Battle of Jack Hanma: War for the Multiverse

Chapter 1: Victims of the desert part 4

"TAKE COVER YE BLOODY DEER!"Hoxton grabbed the deer by the collar and pulled him by full force. He threw up a table, making the team's unfinished meals fly all over the room as he brought himself and the deer to safety from the projectiles. The turrets were firing a small barrage towards their position until they lost their targets. Louis caught his breath, as he looked at the machine that presumably almost killed him. "Thanks for saving me back there." Hoxton looked at the deer while he dusted off his suit. "No problem lad, but that isn't our focus right now."The British criminal scanned the machines, noticing something. The floor was decorated by both bullet casings and tranquilizer darts, indicating there were two types of turrets. It was pretty clear who was wanted alive and who was disposable to the people who set the machines up. The heister then turned back at the herbivore, who stopped stressing so much after finding out he likely wouldn't die but was angry, because he was quickly able to put together who was behind this scheme. The criminal immediately went back to his laid-back demeanor. "Those twats are likely attacking the other team members who likely lack the privilege to be only attacked by non-lethal means, like you." Louis was surprised at how calm this man could be, even during dangerous situations. He spoke up. "Yeah, but those damn sentries are everywhere." He was right, as there were four turrets, each one in a corner of the interior of the building, making movement difficult.

As the sentries were scanning the area for targets, Hoxton got an idea. He tested the waters by holding out his hands, which the machines immediately detected, forcing him to pull it back in time. Then, he removed his mask and held it out, which was also targeted. It was clear the turrets looked for both faces and organic matter. The criminal put his mask back on and looked at the red deer, who raised an eyebrow. "I don't like this look you're giving me." Hoxton signaled the herbivore to lean out just enough, so his antlers were exposed. The herbivore was a bit hesitant, but he thought he'd likely make it out fine. He leaned out and the antlers were immediately targeted, forcing him to quickly get behind cover again. The heister now signaled the herbivore to come closer to him. As the animal who predicted bad intentions leaned in, Hoxton started explaining his plan.

The eyes of Louis widened after hearing the entire thing. "NO WAY! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TOUCH THEM." "Well lad, that's our only option if both of us wish to make it out alive, or we'll end up like them." He pointed towards the food on the floor. The eyes of the red deer twitched in annoyance, but Hoxton didn't give up on making him crack. "You won't have to pay back the price of your meal after we're done with this if you do this." The deer didn't budge, forcing the heister to more extreme measures. "Ooor. I could leak out what happened in that car ride…" The eyes of the deer widened with anger, as he pulled his pistol on the criminal. "If you do it, you're a corpse!". Hoxton smiled. "We can do this all day lad, but I don't see any other option of escape. Besides, if you ice me, you'll have no other way out of this place." The eyes of the herbivore continued twitching, until he finally gave in, as he saw no other way out of this restaurant alive or not captured. "You're a disgusting immoral man, so you better watch your back after we're done with this mission." The heister let out a smug smile, as he knew the herbivore would go back to liking him after this mess.

As the machines were scanning the area, a small scream was let out by the regal animal. "OUCH, NOT THAT HARD!" While still looking for targets, they immediately spotted organic matter, a broken piece of an antler with a mask strapped onto it, as it was thrown with great force. Both types of turrets immediately started firing at the target. Suddenly, while they weren't looking, Hoxton jumped out with akimbo pistols from cover, as he laid down several barrages of bullets at the machines. Before he even landed, he neutralized all the sentries with great accuracy as they exploded from the bullets, decorating the floor of the restaurant with broken pieces of machinery and metal. As Hoxton landed, he smiled at the consequences of his action. He got up and put his mask back on as it survived without a scratch and yelled at the deer. "Get up lad! The coast is clear!" Louis got up while holding the part of his antler where the heister broke off a part and was ready to comment on the results. "I'll have to admit, if you weren't so efficient at your job, I would have called the law on you already." The criminal took it as a compliment, while the herbivore then scratched his broken antler. "You also need to realize how long it takes to grow back. That thing can hurt my social standings, you know." Hoxton chuckled. "I know some people have suffered worse injuries than you, who were begging for medic bags. You'll make it out okay." The deer didn't like the remark, but he had no time to comment back, as the criminal rushed to meet the cook.

Hoxton kicked in the door of Gaston's office with his gun up, but the chef wasn't present, disappointing both men. The only notable object in the room was a door, which was locked and bullets didn't destroy the lock, so an alternative had to be found. They then looked at the metallic shudders. The heister gave back the pistol of Louis and fired a couple rounds at their obstacle, but it didn't even leave a dent. Hoxton commented. "Bulletproof metal. That Chef and his goons want us out of the way, for sure." Louis nodded with an angry look. "After this whole ordeal is over, I'll get my father to sue that prick into the dirt." The British geezer laughed again. "Or we could simply rob him, less expensive and more fun than court." The deer let out a disapproving stare, thinking it was barbaric until he spotted an air vent. "Look" He pointed in its direction.

