Masked

by G S Michaelson

  Bart leapt in front of Deidre. His left forearm twisted, cracked open, and splintered as his bones expanded and reshaped themselves into a shield.

  Ossein Shield!

  The spines slammed into him, hard enough to force him back a few feet, but not enough to destroy his shield.

  Louise gestured towards him, and a solid wave of darkness rushed at him.

  Two waves struck Bart. For a second, he was impressed. Just like before, there was no chewing sensation, his body was simply filled with holes in an instant. Likewise, his bone shield had been taken out in seconds.

  Ossein Slicer!

  He struck out at Louise, a desperate last-ditch attack. His attack dissipated before it reached her.

  A punch in the belly and she had blown another hole in him.

  “Urk,” Was all he could muster as he collapsed on the street.

  “Bart!” Deidre yelled. She made to approach him but was repelled as wave after wave of spines began to force her backwards.

  “See!” Paul yelled, “You’re ineffective.”

  Adamantine Spin Drill!

  He leapt at her, spines coalescing around his arm and then rapidly spinning, mimicking a drill. Diedre blocked the blow with her sword, but the impact still sent her flying.

  She was stunned, but only for a moment. A solid black wave surrounded her, she had to defend herself before she was utterly consumed.

  Art of Defense: Crystalline Barrier!

  Industria formed around her, in the shape of a crystal. The beetles attacked, whittling away at it, but it reformed just as quickly as it could be destroyed.

  Paul raged at it, hitting it with blow after blow. She poured more industria into it, painfully aware of the lurking black mass that waited for her.

  “Argh,” Louise screamed. A revived Bart had punched her into one of the upturned cars. He followed up with a second attack.

  Art of Assault: Rampage Shot!

  The black mass surged towards their principal as Bart’s spell struck, turning the car into a giant fireball.

  Paul was next. His head snapped back, only to be struck by Bart’s hardened fist. He had coated his fists with bone, his strikes hit harder. He followed up, landing more hits on the other man, a savage assault. He raised his hand once more, and then it was gone. Bart turned back, looking in the direction of the attack.

  From the fire-torn carcass of the shattered vehicle, Louise emerged. Beetle corpses dropped off her skin. They had protected her by taking the brunt of the attack.

  That second of distraction had been costly. Two spines pierced his leg, pinning him to the ground. Paul looked into his eyes and then launched another attack.

  Adamantine Spear!

  Bart shifted just before the attack pierced his heart. The force of it was enough to send him airborne, with a missing limb and a giant hole in him. He would have cried out, but his lungs didn’t have the capacity for it.

  Dispelling her shield, Deidre raced after him, leaping into the air and clutching him in an attempt to break his fall. It was too much for her. She too was thrown off balance. Both of them spiralling into a crash just out of sight.

  “Deidre. Do you have a plan?” Bart panted as he regenerated. The healing process was not entirely painless. He could handle it, but not for much longer. His arm was growing back, the hole in his chest sealing. “I’m running out of industria here, I can only take a few hits like that before I’m done for good.”

  Deidre held up a hand. To be truthful, his regeneration was the only reason they were still in the game. The others fought like a unit and had the perfect counters to their ability. The mask probably healed them, not to the same extent as…Deidre’s thoughts trailed off as an idea popped into her head.

  “Wait.” Deidre said, “You still have your regen pills?”

  * * *

  Paul and Louise walked around the rubble, wary about their quarry. They had injured them, but a cornered rat often proved desperate.

  “Are you ok, Lou?” Paul asked, reaching for her hair. “That explosion…”

  “I’m fine.” She replied, “As long as we are together, has there been anyone we couldn’t challenge?”

  Paul smiled. At least she thought he did. The mask covered up his true face.

  He sniffed the air.

  “They’re coming.”

  Deidre leapt out of where she had been hiding, Bart not far behind. Her attack had already been launched.

  Flechette Shock!

