Jake dodged his attacks in the nick of time.
It was the fifth attack from Dao D he managed to narrowly avoid.
The old man no more, now a monstrous beast akin to that of a dragon, he stalked Jake. Taking his time not to chase him down, he savored this battle.
It had been a long time since he'd felt such exhilaration in combat.
Jake on the other hand, was on the edge of his life. He was losing stamina as the energy needed to dodge Dao D's attacks was draining him more than he'd like.
Meanwhile, the old man wasn't even close to exhausted. Jake could tell, from the uncanny smile on his face, he was enjoying this.
"I have to thank you friend," Dao said, raising his arm for another attack, prompting Jake into a battle stance.
"This has been truly fun. I don't recall the last time I got such a good warm up session."
"Warm up session?!"
"Well yes," the old man responded in a somber tone. "Don't kid yourself. You haven't proven to be a formidable opponent. Only one that's difficult to kill."
"You're not killing me."
"I said difficult, friend," Dao said, suddenly disappearing into thin air.
Jake switched his energy to his vision and senses to find the old man but the moment he did, all his senses went on overdrive. They were all screaming the same thing.
"Behind you!"
Jake turned to see Dao D right behind him with a straightened palm raised above his head.
He dropped his palm and Jake used whatever energy he could muster to dodge. The attack slashed through his chest but it wasn't too fatal.
In the brief second he could afford himself, he grabbed two rocks from the ground and moved the energy from all his senses other than his eyes into them, causing them to glow a bright blue.
He quickly flung those blue orbs at the old man's eyes. The rocks exploded on contact, destroying his eyes and sending him reeling in pain.
He used his giant left leg to kick Jake away, sending him flying to the nearby street, where he collided face first into a parked car.
Jake nearly fell unconscious but Dao D's screaming woke him back up. The old man was still reeling from the attack and stumbling.
Jake's sudden plan worked.
He was blinded.
Jake charged his energy into his left arm and legs. Then he got off the car and charged up a running stance.
Meanwhile, Dao D started laughing.
"Well done friend! Perhaps I underestimated you!" He said, scratching his bleeding eye socket. "Now, let's see how you use this golden opportunity."
Jake on the other hand was ready to attack and with a smile forming in his monstrous lips, he muttered something under his breath.
"You're gonna regret this."
Jake then zoomed to his location in an instant. Charging his fist for a powerful blow, he leaped into the air to get a good shot on his head.
And Dao D smiled again.
Jake let out the attack, but Dao D stopped moving for a split second. In that second, he began meditating. To what seemed like a second to Jake, Dao had imagined it as 3 hours.
All Dao saw was a deep darkness. Then a faint blue glow.
"Jackpot."
He grabbed Jake by the left horn and slammed him onto the ground with enough force to send large chunks of debris flying.
Jake coughed up enough blood for him to know he was going to feel it tomorrow.
Just when Jake focused some energy into his skin for defense, he felt himself being raised up by his left hand.
"Come now friend. Don't give up. Well, not yet I suppose."
Jake tried to speak up, to respond, but was too late. Dao slammed Jake to the ground behind him, sending more debris everywhere.
Then he slammed him behind again...
Again...
Again...
And again...
And again...
And again...
Again...
Again...
And finally, holding Jake by his left arm, he looked into his eyes.
Dao smiled one more time.
"Well? Is that all? I've only landed a few hits on you and that's enough to put you down."
Jake spat on him.
He couldn't really say or do anything.
His left arm was long broken.
His ribs were cracked.
His left knee and right ankle were crushed.
And his skull had several cracks within.
A few teeth were either dislodged or broken.
And his left horn was cracked.
Dao looked at Jake for a moment, surprised at his insolence.
But he didn't smile. He couldn't.
This one needed to be taught a grave lesson.
"How dare you?!"
He slammed Jake onto the crater he made from his attack, causing Jake to spit out pools of blood.
On the floor, Dao stood over him.
Still unable to smile.
"I let you have your chance. I gave you plenty of openings. Yet what do you do? You squander them. And when I ask you to do better, you do even worse! Well, I'm bored. It's time this ends."
He raised his giant scaly arm over him, preparing his finishing blow.
Jake could barely move or even speak. All he could do was watch as the blow came crashing down on him...
Followed by the sudden red beam that sent Dao flying.
Jake quickly looked to his right to see Dao on the nearby street. He had collided with a car and was slowly getting up. Then he noticed his left arm was stiffening. Or rather turning to stone.
Jake just as quickly turned to his left to see Ivy in a battle stance. A small red mist covered her ruby goggles, showing she's the one who fired the blast that was turning Dao to stone.
