Chapter 12: S1, Ep 12: The Hunt Begins (2)
[The Hunt Begins – Part 2]
Out of all the things to have happened today, this was something that Kennedy had feared would happen. He should've known that something like this was going to happen—Luz's power to steal others abilities was always going to be a problem, no matter how much he wanted to believe that they would never come to blows.
However, now? He had no say in the matter. Truthfully, this was something he didn't want to happen. But, alas, this was his reality, and there wasn't much he could do about it. That being said, Kennedy couldn't help but be angry.
What Luz had just said… Well, she was both right and she was wrong. He knew that by doing this, he and the people behind him would become nothing more than The Governor's weapons. But, it was to protect their families. They didn't deserve to die because of some corrupt official's paranoia.
But, to turn around and say they weren't victims of this place….
Who did she think she was? They were all victims in this situation! That stupid little bitch—Kennedy snapped himself out of his thoughts, focusing on the situation at hand; The current lunatic in front of them.
She had to die—The Governor made that clear that if they wanted their families to live that Luz Noceda must die. However, given what he had just witnessed, the only person who could do that would… "Me. Only I can kill her. My Power is the only thing that can ignore her physical defense. That being said, we need to tire her out. That'll be the only chance we have."
Naturally, Kennedy was calm in this situation. Yes, it was a little unnerving that their opponent was someone like Luz, but they would be fine. Powerful she might be, but against an overwhelming force, she would break eventually.
Yes, she already had Super Strength, and yes she already had Pyrokinesis, and whatever else she had picked up along the way. But they still had a chance. No matter how hopeless the current situation was, Kennedy was determined to see this through to the end. "EVERYONE! ATTACK! DON'T GIVE HER THE CHANCE TO GRAB YOU! IF YOU DO, SHE'LL TAKE YOUR POWER!" Kennedy shouted, commanding the army of feral teens to launch a barrage of attacks, all the while Luz's manic, confident smile didn't waver.
That should have been Kennedy's first sign to give up. But, Kennedy was stubborn. He wasn't a quitter, and even though he was intelligent, he was also extremely hard-headed. Besides, even if they failed, Kennedy believed that he could succeed. Besides, everyone here had blood on their hands, so if anyone died, it would even itself out. Everyone here were criminals—murderers and sadists in some degree.
Of course, Kennedy didn't view himself as a criminal. His arm was being twisted and he was forced into this situation. But he would like to think he wouldn't fall down the path of depravity. While others were border lining on that path, he wouldn't—no, scratch that, he would never. Sure, he was a little disturbed, and he had strange ideas—he blamed his Bipolar for that—but he was a decent person, he'd like to think.
He looked over to Emelia, who was standing behind him. She looked horrified, as if she was witnessing something out of a hellish nightmare. Kennedy raised an eyebrow, but when he saw that her right eye was glowing a bright purple, that was when he realized she was using Foresight.
Kennedy didn't know much about that power. All he knew was that it allowed her to glimpse into the near future. About three hours into the future, at the cost that she would go blind in that eye for 24 hours, and then she could use it again afterward. She had used it when they went to attack The Alpha Squadron to see if there would be any immediate retaliation. There wasn't, so he okayed the plan.
She was against the whole thing, stating that it was barbaric, and that they should team together against the Governor instead. It wasn't a bad idea, but everyone else was far too afraid of The Governor to agree to something like that, so, reluctantly, she agreed to allow her team to be apart of the massacre, but that she herself wouldn't lay a finger on anyone.
It was a smart choice, in Kennedy's opinion. Assuming that anyone survived this encounter, and that person being Emelia, at least she could leave this place without having any criminal charges placed on her.
That aside, the look of total fear and horror on her face… it didn't bode well for their immediate future. "Emelia?" Kennedy asked, before getting her attention. She took a step back, her breathing erratic as she looked to the charging army and Luz, before looking back at Kennedy, shaking her head no, and full-on running away, screaming in terror.
"Oh… Oh no…. This is going to go horribly, isn't it?" Kennedy thought, gulping, as he turned around to face the direction of what he assumed as the battle, and what he saw made his eyes widen and his jaw drop. He had only looked away for a few seconds, and yet, what he was greeted by was nothing but chaos and death.
The first to find themselves on the opposite end of Luz's hand was a girl by the name of Lucy, one of Kennedy's own. She had no real power to call her own, with her only power being to regenerate from any wound. Kennedy had found that out when she broke her arm trying to lift something too heavy for her, and rather than try and do something himself, he watched as her arm fixed itself and moved back into place.
Lucy wound a punch to hit Luz in square in the jaw, but she never made it very far. She was wrapped up by vines, slammed into the ground hard enough for a small hole to be made out of her impact, and then dragged toward Luz. Lucy was limp, meaning she was unconscious. Not that it mattered, because her fate was already decided for her.
She was the first of them to have their power taken.
The black and red sparks flashed for less than a second before Lucy's body was thrown to the wayside, a sickening crunch echoing out when her body hit the eastern wall of the Alpha Squadron's base, dying on impact.
How did he know?
Simple.
One simply didn't just have their neck snapped in two with bits of their spine sticking out of their back and survive that.
That was Kennedy's second sign to abort the mission, but he didn't take it. It was just one death—he expected one of them to die, that was a given.
There was no way it could've gotten worse, right?
Wrong.
The next person to find themselves a victim of the power vacuum that was Luz Noceda was a boy named Gregory. He kept at a distance near the back of the horde, which was smart given what his power was. Gregory was a member of Foxtrot and was considered their strongest. Why? Well, it had to do with the fact that he could summon two, very large, tree-sized blue dragon-like ethereal beings from his upper shoulders.
Needless to say, when he summoned them toward Luz, Kennedy was under the belief that it would've been over like that. Sure, she had stolen Lucy's regeneration power, but it wouldn't be enough. At least, that was what Kennedy thought.
Instead, the first tree-length blue dragon was grabbed by vines before they even so much as came into grabbing distance of Luz and thrown like a massive rope into the oncoming horde of teenagers. Afterward, Luz blasted past the rest of them, making herself a path and beelined toward Gregory, grabbing his face, and activated her power. Red and black sparks covered both his and Luz's bodies, signifying that he had his power sapped from him.
That was already bad enough, but it got worse, as the second that she had finished taking Gregory's power from him, crushed his head like a grape between; which was a staggering feat in its own right, seeing as the amount of strength it took was easily around 1,400 pounds of pure force, and that was if she had struggled. But she didn't, meaning that she had crushed his head with at least double, or possibly even triple that amount of force.
