Our bodies met with a rancorous crash, flesh meeting steel and neither giving in the slightest.
Stormtiger tried to help his comrade, bringing his claws to bear as he prepared to use his power only to be interrupted as Lee began his task of keeping him off of me.
The masked man appeared directly in front of Stormtiger, catching him off guard as the man struck out with one of his knives, forcing Stormtiger to abandon his attack to defend himself.
In the meantime, Hookwolf had begun to give ground, having trouble doing anything against my equally massive form as he slowly slid back while I moved forward. I was stronger than him.
I snarled and my muscles bulged as I threw the lupine man backwards before surging forward into him again. My fists sounded like thunderclaps against his metal skin skin, and he let out a howl of pain before rearing up and bringing his massive paws to bear.
The proceeding battle between us could only be called a slugfest. The streets echoed with the sounds of flesh and steel colliding with one another. Hookwolf's claws failed to find purchase in my skin while my fists dented and snapped the metal comprising his form yet it simply popped back into place soon after, the damaged metal falling to the ground as it was replaced.
I growled as a paw slammed into my jaw. The Oni's bloodlust made it easy to get lost in the tide of battle, but I did my best to keep my wits about me. This form had enough strength within its muscles to literally tear the metal cape into pieces if I so desired, but I was not aiming to kill the man, merely incapacitate him.
As his claws scraped across my abdomen, I slammed my fist against his jaw in a vicious uppercut, sending him reeling backwards.
As he lost his footing I grabbed one of his steel legs and pulled on it with all of my might. Hookwolf let out a startled noise as he was lifted into the air, claws scrambling along the ground desperately.
"RAAAGH!" With a roar, I slammed him into the concrete with all of the strength available to me. The concrete cracked underneath him as he impacted it, chips of stone flying in every direction before I lifted him back up to do it all again
Back and forth, I slammed him into the ground, turning my body as I swung my opponent with all of my power, beating the earth with his unwilling body over and over again.
I suddenly blinked in surprise as, with a loud snap, the weight I was hefting lessened significantly. I turned my head, watching as Hookwolf was sent flying away as my handhold on his body snapped off in my grip, leaving me holding just his leg.
A huff of amusement escaped my mouth unbidden as I watched him go soaring away to slam into a brick wall "Puny wolf."
My blood pumped powerfully through my veins, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I grinned ferally, truly beginning to enjoy this. I threw the destroyed leg to the ground before racing after him with a battle cry.
Up above, Rune watched what was happening to one of the E88's strongest capes in silent horror. Hookwolf just barely got back to his feet, regenerating his leg as the woman bowled into him again, what sounded like laughter spilling from her lips as they began fighting once more.
"What the fuck is going on!? Why the hell is Hookwolf losing to some random bitch!?" Rune shouted out in disbelief, "That motherfucker didn't say she was anywhere near this strong!"
Her words were undercut by a small amount of fear as she witnessed the massive angry ogre or whatever grab onto Hookwolf's thick neck, squeezing hard enough that she could hear the metal shrieking from several yards away.
"Rune! Pay attention!" Stormtiger commanded her as he destroyed another clone.
The girl yelped as the masked man appeared in front of her again, giving her a swift punch to the stomach that she curled around in pain. Her platform wavered for a moment before she reasserted control on it as Oni Lee disappeared.
"Fuuuck…" She groaned, feeling bile attempt to rise up her throat, "I'm gonna be sick…"
This was supposed to be an easy mission. They would go into the ABB's territory and stir up some trouble so that they could get Yosei to show up, fight her, and report to Kaiser what she was capable of.
They got a tip that Lung was going to be out of the city by one of Krieg's contacts, so it was the perfect opportunity to get an idea of what his 'heir' was able to do.
Hookwolf and Stormtiger were two of the best close range and long range combatants in the Empire respectively, so it shouldn't have been too hard to put her down even if she was actually Lung's daughter! So why the fuck was Hookwolf loosing so badly!?
