Opening File: The Old Zoo
The Old Zoo is the name of a tavern in Ohio where Team Chimera would frequently gather after missions for well-earned time off from their work. Usually they would end in a bar brawl with people even betting on someone dying when a fight broke out. The people who frequent this bar are usually those who have nowhere else to go and are also mercenaries. Due to its nature the Old Zoo is also a place where one can hear lots things when gathering information.
Close File
Xxx
"We all need places to unwind. A place to sit down, have a hot meal and cold drink. A place where someone can lend an ear when you need to let out your woes and troubles." TOM said as the file closed. "A place where friends can gather, share laughs, watch games and trivia together while making good memories. We all need a place like that and it may become a very special place before you know it."
Xxx
"All done."
The purple cloth was placed in a specially drawn circle with magical runes drawn all around it in various languages one could not hope to begin to translate. With this cloth was a series of ingrediants:
Sugar
Spice
And everything nice.
"So it is true. You are messing with the balance of life and death."
An amused smile formed on Nyx's face as she sensed a presence behind her. "Well, well, well isn't this a surprise the Grim Reaper himself."
She turned around crossing her arms with a smirk as she observes the form of the Grim Reaper himself standing across from her. "To what do I owe this honor? After all I've already died and been reborn better than ever, so doubt you're here for my soul even if you could claim it." Nyx's tone began to shift from amused to spiteful and angry. "Or perhaps your here to lecture me about giving Bunny what her sisters denied her, an actual chance to have and experience life instead of a single day of being used by a trio of ingrates till she blew up because of them!"
Pericles interjected as he perched himself on his mistress' shoulder, calming her with his presence. "Let us not jump to conclusions mistress he could here on the behalf of Juniper's former masters."
Nyx seemingly calming down regained her smirk as she snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh yeah, that's right! From what June told us it sounds like in addition to your reaper duties you've been serving as an errand boy for those old geezers lately."
"I am no one's errand boy." Grim pointed a bony finger at her. "Watch your tone with me, Chaos woman."
Nyx's smirk widened. "While you're here perhaps you can enlighten me on something, is the Spiral aware of what those control freaks are trying to do behind their backs, and you helping them? I mean binding the soul of their tool and weapon the Te Zuan Ze to the Elementals," Nyx giggled as she wiggled her finger at Grim. "That sounds like a big no-no, and not something that would get the Spiral seal of approval."
Pericles hummed thoughtfully with his wing under his beak. "It does sound like they are getting more ambitious wanting even more control, perhaps planning a coup against the Spiral themselves." He arched his brow at Grim with a sinister grin. "Which brings up quite a few questions toward your involvement, goals, loyalties, and so on. Especially when entities such as yourself are supposed to remain neutral are you not?"
Nyx chuckled as she smiled at Grim. "So why'd you turn against the Spiral, not enough vacation hours maybe~"
"The Spiral does not dictate my actions." Grim retorted. "Nor do they dictate the actions of the magical Elders."
"Guess that's one thing we have in common." Nyx rolled her eyes playfully. "They don't dictate what I do either."
"No but I dictate the balance of life and death and since you are not a foolish mortal and are attempting to interfere," Grim raised his scythe. "I am given the right to cut you down."
Nyx's eyes flared with purple energy. "You might have the right…But do you have skill for it?"
She fired a magical blast at Grim who spun his scythe, blocking the attack and in a blast of smoke appeared right in front of her. Nyx ducked as Grim swung his scythe, missing her head as she lashed it with her hair, whipping Grim in the chest. The Reaper was flung to the other side of the chamber but flew back, slashing at Nyx who hastily dodged.
Pericles tried his Semblance but it came as no shock to him that it had no effect on Grim. "Worth a try but I guess it doesn't work if there are no eye sockets, nervous system or even a brain."
Grim's scythe pulsed with red energy as he swung it, cutting through the floor as it flew at Nyx who conjured a purple energy barrier. However the barrier broke apart and cut through Nyx's right arm.
"OH NO!" Nyx screamed as her arm fell to the ground. "That was my good arm! How will I ever write again-HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Nyx suddenly started laughing as her arm turned to ashes that flew up to her stump and instantly regenerated. "I thought I could I hold out just till the end. Guess I'm not actress material."
Grim swung his scythe again right through Nyx but she disintegrated into ash only to reform behind him and blasted the Reaper away.
"You think you can harm me? I'm a Chaos Lady, literally immortal!" Nyx yelled as Grim spun around and slashed at her. "Blow me to pieces all you want, I feel no pain and cannot die and I also have the ability of disassembling into a cloud of smoke and reassembling into my good ol' self. In other words…You can't beat me!"
"We'll see about that." Grim said as he slugged Nyx in the face and sent her crashing into the wall. "There's more where that came from, Princess!"
Nyx looked up and smiled as her eyes burned with purple energy. "Go ahead and show me!"