Once he was dead, she immediately put his dragons to work. They roared out from her shoulders, growing taller and taller until they loomed over the walls of the base. They were a deep purple rather than a deep blue and had glowing yellow eyes instead of black empty pits.
The moment they were summoned, they dove into the ground, uplifting it and throwing chunks of dirt and rock all over the place, acting like a scattershot shotgun. Thankfully, everyone was able to avoid the debris, but the shock that it had sent into everyone's systems at just how fast things had turned on their head had significantly shattered the morale of everyone there, Kennedy included.
But even still, that didn't stop anyone from trying—their families were at stake, and they would stop at nothing to ensure their safety. A bold and brave motive, to be sure, but at some point, one had to wonder what the limit was.
Because, no matter what was thrown at her, be it plasma beams, elongated metal fingers, or whips of string, nothing seemed to phase her. It either got deflected because of the ethereal dragons or was outright dodged by Luz herself. She was agile, light on her feet, and impossibly fast.
It was as they said: hitting a moving target was harder than hitting a standing one, and Luz proved that point over and over again she was masterfully dodged between attacks. Her expression made it clear that she wasn't even taking them seriously. She was toying with them, showing them just how pathetic they were.
Even if Luz herself had no real combat experience was going purely on instinct, her instinct had to have been some of the best. It was as if she could see things coming before they even reached her, or perhaps she was just that aware of her surroundings.
The truth was that Luz had always been good at knowing what was around her, unless, of course, she was distracted. She was playing purely defensive, having no real need to go on the offensive once she realized just how weak everyone surrounding her was.
All the while, Kennedy watched, mortified.
Kennedy should've taken that as his third and final warning. But, once again, due to his stubbornness, he held back the order to retreat. Luz would eventually tire out, he reasoned, so, technically, everything was still under control.
But, as he would soon find out, that was not the case.
At one point, amidst the chaos of the energy beams, the chucking of rocks, and everything else, Daniel, a close friend of Kennedy, tried to rush Luz and hit him with his Impact power. A power that increased the output of power based on how much he moved in that direction. He had been increasing his power before the raid, and a little more after that. He was strong enough to easily knock down groups trees and uplift the ground around him, twice was powerful as the hit that Thomas clocked Luz with earlier.
Theoretically, it should've been enough to overpower Luz's Kinetic Absorption. After all, the last time he had checked, Stanley had only barely survived being hit by that car. Even if it did flip over him, he still felt the burden of the hit. So, again, theoretically, she should get killed by such an attack.
Daniel dodged and weaved between the Energy Dragonsand the Vines, along with the claws that Luz now sported above her knuckles, all to get in close, reel back his fist, and strike her in the head. All the while he was provided backup support by Darlene who fired her Spear-like Fingers, and Lucas who was struck from behind with his Puppeteer power.
At the same time the punch connected with Luz's head, Luz's arms were raised high by Lucas's strings, and she was impaled in various locations, specifically right in the center of her chest where her heart should've been, the neck and throat, along with her upper thighs, hitting vital places where intense bleeding out would occur.
All of that should've killed Luz, and, at least for a second, it looked like it had worked. Her eyes seemingly glazed over, blood exploded out of her mouth, and even though her regeneration was working overtime, it wasn't nor should it have been enough.
Then, there was also the fact that the damage caused by Daniel's Impact was enough to snap Luz's neck in two, aided by the fact that Darlene's Spear-like Fingers had severed her jugular, with the only thing keeping her head on her shoulders being a few strands of muscle and sinew.
At that moment, Luz should have died.
The battle should have been over.
That should have been their victory, their parents would be safe, and hopefully the Governor would keep his word.
But, of course, Karma was a bitch named Lucy, and that came in the form of her Super Regeneration power, working in tandem with Arla's Repair.
Because, almost instantly, the damage was undone.
Like a Lego-piece, Luz's neck snapped back into place, a glowing green light emanating from the point of severance. Luz's eyes regained the light they once shone, although it was a far deeper crimson than before. Her expression, for just a split second, was twisted into confusion before it quickly gave way to intrigue and excitement, as if she hadn't expected that to happen.
And then, as soon as Luz made eye contact with Daniel, and as soon as that devilish smirk retook her visage, all hell broke loose.
Daniel, panicked, kept landing blow after blow on Luz's head, trying to break her neck again, but it never worked. Luz simply allowed him to continue to wail on her, as if to prove a point. With each swing, Impact got weaker and weaker, such was its side effect, until eventually his attacks meant nothing.
By the time he had tired himself, and by the time he had finished swinging on Luz, she stared at him, amused, before activating Pyrokinesis. Flames began to bloom all around her person, and it was at that point that Daniel realized how immensely fucked he was.
No one had the chance to escape the blooming explosion of fire, blasting away Lucas and Darlene with a shockwave of pure force, the flames burning away the strings and melting the metallic extended fingers that kept her in place. Those two survived the explosion.
But Daniel…
Daniel was not as lucky.
Daniel took the explosion of fire head-on, and his reward was being burnt to a crisp, the waves of heat burning away his first and second layers of skin. What remained was bubbling and boiling, with some of his veins being exposed, most of which bursting due to the heat, blood trailing down every split wound.
It was disgusting.
It was revolting.
And it horrified Kennedy. But that wasn't the end of his torment. As if it was one last "fuck you" Luz grabbed his head, activated her power, and as the red and black sparks washed over the burnt corpse of his former friend, Kennedy already knew that his power was taken.
And if that wasn't already bad enough, it got even worse.
The one who got the second worst outcome from the explosion was Darlene, whose fingers were broken due to the explosion—and by broken, Kennedy meant that they were literally snapped off at the knuckle. Blood fell down like cascading waterfalls from the stumps. Darlene wailed in pain, screaming, horrified, no longer registering the world around her as her pained cries for mercy echoed out throughout the base.
But, for the time being, she could scream in somewhat relative peace, because she wasn't Luz's next target. That pleasure belonged to Lucas.
Unlike Darlene, Lucas had the forethought to protect himself in a barrier of string, leaving him relatively unharmed…. At least, that was until one of the dark-purple, yellowed eyed ethereal dragons barreled towards him faster than the human eye could perceive. It slammed into him with the strength of a freight train, snapping him into its jaws as it dragged him through the earth.
