"Again." She said, injured and panting.
"You're still standing?" He asked, genuinely surprised she was still standing.
"I said again." She repeated.
Max sighed and appeared right in front of her again.
And just like all the times before, he punched her in the gut, sending her flying into a wall.
"You asked for this," Max said to her as she stayed on the ground coughing blood.
He was training. It was his usual routine, then out of nowhere she came demanding a fight. He refused, as she was way below his league, but she insisted. Max saw the opportunity for some fun and took it.
He didn't expect the Atlantean to be so persistent.
"Again." Stacya said, slowly standing up.
"This is the 67th time already. Are you..."
"I said again!" She screamed and got into the best fighting style she could.
Her legs were shaking. Her arms and torso were covered in bruises. Her face was swollen and bloody.
If he was a kind man, he'd feel bad.
Max wasn't.
He was a curious one.
"Why are we doing this? What do you have to prove? That you can handle me? Take me in a fight?"
Stacya sighed.
"What?"
"I wanted to see why Paulina is so scared of you."
Max stared at her for a moment, flabbergasted at her answer.
"Excuse me?"
"Paulina said you were a monster and she had a fear in her voice. A genuine fear. She doesn't express her emotions as truthfully as she makes it seem. However, seeing you, that changed. I could feel the fear in her words, the horror in her gaze, the quivering of her lips. And I wanted to see it firsthand."
Max chuckled. Then snorted, then laughed. Were all Atlanteans like this? He pondered the thought while laughing.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I don't think you're anything to write home about."
Max's laugh intensified as he began to walk over to her. She quickly enhanced her battle stance, wincing in the process.
"Don't bother. I'm in no mood to fight you."
"What? But I..."
Max quickly placed a finger on her lip so fast she had no time to react.
"Come on. Let's get you healed up. You did well."
Stacya nodded and followed him to the infirmary. Well, at least that's where she thought she was going...
4 days later...
"Can we move yet?" Stacya asked, whispering.
"Not yet, Stace." Max replied, slightly annoyed he had to whisper.
"Why not?"
"Cuz I said so."
"Who made you the end-all, be-all?"
"I'm the current leader of this mission, so you do as I say or I drag your ass back to base and finish it myself." Max said with an actually serious tone.
"Sir, yes sir."
Max did his best to keep himself from chuckling right there. In the end he still did, causing her to smile.
No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Stacya's cuteness always prevailed.
No.
Now wasn't the time for that. He had a mission.
"Focus on the mission." Max said and looked down at the ongoing scene.
They were having a stakeout at the Empire City Slaughterhouse. They hid in the various steel beams that hung above the giant main hall of the building.
What were they watching?
A meeting.
One between the Firebreathers of the broken-up Dragon Clan, 20 members strong, and the newest criminal in town, Dr. Bolt.
"That's the guy Milten mentioned, right? The one who was a member of Broker's gang?" Stacya asked.
"Yeah. I wonder what he's doing here though. Maybe selling some of his tech? Or his services?"
"Well, whatever it is, it can't be good."
"Remember what Milten said, Stace. We have to bring him in alive."
"Yeah, so Milten can use him for his schemes..."
Max stared at her for a moment. He didn't expect her to catch on so quick.
"Don't look at me like that. I've been working for him too long to be naive about his schemes." She said, gently grabbing his jaw and turning his head towards the scene.
"Yes, I like what I see." Blaze, leader of the Firebreathers, said to Dr. Bolt, who gave a polite smile in response.
"I don't know about that, brother." Long, his sister, said, glaring at Bolt.
"What's the matter, dear? Don't you see how insane this tech is? Chips that enhance our physical stats tenfold, special suits that grant regeneration and near-infinite stamina, helmets that allow us to scan, study, and predict our enemies and their movements... with this tech, we could rule the city."
"Yes, I get that, but this much tech? For such a low cost? He's surely cheating us out of something. Or he definitely wants something insane in return."
"Oh, pish posh, sister. You're just overreacting. I feel this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Isn't that right, Bolt?"
"Oh yes, yes." Bolt said, his voice high-pitched and weak, giving the impression of a senile old man.
His old, dirty lab coat along with his out-of-style red sweater and slacks solidified that senile impression.
"Broker was too short-sighted to see the benefits of my technology, but you clearly aren't. I feel the same way, Blaze. A great friendship is in the making."
