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The figure raised her hand, and with a graceful motion, blue and orange flames combined into a searing pyre beam. With a deafening roar, she launched it towards the trio!
"LOOK OUT!" Ryan shouted, but it was too late.
BOOM!
The explosion hit them like a battering ram, blasting them off the building in a cloud of smoke. Dazed, Ryan shook his head as he watched Blood Girl and Max fall beside him, both unconscious. Max's rocky armor slowly disappeared as they continued to free fall, the ground rapidly approaching.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Ryan grunted as he flipped upside down, his sneakers bursting open as claws ripped through and dug into the concrete wall of the building.
He grabbed Blood Girl and Max's legs, halting their fall just in time, the screeching of claws against concrete barely covering the sound of bullets whizzing past them. The police helicopters appeared from across the building, their guns trained on Ryan.
"Give me a break, damn!" He growled, flinging Blood Girl and Max up into the air.
As they hung suspended, Ryan sprang off the wall, carrying the two of them over his shoulder. Dodging gunfire from the helicopters, he lunged onto another building, moving swiftly through the chaos.
"Guys...wake up!" Ryan shouted, taking another massive leap.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his back as he was hit by a fire beam! With a burst of flames, the woman appeared around the corner, rocketing towards them. In mid-air, Ryan breathed out a fireball, but the woman easily absorbed it and fired it back at them.
Just in the nick of time, Blood Girl woke up and used her tendrils to pull the brothers and herself to the ground! They narrowly dodged the fireball, as an ember nearly burned the tip of Ryan's dreads before they crashed into a table outside a restaurant. Plates and glasses flew in all directions as panicked civilians scurried for cover.
CRASH!
From afar, the red haired woman watched the fight. Her eyes glowed softly as she scanned the area, the lenses enhancing her vision.
"I got another one, boss." The woman mumbled her hand morphed into a sniper rifle.
POW!
Unknown to the flaming woman, a small dot-like device had been shot through the air, sneakily latching on their hood. She slowly descended towards the trio, tossing a device on Ryan's chest.
"Alright, beam us up."
Groaning in pain, Ryan's watched how the device started to vibrate, emitting a bright blue light that seemed to swallow everything around them.
BLITZ!
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The OutSkirts Of Sky City
BLITZ!
With a sudden jolt, the trio found themselves in a dense forest, a roaring waterfall echoing in the distance. Ryan and Blood Girl slowly sat up, their heads pounding. As Ryan blinked away the dizziness, he finally got a good look at her face.
Her features were soft, with plump lips and smooth, chocolate skin. Fiery red highlights adorned the ends of her hair as the sharp glint from her nose ring caught his eye. Her eyes, partially covered by a burnt and torn mask, revealed freckles on her nose.
"Hey..." He groaned.
"Hi.." She coughed, still dizzy, "I really hate you. You know that, right?"
"I get that. "
She got up and wiped the dust from her burnt jacket, revealing a vest underneath. Ryan's t-shirt had a large burn mark on the back, and his jeans were cut short from the damage. They both looked over at Max, who was slowly getting up. His vest was completely gone, revealing slight bruises on his back and abs. Ryan and Blood Girl staggered to their feet, their eyes fixated on the flaming woman standing alongside two others.
"Great, there's more. " Blood Girl wiped the blood from her lip.
The flaming woman's body was engulfed in flames, obscuring her form, but her facial features were slightly discernible. Now they could properly see her along with her group, all wearing teal-colored tops and bottoms with vibrant orange lines running across the sides.
On the left stood an Asian boy, his jacket covering up to the brim of his nose, concealing his face. He wore orange goggles, and spiky jet-black hair peeked out from beneath his hood. On the right stood a Latina girl, her skin snow-white. Her hair, a stunning blonde and blue ombre, cascaded down her back, as snowflakes seemed to drift off her body with every breath.
"Notify Lady Sapphire that we're moving in with plan B." The fiery lady mumbled.
"Uh, what's plan B? " Ryan coughed.
"To take you down and lock you up. " She replied as her squad took stances.
Responding, Blood Girl went into a defensive stance, summoning tendrils from her back and creating bone blades from her wrists. In a swift and brutal transformation, Ryan grew taller, his spine elongating until he was hunched over. His jaw became firmer, his dread reached shoulder length, his eyes switched to reptilian slits, and his body was covered in scales.
"Ever been in a fight before?" Blood Girl asked.
"Only once."
"How great. "
Blood Girl and Ryan both charged, but before they could reach their targets, the boy with goggles absorbed and controlled the wind around him, creating a tornado under his feet! In an instant, he zoomed in with a powerful gust, knocking Blood Girl to the side, leaving Ryan momentarily stunned. Suddenly, a wall of ice slammed into Ryan, freezing him against a nearby tree.
BAM!