Rocks dug through and split apart his skin like a paring knife to freshly baked cake, and as he was thrown up into the air once the dragging reached a certain point—just about a foot or two away from the western wall. For a few seconds, he hovered in the air, his body covered in gashes, cuts, and deep slits. He hollered in pain, his eyes wide and bloodshot, his hoodie ruined and his right arm broken.
And as he floated in the air, his eyes drifted over to where Luz was, who's expression was that of amusement. With a flick of her wrist, the second ethereal dragon came at it, before slamming into him like a whip, sending him tumbling down as his body crashed into the western wall. Upon impact, his entire body crumpled, bones jutting out of places they shouldn't as he hit the ground in a quickly expanding pool of blood, dead.
Whilst the dragons played defence, protecting her from all incoming attacks, Luz approached Lucas's corpse, before reaching down and grabbing him by the forehead, stealing his Puppeteer power, before turning her attention to Darlene.
Darlene was too caught up in her non-existent fingers to notice Luz's approach, only registering it when she noticed a shadow loom over her. Luz did not say a word, simply tilting her head, that same amused gleam in her eyes never leaving. Darlene, unable to defend herself, attempted to retreat, scuttling away like an insect trying to avoid a bird.
From Darlene's perspective, Luz was not a human—no one who enjoyed killing people could've been. The way her eyes glowed, the way her expression never seemed to change…. She was like a demon made manifest, here to judge everyone for their misdeeds. It was made all the worse bye how the moon's light cast over Luz.
Death.
Luz was the walking embodiment of death.
And she was here to take her away to the afterlife.
Darlene screamed as Luz's hand outstretched toward her, the hole in her palm glowing a violent crimson. Kennedy didn't have to look to know that Darlene was already dead, as he heard her pained-filled cries for mercy.
Those pained-filled cries turned to choking gasps, gagging. Kennedy looked over to see what was happening, only to feel disgusted upon watching as Luz began to stuff vines down Darlene's throat, only for them to burst out of her stomach like those Alien creatures from The Alien franchise.
Her misery was finally ended when Luz retracted the vines, grabbed Darlene by the neck, and broke it, before then grabbing her forehead and taking her power. The entire time, her expression had been one of amusement—as if she had been enjoying it, with none of the rage from before.
It wasn't right.
It was wrong.
It was so, unbelievably wrong.
He hadn't realized it, but his body was shaking. True, unadulterated fear ran through his body, as everyone had stopped what they were doing, mortified at all of what had happened, the sole exception of which being Luz, who was seemingly basking in their fear, a cocky smile on her face as she turned to look at everyone, her right hand facing the sky as black and red sparks trickled out from the palm of her hand.
None of this made sense.
How?
How did any of this happen?
Well, Kennedy knew—this was his fault. He should've never agreed to the Governor, for one. For two, he should've listened to Emelia, who was long gone by now having done the smart thing and ran for the hills. And finally, he allowed his hubris to overtake rationality.
He believed that with numbers alone, he could take down Luz—after all, she didn't seem the type to be the way she turned out to be. Yet, here he was, staring at the aftermath of just two minutes of pure onslaught.
To think, this was the person who he had sat on the bus with.
To think, this was the same person who laughed with him at stupid jokes on their way here.
To think, this was the exact same individual who he had wanted to be friends with.
Of course, he knew that, if none of this happened, if he hadn't done the stupid thing that he had done, that this would not have happened.
This was, bar none, the worst mistake he had ever made.
Everyone else seemed to agree with that notion. One of the other people, Rebecca Smith if he recalled correctly, had both her hands covering her mouth, seconds away from puking. Pure horror was etched onto everyone's faces, as they all came to one conclusion.
They had to leave. Now.
Fuck their parents.
Fuck their guardians.
And more importantly…
Fuck the Governor.
"RETREAT!" Kennedy shouted at the top of his lungs. And that was exactly what they did. One by one, they began to evacuate the scene, fleeing through the sole entrance of the base and into the woods. Kennedy led the charge, running the fastest out of everyone there, second to Darwin, who used his Spring-like Limbs to bounce and hop away.
They had made a wise choice, fleeing when they did. If they didn't, they would've all been killed right then and there. Now, they had a chance to flee. To run away until they lost the monster that was behind them—because there was no way that she was human. To even think that Luz Noceda was a human did a disservice to the term "human".
And so they ran. They ran and they ran, refusing to let themselves stop, knowing full well that if they stopped running, they would be next on her hit list.
Unfortunately for them, it did not matter how far they ran, or where they ran too.
Because now, they were being hunted.
As they began to flee, Luz retracted all of her powers. Energy Dragons vanished back into her shoulders, her flames vanished in the blink of an eye, her vines had recoiled back into her fingers, and her sword-like claws retracted from her knuckles and back into her hands.
She had to admit, she did not expect this. Not even remotely, but, all the same, it was ever-so amusing. That being said, this would not do—oh no, no, no!
She would not be satisfied with such a meagre display.
She would not be satisfied with only some of their deaths.
All of them would pay with their lives.
After all, that was the point, was it not? To kill the competition?
"Where do you think you're going?" Luz taunted, before flashing their retreating forms with a sinister grin that spread from ear to ear. "None of you are escaping this. You all die here, and now. Just as planned," Luz shouted as flames began to build and expand on her back. For a moment, they looked as if they would stay that way. But, Luz came to realize something about how Pyrokinesisworked. It wasn't just flame creation and transformation. It was also manipulation.
And so, she did what any sane person with the ability to control, transform into, and manipulate flames would do.
She created wings.
The flames fanned out for twelve feet on both sides, fiery feathers created out of thin air as they blazed with heat so intense that nearby grass began to catch flame, the fire not even having to come into contact with it. The flames were so unbelievably hot that the flames gained a purple tint to them, border lining on blue as they flapped just as wings would. They generated a fiery wind so strong that it picked her up off the ground.
It was like second nature to her, how Pyrokinesisfunctioned. In a matter of a few days, she had felt as if she had mastered the power, with two of those days having her been dormant to conserve energy.
That was a smart thing to do. Conserving her energy. Otherwise, this wouldn't have been fun.
As the artificial wings flapped in the air, now, more than ever, did she truly look like a demon from the pits of hell. Her crimson red eyes, her demonic smile, and her fiery wings; all she needed now were some horns and suddenly she'd look like a stereotypical demon-possessed child.
But that wasn't all.