"With you making these weapons for us, not even the Super Society would be able to stop us." Blaze said, shaking Bolt's hand. "I believe we could do with a celebration."
On Blaze's command, the other members, who all wore red robes and masks with giant dragons drawn across each of them, clapped and cheered to celebrate the addition to their gang. Long stood at the back, still glaring at Bolt.
"And what better way to celebrate than a show of trust between our two parties?" Bolt said, still smiling.
"Oh? And what do you have in mind, Bolt?"
"Exposing a weed that needs clearing."
"What do you..."
"Your sister," Bolt cut him off, pointing to Long. "has been leaking info on our meeting and plans to the leader of the Danger Squad, Milten."
"What?!" Blaze and Long said in unison.
"Bolt! What is the meaning of this?!" Blaze shouted, signaling his men to get into their battle stances. Some of them already conjured fire on their fists, a common magical technique shared by all initiated Firebreathers.
"A show of trust. Your sister has been supplying information to your enemies behind your back. Fearing I would be the one to expose her, she was against our alliance. Sadly, her plans failed."
"You don't honestly believe this shit, do you, brother?" Long said, approaching him. Blaze raised his arm, prompting her to stop and two of his men to surround her.
"Blaze..."
"Silence. Bolt, what proof do you have of these claims?"
Bolt's smile widened a fraction as he nodded and pulled out a small disc from the pocket of his lab coat.
Once it hit the ground, a small blue hologram of Long appeared, speaking to someone over the phone. She wasn't wearing her red robes.
"Yes. The slaughterhouse. The one that muman attacked a month ago, when Rocket was still alive. We'll be having the meeting. Yeah... two birds with one stone. I'll be sure to get the money, right? Yeah... yeah... sure, of course!" Long said in the hologram.
"Sorcery!" Long said in surprise.
"No, no, my dear. Science! I had my drones follow your sister around, Blaze. I had them follow you all around for quite some time."
Suddenly, the real Long ran over to kick the disc away, destroying it.
"Such an invasion of privacy!" Long said.
"Is worth it if this is what I have to bear witness to." Blaze cut in. Long gasped.
"Blaze, you can't honestly believe these lies, right?"
"I don't know, sister. It's clearly you there. I..."
"People make fake videos to frame people all the time. This is just an advanced version of that! Don't believe him! It's clearly fake!"
"I..."
"That's why we mustn't associate with the likes of him! He wants to tear us apart! He wants to use you! He wants..."
"I want none of that. I just want solidarity between our two factions." Bolt interjected.
"No, you want our factions to be under your wrinkly old thumb. You want to use us because you failed to use the Broker. Brother, don't..."
"Enough!" Blaze said, causing more of his men to surround her and others to surround Bolt.
"To think my own sister would..."
"Brother, I..."
"Shut up!" Blaze shouted, grabbing her by the neck and hoisting her up. "I need to think."
Everyone waited for his words then and there.
Meanwhile, Max tried his best not to laugh at the scene.
"Man, I wish I had popcorn." He said, startling Stacya.
"It's tragic, isn't it? I wonder what drove her to betray her own blood brother. It is to our benefit, but it's still tragic." Stacya said.
"Yeah, especially if he kills her. Would be a waste since she didn't do it." Max continued, startling her.
"What?"
"She's not lying. She didn't betray him, or contact Milten. That hologram was fake as hell. Milten's got a mole, but it ain't her."
"Then that Bolt guy..."
"Is lying out of his ass to mess with them? Yeah. Kinda hard to see with that innocent old man shtick."
"Why would he do that?"
"For the exact reasons the girl mentioned, I presume. To tear them apart and manipulate that Blaze guy. And his decision is gonna determine whether or not she lives or dies."
Suddenly, the two heard an explosion and a limp body hitting a wall. Blaze had made his choice.
And it was Bolt.
Bolt's body slumped downward as it slid off the wall. His head was gone, blown to bits by a fireball from Blaze.
"Y... you believed me?"
"Of course, dear. The words of my blood are much thicker than the words of water."
"Oh, brother. Master D would've been so proud."
"He wouldn't. He never was and never would've been. If he really was, he would've made me the head and wouldn't have ever considered Uncountable for his last mission or given Wyvern the confidence to oppose me."
"Well, that doesn't matter now. Bolt is dead and his tech is ours for the taking." Long said and pointed to his headless body. "Wyvern won't stand a chance."
