Crystal Ch. 18

Jumping up, he swooped down at her and kicked her into a building. But as he landed to finally deal with her, Ruthless came leaping out the building, tackling him midair and bringing him to the ground hard. And to make sure he didn't get the upper hand again, Ruthless grabbed of his wings and bent it until it broke off completely.

"My wing!" Osprey yelled in anger.

"Awww, I broke the birdie's wing," Ruthless mocked.

Those were a part of his suit, his trademark. His whole fighting style revolved around using his wings in combat, whether they were just keeping him in the air or whacking a villain to the side. Without his wings, he'd have to come up with a brand new style and he couldn't do that with Ruthless kicking him to the curb.

Wait, could he? He was fighting RUTHLESS, the prima donna of any and every fighting style imaginable. He had to think of something. And instantly, something did come to him. Not a fighting, but a plan, a plan in which he had only one shot to do it right.

As Ruthless came sauntering over to him as if she were his queen, Osprey stayed down, thinking over his plan with little time as the villainess got closer and closer. Once she was close enough, Osprey knew he had no other options and put his plan into action. As Ruthless picked him up, he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over to the ground. And before she could make another move, Osprey dealt a swift and brutal kick to the side of her face.

His next opponent was One-Eye, there no choice. Instead of jumping over the bus like he'd normally have done, Osprey ran around the bus and actually caught the villain off guard. Surprised, One-Eye aimed the gun at Osprey, but fired too early; Osprey didn't even flinch. Still running, Osprey ran as close as he could get as One-Eye got in the position he wanted. Now ready, One-Eye fired but simultaneously, Osprey slid the last couple of feet, rising to knock the gun out of One-Eye's hands. And despite knowing his opponents powers, Osprey still jumped at One-Eye, going through the villain again.

"Haha, looks like you still haven't learnt your lesson," One-Eye chuckled.

However, as he turned, he saw Osprey's spinning body bring his foot right into One-Eye's tangible face, snapping the villain's head to the side as he crumpled to the ground. To make sure One-Eye wouldn't be a threat upon awakening, Osprey took his gun and snapped it in half.

Right on cue, he felt a knife slice into his back and he clenched his teeth. Wildly, he swung his arm, hoping to catch Giggles this time, but she dodged it and stabbed his midsection again. This time, he grabbed her arms and felt his way up to her face where he inhumanely punched her over and over until she was limply hanging in his arms.

And, as if he knew he wasn't done, Osprey turned to face Ruthless, who was far beyond pissed off at how she was put down. And with the way her partners were laying on the ground, she was livid. Now she knew how Osprey felt.

They ran at each other again to finish the battle they started. But before they clashed, Osprey twisted out of her way and slid by the agents' motionless bodies. Rising, he picked up one of their guns and fired it at Ruthless, electrocuting her over and over until she had no strength left to stand.

*****

"So was I right or was I right?" Cherry asked, immensely proud of how Osprey handled the situation.

"You were right," the other heroines chanted.

Knowing the battle was over, the newscast shifted to another city, where another hero was beginning to face three villains.

"Dark Matter?!" Crystal yelled in shock.

*****

"Fuck," Dark Matter growled. "This doesn't look good. This doesn't look good at all."

When the Commander had told Osprey and Dark Matter what was happening and what address they need to go to, Dark Matter did exactly as he was ordered. The address he received ended up being a road in a city near a highway. Once there, he put himself in a noticeable position that didn't obscure traffic, but also so that the agents could see where he had positioned himself.

And so he waited.

He waited until he thought he saw a tiny dot in the sky, falling and getting bigger and bigger, eventually revealing itself to be Pterror. However, unlike his usual entrance, Pterror didn't have Dr. Genie riding his back. He also didn't go in a fit of hunger and start attacking him.

And so, while Dark Matter had an uneasy standoff with the monster, another villain showed up, this one being Asphalt, as he rose up out of the ground. Seeing that his opponent wasn't Shell made Asphalt surprisingly happy; he had always wanted a new face to mold his fist after. But still, neither one of the villains moved while Dark Matter was seriously hoping that agent unit burnt rubber and get to his position; Asphalt even made a chair so that he could sit down.

