CITY B – CENTRAL ZONE – OPEN BATTLE
Fast Track slid on his rollerblades between the Daemons' legs. His wheels screeched on the asphalt, then on walls, then on bus shelter ceilings. He accelerated the rotation of his wheels, doubling, tripling his speed with each impulse.
"TOO SLOW!"
His foot, armed with those rollerblades, landed violently on a Terra's skull, slicing it in two. His wheels spun so fast they gave the effect of a circular saw.
But the Terra leader was still there. He observed, impassive, his red eyes glowing beneath his leather membrane.
Zane, taking cover behind a burnt-out bus, concentrated his Ether. Bluish sparks crackled around his fists.
"I've got him, Fast Track!"
He unleashed a volley. The lightning struck the leader square in the chest. The monster didn't flinch.
"Electricity…" His voice was deep, almost amused. "We come from the earth, sky-child. Lightning doesn't scare us."
He struck the ground. A shockwave threw Zane against a lamppost.
Fast Track caught his sidekick before he fell.
"He's tough, that one."
"My name is TURF," the leader growled. "Big Teddy was my father. You will pay for his blood."
He charged toward the duo.
Zane broke away from Fast Track and ran to the side to distract him.
Turf tried for a moment to follow Zane's movements, far too quick for him.
As he tried to push Zane back, he felt a cut, then violet blood dripped from his chest.
It was his.
"You did this to me?"
"Ho… How."
Fast Track stopped for a moment and answered, almost condescendingly.
"It's simple. I used my rotation to accelerate the speed of my wheels to give them the necessary force to slice through your chest."
"What a fascinating power. Too bad I have to take your life."
"You find my power interesting? Ahahah."
"And yet I've spent my life trying to optimize it as much as possible—this same power that was once deemed useless."
"You could say I achieved my goal."
While Turf was occupied with Fast Track, two of his limbs were caught.
BIO-ELECTRIC VINES.
Zane had produced them to tie up Turf.
"AHHH… it seems to be working."
"COME ON, HURRY, SIR! I WON'T HOLD OUT VERY LONG!"
These vines were effective—they bound and electrocuted the victim, but also electrocuted the user.
"Well played, Zane. You have the soul of a true fighter. I appreciate how you transform your power."
"Alright, it's just you and me. I never thought I'd say this one day, but… you're a pretty cool Daemon, I think."
"But our paths end here."
He opened the small pocket on his costume and pulled out three small metal balls.
He threw them at the Daemon.
The balls were in the air with a normal trajectory, and suddenly—
FWOOOP.
They each changed trajectory at insane speed.
They spun, each in a different direction, independent of the others.
The balls embedded themselves in the Daemon's body.
And then they changed rotation, creating a twisting chasm in the Daemon's flesh.
Who coughed up violet blood continuously from its membrane.
As they kept spinning.
The vines gave way.
Turf had time to retreat to the rear; Terra reinforcements arrived just as quickly.
"Help me, my brothers… and kill them…"
The duo was surrounded, facing these creatures back to back.
"Looks like we still have our work cut out for us."
———
GYM – A FEW STREETS AWAY
Musclea walked out of the building, massaging her shoulder. Behind her, the gym was a field of ruins. Scattered dumbbells, twisted weight benches, gutted treadmills.
Inside, men in tracksuits watched her with a mixture of admiration and terror.
This girl… she smashed everything with her bare hands…
She's magnificent but terrifying…
I think I'm scared, but I kinda like it too…
Musclea ignored their stares. Outside, an explosion rang out. Three Terra were thrown into the air by a violent blast and crashed at the end of the street.
A silhouette landed in front of her, a cloud of smoke around its shoulders.
Fire Blast. Class S. Twin cannons mounted on his forearms were still smoking.
"You're Musclea, right?"
"Class A hero, yes."
"Good. Didn't you see the Association's message? All Class A and S heroes except the top 10 of Class S are mobilized."
Musclea opened her mouth to respond, but a tremor more violent than the others cut her off.
