Merrick shifted to his right, just managing to avoid Carter's blade. He chuckled slightly, watching as the Metatron's black-flamed form turned to glare at him, raising his the tensukasai up.
"Finally." Merrick said with mock laughter. "A challenge."
Carter merely chuckled darkly, charging his blade and lashing out at Merrick once more. The two moved about the roof, Merrick dodging the erratic and enraged sword swipes, feet pounding the tartop. Carter's grunts and bellows filled the air as he tried in ever growing frustration to cut the smirk from Merrick's lips.
"Come now, Mr. Daniels, you can do better then that." Carter snarled, lashing out once more. "Parry, parry, thrust, thrust…do you not know any other moves?" He commented, raising an eyebrow.
Carter responded by leaping up, swinging his sword and unleashing a wave of whammy energy right at Merrick. The older man groaned as he was hit, sent skidding across the roof, eyes straining to focus.
"Better." Merrick commented, his head throbbing as he brushed off the last remnants of Carter's attack. "You're getting stronger…"
Carter merely tried to cut off Merrick's hand, missing by an inch.
"…but you are not at my level yet." Merrick said coldly, hold out his hands. "Now then, Daniels…you have faced an interesting assortment of our kind. My sister's bastard child, the stripper-clone, Riker and BeeBee…but you have never seen one the likes of me before." The air seemed to shift, growing thicker, tense. "Lets see your dance, Daniels."
Carter merely nodded, leaping at Merrick, only to find himself driven to the ground. He grunted, rolling quickly, dodging each of Merrick's attacks. Leaping to his feet, he began to strafe his attacker, firing off quick whammy blasts that only served to piss Merrick off rather then stop him.
"I've seen better attacks in those video games my son played." Merrick complained. Deciding he was through waiting for Carter to do something…interesting…and instead held up his hands, firing off a crush, then removing the air pressure.
"AAAA!" Carter roared as his body went stiff, chest flexing upwards. Merrick smirked, slamming his fist down, Carter falling to the roof, his flames flicking in and out, eyes barely red.
"So strong…so quick…but still so stupid." Merrick snarled, kicking Carter in the ribs. "You thought for even a moment that you could challenge me? I have been trained for years in the air of pressure and pain. You, with your flashy flames and need for theatrics…are nothing more then an ant compared to me. Maybe when I had first started you could have defeated me…but now, even your strongest strike is batted away like waves on the rocks." He leaned down. "I won't make the same mistake with your daughter."
"Hey dad." Merrick turned, an invisible fist slamming into his nose, shattering it. "You talk to much." Hank snarled, dodging his father's retaliation and going back to full silent. Carter slowly rose to his feet, eyes flashing. "Carter can see emotion dad…and right now, I'm a big spotlight for him." Hank chuckled. "Helena's training might just pay off, just not in the way she suspected." The ghostly voice circled around Merrick. "Carter…lets take him out."
The black flames exploded around Carter once more as he raised his blade.
But as the three men fought, none noticed the heartbroken toddler crawl to Madrid's side, staring in utter fear at the wound that oozed the last of Madrid's lifeblood.
"Maddy?" Vally whispered softly, lip quivering. "maddy…" She breathed, laying her head on Madrid's chest, listening to her heart slow, beating weaker and weaker. Vally trembled, fear gripping her heart that, once more, she would lose someone so close to her heart. She began to whimper as she wrapped her tiny arms around Madrid's body, a pink, glowing tear falling from her eye. "…mama." She sobbed as Madrid took her last breath.
Kelly reloaded her shotgun, hiding behind a wrecked car. "How is no one hearing this?" She called out to Linda. "We're fighting a war in the middle of a major city, shouldn't the cops be coming?"
Professor Fray shook her head ruefully. "People see and hear what they want to see. This is a dangerous town after dark, and we aren't in the nice, safe suburb you're from, Kel." Linda held up her hands, ripping the water from one of the Ashleigh clones. "Trust me on this…back in my ol' neighborhood, you could shoot off a shot from a tank and the neighbors would merely put in earplugs."
"Sunnydale syndrome." Tina muttered. "I call not being Tara." She paused. "Who says the cops aren't here. We got clones fighting clones all over…we wouldn't hear a peep over all this if the chief of police himself was involved."
Kelly's eyes widened. "Chief…oh God…" Her eyes went wide as she withdrew, searching the area. "no…no please no….no!" Her eyes returned to normal, now filled with terror. "Oh God…we have to go…we have to save him!"
"Save who?" Tina asked, even as her lover darted away from the shelter of the car and into battle. "KELLY!" She shouted, turning quickly to a startled Linda. "Save who?"
"The chief of police." Linda said softly. "Come on, we have to help her!" Linda shouted, summoning a wave of water to carry her and Tina through the battle.
"What's the big deal?!"
"The chief of police…" Linda said, "…is Kelly's dad."
Lee had entered a different plane of thought.