But the next sound he heard wasn't an engine, rubber, or even a car. It was the unforgettable man-tree. And much as he didn't want to believe it, as much as he didn't want to believe it, he had to believe the inevitable. When Commander Shinobay had said the villains were coming together and making dangerous combinations, this was what he meant.

Pterror, Asphalt, and Pollen were all ready to beat his heroic ass.

This was just his lucky day.

"Commander, those agents would be pretty useful right about now," Dark Matter grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" the Commander inquired. "They should already be there."

"No it's just me, myself, and I," Dark Matter frowned deeply, "with nature's best ambassadors staring me in the face."

"That's not right," Commander Shinobay said. "I'm sending you and them another address to meet up."

"Tell them I'm going to be late," Dark Matter informed, "and to expect company."

As he clicked off, Dark Matter made a small ball and rapidly expanded it. As it enveloped him, it hit his enemies hard and sent them back a few feet, giving him enough time to morph the ball into a platform underneath him and fly to the Commander's newly designated location. Along the way, Dark Matter just hoped that the agents weren't absent because of the villains.

However, he had his own problems to worry about at the moment.

Not even five minutes had passed before he heard Pterror's squawking roar and his enormous wings beating the wind behind him. And if he had to be reminded, the monster was also gaining on him. At the last possible second he could wait for, Dark Matter made the platform vanish, letting him freefall through the air before Pterror's malicious claws could clamp onto his arm.

Thinking quickly, Dark Matter made a slide beneath him and landed on it, then morphed the creation into a car and hit the pedal, quickly leaving Pterror behind. His relief was only short-lived though as a wall rose faster than he believed possible. Still in disbelief, his makeshift car smashed into the wall before dissipating, leaving him disoriented and weak.

"You hit my wall!" Asphalt yelled, coming up from behind him. "That's going to cost you a hefty fee."

"Can you let me off with a warning?" Dark Matter inquired.

"This is the warning," Asphalt grinned.

His fist came flying faster than Dark Matter expected, but he was still able to get a shield up in his face before impact. Unfortunately, Asphalt was still in motion and his second fist caught Dark Matter in his unprotected side, causing him severe pain. Bent over from the intense pain, Dark Matter saw the incoming foot and sidestepped it, but again, didn't expect the spin kick to his chest sending him sprawling to the ground.

"What the hell?" he achingly said.

"What's wrong? You didn't expect that?" Asphalt asked smugly.

"Hell no," Dark Matter grunted as he stood up. "Where the fuck did that come from?"

"I may or may not have learned a couple of moves from some friends," Asphalt bragged.

"Of course you did," Dark Matter nodded in realization. "Well, learn this."

A gigantic arm formed around Dark Matter's arm and he slammed it down on top of Asphalt, flattening him like a pancake. It was a good thing Dark Matter did that too, because Pollen and her gigantic man-tree came running straight at him, bellowing with destructive rage.

Not to be taken lightly, Dark Matter made a buzz saw and sent it straight for the man-tree's legs. Not to be deterred, the creature stepped on it. Backing up, Dark Matter knew he had to fight this creature the old fashioned way. Slowly, a sword and shield morphed in his hands. Light, but durable armor covered his body as a helmet covered his entire face.

He was now a knight in shining . . . darkened armor.

As the creature bellowed, Dark Matter joined it and they ran at each other. Being the smaller one, Dark Matter raised his shield first, letting the monster make its move first. Even though he was expecting it, Dark Matter was still shaken to his bones from the force of the impact of the man-tree's fist hitting his shield.

Quick to retaliate, he found his footing and leapt onto the creature's arm and shoved his sword deep between the bark. As much as he thought it was a good move, it proved to be stupid and useless as the creature didn't even utter a whimper, only moving its other arm to grab Dark Matter and slam him to the ground.

Damn, falling from a three storied tree hurts.

While groaning, Dark Matter watched the man-tree raise its leg and rolled out of the way before the leg could stomp on him. Moving closer to the leg, he made his giant sword again and swung it clean through the leg, removing close to four feet of the man-tree's foot.

Again, the man-tree didn't register the attack Dark Matter made. However, Pollen realized it when she made the man-tree try to grab the hero, only for the monster to lose its balance from the missing part. As it crashed to the ground, Dark Matter leapt onto the creature and began ripping the bark off, knowing that the window of opportunity was closing fast. It had dawned on him that the last time Pollen controlled a man-tree, it only fell once Dot was able to defeat Pollen, which meant he had to get to her if he didn't want to fight this man-tree all day.

