. Well, more like where the neck meets body and more on the shoulder side. Look, you try to aim from hundreds of feet up on the air.
A screech wrenching metal masked my teeth-gritting scream of utter pain (mixed with the bones in my arm shattering) and Lung's own crackling bones as the metal scales on the back of Lung's neck fractured before scattering into a thousand hot shrapnel fragments.
I ignored the utter PAIN that was my nearly liquefied (or so it felt) arm as I felt the ground crumble as the cement crumpled into a crater as mass itself desperately tried to compress upon itself.
Ok. I didn't word that well. That wasn't a drop. That was an execution. OH THE HUMANITY!
Shut up. Not right now. ARM HURTS SO FUCKING MUCH!!!
Yeah, I CAN FEEL THAT TOO, YOU FUCKING RETARD! WHY DO YOU THINK I'M YELLING?!
Lung was growing faster now, quickly growing bigger than his already ten feet tall stature (although he was slumped over on the ground), but that didn't matter because his neck was broken (maybe? hopefully?) at the moment. Even with his regeneration it would take a while for him to recover from that blow. Especially if the pain would knock him unconscious.
Really hoping for unconscious.
That's when I felt it. Lung's shard extended out to me like a torrent of flame, desperate and desiring. Itflowedaround my Negentropic flames, coalescing into condensed fragments almost instantly as it hungered to be a part of my power.
Demanding. Vicious. Greedy.HUNGRY.
My arm cracked and crackled, shattering the silence as it twisted and healed back to perfection.
My body fought off the urge to shift into a divine creature. Lung didn't turn into a dragon because that was his power. He turned into one because that was what he was most compatible with.
Cosmetic Shapeshift screamed that I must stay human in appearance.
"Now." I turned to the E88 members who had stopped shooting Lung after I landed. My uninjured arm pat off the bits of flame on my suit. (it was merely flame retarding, not flame proof) "Put down your weapons and you will not be harmed."
Lung's [Ascension of Divine Embodiment] demanded that yet I must transform.
I cracked my neck and dozens of guns clattered to the ground.
I could feel my biology rippling beneath my skin. The transformation remained below skin as even I had no idea what I was becoming.
I had to end this fast.
"Good, now. You will surrender yourselves t-" I stopped as a pair of katanas blocked a pair of sharp blades aimed at my carotid arteries from the back. Why did a Nazi use Japanese kamas again?
They borrow everything from other cultures but claim that their race is best. Hypocrites, remember?
Just get her off me. How dare this meremongrelbite towards me?!
"You know, this wasn't exactly how I thought I'd meet Brockton Bay's newest golden boy." Deadpool said as he lashed out with a kick, catching Cricket in the nose, forcing her back as her own power silenced the sickening crack of her nose shattering. "Was thinking more along the lines of you rescuing me out of a tree."
Dude, I don't like what Lung's power is doing to us.
"I'm not sure if rescuing deadly mercenaries from trees was considered a public service." I played along. "But I'll be sure to put you pick you up properly by the scruff of your neck if I do."
Neither do I. Let's put down this rabble quickly. I have no need for such unruly snakes.Crushthem beneath your boots.
"Kinky! Is that a promise?"
Yeah. Not liking this at all.
Cricket backed off silently as a tall man wearing a black leather Nazi officer like uniform, with a red armband and a black peaked cap that both bore the E88 symbol, walked out the door, a white, featureless mask hiding the whole of his face.
"I will admit. This was not what I expected." He spoke with a drawl, like one of those drawls that snobs who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths and loved to rub that fact in the faces of others had, "But this can work out just fine. I am Krieg of the Empire 88. All Might, you shall leave, leaving Lung and that... Deadpool... behind, and we shall have no further quarrel. I am sure that you share the desire to limit bloodshed and violence, judging from your... surgical removal of Lung from the equation."
Wow. He's fucking terrified of you if he's just asking you to leave. Heh. Too bad he's a Nazi and needs to die, eh Blascwoicz?
Shut up, you ain't Fergus. Even with the Irish accent. Also, REALLY do let that Wolfenstein joke die. It's unbecoming of an iteration of me.
May I point out we have ACTUAL Nazis LIVING AND BREATHING on AMERICAN soil?! They need to die.
I rolled my eyes mentally as I stared at Krieg.
"I think there's one thing that you don't understand,villain." I stepped forwards, eyes shining in every spectrum of light as my foot cracked the pavement, "I did not come here to save your ass from a dragon."