The flaming lady raised her hand in the air, the flames swirling around her palm before erupting into a massive, explosive column of fire. Max slowly got up, fear evident in his eyes as he watched her prepare to launch the attack. Through the fiery haze, the woman's gaze fell upon him, her eyes widening in recognition.
"What the...? M-Max?" Her voice quivered with disbelief.
Meanwhile, the boy pinned Blood Girl against a tree, his grip strong and unyielding. With a forceful motion, he ripped off her hood.
"What the...you're-"
Taking advantage of the moment, Blood Girl swiped up with her blades, narrowly grazing his suit. However, it didn't seem to do any damage. With a swift move, she flipped out of his grasp and used her tendrils to reel herself into the trees above.
"Karla?" His voice softened, disbelief and recognition mixing into his tone.
"Huh...what did you just say?" She paused, slowly lowering herself.
He zipped down his hood and took off his goggles, revealing his face.
"No... you're kidding, right?" She fell out of the tree, her eyes locked with his. "Dante..?"
"S-since when do you have—" Dante started, but Karla went into a defensive stance.
"T-this is a trick! You can't—"
"Karla, it's me." Dante interrupted, still in shock. "I can even tell you what you had for dinner last weekend. It was steak, with your favourite drink being a strawberry daiquiri, and I know that..."
"Because..." Karla sighed and lowered her guard," ...you were there..."
"So... I guess this explains the rain check on date nights?"
"I...didn't know how I should've brought it up to you." She hastily covered the holes in her skin, concealing her blades, "I'm sorry...this is gross.. I'd rather you not look at me right now."
"Oh... yeah, sure. Sorry." Dante turned his head, feeling a wave of sympathy.
Karla turned around, pulling down the remains of her hood to cover her body. Her arm was wrapped around her waist, and her head was low. She paused for a moment before walking past Dante without saying a word.
"Oh boy..."Dante sighed.
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"M-Max..?"
As the flames disappeared from her face, Max's eyes widened in absolute shock.
"Jennifer?!"
Jennifer pulled down her hood, her afro puff bouncing with each step she took. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Shit." She muttered, facepalming in frustration.
Dante and Karla exited the forest, Karla's eyes still glued to the ground.
"Uh, guys, this is..." Dante struggled to introduce her, "Uh, we know each other."
"You're joking, right?-What the hell is going on?" Jennifer groaned, "Apparently, the rock boy's my cousin."
Seeing all this, the ice girl turned to Ryan, her expression puzzled as she leaned in.
"I don't know you, right?"
"I'm p-p-pretty sure... you d-d-don't. " Ryan replied, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"Hmm...you look familiar. " She narrowed her eyes.
"N-never s-s-seen you in my life. "
"Zoe." Jennifer sighed.
"Oh, my bad. " Zoe, the ice girl, shrugged and walked away.
BOOOM!
Jennifer's face twisted in annoyance as she raised her hand, summoning a flamethrower. The intense heat slowly melted the ice encasing Ryan, revealing him shivering and shaking as he fell to the ground as he slowly reverted back to his regular form.
"Hi...cuz?" Ryan sniffled.
"You've got to be kidding me." Jennifer facepalmed.
"So...what now? " Dante questioned, "We still sticking to plan B?"
"You mad we have to arrest your girlfriend?" The ice girl scoffed, " A bit biased."
"It's not... okay, there is a bit of a bias. " Dante shook his head, "But don't act like that's surprising, Zoe; you think Jen's gonna arrest her cousins?"
"Wait, we're going to jail?" Max coughed.
"Superhuman jail. " Zoe corrected as Max's eyes widened, "That's what you get when you two cause a rampage through the city. And Bloody Mary's a well-known thief. "
"Told you that you should've given back that money." Ryan turned to Karla.
"No one is going to jail. " Jennifer interjected, making everyone pause, "I'm gonna be in so much trouble for this."
Jennifer pressed a button on her collar, activating her communication device. Her voice was low as she spoke.
"Um... hi. New update on the mission," Jennifer sighed, "I can't... well, I'm not sure if we should bring them into custody."
"And why's that? " A feminine voice came from the speakers.
"They, uh, well, two of them are kinda...they're my cousins. As for the Crimson Bandit...she's got ties to Dante. "
"Oh, how sad—I don't care. "
"Lady Sapphire..." Jennifer pleaded, "Look, we'll talk later."
"Talk later? Don't hang up on—" She began, but it was too late.
BEEP!
"I'm in so much trouble. " Jennifer sighed, her hand covering her face in frustration.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the distant roar of jets echoed through the forest, and branches rustled as something soared through the trees. Dante's heightened senses caught the faintest of sounds, his ears perking up in response.
"You hearing that?" Dante's voice was urgent as he glanced around, "Bodies approaching from all angles...and it's a lot of em'."