Grim did as he teleported in front of Nyx as she pulled out the blade attached to her hip and crossed it with Grim's scythe. Nyx showed exceptional speed and agility, applying a fast technique of quick stab motions to the Reaper while dodging the scythe rather than blocking even though she would easily regenerate. As Nyx sliced at Grim's knee she quickly got behind him and started to slash away at the Reaper's back before Grim spun around and brought his scythe down on where Nyx had previously stood. As Grim's scythe was still embedded in the ground Nyx ran up beside Grim and let loose a magical blast that caused him to stumble back.
As Grim stumbled back Nyx fired a whole barrage of magical energy that created a ball of fire where Grim was standing.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
However when the smoke cleared, Grim just stood there unharmed with smoke rising off his figure. He looked over Nyx as he lifted his hand up and used telekinesis to pull Nyx towards him, grabbing the Chaos Lady by the neck and then slammed her into the ground several times before throwing her at Pericles, leaving them both fall back down onto the ground.
"You say I can't kill you but it's both ways, Princess. You cannot destroy the Grim Reaper." Grim said as he hovered over the down Chaos Lady. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls…" Grim leaned down as his voice grew deeper. "It tolls for thee."
Nyx grunted as she slowly sat up. "Let's kick it up a notch!"
She shot at Grim, stabbing with her short sword but Grim created a barrier to block her attack. Grim grunted as he shoved Nyx back, the Chaos Lady readying another magical attack as she flew back. Grim raised his hand as Nyx fired a barrage of purple magical bolts at him. The magic collided with his hand and formed into a ball of purple energy. Nyx stopped when she saw Grim was doing something with the energy of her attacks.
Without hesitation Grim threw the large ball of magic right at Pericles who had no time to flee.
"PERICLES!" Nyx shouted as she flew right in front of her familiar and took the attack head on.
"NYX!"
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Nyx was incinerated by the power of her own attack had only managed to conjure a barrier to protect Pericles as he was blasted through the wall of the underground complex they were in.
Grim watched in satisfaction as the lair began to collapse but saw the circle and the items inside it were being protected by chaos energy. "Drat, I can't remove them while that barrier is up…Oh well. I've made my point to clear to her."
"YOU!"
Grim watched as Nyx slowly started to reassemble herself. "Still alive huh?"
"Boney bastard!" Nyx snapped as her head fully regenerated. "Don't think you can stop me! You and those Magical Elders can't control me or the lives of anyone with me!"
"Funny you should say that since if the plan worked out Juniper Lee would have been on the path to becoming this world's Sorceress Supreme." Grim retorted.
Nyx's eyes widened as her neck grew back with her torso rising out of the debris pile. "What?"
"The Sorceress Supreme, the most powerful magical being on Earth which is currently Miss Spell. Normally we'd have had to wait a few years for Juniper's skills, training and power to be at the right time when she could be given the chance but with the threat of people like Bill Cipher, GOLB, Klarion, HIM and Sammael on the horizon the Elders believed the best way to ready her was forming a bond with the souls of the Elementals." Grim slowly explained. "Meaning that Juniper would have been allowed to access their memories and gain their experience and at the same time the Elementals would be given the powers of the Te Xuan Ze to make five powerful warriors to stand against the coming darkness. In addition to becoming Sorceress Supreme Juniper would have been permanently freed from the barrier around Orchid Bay with the option of passing the title down to her successor once they had been properly trained."
Nyx was stunned as her torso finished regenerating with her arms and legs following.
"Granted there was a breakdown in communication following the Crom Crises but you were quick to take advantage of her, weren't you?" Grim pointed at the regenerating Chaos woman.
"Well…You were still using her as a pawn!" Nyx shouted.
"A pawn that would have still have had a choice if you didn't throw her worst fears and nightmares in her face. You tore her bonds with her family apart, filled her head with terror and caused her youngest brother to be made her successor." Grim argued. "A little boy nowhere near ready for the trials. And why? Simply because you wanted to take away from the magical beings you are aligned against as a Lady of Chaos…And because you hate them for supposedly leaving you to suffer under Klarion."
Nyx's knees were regenerating as she managed to float off the ground. "I saved her!"
"Saved her or damned her along with her friends and family when darkness rises? You may be a Lady of Chaos but you are following both the nature of your being and the thoughts of the little girl who wants to spite all the heroes and good natured magical beings who in her mind could and should have saved her." With that Grim disappeared in a puff of black smoke, leaving Nyx standing alone once she was fully regenerated.
'Juniper Lee the Sorceress Supreme?' Nyx thought as she stared at the circle. 'No, I saved her. I know I did. I am not influenced by my weak former self or by my nature as a Chaos Lady. I am Nyx and I alone decide what I chose to do.'
She wasn't lying to anyone.
Not to Grim.
Not to June.
Not even to herself…
Right?
Xxx
"The Zoo is the name of a bar Team Chimera used to hang out at when we had some down time." Dwayne answered, clenching his fists. "He wants to get together like the old days."
