Kapitel 46: Chapter 51: Soldier against the council!

"And ladies and Gentlemen… returning after an exceptionally depressing lull, our hero has returned home to grace you with his priceless talent for combative entertainment!!" Said the announcer of JinJunyë's exclusive and most significantly death-dealing underground fight club. The crowd roared with anticipation of the fighter. "Daft's combat den!" The announcer and commentator continued as the roaring died down slowly for him to speak over. "And If you die competing, they cremate your body and add it inside every warrior's honor, the contender's chalice! This chalice as of this point is far less than half filled but hundreds of contenders have died and been added to its collection. Nobody truly knows why this tradition exists or for what purpose it has to exist, as usual, we inform you that a handsome and zesty one million dollar reward is in order for anyone that wins." The announcer cheered as he began thrusting in the air. Mack broadly grinned as he tried his hardest to contain his excitement.

This underground fight club is themed after an old colosseum, it has two entry ways for the contestants and barbed wire at the top, so neither contestant can escape from above. Mack Merrick sprinted out from one side, flaunting his well deserved conceit to the adoring and envious horde of the poor and proud, not knowing what or who he's going up against but he doesn't doubt that he can prove superior over whatever this spectacular arena's keepers throw his way. "Heh, ye, we all love him but how is our beloved six foot and eight pack champion going to face off against our latest package deal calling themselves our execrable batting brothers boasting— their ability to work in sync supernaturally, twin telepathy or bullcrap?!" The announcer hyped up while pointing in their direction with a smile oozing optimism in their ability as the crowd shouted, blushed and ready to see a battle worth their time. The brutal brothers walked out of their arena entry smiling with a similar smugness as their assailant for their evening, except one was heeding his reputation and what he did as the older had no care for it. The one with the pink glasses spun his bat while the other twitched with a sadistic expression. "Tch." Mack noises as he crossed his arms. One stared Mack down with sweat dripping down his forehead while continuing to swing his bat whereas the thought of removing his eyes from Mack's wasn't on his mind. Before they began, both of Mack's opponents clashed their bats. "Our champion's going to find out the answer to that question earlier from the looks of it." The announcer shouted as he threw three of his fingers above his head.

"I wonder if I could handle you two without my defense, hm, pure evasion and you'll have to earn it?" Mack asked as his cocky grin showed no signs of disappearing. "Just roar and rip this kid apart!" Said Mack's opponent wearing pink glasses nervously low to his partner as Mack eyed both of his opponents. The batting brother with the red and strained bright amber colored eyes and the one with the pink glasses and a devious smile both dashed in, separating then closing in from opposite sides. Mack evaded his opponent's bone shattering weapons in the Knick of time, able to time his stepping, ducking and rolling as well as he expected. The two were as speedy as he expected. "Attacking hastily out of fear and bloodthirst doesn't make you fast enough. C'mon!" Said Mack Merrick before the two came at him from front and back, he launched himself at the perfect angle to sandwich himself between the two and make it through before both swung their bats downwards smashing them into the ground recognizing his recklessness too late. "Provide the spectators with more entertainment like that." Said Mack's opponent with pink glasses wearing a chaotic smile.