No, this cosplay wasn't finished yet. Every good demon needed to have their signature weapon. And so, with a flex of her hand, steel string began to secrete from her finger tips.
But how?
Simple.
She combined Sword and Puppeteer. She intertwined the internal strings within her body and formed them to make a singular power. The steel wire began to shift and transform until they wove together to form a single steel blade. It was easily 40cm thick, and it weighed up to 100 pounds, but for Luz that was light work. After her all, her body was now twice as physical strong as that of a body builder, without having to look the part.
Truly, she was genius for stealing both Strength Enhancer and Super Strength.
And as the gleam in her eyes shone brighter than before, and with another flap of her new fiery wings, Luz charged forward at unparalleled speeds, with the first victim of her charged assault being a blue-haired girl.
Poor Jade.
She never stood a chance.
Jade didn't even get a chance to turn around before being impaled by Luz's blade, killing her instantly. Luz then grabbed the back of her head, activated All For One, and stole her power, before throwing her to the wayside. She didn't feel an instant gain of strength, but what she did gain was seemingly something that increased her lifespan. Just by interacting with the string inside of her, she realized that the new power was a passive one, like Strength Enhancer, Super Strength, and Kinetic Absorption.
"Ah, Longevity. Welcome home," She thought, before turning her sights on her next target, or, more rather, victim.
The individual in question was a boy who looked no older than eleven years old—a tragedy, she had to admit, but all the same, karma cared not for how old its reciprocates were, and so, all the same, he would die.
In the blink of an eye, she grabbed him, slammed him into a tree which crushed his entire body like a zit, but keeping his head intact. He died the second it happened—she graced him with a painless death—and took his power.
This power was different. Complex, and… rather annoying. But, nonetheless, she tried it out. Plasma built up in the palm of her hand as she aimed it toward a random individual, fired, and watched as they vaporized in a single beam.
"Plasma Beam… Not quite my style. I'll more than likely dispose of it later," she thought, just as someone turned around, a darker skinned kid to be exact. Anger flared up in his expression, and Luz couldn't help but smile as she watched the boy's arm coil like a spring. He had a determined look in his eyes, and it caused Kennedy to stop dead in his tracks as he heard a rage filled shout. He immediately recognized the last victim she killed as Carlos, and that, to Darwin, was the final straw.
Kennedy watched, helplessly, as Darwin threw himself at Luz, winding back a spring-coiled fist to hit Luz in the face, but it immediately backfired as they met each other's charge. The second he got close, Darwin was impaled on the end of her sword, as Luz skidded to a halt, ripping the blade out of Darwin's abdomen, grabbed his corpse by the head, activated All For One, took away his power, and tossed him away like a used juice box.
"Spring-like Limbs! Haha! Now, let's see, four down, eleven to go! This should be easy," Luz thought, her eyes narrowing as the rest of the gaggle of campers came to a halt. As soon as they stopped, Luz took the opportunity to trap them, snapping her fingers as, from the tips of her wings, a ring of fire surrounded everyone, trapping them, leaving them nowhere to go.
Cattle… They were being herded like cattle.
"You…" Kennedy growled, his right hand balling into a fist. Luz turned to face him, her smile wider than ever before. The others grouped behind him, huddled and scared. "You're enjoying this…. What the hell happened to you!? You didn't come off as a psycho when we first met!"
A chuckle was what Luz responded with, haughty and taunting, which made a vein pop in Kennedy's forehead. Before he could say anything, though, Luz answered his question with a question of her own.
"I could ask you the very same question, Kennedy. You didn't exactly come off as the kind of person who would murder others, now did you? Yet, here we are, standing in this literal ring of fire! Why, I don't think you have a place to stand, honestly. We're both monsters here—both of us have blood on our hands—so what gives you the right to talk to me like I'm the worst between us?"
Luz then smiled, tilting her head, giggling all the while, as if she was twisting the proverbial knife deeper. "Are you scared, Kennedy? Afraid to meet your end? Afraid to look your parents in the eyes when you get to the pearly gates and admit to them the monster you've become?" Her head returned to a straight position, her eyes gleaming with glee as she continued. "Oh, Kennedy~, there's no need to fear judgment. It comes for us all in the end. I'm simply giving you and your heathens a fast-pass."
Fury coated Kennedy's expression, a dark purple aura formed around his hands. He was done running—done looking like a moron and scaredy cat. Done sitting around and watching that his friends and comrades were being slaughtered like cattle.
He was not going to let this piece of shit talk to him like that!
"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" Kennedy roared, slamming both his hands on the ground, and as soon as he did massive spikes shaped of dirt, rock, and tree root rushed toward Luz like a speeding bullet. A burst of flame was enough to destroy the constructs in their tracks, but what Luz wasn't expecting was for Kennedy to have used that as a distraction.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Kennedy having appeared to her left, reaching out to touch her. "If he touches me, I'm done!" Luz thought as she summoned one Energy Dragon from her shoulder. It grabbed Kennedy by the waist, sending him high up into the air, above the tree line, before chucking him back down to earth.
Kennedy screamed, falling to the ground, landing on is right arm to absorb most of the impact. It fractured his arm, but it was nothing his power could fix. As he slowly stood up, he grabbed at his fractured arm, and activated Cellular Manipulation. The arm exploded, the chunks of flesh, bone, and muscle hovering in the air as Kennedy reformed the limb, making it brand new.
His breathing ragged, he turned to face where everyone else had been, but his heart sank for the second time that day.
Why?
Because everyone was already dead.
He had been so blinded by rage and the want to avenge his dead teammates, that he didn't realize that the only thing he had done was give Luz an opening—and even then, him rushing her more than likely did nothing, so his action had been pointless.
And now, standing atop a pile of corpses, Luz held one of the corpses in her hand, black and red sparks jetting off her hand as she took the power from the body before dropping it into the heap, her flaming wings spread out in victory as her broadsword was plunged into the mound of death. A chuckle of pride echoed out in the forest, before she looked over to Kennedy, the smile on her face widening as Luz spoke.
"Ah, Kennedy. So lovely for you to join us. Would you like to hear my spoils of war? Bah, who cares, I'll tell you anyway. Thanks to you and your oafish attempts at heroism, I now have not only what I originally had before all of this, that being Vines, Pyrokinesis, Repair, Kinetic Absorption, Strength Enhancer, Blade Arms, and Sword. But now, I have Super Strength, Super Regeneration, Energy Dragons, Puppeteer, Spear-like Fingers, Longevity, Plasma Beam, Spring-like Limbs, Forcefield Projector, Pain Nullification, Stamina Negation, Heat Vision, Bone-like Whips, Projectile Blood, Ice, and the last one I took, which I believe belonged to that Tyrone friend of yours, WindBlast."