The duo rushed towards it. It was high up, so a boost was needed if they wanted to get out. The Heister looked at the herbivore. "You got quite a scrawny physique lad. You'd fit right in even with those antlers." The deer felt a bit insulted at the remark, but he knew this was no time for emotions. "Whatever you say." Hoxton crouched down a bit as he held his palms up, creating a stable platform from his hands. The deer stepped onto them, and he grabbed the opening of the air duct. He threw off the air vent and he crawled into the maze of darkness.

Hoxton was waiting for the young one to finish the job, while he checked out the cash registries if they had any money. After being disappointed at the lack of his findings, he suddenly heard a door opening. As he looked at it with a gun ready, he heard a familiar voice. It was that of the deer. "It's open, come on out."

[…]

"Finders' keepers, losers' weepers!" Remarked Martin as he was way ahead of his brother, taking enjoyment in his irritation. He retorted back. "That ain't fair bro, I want to see it too!" The brothers were still in their wolf forms running to the coordinates they were given. Their destination was a dug-out pit which wasn't finished, likely because the digger got too excited from the findings. Martin jumped head-first into the pit and transformed back to his human form. Chris got in and transformed back as well and was ready to move quickly towards the loot until he saw something was wrong through the expression of Martin. "Uuh, bro, what's wrong?" Martin was digging with his hands on the floor of the pit, but he didn't see anything remarkable. "I-I can't see the fossils." His brother rushed in and helped with the digging, but it still didn't lead to any results. After enough physical straining, they gave up. "I can't believe it, did that man lie to us?" Remarked Martin to which Chris shook his head. "Highly doubt it, maybe someone stole it. The deer guy did mention that bandits were trying to break into his home city, maybe they took it." Martin started thinking while looking around. "That prick…"Chris scowled, to which Martin hastily cleaned his vocabulary "I mean that herbivore may be right, but I doubt bandits would want it, maybe that outdoorsman was simply a charlatan." "You're too quick to think people are up to no good." Remarked Chris with a disappointed expression, but he couldn't continue his thoughts, as he felt the heat of the sun vanish off of his body as it was obscured by someone big. The brothers heard an unsettling voice.

"You're too entrenched in falsehoods if you believe mankind isn't capable of vile deeds." The brothers got chills before even looking at the face of the man because they recognized it. As they looked up, their emotions quickly jumped to fear. Around the rim of the pit stood the Judge himself, wearing his old cowboy attire and armed with a double-barreled shotgun. The brothers started shaking from the terror, which made the smile of the sinister figure wider than ever, feeding off of the fear. But it wasn't enough. He wanted more of that sensation, so he pierced the buttons of the fraternal figures further. "For two men with a love for wildlife as passionate as yours, you surely understand the battle for survival present there, and that alongside the structure of the food chain isn't only present in the wild, do you?" The brothers couldn't answer, especially Martin, who was so close to gaining PTSD from their first encounter, being one of the most frightening close-death experiences of his life. The Judge continued his sudden lecture. "Two men like you should have been on edge after the first sign of suspicion, yet you failed to follow the rules the creatures you love and care for so much do. You have failed at avoiding your enemy and here we are now." The figure continued scanning the two men below him, who were almost like two insignificant ants to him.

Martin looked at his brother, both of them frozen in stature, as if he were waiting for a plan. They felt like one sudden twitch could end their lives. The Judge got metaphorically fat enough off of the terror he created and was ready to load up his gun. While he wasn't looking, Chris spotted a camel spider inside the pit and signaled to his brother his findings. As the Judge loaded in the first buckshot round, his vision was obscured by his cowboy hat. Chris did several hand signs and eye gestures, to explain his plans to the brother, without alerting their likely killer.

As the pale man finished loading his gun, Chris made a quick move, as he grabbed a hand palm worth of sand and threw it with great force towards the face of the Judge. The armed man immediately fired, but the brothers avoided the pellets by the skin of their teeth, as the Judge was forced to block his face from the sand, throwing off his aim. Just as he was ready to fire the next shot, the Kratts immediately put a disk of a camel spider into their creature power suits and transformed into the arachnid, hiding inside the vast ocean of sand. This didn't put a dent in the smile of the Judge, almost like he enjoyed seeing his victims fight back.

He quickly reloaded and fired a couple of shots into the pit, but he saw no sign of the brothers getting hit or killed. He took out an unlit Molotov cocktail, gave it fire with a Zippo lighter, and threw it with great force inside the pit, lighting it up like it was the gate to hell, the place even the inhabitants would fear this man. As the Judge scanned the pit, he assumed the two brothers already got out, so he started scanning the terrain, walking around with a loaded shotgun.