"The advising to everyone who signs up match against our champion goes, 'If you're fortunate enough to hear about the vaporous Miiiiiissssttful LOoorrddd, heed the warnings and fear his talent. Now our elite Gentlemen and Ladies, when one of our competitors decide to end your enjoyment early by wimping out then how do we punish them?!" The announcer built up then shouted towards the end as he held up Mack's arm with the wild amber eyed unconscious and the other on his knees after submitting. "WE PUNISH THEM WITH BEASTIES!" The crowd absolutely screamed with excitement. Bears came out, two gigantic grizzly bears both the size of eight feet and two inches made their way out as quick as what they weighed could allow them. "Oh yes, letting the cutesy name fool ya? Ferocious and starved out of what control they could have while riddled with a disease that makes them physically stronger. Heya youngin, you better pick up your boy before and get yourselves ready to perform or be slaughtered." The announcer shouted before leaning over to the one with the pink glasses and a downtrodden frown before he and Mack walked away. The batting brother left standing couldn't wake his partner, instead, he moved him to a safe spot behind him then took up both of their versatile shapeshifting collar bones, held it firmly and transformed it back into dual bats and squared up, the only defense his unconscious and weakened partner has between them in that moment. Chaotic grin made its way onto his face. Mack exited the arena and went to his changing room after watching the fight end ugly for the one he was cheering for as a spectator. He let out a sigh. "Focus now. On our hero's purlieu vigilante issue before he invites more of his roach kind, prince." He heard from the voice of his leader, his trainer, his teacher as he turned on the light and watched the silhouette which had him seated and crossing his arms made from their gifted thick vapor disappear. Mack held out his palm, grunting to conjure any bit of vapor like his leader had with his vaporous message. The more frustrated he became towards his inability, the more vapor steamed out of his upper body as he kicked his arena provided couch.

"A countdown of ten seconds to let me know where the rest of your scummy siblings are right now." The young vengeful vigilante demanded with a calm tone which unintentionally intimidated the youthful orphan of his nemesis. The victim of the youthful vigilante backed himself away as quickly as he could while feeling immense terror but felt like whatever he answered with would get him murdered as he shook uncontrollably. The murderer of his siblings approached swiffer before grabbing him by his shirt then shoved his pistol in his face. "I asked you, yeah? Asked you a simple question that could possibly convince me to spare your life. Where. Are. The. Others?" The vengeful vigilante asked once more with more authority in his tone as he held him up by his Spanish carmine gi. The vengeful vigilante in his peacock and Gray armor briefly turned around as he was given an idea that could possibly force the scaredy killer to talk by the flames of his home abruptly worsening behind the two. Suddenly, the vengeful vigilante felt two powerful feet crashed into his solar plexus while forcing his grip to break away from his victim and his gun and launching him feet away nearest the home. The Vengeful vigilante saw another mysterious vigilante like himself clad in white and gray armor with a shoulder blanket and a badge that caused him a headache helping up the gang recruit. The vengeful vigilante's eye widened under his peacock colored helmet. He shook his head. "Go. Go run to safety!" Derek shouted as he urged the young gang recruit with a tone that matched with the dire situation he rescued him from before he turned his attention to his mysterious foe holding his helmet and hunched over. Recovering from Derek's double legged dropkick at full speed, the two watched, taken aback as the swift gang recruit rushed himself straight into his flaming home, covering his mouth with his arm. "Proof that the only woman you need in life is the fabulous Lady Luck. Feel worth it, gassy?" Said The mysterious and vengeful peacock blue armored vigilante after a moment of awkward silence. Derek turned his attention back to the mysterious vigilante in front of him with an unsettled and bleak expression. "I've read all about you. You're from that cushy town with those murdered investigators in the papers and articles? Join my rebellion against—" The mysterious vengeful vigilante argued as he clenched his fists towards the end. "I don't live up to the qualifications. Killing is not my style." Derek glinted angrily then replied with a stern tone. The mysterious vigilante kept his head towards Derek as the hero could guess he was staring him in the eye but the scowling hero had no way of confirming what was on the mind of the vengeful vigilante as he kept his guard up. The vengeful peacock blue suited vigilante walked away keeping his eyes on Derek until he was far enough away. "What would Lady Justice do now?" Derek had been left asking himself as he pressed a button on his mask that called Settembre for him.

