Chapter 38: Mysterious Attacker (1)
The city of Crestwood lay shrouded in the early morning fog, its streets still waking from the night's slumber.
The Vought Industries branch office in the heart of the town was a sleek, modern building.
But today, it would become the stage for an unrelenting display of violence.
Inside, chaos erupted as the doors to the office burst open.
A figure stepped through, metal limbs gleaming ominously in the sterile lighting.
He was a cyborg, a grotesque fusion of human flesh and advanced technology, with glowing red eyes that scanned the room with lethal precision.
His name was Reaver, and his mission was simple: find Homelander.
The reception area, filled with startled employees, fell into immediate panic.
Reaver's voice, distorted and cold, cut through the screams. "Where is Homelander?" His tone was devoid of mercy, each word a threat.
One employee, trembling with fear, stuttered out a response. "I-I don't know! We haven't seen him here in weeks!"
Before he could finish, Reaver's arm transformed into a blazing flamethrower.
A stream of fire erupted from his metallic appendage, incinerating the man in a matter of seconds.
The remaining employees screamed, some trying to flee, others collapsing in terror.
Reaver's red eyes burned with unbridled rage as he methodically dismantled the office.
Desks and computers exploded in bursts of flame and shrapnel as his metallic fists pummeled everything in sight.
His voice continued to echo through the corridors. "Tell me where he is! Or join your friends!"
In a fit of unchecked aggression, Reaver made his way to the Vought hospital nearby.
His path of destruction was relentless, leaving behind a trail of smoldering ruins and charred remains.
The hospital became a target of his wrath.
The lobby of the hospital was filled with patients and medical staff, their faces reflecting the horror as Reaver stormed in.
Without a hint of hesitation, he unleashed a torrent of energy blasts from his cybernetic limbs, disintegrating anything in his path.
The once sterile white walls were now stained with blood and debris.
A doctor, frantically trying to evacuate patients, shouted in desperation, "We don't have any information on Homelander! Please, just stop!"
Reaver's response was brutal. He grabbed the doctor by the throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air. "I don't care! Where is he?"
He asked maniacally not registering reason.
As the doctor gasped for breath, Reaver's grip tightened, and the cyborg's arm glowed ominously.
A surge of electrical energy crackled through the doctor's body, causing him to convulse violently before collapsing lifelessly.
With no further answers forthcoming, Reaver unleashed his fury on the hospital's critical care unit.
Medical equipment exploded, fire alarms blared, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
The screams of the injured and dying blended with the roar of destruction.
---
The chaos in Crestwood's Vought hospital continued unabated as Reaver's rampage reached a fever pitch.
The once orderly medical facility was now a raging inferno, with shattered windows and plumes of smoke filling the night sky.
The sirens blared in the distance, but they were dwarfed by the sound of destruction that Reaver had wrought.
Suddenly, a brilliant streak of light cut through the sky, and Niklaus Vought, clad in his hero suit, descended with a commanding presence.
His Black cape billowed behind him, a symbol of authority and power.
As he landed on the ground outside the hospital, his eyes locked onto the chaos.
Reaver, momentarily disoriented from his rampage, looked up just as Niklaus approached.
The cyborg's metal frame creaked as he tried to regain his bearings.
His mechanical eyes flickered with an eerie purple glow, and his voice, a harsh mechanical rasp, muttered repeatedly, "Target acquired... Target acquired..."
Without hesitation, Niklaus closed the distance between them, his movements graceful yet powerful.
With a single, forceful punch, he struck Reaver.
The impact sent the cyborg skidding across the road, his metallic frame scraping and grinding against the asphalt.
Reaver's systems whirred and sputtered as he tried to stabilize himself. The punch had been powerful, but Niklaus noticed with concern that his fist had only partially penetrated Reaver's outer shell.
The cyborg's defense was formidable.
As Reaver came to a stop, a network of purple lines began to manifest across his body, glowing ominously.
These lines connected with newly appearing machinery that materialized from thin air, forming a sleek, high-tech gun in Reaver's hands.
The gun crackled with a thunderous energy, the air around it shimmering with raw power.
Niklaus sensed the imminent danger. The energy from the gun was intense, and he knew he needed to act swiftly.
With a surge of determination, he tapped into his mental reserves and unleashed 20% of One For All's power.
The world around him seemed to slow down as his speed accelerated beyond Mach 12 within nanoseconds.
In the blink of an eye, Niklaus was upon Reaver again.
The cyborg barely had time to aim his weapon before Niklaus was on him, moving with a blur of motion. Niklaus grabbed Reaver's arm, wrenching the gun away and crushing it with a powerful grip.
Reaver struggled, his internal systems recalibrating as he tried to process the sudden shift in his situation.
Niklaus's movements were precise and relentless, each action calculated to disarm and subdue.
Reaver's voice crackled with frustration and confusion. "Target... Unable to Eliminate Recalibrating..." he repeated, but his attempts to counter were futile against Niklaus's overwhelming speed and strength.
As Niklaus prepared to deliver the final blow, his fist raised to obliterate Reaver's head, something changed.
A primal instinct, buried deep within him, suddenly flared to life.
Every nerve in his body screamed in alarm, his senses going into overdrive as a singular word repeated in his mind: Danger.
This was no ordinary threat—this was a danger unlike anything he had ever encountered.
Danger
The word pulsed in his mind, growing louder and more insistent with each passing nanosecond.
DANGER
Time seemed to slow down as Niklaus realized the imminent peril.
DANGER
He could feel it, just beyond his perception, an energy far more potent than anything he'd faced before.
DANGER
Without a moment to waste, Niklaus pushed One For All beyond its limits—further than he'd ever dared.
DANGER
He flooded his body with a surge of power, channeling 1000% into his perception and movement.
DANGER
His speed skyrocketed, his thoughts racing as the attack closed in on him.
DEATH
But it was too late.
The energy beam, bright and searing, was already upon him.
It was mere angstroms away from his head, the intense heat causing his flesh to blister and burn in an instant.
DEATH
His instincts screamed at him, urging him to defend, but he knew it was futile.
Instead, he made a split-second decision—one that would require every ounce of power, skill, and control he possessed.
Abandoning any attempt to protect his physical form, Niklaus focused entirely on safeguarding his soul.
DEATH
He pushed all his abilities, all his strength, into a single, desperate act of survival.
He gathered his energy into one singular spot, concentrating on making himself immortal, preserving the essence of who he was.
Then, in the next fraction of a second, the world around him erupted into chaos.
DEAD
The energy beam, relentless and unstoppable, tore through him.
His body—his arms, his torso, his head—was reduced to dust in an instant.
Everything but his feet, which remained anchored to the ground, disintegrated under the overwhelming force of the attack.
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