Saki felt sick in the stomach. Her vision blurred as a wave of nausea surged through her. The nexus of the villain was too strong.
Her nexus resonated within her in response to that of the villain. Her head was spinning violently, dizzy, while her senses sharpened due to her high sensitivity. Her blood pulsed erratically, and every breath felt heavy.
The doctor had warned her that her body would be reacting to other villains, especially powerful ones, now that it had gone through a partial trigger. However, she never imagined encountering a strong villain so soon.
She crouched down, breathing heavily, her hand clutching her chest. Sweat dripped off her face as her body heated up. She channelled her energy through her body, using a special inhaler to keep her focused. Gradually, her breath slowed, her mind clearing up.
As she regained her calm little by little, she looked up, witnessing the panic in the eyes of the passengers. Some had begun crying. Others were praying while holding onto their close ones.
She knew that something had to be done. Taking a deep breath, she slowly got back up.
But then—CRASH!
A shriek of tearing metal echoed through the metro car as an explosion tore a hole in one of the cabins. Alarms blared, causing the emergency brakes to activate. The metro stopped right in the middle of the overpass, and smoke was coming out of it. Inside the vehicle, the passengers screamed in fear. The thing that had crashed into the train was none other than a humanoid bot.
The mecha stood on all fours, like a beast preying on its next victims. It moved slowly, recalibrating its circuits under the terrified gaze of the passengers. Saki did not hesitate. She leaped onto it before it moved further and powerfully kicked off its head. The metal carcass crumbled down in an instant, its core losing its glow, leaving the audience speechless.
Hope seeped through them as they watched the girl throwing away the body of the bot. Though this one was more reinforced than the ones she was used to, it was nothing compared to the trainee dummies her grandfather had custom-made for her. Those were so robust that they caused her skin to bruise with just a single punch. Compared to them, this bot was child's play.
Saki peered through the torn opening. Just like she feared, there were more of them coming their way.
Her last fight against them proved to be useful. They had the same pattern of action. Their strategy was to go after a large group of people, making the train an ideal target.
We have to evacuate immediately!
"Every-"
CRASH!
The train swayed left and right as something smashed into it. The ceiling burned with orange flames, melting its metal plate until a body landed inside with two destroyed bots in tow.
Kinryu groaned in pain, blood and sweat dripping off his face. He immediately got back up, his breath heavy. The passengers gasped in shock as the hero glared at the huge mechas outside.
He tapped his comm. "Sir, we have a problem."
"I know. HAL just called. The villain's nexus wave is at 10.4. He's an S-Class Supervillain," replied Mr Hirai, head of Legions.
"That's not all. There are three gigantic mechas and an army of weaponized bots. With civilians still in the surrounding blocks, our actions are limited. Even with an SPF unit, we're outnumbered. We need another superhero at the scene."
"I understand. But the others are tied up with other villains. We are currently coordinating with HAL to get some backup support. Hang in there, kid."
Kinryu exhaled sharply, gathering all his focus back onto the scene.
A few minutes ago, his agency had received news of a suspicious individual roaming the streets, and it matched the description of the supervillain they had been looking for. However, they had underestimated the man. He was not just a regular supervillain but an S-Class with an amazing ability, and he possessed more than just humanoid bots. Those metal giants had not been accounted for, reducing their probability of success.
"Ryu, where are you?" asked Raijin through the comms.
The young hero shook his head, cooling his mind. Even if the rate of success was low, he had a job to do. "I'm on the train, there are passengers still inside."
"Have Dash come here with a few SPF agents to evacuate the civilians while you take care of the big mechas with the rest of them."
"Wait! How do you want me to take these on my own? And what about you? Are you going against that monster on your own? That's suicide!"
"It's our best chance. Focus on draining the energy of the bots, then have the SPF agents take them down by destroying their limbs. I'll hold down Dark Metal in the meantime."
Raijin gritted his teeth in desperation.
"Ryu… Don't you dare die!"
The hero grinned, "Don't worry. I have no plans of dying today."
After giving his orders, he turned to the passengers. He had to clear a path for them to meet up with Dash.
He straightened his back, bringing back his charismatic self.
"Alright, everyone, there's nothing to worry about. Your heroes are here to save the day. Just make sure to follow my instructions and you'll be safe in no time." He winked, flashing them his charming smile.
Hero lesson 101: The first rule to rescue is to calm the civilians. Panic puts everyone in more danger. Therefore, it is necessary to put a smile on their faces and have them calm down before proceeding further.
Let's get these innocent people out of here!