A disappointed sigh followed suit, as Luz brushed a hand through her hair, slicking it back with blood—disgusting, revolting, but Luz didn't seem to care. In fact, it was almost as if she was reveling in his disgust. "Unfortunately, it would seem I'm missing several. Do you know how frustrating that is? To be so close to completing a collection of things, only to be just a few short? Even worse, they're unobtainable now! It's frustrating—truly! What a crime!" Luz vented, a sneer taking up her visage, before shaking her head in defeat.
"Truly, what a waste. Oh well, it's not an issue anymore, now is it?" Luz continued as she glanced over at Kennedy, who was still brimming with anger. "I'm not entirely surprised that this ended this way. From how everything had been going, I had actually expected this to come a lot sooner. But, I suppose the prisoner's dilemma is now in full effect, is it not? I always loved those kinds of situations. It's a shame that you can't appreciate it for what it is, seeing it is the very reason for you and your comrades demise."
All Kennedy could do was stare, his anger melting away into frustration and confusion. Frustration that he was being taunted, and confusion, because… this wasn't Luz. He knew that now for a fact.
While he hadn't known her for very long—literally about six hours in total—he could tell right away that this kind of behaviour was not something that she would have. The theatrics, the constant taunting, the elaborate words and phrases…. She almost sounded double her age, if not triple.
That, and her mannerisms. When this whole massacre began, Luz had done so out of pure rage, spite, and emotional distress. It was only after her neck was snapped open like a can of soda and was subsequently re-attached did her demeanour change. As if something, or someone, had possessed her body.
There was no doubt about it. This wasn't Luz. This was someone else—someone far more dangerous than she had been. Those eyes were what sealed the deal. Even when Luz's eyes were red, they weren't that deep scarlet red, they were a darker crimson—pure anger, pure vitriol. But this? This was reveling. This was amusement. This was joy.
And as he stared, bewildered at the situation before him, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely had enough time to register that both of the ethereal dragons were charging at him.
Panicking, Kennedy slammed the ground, but instead of creating more dirt spears, he created a tower, causing him to race higher and higher into the air, all the while the dragons began to coil around the pillar like serpents climbing a tree. Once he got above the tree-line, Kennedy was met with the two dragons, blocking him in from both front and back.
The two dragons rushed him at once, and in response, he threw up both his hands in either directions. The second the dragons touched his palms, they exploded. But, because they weren't natural objects, he couldn't control them. If anything, he stunned them for a few seconds, and that was all the time he needed.
Slapping the ground underneath him, he shattered the platform he was on, and just as the chunks of ground were floating in the air, he turned them into travelling spears, sending them in "Luz's" direction. In response, Luz flapped her wings in the direction of the spears, just as Kennedy slid down one of the spears. The spear he was on was hit last, so it gave him enough time to dodge the incoming wave of flame.
Landing on the ground, he ran through on the left hand side, turning every tree into more and more spears, trying to overwhelm "Luz". With each attack, "Luz" simply waved her hand as flames met the constructs, destroying them in an instant.
"Damn!" Kennedy thought, sneering. He trailed his fingers against the ground, creating a sea of spikes that threatened to crush "Luz", but a well timed spin king was enough to destroy the twelve foot wall of fast moving spikes.
"Is this the best you've got? Truly, how amateur, though, I expect nothing less than that from someone like you," "Luz" said, as she outstretched her hand, ready to do something, only for something unprecedented to happen. Cracks appeared all across Luz's body, shocking and confusing whoever it was that was controlling her, as blood exploded from each and every crack, causing her to hiss in pain, and making her falter and drop to a knee.
"Now!" Kennedy thought, rushing the downed "Luz", reaching out to grab her, only for a massive yellow forcefield to appear in front of her, blocking his attack and preventing him from reaching her. The forcefield then shot outward, slamming into him and knocking him into a tree, before fizzling out.
Blood squirted out from every crack, her regeneration not working. Shakily, "Luz" stood up, breathing laboured as a pained, frustrated sneer took up her visage. "Damn, this body is too weak! I was so used to collecting Quirks without consequence that I nearly forgot about its prior limitations. Fool! You damn fool!" "Luz" cursed herself, as Kennedy stared, confusion on his face.
"This body? Quirks? Limitations? What the hell…?" If he wasn't sure that Luz was being puppeted by someone else before, he certainly was now. Standing up, Kennedy stared at "Luz", eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you—"
Before Kennedy could question any further, bone-like whips shot out at Kennedy, forcing him to dodge. Despite clearly being in pain, "Luz" continued to fight, pushing herself to her absolute limits, lashing and whipping at Kennedy's moving frame.
Kennedy knew that the only reason why he hadn't been hit yet was because "Luz" wasn't pushing herself too hard. Like she was trying to avoid the backlash from happening again—which made sense. He would do the same thing if he was in her shoes.
Unfortunately, his luck at dodging the attacks ran out, as one of the whips snagged him by the shoulder, raising him up into the air, before throwing him back down. Just as he was a few feet away from hitting the ground, he slapped a nearby tree, blowing it to bits and creating a slide smooth enough to not have him get splinters and for him to safely slide down.
Just as he got up, he barely avoided a column of fire, dodge rolling away from the spiral of heat and death. He looked back over to "Luz" and noticed that the wounds were growing deeper, and "Luz" was becoming noticeably more and more pale, and looking as if she was about to faint from blood loss.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen, eh?!" Kennedy taunted, charging full speed ahead. "You really think you're tough shit, eh! Taking over some girls body like that, ya freak! Well, news flash, asshole, you overestimated yourself!" Kennedy roared, palming the ground once more to create an array of spikes that flew toward "Luz" at the same speed as that of a bullet.
"Luz" was caught off guard, getting impaled through the stomach and sending her into the air. "HOW DOES IT FEEL, FUCK FACE! HOW DOES IT FUCKING FEEL!" Kennedy shouted, only for "Luz" to smirk, before… turning into string and vanishing. "A CLONE?!"
