“Of course we are predators, but at least we understand the feelings of the people. Timothy made sure of that. To be what we are requires resolve. To gain resolve requires sacrifice. From sacrifice, pain. From pain, order. From order, a better world.” Richard said, “With this power, I struck down my own father. That was my sacrifice.”
“That’s some warped logic there,” Douglas replied. “Everyone else but you suffers to build you up? The people here —don’t you think they have their own hopes and dreams?“
“Captain of the Marauders, why exactly does some glorified thug believe he’s better than me? When your band of thugs leaves death in their wake — do you pay any concern to the hopes and dreams of your targets?“
“As the former Captain, I only did the things I did to keep Pesque from becoming like this,” Douglas said. “Turns out, I made a good call.“
Richard scoffed.
“You’re an interesting fellow. You say you’ll do this, and you say you’ll do that. Is there a single thing you’ve actually accomplished in your life? The Marauders? You’ve apparently given that up. I wonder how long Pesque will remain safe once that information gets out there. Small minds can’t comprehend big ideas, so let me put it in a way you can understand. I’m sure you blame me for that unpleasantness last night, but that’s immature thinking. It’s just what happens when people rebel. The child wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t tried to resist. You wouldn’t have nearly drowned if you had just handed him over. In a way, it’s all your fault.“
“The child?” Douglas repeated. “The child?”
“I see you’re beginning to understand. When you fight me, you’re fighting against the very concept of orderliness itself. You couldn’t protect the child, you can’t ‘save’ Karn, and you can’t defeat me. That’s not an idle boast, it’s just reality.”
“You keep saying the child. You talked about unpleasantness?” Douglas replied, “It’s that arrogant way of looking down on people that I can’t stand.”
His eyes met Richard’s, his glare wiping the smirk off the officer’s face.
“And his name is Max.”
Cheetah Style: Dashing Feline!
Douglas had moved as quickly as the last words left his lips. Richard absorbed the hits, then turned around with a grin on his face.
“Thanks for the top up.” He plucked Douglas out of the air, and slammed his head into the ground, placing another hand on his throat to suffocate him.
The pain brought clarity to him as Richard’s last words sank in.
His Godspark allows him to absorb kinetic energy, which means he can absorb some of my blows. But there’s a limit. There has to be. Douglas choked as he struggled, My Flicker Shot and Heaven Strike were just at about the limit he could bear. He isn’t invincible.
Looking into the distance, he could just about make out the hovel he had escaped from. Realizing that defeat meant that the others would die, he steeled himself. This wasn’t the time to roll over and die. It was time to dig in his heels and fight these despicable men.
“Oh?” He looked up. Richard’s blurry silhouette faded into focus, “Have you figured out my ability?”
In response, Douglas lashed out, shaking himself out of the other man’s grip. He kicked at him, then realized his mistake when Richard grinned. His back fist collided with his skull with an impossible amount of power, sending him flying face first, mouth chewing up the road.
“My power isn’t some huge secret. Maybe if you asked again I’d have told you,” Richard was once more ahead of him. “It’s just that you won’t ever get to use that knowledge.”
What must have been kinetic energy was now collected on to his palm, so intensely, it became visible, a faint purple glow. He slammed his fist into Douglas’s back as the latter slid towards him. The ground trembling as the impact went through it. He spat blood. Another kick, charged with visible energy again sent Douglas flying. It felt like his ribs were on fire. Douglas groaned as yet another building stopped his trajectory. At this rate, they were going to demolish the entire street.
He didn’t have enough time to contemplate how much time he had spent airborne before Richard grabbed him, from where he lay and tossed him into another building. A family lived here, or a business. These people simply didn’t care.
Richard charged again, Douglas dodged, throwing himself out of the way and towards a nearby wall. Spinning off the wall, his next kick was aimed at Richard’s neck.
Butterfly: Guillotine!
Richard absorbed the energy once more. Coughing up a little blood as he overshot his absorption limit. Douglas’s attacks were suddenly a lot stronger than they were before. He was putting more power into them, making each one a powerful strike. Douglas was going for kill shots now, hoping to overwhelm with sheer force.
Richard blocked the next punch and absorbed the kinetic energy through his palm. Before he could discharge the energy, another attack followed. Right in his torso, he felt a rib cave in.
Richard spat blood.
I’m too fast for him! Douglas realised.
Douglas rushed towards his opponent with incredible speed. Richard prepared to block. First came the roundhouse. He absorbed it. Then came the axe, he absorbed it.
He prepared to strike back, but Douglas interrupted him, kicking his arm back into place.
Butterfly: Guillotine Wheelhouse!
Douglas’ kicks cracked the ground, but he didn’t stop, chaining his attacks together until he looked very much like a spinning wheel. Richard was forced to dodge and keep dodging, lest his skull crack.
Charging up enough energy from his own movement, Richard split the ground with a stomp, causing Douglas to leap out of the shockwave.
Still, he was tenacious and moved in once more. Once again, Richard charged his arm with visible kinetic energy, clashing with Douglas’s attack and forcing them both apart.
