The Battle of Namek Part 1
"Attack"
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Inside the Director's office, Glover looks at all the screens. Each screen shows a single activity. One shows him how many heroes are assembling in the Namekian village. Another shows him how many heroes are assembling outside the village, near the area where reports say most attacks come from.
It was quiet. So quiet, it unnerved the director. That was until the first strike came from the enemy. Then it was pure chaos on the monitors.
He just got done talking with Gita again. He wanted to turn back, having heard the attack start, but the director told him to focus on Vegeta and that seemed to calm him down. Gita told him, they gathered as many warriors as possible, and they set out to find Vegeta. According to Gita, it was only five Namekian fighters, including himself. Glover wasn't happy about that, but he couldn't do anything. If the Venoms are conducting a hit-and-run tactic, which they never do, then the odds of them doing it to draw them in, is better than any alternative reason.
In the end, five warriors will have to work.
Hopefully.
Normally, Glover thinks they should send more do drag Vegeta back, but that would mean leaving the village vulnerable as most of their forces will be gone. And if this was a trap…
Glover didn't want to think about it. This will work. That's what he should be focusing on.
"You too, huh?"
"Yeah, let's see what he wants."
Familiar voices entered the office, drawing his attention away from the screens. He looked to see Piccolo and Kakashi walking down the stairs. "Gentlemen." Glover greeted before turning his back to them.
"What's going on, director?" Kakashi asked first.
"There is a situation brewing on Namek and I believe the Venoms are planning something." Glover said.
Piccolo was alarmed. "What?"
"Yes. Gita has informed me that the Venoms have been acting odd, as of late. I'll explain more when the rest have arrived." The director then turned back to the monitors with his arms crossed behind his back.
Both Kakashi and Piccolo stared at the monitors, sharing the same feeling. They are tense. They didn't understand why they weren't the battlefield. Instead, they were called here. Why? Kakashi did feel a little better that team Gamma wasn't called to battle, but he still felt apprehension climbing up his spine, ready to rear its head.
Luckily, they didn't have to wait long. Piccolo easily, picked the distinct sounds of footsteps entering the office and he recognised two pairs of them. Soon Kakashi heard two voices that he also recognised.
Both turned to see Goku, Naruto and Trunks descending the stairs.
"Hey, Kakashi sensei and Piccolo is here too!" Naruto said, surprised. Goku looked surprised too. The only one who wasn't surprised was Trunks.
"Oh good, you're here." The director started. "Now we can begin." They gathered and then looked toward the chaos happening on the monitors.
With Jason:
"Boy, did I speak too soon." Jason bit his tongue, as he ducked behind a wall. A beam struck it, causing dust and small pebbles to fall on his head. Gunfire echoes all around him. The marines fired their muskets and the distinct sound of bullets chipping away at houses, ringed in his ears.
He spared a glance to his 'hand' and remembered how he got in this situation.
Jason never thought this would be how things turned out.
Before the arrival of Jump Force, this town was a calm, steady, peaceful place. It's low rounded huts, looked like the landscape was letting out a breath, it didn't even know it was holding. It fitted well with the land, with their pale, organic colours, instead of looking like it was actively fighting against it.
Even the people adopted the presence of the buildings. But now, it's all about to change. Hopefully not forever. It reminded Jason too much of home. As soon as the asshat, Fred Cormack finished his monologue, he split up the group. With him, he took all the heroes, as well as some marines and ordered them to take cover inside the abandon buildings.
He posted the rest of the platoon on top of hills.
They waited as the silence stretched over the surrounding area. Everyone heard each other breathe, but still they focused their senses to look out for any stragglers. None came at first. With the explosions and battle cries sounding off in the distance, everyone there started to feel relaxed. They didn't feel resistance in their lungs, every time they took a breath. After all, if the main assault team, consisting of Namekians and other Jump Force heroes, could keep them all at bay and even eliminate them, then everything will okay, right?
Maybe they wouldn't need to fight?
That was the question everyone let nest in their thoughts. So, they relaxed and enjoyed the fireworks.
Until it happened.
The first thing they heard were the sounds laser beams, shooting through the air and then several houses blew up. Then the screams came. Men barking orders to others, telling them to fire and others, yelling in agony.
The second those screams invaded his ears, he froze. His legs locked in place. Jason took everything in. The fire took him back to New York. Once again, he felt like an ant that is about to stepped on.
Just then, he saw a Venom stepping out of cover, aiming his palm right at him and grinning from ear to ear. The beam formed a ball and shot out, going right for his body. Jason saw it coming in slow motion, but even then his body refused to even budge.
