by Greg Ballan
Erik had to use both of his hands to keep the large gaping maw from snapping his head off. As he struggled with the cat's jaws, it was using its forepaws to rip into his unprotected chest and shoulders. Erik felt his metallic flesh tear under the cat's great claws.
With one great effort, he managed to free his left leg. He slammed his knee into the felinoid's side with all of his strength and was rewarded with the sound of snapping bone. The creature yelped in pain as Erik landed another blow to the same area.
Erik was able to release his right arm from the cat's large jaws now that the beast was distracted. He brought the arm over to his side as far as it would reach, and then spun his torso, propelling the arm into a thunderous right hook that landed squarely on the side of the creature's head. The felinoid howled in distress as it pushed itself off of him, nearly crushing him with its great weight. The large claws scraped against his flesh, and the creature pulled away from the force of the blow.
Erik stood, blood flowing from dozens of deep gashes and puncture wounds. The felinoid was dazed, shaking its head, and limping badly on its left side. Erik could see three ribs protruding through its midnight-black skin from where he had delivered the blows with his leg. He also noticed a steady trickle of purple fluid from the great beast's nostrils. He knew that he had managed to puncture a lung with his strikes. Something inside him urged him to press the attack. He knew the creatures could feed off the humans witnessing the conflict. He had to strike a killing blow before it could heal itself or get any stronger.
Thoughts precipitated action. The Hybrid closed his eyes briefly, picturing a more lethal weapon, an edged weapon. He reached out his hand and felt something settle into his grasp and take shape in his hand. He looked down at the large two-handed broadsword nestled in his grip. He brought both hands to bear on his newly formed weapon and rushed his wounded foe.
The cat swung a large paw at his head in an attempt to decapitate him. The Hybrid responded by swinging the sword directly into the limb's path. The paw severed, the claws falling away and rolling to a stop several feet from the felinoid. The creature howled in agony as it fell over, losing its balance. Erik raised the sword and drove it point-first into the area where he had guessed the heart to be located. The silver blade sang an eerie harmonic as it effortlessly pierced the dark tough hide and severed bone and sinew. Erik pulled the blade free, ripping the side of the felinoid open during the process, and was covered in purple ichor hemorrhaging from the mortal wound. Blood and entrails spilt from its body and littered the pavement. The creature whimpered in its agony.
The Hybrid raised its silver blade and let loose one final blow, the blade severed the creature's spinal cord and separated its head from its torso. The jaws in the powerful head snapped once, then again as the fiery green light faded from its eyes. The decapitated torso flinched and fidgeted for several seconds before it, too, yielded to eternal silence. The head and corpse began to sizzle and bubble. The once-powerful body began to liquefy and dissolve into nothingness. Soon, the only evidence that the creature had been there at all was a large wet spot on the pavement and several traces of spilt blood from its earlier wounds.
Erik spun toward the fallen Seelak. The creature painfully rose from the wrecked automobile. Erik raised his sword in readiness, and approached the Seelak. The creature's black-armored exoskeleton was cracked and broken in several places. It turned and saw the approaching Esper and hissed a savage cry of fury. Erik was also severely injured. His limbs ached and his torso was on fire from several wounds. He knew that his human body would have expired long ago, even as enhanced as he was upon leaving the hospital. Alissa told the truth: He would not have survived this type of combat without undergoing the change.
It happened as Erik was only ten feet from his opponent. He felt an overpowering sense of dark bioelectric energy. He was not afraid, only curious. The Seelak began to tense and, as if by magic, the hideous damage began to heal. The gaping holes in its armor regenerated. The areas that had been crushed by the Sentient Staff re-fused together.
Erik watched in silent awe as the once-crippled Seelak warrior restored itself. He instinctively knew that the creature had been feeding on the fear generated by the spectators during his fight with the felinoid. It had gathered enough emotional energy to completely regenerate itself.