Moving through the mob with ease, summoning talking swords and strange little dragons that could fire molten lead, he dispatched all that got in his way, finally come to the door where the original Ashleigh, the one that wore his mother's face all to well, stood by with Biddy.
"Hello mother." Lee snarled.
Ashleigh grinned. "Did baby come to show mama something new?" Lee snapped, rushing at Ashleigh, only for the woman to split into five doppelganger clones, each one taking a turn to attack him. Even as he tried to create his own locust clones, the Ashleighs only served to attack him again and again. "Come on baby, show mama something new."
Lee spit out a wad of blood. "You know…I killed my father recently…killing my mother is sure to piss God off." He pulled out a sheet of paper, summoning a large demon spider and throwing it at one of the Ashleighs, the woman screaming as the beast began to eat her face. "But then again, I got God's Voice nearby…maybe he can get me off."
"Clever." One of the Ashleighs said. "BeeBee…take him out."
Biddy merely drew her gun and blew the second Ashleigh's head clean off. "Lee!" She tossed him her gun.
"Traitor!" Ashleigh roared, firing at Biddy, only to remember belatedly Biddy's power, the bullet bouncing back into Ashleigh's chest, leaving only two of the doppelgangers left.
Biddy shrugged. "Yea. Now, I need to help Hank and Carter…"
"Going so soon?" Riker asked, stepping towards his former girl, fingers stretching to form whips. "Knew something was up with you."
Biddy rolled her neck. "Carter fixed me…undid everything…all the damage you did to my brain."
Riker shifted his eyes skyward. "Oh please…I mad you one of the most feared assassins in the world. All the Metatron did was make you the same scared, wimpy little baby were use to be."
"Carter undid the damage, but the horrors and the memories will last forever." She licked her lips. "The monster you created and the girl you destroyed are now one…and we're going to kill you, Riker."
"Bring it on, sweetheart." Riker taunted, before leaping at Biddy, the battle one.
In the shadows of the decaying buildings of Flint, a figure watched the battle rage, body tense and prepared for the signal he knew would come. Soon…soon his time to fight would come, and he would enjoy showing Carter Daniels how someone with powers really fought a war.
Merrick was being batted around, and to be frank, it was annoying him. He couldn't target Carter, because that meant Hank could get in some cheap shots. And he couldn't do a wide scale blast, as Carter would find a hole and fire whammies from a safe distance.
His son and the bane of his existence were fighting perfectly, and it was driving Merrick into a fit. It was rare for a fight to go on this long and Merrick wasn't the one prolonging it. In good times, most fights that was, Merrick would leave his victim thinking he or she had a chance, play around for an hour, two maybe, before crushing them. Though, not before telling them that he was playing them.
But this…
Merrick was ripped from his thoughts when he felt Hank's arm latch around his throat, squeezing hard and cutting off nearly all his oxygen. He leaned in close, enough so that Merrick would have to focus to crush him, and he couldn't exactly focus with his air slowly puttering out.
"Carter!" Hank cried out, "Do it!" He struggled to hold Merrick still. "Whammy him!"
Carter nodded, holding up his hand, black flames swirling around his fingers, his red eyes flickering as he aimed at Merrick.
"Do it!" Hank shouted. "Do it!"
Carter shivered slightly, hand quivering as he tried to focus, his eyes slowly fading.
"Carter!" Hank cried out.
Carter moaned in frustration, the flames turning silver once more before they retreated, the young man panting.
Merrick forced Hank's arm slightly away from his throat, gasping for breath not to fill his lungs but to taunt with. "He can't, boy. He'd kill you, whammying me. It might knock me down…but you aren't trained to resist it like I am…you'd die. And Carter…he doesn't have the killer instinct…just like how you can't finish the job and snap my neck." Merrick snapped his hand back, Hank bellowing in pain as his father's skull connected with his nose, blood pouring from the wound. "But I do." He slammed down his hands, the air pressure driving Carter and Hank down once more, before he began to slowly alternate between crushing their chests in and expanding them out. "For me, everyone else is an insect. I am a god…does that make you my voice, Daniels?" Carter roared in pain. "Ah, maybe we can find out. Spread the word, Metatron…spread it for me." He raised his hand up, ready for the killing blow. "Scream for me."
BANG!
Merrick slowly raised his hand, staring at the hole that had been shot in it. He bit by bit looked up, eyes widening as Carter and Hank stared in utter surprise.
Vally looked up from where she sat, tears drying off her cheeks. "Maddy?" She whispered.
Madrid kept her gun trained on Merrick even as she reached down and scooped Vally up. "Shhh…mama's here." Vally blinked in surprise before she began to cry again, Madrid rubbing her back soothingly even as she advanced menacingly on Merrick.
"How…you…"
"Died?" Madrid asked. "Something me and Carter have in common." She smiled slightly. "It's all in the brain, Merrick…the potential…you just have to unlock it." She glanced at Vally, the toddler still crying, though now out of joy; joy for the mother she had longed for these last few weeks, returned once more when thought lost forever. "My daughter is powerful, Merrick. The Light…you said it yourself…I should thank you…your bullet gave me time to learn things." She looked down at Carter. "Eden says hello."