That is, before he felt his whole body be shoved violently to the right. He tumbled and rolled until stopped and when he looked up, he saw a marine firing at the Venom. When he bumped Jason out of the way, he dodged the beam and started firing his own musket the enemy. "Are you okay, recruit?" The marine asked.
"Uh huh." That was it. He couldn't get anything else out.
"Then do something! Don't just stand around or else your dead meat!" The marine fired one more shot, before he threw the gun away. He yanked his sword out of its sheath and ran toward the Venom, screaming, however it was all for not.
Jason saw him run toward the Venom, and when he got close enough, he saw the marine swing his sword right for its neck. But, just before the sharp blade could get close to him, the Venom stopped it in its hand. The marine's expression changed three times in a span of a few seconds.
First, stone cold.
Second, shock.
Third, pain.
It happened too fast for Jason to see. All he could make out was the marine was knocked backward into the wall of a building, hard. He didn't get up afterward.
Jason didn't stick to see if that diagnosis would change. As soon as he heard a crack against the wall, it was as if his body woke up. He scrambled to his feet and bolted away.
He ran as fast as he could. In between buildings, he didn't care, he wanted to get as far away as possible from them.
Soon, he heard screaming coming from an area in front of him, but it didn't sound like they were in pain. It sounded like men screaming orders. Jason knew he had to get there, before he-
Then the wall erupted, next to him. It happened so fast, but Jason could see a palm right in face before his body stopped in its tracks. He tried to force the grip off his face, but it didn't budge. Not even when he kicked his feet around in air. From between the cracks in the fingers, Jason saw the face of the person holding him in the air. It's the same Venom that sent that marine guy flying.
"Thought you could scurry away, huh?" The Venom said. Jason couldn't look away from its blood red eyes. "That other guy was weak and easy, so I hoped you'll make things a bit more exciting."
'Come on, Jason. Think! You've got powers now! You didn't eat that shit for nothing, so there must be something!' Jason tried to think of something. But those eyes. Those eyes that looked like bottomless lakes of blood grabbed the most of his attention. Nothing came to mind!
Thus, he resorted to the usual: a punch to the nose. Jason specifically used his right arm to grab the wrist of the hand, holding him up and slammed his left fist into the Venom's face. Jason didn't feel the sensation of the knuckle hitting the bridge, but the impact did knock the Venom's head to the side.
For a moment, there was silence between them. Jason's fist is still sitting against the Venom's face, somehow keeping it to the side. While the Venom stood still. A spark ignited hope in Jason. Maybe the solution was never some overcomplicated move but simply a straight up, old fashioned, punch to the face. But that hope was dashed as the Venom started rotating back to give him an indifferent side eye.
"That was so… disappointing. It felt like getting hit with a marshmallow, but I liked the effort though." The Venom pulled his fist back and aimed right for Jason's centre. Jason's eyes went wide.
However, before the fist met its mark, a flash came into view and Jason felt like he was blinded. Then he noticed the grip on his face relaxed. A sensation of falling hit him and before he could think, his butt hit the ground hard enough to crack his tail bone. The palm was still on his face, but he heard the guy screaming. When he managed to wrestle out of its grip, he saw the arm was cut off right below the elbow and the Venom was clutching the stump.
The Venom wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, it was glaring right at the girl he bumped into earlier. She stood in a stance, that Jason found to be odd. Her blade stance planted her firmly on the ground, and her energy blade is held with its tip pointing toward the sky. She met the Venom's glare with an ice-cold gaze. Jason could tell where her focus was and it was unnerving.
But then the Venom twitched and the girl moved. In a split second, she has already moved past him, but this time the energy sword had its tip down. The Venom looked like it was floating in the air, but then the body fell to the ground. Jason watched as its body vanished into a cube.
"What the…" The words died in his mouth.
"Hey."
Jason looked up at the girl, who's standing over him, in utter shock. But in her eyes, was nothing but cold steel. "Are you just going to sit there?" She asked.
Jason heard the words, but it was like his brain didn't register it. "What?"
"You're on your ass. Are you gonna stay there?" If her eyes were like cold steel, then her words are like a hammer.
Jason looked down at himself. He is sitting right on his ass, too afraid to get up. No matter what, his body won't respond. "If you wanna stay on your ass, then this is not a great place. People will only trip over you, so how about you get up and get yourself your scaredy-cat self, to safety. Deal?"
That flipped a switch. Jason never allowed anyone, doesn't matter who they were, to mouth off to him like that, but he's allowing her to do it now?! No way!
And just like that, he jumped back up on to his feet. "I'm not down and I'm not out."