In the meantime Kazemon was trembling at the amount of blood splattered everywhere around the blood stained cloth covering Ajax's body. The mere sight of it and what the body looked underneath…
It was horrifying to think about.
Even though she and Lowemon had experience fighting monsters in the forms of various Digimon she had never seen anything like this. Sure she had seen a few crime shows but nothing was ever…this real.
It didn't help that the air was thick with the stench of blood so much that was sickening.
Why did this happen?
This wasn't a human.
Well, Faunus were humans with animal traits but they felt all the same to her.
And this wasn't the work of someone with an ounce of humanity in them.
This…
This was the work of a monster plain and simple.
A monster with no sympathy or remorse and the kind she would wise to be struck down by karma.
Nearby, Artemis and Connor were staring at the boy as well, both of them shocked and disgusted by what likely happened to poor Ajax. Sure he made himself clear when he said he would never help them because of the unfair prejudice he suffered but he didn't deserve this.
They wouldn't even wish something like this on people like the Joker, Vertigo or Luthor even some might argue they deserved even worse.
But not them.
They did not dispense with this kind of brutality.
"We got to go after him." Superboy said, trying to get everyone back on track. "He can't do his alone."
"No." Dwayne said as he stood up and turned to the door. "He won't."
Xxx
The Old Zoo
The place had barely changed.
It was a fairly decent tavern with a few shady figures here and there. He sat at the bar counter, idly scratching into the counter with one clawed hand. The shady figures were glaring at him but he paid them no mind.
The other patrons seemed to be nervous and the bartender who happened to be a female orca Faunus even more so as he came up and placed a glass of whiskey in front of him. "Here you go."
"Thanks." He took the whiskey and dropped a few Technos on the counter.
"…You're not from around here, are you?" The bartender finally asked.
She knew he was a Faunus just by looking at him. He had long messy blond hair with sharp teeth and a leopard tail with predatory eyes. He wore a red leather shirt with four black stripes on the side, along with the Satyra logo on the chest area, black leather jeans and boots with spikes on them. Over the shirt he wore a black coat with the Satyra logo on the back and on his arm were claw gauntlets.
He flashed a smile at her, making her feel even more nervous. "What gave me away? Actually I used to come here with some friends."
"Really?"
"Yeah." He finished his whiskey just as he heard a voice shouting outside. "Did you all finally get insurance on this place?"
"Insurance? …No." The bartender hesitantly answered.
"Hmph, too bad. Always took weeks to rebuild." He said just as the door was knocked down.
CRASH!
"PARDUS!"
Everyone stood up as none other than White Tiger himself stood there, glaring hatefully at the man in the dark coat at the end of the of the bar counter.
Pardus grinned as he slowly stood up and turned around. "Well look at you. Used to be such a little cub."
White Tiger unsheathed his claws. "Sol, Ajax, Beaton. All of them. Why?"
"Why?" Pardus tilted his head with a look of mock confusion. "You guys never called; you never wrote…How else was I supposed to get the attention of the famous White Tiger? You know, after you and your brother LOCKED ME UP IN THAT DAMNED HOLE FOR TWENTY YEARS!"
"Guys, whatever this is, take it outside." The bartender anxiously said from behind the counter.
White Tiger stood there for only another moment before he charged at Pardus yelling in fury, Pardus let out a smirk as he growled and ran like an animal on all fours after White Tiger. They collided, their arms wrapped around each other, but White Tiger managed to pick Pardus up as he charged with him straight at the wall as he broke through it while holding the villain.
CRASH!
White Tiger and Pardus landed outside as both picked themselves back up as White Tiger reached behind him and at Pardus as he slashed his claws at the leopard Faunus who blocked them with his claw gauntlets and slashed back at his rival, but as White Tiger was about to stab at Pardus he smacked away the attack and he dug his nails into White Tiger's chest, making him groan in anger and pain as he threw White Tiger into the side of a house nearby. White Tiger picked himself back up as he looked over and saw Pardus running on all fours again, charging after White Tiger.
As soon Pardus was close enough to him, raising his claw gauntlets, White Tiger jumped out of the way and over his opponents head with a triple flip jump as he landed behind his enemy. Pardus looked back, seeing only of one of White Tiger's clawed hands to be heading at him. But instead of stabbing through him, the hand grabbed his neck in a strangle hold. White Tiger pulled his opponent in only to viciously head-butt him, quickly grabbing Pardus by his neck as he threw him up in the air and White Tiger jumped at the same level, facing his enemy.
While both were in mid-air, White Tiger viciously slashed at Pardus across the face and chest before kicking him in the face making him rocket into the ground. As Pardus looked back up he saw White Tiger slash his claws down as they broke through Pardus' Aura, each one stabbing him through the abdomen. White Tiger from mid-air pulled himself in as he brought his boots careening into Pardus' face. As the dust cloud settles, Pardus was lying there dizzy, as a hand grabbed him by his shirt color and pulls him in.
"Do you truly believe I'm just going to let you walk in and hurt me and my friends? I put you down once animal! What makes you think this will end otherwise?" Asked White Tiger angrily.