The terrain lacked any landmarks, with the only significant exceptions being some cacti, stone chunks, and light dunes. Among the prickly plants stood the horse of the Judge, indifferent to the sick nature of the man, while feeding itself through the small number of grass available in the area. The brothers were still in their animal forms, as they heard each thump of the Judge's steps. The brothers had near-death experiences with animals before so they were able to keep themselves composed enough, but those creatures were nothing compared to this monster lurking under human skin. The brothers discreetly attempted to sneak away from the scene in their human forms, but suddenly, they froze, as they felt their hunter get nearer. The cowboy was walking close to them and chills ran down their spine as the man was getting nearer and the footsteps got louder, almost like giant hammers being slammed onto the ground.

While walking, the Judge spotted the two brothers on the ground in their animal forms, making eye contact. Martin made an awkward smile, just as the pale man smiled back. He immediately started stomping towards them, making them quickly crawl away at high speed with fear. Despite the velocity of the Judge's stomps, his prey was too quick, forcing him to find another strategy. In the flash of a moment, he reached into his pockets and threw an EMP grenade in their direction. As it detonated, the radius of the blast was so huge, that it affected both Kratts. The suits of the brothers started malfunctioning and made them leave their animal forms back to their human ones against their will, as they stood on the sand with their eyes wide open. When they saw the Judge, they screamed, but with a more testosterone-filled voice compared to Zach's, and ran towards the dunes for cover. They jumped towards safety just in time before the pellets even grazed them.

After the two brothers caught their breath from the adrenaline, they tried to reactivate their suits, but they failed. While the EMP didn't leave any permanent mark, as they could fix it later, the tools to repair it were left in the RV, making their only instrument of defense useless. Martin punched the ground, as frustration found its way in his fear. "Damn, why did we trust that charlatan at the restaurant! Damn us!" Chris signaled his sibling to calm down, while in the meantime, he took out a creature power disk and used it as a mirror to take heed of their surroundings without the risk of getting spotted. While scanning the terrain, the Judge was far from them and seemed not to be in any rush, almost like he was too confident when it came to hunting his prey. They made enough distance behind a bigger dune, to increase their chances of survival. Chris tried to devise a plan, but his thinking was interrupted by his brother. "We should run while that sick man is searching for us." Chris shook his head. "He has a gun, we don't. Even if he's far away, a pellet grazing us is enough to turn us into fish in a barrel." Martin gulped. He didn't like hearing it, but he knew his brother was right.

As Chris took out a disk again to measure the terrain, he spotted the horse of the Judge. His mind started forming an idea, which was finalized when he saw a snake moving by, getting him the perfect escape plan. He looked at his brother as he was ready to share his plan with him, who listened intently.

After Chris finished sharing it, Martin raised an eyebrow after hearing the entire plan. "Do you think it would work? This guy isn't Zach you know." "The Zach we know and annoys us isn't likely the same as the one now, but that isn't the point. He may be a disturbed individual, but he's human just like us, there's a chance." Martin was lost in his thought for a second, before regaining focus. "Whatever you say bro, but don't kill yourself, okay?" "Never had that thought in the first place."

The Judge was checking behind the dunes, waiting for his targets to come out. He walked around with a large smile while scanning the surroundings. He was doing this for what felt like several minutes now. Even while acting it all out under the scorching heat, it was like the sun wasn't able to tire him out. Suddenly, he heard a rock thrown in his direction. He immediately turned around and aimed his gun. The perpetrator, Martin, was hiding behind the dunes and the gunman knew their intention. He made his way back to his horse, with a slow confident walk. While making his commute, he felt another rock hit him, this time hitting the back of his head. Even with that happening, he didn't stop his small journey. While the Judge wasn't looking, Chris improvised and started slowly creeping towards the man, while discreetly carrying the snake from earlier. Martin tried to signal with hand signs that it was a bad idea, but Chris was confident enough, that this plan could work, despite his immense fear. He felt like his heart was about to explode, as the closer he got to the man, the more numerous his heartbeats got. He felt like just stepping on a twig was enough to end his life and Martin could see it on his brother through the oceans of stress-induced sweat decorating the skin of his brother. After the Judge arrived, Chris hid behind a cactus without a sound, as he was doing everything in his power to mask his breaths. Despite the efforts of Martin, the Judge was incredibly stubborn, refusing to move away from the horse. Chris let out a frustrated sigh, but he accidentally made a move with his arm against his will, shaking the cactus. His heart skipped a beat, as their hunter noticed it. He smiled, as he leveled his gun and cocked it, ready to fire. Chris couldn't move, frozen from the fear, and saw his life flash before his eyes, as he was ready to die.