Carter gaped. "E-Eden?"
Madrid looked back at Merrick, face hard. "You never bothered to figure her out, Merrick…her potential, her power. You just assumed she could detect and block powers…but Valencia is so much more. My little girl doesn't block powers…she controls them." Madrid rolled her shoulders. "She can deactivate them, or advance them to their full potential." Madrid's shirt began to bulge out. "Take me…on my own, all I could do was make duplicates of objects. But, my power is so much more. From a single atom, I can duplicate anything fully. Including, say…the major organs your bullet ripped apart? Or…"
Madrid's shirt ripped open, and to the shock of those on the roof, 4 more arms grew under her current ones, then 6 more from her back. Each one twisted slightly, before a copy of Madrid's gun appeared in all save the two that wrapped around Vally, holding her tight.
"…any limb I want." Madrid finished, aiming each weapon at Merrick. "My daughter has many protectors, Merrick…but you should have feared the two the prophecy spoke of… the Metatron, the Voice of God…and the General." Madrid sneered, "Behold the Hand of God."
With that, she let roar her guns, Merrick using his own powers to smack down most of the bullets, though one still ended up in his shoulder. Howling in outrage, he focused on Madrid, slamming his fists down.
"Hold on baby girl." Madrid whispered, 4 of her arms dropping their guns as Madrid ran towards the stairwell. She grabbed on, pulling herself with ease, thanks her multitude of hands, and leapt onto the stair well. Her pants shredded as she withdrew several of her arms and replaced them with a second set of legs, giving her the lift needed to leap right at Merrick.
"Got yea." Merrick snarled, readying his blast.
"Got you." Carter snarled, swinging his blade into Merrick's thigh, burying the sword deep. Hank's father bellowed as blood poured from the wound, only to receive several round house kicks from an enraged Madrid. Hank leg swiped his father, sending him to the rooftop. Carter hobbled over to where Madrid had landed, Hank joining them. "Madrid…"
Madrid smiled softly, running a hand along Carter's cheek. "Remind me to talk to you later…Eden…showed me things."
"Daddy!" Vally exclaimed happily. "Mama!" She seemed to radiate joy, beside herself in glee.
Hank tore his eyes away from his father to look Madrid up and down. "Nice arms."
Madrid retracted them with ease, looking at her shredded outfit. "I defiantly need a costume…maybe a cape."
"Capes are overrated." Carter answered with a grin.
"Said the guy with the long coat." Hank jested.
"How cute." Merrick coughed, sneering them all as he stood. "The little family, together again; daddy, mommy, uncle Hank…and baby too."
"I'm no baby!" Vally shouted.
Merrick nodded. "You're right…you're not a baby…you're…well…dead." He roared, raising his hands into the air. The group prepared themselves for the crush, only for it never to strike.
Them…at least.
Merrick's blast tore through the building, snapping steel beams like toothpicks and turning cement to dust. Floor upon floor cracked and buckled, windows shattered, tile and stone made powder under Merrick's assault.
"If I can't have the light…no one can." Merrick taunted, pulling out a walkie-talkie. "RIKER! Order 66!"
Down below, Riker instantly ignore his battle with Biddy, stretching himself away and towards the building. He pulled himself to his limits, his head just peaking over the top of the office building as Merrick waved to Carter and his family.
"It has been fun, my boy…Hank, say hello to your grandfather for me." He laughed, leaping into Riker's arms, sending one last crush attack to drive the family to their knees, all about them the building shifting and falling apart. "Thus Endth the lesson." Merrick sneered, disappearing from view.
"Lay down cover fire!" Police Chief Charles "Charlie" Raegan shouted, firing at one of the many women that were laying siege on his men.
"Sir!" One of the other cops shouted, crawling towards him. "They just keep coming!"
"Keep going!" Charlie screamed, unloading his weapon at the mob, then quickly grabbing another clip, his last one. They'd arrived after getting news of gunshots to find themselves in a warzone. The women…the exact same woman…had quickly singled them all out, taking out 3 cops within seconds and leaving the men cowering behind their vehicles, trying to keep the wounded breathing and themselves from joining the hurt. Charlie Raegan grit his teeth, pulling out his walkie. "We need backup, backup!" The hiss of static greeted him once more. Somehow, their coms were being blocked. "Damn it!"
"SIR!" One of his men screamed as two of the women broke from the group, rushing their car and firing upon the men. Two men went down, another just managing to get away. Charlie, however, could only lean back as the Ashleigh clone pointed her gun at him.
BANG!
Charlie blinked as her head exploded.
Another fell, then a wall of water divided the men from the clones, the police breathing easier. But for Charlie, he could only stare at the pissed of lezzie with a shotgun that was looking at him.
"Kelly?!" He exclaimed.
His daughter held out her hand. "Come with me if you want to live."
Tina chuckled. "God, I love that woman."