Capítulo 15: Hope VS Red Ape
Kangaroos were an animal she didn't get to see much of. When she had been a young girl, her father had once taken her to a zoo—an actual one, not the gang—in Lillian. There she had seen a single kangaroo. They were always one of the strangest animals, in her opinion.
Red Ape's mutated kangaroo was even weirder than most and way more scary. The thing actually seemed to have superpowers of its own. She let out a scream as it slammed a fist directly into Jack's face as hard as it could, using its strong legs to increase the force.
The ground beneath Jack began to crack, and in an instant it shattered, caving in on itself. Both Jack and the Super kangaroo dropped down into the basement of the clinic as the creature began to beat on the red-haired man with everything it had. Each strike came out hard and fast, sending echoing booms crashing through the basement.
She ran over, still clutching the cat the man had tossed her, and stared down with wide eyes as she watched him get the beating of a lifetime. "Mr. Larison!" She cried out. "Do you need help!"
The kangaroo spun around and jumped into the air, nailing Jack with a cool ass spin kick that flung the man across the basement and into the wall. Jack rammed into it, cracking part of it and leaving a small dent in it. Slowly though, the man pulled his way out of it and began to flex his arm, grabbing onto his shoulder. He spat out a tooth and wiped the blood away from his busted lip.
"I've been hit far worse." The man said simply. In a flash, he vanished and appeared in front of the kangaroo. It tried to nail him with a right hook, but he casually dodged it and jabbed out with his own fist, ramming it into the ribs of the animal and causing it to gasp. "You wanna box? Then let's box!" The man announced entering a boxing stance.
Back up top, she watched the strange sight, taking it all in. "He's so cool."
Red Ape stood at the stairs still and peered down the hole much like she was doing. "So, while Toni is busy slaughtering that foolish Super, what do you two plan to do?" The man's voice caused her nerves to flare with rage, and she glared back up at him, holding the cat protectively to her chest.
While Jack was busy having one of the greatest boxing matches in history, Myth allowed his transformation to take hold once more. The hero grew in size, his horns emerging as the bull formed around him. "You don't expect me to just sit here, do you?" Myth asked, his voice a lot deeper and gruffer now. "I'm going to take you down. Don't bother sending any of your animals after me. I'm a monster from legends long forgotten. I hold power that no mere animal, not even a mutated one, could ever hope to match up to."
Red Ape gave a slight grin. "I won't be using any of my animals to beat you. Toni's my best one so far, and he's a bit tied up. I'll take you on myself-"
That was all Myth needed. The hero was on the villain in a single second, moving fast enough to break more of the floor. Myth jumped over the hole Jack and the kangaroo created and slammed down in front of the shocked Red Ape. He pulled his fist back and rammed out a powerful punch that was able to destroy stone with ease, and since Red Ape was a normal human, it should have been more than enough to finish him off. It never reached, though. A blue bubble of energy appeared around Red Ape, stopping the fist in its tracks. Myth frowned and threw out another punch against the bubble, shaking it but not breaking it. With a growl, he began to hit it over and over again.
The villain smirked and stood there with his arms outstretched. "If you paid attention to the news, you might have heard about Zoo doing a raid on Avalon Industries recently. I got this handy helmet and these helping hands from there. It really is quite amazing that man is able to make things that are hundreds of years advanced for us." Several of the hands began to flow through the air, all balling up into fists.
Then they struck out, slamming into the head of Myth and causing the hero to stumble back. Hundreds of them began to flow from the cracks in the roof or the stairway where Red Ape had come from. All of them struck at the hero, clawing, punching, and poking, each hitting hard enough to break bone.
The bull howled and swatted several away, able to destroy the swarm easily enough, but they just kept coming. "You think these weak things can hurt me?" Myth roared.
"Nah." Red Ape shrugged, his bubble fading away as he reached up to his helmet and turned a knob. "This can, though." There was a bright red glow from the dot of the helmet, and suddenly the machine roared as it blasted out a beam of pure plasma. The laser cut through dozens of the hands and slammed into the beast before him, setting the animal's fur on fire, lifting him off the side, and throwing him off of the ground and into a wall.
Myth was smashed against the stonewall of the clinic, and with a loud crack, the wall gave way as the beam carried him outside and through the street. The hero slammed through another building before the attack finally died down. She stared in shock at the smoking hole Myth had been blasted through. It was just like when Mr. Larison fought Intake. A powerful laser able to send people blasting away. They all assumed Red Ape would only use his animals and the gadgets he himself could make. None of them had factored in him having other, better tech.