Martin saw it all unfold, and after feverishly trying to think of a solution, he knew what he had to do. He jumped up and started yelling at the Judge. "NOO! NOT HIM! SHOOT ME INSTEAD!" Despite feeling like this was the last desperate attempt at saving their skin, the pale man took heed of Martin's yelling and aimed the gun down, making Chris freeze just seeing his life saved, feeling like a massive stone was removed from his heart. Martin was feeling the same, until suddenly, the Judge fired in his direction, forcing him to duck under the dunes without receiving a single wound. The gunman was still looking towards Martin with one of the barrels of his double-barreled shotgun smoking. "What a shame. It's rare to see someone sacrifice themselves in the name of their sibling." As he looked back, Chris fled from his hideout. Feeling like both of his targets were scared away, The Judge was ready to go back to the horse until he heard another yell from the older brother, but this time, he didn't stick his head out. "Why do you have to hunt us? What exactly do you have to gain from such sadism?" The Judge smiled and looked towards the dunes where Martin was hiding, striking fear into his heart without even making eye contact. The pale man started talking. "If I may not be wrong, your trade is that of biology and the study of wildlife, isn't it?" The older brother didn't expect an answer but decided to continue the conversation. "Uhm. Yeah, exactly. Why so?" The Judge smiled. "You're one of the few men in the world, that should know the meaning of life." A short silence followed, being broken by the gunman. "The world of the animals reflects that of man. It's nothing more, but the purest form of men and its purpose. Animals are made to kill each other like in a game, just as humans are. It is the greatest pleasure of life, that all forms of life shall know." Another silence arrived, but this time, this was to receive an answer from the biologist. Martin was simply baffled by such an answer. He had to deal with people like Gaston Gourmand, Donita Donata, and Zach Varmitech who believe animals are worthless and it's fine to treat them like objects. But someone exclaiming that wildlife is nothing more but mindless massacre pushed him over the edge. "THAT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE YOU MADMAN! THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST VIOLENCE!" The Judge smiled wider. Suddenly, Martin realized that the Judge was paying attention to no one but him.

The pale man spoke up. "Aww, Mr. Kratt. A man like yours truly is lucky to hold such an innocent mindset, despite knowing such morbid truths." The older brother occasionally looked out, with each attempt, noticing the Judge paying great attention to nothing but him, which made him think. The ecologist went from being angry to a calmer state of mind. "Really? Well, if that is the case, what am I meant to do then? Accept it?" The Judge smiled. "Indeed. Furthermore. One should indulge in it. Nature is built for the strong, but one can rise to it if one so chooses to defy others. So, one should embrace it, should he not?" Martin was scratching his chin, trying to digest the thoughts. As he peaked out from cover, the Judge noticed that the ecologist was accepting his teaching through his facial expressions, making him double down on his lectures, while lowering his gun. "Life is nothing but a great dance. Even your foe, a weak shell of a man, Mr. Varmitech can learn to dance. Your comrades are close to accepting it. So can you." Martin was shocked at the revelation but was able to force it back to a more composed tone, not wanting to offend the Judge. "Yes, you are right. A life is worthless unless it defeats another. Ain't I right?" The pale man nodded. Martin continued. "After the words you told me, I feel like I realized the truth. Life is nothing but a series of battles." The judge looked with joy at the man. Suddenly, the ecologist made a smug look." And in this one, you lost."

Just as the warmonger realized Martin let the mask slip, Chris, who snuck up behind him while his brother distracted the man, put a snake into the coat of the Judge with great speed, which immediately awakened a reaction from their hunter. The sensation struck a nerve and made him drop the gun against his will while trying to get the creature from his coat. While this was going on, Chris grabbed the gun, removed its munition, threw it into the pit of fire, heavily damaging the firearm, and dashed towards the horse. The Judge almost immediately removed the animal and noticed the ecologist's action, making him ready to chase. Chris quickly let the horse free in seconds, got onto its back, and was about to make enough distance to remove him from the range of the Judge's fists. As the plans of the brothers worked, Chris rode to his brother and picked him up without stopping, with his heart close to exploding from the amount of stress it went through, as their hunter was surprisingly agile and was capable of keeping up with the horse making Martin's smugness melt and both brothers yell out of fear as before. However, even a man of his caliber could only chase the horse for so long, as the animal had higher stamina and speed, making the brothers quickly lose the Judge. The pale man stopped in the distance smiling, and watched, not showing any sign of being exhausted from the running, as his targets started becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.

After making enough distance between themselves and the Judge, the brothers let out a sigh of relief. While riding, Chris turned to his brother, but just enough, to watch their path. "Are you alright bro?" Martin was shaking against his will from that encounter. "Yeah, somewhat. After this event, every encounter with Zach, before he became a war profiteer, will be cherished in my heart." "Same here". But the brothers had no time to chat, as they heard gunfire in the distance, but the sounds were coming from the direction of the restaurant. Chris knew what was happening "If they ambushed us, the other team members are probably going through the same experience." "Yeah, there's no time to waste. Let's go". Chris made the horse go faster and attempted to make their way back to the restaurant. While riding towards it, they were on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the establishment, its parking lot which contained their getaway ride, and the highway next to it. They attempted to make their way there, but spotted something big in the distance. It was like huge orange clouds were forming, that engulfed the terrain. The brothers knew what it was—a sandstorm.