"Simple really." Said Pardus smiling as White Tiger flinched heavily feeling a cold blade enter his abdomen area and he looked down as he saw the knife that was in his belly. "I don't play fair."
Pardus then grabbed White Tiger by his throat as he picked him up off the ground. That's when Pardus started to transform with his hind legs, extra sharp teeth, fur growing over his torso and claws growing from his hands and legs,
He was now in his bipedal leopard form which was the result of his Semblance. "I gotta say Tiger, I'm disappointed. I'm guessing being a Justice Friend made you soft."
Pardus then tossed White Tiger through the wall of another house.
CRASH!
Pardus simply walked to where White Tiger was lying among the ruble as he grabbed his neck and lifted him off the ground. "I honestly expected a bit more fight out of you."
But as Pardus was gloating, White Tiger's eyes shot open and he let out a roar, amplified by the power of his Semblance. But Pardus simply dug his claws into the ground, holding on until the roar ended.
"I learn from my mistakes, you can't use your Semblance to beat me the same way twice." Pardus said as he head-butted White Tiger, slashing him across the chest spraying speckles of blood across the ground, and then finally tossing him back on the ground as White Tiger groaned and clutched his abdomen.
"What's wrong? Can't fight with a few little cuts?" Pardus asked, walking forward as he extracted the claws on his gauntlets.
"Now, how about we put this little tiger out of his misery?" Pardus asked as he made it to his enemy raising his claws.
But before he could bring down his weapon, several arrows flew at him as he threw his arms up trying to stop them.
He looked over and saw it was Artemis as she used her bow to shoot arrows at Pardus. She quickly finished her shooting as she dashed forward with her changing into its staff mode out as she slashed as Pardus viciously while Pardus slashed his own claws at the archer girl. Each one tanked and dodged slashes as Archer, with all her strength, slashed at Pardus' chest as she elbowed him in the face. That was when Pardus growled as he reached out and grabbed Artemis by the throat lifting her off the ground.
But yet again before he could gauge her eyes out with his sharp nails, Lowemon dashed in with his staff as he used it to swipe Pardus' legs from under him as the man fell backwards to the ground as Artemis was freed, kicking away Pardus as she made a double back flip. As Pardus was on the ground, he looked up at Lowemon who was hovering over him with his staff and he brought the end of it down on Pardus' face viciously causing his nose to bleed. Lowemon raised his staff to bash at Pardus' face again but Pardus moved his head out of the way and he then grabbed the staff Lowemon was holding. He swung the staff throwing Lowemon on the ground as he picked himself back up.
He jumped on top of Lowemon as he used his own staff to pin the Warrior of Darkness down by his throat as he was pushing it against Lowmon's windpipe, disrupting his ability to breathe as Pardus' smile just grew. Luckily before he could choke Lowemon to death, a force came barreling into Pardus' back that smashed him through the wall of a house. Pardus was flipped on his back by the force and he saw it was a young man, Superboy who had hit him.
"Don't. Move." The Human/Kryptonian hybrid growled.
Then out of the nowhere the song Rococo Rondo started to play. The two stopped and looked over in the home they smashed through, seeing a grown man sitting on a tricycle with an over-sized lollipop and a paddle ball in another, all the while wearing overalls.
The man stared awkwardly at the two. "Uh…I can explain."
Rather than listen, Pardus and Superboy got back into the battle as Pardus pulled his foot back and kicked Superboy in the face, sending him flying outside. Pardus grabbed a wooden beam that he saw among the rubble and charged at Superboy, swinging the beam like a baseball bat but Superboy used his strength as he lifted on arm up and blocked the blow, shattering the wooden beam. Superboy charged at Pardus without a second thought and punched him across the face multiple times before grabbing the back of his head and dashing over to a wooden wagon that was nearby and he brought Pardus' head down on it, smashing the wagon into pieces before tossing him to the ground.
He dashed over and picked Pardus up by the collar. "Give up. You can't win."
"Hehehe…Not for long." Pardus said before unsheathing his claws and stabbing Superboy in the chest.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Superboy screamed in pain as he flung Pardus away from him and looked down, seeing six stab wounds in his stomach that caused great amounts of blood to leak out.
"Heheheh…My claws are made with high-frequency technology. If you have trouble understanding it means they vibrate at a level that it can weaken the molecular bonds of my victims. Meaning they can slice through anything, even your so-called invulnerable skin. Now…Where is that girl again?" Pardus turned around and saw a hurt Artemis with her staff held in both hands.
Still hurt but ready to fight.
Pardus smiled as he moved forward.
"Hurricane Wave!"
A blast of wind slammed into Pardus, knocking him back. Looking up Pardus spotted Kazemon hovering in the air just as Dwayne phased out of the wall next to him and slugged him in the face.
"I gotta say…It's going to be a hell of a time when I'm kicking your ass, Pardus." Dwayne said as he loaded Dust into his Knock-Out gauntlets that grew razor sharp spikes.