Richard was exhausted for the first time in a long time. No one had forced him to defend himself as tenaciously as Douglas had, besides his peers. People either saw his powers and shrunk back, or he killed them before they could do anything about it.
He began to stamp the ground. Slowly at first. Then faster. Then faster still. His body began to glow as the kinetic energy discharge was absorbed by his body, building it up.
He looked up at Douglas, voice dripping with venom.
“This has been a wonderful match, but I’ll kill you now and move on. I don’t have time to waste on you.”
Douglas changed his stance for the final time. “If you’re focusing on all your offence instead of defence, you’re desperate for a win.” He adopted the tiger stance.
They both stared at each other. Richard moved first, and fastest. His fist carrying with it intense, deadly power. Douglas moved last, slowly deliberate. Now, he was focused.
Kinetic Shockwave!
Richard’s attack grazed his ear, aimed at where Douglas’ chest had been a second ago. The air shook as he discharged all the kinetic energy he had stored up, shattering windows and cracking buildings. But he had missed, and as Douglas spun around once more, he realised his error.
Tiger Style: Tiger’s Bite!
Richard spiralled into the air, only vaguely aware of his orientation. His chest was completely mangled. Blood spraying from where his broken ribs had pierced the skin. His Godspark didn’t allow him to absorb and discharge at the same time when he woke up, he would work on that flaw and beat the hell out of the insolent man who had attacked him. Those were his last thoughts, as he fell to the ground.
Douglas watched his opponent crash and land a few feet away from when they had finished their duel. He smiled to himself. He had talked a good game, but his last few attacks were all kill-shots, forcing Richard to overload himself quicker. The casualness with which he had carried out the attacks and his opponent’s mental weakness had played to his advantage.
More than that, Douglas realised, he had really been fighting for his own redemption. Every blow he ha
d struck. He had struck for Max. Every blow he had taken, he had accepted it as penance. It gnawed at him that he wasn’t able to refute Richard’s accusations as strongly as he’d like. Beating a man in a fight simply meant that you were stronger than him, not that he was wrong.
But the world was a big place. In time, Douglas believed he’d be able to prove him wrong. For now, this victory was enough.
“Rest in peace, little man,” Douglas whispered. “Rest in peace, Max.”
The first people came out of their houses, pushing past the soldiers as the noise and chaos died down. Upon seeing Richard’s corpse, a woman held her hands to her mouth. Then the people began to cheer. It wasn’t much, but the defeat of one of their oppressors had done wonders for morale.
For the first time in years, they had hope. Douglas noted he turned towards the approaching Order Squadron. With one of Timothy’s major fighters down, all he needed was to make a call, and hope they would come as promised.
Chapter 26 - Spare the Rod
Timothy’s radio crackled to life as reports of Richard’s defeat rolled in.
His expression gave away the news.
“So, Richard was defeated,” Timothy muttered to himself.
“Hearing some bad news?” Derek asked.
Timothy turned towards him. He knew where the reports were coming from. If he moved at top speed, he could easily get to whoever had beaten Richard and kill him, thereby salvaging his reputation at this point.
His leg muscles tensed as he crouched, then leapt into the air, before he could find purchase, a web line tugged at his heels. Derek had ensnared him and was now pulling him back down.
Yanking with all his might, much to his chagrin, Timothy found himself being slammed back into the ground.
“I won’t let you interfere with them!” Derek yelled, “We’re taking all of you down!”
Timothy’s blood boiled. It was all falling apart.
“You ‘people’ just don’t understand? Do You think you’re helping anyone?” He picked himself from the ground, transforming more of his body. His arms now very much resembling a kangaroo, albeit forced into the body of a human. “This town is mine by right. I worked for it, I earned it. If it wasn’t me, it would be someone else. For all your posturing, I bet you haven’t really given a thought to the consequences.”
Derek didn’t respond, taking in his words.
Timothy continued, “Even if you kill me, even if all of my men should be defeated and every soldier I have be beaten, then Jason would come here. He would undo everything with a snap of his fingers, and perhaps install someone who is worse than I am. Everything you are doing now is pointless. If you all leave now, I won’t hold it against you. Perhaps I’ll take one of your group members, but it won’t go past there.”
Derek thought about it for a second as if considering the offer, then replied. “I guess what you’re saying Is that we’ll just have to take on Jason too.”
Timothy stood. His transformation complete.
“I guess there’s no reasoning with you, huh?”
“No.” Derek replied, “I guess not.”
* * *
Battle on the Rooftops.
Julian and Rachel.
Rachel swung her staff at Julian, who simply evaded it and countered with a leisurely swing of his batons.
Turning to her, he turned on his charm. “That’s a pretty nifty staff you’ve got there, you’re good with it.” Julian smiled at her.
Rachel didn’t drop her guard for a second, “Thank you, you’re not so bad with those tonfa yourself.”
“That stings you know,” he said, his expression one of mock offence. “I’m only trying to get revenge for my sister, Georgina? You know her. You people killed Georgina, I’ve known her for a while, and she was the sweetest thing.”