"I... Ivy?" Jake forced out in shock, nearly choking on blood.
"Don't worry Jake. I'm here for you. I'll take this fucker down while you recover."
"Ivy... No!" Jake shouted with a stream of blood pouring out of his mouth.
She didn't hear him though, as she prepared another optic blast.
Dao quickly anticipated the attack, and got his cheerful smile back on.
"Ah! A worthy opponent!" He said and drew a large circle around his chest with his middle finger.
Ivy, confused, hesitated for a moment.
That moment allowed Dao to finish his work, a triangular symbol on his chest which began to glow incredibly bright.
So bright that it temporarily blinded both Jake and Ivy. In a panic, Ivy let out two optic blasts but to no avail.
Dao was already right in front of her.
She noticed the right arm she had turned to stone in her sneak attack had gone back to normal the moment he finished his symbol.
Before she could say or do anything, Dao grabbed her by the face. His fingers covering her eyes, she tried to fire a whole barrage of attacks but the moment they started turning Dao's fingers to stone, the stone crumbled away to reveal the scaly flesh underneath.
"Well that was disappointing. Just when I thought something of you."
Ivy tried to punch him with her free hand. To kick, to fight back.
Anything.
"So what's your name girl? Although you're not strong your ability intrigues me," Dao said in a mocking tone, scanning her from top to down.
"Fuck you!" Ivy spat.
"Now now. No need for cursing. Don't be mad your human abilities were nothing compared to my magic."
"Magic?"
"Oh right. Only a select few know of it. Let's try to keep it that way, okay?"
Ivy stopped struggling for a moment and nodded at him.
"Now tell me. What does this do?" Dao said, now focusing his attention on her anti-mutoxin collar.
"It's... nothing," Ivy said nervously, trying her hardest to break away from Dao's monster grip to no avail.
"Really, then how about I take it as an accessory?" He said, raising his arm to take it off.
Jake tried to get up but could do nothing but cough blood.
To fight but coughed blood.
To scream Ivy's name but all they heard was the dirty sound of a man gargling blood.
"Seems your friend over there doesn't have the balls to stop me. Therefore, I'm gonna do whatever I want," Dao said with his signature uncanny smile.
He threw Ivy aside and refocused his attention on Jake.
As he got closer to him though, he was attacked once again by another beam from Ivy.
He was knocked back a few meters but this time, thanks to his magic, he didn't turn to stone. Once he got up to face Ivy again, he let out a bellowed laugh in surprise.
She wasn't Ivy anymore. She was a 15-foot-long creature with smooth green scales on her skin, a large red frill and two incredibly sharp fangs.
She had arms but no legs. Just a long green tail extending from her pelvis.
"So that's what the collar did? It kept you from mutating? You're a human, aren't you?!" Dao said enthusiastically.
All the creature did was hiss and lunge at him with a predatory ferocity. Dao returned the favor by pouncing as well. Once they clashed, she tried to bite his neck but he dodged and grabbed her throat with his left arm.
She tried to blast him again but he punched her head with his right and slammed her onto the ground with a massive shockwave.
And Jake couldn't do anything to stop this.
And that enraged him more and more.
"Well that was disappointing. Seems my hopes were a bit too high. Even this generation's humans are nothing to behold," Dao said, raising his arm and revealing his retracted claws.
"L...let her go," Jake finally said as he tried his best to stand back up.
"Oh? You finally speak? It seems hurting this girl awakened something in you. Maybe you'll surprise me if I kill her?"
"No?"
"Ah, well there's only one way to find out," Dao said smiling. His claws lengthened by the second and he was ready to kill Ivy.
And have Jake watch.
Jake tried to move. To stop him, but with every step he tried to take he fell back down. There was no way he could stop Dao now. No way he could save Ivy.
All he could do now was wallow in his shame and watch as the love of his life died.
Suddenly something clouded his vision.
"A memory?"
His mind went back to the month before. Right after he sacrificed himself to stop Mr. E.
Right after Milten rescued him from the remains of the Animal Farm.
And right after Milten woke him up at the infirmary of his underground base.
Milten showed Jake his condition. Thanks to his powers he survived the Black Reactor explosion but at a cost. His body had permanently been altered to prevent the blast from killing him, turning him into a monster.
After hearing this, Jake couldn't even bear to talk to him and Milten clearly knew this.
So he called in Ivy.
He had found her outside the farm and saved her too. Along with Luthor, his son and someone else.
Jake couldn't remember...
What he did remember was Milten made special collars for Ivy and Luthor's son due to their overexposure to Mr. E's mutoxin.
Now she stood before him wearing a long hospital gown and a large black and green collar on her neck.
"H...hey Jake," She said, fumbling her hair back and looking away.