"Really? Cause it looked like you were about to get yourself ripped apart. What's your class?"
"What?" Jason looked at her like she was a moron. However, the girl then grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him out of the way of a stray shot. Both ducked behind another house for cover. "Your class! Type A, B, C or D!" She asked again, this time a little more forceful.
"You're not making a lick of sense here, lady! What the hell is even that?!" Jason asked back, matching her energy.
"You know what…" The girl dropped him to the ground. "Just get to safety. You're in the way."
She left him there. Jason watched her run into battle, incredulous about the whole situation. "B*tch." Jason muttered as he got back up. But another stray explosion near him, quickly drained him of his bravado and once more, he was running.
He ran until he found a group of marines, hunkered down and launched himself to land next to them. One marine jumped at his sudden arrival, but as soon he realized Jason wasn't an enemy, he turned back to shooting any Venom he could find.
And that is how he got to his current location. So far, he's done nothing and he knows it. He looks at his new arm and with a shout he cried out: "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO USE THIS CRAAAAPP!"
With Zac:
Zac exited the portal, expecting to see something unexpected. He already knows that the world he's entering is not going to be Earth. So, he was not expecting anything to resemble Earth. And yet, the second he exited the portal, he saw everything that reminded him of Earth but reversed.
Blue grass and green skies. It was beautiful to look at, but the more he looked, the more he felt a strange scratching sensation in the back of his brain, telling him that this is just wrong.
However, there is one thing that is helping him cope with the shocking visuals and that is the non-stop giggling from a certain straw-hat themed, pirate captain, while he's running around the immediate area. It helps to see someone else enjoying the sights. Especially if said someone is rolling in the grass in one minute and the in next, he's climbing in one of the blue trees. He's probably looking for fruit.
Zac then noticed that he is surrounded by a large group. The group consists of members of Team Alpha and Namekians. Team Alpha, pretty much looked the same, with their DBZ battle suits. The only differing factor, is the different styles of battlesuits. Other than that, they looked the same.
This is Team Alpha. However, they weren't the only ones here.
Standing along the heroes of Team Alpha are dozens of marines. The marines had their firearms ready as well as their swords.
Come to think of it, they are all standing in the middle of a field, with hills. Zac looked behind him, and far off into the distance, he can make out small shapes that looks like houses.
"What are we doing here, Sanji?" Zac asked, looking at Sanji to his right.
Sanji shrugged. "You tell me."
Zac was confused, but just then, a blue screen popped up in front of him. It says:
MISSION DETAILS!
Assist Team Alpha on the frontlines!
Let no Venom get by you.
Reward: 12 000 gold
(Bonus available based on performance).
"What?" Zac mumbled, but it seems he was the only one with that question. All around him, every other Umbras cube member had the same blue screen in front of them.
"Oh, hell yeah!" One Alpha member screamed from behind him.
"Yes! Now I can finally buy that sword I like" another said.
"Now we're talking!"
"I can pay off my tab with this." A few more shouted one after the other. However, Zac didn't share in their enthusiasm. Somewhere deep down, Zac felt unease building in his chest. After all, why is there such a big reward?
'Usually, a giant reward only pops up when there is a big risk to take. That is what always happen in RPGs. You don't get this kind of cash from doing something small and menial.' Zac's mind wondered. He tried to answer these questions popping up in his head, but with each answer came another question. It was a black hole he was facing, one that only sucked him in and crush him in its grip.
"Here they come!" Came Sanji's voice from beside him. Its grip was strong enough to yank him free from his thoughts.
That was the last time he could think. The Venoms were on them like a swarm and before he could blink he found himself dodging and blocking attacks coming at him from all angles. He had to jump away from spots just before an energy blast could hit. While he was blocking two Venoms he felt his back push against another hero. With how much pressure was on them, they couldn't push off each other. Zac then caught one Venom's fist and the second's leg. The hero behind him did the same, except he grabbed one's fist and is blocking another's tackle, but thanks to Zac, the hero couldn't be taken down.
They stood in a six-way deadlock. The four Venoms tried to push and break their opponent's strength. The one, dressed like a ninja, whose leg Zac was holding, thought of performing scissor-like motion, to land another kick in Zachery's face, but he scrapped that thought when he found that there is a lot of weight on his balancing leg.
The hero then got an idea. He was bigger than Zac, maybe by a good two heads, and his shoulders are broader than him, so for Zac it felt like sitting against a brick wall. The plan was simple: he shoved the first away, making the Venom back up and then he picked the one up that's trying to tackle him and threw him into another enemy group. After seeing his comrade be thrown, the other Venom tried to attack but was met with a brutal punch to his jaw, knocking him out.
