Jane again latched onto Titan. Her plan was to face plant him into the floor.
“Your power is not strong enough,” he replied. Her eyes widened and his hand rose.
“Strong, but not strong enough. You are nothing without your power.” Jane rose into the air with the motion of his hand. She shrieked, the force upon her neck increasing drastically. Only seconds would pass before he would kill her.
“No!” Johnny screamed. His body reacted to the adrenaline, catapulting him into Titan. It was a sufficient impact. Titan slammed into the glass again, but it still held fast.
Johnny relied on impulses and mental drives alone from this point on. His reverse and hook punches, as well as a slew of roundhouse, hook, and front kicks were smooth and quick, and they did the necessary job he desired. After about seven of each, he slid through Titan’s legs and to the opposite side.
Sam was busy with Justice. At one point, the fight was a stalemate, but that quickly altered. Her anger burned like the fire she discharged as she floated high above the floor. She decided to release the attacks for one simple second. Without warning, her feet pounded into the ground, closely trailed by her fist. The force of the impact sent them both into the wall. It also lit the spot she situated in flames. Walking through the fire, she smiled to herself. “Yes, I am stronger,” she growled.
Ryan utilized Titan’s distraction. Dustin joined forces with him, pushing Ryan through the air as Ryan executed a flying side kick on Titan’s shoulder.
Titan once again flew into the glass barrier to space. The three joined together again and smirked. “Not so powerful, are you?” quipped Johnny.
The pain surged through him, but he relished in it. Hatred is a strong motivator. Titan stood and limped toward them. “Enough!” he roared.
The heroes never felt this form of force. It inhibited their every move. Even Sam and Jane were thrust from the ground and into the air. No one was safe.
Justice limped to her master. He stomped forward, pushing their helpless bodies into the back wall, adjacent the main door and pinned them there.
“Don’t you see? You are powerful! You can join me, and we can rule for eternity! I do not want to hurt the humans! I want to save them!” he shouted in emotion, bal ing his fist.
“You won’t!” Johnny retorted, unable to clean the blood leaking off his cheek. But the healing factor had that covered.
“Oh yes? And who will stop me? What being wil prohibit me from accomplishing this? Please, let me know his name! I must find him or her. Is it you? How about Sonovan?”
“It is us! All of us.”
“Why can you not understand? Pathetic. Listen to me now. Despite humanity’s supposed supposition that the universe is a mistake, I refuse to believe everything rose from a mistake in nothingness. What would that lead to, you ask? Ironical y, my intel ect has brought me to one conclusion: someone created al this. Unfortunately, this creator no longer cares for its creation and has placed the burden upon me to enforce justice and order to the universe it designed. I will bring the Justification.
“Remember, extraordinary measures require extraordinary wills. Pure justice ignores ethics. If someone inhibits true justice from being carried out, inhibit him from breathing.”
“A creator would never expect someone as vile as you to justify creation,” Johnny retorted, still bound to the wall.
“I beg to differ. Listen, here is what will transpire: I wil inhibit you long enough so that you can be thrown in the Dragonstone cage, where you will stay until I enact the Justification.”
“No!” Johnny answered.
“Sonovan will stop you!” Sam added.
“What the hel is Dragonstone?!” Ryan blurted.
Titan did not answer, but deflected. “Now that we mention him, where is Sonovan?
Too scared to come himself? Still wallowing in his defeat?” But then, he felt something in his very being. Titan relented from his discourse.
“Not anymore, for what you say wil never happen. I’ve been reborn.” It was Sonovan Lung, coming up to Titan from behind. He unfastened the invisibility apparatus from his chest. It fel to the floor like a backpack. “And this time, my eyes are set on you.”
For a short while, no one said a word. Titan and Sonovan both stared at one another, studying the other’s expression and holding a scowl, one set of eyes crimson and the other angelic. If hell was anything comparable to this, nobody desired it. The conflict evolved into a staring contest.