[…]

Jack was standing guard next to the outhouse Legoshi was residing in, who regularly let out grunts of pain with each one cementing the anger of the fighter towards the chef. The building was pretty far away from the main building, so they'd be required to do some walking if they were to go back. While Jack was waiting for the wolf to finish, he accidentally let his mouth slip. "Once you're done with that, we'll go out and show that man what respect is." Legoshi felt like he had enough energy to talk. "W-What exactly do you mean by that?" Jack's eyes went full white. "The Hanma way." The tone in which Jack delivered it made the wolf worry. "No no no. I appreciate your dedication towards my well-being, but no need to stoop down to that level." Jack's pupils turned back to normal as he welcomed the refusal of the wolf with a confused expression. "Why not? That guy poisoned you and you're going to let him get away with it?" Legoshi sighed at the insistence of the big guy. "I can understand your anger, but violence will only escalate the situation and I'd rather take the loss than risk worse consequences." Jack didn't take the answer lightly. "Allowing people to screw with you and not standing up for yourself is not a good mindset." His facial expression went especially serious. "If you refuse to stand up for yourself, people will notice that and will take advantage of you without hesitation." Legoshi sighed. He was sad that Louis's mindset was also present with the giant. The wolf spoke up. "I can understand your concerns, but stuff like that can spiral out of control real fast. More energy would be spent if there was open conflict, compared to just accepting the loss. Besides, I'm not built for a mindset like this." Jack could sense the wolf's uncomfortability through the way he delivered it. Jack tried to find a way to comfort the wolf. "Well, if you really don't want no, need to." The wolf was relieved until Jack finished his sentence. "I can do it myself if you please." Legoshi let out a slightly annoyed sigh, but in a more held-back manner, not wanting to upset the brute. "J-just forget about it..." Jack only realized now, that he messed up, making him awkwardly look at the sand floor.

As the wolf was done, he left the small building and both were ready to walk back to the restaurant until they suddenly spotted the closed shudders of the restaurant. Jack made a confused look, while Legoshi made a worried one. The fighter spoke up. "Oh look. They closed early and I couldn't even finish my food. That bastard cook sure does love messing with us." While Jack was thinking about convincing the deer to sue the establishment thinking it wouldn't upset the carnivore, Legoshi broke the thought process in a slightly distressed tone. "It seems too suspicious for it to close this early. And something about that chef seemed fishy." Jack raised an eyebrow. "How exactly?" "The way he looked at Louis… This doesn't seem good whatsoever." The giant put his gigantic hand on the shoulder of the carnivore, in an attempt to comfort him. "Then let's check it out. No time to waste."

The two guys went on to the establishment, until midway through the walk Legoshi stopped, as he started feverishly sniffing the air, sensing something he didn't before. Jack got confused. "What is it, boy? Is it the desert air?" Legoshi shook his head before he looked at the fighter. "I sense someone is near us I never did before. A man, 12 feet tall, a strong physique, and heavily armed." This further confused Jack. "I don't know what you're talking abo…." The eyes of the wolf widened with fear when he spotted the man he sensed before in the distance. "LOOKOUT!" The battle instincts of Jack Hanma activated and he did a fast leg sweep over the sand, creating a thick cloud around them, while he grabbed the wolf by the arm and dolphin-dived with him into the sand, as a large volley of 7.62x51mm NATO rounds flew over their head. While the barrage raged on, the brute grabbed a large chunk of fur at the back of Legoshi's neck and sprinted with incredible speed to safety behind the outhouse, using the large cloud as cover. After a short while, the smoke screen faded away, as the minigun stopped firing. As the wolf was let go, he fell on his knees as he was close to hyperventilating from the experience, while Jack let out a wide smirk at the situation as he got lost in his mind, because he finally was in danger.

As Legoshi was trying to pull himself together while panting with high frequency, he felt the giant's hand on his shoulder. The wolf looked into Jack's eyes. "uhh…. uhh…Thanks for saving m…." Jack interrupted in a cold and commanding voice, but not in a manner to terrify the young one. "No time for that! Stay here until I tell you it's safe to leave". The carnivore sheepishly nodded, while Jack prepared his ears to hear the location of their enemy.

The brute heard the heavy footsteps of their hitman, signifying a large opponent, as he started moving toward their location. Suddenly, the man spoke up. "Give yourselves up you, dirty muties. The longer you fight, the more painful your demise will be." The voice was very deep, which was heavily distorted by the mask the hitman was wearing. While Legoshi got chills, Jack smiled even wider, making him expect a powerful opponent. The brute didn't want to miss the opportunity. "You sound like a big guy. Who are you and what do you want?" The wolf thought this would only piss off their likely killer, but thankfully it didn't. The minigunner was a bit shocked to hear the voice of Jack, as he hadn't heard a powerful voice like his before, making him laugh, feeling like he would receive a bit more challenge when it came to exterminating his targets, as he answered back. "Agent Frank Horrigan, formerly serving the United States Secret Service, now a prime enforcer for the private military defense contractor known as 'Varmitech Robotics and Military Grade Weapons', or VRMGW for short." Hearing how high of a military rank this man was, has excited Jack even more, who starved for a good fight, while Legoshi was more concerned with figuring out their opponent's motives.