Kennedy turned his head sharply, looking over his shoulder, just in time to have "Luz" grab him by the forehead. "Mine!" "Luz" said, only for Kennedy to grab her wrist, activate Cellular Manipulation, and blow up her hand. "Luz" roared in anger, blood squirting from all of her collective wounds, seemingly trying to brute force something, until finally, a green glow warped around "Luz", all of her wounds healing, as her hand reformed.
"FINALLY!" "Luz" thought, blasting a ball of flames toward Kennedy, who slapped some of the debris that he had created, making a shield out of it to protect himself. "I can't use any of my complex Quirks. If I do, that will cause me to implode again. The last thing I need is for this body to break on me. I'll have to stick to the basics for now. Pure strength, speed, and reflexes, and, if need be, regeneration," "Luz" concluded, disabling Pyrokinesis, Energy Dragons, Puppeteer, and Sword.
"Luz" then rushed, toward Kennedy, who was now extremely tired due to over-exertion, landing blow after blow, punch after punch, cracking his ribs and shoulder blades with each precise punch thrown. Kennedy was sent flying, but not before "Luz" got behind him, grabbed him by the back of his throat, and started to drag him through the dirt, face first.
The pain was immense, as he felt his body get torn apart actively by the jagged rocks, fast moving earth, and anything else that happened to be in their path.
Kennedy didn't want to die.
So, in a last ditch effort, he decided to do something incredibly risky.
Kennedy activated Cellular Manipulation, and used it on himself, blasting his entire body apart, the particles flying behind "Luz" and reforming behind her. "Luz" was caught off guard, and before she had any time to react, Kennedy smacked her across the face. In that instant, her head blew apart like confetti, and just as Kennedy was about to celebrate…!
Her head repaired itself.
Kennedy's eyes widened, as Luz's expression was replaced by a victorious, malicious grin. "Ha! Did you really think that would have worked! You fool! You absolute moron!" "Luz" spat. "Repair restores whatever is broken back to its previous state, regardless of what happened to it. Quite the fine Quirk, if I do say so myself."
"Luz" hummed, tapping her chin. "I must say, you have quite the fascinating Quirk, young man. Why, it reminds me of one I knew, prior to my… current circumstances," "Luz" said, smiling. "But all the same, it hardly matters. However, I'm willing to cut you a deal. You get to keep your Quirk and life, so long as you do something for me."
Kennedy sneered. Why?! More importantly, how?! That should've killed her! He had ultimate control over his power, not this asshole! "How! You should have died!"
"You're right. However, it's all about reaction time. I had already pre-activated Repair before your hand even touched my face, meaning it had a delayed activation. It's funny how that works, isn't it?" "Luz" answered, crossing her arms. "Now, are you going to take my offer, or are you going to be a moron and die."
Kennedy hissed. He knew right off the bat that this was a stupid idea. But, at the same time, there wasn't much else that he could do. It was either die or do the monster in front of him a favour, whatever that favour was.
"Fine…" Kennedy spat as "Luz" smirked.
"Good. We're going to resurrect a single corpse—just one, and only one," "Luz" said as Kennedy blinked.
"Resurrect…? But, that's impossible! You literally can't!" Kennedy barked as "Luz" wagged her pointer finger.
"Incorrect. I've seen that exact same Quirk do exactly that. Now, come along. We're not that far away from The Alpha Squadron headquarters," "Luz" said, motioning Kennedy to follow after her. Reluctantly, he did just that, following after her.
It wasn't long before they made it to The Alpha Squadron base, and as soon as they got there, "Luz" led him to where Julia's headless body had been, flopped over, leaning against the wall, some of her flesh having begun to rot away. The smell was repulsive, and it made him want to gag.
"Use Cellular Manipulation on the pool of blood, and command it to reform itself," "Luz" instructed, as Kennedy silently nodded, doing exactly that. Like one of those sped-up Lego building montages, droplet by droplet, bones began to materialize out of the blood, rebuilding and reconstructing into a functioning skull. Muscle regenerated overtop the pale-white endoskeleton, as eyes began to reform—glassy and dead looking—before flesh formed overtop, and a fountain of hair flowing out of the scalp, back to what it used to be.
"Luz" frowned, humming to herself. "What is it missing?" "Luz" muttered, as Kennedy looked over to "Luz" as she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Yes, now, do the same thing to her actual body." "Luz" instructed as Kennedy nodded.
Kennedy exploded Julia's body, before quickly reforming it back to its original, un-rotted state. Kennedy had to admit, he was pleased with himself, but if he wasn't tired before, he was certainly tired now. His breathing was heavy, and he was thoroughly exhausted. The last thing that he wanted to do was anything else.
"Luz" placed two fingers on Julia's neck, feeling for a pulse. A mirthful chuckle passed her lips as she pulled her fingers away. "Very good. Alive, if not unconscious, but alive nonetheless. As for you, Kennedy, unfortunately, you've outlived your usefulness. Goodbye."
Before Kennedy could say anything, shout in protest, or defend himself, "Luz" punched him so hard, and so fast, that his entire upper body was splattered into nothing but a fine red mist, leaving his lower body to slump to the ground, blood spilling out uselessly.
And, just like that, the last of the opposition was now dead, just as planned.
A smile painted itself on "Luz's" lips—no, not Luz, Rikitasu Shigaraki's lips. At least, temporarily, anyway. He knew he didn't have long within Luz's body. She would eventually wake up from the minor coma she had been put in by her near-death experience, and when she did, he would be placed back into the Vestige Realm, right where he belonged.
Still, though, it was surreal. Breathing in the air again. Feeling his power out yet again. It was strange. It all felt so bizarre. He had been so used to being dead that he hadn't thought that he could hijack Luz Noceda's body. Even if it was only for a brief amount of time.
He had no idea how much time he had left before he would have to give control back—because it would be instant, there would be no bickering. After all, she was the dominant soul within the body, not him. For all of his power and experience, he was not current holder of All For One anymore. That luxury went to Luz.
He wouldn't lie and say that he wasn't jealous. That Luz got to live and he didn't. He couldn't help it, he was a sore loser. He always had been and always would be. Having to sit in the backseat while Luz made basic error after error was frustrating already enough as it was.
But, Rikitasu wasn't in control.
Luz was.
Which… gave him an idea. Looking down at Luz's form, he frowned. Luz Noceda was weak—at least, compared to him, anyway. She couldn't hold as many Quirks as he could at his prime, and it showed by the amount of pressure that had begun to build up within the vessel. Even so much as moving her left arm hurt.