  A buffet of glass slammed into the duo, sending them off their feet. Paul grimaced. Glass had filled his arm. He tensed, and the bloody shards popped out one by one. Deidre held her glasstana in front of her..

  “They’re smart,” He growled.

  “Not enough, Paul.” Louise said, “Not nearly enough.”

  Industria poured into Bart’s legs. He pushed off the ground shattering it with the force of his movement, tackling Paul with all of his might. Spines dug into his arms and legs, but he held on and pushed off again, crushing Paul’s mouth with his hand. Separating the two was the first step of their plan. One, two, three more pushes, and he was finally safely away from Louise.

  His grip on Paul didn’t loosen.

  “What is this nonsense?” Paul asked, “Do you have a death wish?”

  “Shut up!” Bart grinned as he held on even tighter, locking his arms together with bone. “My partner over there came up with the perfect plan to kill you. Giving you this bear hug is the fastest way to accomplish it.”

  Spine Eruption!

  Bart closed his eyes in pain. His body was torn apart by the spines that had erupted from the other man.

  “If that’s what you’re going to do, then die like the fool that you are,” Paul said. His spines began to slowly get bigger, threatening to rip Bart apart. Meanwhile, the latter focused on healing. As long as he had industria, he could heal himself.

  And healing was just the plan.

  “It’s true that you masked bastards are tough,” Bart sputtered, his mouth filling with the taste of blood. “We’ve barely managed to inflict any injury on you, but you’ve got some scratches and bruises left behind. It would be a shame if your image were ruined by something so trivial.”

  “Why are you babbling when you should be dead?” Paul said. He was content to slowly torture Bart to death while Louise killed Deidre.

  “We’re both dying.” Bart said, “You just haven’t realised it yet.”

  Something was wrong. Paul could now feel it in his body. His left leg felt funny, and his face began to burn. His spines began to crack and fizzle away. Bart released him and leapt away just as Paul began to flail around, lashing out at anything he could touch.

  “What the hell did you do to me?” Paul demanded as he spasmed in pain. His body was cracking, breaking and tearing itself apart.

  “I just figured that mask was passively healing you. Not enough to make any real difference, but just as a side effect of the Industria flowing into you,” Bart stood up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty vial of regeneration pills. Paul’s eyes widened.

  “You didn’t.”

  “I wondered what would happen if we fed you ten or so regeneration pills to aid the process along.”

  “The limit is three a day for a reason,” Paul said weakly through gritted teeth.

  “That so?” Bart nodded. “As your body tries to heal itself, and the mask tries to heal itself, both see themselves as the enemy, and your body will continue to heal itself until you run out of industria… and die.”

  “You can’t do this to me.” Paul stood up, stumbling toward Bart. An atrophied left hand reached out, “Please. They made me do it.”

  Bart scoffed at him. “Don’t be so pathetic.”

  “You have to help me.” Paul continued pleading. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be turned into a freak.”

  “A freak, huh?” Bart said. “Ironic.”

  When he saw his pleas were landing on deaf ears, his eyes h
ardened.

  “Very well then. If I’m dying, I can at least take you with me.”

  Adamantine Piercing Spine!

  All the spines in Paul’s body coalesced together on his chest, into one giant spear. Then they erupted towards Bart. The spines would rip him clean in half, regeneration or no.

  As the spear approached. Bart took a deep breath. He felt his skin rip again around his arms.

  Ossein Cross Slicer!

  Paul blinked. His chest had been torn open. Two large gashes told him where he had been cut. The spear cracked, then broke. It too had been slashed in several places. With his final weapon and will broken, Paul collapsed to his knees, then he fell on his face.

  He fell on his stomach.

  Bart crouched beside him, as his own bones began to heal. “Your masked powers may have given you a brief edge, but you have to know when to give up.”

  Blood pooled out from Paul’s stomach as he lay on the ground.