"It's even better than I thought," Red Ape muttered as he tapped at the helmet he wore. "I'll have to try and make my own improvements later."
A fist smashed into his side, throwing the man over the room and into a wall. He screamed in pain as some of his ribs were shattered by the impact, and he was doing his best to get air into his lungs. His eyes glared up at her. She had been the one to deliver the punch when he had let his guard down.
She opened her bag and placed the cat in it. "You stay here." Her backpack had been stitched up since she last slammed it into a wall when she tried to attack Ashley with it. It had taken her a full day of sowing to get it back to a working state, and now it had some holes in it again after she used it on that gator. She reached up, tightened her mask, and stepped towards the man, who flinched when he saw the look in her eyes. "You're going to pay for what you did." She promised.
"Some rookie wannabe hero thinks they can stop me?" Red Ape hissed as he spat up some blood. "You just got lucky that I had my gear switched to beam instead of bubble." As he spoke, he twisted a switch on his helmet and fixed his monkey mask. "You won't be doing that again, brat."
She ignored him and smashed forward, punching as hard as she could. The barrier appeared around Red Ape, and her fist rammed into it. Her knuckles burned, and she could feel the flesh starting to tear away, but she fought through the pain. She knew only the basics about combat from the brief time she and Armin took self-defense classes, but that was more than enough for her to throw a proper punch carried by all her inhuman strength. Her punch began to steadily push through the energy bubble, getting closer to the man, whose eyes snapped wide open at that.
"T- This is impossible!" Red Ape screamed. His barrier was giving out, her fist getting closer and closer. It was like trying to shove your way through plastic. She gritted her teeth, pushing her feet further into the ground as she attempted to ram her fist into his face. At the last second, Red Ape's barrier shattered, and the man flung himself out of the way, falling to the floor.
The momentum carried her forward, and she tripped over her feet as the thing pushing back against her was gone. Her fist rammed into the wall that had been behind Red Ape and cracked it, causing it to cave in. She stopped a little shocked. "I'm able to shatter entire walls? I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was!" She still hadn't really seen how hard she could hit at full force. She looked back at the villain, whose eyes were wide as he tried to crawl away from her. "Guess I'll find out on you."
"Don't just stand there; save me!" Red Ape screamed. "Kill her!"
Before she could move back, one of the hands smashed into her face, wrapping around her head. It wasn't the only one. Dozens of them began to claw and grab her. It didn't seem like they could take over a human; they weren't even strong enough to pierce her skin, but that didn't mean he still couldn't use them. With a command, the hands all glowed and then exploded!
The building shook as the blast went off, and she let out a loud scream as she was hit from all sides and bounced in a bunch of different directions. Red Ape's barrier was the only thing that kept him safe as the blast rippled through the building and she dropped to the ground, now a smoking mess.
"Kid!" Jack yelled out, seeing her in trouble. Play time was over.
The kangaroo began to jump across the room, using its legs to bounce off of the walls as it picked up speed, getting faster and faster. Gradually, it started to become a blur. It fired toward Jack as hard as it could and flung out its fist, phasing through the man who moved so fast he left an afterimage of himself behind.
Jack grabbed the animal by the back of the neck, his fingers digging in as he forcefully stopped it and pulled it back. The dark basement was instantly hit with a flash of golden light as he unleashed a torrent of energy that crackled through him and the animal. When it finally died down, the kangaroo's eyes rolled into the back of its head, and it crashed forward, falling face first.
Jack wasted no time and made a powerful jump out of the basement, landing on the floor above. "Now for the boss-"
Jack turned just in time to see Red Ape reach up to his helmet, twisting a knob, and in a flash, a giant red beam exploded out of the center of the metal visor. It smashed into Jack, and it blasted him through the lab and into a wall that collapsed on top of the man. The building, already nearing destruction, was barely held up by its pillars as it shook from the blast.
"That man was interesting. His powers were neat." Red Ape hummed, putting out a few small flames from the heat that appeared on his mask as smoke rose from the center of his helm. "I wonder if he is related to-"
From the smoldering hole that the explosion had left her in, she emerged, covered in ash and clothes still on fire. Red Ape didn't even have time to process the fact that her fist smashed into his face, and she literally ripped the helmet off of him, tearing it apart in her hands, never even noticing how the strange metal almost seemed to glow blue when she touched it.