The Seelak warrior approached its silver opponent. Both adversaries circled each other like two great gladiators. As they studied each other, memories began to trigger in each being. The Seelak had flashes of combat with an Esper warrior similar to this one, yet slightly larger. It inhaled the scent of its foe, and caught the familiar essence of the Esper that had defeated it so long ago.
The Hybrid experienced nightmare flashes of a frail Esper being torn apart. The Hybrid's memory cried out in agony as the name Sennek burned itself into the chrome warrior's consciousness. Jakor's horrid visions of that terrible day rushed through the Hybrid's mind like an avalanche, unleashing a burning desire for personal vengeance, not only for the abduction of his child and the murder of his friend, but for another atrocity committed against the essence of a being who now shared a place in his mind.
The Hybrid sheathed his weapon and flexed the massive muscles beneath his armored flesh. The burning rage fueled his body, drowning out the aches and pains of his prior combat. His aqua-blue eyes burned with an even hotter intensity, while his body began to glow with a nimbus of the same light blue hue. He screamed a sound so loud and penetrating the sonic concussion blew the Seelak off its feet and shattered every glass pane within a half mile radius. The very ground shook as the echoes reverberated into the night.
The Seelak quickly righted itself and attacked its enemy. The Hybrid responded with an awesome punch that cracked the ebony creature's facial plating. The Seelak retreated, picking up a 3500-pound vehicle as if it were a bathtub toy and heaved it toward the Esper. The Esper warrior caught the vehicle in midflight as if it were no more than a feather and threw it back toward the Seelak, which easily shredded the car with its black claws. Both warriors silently closed the gap. Each one was preparing for the upcoming battle.
* * *
The crowd of soldiers and onlookers gasped in amazement as the two genetically engineered super beings began the final battle of the Esper-Seelak War of over ten thousand years ago.
"This is way out of our league," Ross whispered to Anderson as they watched the Seelak tear apart the hapless automobile.
"That car had to weigh nearly two tons, and they tossed it around like a Nerf ball," Anderson observed. "We never stood a chance."
"Nothing of this world possesses that type of raw strength, not even the largest African gorilla. This is something older than humanity, I suspect," Ross replied, mesmerized by the combat.
* * *
The Hybrid and the Seelak collided with a sound like two freight trains impacting. They grappled with each other, constantly adjusting their legs for balance, each one looking for that extra piece of leverage. The Hybrid shifted his mass, freeing up his right hand, and landed a massive right cross which drove the Seelak back nearly twenty feet.
The Seelak landed upright and sprang forward like a bullet, crashing into the Hybrid's torso. The Hybrid fell over from the impact, the Seelak landing on his chest. In a move of surprising agility, the Hybrid brought both his legs up and managed to get them around the Seelak's neck. With a mighty heave forward, he threw the ebony warrior off him, smashing its head onto the pavement. Before the Hybrid could react, the Seelak swung its tail, cracking the tensile appendage against the Hybrid's torso as both combatants rose to their feet. The blow opened up a deep wound that trickled a steady river of reddish blood. The Seelak pressed its advantage, continuing to lash out like an angry serpent with its whip-like tail. The Hybrid fell back, bleeding from several more open wounds.
Despite the Hybrid's greater strength, it was weakening from the extended battle with the felinoid and prior escapades absorbing the weapons of the attack helicopter.
Inside the Hybrid's body, Erik's enhanced mind was working feverishly to find a successful plan of attack. He had the answer. The Seelak was constructed to battle Espers. It was prepared for all types of Esper martial tactics. But the Hybrid was also a human warrior, with native human skills. Erik Knight was an extreme fighter with few equals. That was the key to victory. In a battle where both beings are closely matched, one must change the odds, and the Hybrid was about to do just that.