The wolf, after some thinking realizes that Frank is working for the PMC of the guy responsible for the attempted kidnapping of Louis. He immediately shared the info with Jack as discreetly as possible, so Frank wouldn't hear it, by whispering. After the wolf disclosed it to him, Jack answered back. "Ah. So that little loser is still trying to hunt us down. Interesting." "It's not just that. The Kratt brothers were right about one thing. This entire restaurant was likely set up to ambush us." Jack's eyes lit up with excitement. "So, more fights, huh? That's what I was waiting for." The wolf made a disappointed expression. "Please, stop thinking with your fists and think for others. If they ambushed us, the same goes for the others." Jack quickly realized this and attempted to restrain his warrior spirit. "Apologies for my behavior. But first, we gotta deal with that guy." He pointed towards Frank.

The behemoth was getting bored at the two chatting so he let out another barrage of bullets towards the outhouse, shocking the duo behind it. He finished and started getting closer. "You muties are making me tired of waiting. Let's just get over with it." He slowly walked towards the outhouse, with each step shaking the ground beneath him, both unintentionally from his immense weight and to purposefully terrify his opponents into submission. Legoshi's heart was rapidly beating, feeling like this is what herbivores feel while being around carnivores and thinking this was his final moment until he saw the expression of Jack, the stone-cold face of a man who wasn't going to go down without a fight, giving him hope, that this may not be the end.

The agent was ready to massacre them when out of nowhere, he spotted the upper body of Jack Hanma peeking out. Frank was ready to fire at him until he noticed that the brute threw his shoe with such force and velocity that it hit him in the eye, incapacitating him for a moment.

Jack wasted no time. He sprinted from cover with his shoe missing on one foot with levels of speed that would make an Olympic athlete jealous. The Super Mutant saw his target getting closer to him with alarming speed. A small amount of fear was present and he was ready to fire towards the brute, who dodged the barrage by rolling underneath the hail of bullets, before opening his mouth as wide as possible. He lunged onto the motor of the minigun like a wild tiger head first and crushed it in his powerful Jaw like it was made out of cardboard, making the firearm stop spinning, neutralizing the threat. Frank was shocked at the revelation. He tried landing a punch in the face of the brute, who immediately dodged it by stepping away and making some distance between themselves. Jack smiled menacingly as his eyes turned pure white. "There seems to be an incredible amount of power within you, yet that gun held you back. Now you can unleash your full potential." Legoshi looked with bewilderment at the previous move of the fighter as he left the cover of the back of the outhouse, while Frank squared up, the wolf and brute could read off from the agent's body stature, that he was angry. The super mutant met many savage men and beasts in the wasteland, but no one like Jack before. "For a dirty mutie like yourself, you got some guts to attack me like this." Legoshi chimed in annoyed and confused. "Why on earth do you keep calling us muties? We aren't what you think we are." The mutated behemoth looked menacingly at the carnivore, silencing him with fear. "Mr. Holden informed me that my main targets were muties who escaped. And those second-class life forms have no right to stain the land of the free. Now be quiet or you will feed the vultures" The wolf gulped from fear, but was also confused seeing this, being said by a mutant. Meanwhile, Jack was more concerned with the brawl.

Jack took off his tank top as it landed on the sand, revealing his large and powerful body, covered by battle scars. Outside of some witness illustrations, Frank never got a proper briefing of his targets, so seeing a man, only several feet away from reaching his height and with such a powerful physique in person, shocked him a bit, as he didn't expect his opponent to not only be prepared for a fight but also actively beg for it. He looked at the brute squaring up, as he went into a more serious expression. Frank spoke up. "You want a fight that badly against Frank Horrigan himself, do you?" Exclaimed he, as he cracked his immense knuckles, which were as loud as a hammer slamming onto metal. Jack smiled. "Indeed. It's rare to find opponents like yourself." Frank scoffed. "Don't think that flattery will stop me from ripping out your mutie guts." Jack smiled even wider at the expression. "Then you better pull as hard as you can."

Frank let out a non-visible menacing smile, ready to get the job done. However, before the fight even began, Jack could feel his cargo pants being pulled, as he looked down and saw the wolf with distressed eyes. "Please, don't do it. This guy won't go easy on you." The fighter's expression became a bit softer, but only slightly. He pointed towards the restaurant. "That's why I'll be the one to deal with him. Go, find your friend and get back in the RV, I'll deal with the behemoth." Legoshi's expression became even more distressed. "You really sho…" "I'm not gonna say it twice." The coldness of the delivery made the wolf gulp, and sheepishly nodded, as he started running towards the restaurant. Jack's expression went serious, as his pupils disappeared, focusing on nothing but his opponent. "Okay. Let's do it."