Zac felt all that happen behind him. When he felt the hero shift his whole weight to punch the Venom, he got an idea. Zac moved to his right and made the two Venoms follow him, then with strength that still surprises him, he spun both enemies in a circle, completely lifting them off the ground. He let go of the fist and leg, and the Venoms flew up into the air.
The other hero saw this and got an idea. He took out the blaster from his hip holster and fired, hitting both Venoms together with one huge blast. All Zac got make out, were two red cubes falling to the ground.
"Thank you." Zac said.
"No problem." The hero said. But then Zac saw another group taking him at them with their own energy blasts.
"Watch out!" Zac tackled him out of the way.
But the damage was done.
When both guys landed on the ground, Zac noticed something. The other heroes breathing didn't sound right. It almost sounded like he was in pain. Zac looked around and found the reason why he was in pain: a gaping hole in his chest. He panicked, trying to cover the wound, but it was too big for his hands.
The hero, with shaky hands, grabbed his shoulder and gave him a pleading look. "Make… them… pay." He barely managed to finish the sentence. His arms fell from Zac's shoulder, limp. It felt like his heart stopped, as Zac lifted his hands and saw the blood dripping from them. However, that quickly changed, when he felt a fire ignite in his chest.
"Aw, poor thing. Maybe if he wasn't so big, then he wouldn't have been such an easy target." Zac looked over his shoulder at the Venom. She was walking closer, slowly, wearing a standard Hidden Leaf shinobi outfit and an arm blaster. The smoke is still blowing out of the barrel. "Then again, you were really hard to hit. Guess you got lucky, having such a nice shield."
'Calm down, Zac. Stay calm.' Zac thought, but his hands were shaking.
"Aww, you look so cute." Zac saw her eyes give a glint in the sunlight, before aiming the blaster at him. A small light formed in the barrel. "But I bet you would look better dead!"
The shot fired and headed for Zac's chest but dodged it and blitzed the Venom. Before she could respond, she felt a painful strike to her chest that knocked her off her feet. Zac landed a powerful sidekick, and saw her body fly before it rolled across the battlefield. The other Venoms in the area saw this and looked at him with the same emotions: rage and enthusiasm.
But Zac refused to let their faces disturb him. 'Whatever you do, don't lose control. No matter what!' He repeated that mantra in his head as his body took a fighting stance, ready to face all of them.
They all flew toward him, but Zac stood his ground. As they came closer, Zac felt a little overwhelmed and a small flicker of silver flashed over his eyes.
With Jason:
He didn't know how long he sat there. The gunfire and explosions made it hard to tell, and the yelling grabbed the most of his attention. All while he was staring at his new arm. He's been trying to come up with ideas for this, but all he's got so far is nothing!
One of the marines noticed Jason sitting there and moved over, careful not to expose himself to the enemy. Jason jumped a little when he noticed the marine coming up next to him. "Man, what the hell are you doing?!" The marine yelled.
"Trying to figure out what I can do!" Jason yelled back.
"And?!"
"I got jackshit!"
The marine looked confused for a second, then he got frustrated. He pulled out a flintlock pistol and tossed it to Jason.
Jason caught it, but he gave the marine an expression that usually translates to 'what-the-hell?'
"That has six shots and don't mess it up!" That's all he said before he rejoined the fight.
Jason looked between him and the gun he got. 'Oh f*k it!' He looked out from cover, from the left of the wall and looked for a target. He could spot one that was close, standing out in the open, near a house. He aimed his pistol and ran through his checklist. 'Ok, tight grip check. Locked wrists check. Aim for a big target check. Now squeeze the trigger, don't pull. Don't flick the gun.'
In real time, he did everything on the list and the gun fired with a loud bang! The shot hit its mark on the Venom's chest, right under his left pec. He felt something on his torso, that felt a lot like a bee sting. Confused, he looked around to see what it was, but he couldn't find anything.
After taking the first shot, Jason quickly ducked back behind cover. He looked out again, making sure he only exposed a little bit, and he saw the Venom hard turned back to shooting energy beams at structures. Not hurt at all. 'How the hell am I supposed to hurt that sonovabitch?!'
He decided to take a chance and aimed for a more difficult target: the head. He fired and for a moment he saw the Venom wince in pain. "Ow! Damnit!" The Venom yelled out. "Who the hell is doing that?!"
One of the marines saw this and didn't hesitate. He aimed his rifle and shot a Haki-coated bullet at the Venom, which dropped him like a giant sack of potatoes. Jason watched it turn into another red cube, laying on the grass.
