Luther was surrounded on all sides.
Twenty cops with the police chief and more on the way.
Three supers outside ready to take him out.
There was no other way of looking at it. He was in a tipped van with several enemies surrounding him.
He wished for nothing more than to refuse that job.
The last job he thought he'd take: selling Mutoxin to that Lost Light cult member.
The mission where he met the man ready to take everything away from him.
He wished for nothing more than to be in his son Daniel's room, reading him bedtime stories.
Sadly, if he doesn't get out of here and find Hawk Knight, he may not have a son to tell bedtime stories to.
A good enough reason to take a shot of Mutoxin.
He struck himself with the syringe, and the green ooze seeped into his body, mutating him...
But not like before.
Before, all he got was slight super strength and electric punches.
Now his skin began to harden. Scales began to form, along with gills and a large, wide mouth with deadly fangs.
His legs were no more, just a long, large tail now with fins. That's when the car started to release tiny yet very dazzling sparks.
He was no longer Luther Cain for now...
He was The Eel...
He began to lose control just like Snek, but he couldn't. That would land him in a losing battle, prison, and worst of all, having to see his kids through police glass, talking to them on the phone with a damn guard watching.
Assuming their mother would let them see him in the first place. And who was he kidding? Of course she wouldn't.
He had to prevent that and regain control. With the last of his strength, he gave himself one command before he fully turned:
"Get that damn device to Hawk Knight!!"
With a mighty bolt of lightning, he destroyed the van and sent out a bright, devastating explosion that disoriented the cops and confused the supers who were getting a little too close for comfort.
But now there wasn't any time. Quickly, he grabbed the Black Reactor and flew out of the van like he was swimming through the air, leaving a trail of electricity in his wake.
In an instant, he was long gone from the supers and cops. Now all he needed to do was find Hawk Knight.
That's when he heard a bird screeching.
BOOM!!
A powerful explosion from behind sent him crashing down to the nearest rooftop. A good thing, too; otherwise, he would have lost his life.
Yet now he was losing control. He tried to resist and fight back, but the Mutoxin took its toll, and now Luther Cain was gone.
And The Eel remained...
Austin preferred not to shoot an exploding pigeon at Luther. He seemed like a decent guy when they met.
And now it seemed he was trying to make off with the Black Reactor before Austin could capture it. It goes to show that you should never trust a criminal, especially one with a family.
The pigeon hit Luther hard and sent him crashing to a rooftop, and from the looks of it, he suffered some heavy damage.
That was good. Now he was weak, so he would be easy to manipulate and easier to kill if he went rogue.
This was especially useful information after seeing that he took the Mutoxin again.
Austin sprouted wings from the back of his armor, flew out of the Hawk, and landed on the rooftop, which was still covered in smoke from Luther's less-than-gentle landing.
This was perfect: the element of surprise mixed with a man possessing the mind and body of a beast.
Hawk Knight slipped behind Luther while he was distracted by the smoke and grabbed the Black Reactor.
The device was nothing more than a large black sphere.
Austin didn't know and didn't care.
All he knew was that Mr. E wanted this, and all he cared about was making him pay.
Austin extended the wings of his armor, intending to take flight...
Until a familiar voice called out to him:
"Hey old friend. You look nice."
A voice Austin knew all too well.
"I mean, the armor looks nice. I saw your face so little that I kinda forgot what it looked like."
The voice of the man who was his best friend.
"Hey, speak up, man! Ain't you happy to see me?"
The voice of the man who killed his friends.
"Well, it's your good buddy Ace! Of course you'd be happy to see me!!"
Austin watched Ace in dead silence until he fell to his knees and stared at Ace blankly.
"Hey, man. You're creeping me out! If you've got something to say, say it."
"Why?"
"Hmmm?"
"WHY DID YOU COME INTO OUR HOME, MAKE US LOVE YOU, AND STAB US IN THE BACK!?"
"Oh yeah, that. I was paid, you know," Ace answered with a chuckle. "Someone put up a good amount of money on you guys. Don't give me that look. I charged double his original price. See? I do give a rat's ass about you guys."
Upon hearing this, Austin lunged at Ace with all his strength and opened the beak of his armor to reveal a large, gaping hole within. He then shoved his hand into this hole and pulled out a deadly red blade made from a giant feather.
Just as he got within striking range, he and his weapon hit only air as they both came to a sudden halt. His target was Ace, but if he kept going, he would have hit Luther.
Ace had pulled Luther in front of himself with ease. Thanks to Luther's mutation, he was so big that Ace had enough room to hide behind him completely.
"Seems to me you're not the type who'd let an innocent man get killed."
"He's a criminal! Not inno..."
"Remember when the squad was called to the Chaos Realm to deal with Chew, the Sin of Gluttony? You know... That guy who wanted to conquer the place? Once we stopped him, we all wanted him dead since he was an evil piece of shit. But you were willing to fight even Captain Rocket to keep him alive."
"So you're saying I ain't one to kill?" Austin asked coldly.