The two giants squared up, as one was starving for a grand fight, while the other just wanted to get his job done. The veins on Jack's muscles were bulging out, as he felt the adrenaline of fighting enter his body while Frank was much calmer. Both of them were unarmed and both were in a basic boxing stance, reading the other for any moves or attacks. Both had a difficult time, because of Jack's stone-cold poker face and Frank's masked visage. Both were huge fighters in size and the first stage of the brawl mostly depended on each combatant attempting to deliver an attack, which was either dodged or didn't do enough damage to significantly incapacitate the other while the fighters circled each other in the scorching hot sand, almost like a cold war in the form of a physical fight. Frank was getting annoyed, as he thought this mission was going to only last several minutes, while Jack was doing everything in his power, to read off of his opponent. The agent got a bit heated. "I thought you wanted a fight, why won't you attack you dirty mutie?!" Jack stayed silent, as he didn't let even the smallest of sounds distract him from his battle. Suddenly, the behemoth saw an opening and delivered a cross punch onto the jaw of Jack, who didn't have enough time to react, sending him flying over the sand. The brute flew backward for several feet before landing on his back, as he held his bloody jaw. Frank held out his arms as he looked at his opponent. "I told you. Mess with Frank Horrigan and you'll see an early death." The wolf heard the punch, and looked with his mouth agape at the event, as he was mixed on helping out the brute or Louis.

Despite the rude statement, Jack was unfazed. He smiled just as he looked up, which confused the behemoth. The jaw of Jack was so powerful from the amount of training he put it through, that it survived the punch without a single crack on it. The mouth of the fighter opened and delivered a single word in a deep and impressed voice. "Beautiful~". The agent got sick of the fight lasting this long. He was ready to deliver another blow while rushing towards Jack, but the brute immediately jumped sideways, dodging the punch, then did a hypersonic fast roundhouse kick, landing on the back of the super mutant, making him falter forward as he felt excruciating pain. Frank immediately regained his consciousness and noticed the dent in his armor, sending him into a rage. However, Jack went into the same mental state, as his eyes started glowing a bright red, and the air around his hard-as-steel body started violently pulsating. The second phase of the fight came into action, as the brawl became more animated and the attacks became more common. The behemoth was using slow, but powerful strikes towards the direction of Jack, while the latter relied more on speed, a certain amount of brute strength, and pure savagery, as he often delivered kicks to the knee, punches to more sensitive areas of the super mutant like his stomach or groin, or simply tried to bite off chunks off of the exposed muscles of the agent, forcing him on defensive as he got overwhelmed by the attacks. Frank tried to punch Jack whenever he lunged in for a bite, but he always pulled back just in time. Legoshi wanted to rush in to help but saw that both fighters were in leagues far above his. And on another note, he was somewhat captivated by the views, as he was speechless at the sheer power and resilience of the fighter. Jack Hanma went from being a misguided gentle giant to a blood-lust-fueled monster that held back nothing against his opponent.

The fight has been going on now for several minutes, with Jack aggressively on the offensive while the mutant could barely deliver any counterattacks, but neither side gained any upper hand. Suddenly, the super mutant saw an opening again and was ready to deliver a blow powerful enough to cave in the skull of the fighter, but Jack took heed of it with his fast reflexes just in time. He dodged it and opened his jaw wide ready to lunge at this enemy again, but this time, Frank couldn't fight back. In a flash of a moment, he bit onto a chunk of Frank's arm while the mutant was in an undefended position, and ripped it off with such force, that coerced a painful yell from the agent, as he faltered back holding his bleeding forearm, as large chunks of blood were spraying out of it like a fountain.

The behemoth let out deep labored grunts, as he looked into the face of Jack. His face, which once was only a violent fighter turned into an unrelenting beast, as he smiled wide, with a chunk of Frank's arm hanging out of his teeth. He made the most savage of mutated monsters of the wasteland look like tamed cubs in comparison. Frank started yelling. "WHAT KIND OF SICK BASTARD ARE YOU!?" Jack's eyes glowed even brighter, as he spewed out the chunk of flesh, landing on the sand. "To you, I'm nothing more but an enemy."