"Do you know how expensive that thing was?" Red Ape screamed, his eyes wide with rage.
She rammed her other fist into his face, praying she broke his jaw so she wouldn't have to listen to him speak anymore, and the force of the attack was enough to smash him into the back wall. He let out a gurgle, and blood began to flow down the bottom of his mask.
She didn't go after him though. She couldn't. Her legs gave out as she collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and her skin burned. Most of her clothes were literally beginning to melt or were on fire from the blast. But all of it paled in comparison to the fire in her stomach pounding inside of her as if the sun were begging to be let out. She felt like she needed to puke.
Red Ape couldn't speak. His jaw was shattered and broken from that last attack, and his mask was practically falling apart. He was still conscious, though. He had no choice. He'd be forced to use 'it' after all. He reached into what was left of his lab coat and pulled out a syringe filled with orange liquid. He jammed the needle into a vein in his arm and shot it up.
There were dozens of popping sounds, and she stared up with wide eyes as the man's broken body began to snap back into place, and he started to laugh. "Ah. I was worried for a second there." The villain announced. "It would seem that Doc didn't lie. His drug really is amazing."
She tried to get back to her feet, but he stomped towards her and kicked up with his leg, smashing it into her gut and causing her to gasp out. He shouldn't have been able to hurt her. She was knifeproof and even took an explosion, yet somehow that kick was just as bad as an attack from Intake. Red Ape had super strength now?
The villain began to viciously kick her over and over again, his broken mask showing off the sick grin he wore. His foot stopped when he heard it, though. The faint sound of a giggle escaped her lips as she stared up past him.
"What is it?" His smile faded, though, when something occurred to him. This entire time, Myth had been quiet. Too quiet.
The shadow of a bull appeared above Red Ape as the hero came crashing down from the roof in an elbow drop. The doctor screamed in pain as the horned monster slammed into him. By all accounts, if he had been a normal human, that would have either snapped his spine or outright killed him.
It didn't end there, though. Myth sat on the doctor's chest and pulled his fists back. He unleashed a flurry of blows as fast and hard as he could, striking the man with the power of fables, each punch more than enough to kill a man in one go. Hope felt her stomach almost turn at the brutal display of it.
"Are you really going to kill him?" She asked with a worried tone in her voice.
Myth turned back to her, his snout letting out a snort. "This bastard has killed dozens of people. Zoo are insane. They aren't like the Bad Timers. They don't rob or steal; they only kill. Men, women, even kids. This man has personally killed more children than I can count. He deserves no mercy-" Myth froze when he noticed it. He stared down in stunned silence. Not only was the doctor still alive, he was smiling and laughing even. "How?"
Red Ape sat up, and Myth did his best to keep the mad scientist pinned, but it didn't work as his body was forced off. "Oh, I guess I forgot to mention, hero. The animals aren't the only ones doped up." Red Ape raised his arm as his sleeve ripped and tore, his right arm getting bigger and more muscular. "Did you think I wouldn't prepare for you?" He cackled as he picked Myth up off of him and hurled him across the room.
The hero smashed through the wall, slumping into a pile. She stared up at the villain with wide eyes, backing away slowly.
The madman gave a loud laugh and turned to look at her. "You next?" He smirked. He flexed his new muscles, and even from beneath his helmet and mask, she could tell he was smirking. "See, I got this stuff from a new guy. The newest gang in our little city, the Wandering Coin, isn't half bad. Their leader is sort of like me. He invented a drug. Unlike me, though, his stuff is made for humans. I've managed to skyrocket in power."
She pretended to listen as she tried to think of a plan. She was physically weaker than Jack, who in turn was weaker than Myth, who in turn was apparently weaker than the doped-up madman. Now would be a good time to awaken lightning, bone spears, or something cool.
"What's your name, brat? Your hero name, I mean." Red Ape asked. He didn't seem like he was about to attack; he was far too high on his own power, which was good for her, as her headache was still killing her, and that burning in her gut was getting worse and worse.
"I'm still coming up with it. I haven't really settled on if I'm willing to be a full hero or anything yet." She groaned, clutching at her stomach, and resisted the urge to vomit. The kicking he had done had only made it worse. "I'll fight you, though."
That was all it took. Red Ape moved so quickly that the part of the floor he had been standing on exploded, and he threw out a mean right hook. She barely had time to try and awkwardly raise her arms up to block it. His arm was growing in size as he pressed down against her. She gasped, struggling to hold it back, and then she gave a smile.