Dwayne dashed forward and slugged Pardus in the face several times and phased down into the ground as Pardus tried to slash at him with his claws.
"Still that old routine, Dwayne?" Pardus snarled as he looked around for the raccoon Faunus. "I've killed Sol, Ajax and the rest…What makes you think you can even kill me?"
"How about cutting your head off and burning it?" Dwayne growled as he shot up from the ground and punched Pardus' knees, making him fall. "That good enough?"
Just as he was about to slug Pardus in the face the leopard Faunus grabbed his fist and smacked him to the ground.
Pardus grinned as he leaned to pick Dwayne up by the throat. "You then Tiger, than Bagheera."
"Get away from him!"
There was a flash of light and Pardus looked up, watching as Kazemon changed into Zephymon who flew straight at him. Before Pardus could even block, Zephymon punched him into the air. Her wings allowing to literally fly circles around Pardus as she knocked him around, eventually grabbing him by his feet and smashed him into the ground before tossing him aside. Pardus quickly got up and tried to defend himself but Zephymon grabbed him again and once again tossed him into the ground before picking him up again and while in mid-air punched him several feet away.
"Hurricane Gale!"
She fired feathers from her hair and wings that all enclosed on Pardus, knocking him even further back as his Aura shimmered. It was strong enough to survivie Zephymon's Hurricane Gale but it was definitely getting worn out.
Zephyrmon wasn't done as she flew in with her claws glowing. "Plasma Grenade!"
Pardus was about to strike Zephyrmon with his claws but the Warrior of Wind's own claws stabbed through his Aura and into his abdominals. Pardus stumbled back but Zephyrmon wasn't done as she punched Pardus in the face multiple times before grabbing him and flying into the air.
She spread her wings out and glared into Pardus' slit eyes. "Enjoy your flight."
Pardus silently glared at Zephyrmon. "I hate you. So much."
"Hurricane Gale!"
The numerous razor sharp feather along with the blast of wind at point blank range sent Pardus flying through the air, screaming the entire war.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" His screams echoed as he finally flew out of sight.
Zephyrmon sighed as she changed back into Kazemon and flew down to the ground, seeing the group gather around her. White Tiger and Dwayne were fine, as was Lowemon but Artemis had some bruises and Superboy was the worst from the stab marks to his abdomen. He was able to stand as he leaned on Artemis but he would need medical attention and fast.
Still they were alive and they stopped Pardus…for now.
Xxx
Over twenty minutes later after Pardus' humiliating defeat, and being thrown across the town and into a lake. He crawled out, very hurt and very angry. And, the only way that he could get enough protein to heal properly, he needed to eat something big.
Xxx
"How interesting."
Xxx
Pardus was nearby the water's edge was eating a water buffalo like what a wild animal would do, as he was biting away at the killed animal's flesh with his sharpened teeth. A golden portal opened up behind him as the force of it blew away twigs and leaves nearby. Pardus turned around from his meal as he covered his eyes with one hand while the wind was blowing. Pardus was ready to fight, but he suddenly stops as he saw that from the portal, came a human male with long black and white hair and a golden gauntlet over his right hand.
"Greetings, my big furred leopard friend. I have come here to ask...UUUURRRGH!" But Van Kleiss was interrupted by a strong hand on his throat as Van Kleiss started to struggle and gag as he was lifted off the ground by Pardus.
He saw that the leopard Faunus took out his other hand as he brought his two sharp nails to Van Kleiss's face as Pardus glared at him viciously.
"Hehe... Any last words before I gauge your eyes out, human?" Asked Pardus as Van Kleiss was still struggling and choking.
While he could have broken free Van Kleiss didn't want to reveal his new powers…yet.
"W-wait! Wait! Wait! I have something to tell you about that involves your revenge against a 'certain someone!'" Pardus still glared at Van Kleiss, but only some seconds later, he dropped him to the ground. Van Kleiss fell to the ground as he coughed viciously and rubbed his sore throat.
"Alright, you got my attention, human. Now tell me what you're offering before I change my mind." Said Pardus crossing his arms as Van Kleiss picked himself back up.
"*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!* Well, I saw you in action and I wondered if you were willing to work with me in a special organization I am forming." Said Van Kleiss as Pardus started stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"You mean like a general?" Asked Pardus.
"Yes, and we can get you whatever you need to take down our…Ahem, shared enemy." Said Van Kleiss.
"I still need to be close to the Satyra. Can you promise me that you'll help me overthrow the Satyra's leader?" Asked Pardus.
"We'll help you regain your lost power, I guarantee you that my... Furry friend." Said Van Kleiss confidently.
"Hmm, alright. But if I don't like what you offer I am going to tear your throat out. Understand?" Pardus asked, raising one hand to show his claws.
"Okay then, right this way." Van Kleiss gestured to the gold portal as he walked in along with Pardus.
"So, what's the deal with this portal?" Asked Pardus.