———
ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY
Touchme adjusted his gauntlets, scanning his surroundings. His new costume, thicker, more durable, bore the marks of several battles.
A group of Terra charged. Touchme raised his fingers.
PIOU PIOU PIOU.
Small golden balls shot out, striking the creatures. Some only pierced their skin. Others swelled after impact, crushing limbs. Others still exploded in a blinding flash.
The Terra collapsed in smoking heaps.
Touchme turned around.
Knuckles, the lowest-ranked Class A hero, came running up, fists raised.
"Touchme! Need help?"
He didn't have time to finish his sentence. An immense arm, wide as a tree trunk, shot out of a collapsed building and struck him. Knuckles crashed through three walls and disappeared in a cloud of rubble.
Touchme stumbled back, winded.
From the building, a silhouette emerged.
He was immense. As tall as a five-story building. His blue skin gleamed in the setting sun, and a red mane blazed on his skull. His eyes, red as embers, were fixed on the horizon.
"MY BROTHER!"
His voice tore through the air. He charged, plowing through the city like a bulldozer, destroying everything in his path.
Touchme threw himself at him, activating his gauntlets at full power.
He fired at the giant's knee. An explosive bullet struck it. The monster didn't flinch.
Touchme jumped, activated the reactor behind his head, aimed for the neck.
The giant turned. His hand struck Touchme mid-flight.
CRACK.
Touchme's armor exploded. He flew across the street, crashed into a clothing store, buried himself in a pile of clothes and broken mannequins.
His face was bloody. He spat a red streak into a discount bin, hoping no one had seen him.
The giant didn't stop. He resumed his run toward the city center.
"MY BROTHER! I'M COMING!"
———
CITY A – NEAR THE HERO TOWER
One was staring at Captain Man's statue, a cone of fries in his hand.
"Did you see the match yesterday?" a tourist asked his neighbor.
"No, but I heard there's a Daemon invasion in City B…"
One chewed a fry. An invasion?
A sudden vibration ran down his spine. He turned around.
Behind the statue, a second giant had just emerged from the ground. He was red, with a blue mane. His skin was crisscrossed with luminous veins, his muscles bulging beneath a natural carapace.
He looked at City B on the horizon, then his eyes fell on One.
"MY BROTHER… HE'S WAITING FOR ME."
He charged. His fists smashed through buildings like cardboard. His path carved a trench of destruction through City A, heading toward City B.
One watched him pass, fry suspended in mid-air.
"…Where's he going?"
He shrugged and bit into his fry.
———
ASSOCIATION CONTROL ROOM
Lion entered, looking serious. Anastasia was in front of a wall of screens, the disaster images scrolling by.
"The situation is becoming critical," she said without turning around.
Lion looked at the numbers. The damage. The losses. The giants moving toward each other.
"Deploy the top 10."
Anastasia looked up.
"Are you sure?"
"Send a message to Mercy. We need her powers today."
Anastasia typed on her keyboard. A message was sent, top priority, to the phone of the 9th-ranked Class S heroine.
"URGENT. Invasion in progress. All top 10 heroes are required. Respond immediately."
———
CITY B – THE FRONT
Turf, the Terra leader, was still fighting Fast Track. Zane, on the ground, was trying to get up, a flickering electrical charge between his fingers.
Fast Track accelerated his rollerblades, spun around the monster at insane speed, looking for an opening.
Turf struck him with a backhand. Fast Track dodged but lost his balance, rolled over his shoulder, got back up.
"You're fast, little men. But you can't run forever."
In the distance, a dull rumble was approaching. A crash of concrete, metal, shattered glass.
Everyone turned.
The blue giant emerged between two buildings, his eyes fixed on Turf.
"MY BROTHER!"
Turf looked up, and for the first time, his red eyes lit up with something other than anger.
Joy.
"ROCK! YOU CAME!"
The blue giant, Rock, fell to his knees before Turf, bowing his red mane.
"I never abandon my family."
In City A, the other giant continued his charge.
TO BE CONTINUED…