Crystal Ch. 15

With her back was just about on fire, Crystal stood back up with small ice shield hanging on her arm. She had little time to prepare as Ruthless was back at her striking wherever her hands could reach. This time, however, Crystal was more alert and was able to deflect the attacking fists from the major target zones Ruthless was aiming for.

Going for a new tactic, Ruthless did a jump spin kick at Crystal's face. Instead of dodging the attack similar to the one beforehand, Crystal used her nearly broken shield to block the attack . . .

. . . which completely shattered the shield and earned her a gravel-tasting boot to the cheek. Crystal stumbled back as she attempted to make the water aid her again, but found to her expectation that the water had finally evaporated, leaving her at an even bigger disadvantage. Not focused on Ruthless, she didn't see the kick to her ribs at all and she fell to the ground grimacing in pain.

"I don't think it needs to be said that you've been beaten," Ruthless smiled viciously. "Unfortunately for you, I don't feel like stopping. And what makes this even better is that there's no one here to stop me like you masochistic boyfriend. Isn't that funny? You have to save these people, but they don't want to save you."

"That's because they have their lives to live," Crystal said as she struggled to climb to her feet. "If there weren't people like you, then there wouldn't be people like me."

"There won't be anyone like you when you're dead," Ruthless declared as she walked to the dented car.

Hefting it over her head, Ruthless turned faced Crystal . . . who tackled the villainess to the ground. The car fell on its headlights before tilting backwards to fall on the female combatants. With all the strength Crystal had left, she flipped Ruthless on top of her, forcing the villainess to receive the brunt of the impact. Before Ruthless could move, Crystal grabbed her head and bashed it against the pavement until Ruthless was knocked unconscious.

"Commander Shinobay, this is Crystal," the heroine called in. "I've defeated Ruthless. The damage to the surrounding area isn't much, just some in some windows but that's it. I'm going to be on my way as soon as I can get out of this car that has me and Ruthless pinned."

"Thanks Crystal, I'll see you soon," Commander Shinobay replied.

*****

Dark Matter arrived at the destination where his target was waiting for him: Dillard's Mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma. From what Dark Matter found out, bombs were dispersed randomly throughout the building and were exploding when civilians drew to close to them. To make sure that the remaining the civilians stay alive, the mall had instructed them to stay where they were, even if they were near the exits.

As he arrived, Dark Matter could tell this was going to be a challenge. There were explosive marks in the parking lot, some of which had a blast radius the size of a car, so Dark Matter knew there could be bombs bigger than those anywhere on site. He set up his shields, even though he knew it was a bad idea, and entered into the mall.

Breathing slowly, he expanded his powers and identified everything in the first department store. Besides the items that the store sold, Dark Matter could make out the citizens, whether dead or alive, and the remaining bombs in the store. Quickly, he rushed straight to the bombs and encased them in a small shield that halted the growth of the explosion . . . at the price of a small, but growing, headache.

Shaking it off, Dark Matter ran to the civilians and encouraged them to get out as fast as they could. When they were all out the store, Dark Matter went out the store's entrance and came face to face with a bigger problem. On all sides of him, civilians were calling for his help. Most of them just wanted to get out alive while others were injured to certain degrees.

All of them were terrified.

Thankfully, most of them were already under the care of agents who were already on site or just arriving. With that being the case, Dark Matter got to work and helped the closest citizens leave the way he came in. The agents saw what he was doing and copied his actions, sending people to the safe exit out as they finished with the civilians.

As for Dark Matter, his eyes were set out on finding C4. Sure, he had to help the citizens, but he still needed an extra pair of eyes to watch his back. Of course he had the civilians to look out for C4, but they were talking over each other.

There's no way he could listen to all of them.

But, as it turned out, he didn't need to.

As he was pointing a citizen in the right direction, an arrow unexpectedly whizzed right passed his face and lodged itself into the wall behind him. Peeking in the direction where the arrow came from, Dark Matter barely had enough time to put his shield to deflect another arrow aimed at him.

With his shield up, Dark Matter watched C4 disappear behind a corner and raced after him. When he reached the corner, C4 was nowhere to be seen, leaving Dark Matter perplexed at where the villain could have gone. However, that last only a few second when he heard swords being unsheathed above him. Looking up, he couldn't see anything in the air, but his subconscious shield still manifested anyway . . . blocking C4's swords that was a couple seconds of slicing through Dark Matter like butter.