"Given the right coordinates it can transport you anywhere on the Earth, or even other universes." Said Van Kleiss as the two made it through and made their way into a dark room.
"Wait, where are the guards? This place looks a little empty." Said Pardus.
"Lunch break, oh and I have a little present for you." Said Van Kleiss turning around and handing Pardus a pill with blue liquid in it.
"What's this?" Asked Pardus looking at the pill.
"I call it the acclimation formula, in pill form."
"Okay, but what does it do?" Asked Pardus.
"It's supposed to strengthen your cells to extreme levels, enhance your healing ability, and even adapt your body to whatever opponent you're facing. Basically, it can give you new powers." Said Van Kleiss smiling as Pardus looked at the pill, grinning wickedly himself as he downed the pill without a second thought.
"But, there is a small catch." Said Van Kleiss walking out a door.
"And what might THAT be?" Asked Pardus.
"You're gonna have to endure massive amounts of pain to activate it." Said Van Kleiss as he pressed a button on the other side of the door he was on as two large metal doors shut. Pardus' eyes shot wide open as he looked back behind himself at the portal, which as disappeared.
Pardus dashed over to the metal doors as he slammed his fists against them. "LET ME OUT YOU BASTARD! LET ME OUT NOW OR I'LL... Wow, it's getting hot in here- Wait..."
Pardus turned around and saw that he was in an inferno as flames started to appear all around him. Before he could even scream, the flames engulfed him as he was screaming in rage and agony.
FROOOOOOSH!
The whole time Van Kleiss was waiting outside the metal door as he was leaning against the wall, waiting. But after a full minute passed, he looked at his watch.
"Alright, that seems like enough time." Van Kleiss turned around as he pressed a button opening the door as smoke emerged from the chamber. But as the smoke cleared and Van Kleiss waved his hand clearing the smoke, he saw a terribly burnt up Pardus lying there, so burnt up that even his bones were visible.
Van Kleiss shook his head as he looked down as the scorched body. "I guess he just wasn't strong eno- AGH!"
Van Kleiss was interrupted as the burned to the bone Pardus picked himself back up and grabbed ahold of Van Kleiss's neck, yet again picking him up off the ground. Pardus was so badly burned that his eyelids, lips, and cheeks were all burnt off along with his hair. But, unbelievably he started to heal up. His skin grew back along with his flesh and even his hair.
Pardus spoke in a raspy voice that got better as he spoke." You people are just as crazy as me!... I think I'm going to like it here..." Pardus got up once he fully healed up.
"Yeah, your skin is gonna grow back but now your clothes... Can I get some pants over here?" Asked Van Kleiss as he was still in Pardus' choke hold.
Xxx
Sammael was grinning now as he saw the Dragon of Denver pinned to the ground by a gravity field, broken and heavily damaged and the Grimm Slayer injured from a single slash. Both were highly skilled and dangerous opponents that he knew he would have to contend with sooner or later.
But still, he was slightly disappointed to see they were defeated by just one Terra-Claw. "I suppose it can't be helped when you come prepared."
Sammael then gave the order to finish them and watched as both prepared to deliver the final blow.
Only for something to happen.
Both Terra-Claws quickly dodged strikes from unexpected opponents who had appeared just in the nick of time to save them.
Major Glory stood between Dracon and his would be killer.
And Big Ben managed to pull Omnimon out of the way before his Terra-Claw could finish him off.
The big heroes of London and America coming to the rescue at the last second.
Sammael's grin widened slightly. "Now things are getting interesting…"
Xxx
Big Ben narrowed his eyes as he faced down the Terra-Claw and made the first move.
He charged forward as the Terra-Claw raised its hand and made a slashing motion…
"Wait!" Omnimon shouted but was too late.
Big Ben's eyes widened as he felt an invisible blade cut through his body…
There was a sudden flash of light.
Big Ben narrowed his eyes as he faced down the Terra-Claw and made the first move.
CLAP!
He clapped his hands together, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked the Terra-Claw back. The Grimm was stunned but otherwise unharmed. Big Ben then shot forward, delivering the first punch to Terra-Claw's face followed by several more. The Terra-Claw then caught one fist and its hand glowed, causing Big Ben to scream in pain as his hand literally melted and the Terra-Claw released twin beams of lightning from its eyes, burning through Big Ben's chest…
Another flash of strange light.
Big Ben narrowed his eyes as he faced down the Terra-Claw and made the first move.
CLAP!
He clapped his hands together, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked the Terra-Claw back. The Grimm was stunned but otherwise unharmed. Big Ben then shot forward, delivering the first punch to Terra-Claw's face followed by several more. Just as it looked like the Terra-Claw was about to catch his hand Big Ben jumped back and dodged twin lightning beams from its eyes.
The Terra-Claw placed its hands on the ground and from it erupted a trail of lava that traveled all the way under Big Ben at astounding speed, too fast for him to dodge. He let out a scream as he sank into the lava…
Another flash of strange light.