“Greetings again, Sonovan. Time has certainly affected you. Was I correct? Is torture of the soul, the mind, and the spirit worse than torture of the body?”
“Yes, you were. But I have something stronger than you—far stronger. Friendship. If I knew what I know now, I would have done so many things differently.”
“I am impressed in your students. They have learned much. Nevertheless, al for naught.”
“Thank you. I have primed them just to defeat you.”
Titan let out a deep chuckle. “Yet time has not humbled you. Fascinating.”
“No, but it has taught me many things.”
“Such as?”
“Distraction.”
Now had arrived the time to flaunt a new ability he had learned through the centuries.
Without a single thought, Ooris coursed through his already permeated, shrouded body into his arms. It discharged at his fingertips, the dark-colored Energy rocketing out of him like a blaster. The sudden attack was so quick not even Titan had perceived it from Sonovan’s mind. Titan stumbled back, his mind in confusion. Thus, the others were released from their imprisonment.
Justice screamed in fury and ran to strike them where they stood. Having known she would resort to a battle, Johnny sprinted as fast as he could to Titan, who this time had not yet created a telekinetic shield around himself. His surroundings moved in slow motion as he passed by Justice and found the connection on Titan’s head. “I will never slow down,” he said, as if responding to the comment Titan had made earlier.
He ripped the now-single cord from Titan’s head, and he collapsed. “No!” he bellowed. As a result, Justice fainted like a deck of cards.
Strange sounds were heard from Titan’s mechanical armor. His bright red eyes rol ed back into snow white, and then black. “No!” he screamed again. “Revenge!” A clear wave of energy emerged from Titan’s head.
“Oh shit!” Ryan exclaimed. He ran to Justice and picked her up into his arms. “Guys!
Go!”
It was too late. The wave exploded, blowing Sonovan and the others in every direction. “This is not the end!” Titan cried. A blue sphere of energy encompassed Titan as he lay there on his knees. No sound was emitted.
In contrast, the heroes had been slammed into their surroundings. In fact, it was strong enough to knock al of them out except for Ryan; that being because of his rock form. Johnny Sparks, though, had taken the most brutal hit. His right leg had broken, and he was unconscious. Ryan ran over to help him, but as he inspected the injury, his
body began to repair itself. Multi-colored energy wisped around his feet and knees, covering both. “Whoa,” Ryan admired. “That’s sick.” Though still unconscious, only a few minutes elapsed before the leg had fully repaired itself.
He stood and took in the scene. Everyone was unconscious, or at least partially, sparks rained down from the ceiling, and some areas were lit on fire. He could now hear the sirens buzzing throughout the ship.
“Oh crap.”
Running over to the others, he tried slapping them awake. Sonovan was first to awaken. “Oh, good. At least you’re alive.” Sonovan helped him in waking the others from their slumber. Thankfully, Jane had landed on Justice’s body, which shielded her from a terrifying impact. The suit also did a fantastic job of absorbing hits.
Only Justice, or Rose, had not awakened.
“My everything is kil ing me,” Sam complained.
“Join the club,” Dustin replied, trying to snap his own back.
“Jane, are you al right?” Johnny asked her. He had not known his leg had been broken.
“No, I’m really not.”
“Does this mean Rose is ours again?” Ryan asked Sonovan. He was truly emphatic.
“Likely.” Sonovan smiled.
Ryan glanced down at her unconscious body and beamed. He fixed the hair which had been blown across her face.
“You’re ours again,” he said.
Dustin patted him on the back. “I ship it.”
“So do I,” Sam replied, “Even though it cost me one hundred bucks.”
They looked over to see Titan’s sphere still covering his body. “Let me guess, we can’t punch through that.”
“You are correct,” replied Sonovan. “It is a consequence of the beating his armor took. That is its last resort.”
“I don’t think we wil last another bout with him,” Sam groaned, trying to breathe in deep to quench the pain.
