Chapter 27: Chapter 23
"What have you done?" Anakin asked, his control over his emotions slipping for a moment, his unstable lightsaber starting to discharge red sparks that scorched the asphalt.
For a second, the world seemed to stutter, the very air freezing with his rage and every cape present feeling their hearts skipping a beat. A sense of doom briefly filled them as Anakin almost lashed out with the Force before he managed to restrain himself.
"Susanoo, Purity, you're surrounded," Armsmaster repeated, managing to overcome the feeling by tightening his hold on his weapon. "Drop your weapons, refrain from using powers and slowly get down to the ground. Further resistance is futile!"
All around the street, PRT troopers stopped hesitating and started to form barricades, blocking his exits as best as they could while aiming their weapons at him.
Anakin felt… out of balance, for the first time since his return, he felt pressed, at least for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself and considered what to do.
He did not want to be forced to kill those around him. Misguided as they were, the ones surrounding him were still law enforcement, and the Force whispered to him that most believed they were doing the right thing.
What would his former master do? Could the situation still be resolved without violence? For the moment, Dinah was still safe despite her distress, he could still reach her.
"Armsmaster, your appraisal of the situation is… overly optimistic," Anakin said, his voice lacking emotion as he stared at the destruction around the street and back to the Parahuman. "You do not have the capabilities to stop me, but my goal has been accomplished. Allow me to retreat and take the opportunity to deal with the 'Empire', it will be a major victory for your city."
It was the only offer he would make, Anakin simply didn't have time for more concessions.
For a second, he could see the man considering the offer. The achievement of dealing with the Empire once and for all without any losses seemed very tempting for his need for recognition, then his feelings changed, an almost equal mixture of duty and ambition consolidating his decision.
"I can't allow that. Susanoo, turn off your weapon, throw it to the side and slowly get on the ground, you're under arrest!"
A pity, he had hoped to resolve this without conflict.
Completely ignoring the enemies around him, Anakin turned his senses away from the battle and towards the fledgling bond forming between him and the youngling.
A Force bond was a powerful thing but, even fully formed, it did not convey information perfectly. No matter his power or focus, Anakin couldn't see or sense exactly what was happening, not without far more concentration than he could spare. He only knew that Dinah was afraid.
The sense of urgency he felt intensified to a level he hadn't felt since before his complete fall. The Force was warning him, screaming that her fear wasn't unfounded, that all his protections wouldn't be enough. He was out of time.
"I said—"
He moved before the man could finish more than two words. Body strengthened by the Force, Anakin used Force speed and dashed back towards ABB territory.
Behind him, a hail of non-lethal ammunition fell on the place he had been standing, twitchy fingers firing the second he started moving, the projectiles missing him by a relative mile, but still filling the street.
He briefly considered jumping atop a building for a more direct path, but Dragon, Dauntless and Miss Militia had the sky well covered, another five of Dragon's armors arriving from all sides to snap the trap shut.
No, he'd use the buildings as cover until he had bought enough space.
One of Miss Militia's bullets flew past a few centimeters behind him, the surprise of his speed making her miss but not by much, then the Force screamed and he lifted his lightsaber, dissolving a second bullet at chest height.
She had already adapted to his movements.
Purity took a second to understand what was going on, but she too acted, her form growing brighter as she flew back, shooting a blast of power aimed at the closest Dragon drone to her and starting to gather power for a second attack.
Dauntless's spear shootout, the electrical blade stretching in the blink of an eye and piercing through her leg. The blast she had been gathering went wide, hitting one of the nearby buildings and completely leveling the third floor, causing the collapse of the three floors above it.
Glass and cement rained around Anakin, but he simply ducked under a bigger piece of debris and ran for the corner, sending a weak Force push towards the group of PRT troopers trying to block his movement, their bodies flying away as he opened a path.
A second later, the rest of the collapsing building couldn't sustain the weight and crumbled to the ground, making aiming at Anakin almost impossible through the cloud of dust it released.
A red blur rushed towards him. Using the Force, Anakin could still see Velocity's movements, but the man was running far faster than he could manage. Behind the cape, another two heroes approached, moving slower, but still able to keep up with Anakin's Force enhanced speed.
With a wave of his hand, Anakin peeled a large piece of asphalt and sent it flying at the approaching man, Velocity simply changed directions, running on the side of a building as if on land.
Assault wasn't fast enough to dodge, instead he smashed into the projectile at an oblique angle, breaking some of it and bouncing the rest to the side, actually gaining speed after the impact, Battery following closely behind.
Anakin blasted through the hole he had made in the barricade, the Force screamed again and he instinctively lifted his lightsaber, but he immediately knew it had been a mistake, Miss Militia had changed munitions.
