Kobra threw Max towards the nearest building he could find.
Before Max could collide with it, though, he sprouted red wings from his back and flew back at him.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Kobra said with aa wide mile under his mask.
Max smiled back.
"You're a funny guy. I'll give you that. You knew we were coming and yet, instead of running, you chose to not only stay, but call the head of the Dragon Clan. You're just giving us another bird to kill here," Max said, charging red energy into his fist.
"Rest assured, the only birds being killed are you lot." Kobra responded, reaching into his left arm joint.
"I beat you before. Quite easily, in fact. What makes you think I can't do it again?"
"It's been so long since someone challenged me, so long in fact, I installed special keys to divide my power, making fights more difficult."
"And fun?"
"You get the idea. Seems my hubris has caught up to me. Let's correct that." Kobra said, pulling a small key from the joint and inserting it into the core of his chest.
Suddenly that core, which usually glowed different colors, glowed a miasma of them, similar to the patterns of a lava lamp.
"I don't give a shit what tricks you're gonna pull. I'm still beating you." Max said, with his fist wound up and fully charged.
"Try it then, friend." Kobra said, with his fist glowing multiple different colors and wound up as well.
The two clashed with an insane power radiating off of them—enough to wake up anyone within a mile radius.
Meanwhile, Dao D watched the two begin their battle, a wrinkled smile on his face from ear to ear.
Suddenly he noticed a strange yet powerful surge of bloodlust hitting him from behind. He turned to see a monstrous figure, glowing blue with long, pointy demon-like horns of the same color.
"Ah. You're alive. Maybe the red one isn't the only strong member of your group."
"He isn't." Jake said with a smile, blood oozing down the side of his face.
"So what, pray tell, got into your thick black-and-blue head that fighting the man who knocked you down with a punch was a good idea? Wouldn't you rather help your friends?"
"I know you're planning on attacking Red Shadow after he defeats Kobra. And I'm gonna stop you."
"And who said I think the red one is winning? This could go either way from how it's going right now. No matter the winner, I'll kill them. Kobra is my only rival in the criminal Underworld, and the red one is the only super who isn't part of the Elite or All Stars that can challenge me. Getting rid of both is why I'm here." Dao said, his smile widening and his height starting to increase by the second.
Jake watched as the short and stout man grew into something even more monstrous than him. His skin became green with hardened scales. His teeth were sharp like that of a crocodile, and his fingernails turned into razor-sharp claws.
A large fin grew on his head, sealing the transformation. Now Dao stood a full head and shoulders above Jake.
"So this is your final form, I guess?" Jake asked, his smile rather fading.
"Correct. Now get ready to prove to me why you're here!" Dao said with a thunderous voice as he raised his right arm to attack.
As Jake got ready to fight, sweat dripping down his face, he asked himself, "Why am I here? Aren't I out of my league?"
Then he remembered what led him here: attacking the old man in the first place.
And getting knocked out.
And getting back up.
Once he did, he walked forward and thought about the hit he endured. "What the fuck was that? How did a man so small hit that hard?"
"Was he on another league?"
"Was Jake out of his league?"
Then his thoughts were drowned out by the sound of a sudden impact, like a cannonball hitting a wall.
It was Zack. Anaconda had smacked his large frame across the warehouse.
Jake immediately rushed to stop him but was then stopped by the boom of Zack's voice.
"Blue?! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm... helping you?"
"No the hell you aren't. Go and stop that old man before he jumps Red!"
"But..." Jake tried to say but turned his attention to Anaconda, who was approaching Zack, stretching out his arm after the attack, not making a peep the whole time.
"I can handle him," Zack shouted. "We're a team. We all have to pull our weight here."
"Zack..." Jake tried to say but was cut off.
"If I can't hold my own here, what right do I have to be on the same team as you?!" Zack shouted.
Jake took his speech to heart and turned toward the nearest door.
Focusing his blue energy on his speed, he zoomed out of the warehouse.
With the resolve to defeat Dao D.
That's where he found himself now. In front of Dao D.
Now a monster growing in size as each second passed.
"Well then, boy. Make the first move."
Wasting no time, Jake followed with a kick to his scaly face, the impact making the sound of a hammer hitting a brick wall.
"And doing nothing."
"Shit."
"Seems I was wrong about you." Dao said, charging his gigantic fist for a deadly attack.
Meanwhile, back in the warehouse, Stacy pushed Ivy out of the way of another lightning blast from Opperculus.
"Dammit, Ivy! This is the third attack I had to save you from. You didn't even try to dodge that one."
"I'm sorry, Sharkwoman. My mind isn't here, it's..." She stopped abruptly, looking at the door.
"I see. You're not sure he's safe out there. Why don't you go check on him."
"Are you serious? It's his fight, I can't..."
"You'd be more useful to him there. I'll be fine here." Stacy said to her, holding her chin with a smile. One Ivy nervously returned.
"Are you two going to fight or are you gonna make love right in front of me?" Opperculus said in disgust and fired another lightning blast from his spear.
The two quickly dodged it.
"Go!" Stacy said, and Ivy ran as fast as she could to the door.
"Where the hell are you going, Viper! Help... Off!" Zack tried to shout to her but was punched in the gut by Anaconda and was sent flying.
"Tell your boy toy to focus on his fight and not her cowardly teammate." Mamba said with a chuckle to Obsidian, who she blasted with a spray of corrosive venom.