“We have to,” Johnny replied. “We have come this far. Now is not the time to quit.
But…how did you guys overcome him inside that place? How did you do that?” Johnny looked at the brothers in wonder.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck, motioning to Sonovan. “He’s a great motivator.”
Sirens rang throughout the ship. Solis was also on his way up. He had been ordered to pilot the Titan in case the group was brought aboard.
“We had better get out of here,” Ryan asserted.
“Yeah, and like right now,” Dustin added.
“Looks like we wil have to fight our way out,” Ryan replied.
“Yeah, and leave that to us,” Johnny responded. “Sam, Dustin, and I wil do it.”
“What about me?” Jane asked.
Johnny glanced at her and smirked. “You just look cute and sit tight.”
“Wow, I never knew you had an ounce of flirtation in you, Johnny!” Dustin exclaimed.
“T-That was not a flirt!”
“Yeah, it was.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Yep.”
“No.”
“Yep.”
“No.”
Sonovan’s eyes alternated between the two as they bickered to one another. Ryan rol ed his eyes. “Oh my God, guys! Shut up! Let’s go!”
“I have set up a ship for us. Its codename is ST12. It is also in Bay 1.”
“Well! Why did you not say so?” Sam chuckled.
“Wait, where wil we be going?”
“Back to Herook.”
“Oh, great. Back to Herook. Just where we wanted to go. Can’t we go anywhere else?”
Sonovan shook his head, unfortunately. “We must pick up necessities that I have left.
Have faith, Ryan. Have faith.”
Dustin spoke into Aurora. “Take me to Bay 1 and the ship ST12.”
“Enjoy,” was the reply.
As always, a sphere rose from the floor. “There’s our taxi.” They jumped through and landed contiguous to the ST12. The craft’s shape was similar to the one Ledarius took them in, except marginal y smaller.
“Get in,” Sonovan commanded. “I remember how to operate these.”
Without a second thought, the heroes, having barely escaped with their lives, boarded the craft. “Buckle up,” he directed. The buckles were il uminated yellow restraints that wrapped around their sternum, shoulders, and legs.
The craft jolted to life and Sonovan took off. Soldiers passing were startled to see the ST12 flying, since it had been decommissioned only days prior.
Nothing could be done, though, because the ship exited the energy field that barred the ship’s atmosphere from space.
Sonovan piloted the craft, and within minutes, they were already in Herook. The hideout was spotted a few miles off. “There is our destination,” Dustin pointed. “Again.”
ST12 parked at the base of the mountain. “Wow, didn’t think I’d see this place again,”
Sam said.
“Yeah, you can say I was pessimistic,” Dustin added. At the same time, his brother activated another portal to the hideout.
“But you guys saved our asses,” Johnny replied. “I never knew you could be so brave. I owe you one. We owe you one.”
“Thanks Johnny,” replied the brothers simultaneously. “But you can thank Sonovan for that.”
“Don’t thank me,” the said man replied as the wormhole was rising from the ground.
“I only fuel you. What you do with the fuel is yours to decide.”
Back in the hideout, Ryan laid Rose on the floor. Her hair fel to the sides of her shoulders. He checked her pulse, and to his joy, it beat steadily. Ryan caressed her hair. “You’re ours again,” he said.
“Great, so we’re alive. What do we do now?” Dustin asked. “And I got beat to a pulp by both of them, so I need rest.”
Sonovan shook his head in response. “We cannot. The Titan has undeniably already tracked us here. I have been here for ages, but no longer. Time is of the essence now.
Come with me, all of you. I have a serum which will accelerate your healing factor.”
“You have that?”
“Yes, and I have not used them. About thirty are inside their containers.”
“Where’d you find them?” Ryan asked.
“A Frontinian lent me them. They are a species who live on the planet Frontin.”
“Damn, there are so many.”
“Of what?”
“Planets.”