  “I wasn’t lying when I said they made me do this. It was a deal with the devil. Louise and I-”

  “I don’t care.” Bart stopped him. “From the moment you started tearing into innocent people, it doesn’t matter what your past was, or what sob story you had. You became a monster.”

  “A monster,” Paul said. As the rest of his industria drained away into nothingness, he allowed himself a smile.

  * * *

  Art of Assault: Rampart shock.

  Deidre’s attack blew up debris, creating a smoke screen again.

  “That won’t help you.” Louise said, “Even if I can’t see you, the beetles I have in the air are all powered by the beast mask, they can sense and attack you…without even having to see you.”

  The dust cloud dispersed. The beetles slipped through of the air, shooting towards Deidre like so many tiny missiles. An overwhelming black mass of death. She countered.

  Flechette Storm.

  Tiny glass shards tore through the air, colliding with the attack of the hellish beetles. They continued to devour each other. Either the beetles would eat the glass, or they would be torn asunder. Both women stood, the air between them vibrating as a battle took place.

  Louise felt the ground shift under her.

  She leapt into the air as glass shards tore their way out, having been sent underground by Deidre. She reached out to recall the beetles to her side, but in that moment of distraction, she had made a fatal error.

  A solid glass bowl now surrounded the bulk of the insects that she had sent to attack Deidre with.

  “Why do you look so surprised,” Deidre remarked, “I can manipulate glass in ways like this as well.”

  “They’ll break out in no time.” Louise smirked, “you’ve just bought yourself an extra minute of life at most.”

  “No, Louise. It’s over for you.” Deidre said. “You should surrender. The Captains have Caine cornered. The other team is headed for the warehouse, Paul is about to be defeated, and you’ve just lost your best weapons. We’re not monsters. Help us unravel this mystery.”

  Even as she spoke, Louse heard Paul screaming in the background. The sky around the warehouse had begun to light up. And she could feel her beetles dying. Deidre had turned her glass bowl into a blender. Within seconds, it was over.

  Nothing remained but red mist.

  She still had some of her beetles left, but not enough to fight Deidre outright.

  The choice was clear. Deidre held out a hand to her.

  “Surrender.”

  Louise dropped to her knees, seemingly in despair.

  “You…you…you’ve won. I concede this battle.”

  “Thank you.” Deidre took her eyes off her, reaching for the restrainers in her pouch. At that moment, Louise leapt towards her. The beetles around her hand took the shape of a sword. She jabbed at Deidre’s heart. If nothing else, she could at least devour one of her enemies.

  The woman collapsed to the ground as the blade sliced through her. She hadn’t seen it coming.

  Louise wheezed and coughed as she collapsed to the ground. Just as she had been about to strike, Deidre had counter-attacked. Her glasstana had formed and cut down the other woman.

  A decisive victory.

  Chapter 31 - Mother’s Love

  The local Legion had finally gotten past the wreckage of the battle. The Sabres had done a good job minimising casualties, but there was still work to be done. The clash with Masquerade had torn up the streets and destroyed vehicles. At the very least the debris would have to be cleared so those who weren’t affected too badly could get on with their lives. Legionnaires with healing and reconstruction skills were tasked with repairing nearby structures. By the morning, the damage would be all but gone.

  Deidre and Bart identified themselves with their badges, gesturing to the corpses of Paul and Louise. The captain on ground confirmed their ID before releasing them.

  “I’m sorry, it’s been a crazy night. No one would have thought that the Mayor’s office was directly involved in all this madness,” She told them. Around them, Paul and Louise’s bodies were hurried away, their masks being treated much like one would a dangerous snake, “There have been fights breaking out everywhere and masked users going berserk all around town. We have our hands too full to offer any sort of backup.”

  “No. This is fine. We’re going for the head, it’s sad, but you guys will only prove to be distractions.” Deidre replied as she started walking away. “Thank you for your help though.”

  Bart winked at her, and she rolled her eyes at him. Denise had seen her fair share of men like him. She was tempted to give him a piece of her mind. Then she noticed what had felt different about it. It was like he was playing a role he was expected to, but his heart wasn’t into his actions.