Obsidian saw the attack coming and jumped out of its way, following up with an attack of her own aimed right at Mamba.
She dodged the laser blast even quicker than Obsidian did to hers.
"This isn't some little brawl here. This is a gang war! Supers vs. gangsters to the death! Now's not the time to get distracted. Especially if your opponent drastically outclassed you!" Mamba said to Paulina again and fired another venom blast.
One Paulina easily dodged and retaliated with a laser blast of her own.
"Shut up!" Obsidian shouted back. "Outclassed? You know nothing about him. My boyfriend has thirty times the fighter your monster of a teammate is."
"You really think that's true? Please." Mamba said with a scoff and firing two more venom blasts.
"I don't think. I know. Green Guardian is much superior to that mindless beast!" Paulina replied angrily, dodging both attacks.
Not even Zack himself was sure about that. He felt his wounds. The creature had landed seventeen hits on him, and all he got in were two. He was running out of stamina and could only expand himself by so much.
He knew he wasn't winning this. Just like all his fights before.
But Paulina believed in him.
And that was all he needed.
Zack grew to thirty times his size, just when Anaconda was upon him, shocking the monster to a standstill for a few seconds.
Seconds Zack used to grab the beast and throw him out of the building.
However, the creature grabbed the edge of the walls effortlessly and jumped back into the fray, aiming its fist at Zack's gigantic face.
Zack prepared a fist of his own, ready to match the creature in strength.
The two then clashed, letting out shockwaves that broke every single window in the building.
Zack's femurs and tibias gave out almost instantly, along with his left arm's humerus, ulna, and radius, cracking under the pressure of Anaconda's massive attack.
But he wasn't done yet.
He still forced through the pain and followed through with the hit, adding enough force to not only break his bones further but also increase the damage overall, launching Anaconda out of the warehouse.
While Zack lost his arm and legs, Anaconda lost both his arms, legs, and lower back and face.
"Im... pressive..." The silent creature whispered under its breath. Its consciousness fading from its body.
"What the hell?!" Mamba screamed, ceasing her barrage of attacks and focusing on Zack on the floor.
"What did I tell you, Mamba. I don't think. I know." Paulina said with a smile and fired a laser blast at the girl with the small opening she had, but Mamba dodged it instantly.
"You dare!" Mamba sneered and fired a venom blast at Zack, catching Paulina's attention.
The cyborg ran towards Zack at her top speed to intercept the venom. Sadly she knew she couldn't push him out of the way in time.
She had only one option then.
The venom landed on her back, just as she reached Zack's location.
Zack stared at her, awestruck at how she was willing to sacrifice herself to save him.
"I... I'm sorry... Zack. There could've been a b...better way to d...do this." She stammered as the green venom slowly melted her skin.
"Don't worry. You did your best. And besides, I always believe in you." Zack followed up with a smile, causing Paulina to grow weaker and fall on her knees. Zack using the last of his strength her in his arms.
"Awe. How cute. The true lovebirds holding each other tight as one dies in the other's arms." Mamba said, laughing and approaching the two, charging another venom blast through her tubes.
Then, once upon them, she aimed the blast right at Paulina's head.
Paulina tried to raise her weapon to fire, but her movements began to slow.
"Don't bother trying to attack. My venom has a neurotoxin that not only melts flesh but also your brain. No living thing is surviving that." She said with another laugh and finally charged up her venom gauntlets.
Just as she raised the gauntlets to attack, Paulina whispered something under her breath.
"What? What was that? Any last words?"
"Yeah. I'm not alive, asshole."
Paulina then grabbed Mamba by the cheek and sent a powerful concussive blast right into her skull, knocking the venom-using gangster down for good.
"Holy shit, you killed her."
"Relax, it's a concussive blast. Rattles anything in its range. And the range she took it? Right through her brain. She won't be committing crimes at all for a long time. And hearing, too." Paulina said with a laugh as her fake human skin melted.
"Hope you have a spare pile of skin." Zack mused.
"Don't worry, I keep one at..."
Before she could finish, though, Stacy slammed into a wall with as much intensity as a small wrecking ball.
Thanks to a well-timed lightning blast from Opperculus.
"Stacya! We have to..." Paulina shouts in terror but Zack merely sighs, cutting her off.
"I'm afraid we can barely do anything with the state we're in. Your skin is melting, and I've got so many broken bones I don't know which side even hurts anymore."
"Damn that Viper. Leaving her like that." Paulina cursed under her breath.
"Yeah. She knew the plan and still left. What the hell is wrong with..."
"Hey!" Stacya cut him off, shouting at him for everyone here to hear.
"Don't blame her. I told her to go, and that's exactly what she did. If you want to blame anyone, it's me."
"But then why would you do this? Don't you see I need her help?"
"No. I need no one's help. This battle is mine." Stacy said and took to a battle stance. The one she uses before swimming into the ground.
Opperculus smiled at her for a moment and charged up another lightning blast.
"Well, well, well. Here I was thinking you weren't a true Atlantean. Guess I was wrong. I acknowledge you, Sharkwoman. Even without your human help, you choose to face me, who outclassed you in every way, shape, and form."
Stacya stared in silence for a moment.
"Well, it's time to meet your end, my fellow Atlantean..."
"Not today. You murderous scum." Stacy responded, diving into the concrete floor again.
To be continued