The coordinated slamming of fists in the plant structures left Rose and Octavius in a standstill.
“These stems feel like I’m punching steel!” A super soldier remarked. “What an annoying blessing–”
Streaks of slime torn through the air soared through like arrows, with the super soldier as its target. With his superhuman instincts roaring in his head, the super soldier twisted his body to the side and avoided the projectiles.
“Tsk, they move so damn fast–” Annoyed by his missed slime projectiles, Octavius muttered. His remarks were interrupted as bullets peppered his body. Though the bullets compressed harmlessly on his skin and muscles, Octavius’s attention reflexively drifted to the source of the gunfire – the supporting soldiers. “Tsk, annoying–”
BAM!
His attention drifted – a grave mistake. His reward for uselessly turning away was a heavy sensation on his jaw, twisting his dome to the side.
“Ugh!” Just like the grunt, blood left his mouth as Octavius was propelled by the blow.
“Haha, thanks for the free hit!” The super soldier mocked. “If we hit hard enough, that weird slime won’t be enough to dampen the impact.”
“Don’t stop! Keep supporting the super soldiers!” Encouraging his fellow non-enhanced allies, a soldier yelled as they kept firing.
The soaring Octavius revealed an opportunity – one that several of the enhanced soldiers chased to grab hold of. The opportunity quickly slipped out of their hands, and oversized vines, thick as cables, snatched several super soldiers from their chase and coiled themselves around the enemies.
“Freaking hell–”
BOOM!
In a heavy downward swing, the vines slammed the ensnared super soldiers with bone crushing force on concrete. The vines never let go and instead hoisted the soldiers in the air. They drooped over with hanging limbs, and were tossed forcefully into their allies.
Shitty bastards. With a series of hand and arm movements like a conductor directing an orchestra, Rose ordered the divisions of fauna to swing and slash at the super soldiers. The erratic movements of the blade-like plants destroyed a lot of the momentum and counterattack of the super soldiers, as they quickly gained distance.
“This damn bitch…” Muttering with resentment was the super soldier who Rose gashed across with her tree spear. “Always hiding behind those plants…”
CRACK!
He sunk the fingers of one of his hands into the side of a parked eighteen wheeler semi truck, its metal frame tearing with a crushing shriek in the process. As the truck lifted off the ground, the super soldier tossed it with a mild grunt, just like a child tossing a toy.
The truck soared towards the back of the focused Rose, and it crashed with a glass shattering impact into defending plant stems.
“The hell!?” Twisting her head to the source of the crashing metal in shock, Rose remarked. “What the hell would throwing a truck–”
BOOM!
By the hand of a soldier, a rocket was sent screaming through the air. It struck the truck with perfect accuracy, and vanished the vehicle in a gigantic ball of flame. The explosion spat out bits of metal of the truck, and the shockwaves repulsed Rose and threw her off her feet.
“Direct hit!” The soldier who fired the rocket launcher remarked.
“Ugh…” As she tried to pull herself from the ground, blood trickled from her forehead and more soaking into the torn fabric of her burned sleeves. Despite her delirium, she barely had time to recover as a leg closed in, the force slamming into Rose’s back with a powerful crack.
“I told you I’m going to kill you!” The super soldier who turned the truck into a projectile yelled as Rose slammed into her own plants.
In a heartbeat, a super soldier rushed Rose as she tried to catch her breath and landed a sucker punch in her side.
“Gah!” Flinching at the heavy blow, the injured Rose quickly retaliated as she called forth stems to swing at her attacker.
BAM!
Her act of defense bore fruit as she smacked away the soldier, but another rushed her from behind. Once again, she received another blow to her body.
“That plant bitch is the most annoying!” The gashed super soldier yelled. “Hurry up and kill her! Then we win!”
One after another, several super soldiers approached from every direction. Rose barely registered the first strike as she received sharp strikes to her gut, ribs and back. With crimson liquid being ejected from her mouth, the brutal onslaught spiked Rose’s adrenaline.
With quick thinking, Rose grabbed hold onto a stem of her dear plant, which immediately morphed into another spear, reinforced with a wooden base.
“GET AWAY!” The intensity of the super soldiers’ assault was reduced as Rose swung the spear around with wild abandon, with great force worthy of producing shockwaves. Unlucky super soldiers were rewarded with lethal gashes and lacerations across their bodies before they moved away from the effective range.
“Tsk, she’s still able to fight that well…” A super soldier muttered.
Their mistake was assuming Rose to be the only threat, as Octavius had plans of his own. As he strolled up to the burning area born from the destroyed truck, Octavius thrust his slime ridden hand into the flames.