In that short moment of connection of Dark Matter's shield and C4's swords, Dark Matter could identify C4 in a dark, long-sleeved shirt and pants. Unfortunately, that connection lasted only for a second and C4's body eventually faded from view.

"Let's play a game of hide and seek," C4 requested.

"If that's all, then I've already won," Dark Matter replied as he expanded his powers to locate C4.

However, unlike what happened with Sorceress, C4 tossed over a flash grenade, blinding Dark Matter momentarily. Stumbling back, Dark Matter threw up his shield but C4 threw a pair of sticky grenades that blew Dark Matter back further than he intended. Civilians everywhere noticed the commotion and fled the appointed battlefield . . . just so they could view the fight from a safe distance.

"Did you think you were just going to be chasing me around?" C4 laughed. "I've added my own little deadly twist to make it harder for you to find me."

"How are you able to turn invisible anyway?" Dark Matter demanded. "You didn't have this power the last time we fought."

"First of all, it's camouflage and it's not a power," C4's voice spoke up. "It's because technology has gotten so advanced these days, they've started putting things in ordinary clothes." Using the sound of his voice as a locator, Dark Matter made a bunch of heavy spheres and launched them in that direction. "It's smart of you to try that trick on me but I've bested that skill with one of my own. Just to let you know, I'm right behind you."

Dark Matter hadn't even spun around before an explosion sent him and the floor to the ground below. Smoke pellets followed him and he used his shield to push the smoke away. As he gingerly rose to his feet, C4 jumped in behind him and swung his sword at Dark Matter's head. The sound of cutting air gave the hero a spare second to get his shields back up before his head was detached from his neck and he rolled away from the debris as his camouflaged assailant followed him.

With an idea of where C4 was coming from, Dark Matter made a lot of blunt shapes appear and sent them at the villain. Undeterred, C4 cut them without a second thought, smiling since he knew Dark Matter was running out of ideas to slow him down.

While that was true, the first reason Dark Matter was doing it was to recover his strength and the second reason was so that he could keep an eye on how close C4 was getting to him. When he had enough strength to move faster, and C4 was much closer, Dark Matter put his plan into motion.

Just like the first time they fought, Dark Matter ran straight at C4's disappearing form. Seeing an oncoming attack, C4 also ran at Dark Matter, filling his hands with explosives that would surely send his opponent's head reeling, if not killing him. When they were close enough, C4 jumped over Dark Matter as he slid beneath him, raining down the explosives to blow Dark Matter to bits.

Dark Matter, however, made himself slide a bit faster and farther away so that the bombs had little effect on him. Rising, he brandished something that he stole when he slid underneath C4: his set of explosives.

"How did you get that?!" C4 demanded. This time, Dark Matter made no mistake where C4 was and made an inverted shield wrap around the villain that stopped him from moving. "How did you get my belt of bombs?!"

"You're not the only one who can use sneaky tactics," Dark Matter grinned.

"So now what?" C4 glared. "You're going to send me to jail?"

"Yeah," Dark Matter shrugged. "You just won't be conscious when you get there."

Confused by his words, C4's eyes turned to astonishment as he saw Dark Matter set one of his timed explosives and threw the whole belt at his feet. Five seconds were too short for him to shout his delirious rants as the timer expired. The massive explosion propelled C4 back into a wall where he fainted as he slumped to the floor. Dark Matter also fell down as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Dark . . . Dark Matter to . . . Commander Shinobay," he gasped as his lungs asked for more air his chest could receive.

"I'm listening," the Commander replied.

"C4 . . . has been . . . dealt with," Dark Matter informed as he panted. "The . . . citizens . . . are safe . . . though . . . there are some . . . who've been killed . . . before I . . . arrived . . . at the scene. The mall . . . is also . . . standing . . . though there is . . . extensive damage . . . here and there."

"What about you?" Commander Shinobay asked. "You sound like you're on an oxygen tank."

"I'm fine," Dark Matter chuckled. "I'll be there . . . as soon as possible."