"Thanks kid! Keep it up!"
Jason could only shrug. 'For what, pissing him off with a peashooter?' But as much as he wanted to vent, he realized that it wasn't all in vain. If he could provide a distraction at the very least, then the other guys could drop the enemies.
He aimed his pistol to another Venom and didn't miss again.
With Zac:
Zac didn't know how many Venoms he took down. All around him laid bodies and cubes, numbering in the dozens. Every explosion sent dust and smoke into the air. It feels like night time. He felt his arms shake with every breath and his legs felt heavy like cement pillars, but he knows he can't stand there.
No matter how hard he wills his body to move, his body outright refuses to budge. His shirt clung to him like a second skin. The sweat already mixed in the skin cuts on his arms, irritating him.
Then another explosion shook him, causing him to forget his tired, aching body. He whirled around and saw many more Venoms fighting other heroes. The sight filled his body with a second wind and he leapt into action. As he ran, he noticed in his peripheral, an enemy was rushing toward him, dressed in a standard DBZ battlesuits with inverse colours.
Zac didn't hesitate. When the Venom got close, he stopped and unleashed an attack with his left hand, into approaching enemy's stomach. "Rasengan!" The Venom lifted off the ground and was sent backward, but Zac didn't stop there. With his other palm he summoned another Rasengan and smashed it into another Venom's face. This one was wearing a grey sailor outfit from One Piece.
Zac didn't let up; he continued to smash the Rasengan until the Venom fell over backward. His body slammed into the ground with a thunderous thud, creating a large spider web of cracks.
At this point, Zac felt exhausted. This battle didn't look like it was going to end He struggled to get his breathing under control, and for some reason it felt like he couldn't get any air into his lungs. His head was swimming and it felt like he was going to fall asleep, until an hand tapped his shoulder.
Zac jumped and whirled around, ready to scrap again, but it was Sanji he saw. "You don't look so good, Zac."
As Zac tried to get his breathing under control, he noticed Sanji didn't look like he had taken any damage at all. "Just… need… a minute." Zac finally let out.
"No can do. Listen, you need to pull yourself together, or else you'll kick the bucket." Sanji said. His cigarette not even moving from his mouth.
"Gee thanks… for the vote of confidence." Zac said before taking a long inhale in through his nose. He did that until he felt the air expand his lungs and stomach to their max, before letting out a long exhale.
His mind stopped swimming and his body regained some of its energy. Albeit only a little. With a grunt, he was back up on his feet. "There's just no end to them!" He was right. Heroes are fighting Venoms all around them in nearly endless waves or malice and bloodlust.
Another explosion happened and both turned to see another hero fall on his back, burned to a crisp from energy blast. The cause were three Venoms, and they looked satisfied with their work.
The Venoms took notice of Zac and Sanji looking at them and readied their attacks. Zac got ready to attack, but he paused. 'Which one should I hit first? The one marine Venom on the left, but what is he gonna do?! How about the ninja Venom on the right? It looks like he's preparing a Chidori, but the one in the middle is just standing there! Shit!' Zac's imagination was going haywire, trying to guess their next move. All those images in his head only locked his body into place.
But Sanji wasn't.
In a blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of the DBZ Venom. The Venoms were shocked and they tried to attack him, but Sanji was too quick. "Collier!" Sanji right struck the neck of DBZ Venom and while he was seemingly floating in slow motion, Sanji moved behind the ninja Venom, already doing a one-handed handstand. "Cotellette!" The next kick hit the ribs on the Venom's back. "Selle!" In the next moment, Sanji spun in the handstand to land the next kick against the spine.
The momentum, generated from the last two combos', made the Venom hit the other two. All three tumbled and rolled across the battlefield. The ninja already transformed into a cube, while the other two groaned before getting back up. The DBZ Venom sneered at Sanji, before spitting blood on the ground.
In that moment, pure awesomeness is all Zac could see. The fluidity, accuracy and deadly precision, along with power behind all of Sanji's kicks made Zac jealous, because he could never pull it off or at least he never thought he could.
"Zac look out!" But Zac realized too late. The marine Venom was already close enough to land an attack.
"Finger Pistol!" His index finger punctured right in the middle of his chest, right in his sternum. Zac could even feel in the finger inside his chest! When the Venom pulled it out, Zac fell onto his right knee, clutching his chest. His heart was beating erratically!
The Venom looked at Zac with a pleased smile, not even fazed by the scowl coming his way. He got ready to use another Finger Pistol technique and Zac saw the hand go back to form it, but once more his body refused to budge!
And that pissed him off!