And boy, he sure as hell didn't want to do that.

Fortunately, as Dark Matter tore his way to the man-tree's center, he found Pollen dazed and unable to focus. With no better opportunity than this, Dark Matter charged at her, making a big cube and sending straight for her. A few feet before it hit her, Asphalt barreled his way through the man-tree's side, surprising both of them and kicked Dark Matter with enough force to send him out the way he came in.

He landed on a comfy platform, and then morphed it into a spinning razor blade. The blade buried itself into the man-tree's side and made a deep gash that went up its arm and down its leg. However, as Dark Matter was about to make a spiked cylinder to run over the man-tree, he suddenly found himself in the air, leaving his opponents far behind in the dust.

Automatically, he knew it was Pterror. He quickly tried to make his gigantic arms around his own arms again, but it didn't work since Pterror was gripping him too tight. As he thought of another solution, he realized that Pterror was taking him higher into the sky than usual. Realization suddenly hit as Dark Matter understood what Pterror was trying to do: making him suffocate from the lack of oxygen.

Desperate, Dark Matter made a thick rope, which he swung and looped around Pterror's neck. With all of his strength, he pulled down, forcing the avian reptilian predator to fly back down. Of course, Pterror was also fighting him with every powerful beat of his wings, but the monster couldn't change course: where the head goes, the body will follow.

Suddenly, they were picking up speed as Pterror dived and Dark Matter got the feeling this wasn't going in his favor anymore. Once they got too close to the ground for Dark Matter's comfort, Pterror opened up his wings, catching the air and rising high enough to bash Dark Matter into a building. Groaning in pain, Dark Matter was barely able to make a shield in time before Pterror's beak pierced his head. In the next second, he made the shield grow spikes, stabbing Pterror in various parts of his body.

Message received, Pterror released Dark Matter and withdrew far enough to recover from its wounds. Meanwhile, Dark Matter was barely able to sprout a pair of wings that eased his descent, although the landing was still terrible. Aching but resilient, Dark Matter checked the map, finding out that the location for the meet up with the agents way closer than the last time he checked it, thanks to Pterror of course. Now more determined, he put the pain on the back burner and limply ran to the location . . .

. . . only to find nothing and no one in sight.

"C-C-Commander," Dark Matter wheezed into his earpiece.

"I read you, Dark Matter," the Commander answered.

"There's n-n-no one h-here," Dark Matter panted as his adrenaline started to wear down.

"WHAT?!" Commander Shinobay declared. "They should be there! The agent I was talking to told me they could see you arriving!"

"I don't see anyone if they're here," Dark Matter gasped. "And no one's coming out to meet me either."

"Alright look, I'm going to have a word the leading agent of the unit," Commander Shinobay growled. "We're going to try this one more time. I'm going to get the address from WHEREVER they are and give it to you. You're going to get over there and bring the villains with you so that this fight can end. Do you think you can last long enough to do that?"

"What choice do I have?" Dark Matter asked as he watched the villains approach him.

*****

It was Crystal's turn to be angry and the other heroines knew it. And it wasn't just them. From the icy void of outer space to the frozen territories of hell, everyone knew it. Each of the heroines had been forced to run around and look for thick coats; even Dot wore one and she had fur growing over her body.

Neither of the girls comforted her either. Not that they didn't try, but because they just couldn't. As Crystal watched Dark Matter's battle, ice was beginning to spread from her body and with every hit, slam, and any other physical harm he received, the ice spread a little bit at a time until it covered the couch and was halfway up the wall.

But the girls knew what the real problem was: there wasn't a unit of agents there to help him. Of course Shell didn't get his until the later part of his battle, but they still showed up. The girls saw both Osprey and Dark Matter talk on their earpiece with the Commander, so even they knew agents were supposed to have shown up to help the heroes.

But no one came to Dark Matter's aid . . . for the moment.

"Cherry, can't you get us there to help him?" Hyper whispered so that Crystal wouldn't hear.

"No," Cherry whispered back. "I can't teleport to a destination if I don't know where I'm going. And I have no idea what city Dark Matter is in."