"What's so funny?!" He hissed.
"You never learn."
"What?"
A beam of golden light smashed into his back, and he screamed as he felt his nerves ignite. It was like a taser, but far worse. The energy danced through his body, and even Hope felt herself getting affected, though she was ready for it from the last time it hit her. Jack stood behind Red Ape, his hand blasting out the crackling gold beam, giving a smirk even as he gripped at his chest.
As soon as the beam died down, Myth came roaring forward, grabbing Red Ape and literally smashing him through a pillar that was in the room. She almost fell forward once more, but Jack caught her. "You, okay?" He asked. He held his hand out, and a faint golden light danced over her, and she felt her body mend itself together. It wasn't like with Paragon. This was slow, and it hurt. It was less healing and more easing the pain.
But this was something she had seen before.
"That's Victorian's thing." She murmured. The Golden Woman did the same thing to her mom in the bank. That healing light. "Mr. Larison, who are you?"
She was cut off when Jack let out a gasp and clutched at his chest. She could hear his heart twitching wildly, and already blood had begun to pour down his nose.
"Mr. Larison!"
Myth flew past them and smashed into the floor next to them, kicking up wood. The hero was already back on his feet, wiping away the blood that dripped from his snout. "This is bull crap!" He complained, possibly intending the pun. "That drug made him tougher than me! How can something like that just exist?"
"I'll kill you all!" Red Ape roared. His body had gotten bigger, and steam seemed to rise off of it. His skin was a nasty red, and his muscles were swollen like balloons. He stomped forward, and Jack went to take a step, his skin starting to almost look golden.
"Looks like I'll have to stop holding back." The man grunted.
She stopped him with her hand, shaking her head. She knew that if he pushed himself any further, that would likely be it for him. That wasn't the only reason she stopped him, though. It had gotten too much. She pushed past Jack, facing Red Ape, and she stopped holding it back.
"You're dead!" Red Ape roared. "I'll rip your head off!" She opened her mouth on instinct as it finally escaped her. It was like a rocket taking off! Fire erupted from her mouth, scorching the area around them and burning so brightly that everyone had to shield their eyes. The madman screamed as he was drowned in it, and her hair even seemed to flash and ignite, looking as if it were a bright blonde for a moment. When the fire finally did stop flowing from her mouth and the dust settled, Red Ape stood there, charred black and shaking. "Wha-" He smashed face first into the ground, not moving any longer.
Myth blinked a few times, his snout twitching. "What just happened?"
She dropped to her knees again, gasping and grabbing at her face. Smoke was rising into the air, and the skin around her mouth had become black and burned, with blood pouring down her nose.
It would seem she wasn't fireproof. Just her luck.
Myth and Jack stood there with wide eyes, staring at the now possibly dead villain. Slowly, the bull form shrunk down to Myth's normal human size as he pulled a cell phone out of his robes. "I'm going to go ahead and call the proper authorities now."
"Yeah, you do that." Jack said, feeling his heart begin to slow. "Wait, you could have done that from the start!"
***
Meanwhile, far away at the edge of the city, in a lab that was sparkly clean, a man in a lab coat leaned back in his chair. "Oh my." He hummed. All around his room, floating hands went back and forth carrying his stuff.
"What happened?" In the corner of the room, a man in a suit with a cartoon wolf mask covering his face stood, waiting for the scientist to finish whatever it was he was working on.
The man in the lab coat gave a half-grin, his hand coming out and allowing one of his machines to grasp onto it. "It seems someone decided to ruin my test run."
"Red Ape went and got himself beaten?" Green Wolf asked, folding his arms. "I knew I shouldn't have bothered breaking him out of prison. He's a low-level mob after all."
"Yeah, that really was a mistake. Oh well, I can't stick around to help clean up your mess. I've got a meeting with the mayor. He apparently wants to discuss that new group that's popped up. The Wandering Coin. Think you can give me a hand with digging up some dirt on them?"
Green Wolf shrugged. "Sure, I've got nothing else interesting planned. And before you say it, yes, I know; don't get caught. You don't want the mayor to know you hang out with a known terrorist like me after all. This will be a stealth quest."
The hands floated over to the man in the lab coat, following his every command. He was the one who made them, after all. "Well, I do know something that might interest you. From what my hand tells me, the one who beat Red Ape was a girl with fire powers."
Green Wolf seemed to freeze in place at those words. Then he began to laugh. The game was starting to get interesting.
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