Time itself freezes to a standstill. One could argue today's occasion more than warranted it. Still twenty feet off the ground, Infinite hasn't bothered to move an inch. And neither have the three golden hedgehogs hovering in his shell-shocked view.
Whereas he's left appalled by what has just transpired, astonishment is what keeps the eyes below glued to the three bright beacons above them. The plan not only worked, but it may have given them, and all of Mobius itself the chance it needed.
It's as if Sonic's injuries were never there in the first place. This sensation is unlike anything he's felt before. For a power so foreign, it feels anything but. He is in complete control.
The same applies to the equally surprised hedgehogs behind him. No longer do they feel confined to the laws of gravity and physics. All three of them feel as light as a feather, but as powerful as a supernova. Sonic's voice brings an end to the short period of silence.
"Are you going to take off that ruby? Or will we have to do it?"
Infinite's seeable eye flinches.
"What, are you and your friends' little glow-up supposed to draw concern?" He brings his open hands together, generating a red, electrical ball the size of a tire. "It makes no difference. Just give up and accept your inevitable demise!"
He releases the blast with renewed confidence. A result of remembering the state of the White House and Eggman's prized aircraft after sustaining a lesser attack. Surely, whatever power his opponents received from the chaos emeralds wouldn't negate such a powerful blast.
Either way, he doesn't get the opportunity to see if it does. All three of the super hedgehogs disappear out of range from the beam's giant, mid-air discharge of bright electricity. To the small crowd on the surface, the attack looked more like a firework. The moment the last cackle dies out, all three of the glowing Mobians reappear in their previous positions.
One thing is frighteningly clear to the Jackal. He could see them move, even if it was for a second. So they're not dodging with teleportation. No, whatever the emeralds did to them, it granted something even faster than sonic speed.
"Concerned yet?" Amy asks.
"You should be," Shadow finishes.
In unison, the hedgehogs fly forward. Infinite's brain doesn't have a dream of processing their fast approach before each of their fists collides with his mask, denting its muzzle. The combined blow causes Infinite to hurl through the air, too dazed to slow his air travel before his painful landing. By the time he slows to a halt, his back has created a skid mark spanning fifty-two meters.
"Why does there ALWAYS have to be an obstacle?!" He questions, sitting up. "It's grown tiresome!"
A few feet ahead, the super hedgehogs descend to the ground, having caught up in no time at all. Something which urges the Jackal to fully stand.
"How... DARE you strike me!"
A giant, white flash emits from the ruby embedded in the Jackal's chest. All color everywhere is briefly distorted, backed by an alien sound. If they weren't completely before, this strange phenomenon snaps the hedgehogs to their highest senses.
A good thing too. Once everything turns back to "normal", they have only a moment's notice to move safely out of the way of materializing lasers that form all around the empty field. Amy tilts her head back just slightly, avoiding the burn of a beam stretching out in front of her. Its heat touches the tip of her nose.
To her right, Shadow narrowly steers clear of the lasers. He raises his right leg, missing two still beams that now run under it, and he tilts his head to the left to avoid one currently between it and his right shoulder. All Sonic has to do is duck his head to evade the red beams just centimeters above his pointy quills.
"Whew!" he breathes. "That was a close-"
No pain or loss of air is felt. Only the leather of Infinite's glove and the rushing wind indicates to the hedgehog that he's been hit. And hard by the looks of it. On command, he stops his flight across the field. Even with Infinite, Amy, and Shadow now out of view, he's still not outside of the laser field. He soon realizes that is of no consequence with one glance at his body.
There is a laser sizzling into his backside, another doing the same to his lower left ankle, and one more right on his chest. None of them burn. None of them can be felt. And most importantly- none of them have the capability to harm. It seems the golden aura outlining his yellow fur is more than show. It means something greater. Complete invulnerability.
The other combatants came to this realization when Sonic wasn't sliced into hedgehog chunks on his trip through dozens of active lasers. Still, Infinite's assault, along with her Piko Piko hammer now lying on the grass in pieces of three is enough to get Amy riled up.
"YOU. BROKE. MY..."
Amy flashes to Infinite's position.
"HAMMER!!!"
She launches him up about seventy feet with an uppercut to his chin. Not letting the opportunity for a follow-up attack pass, Shadow flies after the Jackal. As he gets higher, he stares down at Amy.
I don't get what the fuss is about. It's not like she needs one.
The surrounding lasers disappear completely. Above, Infinite steadies himself, looking down at the approaching hedgehog.
It seems he's factored in our inability to sustain damage. Shadow concludes. I'm curious on how he'll attempt to counter such an overwhelming advantage. Better not get complacent. I'm going to give it everything I got.
"CHAOS-!"
Infinite is no longer the one in the sky. It's Rouge, looking down at Shadow with her usual grin. The brief moment of hesitation that follows on Shadow's part is all the Jackal needs to deliver a red electric ball at the enemy. It connects, sending the hedgehog crashing down next to Amy who flies back a little in surprise.