*****

Commander Shinobay had no doubt the heroes were going to be late. Even Cherry, as fast as she could teleport to him, wasn't going to make it in time. Of course, they all needed their rest and Dark Matter sounded like he needed all the Rapid Recovery Medicine he could get his hands on.

"Dr. Walton," Commander Shinobay called, "how fast can you meet me at the United Nations building?"

"An hour," came the response.

"Then I'll see you there," he replied.

"Should I load up on weapons and ammunition?" Dr. Walton asked.

"Definitely," Commander Shinobay answered. "We'll be on security duty, so would be a must."

"Alright, I'll be over there as fast as I can," Dr. Walton told him.

They met up in front of the United Nations building within an hour, both eyeing the security guards that were stationed in front of the building. It didn't seem like the guards needed an extra pair of hands, but appearances weren't everything. Besides, while the guards may be professionals to some degree, there was only three of them . . . when there should have been two.

"Commander Shinobay and Dr. Walton has arrived for security assistance," the Commander announced as he and Dr. Walton walked up to the guard at the door.

"Security assistance is no longer needed," the guard replied, barely taking a moment to look at the Commander.

"What do you mean it's no longer needed?" Commander Shinobay questioned. "I was called a week ago to do this. No one has called me back stating that the heroes were no longer needed for security assistance."

"The decision was made earlier today," the guard replied. "On behalf of my superior' blunder, I humbly apologize."

"Apology accepted," Commander Shinobay said. "Let me just give him a call to let him know we're here. We wouldn't want him to think we didn't show up at all, do we?"

"Not at all," the guard answered.

Dialing the number that called him, Commander Shinobay put the phone on speaker and waited for the phone to be answered. The moment it was answered, screaming erupted from the speakers. They couldn't hear anything but screaming as different people, aka the world leaders, sounded like they were losing their minds. In the background, the Commander and Dr. Walton heard menacing laughter that signified their fears.

They were too late.

"We're going in there, now," Commander Shinobay demanded.

"Unauthorized personnel is forbidden," the guard remained firm.

"Unauthorized personnel is in there right now!" Dr. Walton declared. "Did you hear those screams?"

"Regardless of the situation, I'm not allowed to let you in," the guard responded.

"Looks like we're at a stalemate then," the Commander smiled.

A second later, his shield appeared around him and Dr. Walton, knocking the guard to the side with heavy force. With the guard dazed, the two elderly heroes rushed inside unnoticed . . . only to stop short since they didn't know their way to the crime scene.

"Dammit," Dr. Walton sighed. "We'll have to check every single floor thoroughly to make sure we don't miss anything."

"My legs definitely aren't a fan of that," Commander Shinobay grumbled.

"Didn't they give you a tour of the place so you'll know where you be stationed?" Dr. Walton asked.

"They didn't need to," Commander Shinobay answered. "Our station was the building's perimeter. We were the front line defense in case the villains tried to storm the place."

"But instead of storming it, they dispersed to different cities to draw the heroes attention," Dr. Walton frowned. "Who knew the dictator was a thinker?"

"Don't forget what he did to Pollen," the Commander reminded.

"Oh right," Dr. Walton said as the heard footsteps coming their way. "Well that was the most useless head start ever."

Guards appeared a moment later and fired at the heroes who moved behind the Commander's shield for protection. Using his x-ray vision, Commander Shinobay saw that more guards were going to arrive from behind and were heavily armed. With little to no choice in the matter, the Commander dropped his shield, fired his lasers at the oncoming bullets, and then hit the guards with the lasers as well.

"Come on, doctor, we're going up," Commander Shinobay ordered as he stepped into a nearby elevator.

"Just wait one second," Dr. Walton said. She rushed over to the fallen guards and quickly retrieved their weapons and ammunition. When she returned, she saw a smirk on his face. "What?"

"I forgot how hot it was for a woman to hold a gun," the Commander remembered.

"Fight now, flirt later Commander," she smiled.

They went up to the next floor and the door opened to a wall of guards pointing their guns at the heroes. The Commander immediately pushed his shield out the elevator and knocked the guards back. There were a few guards still standing, but Dr. Walton shot them quickly in their legs to put them down. Stepping out of the elevator, Commander Shinobay raced throughout the halls to find which room the Dictator Jones and the world leaders were in.

Unfortunately, he came to a dead end.