Right as the Venom was about to unleash it, Zac lunged and landed a wild cross on the Venom's chin with a wet crack. Silver was the last thing he saw before Zac's fist connected. The Venom's body was sent flying into the air and his body turned into a cube that rolled on the ground, the second it landed.
However, Zac wasn't celebrating. His hand burned, especially in the area where his ring and pinky fingers were. Both hung down and when he tried moving them, it stung like hell. 'Shit! My hand's broken!' Zac thought.
He fished a senzu bean out of his pocket and just like that all his wounds were gone. His fatigue was completely gone to. Zac felt well-rested.
When he tried to walk, he felt a strong impact land on his back. Zac rolled forward and immediately got ready to counter but stopped when he sees Sanji with his leg stretched out in a sidekick. "Sanji, what the hell?!"
"That's my line. What part of 'pull yourself together' was hard to understand?!" Sanji's brow scrounged with obvious annoyance. "You almost died!"
"Oh, come on! I'm fine! See! I can still fight!"
"You're clearly cannot!"
Taken aback, Zac could only ask: "What?" Sanji brought leg down and took in another puff of smoke.
"Look, I don't have time to fight and protect you at the same time. There's a village over that rise, to the south. Head there and see if you can assist." Every word cut deep into Zachery's heart.
"You're saying I'm useless?" It was a whisper. Easily hiding in the chaos happening all around them, but Sanji noticed his expression and easily deduced what he was thinking. Zac was feeling sorry for himself, and he was having none of it.
"Just go already! How are you supposed to have our backs when you can't even cover your own?!" That question knocked the wind right out of Zac. He stuttered, trying to answer him, but he couldn't formulate any words or sentences to fire back at Sanji. In the end, he relented, so with an audible growl Zac turned around and walked toward the village.
As he walked he couldn't stop berating himself over everything that happened. 'Why couldn't I just do it right?! Now I'm useless!' The fire in his chest felt like an oven that has coal being tossed into it, and like a locomotive, his legs turned his walk into a jog, then a run, then a sprint.
He zipped past the fight and up the hill. Sanji watched Zac disappear over the hill before turned back to the fight, hoping that Zac could get his head out of his ass. "Wait… where did Luffy go?" He spoke.
With Jason:
Jason has been in the same position, firing at the enemy, trying to get their attention and then the marines would gun them down. That worked for the first one, and then the second and third, but it became harder from the fourth and onward. For Jason felt like the Venoms has them figured out and now they're hiding better.
Then an explosion knocked Jason to the side – his head hit a rock on the ground, and for a minute Jason felt a trip switch in his head turn off and then on. He tries getting back up, but his vision is blurry and he felt like throwing up.
He forced the puke back down his throat and tried to get up, but he couldn't get further than his knees. 'What am I even doing here?' It seems the rock broke the damn where his doubts were hiding. 'Who am I kidding? What the hell made me think I could do this?' His eyes landed on his gloved hand. 'Oh yeah, Chopper told me that disgusting thing would give me powers, but now that just sounds like a steaming pile of horseshit!'
He then looked back at the source of the explosion and saw many marines knocked out or worse. The sight made him grabbed the weird, alien dirt, pulling it in a fist. 'HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO HELP?!'
Then his ears picked up the earth crunching next to him. His head turned slowly to the right, and it was the feet his saw first. The skin was so grey, it looked like someone smudged charcoal on their skin and the toenails is pitch black. He saw the left leg pull back before it kicked him in the ribs, knocking the wind and spit out of him. He tumbled and rolled back before his spine stopped against a wall.
He tried to get air in his lungs, but the Venom kicked him in his freshly healed rib, so now every attempt to breathe was anguish. He wanted to get up but couldn't.
"So, you're the rat?" The Venom said. Jason looked through his blurry vision at the ninja Venom. "I was wondering who was pissing everyone off."
The Venom tried grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him effortlessly close to his face. Jason could see his reflection in the metal of the Venom's headband, all while crimson eyes were staring at him. "You really made things annoying, but in the end, it was easy to burn you out of your little hole. Now…" Jason heard a cackle and saw sparks next to the Venom. "You're done."
Jason watched as the Venom pulled his arm back in slow motion, either on purpose or not. 'Shit! Shit! SHIT!'
The sight of Jason's struggle to escape brought an immense enjoyment to the ninja, but it would look better when he falls limp in his hand. He thrusted the Chidori at full speed, but everything to Jason looked to go in slow motion. 'Is this… it? I went through so much… just to die like this?!'