Let's try some modern American kickboxing. The Hybrid's stance changed, becoming lower and more balanced. The Seelak attacked again. The Hybrid twisted his torso, leaning back over his rear leg. The tail cracked against empty space. The Hybrid shot forward, pushing off his back leg, and leapt high into the air. He mirrored the spinning kick he had used against the Seelak earlier in the park. Only this time, his body was hundreds of times more powerful. When his rear leg impacted into the Seelak's chest, there was a loud cracking sound and the Seelak was thrown back several feet into the air from the impact, to land with a heavy thud on the paved surface. It stood, blood and gore flowing from the gaping hole in its chest plates.
The Hybrid charged in, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. He unleashed a complicated series of punches faster than the eye could follow. Each metallic fist impacted with a resounding thud, sounding like a jack hammer. The Esper warrior never let up, all of his remaining strength was going into this final assault. He circled his taller opponent, peppering the black creature with a series of left jabs and right cross punches. Each time the Seelak tried to respond, the Hybrid used evasive boxing techniques to avoid the Seelak counterstrikes.
The Seelak, however, was far from helpless. It was beginning to adapt to this new style of combat, anticipating what its opponent might do and doubling, and even tripling, its attacks in order to change the momentum of the battle. It clawed at the Hybrid and launched several more fierce strikes of its own that scored several cuts on Erik's exposed torso.
The two super-beings separated momentarily, sizing each other up and getting a measure of each other's remaining strength. The Hybrid began to move around, dancing and weaving, bouncing, pivoting on the balls of his feet, circling the Seelak. The creature was confused, watching curiously. The left jab that impacted with the side of its face came totally as a surprise. When it tried to respond, the Hybrid ducked the blow and danced out of the way, closing the space again, quickly hammering the creature with another swift left jab, right hook, and uppercut which knocked the Seelak off its feet. The creature regained its footing and attacked with all its remaining fury. The Hybrid did not retreat. It continued to rain blows upon the creature like a heavy weight prizefighter. The Seelak's strikes were either deflected or dodged.
Enraged, the creature attacked again. Erik stepped back, still jabbing at it with his metal fist, and confounding the creature.
The Seelak roared with rage and frustration. Try as it may, it could not adapt to the Hybrid's ever-changing martial tactics. Erik attacked again. He moved in and slammed a solid right into the creature's black face. He followed that blow with an immediate left hook and palm strike. The Hybrid stood toe to toe with his larger opponent and rained blow upon blow, his hands causing showers of sparks as they impacted upon the Seelak's body. Each punch positioned his body to throw another different type of attack. He pivoted his hips with each blow, pushing off his back leg, which provided even more power to his strikes.
The Seelak was unable to cope with the tactics. It fell back dazed and frustrated. As it did, Erik stepped forward, never letting up. His punches were faster than could be followed, his hands and arms lost in a continuous blur of motion. The Seelak's splendid armored shell was now a dizzying array of cracks and splinters. It tried to swing its tensile tail in a desperate attempt to counterattack and buy itself time to recuperate.
The Seelak extended its tail like an edged weapon. The creature began to whirl itself around like a top at dizzying speed. It closed on the Hybrid, striking the silver warrior across the forearm. The impact cut the Hybrid's limb almost to the bone. The Esper was forced to withdraw, cradling its damaged limb. It reached into its satchel, its fingers touching the staff. He willed the weapon to take its prior shape, the lethal battle blade. The Seelak growled with pleasure upon seeing the damage inflicted upon its opponent. The creature began to spin again, closing upon its wounded challenger.
The Hybrid raised his weapon, favoring his good arm. As the spinning whirlwind of a creature approached, the Hybrid swung the sword into its path. There was a brief sound as the sword and tail impacted, severing more than half of the tensile appendage. The Seelak shrieked in agony as blood spilt from the lethal wound. Before the creature could do any more, Erik took his weapon in both hands and lunged forward, driving the point of the sword straight into the hole in the Seelak's damaged chest plating. The sword seemed to whistle even louder as it crashed into the shattered black-armored shell and pierced it.