Right after, Austin gave a small smirk under his helmet and slashed through Luther to hit Ace. Ace, pushing Luther to the ground, collapsed with a giant hole in his belly.
Austin approached him and looked him dead in the eye as he slowly died.
At least, Austin thought he was dying.
"So, was it worth it?" Austin asked, getting closer.
"Wa...was what worth it?" Ace asked, blood pouring out of the hole.
"Killing my friends for some quick cash."
"Hmmm... gotta say, man, you're one gullible motherfucker."
Austin sliced off his head in a swift, easy motion.
Too easy.
Suddenly, clapping could be heard from the distance.
"Nice slice back there," Ace said, standing right behind him with his body free of any wounds. "You really didn't think you got me, did you?"
"H...how?" Austin asked, having just decapitated Ace himself.
"Let's just say Mr. E gave me a little upgrade. You can try to kill me again. I'll just be back. It's not like killing me can make me die," Ace said, still chuckling and clapping.
Austin watched Ace chuckle, and one question loomed in his mind:
"Before... I... kill you, can I ask you something?"
"Dude, I just said killing me won't make me die! Are you stupid or something? You know what? Forget I asked. I don't care anymore, but I'll be happy to humor you."
"When you were with us... Victor, Kara, Buford, Paulina, and me... did you feel any connection? Any bond? Any love? Anything? Or was it all an act?"
Ace merely laughed.
And laughed...
And laughed...
Full of rage, Austin lunged forward with his feather blade to attack Ace again...
However, Ace reached into his sleeve and pulled out a smoke bomb that blinded Austin the second it hit the ground.
And like that, Ace was gone.
Austin woke up disoriented on the rooftop and began to look around, seeing nothing but smoke.
No Luther...
No Ace...
No Black Reactor...
Nothing.
He'd been played. The last time he'd been played by Ace, he lost his whole team.
And now he had lost his only chance to get vengeance.
Or had he?
Austin broke into uncontrollable laughter and began shouting:
"HAHAHAHA ACE! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE UNDERESTIMATED ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT TRAITOR!"
He had thrown a tracker egg at the Black Reactor the second it was taken.
Now it was decided. Instead of getting the Black Reactor to lure in Mr. E, he used a tracker on it, and soon, their location would be revealed.
And his death would be slow and painful.
Austin smirked as he flew back into the Hawk.
As he flew through the city, he came across a welcoming sight:
The trio of his best friend's protégés being cornered by the police.
This should be good.
"Listen, ma'am! We just wanted to help!" Jake shouted at the police chief, who had just ordered her men to take him and his friends down.
"Please! We don't want to hurt you!" Zack said, trying to avoid a confrontation with the police as quickly as possible.
"But if we must, then we shall..." Stacya said, preparing a battle stance and exposing her sharp teeth.
"Hear that, boys? If they must, they'll hurt us? Well then, let's make them hurt us, eh?" Police Chief Manson said, causing her men to laugh...
Then they moved closer with their shockguns and taser batons in hand, ready to strike.
Hawk Knight watched on, confused at Manson's actions.
Manson was always a friend of Hawk Knight during his Danger Squad days. However, after the team's disappearance, she must have grown hard toward the concept of independent supers.
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't let her have Buford's protégés. Not now, not ever.
He owed Buford that much.
Just as the police moved in to attack, they all heard a loud screech—like that of a bird.
"What the hell is that?! A bird?!" one officer shouted.
"No, it's a plane!" another responded.
"No, you idiots. It's both," Manson corrected them as she looked at the sky to see the jet of her old friend. He had returned.
Suddenly, a beam of light surrounded the trio, and they began to float upward. The police raised their guns until...
"STAND DOWN, MEN!" Manson ordered.
"But, ma'am!! They're getting away..."
"I SAID STAND DOWN! NOW!"
With those words, her men lowered their weapons and watched in anger as the vigilantes disappeared into the bird-shaped jet, which quickly zoomed away.
Except Manson, who smirked at her former partner's return.
"Why the hell did you save us?" Jake asked Austin.
"Yes! I am confused. Are you not the one who had no interest in us? Why save us?" Stacya also asked.
"C'mon, guys. Does it even matter? He saved us. Although it doesn't hurt to know why you helped us out, sir," Zack asked, trying to suck up to him.
But Austin was silent. All he had was a smirk on his face.
Because his revenge was so close he could smell it.
Meanwhile, in an unknown location, now going by the name Animal Farm, the base of Mr. E, Ace had delivered the Black Reactor and another prize to his boss for a special reward.
"Aaah, an electric eel. He'll do nicely. Oh and you've acquired the reactor. You've done very well, my son."
"Of course, boss. But you know what you promised me..."
"Yes, but getting more upgrades can seriously damage your psyche. Look at Subject Max, for example."
"He doesn't seem so crazy to me. And what do you care? I'm just a lapdog to you. Might as well give him a little treat."
"Oh, I suppose you're right. I am in a good mood since Project Rocket is back underway. Isn't that right, my son?" Mr. E said, pointing to the little boy in the giant tube at the end of his room.
To be continued...