The large slug passed through the lightsaber's blade, most of its mass evaporating on the way, but the remainder continued towards him. Twisting his body, he managed to pull his leg out of the way, but he lost speed.
Velocity came at him, feet touching the ground again and accelerating even more as he approached. Letting the Force guide him, Anakin's head followed the man's movements, his lightsaber lashing out in a rising slash towards where his neck would be, instincts making him go for the kill.
Velocity's eyes widened, his entire body screaming in panic, but he was still fast enough to react, his body attempting to reverse directions and his head pulling back as far as he could, the lightsaber passing only a few centimeters in front of his helmet.
The hero didn't quite manage to regain his balance, his feet slipping from under him and momentum keeping his body moving, rolling past Anakin but not before he managed to throw two grenades.
With a glance, Anakin caught both explosives in a telekinetic grip and sent them flying at the approaching Assault and Battery before continuing running.
The grenades started exploding, white foam expanding from them at an alarming rate.
For a second, Assault slowed down, allowing Battery to reach him, she slammed into her partner with the force of a car and bounced to the side, without losing momentum, avoiding the grenades. Assault himself exploded with yet another burst of speed, lowering his body and accelerating under the foam.
Some of the substance still reached him, but the small amount seemed to slide off his body, then he was through and running at Anakin again.
Dashing through a window, Anakin ran inside a store, getting out of Miss Militia's line of sight while cutting a path across the building and, with a Force push, he exploded through a wall on a perpendicular street, immediately turning towards ABB territory.
From his Force bond, he felt Dinah's worry increasing, becoming fear, then turning into anger and determination.
He recognized that combination, it was the same one he had felt from Asoka again and again when she was about to do something particularly stupid during the war. He did not miss the feeling.
Focusing on the bond cost him, splitting his attention so that, when he lifted his lightsaber, the blade releasing red sparks, it didn't meet a projectile but a wave of sound almost as powerful as a sonic cannon. One of Dragon's drones flying over his head.
Even strengthened as he was with the Force, Anakin fell to his knees, the attack shaking his body, disrupting his concentration and balance while almost causing him to throw up, nausea hitting him.
It almost brought him back to Genosis.
His mask broke under the assault, a small shard from the corner of his shin snapping off to bounce on the floor, then a crack formed under his right eye. He only wore the piece because of Dinah and yet, its destruction still angered him more.
How dare they… pathetic, worthless… ENOUGH!
With a burst of rage, Anakin managed to lift a hand towards the drone and closed his fist. The Armor tried to retreat, its thrusters burning brighter, the heat distorting the air, but it wasn't enough.
Metal screamed, then bent inwards as it was crushed under his Force telekinesis, sonic weapons releasing one last weak blast before the entire drone turned into a ball of crumpled metal and circuitry
Unfortunately, the distraction had managed to halt him for a full second and, while the rest of the heroes were still a few seconds away, the remainder of Dragon's drones had already surrounded him.
Getting up, he felt his control over the Force exploding, his aura of rage spreading through the streets like a living creature, filling the building and making every person around him hesitate.
The destroyed remains of Dragon's armor fell to his side, several hundred kilos of metal cracking the asphalt and making most of the troopers flinch as some of the metal snapped off from the impact.
He had tried, done his best to hold back, made a show of power with Lung… and yet, they continued to provoke him, block him, keep him from his apprentice.
No.
No, he had had quite enough of losing attachments.
Fear turned to anger, more than he had felt since losing Padme. It gave him focus, it gave him power, power unlike any he had wielded in his entire time as Darth Vader.
Around him, the buildings shook, windows breaking and raining glass down for several blocks. At that moment, Anakin understood why he could never overcome Sidious during the entire time he had been the monster's apprentice.
Yes, the Sith had filled him with hate, with rage unending, but he had also taken away everything Anakin valued, destroying his very reason for seeking power. Revenge simply had not been enough to fuel his strength.
The youngling wasn't Padme, she was not his daughter, but she was his apprentice, a new connection untainted by his former actions, he would reach her and, if they wanted to block him, he would do so while stepping over their corpses.
Anakin's will took control of the Force, no longer asking but commanding it to move according to his will, his concentration greater than ever before.
Slowly, the dust on the ground started circling him, then pieces of the sidewalk started breaking, rising up in the air from the sheer amount of the Force flowing around him.
With a scream of metal, Dragon's ruined suit rose to his side, floating slightly above his head, then a huge boulder broke out from an old building to join it.
With a loud noise, the crack on his metallic mask finally finished breaking, the piece flying up in the maelstrom of power to reveal a yellow eye glaring at the corner of the street.