  “You’re both badly injured aren’t you?” Denise spoke her thoughts out loud.

  Bart reached for his side instinctively, then stopped himself. Deidre didn’t slow her pace as she began sprinting, industria boosting her faster than the average vehicle.

  “Thank you for your concern.” Bart said to Denise, “But we can’t stop. Not right now.”

  Then he too took off like a bullet.

  Denise had seen men like this in her line of work. They didn’t know their own limits, and would often work themselves to death. For their sakes, she hoped they could keep it together for tonight.

  * * *

  Battle in the Warehouse District.

  Eva and Beth.

  The air exploded into brilliant sparks as yet another battle raged. This time, it was in the warehouse district.

  Eva’s industria flowed out of her again. As water bullets rained down towards her, she formed and reformed shields at the point of impact to prevent herself from being punched full of holes.

  Beth dashed towards her, her feet punching holes in the ground as she did so. She had fired off more of her water bullets just as she began to dash. Eva would have to choose between countering her physical attack or the undoubtedly lethal water.

  The Sabre dropped her industria shield and began to run, the water pounding into the ground behind her. Beth was side by side to her now. A punch was thrown, she countered. The other woman retreated. Two water blasts shattered the ground at her feet. Beth was now on the other side. Two blows to her side. Eva was knocked off her feet. Beth wound up for another blow from her front. From behind, just fired water shots exploded through the air.

  Shape Shield: Dome!

  Both attacks crashed into Eva’s industria field. The rain of water exhausted itself, pounding ineffectively against the force field. Beth smirked. Her next blow shattered the shield on her side. Eva gasped.

  Another blow was fired off towards her. Beth’s arm had moved fast enough to distort the air. Just before it could punch a hole in Eva’s belly, industria poured of her again, wrapping around the hand and holding it in place.

  Shape Shield: Bind!

  Beth dug deep, her biceps expanding as she poured more power into the blow. Her mask beg
an to merge into her body, the tell-tale sign of an Anwanwu transformation. Eva realised this just it occurred to her that she could barely hold the blow in place. Then — not at all.

  Pistol Punch!

  Eva shot through the air again, landing, skidding and scraping against the ground to come to a close. She shook off the pain and stood up. They were now right inside the gates. The warehouses were reasonably large. The chances of the fights spilling over into each other were now minimal, so at least she had accomplished that.

  She took a moment to look at Beth as well. Her mask had melded with her body entirely. Her arms had become pincers. Her body had grown a hard shell. She wasn’t a furry beast like Alfred or Quinn, but she was still something frightening, something inhuman.

  “It’s a pistol shrimp,” Beth spoke up. A distorted voice. “I saw you wondering, and I felt like talking.”

  “Not precisely the most intimidating animal,” Eva replied.

  “Intimidation is for fools. You either have power, or you don’t. Would a scary face be more effective a display of power than sending your opponent to their knees, showing them they are unable to touch you and then carrying out a casual conversation, so they know just how little of a threat they are to you.” Beth said, her voice dripped with contempt. “It is not. No wonder you people fail at everything you do.”

  Eva recognised some of that sentiment. Quinn had the same anger inside him. It’s like they were upset that the Sabres couldn’t stop them. Or perhaps, they were just disappointed.

  “I know you. Beth.” Eva replied, “And you know me. This isn’t you.”

  Water pooled in between Beth’s claws once again. She snapped rapidly, and like bullets, they were launched into the air. Eva cast a shield again, deflecting them, but just barely.

  “What happened to you? How could you let them do this to your brother….to your town?”

  “My brother?” Beth screeched, “How dare you!”

  Her hand snapped upwards, firing several times into the sky.

  Heavy Rain!

  Eva glanced up. From above, gigantic drops of water were fired down like missiles. They still had industria infused in them, so they would land just like missiles too, and shatter Eva to bits.