“Your tone is as insincere as the words out of your mouth,” Rachel replied, “I don’t think she could have been all that sweet if she worked for all this to happen”
“You’re one to talk,” he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “You have more in common with us than you’re letting on.”
With his last sentence, he sidestepped as Rachel slammed her staff into the ground, leaving a nice round hole where she had embedded the staff into it.
“Whoa whoa,” Julian continued, “You nearly hit m- ”
Rachel swung the staff at his head, missing as Julian slid under it like they were playing some game of limbo. She prepared to strike again, but he struck first. He drove the tip of one of his batons into her wrist, and the other into her shoulder blades, disrupting her attack. He spun around, striking her in the stomach, ribs back and knees as he did so.
Rachel had to admit, he was fast.
Like a dance, they continued moving. She would swing, her staff lightning fast, and well-aimed, he would dodge. He would tease her, coming just within her range, and moving ever so slightly out of it.
She closed the distance, muscles tightening, and swung towards him.
Arcing Lance!
Julian vaulted over her attack, his arm extending as he did so. No one watching would have seen him do it, but he struck Rachel again. Twice in her extended arms, twice on her shoulder blades again, and twice on her spine. As for Rachel, caught off guard, she could do nothing but endure the attack.
She fell to her knees, and he swung again, striking her in the head.
“Now, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,” Julian walked around her, keeping the same careful distance from her. “You’re rather selfish, aren’t you? You made a bargain with Ulysses a whole year ago, but you’re helping mount this attack on Jason? When this news gets out, what do you think he’s going to think?”
Upon hearing the name Ulysses, Rachel shuddered. The Nephilim didn’t often know of each other’s soldiers, but this one knew quite a bit. He was dangerous, and his overall skill made him more of a threat than most. He hadn’t killed her yet, but then again, she had the feeling he was more interested in having a conversation at this point than in pressing the attack.
“I really could not give a shit.” Feigning disinterest, she responded to his question with a renewed assault.
She was like a whirlwind again, her staff an extension of her limbs. She would jab, parry, and roundhouse with incredible force, but Julian would see her and counter every time. An attack aimed at his head would hit the ground as he sidestepped. An attack arced towards his torso would simply hit empty air as he twisted under or leapt above it. Yet, every attack he aimed would hit, without fail. Her arms sore, bruises and cuts mounting, as he whittled away at her, she began to wonder if he was a step ahead of her. He knew precisely where to step to not be hit, when to strike to not be struck, and where to block so that he would minimize the amount of force she could deliver.
“I am, you know.” He had stopped attacking, and now regarded her from where he had, no doubt envisioned as a safe distance
“What?”
“You were probably wondering how I’m able to keep up with you and counter you,” Julian continued, “It’s because I can. The Godspark that’s granted me the power of the Prophet. But more than that, It’s because I know about you. Rachel ‘Tonner’ Costa.”
She folded her arms. If he wanted to talk, she would use that time to get a second wind. She wasn’t interested in hearing her own biography.
“I’ve read your files. You’re well known for fighting with a bo-staff, a strange weapon, but not unusual. What is unusual is a certain property of the staff. Once, when measured, It was said to weigh over a ton. That has got to get heavy. Getting hit by that even once would end many a life, I wager. Yet you use it with such grace and flair.” He stopped pacing, his eyes still watching her every move.
“I’m flattered.”
“Don’t be - I’m not finished. As I said, you began working for Ulysses Sanders a year ago, didn’t you? Not many people know that, but I make it my business to know things. I don’t like being blindsided.”
“I work for a Nephilim? Is that what you think?”
“See, the thing is, normally this is when we decide to stop fighting and work together. You work for a Nephilim? I work for one too. We team up, we stomp your friends, and everyone lives happily ever after,” He made a face of mock concern, “If this fight continues, Jason and Ulysses are going to have a squabble. You know what they say about two elephants and grass.”
He turned towards her. “I know that you want to fight me, but you can’t win. I can see whatever you do before you do it. I can counter you before you even start. So, a better proposition. Work with me. Join me, and everyone comes away happy.”
He opened his hands.
“Friends?”
Rachel had gotten her second wind.
Javelin!
As she threw her staff towards him, it spun through the air, picking up momentum, and embedded itself in the wall, an inch away from his head.
“I thought you could see everything I could do?”She mocked him then, “Why didn’t you see that coming?”
“I did see that coming.” He sighed, “And that was truly disappointing.”
Julian had decided at that moment, that he was going to kill her.
Swaying like a leaf in the wind, he dashed towards the now unarmed Rachel.
Rachel grabbed at his batons with her hands, but he simply twisted them out of her grasp. She cursed herself for throwing away her weapon as she tried to defend herself barehanded.
“It’s no use.” He struck her in the shin.
“Whatever you do.” Another blow to the back of her head.
“I’ve already seen it.” He jabbed at her knees.
“And countered it.” Both sides of her ribs.
Rachel coughed and swung at him, he blocked it with his tonfa, then kicked her in the stomach in retaliation.
She yanked the baton he had defended with, tossing it away.
“Very good,” He pulled out a knife from the other one, “But I let you have that one. Now we’re both one weapon down.”
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