One of Dragon's drones flew closer, a second sonic weapon rising from the armor's back.
Anakin did not turn his head, but an abandoned car slid on the ground, its wheels bouncing up and down with a screeching noise before the entire thing tilted sideways and shot up towards the threat.
With a roar, Armsmaster's motorcycle turned a corner, sliding sideways before rushing at him without losing much speed. In the air, the tail of Dragon's drone shot forward, a blade slicing through the car and sending the pieces flying to the ground, then it shot another blast of sound at him.
Lifting his hand, Anakin used Force push, the attack aimed at the very air above his head, blasting it away with such strength it completely stopped the sound and created a momentary vacuum, sucking the dust up from the ground.
The attack hit the drone straight on, flattening the armor beyond any recovery and sending it flying away.
Anakin didn't move, but the ball of metal above his head shot towards Armsmaster's bike almost as fast as a bullet, not even a second later, the boulder followed it.
The cape managed to dodge the first projectile, but the second smashed into the front wheel of his bike with such strength it crumpled, sending the man flipping through the air.
With a flick of his wrist, Anakin sent his ignited lightsaber towards the hole he had made on the wall at the exact second Assault jumped out. The hero threw himself to the left, but the blade bit through his arm, sending it flying.
Battery arrived shortly after, but she took one look at her partner and changed directions, dragging his screaming body away from the fighting.
Anakin simply pointed with a finger, hitting them both with a blast of Force lightning, the impact of the blow smashing them through a wall and back inside the building.
A second Dragon drone dropped on all fours on the street to his left, releasing a salvo of missiles from its back, the rockets leaving a trail of smoke as they flew at him while a third drone dropped a white dressed hero Anakin did not recognize on top of a nearby building.
Some of the debris floating around him flew at the missiles, but it only managed to hit a few of them, the rest seemed to dodge the projectiles and converge on his body. Lifting a hand, he froze them in the air with Force stasis.
With a crack, a large piece of asphalt rose up in front of him, the surface immediately cracking as it blocked a new bullet from a repositioned Miss Militia, then he threw the boulder at the frozen rockets and they exploded.
Armsmaster finally hit the ground, his armored body bouncing, then sliding several meters before he managed to sink his halberd blade into the floor and stop his movements.
Anakin strode towards him, the maelstrom around him tearing large pieces of the street and sending them shooting at the drones in the air with enough strength to dent their armor.
Absentmindedly, he lifted his arm to the side and recalled his lightsaber, then used Force choke to lift the so-called Hero from the ground and pull him closer.
Armsmaster struggled, but his hand slid from his halberd, the weapon falling to the ground as his lack of breath made him lose strength.
With an effort of will, Anakin used Force to crush the man's limbs as Sidious had once done to him, the metal resisted for much longer than expected, but finally started breaking as he twisted it until blood started flowing from between the joints, one arm completely snapping off at the shoulder.
The PRT troopers around them finally recovered from his aura, taking cover before starting to shoot at him from what they hoped was a safe distance. Miss Militia used the chance to snipe him again, but Anakin just leaned back, letting her bullet smash into the ground before continuing.
Still, their feelings had changed, where before there was confidence, now Anakin could only sense a fear so deep it was quickly turning into terror, good.
His enemy seemed to have expected him to remain cordial, to keep holding back even as they threatened the only thing he held dear in this pathetic planet.
With sharp movements, he lifted his lightsaber for a blow against Armsmaster.
The pauldrons on both of the parahuman's shoulders rose, revealing twin cylinders that spewed a wave of liquid fire towards his face. Anakin let them, the fluid smashing harmlessly into a Force shield and splashing around him.
Aiming for the chest, he struck.
Instead of piercing all the way through the armor, his lightsaber stopped at the surface plate. He frowned, the armor wasn't beskar, the plasma was still melting through the metal, but the material was still strong enough to survive a few seconds.
"Do it!" Armsmaster shouted, somehow still coherent through the pain… Once upon a time, Vader would have appreciated that.
A spike of Force precognition hit him, this time, Anakin did not try to block but simply jumped away, not even a second later, a cone of power sucked the moisture out of the area he had just vacated, Armsmaster shout growing rough as the attack did not spare him.
Glaring upward, Anakin saw the white dressed parahuman hurrying away from the edge of the building to try and avoid retaliation, a cloud of moisture floating around the hydrokinetic.
Taking another step back, Anakin dodged a lucky shot from a trooper, then he had to redirect another piece of debris to block another four bullets.
Concentrating, he found the pins on the grenades the troopers were wearing and pulled them all at the same time, the clattering of metal on the floor drowned out by the noise of the battle.