Derek walked away, eventually finding himself staring face to face with a dozen officers at the diner which he was enjoying dining at for a momentary break to ease his mind of what he witnessed hours prior. He saw a sick look in their eyes as the officers surrounded him. He cooperated with them to not stir up a scene that could prove disheartening and allowed them to cuff him, walk him out, with everyone's eyes wide and trained on his arrest. "Cult members." Derek kept in his head as he was in the process of figuring out a way to escape. "Regular cuffs. Easy to break. Public setting? Can't fight my way out of this. Strategic planning was put into this." Derek kept in his thoughts as he continued walking out with the cult led officers. Derek gasped lightly as he realized he was feeling uncertain about his victory and Anthony's warning returned to his busy mind, he put his head down and tightly shut his eyes. The twelve officers skipped past their cruisers parked in the lot of the diner confirming Derek's deduction and removing a possible escape. "They're escorting me on foot through the city, staying in public!" Derek noted as he heard someone on top of a building close by running in what sounded like heavy armor as he shut his eyes when they were close to a police station, which Derek had assumed was their destination. The mysterious vengeful vigilante he encountered much earlier tossed down a flash bang as Derek brought down a very thick cloud of smoke that covered the area in milliseconds. A few of the officers who weren't flashed tried to speed run unholstering their state issued firearms but none of them were quick enough as when the smoke cleared minutes later, their arrest were gone. "Tell Grandpa— that I'm sorry… for getting in over my head, Set." Asked Derek of his friend in their call. "He happens to be at our base at this very moment— missing you like you wouldn't believe, you'd feel better telling him yourself." Settembre responded before he handed the phone over, Derek felt the same way. "Assassins just broke in actually— gotta go!" Derek attempted to excuse himself but he heard his Grandfather speaking to him and couldn't bring himself to hang up at that point. "How are you? When are you returning? You have your Grandmother worrying so badly, she was about to hurt herself with that again, you know she's too old! It's not too late to come back home then return later, kid." Grandfather Philip asked with enough worry that Derek didn't realize he could feel. "I'm sorry to hear about Grandma, apologize on my behalf a thousand times. It's too late for that now, there's scheming and crimes happening that'll haunt me my whole life if I walk away now. I witnessed things here that I— Please, since I have you here, make this choice for me and this time I'll force myself to listen. This could be life or death but when aren't they involved in our work? The hero's purlieu's code and principles, this city is forcing me to choose, do I break it or not?" Derek asked with a low tone as he held his wrist and stared at himself in a pool of rain. Grandpa Philip looked at Settembre who heard his question over speakerphone. "The Grandfather, the father and the loyal servant of Lady Justice herself, I demand that you break it. Don't hang up, as an eternal mentor, your mentor and the loyal servant to the hero's purlieu and the fair one himself there's another way that you can take advantage of if you can find enough determination and will to keep it prioritized. One of our ancestors, Vanity Wiley, had discovered it on her journey. A special technique that can paralyze, to truly disrupt the movement of anyone that enters your smoke's vicinity but it requires the toughest training to perform consistently and the greatest to master. I could never but—" Grandpa Philip turned his head with an angered expression. Derek's eyes widened with his Grandfather's solution as memories of him reading with Settembre began appearing on his mind. "I love her stories, Gramps! She was ruthless when she discovered it and inspiring as heck!" Settembre interrupted while shouting like he couldn't contain himself. "Right. Right! The movements for me to begin understanding the techniques fundamentals she taught in her journals are coming back to me! I'm on it right away!" Derek whispered the first word as he was in the process of recollecting then abruptly continued louder. "That boy, I have every ounce of faith in him to succeed but that boy couldn't learn my simple techniques, flaw vision or to transform his smoke into a weapon." Grandpa Philip commented when his Grandson left the call. "Tell me about it, my best friend, but he's the slowest learner I know. I failed to teach him this video game in our downtime when the mysteries were low at one point but after he gave me a twenty win streak, he challenged me a week later and returned the humiliation by giving me a ten losing streak." Settembre responded as he sat back in his chair while resting his hands behind his head. "I appreciate that chuckle, Alec." Grandpa Philip responded with as he began to walk away back to his wife.