Rune was completely helpless to do anything but watch as the ABB's newest cape mercilessly beat down one of her gang's strongest members. After all, what the fuck was she going to do? Throw bricks and dumpsters at the ten foot tall monster that was throwing around a two ton wolf made of razor sharp blades?
The thought was almost laughable, and Rune felt a helpless laugh well up inside of her, only to immediately double over in pain at the feeling in her abdomen. That was going to bruise, great.
She hadn't even really wanted to come on this mission, having wanted to take the day off from the gang and maybe chill with Yuko for a while, but she was the gang's go-to mode of transportation so she had been forced to come anyway.
That was all Rune really amounted to these days, nothing by a big walking taxi for the actually powerful members of the Empire. She couldn't remember the last time she got into an actual fight.
What a fucking joke.
As Rune slowly regained her bearings up above, back on the ground Stormtiger turned to the teleporting cape as he appeared directly behind him and swung out with wind. The resulting ash cloud hid what happened next from view, but once he was visible again, the E88 cape was visibly frustrated and sporting a cut on his right arm.
"Cowardly chink! Stay and fight!" He shouted out. Oni Lee responded by appearing a few feet to his left before immediately teleporting away. The clone left behind slowly held out a hand, in which was a gunmetal grey sphere.
"Fuck!" Stormtiger threw out both hands and a column of wind slammed into the clone and sent it flying away.
The clone held together until it slammed into a brick wall at which point it fell apart like the rest. The grenade that it had been holding slipped free of its fingers, falling onto the ground with a loud clang.
It rolled on the ground for a few feet before stopping, and Stormtiger stared at it warily for several seconds and nothing happened, no explosion to be seen or heard
It didn't take long for Stormtiger to realize what had happened. "A fucking fake." He cursed to himself, "He's not taking us seriously."
As if he had heard the words, Oni Lee appeared beside him once again. The teleported lashed out with a knife which Stormtiger easily sidestepped before sending a blast of wind at the other cape.
Oni Lee collapsed into ash once more and Stormtiger dodged another knife strike aimed at his abdomen. He ducked low into a leg sweep, hoping to catch the other cape off guard but all he hit was ash once more.
Stormtiger rose back to his feet and slowly turned to the air currents that he knew to be Oni Lee. He found the other cape standing only a few feet away, staring at him. The masked demon stayed silent as he slowly tilted his head, taunting Stormtiger.
That caused the aerokinetic's already frayed temper to snap.
"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Stormtiger shouted furiously. He threw out his hands, fingers curled into claws as numerous blades of wind flew in every direction, shredding everything in their path, "DODGE THIS YOU STUPID CHINK!"
The blades burst out, cutting through sign posts and slicing into brick walls as they flew. Oni Lee appeared for only a moment before bursting into ash as he teleported away just as he was struck, not reappearing again as the assault played out.
Knowing that he had a few seconds of freedom from Oni Lee's assault, Stormtiger suddenly turned on his heel, wind whirling around his hand as his eyes locked onto Hookwolf and the big red chink
He thrust the hand forward and three massive blades of wind surged forth directly at the woman who was completely unaware of his assault.
The moment that he threw them, he was forced to turn and dodge Oni Lee once more, and he cursed to himself that they hadn't brought more members with them for this excursion.
I stiffened as my ears picked up the sound of wind rushing towards me, and was just barely able to brace myself as several blades of compressed air slammed into my back.
I grunted as the sharpened air bit into my skin, slicing through it far easier than any of Hookwolf's metal ever had, sinking nearly an inch into my back before dissipating.
I whirled around to the aerokinetic who was once again focused on Lee, my blood boiling at the man's actions. That was a mistake.
The next thing I knew, Hookwolf was upon me. The man had recovered from his earlier treatment and slammed into me at full force, sending up both to the ground as my face slammed into the pavement.
