"Benson Armstrong, or would you prefer I call you Ben instead?"
My heart stopped, his helmet. It's like my SEE Goggles; it must have scanned my face, pulling up my information. That means he knows everything, not only Ben Armstrong, but also Marvin, Aya, and Athena Armstrong. I wouldn't be surprised that he knew about my dog, Poochie, too. I moved back, shaking like a leaf.
I faced Atlas, I faced many things that even veteran soldiers could not imagine facing. While I was scared, I stood on my own feet and fought, but that was all because I could hide behind powers. But I don't have Cosmic Energy left. I pushed myself too hard against the Droid, and I no longer had my utility belt, which contained my food. I'm as weak as any ten-year-old boy.
"To think, my entire army defeated all my generals and was strong enough to destroy all previous versions of the SURVIVOR by someone so young." A bitter chuckle escapes his lips.
Then he stayed silent, just looking at me. I opened my mouth to throw a taunt, but instantly shut my mouth. What can I do? There is nothing! I can't punch him or do anything. What can a normal child do against a Super Soldier Cyborg with decades of battle experience?
He walks up to me, pretty much only a couple of steps, and he would be on top of me. I didn't move. I tried too, but I was frozen. Tears escaped my eyes as I trembled at his towering form.
"Hey, did you ever find an answer to create a better world without bloodshed?"
I was speechless, which led to Arc letting out a deep, tired sigh. "Unfortunate."
He brings his arm up, where something pops from his wrist, a missile ready to be fired at me. I should run or do something else; otherwise, I'm going to die! I was too scared, my muscles tightening to the point I couldn't feel them. His body was tense, and I don't know, I get the sense that he doesn't want to do this.
"Sorry, I would have let you leave, but you're too much of a threat to leave alive. Know that I'm not killing you out of satisfaction."
I shut my eyes while shaking violently. My cheeks were wet with tears. I begged for anyone to save me. Anyone! Suddenly, I heard a whoosh and a grunt.
My eyes shot open as I saw Arc go flying, his arms crossed, indicating he had blocked an attack. He recovered mid-air, grabbing the sand to slow him down. I moved my eyes to the side to see a familiar old man with an intense glare directed at Arc. His eyes drifted to me and softened.
"Hey, kid."
I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand, I'm glad that I find myself not being absolutely vaporized. But Gavin is here, which means he's now going to fight with Arc. He was wearing all the gear; he fought me with back Harvest Hills, all except for his SEE Goggles. I know he's strong, stronger than any normal man in the world; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he could beat Atlas even when juiced up! But Arc is different; he was a beast.
I'm not sure Gavin could beat him. Gavin must have read my thoughts because he smirked and winked at me.
"Have some faith in me."
I was about to say something, but he walked forward before stopping just a few feet away from Arc. They just stood staring at each other. Immediately, I felt like I was out of place. I was just a kid with superpowers, but these two are Super Soldiers who beat countless foes. Those who have mastered their body have decades of combat experience.
These two are the pinnacle of what it means to be a soldier.
"Gavin, it's been a while."
"..."
Arc snorts. "The silent treatment, hm? You were always so serious-"
"I'm going to stop you, Noah."
Noah? Is that Arc's real name? Why is that name so familiar? Arc freezes before standing up straight.
"It's Arc now, Noah Ashwin is a failure of a man who couldn't accomplish his dream nor protect the ones he loves."
Arc's tone was cold and full of bitterness. Wait, his name is Noah Ashwin. Didn't Gavin mention him, saying that I reminded him of Noah Ashwin? I thought he passed away! Gavin clenched his fist.
"What happened to you? You were never like this when I left. What happened?"
Arc didn't say anything at first. His head dropped to look at the sand.
"I'm not surprised you don't know. It's a well-guarded secret by the American Monarch; not even Jason knows about it, I bet.
Arc paused instead of looking at the ground; his entire body shifted away from Gavin and me to gaze out at the waters. Despite Gavin being only a few feet from him, his guard was dropped.
"Remember when I told you I was going to retire early and start a family? But it's impossible, right?"
"Yeah," Gavin responded.
"Going through the Super Soldier Serum and surgery allowed us to surpass the limits of being a regular human, but the price was never having to have children. No Super Soldier ever recorded was able to conceive a child; the Government tried numerous times, but it never happened."
I blinked. That's new information. Is that why Gavin doesn't have any family that he is blood-related to? Almost instantly, I felt bad for Gavin and, to some extent, Arc.
I'm still a child, so I don't think I could feel the weight of never having to be able to have kids. But I know male adults would be a very big deal to them.
"But is that really all it took for you to break bad? You chose this life."
Arc shook his head. "I know, I chose this despite knowing the consequences. They may have pressured me to take the procedure, but in the end, it's my call. I did it regardless because I thought I would be strong enough to achieve my dream. To create a world where everybody is happy and smiling, where they can live freely without worrying about the troubles of tomorrow. But without having to snuff out countless lives or snuff out my humanity like what I'm doing now."
Arc tightened his fist, and his body became stiff. As if he wanted to shout at the world, but almost instantly, his growing rage vanished, leaving Arc tired. No, not tired, defeated.
"But even after the procedure and then upgrading my body to a cyborg, it wasn't enough. It will never be enough; that dream is simply impossible. But then it happened...a miracle."
"Miracle?" Gavin asked.
"Nearly thirty years ago, during one of our breaks, I met a woman. She was...an absolute annoying menace that would always steal my food and beat the crap out of me if I took the remote."