"Just as I predicted." Infinite states. "New limitless power, same foolish principles. Friends are nothing but a liability. Your over-reliance on them will be your undoing."
Just then, a bright blur of golden light clashes against the hovering ex-merc. Both Infinite and a super-powered Sonic wrestle with each other in the air as they soar across the sky like a thunderbolt.
"MISS ME?!" Sonic yells over the wind.
"A repugnant being such as yourself? As if."
Infinite disappears in Sonic's arms. Instead, the war hero holds his frightened, two-tailed best friend in his iron grip.
"SONIC, STOP! THIS HURTS!" the boy yells.
"Tails?!" he blurts, softening his hold. "W-what-?"
A painless blow pushes Sonic away, ending his grasp on Tails altogether. Except it isn't Tails. Infinite remains in the air, glaring at Sonic with what he's sure is visible delight under that silver mask.
"Is there any low you won't stoop to?" Sonic frowns.
"You're on a roll today with the silly questions, hedgehog. I'm only interested in victory. I could care less what some soon-to-be-dead fool thinks of my methods."
Another attack brews within the Jackal's right hand.
"Now take another-!"
"CHAOS SPEAR!!"
An incoming, burning green chaos spear strikes Infinite in his rib-cage, engulfing him in green flames. Infinite grunts in pain, thankful his power is enough to shield him from any real damage. If only it also nullified his nerves.
"Good hit, Shadow!" Sonic says, giving the fellow hedgehog beside him a thumbs-up. "Props for dramatic timing."
"He's tough," Shadow observes, watching as a short burst of energy from the ruby completely dissolves the flames of his previous attack. "This won't be easy."
"For you, that is," Infinite remarks as the ruby on his chest begins pulsating.
Whatever he was about to do is cut short by a shoulder bash from Amy, who flies into the Jackal with the force of a rocket. Once again, the attack leaves the glowing Jackal flying back around fifty meters.
"This feeling is amazing!" Amy flies around in circles. "This is the most alive I've ever felt! It almost feels like... the true me!"
"Right?" Sonic agrees, looking down at his glowing body. "I've never been so fast! I bet I could reach supersonic speed like it's nothing."
"That chaos spear I threw hardly took much of a toll," Shadow says. "While I share in you two's infatuation, I don't feel as rejuvenated as I did when we originally transformed. You know what that means."
"We do?" Sonic asks, lost to what Shadow's implying.
"This power may not be permanent," Shadow explains. "All the more reason to finish this battle as soon as possible."
"How?" Amy asks. "He's quickly recovered from every attack. Do you think it's possible to wear him down before we lose our powers?"
"We... may not have to do all the work!" Sonic realizes. "Remember what Egghead said? That phantom ruby wasn't meant to be controlled by just a single person. If we get Infinite, Zero- whoever to overuse it..."
"He'll overcharge," Shadow realizes. "Like a battery."
"It's our best option."
"So what are we waiting for?" Amy asks. "Let's go save Mobius!"
She gets a nod from the other hedgehogs. As they're about to fly after their shared enemy, the familiar sound of the phantom ruby follows another distortion in reality. All color is inverted. Cautious of what'll happen next, the trio of hedgehogs put their backs together.
"Stay alert," Shadow advises. "We're on his turf now."
Back at the emerald circle, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, and E-123 Omega still stand around it, at a loss for words. The super-powered hedgehogs' fight with Infinite went from the sky, through the clouds, and ended up somewhere down the field too far from any of them to keep track of anymore.
"I never thought I'd get to see it..." Knuckles says, looking over at Tails. "Did you see them? They were extraordinary."
"It exceeded all of my expectations!" Tails smiles, snapping out of his trance. "We might actually stand a chance!"
"WHERE IS MY SUPER TRANSFORMATION?" E-123 Omega asks.
"Don't worry, Omega, you're already super," Rouge pats him on his metal right shoulder.
"YOUR UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO MOLLIFY MY RAGE IS ACKNOWLEDGED AND APPRECIATED."
"Okay, everyone, focus!" Knuckles turns to the others. "We need to decide our next move."
"Station Square!" Tails points to the not-far-off city. "Infinite is destroying it with a virtual reality army. We can help those who are in danger!"
"Sounds risky," Rouge says. "What's in it for me?"
"Rouge!" Tails says in disbelief.
"Relax, kid, I'm kidding... mostly. You mind putting in a good word with the president if I help out?"
"Or we'll just leave you here!" Knuckles pipes up. "The rest of us will have all the fun to ourselves."
"You're cute when you're angry," Rouge smirks, making Knuckles' cheeks flush red.
"THIS AMOROUS TENSION IS UNBEARABLE."
Knuckles cocks a brow.
"What does that me-?"
"Ignore him," Rouge interrupts. "Fine, I'll join you, but only because it might build some goodwill with the authorities."
"In that case, let's get a move on!" The fox's two tails begin spinning.
"CALCULATING THE OPTIMAL ARSENAL BEST FITTED TO COMBAT CROWDS OF TARGETS. HOW EXCITING."
...