His hooks and claws tore at my back, a few finding purchase and carving small furrows in my skin. I snarled angrily, trying to get back to my feet but Hookwolf had found the perfect angle to keep me pinned down.
His jaws snapped at my face but I managed to get my hand up and place it against his thick neck, keeping it at bay and away from my own.
With a shout and a burst of adrenaline fueled anger, I slammed the back of my head into his metal face, crumpling the metal held there. It didn't do anything to stun him or even hurt, but it did dent the metal comprising his features which meant that he would now find it hard to see.
Suddenly blind, Hookwolf attempted to keep his hold on me, using his body to feel for my position but I managed to twist myself in place, pulling my body out from underneath him and grabbing onto his middle.
With another roar, I flipped him over, slamming him into the ground as I climbed on top of him. The back of my head throbbed from my earlier actions but that only added fuel to the raging fire burning inside of me.
Roaring directly in his face, I held him down, pinning his body underneath my muscled legs and holding onto his forelegs with my arms. He squirmed as he tried to get free, but was apparently either unwilling or unable to simply relinquish his hold on his lupine form to do so.
That worked just fine for me.
Early depictions of Oni were said to harness the incredible destructive power of lightning and thunder to wreak havoc on the mortal world. That power welled up within me, surging throughout my body as sparks danced and crawled over my skin before surging straight into the struggling cape in my grip.
He howled and writhed as he was fried inside of his metal shell, bucking against me in agony as I held him still with a vicious snarl on my face. I pressed my clawed fingers deeper into his metal form, sending another wave of lightning through him and eliciting another noise of pain.
"Hookwolf!" Stormtiger shouted in horror at what I was doing to his comrade. He reeled his arms back, wind whirling around them as he prepared to send it at me, only for him to be blindsided by Lee's boot slamming into the side of his face.
He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and before he had the chance to regain his bearings, Lee walked forward and slammed his boot into the man's face once more, rendering him unconscious.
Hookwolf followed soon after, the man unable to stand up to the incredible amount of lightning being pumped into his body. The metal reddened and softened underneath my grip, the electricity heating the steel and fuzing it together, trapping the wolf man inside of a steely coffin.
Unfortunately for the greater part of the Bay, I wasn't trying to kill him. With great difficulty, I reigned in my instincts to keep pouring lightning into the unconscious man and slowly let up, pulling my hands from his forelegs and noting the imprints left in the softened metal.
As I pulled back and got off of the now-unconcious man, my instincts got the better of me and I raised my head high and roared in victory. The ferocious sound echoed through the empty streets proclaiming to all who were listening that I had triumphed over my enemy.
As the sound faded, a whimper cut through the air. My eyes instantly locked onto the platform still floating high above the battlefield and the cowering cape atop it.
Right, I had forgotten about her.
In one mighty leap I cleared the distance between us. Rune let out a shriek of horror and her platform began to move backwards and upwards in an attempt to get away.
It wasn't quite fast enough though, and as I reached her I grabbed the girl around the waist in a single massive hand, plucking her from her perch and falling back down to earth.
I cracked the concrete as I landed and Rune gave a squeak of terror that morphed into a sound of pain. I turned my eyes towards her, quickly spying the issue.
Her arm was squished between her body and my hand. It was bent at an odd angle near the elbow pressing into her side in a way that was no doubt extremely painful for the girl.
Broken. It seemed that I had grabbed her with a bit more force than I had intended. That was careless of me. I let up on my hold just a tad, not wishing to be needlessly cruel yet still kept a firm hold on her.
Lee walked up to us, hauling Stormtiger on his shoulder. As he stopped beside us, he tossed the man beside Hookwolf on the pavement, the shirtless cape landing with a dull thud and an unconscious groan of pain.
Rune stared down at Stormtiger in disbelief, before slowly turning her gaze back up to me, gulping slightly as she caught sight of my sharpened tusks mere inches from her face.