The sword penetrated the Seelak's chest, and the point exploded out the creature's back. The Hybrid hefted the black monster over his head. The Seelak shrieked with outrage and agony as the Hybrid held it, impaled helplessly in the air. The Hybrid swung the impaled creature in a counterclockwise motion. The centrifugal force wrenched the creature free of the blade when he stopped the motion. The Seelak warrior was propelled over twenty feet straight up into the air from the Hybrid's unorthodox maneuver. It seemed to take an eternity for the creature to come back to Earth. The onlookers watched in silence as it fell earthward.
For Steve, my daughter, and Sennek! His voice screamed in the minds of the human observers.
There were several gasps of shock as the Hybrid swung a mighty upward blow with his sword into the creature as it fell past him. The metal blade of the sword cut into the falling body, slicing it evenly in two pieces with a sickening crunch of severed armor plate, sinew, and bone. Erik looked down at the pieces of the creature. Its arms were flailing on one half, while its legs and tail twitched and jerked from its lower half. Like the felinoid, its body began to bubble and whither away.
The Hybrid, Erik Knight, stood quietly overlooking the rapidly dissolving body. The great sword he held loosely in his right hand melted back into a small cylindrical shape. He placed the weapon in the pouch at his side, and turned to face the crowd of onlookers.
He was severely beaten, bleeding from several gaping wounds and punctures. His breathing was labored and heavy. His body was beginning to succumb to the wounds and blows sustained in combat.
Erik stared into the crowd, seeing the faces of his daughter, girlfriend, ex-wife, and others whom he did not know. He desperately wanted to communicate with them, talk like a human. He moved his silver-hued lips, trying to make words, but succeeded in only making more hissing sounds. The battle-weary Hybrid took a step toward the crowd, and several people backed away nervously. The nervous military had several M-16s pointing at him.
Erik took another step, but stumbled as exhaustion finally overtook him. He fell to his knees, catching himself before collapsing face-first into the pavement. The Hybrid needed to heal itself. Instinctively, the ability resided within him. The ability to harness the power of the living earth given to him from his creators, embedded into his new genetic structure.
Erik relaxed himself and let the reams of knowledge that were now a part of him take control. He felt the Esper part of his personality, Jakor, rising again, dominating what he was. He raised his arms skyward, summoning something. He felt his body tingling, generating some sort of electrical field around him. In response to his plea, the very air around him began to crackle with electricity. His body was immersed in a silvery blue hue. Jagged arcs of raw electricity struck him from the charged energy field encasing his body.
The energy fed his body, wounds were healing, and his torn flesh was restored. His body was hungrily absorbing the energy. He felt exhausted, strained muscles rejuvenate and revitalize.
There were no more bruises or lacerations, and the welts
that had discolored his silvery forearms vanished completely. Within the span of twenty seconds, the energy had dissipated, and he was completely restored.
The Esper intellect inside spoke to him, as if the two personalities were two separate individuals inhabiting one shell.
You fought well, Hybrid. You have avenged my brethren, restored honor to our race. and rectified our grievous mistake. Be as you were before you took up my staff. Our gifts are still here for you as our thanks. You are our legacy. You are and will always be the Hybrid, the best of both our species. Use these gifts well.
Erik opened his eyes and looked at his hands. They were changing from armored silver to pink human flesh again. The sheer massive bulk of the Hybrid was replaced by his more human physique. He was, as Jakor said in his mind, as he was when he left the hospital: Enhanced greatly, but still human.
Erik knew, all he had to do was will the change, and he would become the metal-coated warrior that was now his alter ego. The Sentient Staff was still at his side, just his thinking of the weapon made it hum and purr in its sheath. He reached over and gently tapped the exposed metal protruding from its case and felt a surge of bioelectricity flow through him. There were abilities and latent talents yet to be explored, but he had time now to become familiar with all that he was, all that he was supposed to be.
The human-looking hybrid looked back over at the crowd of soldiers, politicians, parents, and reporters, all of whom watched the remarkable transformation from hybrid to human. "It's over," he stated simply, relieved to be able to speak once again. "It's all over."
The crowd of spectators still stared at him dumbfounded.