"Neither will the Danger Squad or Super Society for that matter." Blaze said as he approached Bolt's body for the chip.
Only for Bolt to grab him by the arm.
"Well done, boy." Bolt said as his head quickly regenerated.
"H... how...?"
"Nanobots, my boy. My body is made completely out of them. You can't kill me even if you tried." He answered as he stood up, still holding Blaze by the arm.
"Well, I haven't tried enough to test that out, have I?" Blaze said, engulfing his fist in flames. His men did the same and Long grabbed a spear from her back and ignited it.
"Whoa now, I don't want to fight." Bolt said, slowly raising his arms. "It was a test. I wanted to see the kind of man you are. I would've never done business with someone who trusts a total stranger over their own flesh and blood. Especially a stranger with tech as tempting as mine."
"And what would you do if I shot her instead?"
"If you had killed your sister, I'd have killed you right there." Bolt answered, causing Long to jolt in frustration.
"You insolent..."
Blaze raised his hand and she went silent.
"I respect your decision. It seems you hold family ties in high regard."
"I do."
"Be that as it may, you nearly caused the death of my sister by my own hands. For a damn test no one asked for!"
"Yes. It seems my show of trust didn't really show any trust, I admit. But I do have a gift that will rectify all of this."
"Oh really? And what is that? Another test?"
Bolt scoffed and removed a small metallic ball from his wrist. He then threw it into the air and it flew away.
In the direction of Max and Stacya.
"Max..." Stacya whispered.
"I know."
Before the ball reached them, Max grabbed her as quickly as he could and landed right before the crowd.
Once the ball reached their previous location, it completely disintegrated everything within a 10-meter radius.
"Smart move."
"What is the meaning of this?!" Blaze shouted, approaching Bolt.
"Red Shadow and Sharkwoman. Members of the Danger Squad. I called them here."
"You what?!" Blaze shouted again. Long quickly pinned the old man to the nearest wall.
"You old piece of shit! You're dead! You hear me?!" She screamed, choking him. Bolt just laughed.
"Yes, yes. I'm the spy, actually. I was the one giving Milten his info. He doesn't know it was me, though. Just one of your men."
"Why would you..."
"Milten had something I wanted. My plan was to initiate a trade, and getting him to bring some of his assets here was the best way to achieve that."
"And where do we fit into all this?" Blaze asked, getting closer.
"It depended on the test. If you failed, I'd have killed you all and taken those two hostage."
"You really think you have the power, old man? May I remind you whose grip has you pinned to the wall?" Long said, squeezing harder.
"And if we passed?" Blaze asked.
"Then I'd have given you a chance to test my chips."
Blaze looked at Bolt in surprise for a moment, and turned back to see Red Shadow and Sharkwoman.
He was smirking.
Sharkwoman had a battle stance ready. A weird one, but she was said to be an Atlantean so he paid no mind to it. Red, though, he stood so nonchalantly no one would've guessed he was about to fight them.
He needed to be humbled and this was the perfect way to do it.
"Long. Let him go."
"But brother."
Blaze glared at her and she obeyed immediately after.
Once Bolt was back on his feet he walked over to Blaze in an attempt to shake his hand.
Blaze slapped it away.
"The alliance stands, but if you try that shit again, I will kill you. Chip or no chip."
Bolt kept his easygoing smile.
"Sure." He answered and passed him the chip.
"Ma... I mean Red?" Stacya said, holding onto her spear.
"Don't worry, Stace. I got this. I just wanna see what kind of tech this guy has in store." Max said, watching Blaze put the chip on his neck.
It was a small, colorful square that faded into the skin once it made contact.
As soon as Blaze inserted it into the back of his neck, a red spandex-like material covered him from head to toe. This suit had golden fiery markings all over his body and a large dragon on his chest. The helmet that enveloped his head was shaped like a dragon.
"I hope you like the design," Bolt mused.
"It's decent." Blaze said, admiring the strange armor that protected him.
"Well, now that you're done checking yourself out, how about we go a round?" Max said, approaching Blaze.
Blaze smirked.
"Not a bad idea."
The two then began to square up against each other, their subordinates watching in silent anticipation of their incoming clash.
Before they could begin, however, something dropped down from the ceiling.
A man.
A super.
An All-Star.
Amazo.
"I've seen enough!"
To be continued...