[…]

Slavoj was utterly disappointed after reaching the 'library'. The entire place was a rundown building, which was quickly painted over to make it seem like an actual place of knowledge. Most of the books he saw were written by charlatans who only cared about making money, were filled with misinformation, or simply weren't anything intellectual. The Slovenian let out a frustrated sigh, as he touched his nose and was ready to leave. He grabbed onto the door handle but noticed it didn't open. Someone locked it while he wasn't watching. While trying to figure out a solution, a slight mischievous chuckle could be heard in the darkness. Slavoj turned towards the sound source, which made the man hiding there quickly move position. As the Slovenian tried to figure out what was going on, the man appeared behind him. He let out an incredibly devious smile, as he pulled out a silenced pistol. As the philosopher sensed danger he turned around and saw a large Italian man, with blond hair and wore the same uniform he did when kidnapping the deer. It was Dabio, former henchman of Donita Donata. He started speaking in a manner a child would do when they would successfully lie to their parents. "Got you now, little man… There's nowhere now to run." He giggled with a childishly evil look as he pointed the gun towards the old man, who was simply unphased by the Italian. The Slovenian started thinking, confusing the Italian. "Uh, mister, can you please hurry? Mr. Varmitech told me I can't watch my favorite show if I don't kill you." Slavoj touched his nose. "I think the onhe you mhean't to khill is bhehind yhou." The Italian was surprised and turned around. He saw nothing and was ready to complain that he was lied to until he spotted that the magazine from the gun was missing. "Hey! Where's the magazine?" Slavoj shrugged. "I shaw some bhad man take it." Dabio was in shock and awe. "Then I won't be able to watch my favorite cartoon!" He felt to the floor with a sad expression. The Slovenian felt bad for the man as he didn't seem like a bad man at heart and patted him on the shoulder. "Lhife isn't just abhout conshuming mindhless medhia that dhon't teach you anything. There's mhore to it." The dimwit looked into the eyes of the philosopher with curiosity. "What do you mean Mister?" Slavoj touched his nose and signaled the man to sit down as he was ready for a lecture. He started reading off the personality the man had through his appearance and began speaking. "Sho, what is lhove?" The Italian raised his arm ready to answer. "Oh oh. I know! It's when a man sees a hot lady and so he starts trying to attract her, no?" Slavoj responded to it by horizontally shaking his hand. "Sohmewhat, bhut that's an ughly over simplhification." Dabio was surprised at the statement. The Slovenian cleared his throat and began speaking. "Lhove is abhout accepting a pherson for who they rheally are. You lhove them dhespite their lhack of inthelligence, lhooks, or any other fhailures, as you cherish the traits that make them what they are." The Italian was shocked at the revelation. He never really thought about it. Slavoj noticed that and was openly willing to continue the lecture, as he was thrilled to find someone who actively listened to what he had to say.

Despite being misled into a fake library, Slavoj could make the most out of it, by turning it into a lecture on different topics, from love, cynicism, teachings of Marx, Hegel, and several other topics, while Dabio soaked in each word, as he started even taking notes. Despite this, both were unaware of the dire situation outside.

[…]

Louis and Hoxton were rushing from the restaurant's back exit towards the RV, both sweating from their previous encounter. The deer looked at the heister while panting heavily. "Do you…. have a plan?" "Get the car and warn the rest of the gang." The duo finally reached the vehicle and got inside. The herbivore rushed to the steering wheel while the criminal went to the weapon's cabinet, ready to rip it open. However, there was one problem, as the two weren't able to accomplish what they wanted and yelled the same thing at the same time. "THE KEY ISN'T HERE!"

Hoxton kicked the cabinet in frustration while the deer was confused. "You do realize you could just shoot the cabinet open right?" Hoxton shook his head at the statement. "It's pretty clear you're far from the criminal life." The deer scowled, but the criminal didn't stop. "It's bulletproofed for a reason. There's a key, but I don't remember where it was." "Wasn't it given to that old man?" The British geezer snapped with his fingers. "Indeed lad. And if I remember right, he's went into that library." He pointed towards the poorly built building. The deer was ready to go but was stopped by the heister. "Sorry lad, but someone has to guard the car. Besides, there isn't much cover outside and you likely won't be able to dodge well." The herbivore didn't like that, because he wanted to go with the heister, but the latter also brought up the fact, that the car was their only getaway vehicle and they were screwed if they lost it, making the younger one reluctantly agree, making the heister pat him on the back.

Hoxton jumped out of the car and rushed towards the building Slavoj resided in, which was a bit far away. Louis went into the kitchen and checked his pistol. His magazine was full and ready for operation, so he could defend himself well. He felt a bit stressed, not only at the situation but what was going to happen to Legoshi. He feared what the soldiers would do to the wolf, knowing who led them.

It had only been several seconds now when suddenly, he heard a movement. He thought it was the heister, but it was too sudden to be him. Out of nowhere, the car was shaken, as someone big jumped onto the vehicle's roof, making him ready his gun and yell at the person. "Who are you?! And what do you want?!" Outside of some evil chuckle, he heard nothing. He felt stress coming up but was able to hold it back thanks to his training. Despite being armed, he didn't feel like this was an average threat he could handle himself. He ran towards the exit ready to bring back Hoxton, until suddenly, a large man jumped from the top of the roof and landed in front of the entrance of the RV like a cat, blocking the deer's path. The herbivore was shocked for a moment, before holding out his gun, ready to fire. He took a quick peek before he recognized the large man. It was none other than the cook from before, who had a menacing smile and began speaking. "Well, if it isn't my future ingredient ~".