In this moment, his whole life flashed through his mind. All the trouble he did. All the laughs he shared. The memories of his family – his sister, mother and stepfather – made him realize that he's been stupid and that broke his heart. 'I should have answered. I'm sorry!' Jason fought back the tears, but in the end, that's all he could do. He closed his eyes, waiting for the final strike, but then he heard something. It sounded like a soft, squishy thud.
Jason opened his eyes and didn't see the Venom's red eyes anymore. Instead, there were two sandals, carried by two legs, planted into his eye sockets. A left foot, in the right socket and a right foot, in the left. The combined force knocked the Venom back and in the process, Jason felt the grip loosen. He fell on his stomach before he scrambled up, once he did, the noticed the Venom fell back a few meters.
In front of him stood identical kids, both wearing the same clothes, but both also shared distinctive blonde hair. "Boruto?" Jason muttered.
Boruto heard him. "That's right! Boruto Uzumaki is on the scene, you know!" One clone said.
"And we're here to kick some butt!" Then both clones said in unison before dashing toward the Venom.
The Venom was still struggling to get back up when he noticed too late. Both clones slammed a palm into the Venom's chest, allowing him to experience his turn to have his wind knocked out. But they didn't stop there.
One clone smashed a dual palm strike into his chest again, sending the ninja up into the sky, then another clone popped into existence behind him to kick his back and send him back down to Boruto. But Boruto wasn't worried. The ninja Venom met a side kick that made him tumble across the ground.
"Here comes the finisher!" Boruto said, readying his Rasengan. It swirled through the air, leaving behind mist-blue lines before it vanished completely. Boruto smirked, hoping this will be the finisher, like he said.
But the Venom wasn't stupid. He knows what that technique is and without wasting effort, he rolled to the right, letting the Vanishing Rasengan float by in its transparent state.
"Damnit!" Boruto yelled out. The Venom smirked but before he could retaliate, he saw something else coming his way out of the corner of his eye.
It was Jason, barrelling straight at the Venom at full speed. Boruto looked at him oddly, but the Venom scoffed. "Seriously! What are you gonna do, little rat?! Punch me?!" The Venom was sure that there is nothing that Jason could do to him. After all, he was on his knees when he saw him and he was struggling in his grip, just a moment ago. So, in his mind he has nothing that could make him a threat.
In the end, that's what he thinks.
As Jason sprinted and he felt the wind whip past his face, almost slicing his cheeks, but that didn't stop him. Being the high school track star helped with that. But he was also another thing: unafraid of a scrap!
'You thought you could hurt me and keep me down?!' His thoughts were crystal clear, but he felt a strange tingle in his left hand. 'You think you can SCARE ME?!' He clenched his left fist, in a familiar pattern that he always used, but while strange tingle transformed in a strong pulse. 'YOU. DON'T. SCARE. ME!' He stopped in front of the ninja and swung his left arm.
Now it was the Venom's time to experience slow motion. He watched the little fist coming straight at his face, but he was unimpressed. What should he do? Should he catch it or let it break against his chin? He couldn't decide, because both had very amusing outcomes for him.
However, he suddenly noticed, not just the fist, but the whole arm stretching. No, not stretching, bulking, and it is getting faster. His red, bloodshot eyes widen in disbelieve. 'What the hell is that?!' The Venom thought and it was shared by Boruto.
Just when the Venom could lift his arm to block the hit, he noticed one more thing: Jason's left sleeve ripped to reveal a shining, purple mass of something that looks like muscle, but at the same it isn't. 'Oh, come on!' All Jason could see was a dumbfounded expression plastered all over the Venom's face.
Jason swung his signature left cross with all he has. Focused to unleash his pent-up anger and frustration in one single point. The left smashed into the Venom's guard and broke through it, smashing his face in. "GO TO HELLL!" Jason screamed as his fist sent the Venom flying like a bullet, smashing through three houses.
The Venom laid, buried in the rubble of the third house, with his arm broken and his teeth knocked out, but at the very least, passed out.
Boruto looked at Jason, slack jawed. "Whoa!" That was all he could say.
Jason looked at his new arm, just barely keeping it up before it fell to the ground with a small quake. "Holy shit… what the?" Jason was just as slack jawed. "Shit, this thing is heavy!" He tried to move his arm, but it wouldn't budge.
Thoughts like, if only it was smaller than this then he could lift it, came through his mind and his arm made that same pulse again, but this time he could feel it. The rapidly grew smaller, until it was the size of a normal arm again, with some slight differences. Differences like better muscle tone.
"Oh, hell yeah! Now we're talking!" Jason yelled out in admiration.