What made it worse was the moment the Widow appeared behind him.

His shield popped up a second before she opened fire, saving him from having a torso full of bullet holes. It was a short lived victory though, as the Widow fired at the ceiling above her head and jumped up into the hole. A minute later, she fell down behind Commander Shinobay, pistol-whipping him in the face. She swung at him again, but he brought his shield up in time. He then used his cane and pulled her legs out from under her. She retaliated by kicking him in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. Clutching his chest, he watched her rise and point her guns at him. Without warning, tranquilizers embedded themselves in her chest and she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Thanks for the save, doc," Commander Shinobay smiled. "It would've been worse if you came a minute later."

"Saving lives is what I do best," Dr. Walton shrugged. "So, who is this?"

"The Widow is an assassin for hire, one of the best in the underworld," Commander Shinobay replied as he stood up.

"So, Dictator Jones mind controls an assassin to watch his back?" Dr. Walton

"Or to come kill us," the Commander suggested. "I guess it's not worth mentioning Dictator Jones took mind controlled the guards as well."

"Did you just figure that out?" Dr. Walton smirked. "I figured that out when the guard didn't react to the screams coming from the phone."

"Hah! I figured that out when we heard the screams," Commander Shinobay boasted. "Now, back to what's important, we still don't know where Dictator Jones is located."

"I just realized something," Dr. Walton stopped. "If he's after the world leaders, then he wouldn't be in this building, he'd be in a wider building."

"And where would we find such a building?" Commander Shinobay asked.

"In the General Assembly, which just happens to be right next to this building," Dr. Walton answered, pointing out the window below.

"And this building is what?" Commander Shinobay inquired.

"The Secretariat," Dr. Walton informed.

"How did you know that?" the Commander asked.

"I looked it up," Dr. Walton replied. "Now, all we have to do is walk out this building and walk in that building."

They heard footsteps coming up the stairway as well seeing one of the elevators coming to their floor. They quickly stepped in the elevator, but instead pushing the first floor button, Commander Shinobay pushed the thirty-ninth floor button.

"Uh, Richard, we're going the wrong way," Dr. Walton pointed out.

"No we're not," Commander Shinobay replied. "I told you, I hate walking. Besides, I've always wanted to do this."

When they reached the thirty-ninth floor, Commander Shinobay stepped out and blasted the window with his lasers until all the glass was gone.

"Let's go, doctor," the Commander grinned.

"Sorry, Richard, I'm not suicidal," Dr. Walton hung back. "I want to live my life to the fullest my way, not like a lunatic."

"Dictator Jones is getting away with taking over the minds of the world leaders," Commander Shinobay reminded her. "We don't have time to worry about small stuff like this."

"We also don't have time to indulge in suicidal fantasies," Dr. Walton crossed her arms.

"Look, doc, either you come with me, or I go alone," Commander Shinobay said.

"I'll take the safe way," Dr. Walton answered.

"I'll see you there in a minute then," the Commander nodded.

Turning around, he ran as fast as he could and jumped out the window.

"Wait, I thought you were bluffing!" Dr. Walton replied, jumping after him.

*****

Dictator Jones was almost finished. The initial plan didn't exactly go the way he wanted since the President didn't give into his mind control. Since that didn't work, Dictator Jones had went with massive mind control. As it turned out, he should've done that to begin with.

Most of the world leaders had succumbed to his control while others were still fighting him. Of course, the President of the United States was one of them, but Dictator Jones believed it was because of representation rather than actual will. Unfortunately for him, regardless of the reason, his will was crumbling and it wouldn't be long until he succumbed as well.

"Dictator Jones," a guard called in from the radio.

"I'm busy," Dictator Jones replied.

"It's just that the heroes –" the guard began.

"If it's not good news, I don't want to hear it," the Dictator interrupted.

"But Dictator –" the guard began again.

"What is it?!" Dictator Jones growled. "I'm ten minutes away from controlling the world leaders! What is so important that you have to interrupt me?!"

"The heroes are freefalling," the guard reported.

"They're what?" the Dictator asked.

A large crash disrupted the conversation as Dictator Jones watched the heroes break through the ceiling and plummet to the ground. For a moment, Dictator Jones was lost at what to do as he tried to come to terms with what he saw.