Big Ben narrowed his eyes as he faced down the Terra-Claw and made the first move.
CLAP!
He clapped his hands together, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked the Terra-Claw back. The Grimm was stunned but otherwise unharmed. Big Ben then shot forward, delivering the first punch to Terra-Claw's face followed by several more. Just as it looked like the Terra-Claw was about to catch his hand Big Ben jumped back and dodged twin lightning beams from its eyes.
He then plunged his hands into the ground, pulling out a large piece of debris and jumped as the Terra-Claw moved to place its hands on the ground. The Terra-Claw had not expected him to anticipate its next move and was unable to react in time as Big Ben threw the large boulder down on it. The hero of London landed on the ground, watching as the boulder moved slightly…
And then was blown apart as the Terra-Claw roared and flew into the sky.
Big Ben watched as the Grimm flew into the sky, flapping its wings and released a barrage of concentrated wind attacks that crescent shaped that cut through anything they touched.
Even him.
Another flash of light.
Big Ben narrowed his eyes as he faced down the Terra-Claw and made the first move.
CLAP!
He clapped his hands together, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked the Terra-Claw back. The Grimm was stunned but otherwise unharmed. Big Ben then shot forward, delivering the first punch to Terra-Claw's face followed by several more. Just as it looked like the Terra-Claw was about to catch his hand Big Ben jumped back and dodged twin lightning beams from its eyes.
He then plunged his hands into the ground, pulling out a large piece of debris and jumped as the Terra-Claw moved to place its hands on the ground. The Terra-Claw had not expected him to anticipate its next move and was unable to react in time as Big Ben threw the large boulder down on it. The hero of London landed on the ground, watching as the boulder moved slightly.
CRASH!
Big Ben immediately crashed his own body down onto the boulder, smashing it and slamming the Terra-Claw deeper into the ground. He raised his arms to finish the Terra-Claw off when he was suddenly lifted off the ground by an invisible force. The Terra-Claw was holding its hand out, showing it was using its power to hold Big Ben in the air. The Terra-Claw cracked its neck to the side as it stared at Big Ben, right before it flung its hand to the side and Big Ben was thrown straight into an abandoned home.
SMASH!
As Big Ben picked himself back up on the other side of the home the home was shattered to pieces by the sudden appearance of a tornado with the Terra-Claw in the center. It started throwing massive pieces at Big Ben but the hero just jumped out of the way of the derbies while throwing his fists several times, bashing the wood to pieces. Until a beam of wood came flying at him and smashed into pieces as it collided with his face. Big Ben's Aura protected him and he had a peeved look in his eyes.
He ran at the Terra-Claw that was floating in the air, jumping on flying pieces of derby that were rapidly flying around and managed to punch the Terra-Claw across the face, causing it, Big Ben and all the derby to fall back to the ground.
Xxx
"Now this is interesting."
Sammael was watching the battles his two Terra-Claws were fighting and he was enjoying every second. That said he noticed something about the way Big Ben was fighting.
"How does it feel, Joseph? That powerless feeling?" Sammael asked the downed Dragon of Denver before looking at Big Ben.
He was reacting to attacks before the Terra-Claw was even making them.
A mind reading Semblance?
No.
A Semblance that enhances the reflexes to the point the body automatically reacts?
Possible but unlikely.
This was something else.
"Could he be seeing the future?" Moloch asked, leaning in close to the crystal ball showing the vision of the Terra-Claw fighting Big Ben.
"Close. He does react as if he knows what is going to happen, what move the Terra-Claw before it even starts." Sammael mused. "Almost as if he's seen it before…"
"Seen it before?"
"Now I understand." Sammael grinned, even as Big Ben shot himself into the air to dodge another attack, this time a series of vacuum blades that would have cut him to pieces from the Terra-Claw's wings. "His Semblance must send information at a certain moment and considering he only reacts so well to attacks that would otherwise killed him."
"Then it can only be activated at the moment he dies." Moloch finished. "But there has to be a time limit to this. Five minutes? Ten? A whole hour?"
"There's no way to know for sure at the present time." Sammael brought a finger to his chin. "He kept it hidden this long and we can only surmise what we saw from him in action. To think, the great hero of London was hiding such an impressive ability all this time. His strength can match that of Major Glory and Krunk but this Semblance is clearly his trump card."
"Against a single Terra-Claw it may indeed be that."
It was true.
Big Ben's super strength and invulnerability made him able to go with a single Terra- Claw.
But his Semblance?
"I created the Terra-Claw to be strong enough to kill heroes like Major Glory. It has proven well against opponents like the Grimm-Slayer and the Dragon of Denver. However they are still rookies compared to veterans like Glory and Big Ben." Sammael leaned back in his chair. "I may have underestimated them in this bout."
"Yes. The Dragon and the Grimm-Slayer are brought to their knees. If Glory and Ben had not arrived they would be dead by now." Moloch narrowed his eyes. "Surely it can still turn the match around in its favor if you take control right now."