As the fire wrapped itself around his arm, it never seared through his skin and ravaged it – it had more of a welcoming sensation for Octavius. His chartreuse green slime quickly darkened moments after, melting into a crimson red that painted the slime – the slime dripping from him resembled lava.
Without warning, the new and upgraded Octavius dashed forward, creating hypersonic shockwaves from his movements. In a burst of motion, he snatched an unsuspecting soldier, his fingers wrapping around their arms like a vice grip.
“What!? Let me go!” The super soldier attempted to squirm from his grasp, but the lava-like slime secreting from Octavius coiled itself around his body, rejecting his struggle.
“Enough of this shit.”
BOOM!
“AAAHHHHH!!!” The slime bubbled around the super soldier’s body and radiated a bright yellow radiance. This was the last thing the super soldier witnessed before the slime exploded on him, the flames rising out like a storm. Not even the enhanced pain tolerance of a super soldier could restrain the ear-piercing screams that came with becoming kindling.
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Coldly dropping the enemy, Octavius momentarily gazed at what remained of burning flesh and a charred soldier.
“W-What…fire!?” Gazing in utter shock, a super soldier remarked.
Whips…of Brambles. The shaft wooden spear Rose possessed began to soften. It seemed to stretch and coil, drastically increasing in length and becoming a flexible whip in her hand. The once sharp end softened and bent, bearing fruit to several thorny, spiked blackberries.
“First slime projectiles, now fire!?” The super soldier responsible for the truck toss remarked. “Why do you blessed criminals always have to be so damn annoying–”
Rose spun the whip in wide, looping arcs around her body and its snaps sang in the air – she was like a ballerina performing an aggressive dance. Her dance was short and sweet, as she ended it by snapping the whip forward with incredible speeds, right at the distracted super soldier.
The thorned fruits at the end stuck right on the enemy’s face like glue, and with a destructive crackle, Rose pulled the whip back. Bits of Flesh, tissue, and an eyeball parted ways with the super soldier’s skull in a bloody mess as it accompanied the brambled edge on its return to Rose’s side.
“Cough, ugh. Shitty ass bastard…calling me a bitch and threatening me,” As the corpse fell over, Rose spat out in disdain.
AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
A sharp, ear-piercing scream filled the air, tearing Rose’s attention from the battle before her. Before her eyes, Rose watched as Zack was flung across the complex, screaming desperately in pain.
“ZACK!”
“Focus, Rose!” Octavius interjected. “Let’s hurry up and deal with these guys first!”
“...Shut up, don’t you think I know that?” Rose responded. “It seems you’re finally taking things seriously, judging by the change in your gross slime color.”
The super soldier who’s fighting Zack seems to be different from the rest of these guys…could he be stronger than the ones we’re fighting? Rose pondered. These guys already hit hard as hell…If I have to increase my life energy to protect Zack…I’ll do it.
- * * *
Despite the injuries they sustained so far, Rose was in a far better situation than Zack. His body was already inflicted with bruises and bleeding, and Mohawk was not only unscathed, but fully engrossed and excited in this battle.
“Zack Isaac, did you know why I wanted to fight you so badly?” Mohawk questioned as they two engaged in a standstill.
“Because you’re a freaking psycho and a puppet of the president?”
“What? No, dumbass. It doesn’t seem like you remember who I am. Mohawk may be my codename but unlike the brainwashed previous generation, I still remember my past…my name,” Mohawk retorted. “Owen Simmons…you remember me?”
“...Huh? Doesn’t ring a bell,” Zack dismissed.
“Heh, you don’t remember your classmate, huh?” Mohawk said. “I guess I’d expect that from someone like you.”
“Shut the hell up and fight me!” Wasting no time, the irritated Zack charged forward with fists cocked forward. He threw out blow after blow, but Mohawk effortlessly weaved them all – his movements flowed as seamlessly as water.
“Man…not only are your movements slow, but you really fight like an ameteur,” Avoiding his attacks with a smile on his face, Mohawk taunted. He gave Zack enough of a chance, as the super soldier caught his blow while simultaneously placing his other hand on top of his head.
He forced Zack’s head downwards, while driving his knee into his already damaged nasal cavity.
“Guh!” Zack grunted as he recoiled upwards, more blood flowing from his nose.
“Too easy!” As he taunted, Mohawk slammed his forehead into Zack’s face. Skull met bone in a violent manner, reducing Zack’s nose to a bloody mess. “You’re making this too easy!”
Bringing his combo to a close, Mohawk seized the delirious Zack by the forearm. Taking the form of a baseball pitcher, Mohawk hurled Zack across the complex. The body of the poor criminal crashed into a Blueblood owned warehouse with a thunderous bang, turning the walls into a shower of rubble and dust.