*****

He's tried everything he could think of. From spiked platforms and massive spheres to giant blades and walking turrets; nothing was working. And if it did, his concentration would always be interrupted by one of the villains he wasn't attacking. It becoming too much to deal with and even he knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. The pace to the last location was gradually getting closer, but it wasn't at the pace he needed or wanted. As a matter of fact, in the last ten minutes, he hadn't moved from the spot he was standing at.

Pollen and her man-tree were bearing down on him while he took a weary stance. Throwing his hands out wide, Dark Matter made a thick and durable rope that crossed the street, tripping the giant plant and turned his attention to Pterror. The flying lizard was circling above him looking for an opening so Dark Matter threw him off course with a plethora of spikes.

As he turned once again to look for Asphalt, Dark Matter took a rock shot straight to the chest and was sent rolling across the ground in aching pain. That was when Pterror attacked, landing over him and scratching, clawing, and (almost) biting at his body. Frantically, Dark Matter placed a platform between him and Pterror and flipped the prehistoric bird onto its back. Before he could dominate it though, Asphalt was there to send him rolling with a vicious kick to the guts.

Backing up, Dark Matter made a pair of wings sprout from his back and shot straight in the air. However, he was caught by multiple strands of vines all over his body as Pollen's man-tree maneuvered behind him. His wings were instantly morphed into blades which he used to cut the vines, but the man-tree was still able to knock him down. Not planning on giving up, Dark Matter rose back to his feet and made a giant spike go through the man-tree's midsection.

Shifting his focus, he saw Asphalt running towards him and positioned himself near the man-tree. When Asphalt was close enough, Dark Matter jumped out of the way and let the man-tree stomp Asphalt into the ground. Not finished with the man-tree yet, Dark Matter made a giant double-crossed blade and sent it at the man-tree, successfully cutting it into four pieces.

And before he began to celebrate, he turned one last time and face Pterror.

"Remember this?" he asked as he made a copy of Crystal's iconic hammers.

Whether it was by sudden rage or animal instinct, Pterror roared and dived down to meet Dark Matter, who was waiting for the creature. Once Pterror was within reachable distance, Dark Matter launched himself up to the creature's head and used both hammers to whack its head.

Despite having put all of his opponents down, Dark Matter knew it was only temporary and took off towards the Commander's final destination. This time, he made sure to stay high enough from the ground so that Asphalt wouldn't catch with anymore rock walls and low enough so that Pterror couldn't easily sneak up behind him.

Once he reached the location, he took a five minute break to drink a heavy dose of RRM. While it did heal his body, he still felt tired and drained. He took a seat on a bench while listening to the man-tree's thundering steps, Pterror's squawking roar, and Asphalt's demands for him to show himself. Of course, he wasn't even trying to hide and they eventually found him with Pterror's keen eyesight.

And the whole time he regained his strength, Dark Matter did not see a single agent.

"Commander," he called on his earpiece.

"I hear you," the Commander responded.

"Just tell the agents to head back," Dark Matter requested.

"They still haven't shown up?" the Commander groaned.

"No, and I'm beginning to think there's a reason why," Dark Matter informed. "Whatever the reason is, it doesn't matter. Let the go home."

"But you're going to be fighting by yourself," Commander Shinobay worriedly said. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not the only one tired you know," Dark Matter answered. "I'll see you when I come in."

"Ready to get your ass kicked a third time?" Asphalt sneered as Dark Matter clicked off with the Commander. Instead of giving a response, Dark Matter simply raised his hand, and gestured for him to bring it on. "You must not be bright, but hey, that's not my fault."

Once he got himself loosened up, Asphalt charged straight for Dark Matter. As he timed his attack, Dark Matter kept still until Asphalt was a few feet away. Right then, he caught Asphalt in a giant fist. Gripping him tightly so that the villain couldn't escape, Dark Matter sent him flying right into Pterror, knocking the monstrous lizard off of its perch, and then at the man-tree, hitting it right where Dark Matter hoped Pollen would be.

But he wasn't finished with Asphalt at all. Still holding on to the villain, Dark Matter made him make a complete circle while he was still inside it, making the circle tighter and smaller as possible with each rotation. Once it was small enough, Dark Matter flung the villain to the side like trash and made the spinning circle morph into an upside down cone as it began to pick up speed.