"I came here tocrushan Empire. The dragon I slew at it's borders is merely afootnote. And history will remember... it was one of your own that went in for the kill first." I gestured to the news cameras around us. Two news choppers hovered about and there was a news team on the ground as well. "Know that you gave up all hope for mercy this day. And thus another Reichfalls."
Krieg cursed under his breath, my ears barely catching something vaguely German, before screaming out "GET THE CHINK!"
"Really? That's the best warcry they've got?" Deadpool laughed as the Nazis scrambled to pick up their dropped weapons, "Fuck, this is actually disappointing."
He BAMF'ed behind Cricket and shot out her knees before she could react with a pair of 1911's. Using deagles against someone of her powers was just asking for more people to complain about shit, even if we weren't trying to blow her legs off, just debilitate her. . Never mind that she's a fucking SUPER VILLAIN that just tried to assassinate one of their heroes. Stupid media sheep.
It would also be annoying especially since Deadpool was being seen publicly with me at the moment. If PRT caused any shit it would be over him. And use him as a bridge to attack me.
"And they just FORGOT me?! You forget Deadpool, YOU PAY THE PRICE!!! I'ma go EA on your broke asses!" Deadpool began BAMF'ing from Nazi to Nazi, shooting out elbows, knees, and groins (the sick bastard). "Time for the medical fee equivalent of PAID DLC MOTHERFUCKERS!"
I (rolling my eyes) dashed forwards (ignoring the full metal jacket rifle rounds barely breaking skin and flattening against my thickened, denser proto-entity muscle fibers, feeling like a bunch of needles being tossed at me), driving a flying knee kick into Krieg's chest. It was like the air turned to molasses around me as his [Kinetic Alteration Of Lesser Vectors] tried to alter my path to him, but it was futile. Power Hub gave me enough ability to disrupt his effort to force me in a different direction, even if he managed to slowed me down.
You know, from a hyper-sonic jet to a regular jet.
These mongrels weren't even enough for Lung's quarter strength power to recognize as a threat. The only reason it burned was because Lung was still behind me, growing as his shard desperately tried to heal up 'The Dragon of Kyushu'.
It certainly wasn't enough to kill the man, but it flung Krieg back through the doors he walked out of, sending splinters of wood everywhere as it broke off its hinges and cracked at the point of impact.
The Nazis all turned their guns to me, shock evident in their eyes.
It didn't matter. My arm had already been cocked back.
"DETROIT" I used my whole body, throwing an overhead punch that flew at the ground as I bent my torso over, "SMASH!!!"
Air rushed from the point that my fist nearly grazed the pavement, spreading in all directions as an incredible updraft formed. The E88 members who had been standing outside the building, cowering behind sandbags (of all fucking things, did they think themselves a military force?) were flung wildly into the air. The news choppers in the air were just far enough out of the draft to not be tossed about wildly, but they did have to readjust for the huge wind washing over them. The choppers ended up wobbling in the sky like ripe apples on a tree, threatening to fall, but just barely held on.
That was good. I didn't need to bother saving them when there were mongrels to strike down.
"Ooh IT'S RAINING MEN! HALLELUJAH! Gonna get wet!" Deadpool sang, BAMF'ing about as he grabbed Nazis left and right and reappearing on the ground, slamming faces into the pavement, knocking them out. All the while grabbing free guns with childish glee. Honestly, it was like seeing a scene from a movie while blinking rapidly as he abused Schrodinger for a full third person perspective.
Oh don't you judge me. Tactical advantage is important.
But you don't think maybe having FOUR extra sets of eyes looking at the battlefield aside from the two of us isn't maybe just a LITTLE overkill?
Hey, look, this shit saved my ASS against Oni Lee. I ain't risking that shit again. Getting shot in the head fucking sucks ass.
Tell me about it. I thought brain matter didn't have pain receptors, but I guess our biology isn't exactly normal.
I'm more upset that I got skullfucked by a man. THE FIRST TIME WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SPECIAL! I barely knew him!
I shook off that horrid image as I walked into the building and through a hole that went through three different walls. Krieg was lying in the shattered remains of what was once a nice mahogany office table, shakily trying to get back up onto his feet.
"You... you little fuck! You'll rue the day that-"
I picked him up my his neck, cutting him off, before I driving a fist into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Then I just turned and flung his body out of the building. His power gave him a Brute rating. He'd be fine.