S-Shit…I lost my damn cool. Slowly pulling himself to all fours, a fountain of blood poured from Zack’s destroyed nasal structure. I shouldn’t have…fought that guy…at close range–
“I remembered you the entire time, Zack! You never talked to anyone at school…it always weirded me out!” Mohawk dashed up with no remorse and lashed out at his downed opponent with a brutal kick as he continued monologuing. Teeth and blood sprayed from Zack’s mouth as his head snapped backwards with a concerning crack…before launching him yet again. “You were really a creepy guy!”
Zack ragdolled across the complex, rousing up torrents of dust every time he bounced on the concrete. His mobile body finally came to a halt with the aid of another building, but not before blasting through it.
With delirium clawing at his vision, Zack slowly tried to push himself from the ground. His trembling arms buckled under his own weight, and Zack fell over immediately in the puddle of blood which drained from his mouth and nose.
“After leaving high school, I immediately joined the army. I did my best to become valuable in the army…and it seems my hard work was recognized. I received the chance to modify my body and become a super soldier…and I immediately jumped at the opportunity,” Mohawk continued to monologue as he casually approached Zack. “I was even able to handle a large dosage of the enhancing serums…and became a powerful super soldier.”
Mohawk bent low, looming over and groping the collar of his injured enemy – his amusement was visible on his expression.
“When I heard you were an S-Class criminal, you know what I thought? It made sense that a creepy bastard like you turned into a mass murder,” Mohawk continued to mock. “But I felt annoyed deep down that you of all people had a blessing…I’m glad I'm the one to beat you to death.”
Despite his drifting state of consciousness, there possessed an act of defiance in Zack with the glow of his gloves.
BAM!
He had the right idea, but he was far too slow. In an upward swing, Mohawk effortlessly tossed Zack upward. Hundred, two hundred meters…Zack ascended as he spun around like a fidget spinner. His body snapped in place as Zack suddenly ceased ascending. Mohawk had caught up to him mid-air, and placed his grip on Zack’s leg.
“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” The ear-piercing yelling was audible from Zack’s mouth as Mohawk tossed him at supersonic speed…before crashing into yet another warehouse. The structural damage far exceeded the previous ones, as the large building was reduced to an explosion of rubble and dust.
As Mohawk landed in the remnants of what used to be the warehouse, the acrid smell of smoke started to fill the air – whether the smoke born from the burning flames, or smoke born from the ruined infrastructure, it never mattered.
The super soldier looked around, and he saw it – a hand, just a twitching hand, sticking out of the rubble.
Oh, that’s a good idea! Mohawk thought to himself as he pulled Zack out the rubble by the arm. The tattered, profusely bleeding criminal was barely conscious at this point.
Mohawk raised his free arm in the air, and Zack wasn’t even close to preventing his further actions. With an ecstatic smile on his face, Mohawk drove his elbow straight into Zack’s forearm with blinding speeds.
The impact roused a sickening crack from Zack’s arm as it bent far beyond its usual range of extension.
“AAAHHHHH!!!!” There was no room to prepare for the shattering of his bones, and an eruption of agony left his mouth just as suddenly.
The super soldier wasn’t through with his sick torture of the criminal as he grip wasn’t released from his shattered arm. As Zack’s feet left the ground, Mohawk spun him around in a circle – still holding his injured arm.
“AAAHHH–Guh!” Screeches of pain followed by brutal thuds were brought forth as Mohawk repeatedly slammed him to the ground. Cracks in the concrete grew further and further and Zack bled more and more every time his body made impact with the earth – his body (and broken arm) twisted in ways unnatural for humans, and the pain shot up through his skull and spine.
Mohawk ended the torture as he collided his fist with Zack’s chest, his ribs exploding from that sledgehammer of a strike. With a loud bang, the half-dead Zack was launched into an overgrown plant stem.
Mohawk wasted no time and appeared in front of his enemy.
“You were always out of place in class…and you brought no use to society,” Bringing his face close to the bleeding Zack, Mohawk whispered. “Do me a favor and die now, bastard.”
Mohawk voiced his intent to die…and now he attempted to realize that desire. It started with one punch, and then another, and another, and another. Mohawk reduced the nearly dead Zack to a punching bag, fit to eat his blows.
A split open chin, a bloody and swollen eye, a sunken and crushed chest…these all emerged from the pummeling Zack received. There was no one to save him…is what I’d say if Rose was never so concerned about Zack’s wellbeing.
Her curiosity quickly manifested into horror as Rose’s vision drifted to Zack.
“ZACK! SHIT!” Rose yelled. Screw this! I’m killing them all!
BOOM!