As he scanned the crowd, he stopped, his gaze fixated on a familiar face who was waving at him awkwardly.
"Saki?"
"Hello, Sir…" said the girl, clearly embarrassed.
"What are you doing here? Ah! Is the vigilante association around? Wait—no, you don't have your mask on. Did you perhaps get caught in this mess?"
The girl nodded.
"I see. Still, this is good news!" he exclaimed as he dashed towards her.
What are the odds of her being here? This might be our chance!
"Too close", thought the girl, startled as Kinryu stood in front of her.
"I need your help."
"Huh? Me?" she echoed, wide-eyed.
"Yes. Can you help us evacuate the civilians?"
The girl paused. It took her a second to register his words. Her hero entrusted her with a mission. In his eyes, Kinryu truly did not see her having villain genes as a flaw. Instead, he believed in her.
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you! All you have to do is get these people to safety. You've taken care of these robots before, so I know that you can handle them. I'll have the SPF back you up. Your priority is to bring these people to the safe zones."
"I understand," replied Saki, her eyes resolved with determination.
"Ryu!! I'm here!" called out Dash as he zoomed past the bots that were climbing onto the overpass.
The caramel-haired young man sprinted across the area, knocking off the bots on his way to his comrade.
"Great timing, Dash! We have a change of plans. You'll come with me to fight the supervillain."
"What? And the passengers?"
"Saki will take care of them. She is a vigilante, so she has the qualifications for this mission."
Dash glanced at the girl before gasping in shock, "Isn't that the vil-"
Kinryu quickly stabbed his elbow into his ribs, maintaining a perfect smile.
"She is a vigilante. Understood?"
"Y-yes, sir," coughed Dash in pain.
"Good. Well then, let's get going before there is any more damage." Kinryu cleared his throat before turning back to the passengers, "Everyone, this young lady here is a vigilante who has assisted us before. She will take you back to safety. Please follow her instructions properly until you reach the safety zones."
The passengers acquiesced, though murmurs could be heard from the crowd. It was not as though they could go against the orders of a pro-hero when their life was in danger. Nonetheless, blindly following someone who was recently on the news for being a villain playing the hero was not a great option either.
"I'm leaving the rest to you, Saki."
Ryu smiled at her warmly, patting her head gently to give her some courage.
Saki's heart swelled. The hero that she respected so much had personally given her a mission. The lives of many rested on her shoulders, and she was determined to successfully save them all.
As soon as the hero departed, Saki also sprang into action.
"Let's move as well. We'll get out of the first car, it's easier to get off the rails from there," she said.
They all nodded and followed her. She took the lead, bringing down the bots that had stormed inside the train. Kicks and punches were thrown around as Saki moved like a whirlwind, performing aerial flips that sent them crashing in heaps of metal. Finally, she reached the first car, forced open the door, and guided the passengers out safely.
She took a moment to catch her breath while taking a look around her. The overpass curved towards the next city, where the safety zone awaited. But before that, they would have to pass through a horde of heavily armed robots.
I did not want to use it… But the situation is getting too dangerous.
Saki's mind went back to her training with her grandfather.
….
"Listen carefully. When it comes to abilities, the most important thing is how you use them. Take your strength, for example. You make use of it through martial arts techniques. However, this cannot work for your transmutation ability. First, you need to know what it allows you to do."
She nodded, writing down notes on whatever he said.
"Transmutation allows you to reshape matter through two stages. Decomposition and recomposition. To rebuild something, you need to turn it back to its building blocks form."
"Come to think of it… the wall that I touched did turn into tiny cubes before taking a new shape."
"Yes, that's what makes your ability frightening. You can destroy and create something out of something else in mere seconds. However, that's also what makes it difficult to use. You can't easily stop one of the processes. So once in use, you need to think fast on what you want to reshape and how."
"Right."
"Since we don't have much time. We'll focus on only one shape for now. Think of what you found the most useful and recreate it. Of course, that's only part of it. The next difficulty will be to manipulate that shape. So you better stay focused."
"Yes, grandpa!"
….
Taking a deep breath, Saki crouched onto the rail, placing her hands on the overpass.
"Everyone, please step back."
The passengers obeyed without a word. She felt tingling in her arms that flowed down her hands as she poured her energy into the concrete overpass. Within seconds, it decomposed into tiny cubes before reshaping itself into one arm that stretched all over the path. With one colossal swiping motion, the hand cleared the entire path, crushing and tossing the robots aside like mere toys.
No matter how much I think about it. Using my fist is what I know best. So that's why I'll use a bigger one to take them down.
"The path is clear. Let's go, everyone!"