With several small explosions, the PRT soldiers were engulfed in a wave of containment foam, the substance covering their entire body before they could react.
Unsatisfied, Anakin finally dropped the Force maelstrom around his body and focused his power, the floating debris raining down to the ground for a full five seconds.
Lifting his arm, he made a grasping motion at the building the hydrokinetic was hiding on. The five story building groaned, the support pillars cracking, then exploding with a deafening noise as the entire thing rose a few centimeters into the air.
Pulling his arm down, Anakin smashed the structure on top of the containment foam, hearing the screams from the parahuman hiding on top as he came crashing down between the debris.
The impact caused the entire street to shake, cracks forming in all nearby buildings, the asphalt collapsing and sinking a full five centimeters into the ground and releasing a cloud of dust, the resulting wind sending Anakin's cape flapping back as it blew around him.
Almost as an afterthought, he lifted seven boulders from the broken remains and sent them flying at Miss Militia's location, obliterating the top of the building she had been using to snipe at him with consecutive hits.
Another warning from the Force had Anakin turning his lightsaber to the side, but Velocity had learned his lesson, Ducking under the blow and punching him in the chest twice before running away.
He barely felt the hits, the parahuman seemingly incapable of translating his speed into kinetic force, but the surprise still managed to disrupt his concentration, letting a still breathing Armsmaster fall to the ground.
Velocity was fast, much faster than even Master Windu had been. Like with a blaster bolt, Anakin could still react before he attacked but, unlike projectiles, the parahuman had no need to keep his trajectory.
All around the former Jedi, the dust finally started to settle down, leaving a coating of cement dust over every surface he could see. With a metallic sound, the broken piece of his mask hit his legs and settled at his feet.
The metal had broken a second time in the maelstrom, the jagged edges digging into the dusty floor as the eye hole seemed to stare up at him.
Refocusing on the Force, Anakin snapped around, lightsaber swinging in a downward slash towards the speeding parahuman. Like before, the man reacted faster than Anakin could keep up.
Keeping an eye on the attack, Velocity stepped to the left, making sure Anakin wasn't pointing his other hand at him in order to avoid a blast of Force lightning as he punched out towards Anakin's throat.
From the ground, Anakin used Force telekinesis to shoot the piece of his mask at his attacker's ankle while he wasn't looking, the edge cutting through flesh and bone with ease, leaving his foot hanging by a thin strip of skin.
Velocity screamed, dropped his power and went tumbling to the ground, blood flying everywhere, then the thin strip of flesh finally snapped and sent his foot flying away before he smashed face first into the sidewalk and passed out.
Dismissing him from his mind, Anakin quickly sent another boulder flying into the air, the projectile intercepting a new blast of sound from one of Dragon's surviving drones and exploding into tiny chunks, at the same time, a different armor flew at him from the back, attempting to get into grappling distance.
The third armor released a new salvo of tracking missiles before shooting him with a laser. Anakin deflected the beam with his lightsaber before blasting the missiles with Force lightning, the blue streams of electricity too fast for the guided projectiles to dodge.
Turning his hand towards the rushing drone, Anakin smashed the armor into the ground with a Force push only a few meters before Dragon hit him, then his eyes widened as he sensed yet another presence.
Snapping around, he saw Dauntless flying up into the air, both Velocity's body and Armsmaster's broken armor in his arms. Anakin was about to grab them, but a scream from the Force made him take a few steps away, another Force shield forming around his body as the drone on the ground exploded.
Stopping in place, his yellow eyes glared up at the fleeing parahumans, his anger only growing at their figure. He had tried to avoid this confrontation, offered them the so-called Empire on a plate and yet…
"There is no escape! Not from me."
The yellow in his single visible eye intensified, seeming to almost shine with power as he slowly lifted his free hand. The three buildings closest to him started shaking, their support beams exploding as they rose into the air, cracks forming all over their surface.
With a spike of pain, Anakin lost concentration, the buildings falling back to the ground with a deafening noise, then starting to tilt in random directions, one cracked in the middle, the top two floors falling almost on top of the Force user.
Heart nearly exploding in his chest, Anakin felt his bond with Dinah winking out, the terrifyingly familiar feeling snapping him out of his rage and making him remember why he was even fighting in the first place, most of the yellow leaving his eye but leaving a few streaks behind.
"NO!"
Dropping everything, he used Force speed again and ran through one of the fallen buildings, ignoring any cover and making a straight line towards his workshop while focusing on the youngling.
His senses stretched out, grasping at the small thread of their Force bond, his heart only slowing when he realized it hadn't snapped, but something more than just unconsciousness was muting the connection.
Jumping between buildings, he pushed himself harder towards the girl.
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