“Yes, there are. And an innumerable amount resides out there,” Sonovan said, pointing to the sky. “Somewhere.”
“Well, uh, do we put Rose in the sleep thingy, or just keep her there?” Sam asked.
“Leave her here. Confusion wil set in if she resides there. Now come, leave her. You must take the serum.”
“I hate needles.”
~~~
Solis and an entire squadron made their way up to the throne room. He had been ordered by Titan himself to stay away from the potential conflict. The pungent smell of fire permeated the air. Once he entered, he was shocked. Titan was surrounded by an energy field but on his knees. The ceiling was destroyed, and Justice? Nowhere to be found.
“What the hel happened?” one soldier garbled.
Solis furrowed his brow underneath the helmet. “Where did they go?”
“I thought you knew,” one said.
“You don’t know where they went?”
“No, my liege, we don’t. They just…disappeared.”
“How?”
“Like I said, I do not know.”
“Well, find out, soldier. Now.”
“Yes sir.”
“And the rest of you can leave,” Solis commanded.
The elevator door closed and Solis was left in the room alone. Hesitantly scanning the scene, he shouted, “Argh! Why?!” in frustration. “I thought you were more powerful, Titan.”
CHAPTER 31
NOWHERE TO HIDE
Less than an hour later, Rose woke up. She rubbed her eyes, squinting at the light of the setting sun. Her surroundings were significantly different from what she last remembered. Thirdly, her head throbbed. “Oh my God, what happened?” she said to herself. “Hello?”
Ryan and the others heard her voice and ran. He got there first and almost slipped.
“Rose!” he exclaimed.
“What happened?” she said as she rubbed her eyes and massaged her head.
“I-I don’t know, but what’s important is you are OK.”
“Ryan?” she asked, trying to make out his face.
At least she remembers me, he thought. “Yeah, that’s me! Ryan Slade, remember?”
“Yes, where is everybody else? Where am I?” she asked, taking in this unfamiliar location.
“You are on Herook,” Sonovan said.
“How do you feel?” Johnny asked. “You don’t look good at al .”
“Yeah, of course she doesn’t. Duh. She’s been through a hurricane,” Dustin said.
&nbs
p; “Yeah, not happy land,” Sam added.
Rose stood up with Ryan’s help, still confused and lost. “There you go,” he consoled.
By this time, he had already shrunk from his power form.
Squinting her eyes, she recognized Sonovan. “Wait a minute. I know you. You are Sonovan Lung.”
“Yes, I am. It is a pleasure to meet you. Your friends have told me much about you.”
Without warning, Rose emitted an ear-piercing scream and collapsed to the ground.
The memories of what Justice had done returned to her. “No! No! No! What is happening? Dad? Dad! No!” she cried in puzzlement and confusion. Tears streamed down her face at the memory of her father’s death at her hands.
“Rose! What is going on?!” Ryan shouted in worry, kneeling to her. Her knees were touching her forehead while she wept, vibrant red hair draped everywhere like a mop.
“Dad!” she cried.
“What? What happened to your dad?” Johnny asked her. “Rose!”
Dustin and Sam, along with Jane, also lowered themselves. “Rose, you have got to tell us.”
So vivid was the reminiscence. Nothing she did could drive it out of her mind. The knife as it pierced Henry’s skin made her weep al the more. His final conversation with Rose. Titan’s response through her. All of it returned to her memory, unrelenting.
Because if I know my daughter well, she never goes down without a fight.
There is not a fight to compete in, I’m afraid.
Rose, if you are in there, never stop fighting. You hear me? Never stop! I love you.
I know.
It was all too much for her. The voices resonated, reverberated, and echoed in her mind, disregarding her feelings. She sobbed with an increase in ferocity every passing second, and the sole thing the others could do was try to comfort her.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Johnny said, looking to them in concern.
Ryan was close to crying with her and out of whack. Even the brothers were shocked at his care.
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