I spent a moment just observing the girl, holding her in front of my face as I scrutinized her intently. She was afraid of me, that was for certain, practically frozen in terror despite the pain she was no doubt feeling as she stared at me with wide eyes from underneath her red hood.
I debated what to do with her for a moment as I stared her down, before eventually deciding that it simply wasn't worth the trouble to attempt to keep her captive. If Kaiser caught wind that one of his enforcers was being held by us, it would cause untold amounts of chaos when he inevitably tried to get her back.
Best to just release her. It wasn't worth the trouble.
"I am going to let you go." I spoke slowly, making sure she was listening through the haze of fear. My voice rumbled like a thunderstorm and I could feel Rune flinch in my grip as I spoke, "You are going to return to your master, and you will make sure he knows that the ABB is not to be trifled with just because my father is not here. Do you understand?"
Rune nodded, eyes darting between Lee and I as she practically shook in fear, "O-Okay. Yeah, I can do that, no problem."
"Good." I let go of her, allowing the teenager to fall back to her feet. She stumbled on her landing and her hood fell back, revealing bright blond locks held in a single braid behind her head and once again I was stuck with a sense of deja vu. Why was this girl so familiar?
"What about…" Rune glanced towards her downed compatriots, wincing slightly as she saw the slightly melted form of Hookwolf and I shook my head.
"I am giving you, and you alone the opportunity to leave. They will remain where they are." I nodded to her platform, laying flat against the ground where it had fallen after I snatched her from it, "Go, before I change my mind."
She didn't waste another second at my words, practically scrambling towards her fallen platform with fear-induced haste, clutching her broken arm all the while.
She hopped atop it and immediately rose high into the air with speed that I didn't think the teenage cape was capable of. She looked back down at me, and just when I thought she was going to make some remark or an ill-advised attempt to rescue her compatriots, she turned forward and flew away, leaving them behind.
The moment that I was sure she was far enough away, I released my transformation, shrinking back down to my diminutive stature from the giant I once was.
I sighed as I came back into myself, the manic energy that had been suffusing my very being fading away along with the mist, leaving me calm once again.
It had been a long time since I had needed to use a form such as that and I hoped it would be a long time before I needed it again. They always made me feel a bit off when I returned to normal
"Now then, what to do with these two…" I mused as I turned my attention to the defeated capes.
Hookwolf was twitching and I could hear faint groans coming from the slowly cooling heap of metal so he was likely alive. That was… good, I supposed. While the man was detestable at best, killing him would no doubt lead to further conflict with the Empire.
"I suppose we shall leave them here. The heroes are likely already on their way after all." I said, lightly rubbing my arm where Hookwolf's blades had bit into me. The wounds would be healed by morning apart from the slashes Stormtiger 's attack had left in my back. Those would likely scar and already I could feel blood leaking into my shirt underneath my costume.
Still, a superficial wound such as that was a small price to pay for such a resounding victory. The Empire would certainly think twice about doing this again.
Lee tilted his head at me in a silent question, motioning towards the downed capes. Years of knowing the man let me know exactly what he was asking and I shook my head, "No, I doubt they'll manage to keep them for more than a few days at most. Hookwolf is far too important to Kaiser for the man to let him remain locked up, as is Stormtiger. They will almost certainly break them free before anything can be done."
Another motion of his head and I narrowed my eyes slightly, "No, Lee. Killing them would do nothing but cause the issue I was trying to avoid in the first place. We leave them for the heroes."
Speaking of which, I could already hear the sirens that indicated the Protectorate was on their way. It was time to go.
"Come, Lee. We're returning home." I ordered the man, turning to make my way in that direction, "I do not wish to be here when they show up and start asking questions."
I didn't have to look back to know that the man had already vanished, following me silently along the rooftops as he tended to do.
Today was a resounding victory, both for the ABB and for Yosei. Word of what happened would no doubt get around and people would begin to treat me with much more respect and caution than ever before
When my father returned and heard of what had occurred, there was no doubt in my mind that he would be pleased. Truly, a momentous day.
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