A sharp, familiar pain hit his side, and he dropped to one knee. For a few moments he forgot where he was kicked earlier. "Oh yeah, my ribs." Jason held his side with his gel-arm. He was wondering why this thing didn't kick in earlier, when he was kicked like a soccer ball. It sure would have been helpful to have these powers create some kind of gel-like armour around his body.
Jason then heard someone jogging over to him. "Hey mister, are you okay?!" It was Boruto.
"Yeah… Just… winded, you know?" Jason answered, trying not to flinch from the pain, but failing. "Give a sec."
Boruto stopped next to him and pulled something out of his pocket, a senzu bean. "Here, take this."
Jason looked at it oddly. "No thanks, not in the mood for candy."
"It's not candy! This will heal you up, you know!"
He cocked his brow, but looking at it, it looked like a jelly bean. Who would look at it and call it something else? Jason looked up at Boruto and saw his look of determination. In the end, what does he have to lose? If he eats it and it does what Boruto said it will, then he's fine, and if it doesn't, he's still fine.
So, what's the harm?
Jason, with a shaky hand, reach for it and took it. He looked it over for a second, before he ate it. His face scrunched. "It tastes like medicine." Jason said.
But soon after he said that his body gave an involuntary kick, like it got a jump start and then the pain was gone. "Hey, wait! My ribs are fine?!"
He couldn't ask any more questions, before an explosion happened right behind them. "There's no time! We have to move!" Boruto said before he bolted away from the area.
Jason followed suit. Despite his track record, he was having trouble keeping up with Boruto. It reminded him of his title back in high-school and his record, set during his last year. But after that, he didn't have time to train like he used to. After graduating high school, he went job hunting and landed himself in his uncle's mechanic shop. Soon after, his schedule was so booked, it was a miracle that his friends still stuck around.
However, he's happy to see that he still has it! The look on that Venom's face, before he flew through a couple houses, was absolutely priceless! Jason couldn't help but feel giddy.
In fact, ever since this war started, he felt down and blue. Just a crippled civilian, hiding away in his room and now, he's more alive than ever. Even with all the explosions going off around him, he couldn't bother with them. Even with all the chaos he's dodging, he doesn't care.
When he noticed a Venom trying to attack them, he simply buffed his left arm and swung at him before he could attack. The blow knocked him back, and it was a delight for Jason to see.
So much so, that he gave a very loud "YAHOOO!" as he ran through the battlefield.
With Zac:
He stopped running the second he cleared that hill. Now he's walking, while the sound of battle is barely going off behind him. The smoke let up when he got a good distance from the fight and he saw the sun was really starting to set. But he didn't admire the view. He feels pathetic. 'What even is the point of having this power, if I'm still useless!'
He kicked a sizeable stone so hard, it skipped across the river's surface and smashed into the riverbank on the opposite side, with a noticeable thud. 'Look at that! I couldn't do that before this, and even then, now I'm still benched!'
But still he keeps walking, toward the town Sanji mentioned. Toward the looks of marines, wondering why a front-line fighter, who looks fine, is doing the walk of shame between them. The thought eventually slowed down his steps, until he came to a halt.
"What can I say? 'Hey guys, sorry Sanji told me to come back when I got my head of my ass! How's the leg, Jimmy?' Seriously, they'll either think I'm the biggest joke in the world or the most incompetent moron on the planet." The words, came out as a mumble.
He stopped looking in front and then turned back to battle. The thought of just disregarding Sanji and waltzing back there, made him swell with pride. No one ever took Sanji seriously about anything on the ship, except for cooking and… "Fighting." Zac mumbled again. "Cooking and fighting are his strong suits. So in the end, he has a point."
He stood a while still, thinking. "Maybe I could just go back and tell him, my head is in the game? Could that work?" He bargained. The results are majority negative, considering who he wants to sell it to. "Yeah, right what am I thinking? If I'm not a girl, he'll won't fall for it."
But then, his words were caught in his throat, and a sudden chill ran through his body.
It doesn't feel like normal goosebumps. It feels like there's someone holding an ice-cold blade to the back of his neck. Zac slowly turned around toward the town's direction and he swallowed a lump. His body broke out in a cold sweat. His heart is beating in his ears.
'What… is that?' Zac thought as he looked toward nothing, but he knows there's something there. The chill is now on his throat. It feels like there's a grim reaper, holding its scythe ready for the killing blow.
Zac was frozen in place, for a minute, until he broke into a sprint toward the town. Everyone there is in danger and he can't stay here, while that's happening! "God, please give me strength… because I'm going to need it." Despite the fear, his resolve held out and once again, his eyes steeled.
TO BE CONTINUED.