"Police?" Max asked as he raised his fists.
"Unlikely, we're miles away. "
"Then there's only one other option..." Karla's eyes went wide before she glanced at Ryan, "Told you to stick to my rules..."
WHOOSH!
Only Dante heard the faint sound of a projectile, but he couldn't see anything. Ryan, however, saw it—a tiny orb flying through the air. It passed by his nose at point-blank range, emitting a faint beeping noise.
"What the—"
BOOOM!
The orb exploded with a deafening blast, unleashing a brilliant flash of blinding light. The concussive force lifted Ryan off his feet, sending him hurtling through the air. The blast knocked the other teenagers to the ground. The ground trembled beneath them, and the trees swayed violently from the shockwave. Jennifer was the first back to her feet, her guard raised. She quickly turned around, her eyes widening in horror as she saw Ryan lying motionless in a cloud of smoke.
"Ryan!"
Ryan lay there, dazed and disoriented. His entire jaw felt like it had been hit by a truck, but luckily his scales instinctively covered his face to protect him. Karla and Max ran over to him, trying to get him to wake up, but he could barely hear their voices ringing in his ears. Suddenly, another orb flew out of the forest, but this time, Dante recognized the sound.
"Zoe!" Dante yelled.
Zoe raised her hands, covering them in a wall of ice. But the explosion was too powerful. The force of the blast ripped through Zoe's ice barrier, sending shards and teenagers flying in all directions. Each of them was thrown back, each hitting the ground hard, their bodies skidding across the forest floor.
As the chaos subsided, the only sound that remained was the crackling of burning trees and the pained groans of the teenagers as they struggled to get up. Zoe had crash-landed next to Max, bursting out of a casing of ice.
"You okay?" She asked, watching him sit up.
Max groaned weakly in response; his rocky exterior chipped and cracked from the explosion. Karla was knocked unconscious, hanging upside down from a tree, blood leaking from a gash on her forehead. Dante slowly got up behind her, blood dripping from several cuts on his face. Twigs and rocks were tangled in his hair, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger.
WHOOSH!
Ruby-red robot soldiers roared into the clearing, their metal frames glinting in the sunlight! They flooded in like a sea of ants, their numbers overwhelming.
BANG! BANG!
The robots opened fire, their arms transforming into machine guns. Bullets whizzed through the air, cutting through the forest with deadly precision. Zoe, limping from her injuries, summoned a wall of ice just in time, blocking the shots. Meanwhile, Dante zoomed into the trees, grabbing Karla's body, taking her away from danger.
WHOOSH!
"What the hell is going on today!? "Jennifer dove from the sky in a ball of fire
She flew right through the ranks of the ruby-red robot soldiers, her fiery aura engulfing them. With a fierce war cry, she soared into the sky, conjuring a massive flamethrower. As she fired it down on the forest, the flames blazed fiercely, incinerating the trees and the robot soldiers alike.
BOOM!
With a huff, Jennifer flew down slowly, her fiery aura fading. Zoe limped over to her, her skin getting covered in an ivory coat of frost. Dante floated down next to them, blood trickling from the gashes on his face.
"Whoever did that shit," Dante spat out blood, "really pissed me off."
"Same. " Jennifer grumbled, " So how bout' we teach em' a lesson? "
"I call dibs. " Dante scowled.
The sound of metal boots echoed through the crackling flames, and Jennifer, Dante, and Zoe immediately shifted into battle-ready stances.
Ryan struggled to lean up, his body still numb from the explosion. Through the flames, he could see the silhouette of a figure, all too familiar. Memories of the attack on Neon Labs flooded his mind as he recognized that same silhouette—Origin.
"G-guys...we g-gotta..." Ryan struggled to get his words out, his lower jaw feeling numb from the explosion.
Origin walked through the flames, not a scratch on him. As he stepped forward, more robot soldiers emerged from the other side of the forest. Standing in front of them was the lady with ruby-red hair, her fierce gaze cutting through the smoke and flames.
She was tall and muscular, her camo suit hugging her toned physique. The ground trembled under the weight of the approaching army, the crackling flames and the whirring of machinery filled the air with a sense of impending doom.
"So...what's the plan now? " Dante winced, realizing they were outnumbered.
" Don't die. " Jennifer commanded as her hands lit up with flame.
"Great. Never heard that one before. " Zoe scoffed.
Ryan's heart pounded against his chest like a runaway locomotive as he managed to stagger to his feet. Panic gripped him like a vice as Origin locked eyes with him, his gaze piercing, cutting through the chaos around them. In that moment, it felt as though it was just the two of them, alone in a world of fire and smoke.
"You..." Origin's voice was steely and deep, laced with hate.
He chuckled, as if trying to shake off his anger.
"So, we finally meet again."
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