"Quirk Overload… I haven't felt this in over 60 years…" Shigaraki thought. Luz would need to train—train like she never had before if she wanted to properly use All For One. He looked down at his palm, and sighed. Just as he was about to pass out, however, he noticed something fall down from Luz's head.
At first, he couldn't believe his eyes.
But then, just as it landed in the palm of his hand, a tiny, amused chuckle followed suit.
A single strand of pure white hair…
"Oh? Now this is interesting. It would seem as if Luz's body is changing," Shigaraki thought, a devilish smile worming its way onto Luz's face. "Oh, how ironic~! It's just like I said all those years ago! That I would come back in a different form, in a different time, completely unrecognizable~! That oaf Yagi…! Oh, the look on his face when he realizes that I wasn't bluffing~! It shall be glorious! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
As that thought ended, a new one sprung to life. Just how long had he been dead for? Ten years? No, it would have to be less than that. His earliest memories were that of when Quirks first started to appear in this world. That was when his consciousness, even if it was only a sliver, first awoke within Luz's mind. That was… five years ago.
Taking that into account, that meant, he had been dead for five years. Just how much has his old world changed? Did Yagi survive his injury or did he die not too long afterward? If he died, that meant One For All would be lost to time!
"Actually… No, no it wouldn't be," Shigaraki thought. "Assuming That Experiment succeeded in That Place, then One For All should still be around, assuming that Yagi is dead. I've been away from That Place for around about fourteen, closer to fifteen years now ever since I lost control over That Thing thanks to that damnable Owl Lady and her gaggle of dipshits, alongside that no good wretched, traitorous, backstabbing Emperor…."
He was still furious about that. After everything he gave to that man, and everything he did to improve his fortifications, army, and people, he spat in his face and stabbed him in the back. "Oh well, not that it matters now. I had the last laugh in the end…." Shigaraki thought, before looking down at Kennedy's torso. He felt slightly disappointed. Such a waste of a wonderful power. But, then again, it might have been for the best. This body was already falling apart at the seams. The last thing it needed was more pressure.
He was going to need to offload a bunch of Quirks, and soon. Or, convince Luz to do so when she took back control over the body. Either way, it needed to happen. If she wanted to live, that was. He was only able to handle the pressure because of how much training he had, but Luz? She wouldn't be able to handle it. That he knew for certain.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A loud booming voice stirred Shigaraki from his thoughts as he looked over his shoulder. The Military, although, they did not seem to be wearing the same uniforms as the ones that had escorted Luz and her friends here. The man in the middle seemed to be the one in charge. He had the most badges on his uniform. "ARE YOU A PRISONER HERE?"
"What does it look like?" Shigaraki responded, narrowing his eyes. He didn't like the tone this man was using. If it wasn't for the mounting pressure and stress being put on this body, he would've blasted the man with a beam of fire. The man nodded, gesturing for his men to lower their firearms. Good. They were smart.
"We're here to escort you to safety. Come on, we don't have all day!" The man shouted as Shigaraki took a step forward in Luz's body.
Only, there was one small issue. Something that Shigaraki, in hindsight, should've known but either was too caught up in the moment or, had simply forgotten.
He had been so used to his own body, that he had completely forgotten that it really didn't matter if one was not using a Quirk to experience Quirk Overload.
It could be something as simple as moving that could cause an intense blowback.
Across her chest and down to her abdomen in a diagonal line, a massive gash torn open and exploded, tearing through skin, bone, and soft tissue in an array of blood and gore that looked like a jet hose. The utter pain that he experienced at that moment was unbelievable. He hadn't felt such pain like that in a long time.
It didn't matter if this body had Pain Nullification. The blowback ignored it. It was the only downside to having such a weak body. Blood spewed everywhere as he was hit with a wave of pain he had not been expecting. The last thing he saw before he faded back into the vestige world was being surrounded by the soldiers and picked up.
Luz was going to be mad. Scars were not her strong suit. But, oh well.
And, hey at least he was able to resurrect Luz's friend, girlfriend, friend with benefits—whatever her and Julia were to each other—by using that Kennedy boy to his advantage. That was all that mattered to him. After all, a happy successor was an obedient successor.
Just before he fell unconscious, he decided to do something to Julia's body. He decided to slip one of the Quirks that had been in Luz's system causing this mess. He needed to offload some, anyway. After all, considering what he knew about her family, it made sense for her to have it.
He gave her Puppeteer.
And then, once the transfer was complete, he was met with the familiar darkness of the vestige realm, where an unconscious Luz had been. She was curled up in a ball on the red carpet. Rather than let her stay there, Shigaraki, now in his spiritual body, picked her up, placed her on the throne next to his own, and sat her up.
He walked back to his throne, sat down, and sighed, looking off into the distance as the sea of caged incomplete vestiges greeted him. He was a little disappointed that Luz had a limit like his failed experiments had. But that was something that, unlike those, could be easily fixed.
But that would have to wait. For now, he snapped his fingers and manifested the latest issue of Shonen Jump—at least, from his world that he remembered being out—and began to read, all the while he waited for Luz to wake up.
[XXXX]
Julia didn't know what was happening. One moment, she couldn't feel or see anything. An immediate nothingness that had shocked her. She couldn't hear, nor could she do anything. She felt… incomplete. And then, suddenly, she heard things. Shouts. A cold voice. And then… she felt movement.
She was being moved.
But to where? What was going on? What had happened? It felt like she had blinked, and now she was being taken somewhere. By the time she regained any form and or semblance of consciousness, even if it was only brief, she was greeted with a bright white roof, and several doctors surrounding her. A breathing mask was put over her mouth, and then, she was unconscious again.
When she reawakened for a second time, she groaned, slowly sitting up. A massive headache washed over her and it made her recoil in pain. The bright light… she hated it. The sound of beeping and pumping caused her to panic slightly. And when she fully came to, she found herself in a hospital room.
"Good morning, Ms. Delmisso. How are you feeling?" A heavy Spanish-accented voice asked her as Julia looked over to her immediate right. Standing there was a tall, light brown-skinned man. He had slicked-back black hair and the makings of a beard on his face. He was dressed in a white doctor's coat, with blue scrubs underneath.
Julia blinked, looking down at herself. This wasn't right. She knew, for a fact that she had died. So, how was she alive? "I… I was dead… how can I be alive?"