"The point of creating the Grimm like this is to create a weapon that does not need my constant supervision or the supervision of the others." Sammael retorted. "If it fails, I will simply have to make them stronger."
Xxx
Big Ben pounced on the Terra-Claw, pounding away at its face as it tried to clawing at him with the blades on the edges of its hand shaped wings. Big Ben's strength was enough to cause cracks to appear along the ground. The Terra-Claw's eyes flashed and unleashed a blast lightning upon the hero. Big Ben brought his hands over his face as the Terra-Claw stood back up.
ZAP!
CRACKLE!
ZAP!
The lighting quickly changed to fire with Big Ben still covering his face. He marched forward but as he did he noticed over a hundred pieces of derby from the broken house flying around him that halted with all pointed at him. As the flames died down he looked at the Terra-Claw who telekinetically holding all of the derby around him, using a gravity field to lift them up and using its wind power to control the derby. The Terra-Claw gestured with its hands once more and the hundreds of pieces of wood, metal and concrete all came flying at Big Ben at a hundred miles per hour, surrounding Big Ben in a crushing motion, forcefully enclosing themselves around the hero. The Terra-Claw grinned through its white sharp teeth as it floated forward.
"He said you would be a problem…He said you should never be underestimated and how did the great hero of London die? By the hard work and housing of your own country…" The Terra-Claw spoke in a multitoned devilish voice as it rubbed its hand against the compacted matter.
Then to its shock, a hand ripped out of the mass and tore through the Terra-Claw's chest and shot right through it, grabbing a black crystalline sphere glowing with a corrupted purple light.
It was the Terra-Claw's magical core.
The core that created its power.
"I'm not so easy to kill…" Big Ben said as he smashed his way out of the prison, standing before the dying Terra-Claw.
He then crushed its core without a second thought while the Terra-Claw screamed as it dissolved and then evaporated.
While this happened, Omnimon watched in stunned silence as the hero took down the Grimm that almost killed him. 'I fought that Grimm with everything I had and almost died. But this hero, Big Ben managed to kill it.'
It hadn't escaped Omnimon's sight that Big Ben was seemingly reacting to the Grimm's attacks before they actually happened. It was almost like he was predicting the Grimm's moves and knew what to do to avoid being killed.
Some kind of Semblance that can predict the future?
Well, it showed the Royal Knight he still had a lot to learn about this world.
Xxx
"He destroyed it."
"True but we learned a great deal." Sammael chuckled as he stood up and walked over to one of the many glass windows lining the room. "Who knew Big Ben's Semblance could send information to the past at the moment of his death?"
"It certainly was unexpected." Moloch conceded. "So why send these Terra-Claws after them at all? I thought you wanted them to all gather for the fight with Van Kleiss."
"Exactly." Sammael smirked as he looked over his shoulder. "They were a message to Major Glory. By now he knows we're on the move and now he'll know how serious we are. Especially since these are the same kind of Grimm he faced with his uncle."
The young hero trembled before the sight of the Grimm with wings shaped like hands and the immense power it wielded…
"He'll be motivated now to not only seek out all the help he can get but get there as fast possible to save the others from facing this kind of Grimm." Sammael continued.
"And what if the Dragon of Denver and Grimm Slayer actually died?"
"Then they would have died." Sammael shrugged. "And the Major would be stricken with the pain of not being fast enough to save them and the fear of others facing them."
"So now what?"
"Now, we begin." Sammael grinned. "The pieces are ready and the heroes will be making the first move."
"So it is beginning."
"It's already begun."
Xxx
"The Cluster."
When the Gems had heard of what the Cluster was they expected it to be many things.
Scary.
Ugly.
But not…dark.
It was a massive ball with orange fiery lines with gem shards sticking out of it in many forms, shapes and sizes. The sphere had multiple tendrils connected to the cavern walls, made of fiery rock.
"Strange, something's not right here." Peridot muttered, bringing up a scanner. "The entire Cluster is completely covered in concentrated peridotite."
"And that's not right?" Steven asked.
"No. It was buried underneath the all the periotite to-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
From the Cluster came a giant hand made of rock and magma that grabbed onto the drill and pulled it in.
'Yes, you've found me.'
Xxx
Name: Unknown
Alias: Big Ben
Race: Human
Aura: Sky blue with tints of white and red
Semblance: Deja-Vu
Description: At the moment of his death Big Ben can send all knowledge of what he knows back to his past, showing him what will happen in the span of time leading up to his death.
()
Name: Pardus Varietates
Race: Leopard Faunus
Aura: Yellow
Semblance: Were-Leopard
Description: Pardus is able to transform into a more animalistic version of himself, changing his human legs into hind legs, his claws and teeth growing sharper and bigger and even causing fur to grow. Once the transformation is complete, Pardus gains even greater strength, almost equal to that of Superboy along with superhuman speed, agility, reflexes and even a regenerative healing factor.
Weapons: Retractable red claws modified with high-frequency technology that can even cut through Superboy's invulnerable skin.