His body flew out of the building and I figured Deadpool could wrap it up. Meanwhile, I supposed that-
Maybe less fine, considering that Deadpool took that as an invitation to make another baseball joke, an oak bat shattering as it made contact with Krieg's masked face as he flew out the busted doors.
I sighed as I walked back out. Like, what the hell? I just wanted to see what the hell Lung was attacking this building for. Is that too much to ask?
"AND WADE WILSON FROM REGINA, CANADA HITS THE GAME WINNING PITCH! THE CROWD GOES WILD AS THE NAZIS GO DOWN IN A PERFECT GAME BY THE LOCAL HEROES!!!" He ran in a small diamond formation as he scattered confetti into the air, "Women throw themselves all over him! They want his babies! They-"
I interrupted him by conking him on the back of the head with a karate chop.
"Ok, that's enough. They get it. You hit a Nazi like a baseball. That's the most American thing that you can do outside of eating apple pie while watching fireworks."
A shuddering cough came from Krieg's limp body (geez he was needlessly tough) as he spit out blood and parts of his ceramic mask.
And teeth. Definitely teeth. Like all his front teeth PFT.
"K...Kaiser wull make 'oo suhher for dis." He spat out turning up to glare at me, only one eye still covered in part by his shattered mask. "Oo'll die derribl-"
His threats were cut off as a roar of primal fury washed over us, going as far as to send Krieg's limp body rolling away as Deadpool and I dug our feet in to prevent ourselves being carried away by the wind-force.
"Ooh dat's a big boy... I'll, uh, get the Nazi's out of the way before they roast into bratwurst. You got this?" Deadpool's eyes didn't leave the ACTUAL DRAGON in front of us, his arm sort of flopping uselessly as he reached blindly for my shoulder.
Like, I can give you support if you need it. I think his Shard took ALL of its power and forced him to regenerate the broken neck at max speed. I'm pretty sure his regeneration isn't supposed to be as good as ours. Just, you know, you're free to fight that thing. Without me.
Just get the Nazis out of the fight and zip-tie them up properly. Knock Krieg out so that he can't escape.
Roger, capt'n!
I gave him a nod, not needing to look in his direction. Deadpool just gave me a slightly cartoony jerk of a salute before BAMF'ing off.
The metal neck looked slightly crooked and twisted, but the now twenty-ish foot tall Lung was standing back up, albeit a tad shakily. His eyes glowed like molten steel as they didn't leave my form for a second.
"Ah iive oo' one hance All Igh. Urk or ee' an'-"
I held up my hand.
"Firstly, I honestly have no idea what you're saying. Secondly." My legs shifted as I readied myself into a fighting stance, "I do not talk with monsters.I destroy them."
Lung angrily burst into flame like a twisted steel colossus in a firestorm. Power Hub's reduced version of Lung's power flared up almost painfully.A worthy challenge!!!
"Time for Endbringer practice." I muttered to myself. "And toput a lizard in it's place."
Lung lunged forward only to be surprised that I rocketed forwards at him.
"HOUSTON SMASH!" Twin fists crushed steel scales as they dug into Lung's sternum as I crashed into him in a Superman pose. The force of it all blew his aura of flame away as his body lifted into the air a few feet.
A clawed hand wrapped around me, squeezing my torso and cutting through the skin of my back. As I was lifted, Lung's intent obviously to throw or smash me into the ground, I quickly drove my elbows down into the metal covered flesh between his thumb and index finger thrice in quick succession, using his own grip for leveraging. The pain forced the hand open as I hopped out.
We both made contact with the ground at the same time.
Lung used his newfound traction to spin around as his tail whipped about like a bladed whip. I grunted (felt like being hit by a wrecking ball) as I caught it, my feet leaving small trenches in the ground as I slid back from the impact. I wrapped my arms around the spiky tail for better grip, nearly crushing it with my body.
Wrong choice, fucker. Seems you've never played Super Mario 64!
"OAAAKLLAAAAHOOOOOMMMMAAAAA" I roared as I began spinning Lung around, my muscles straining in effort as I dragged his clawed feet across pavement before I gained enough force to lift Lung with pure centrifugal force. I don't think even HE thought it was possible, or he'd have fought properly for traction. It was too late for regrets, however as I began spinning him like a distorted Beyblade. Then I let go, sending him flying into the E88 building, "SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSH!"
A roar verging on a squawk of sheer confusion (and perhaps slight disorientation) ensued as Lung crashed into the three story brick building, bringing it down on top of him.