Arc laughed, a genuine, happy one. I was confused, and I bet so was Gavin. Just where is he going with this?
"But, I loved her so much despite her flaws. Then it happened, she got pregnant with my child."
"What!?" Gavin raised his voice, full of disbelief and confusion.
"But, that should be-"
"Impossible? Yeah, I thought so too, but I didn't care; a miracle blessed us; that's why I named her Beatrix Ashwin. I thought that with her existing, I thought my dream could also come to reality, the impossible is possible."
Everything was silent; the only sound that came was the crashing of the ocean waves. All three of us didn't make a sound for several moments before finally being broken by Gavin.
"They took her, didn't they?"
Arc nods solemnly. "I tried to hide it, keep it a secret from everyone, including you. I was only successful for only three years, the Monarchs found out and because they were curious about her impossible nature. They took Beatrix and killed my beloved, strangling it as an accident. And like a fool, I believed them, for twenty years I thought my lover and my daughter's lives were claimed by an accident."
He shifts his body to now face Gavin.
"Then, after someone screwed up, I found out the truth, and even worse, a year earlier, Beatrix was turned into a lab rat, and she succumbed to the experiments and died. That's why I left, and that's why I'm going to destroy them with the same weapon they built."
Gavin took a step forward. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I-I shouldn't have been there for you instead of leaving."
Arc shook his head. "It's not your fault; this is on them. I know what you're going to say, there is nothing you can do to convince me. Though I'm curious, weren't you the one who suggested this whole thing a long time ago?"
My mouth hangs open, staring at Gavin's back, who stares at his words. Gavin suggested the plan to destroy the Government?
"That was a long time ago, sure, but you were always the type to go scorched earth on them; you hated them probably even more than I did at the time. Always forcing you to kill, always hated the fact that we were treated as disposable. When you suggested it to me, I rejected it."
"Then why didn't you approach me when you turned your back on the Government?" Asked Gavin.
"I thought you deserved to retire. I don't want you in danger from my plan. I didn't expect you to be opposed to it, now. What made the change?"
Arc's head moved to face me, which caused my whole body to freeze. Gavin immediately blocked his view of me.
"Is it him?"
Gavin didn't say anything. Arc sighed.
"Regardless, it's a shame it turned out this way."
Arc went to a fighting stance. He put his other foot back and bent; he raised his front arm, extending his fingers and tightening to form a spear hand. On the other hand, he also formed a spear hand but placed it near his chest. I know he just went to a stance, but I couldn't help but feel that suddenly he became a large steel wall. Firm, strong, nearly unbreakable.
Gavin walked up to him casually, and they were mere inches apart from each other. The way he talked was so casual, like he was going for a stroll to the park. Is Gavin really that confident he could take on Arc? Gavin went to his own fighting stance, though this stance, I know, was a boxing stance, specifically, if I remember correctly, a southpaw stance. I got up and ran behind the trees for protection and also to get a good view of the fight.
Gavin and Arc were focused; they may not be moving, but they were waiting for the right moment to strike. I saw a large wave form and crash against the water, resulting in a loud splash, and almost instantly Gavin took the first swing, throwing a jab at Arc, who blocked it with his front arm. Just a second later, Arc props up his knee only for Gavin's other hand to intercept and block the attack.
They disengage and then attack each other with the same move, which leads to the same thing happening, just only with their other arm and leg. Arc pushed him off, making Gavin stumble. A roundhouse kicked from Arc, but Gavin quickly stepped away, just barely evading the attack, though Arc quickly followed up by spinning and delivering a hook kick. Gavin had to duck to avoid it. Since Arc's foot on the floor was heavy because he had to balance himself to perform the hook kick, Gavin performed a low kick on the leg, which caused Arc to lose balance and as about to fall on the floor, but Arc planted his hands on the ground and pushed himself to the air, performing a backflip while also gaining distance from Gavin.
Gavin quickly followed him, and as soon as Arc touched the ground, he was forced to shell up from the lightning-fast jabs from Gavin. Arc was busy trying to protect his head; he neglected his open abdomen area, which Gavin noticed, delivering a sidekick, which made Arc skid back. Gavin wasn't satisfied and was about to change up again, but Arc kicked up some sand, forcing Gavin to close his eyes and quickly shell up for any attack. Arc performed another roundhouse kick, though he put more force into it this time, and while Gavin did block it, the force caused him to stumble, and his guard broke.
Arc then spun around and hit him with a back kick, which sent Gavin back. Though Gavin quickly recovered, he wasn't hurt that much. They both charge each other again, and I could only look on, amazed by how they fight. They were holding back; that was clear. I faced Arc and Gavin, and I know this isn't them going all out. They were testing each other, playing around, and eating appetizers before the meal. But even I could barely keep track of them; they moved so fast that my eyes could barely even keep up.
But what little I could see from their clash, the way they move, counter and attack, it was mesmerizing. Their attacks were much sharper and fluid than any attack Atlas had formed against me. They backed off, jumping away to gain distance before quickly closing it off by running into each other. They roared as they threw both attacks at the same time. Gavin used a haymaker while Arc performed a sidekick.
The result created a massive shockwave, which pushed the leaves in the trees and the water being pushed. I even had to regain my balance, despite being a good distance away. They moved back, staring at each other, both in fighting stances. The air around them changed; the warm-up was over.
It was time for them to go in for kill.