"Dunno. Ask your friend when she wakes up. She's just as clueless as you are. But, according to the security footage we were able to take from the crime scene to understand what happened, it seemed that said friend of yours forced your killer to bring you back to life, then promptly killed him afterward. I don't know why she didn't bring back everyone else, but she doesn't seem to remember a damn thing from the event. All she remembers was almost dying herself, and then waking up here." As the man said that, he seemed to remember something, before smiling. "Oh, yeah, and I'm Dr. Rodriquez. A pleasure to meet you."
Julia was stunned. Luz… Killed someone? Luz? The goofy, if somewhat serious at times, Luz Noceda? Murderer? No… that couldn't be right. Luz would never, right? Then again, she did say that if someone killed another person, she wouldn't have a problem doing the same right back to them, so for all she knew, that was what happened.
That also meant that Kennedy was dead—good riddance, she'd say. But, no… it wasn't his fault he did what he did. That prize went to The Governor. It was his fault that Kennedy felt like he had to do what he did.
Kennedy was a victim of Governor Maxwell's manipulations. So, even if a part of her didn't want to, she could forgive Kennedy for what he had done.
But, that was beside the point. There was another reason as to why she was so caught off guard, ignoring the fact that she was brought back to life. "Yes, a pleasure all the same… but, I couldn't help but notice, you said… Delmisso. That's my mother's maiden name," Julia said as Rodriquez nodded, a disappointed look on his face.
"Si, I'm aware of that. We called your, uh, former parents. And they said they wanted nothing to do with you. I had to default you on my clipboard here as Delmisso. I'm sorry if you're just finding this out," Dr. Rodriquez said as Julia breathed in sharply.
Of course. That was just her luck.
She dies, comes back to life, and now she finds out her parents have officially disowned her. She scoffed. Good riddance. But now, she had nowhere to go. A saddened look took up her visage, but it was quickly dashed when Dr. Rodriquez cleared his throat, catching her attention as he spoke.
"But, there is some good news. I don't know why she decided to do this, but I've known her for a while now. And even though she's got a few rough edges about her, I know she'll take care of you. Luz Noceda's mother is willing to take you in. If you don't—"
"Really?" Julia asked, hope in her eyes, which caused Rodriquez to laugh.
"Yeah, so I take it you don't mind?" Rodriquez asked as Julia nodded. "Well, that's good. I was a little worried. I'll let her know you accepted once she's done visiting Luz. She's currently asleep, but Camila doesn't want to leave her side. And I don't blame her. After everything that happened, I'd be a little surprised if she did. I'll let you know when she comes around. Get some rest, okay?"
With that, Dr. Rodriquez left the room. And when she did, Julia smiled. It seemed that now she had a new lease on life, she was going to make the most of it. When she looked down at the palm of her hands, though, she felt something strange about them.
She didn't know why, but she felt different. She felt off.
"It's probably nothing…" Julia thought, before laying back on her hospital bed's pillow, closing her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
[XXXX]
"Who the hell do you think you are, locking me up in here?! I'm your Governor! Do you hear me?! You pieces of shit! When I get out of here, I'll cut all of your funding!" Maxwell screamed from his holding cell in the county jail, grabbing onto the bars with rabid rage as he shook the cell door with all of his might, only for nothing to come of it. When his screams fell on deaf ears, his hand slid down the bars, dropping to his sides as he let out a sigh.
This was not how this was supposed to go! He was supposed to have gotten away with the whole thing! How did this even happen?! Was it because he took it a step too far by kidnapping the parents? Did the parents even get kidnapped or were they found out when the attempt was made?
That's what had to have done it. After all, he never did get a response back from Holden. He probably got shot and killed. And considering Mathers wasn't responding when he was arrested, that was probably what had happened to him too. He and the rest of the soldiers.
The rest of the military caught on to what had happened. Those FBI agents were also probably killed, too. Tyler was smart to not put his name down on anything and to use a burner phone.
Oh well, as long as Tyler was safe, that's all that mattered.
"Well, ya done goofed, Maxwell. Look where you got yourself?" He muttered to himself. He walked over to the slab of metal and cushion that was supposed to be his bed and sat down, leaning against the brick wall as he did.
Not that he'd be here for long. He'd be acquitted. His party could swoop in, and save him. They had to. He had a major donor on his side. If he was allowed to rot in prison, then Tyler would pull his funding. That was the agreement he had made with him.
Tyler was a man of his word. He always had been and would continue that track record.
Right?
Just then, from the ventilation system in front of him, a thick, purple smog flowed into the room. Maxwell recognized it immediately, and his heart began to race. No… there was no way. Tyler wouldn't do this to him. He wouldn't send him would he? Why?!
"No…! Is he serious?! Is he actually going to kill me!?" Maxwell thought as more of the smoke began to collect and gather in the room. After a few seconds, the smoke began to form into a man, swirling around like a small tornado, before he fully formed into the man that now stood before him. He was tall, easily ten feet tall. He wore a gas mask that only covered his nose and mouth, with two valves on the front. The mask was connected to a gas tank on his back, and he was dressed in what a traditional cowboy would wear.
A brown leather vest with tassels on the edge of his vest, a white short-sleeved button-down shirt, two brown fingerless leather gloves, dark brown jeans and a pair of black chaps overtop those jeans. The outfit was completed by his cowboy boots and traditional cowboy hat.
He had long, black hair that framed his face and went down to his shoulders, and his dark purple eyes drilled nothing but hatred and loathing into Maxwell. If he could see what was underneath his mask, he'd guess there was a snarl underneath his mask.
"J-Jonah! I-I—"
"Save it, shits-for-brains. You 'ave no idea how long I've been waitin' for this day," Jonah Smith spat, before reaching out for Maxwell and grabbing him by the throat. The inhuman strength that Jonah had instantly forced all the air out of Maxwell's lungs, and it was quickly replaced by the purple, poisonous smog that began to fill his lungs.
As Maxwell choked, the way Jonah's face shifted proved to Maxwell that he was smiling. "Oh, Governor, don't be so shocked. When Tyler said he was goin' to clean up all loose ends once this was over, he wasn't kiddin'. That included you. And to make things even better ya failed 'em. Which is why he sent me. An' I couldn't 'ave been happier for it!"
As his vision began to go dark, he was dropped to the ground, blood trailing out of his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth as he gasped for breath. He couldn't feel his body, and as a last "fuck you", Maxwell watched as Jonah's boot raised over his head.
And then, there was nothing.