Dust scattered everywhere as Lung was buried under rubble.
There was a moment of silence as every pair of eyes stared at the ruined wreckage of a building, every single fiber of every single person praying for the same wish.
Steam began to jut out from the crevices, the mound of rock and rubble rising and falling as Lung furiously began digging out.
Because in a world of parasitic pseudo-divine space whales, God was certainly dead.
"AAAAH 'ILLL OOOOOO" Lung roared, AND HE GREW A SECOND PAIR OF ARMS?! FUCKING SINCE WHEN?!
For a lumbering metal dragon, Lung was fast as he tore up concrete to reach me, an arm coming down to slash me into ribbons.
"MISSOURI SMASH!" I brought down my hand in a chopping motion tearing through Lung's claws perpendicularly, making him screech in pain as I tore through not just claws, but the fingers as well.
Three other hands clenched instead, unwilling to risk further dismemberment, flying at me like bladed boulders.
But he wasn't the only one that was ramping up from the fight. And my baseline power wasmuchmore greater than his own.
The air itself shook as my fists met Lung's, like little shockwaves. While he had more fists than I did, I had more force.
Every swing of his was repelled back with a heavy punch, the blows shattered claws, cracked fingers, impact spread up his arm and sent loosened scales and ichor flying as his flesh tore.
And between his punches...
"Carolina Smash! CAROLINA SMASH!!CAROLINA SMASH!!!"
My hands crossed like twin blades as they slashed through the metal scales, then flesh and bone, then JUST bone. My hand thrust forward into-
A burning arm covered in spiked steel lashed out alongside a roar of pain and fear. The air was knocked out of my lungs, butI never needed that breath. I tumbled back, my feet and hand digging into the asphalt trying to slow myself down. Then I looked up.
Lung roared covering me with flame, the fire rushing down into the empty street, licking and scorching the buildings down the road. The asphalt bubbled. A fire hyrant began to melt before a burst of water and steam fired outwards at an odd angle, cutting through a thin, young tree that was being burnt into charcoal. His flame stuck to everything like napalm and I'm sure that he must have thought me dead. That I could only compete with him in pure force and had been brute forcing my way through the fire and flames.
Lung held his chest and backed up laughing (or was it barking?) in victory. Being satisfied in victory without seeing the corpse of his enemy with his own eyes?How naive.
I burst up out of the flame, the suit melting off my body, "TENNASEE!" I spun around and delivered a flying spinning kick to Lung's fucking face, "SMAAAASH!!!"
The impact split his metal mask in two as Lung was flung to the side head first, body crashing over as he fell to the side.
Four grotesque metal wings began to try to unfurl from his back to right himself as flames licked his form, the tarmac beneath his clawed feet softened from the flame as his feet sank into the ground like if he was walking through mud.
The only thing I saw were four sails.
"TEXAASSS SMAAAAAASH!"
A roar of anger and pain cried out Lung's wings caught the draft and the joints of his wings locked due to the wind pressure, sending him flying.
I panted, my feet slipping as the tarmac tried go goop between my toes as I ran, following up with another Texas Smash to keep Lung juggled in the air, his wings screeching against the scales of his back as he tried desperately to shut them.
Lung usually never needed his wings because most foes never needed him to grow big enough that they were a part of him.
"TEXAS SMASH!!!"
And then he had never properly used them as anything but distractions and additional attacking limbs.
"TEXAS SMASH!!!"
I mean, why would he use them for anything else? He was normally too heavy to fly. There was no natural updraft outside of small tornadoes that could even lift him off the ground.
"TEXAS SMASH!!!"
His one bit of inexperience was exactly the advantage that I needed to win.
I leaped into the air, leaping higher than Lung was being forced to glide. I saw it then. My win condition. The very bay this city was named after.
"And thus Siegfried slew the dragon Fafnir..." I began somersaulting forwards, gaining velocity.
"CALIIIIIIIIFOOOOOOORNIIIIIIAAAAAAA" the final somersault ended with a single full powered overhead punch. Seven fragments converged and exploded as Vector Push's 2nd Trigger activated, the flame warping into a way that none of my powered ever had before.
The flood of flame from Lung's Shard still screamed to join my own. A desperate cry of hunger and desire. I grit my teeth as power flooded my very veins.
My fist crashed into the barely healed torso where my Carolina Smash cross-chops had cut into his torso mere seconds ago. The yet wounded flesh, scales, and bone gave way.
"SMAAAAAAASSSHHHHHH!!!"
END