"You don't have to look at me. Even I can't look at me right now," Jake said, holding back tears.
"What? I was just scared to see you. After I turned into a monster and all that I thought you wouldn't want to see me again," Ivy replied, now looking into his sea-blue eyes.
"Why would I be? You're back to your normal self thanks to Milten. Meanwhile, look at me."
"You look fine," Ivy said softly, sitting on a chair next to him.
"Cut the crap, Ivy. I don't need sympathy. I'm a monster. A freak. I'll never be normal again," Jake said, palming his face.
Ivy then took his hand and covered it with hers. The roughness of his hard, rock-like skin contrasting with the softness of hers made him feel uneasy.
Like a child trying to hold onto a soap bubble.
"And what if that's a good thing?" Ivy said, getting Jake to jolt up.
"Good thing?"
"Milten talked to you about his deal, right?"
"Y...yeah. He said he's starting his own super team and wants me to be the forefront. Hell, the psycho wanted to fake my death to avoid complications with my civilian identity," Jake answered with a chuckle. His monstrous voice making even the smallest of laughs sound like the roar of some eldritch creature.
"Yeah. He told me the same. I'm the one who suggested he faked our deaths though," Ivy said with a laugh of her own. Softer than his would ever be.
"What?! Why would you..."
"Because we're both dead, Jake. Look at me! Look at you! We'll never be the same after this. Might as well devote ourselves to these new lives."
"New lives? Ivy, we're still humans. We're still..."
"We were nobodies, Jake. Did you know my job before I met you? I was a barista. I worked a damn coffee shop. Barely getting any tips. For God sake, you ran a convenience store! We were both nothing but now we could be supers! Imagine it. Men, women and children cheering the new super team in town. Think of what we could do for the world! Think of what we could do for each other!"
"No one would cheer for me."
"Oh shut it!" Ivy screamed into his face.
"Ivy?"
"You're beating yourself up 'cause you look like this, when I don't see anything wrong with you. You're beautiful. You've always been beautiful. The only one holding you back now is you!"
"I... I don't understand."
"Since the night we met, we talked, I had a feeling you were the one for me and I haven't been wrong."
"Ivy. It was just one date. We..."
"And it was enough for me to know you're perfect for me. I want more. I want to talk to you. Be with you. Fight evil with you. We might have arguments and disagreements in the long run but that's being a couple. I want to be with you, Jake. Then and now."
"You... you really mean that?"
"More than anything."
"Ivy... I lo..."
She cut him off to give a passionate kiss. Holding him by the shoulder and pulling him closer and closer. Just like the first, it was amazing. Her soft skin and his rocky hard exterior melded together to give him an unreal feeling.
He promised there and then, this was the life he was going to lead and this was the woman he wanted to lead it with.
And now he was on the floor.
While the woman he loved was going to get killed.
And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
No.
He could do something.
As she said before, the only one holding him back is him.
Not anymore.
He let himself go.
He always kept his energy fixated on his tasks and under control. So he wouldn't overload.
Not anymore.
He released it all. It enveloped him, covering his entire body in a shining blue light. A light that got Dao to turn his attention back to him.
"W...what? What is this? Second wind, I see?"
Jake couldn't respond. His body hurt ten times more. He coughed up even more blood but the shining light of his energy prevented Dao from seeing it.
Then that light started to dim.
And blacken.
Soon, it wasn't light anymore. It was a black smog.
Dao's interest soon peaked.
"This smog... where have I seen it before? Wait, you're one of them, aren't you?!"
Jake didn't respond. Hell, he didn't even hear the question. All he could hear were his instincts going crazy.
"Kill..."
"Kill... h..."
"Kill... hi..."
"Kill... him!!!"
Jake quickly obeyed the voices.
In an instant he disappeared. Dao couldn't see him anymore. He heightened his guard then and there. He had no idea what Jake was planning but was excited to find out.
"Oh! You sly boy! It IS a second wind. One I'm happy to see too. Well, not see literally, but you get the idea. Well, it's time one of us dies. Try to entertain me before you do, alright?" Dao D said, letting go of Ivy only to catch her under his large clawed foot.
"Sorry. You aren't going anywhere. I want you to watch," He said to the struggling monster.
He opened his mouth and it began to glow a burning hot red. The plan was clear. The moment Jake made himself visible, he'd get incinerated.
Sadly that plan could never come true.
As Jake burst through Dao's stomach, ripping the large beast in half before he knew what happened.
Before his top half even hit the ground, his flame lost control and exploded within his neck, severing his head from his already dissected body.
As his head hit the cold wet floor, he saw his killer.
Jake stood in front of his bottom half, covered head to toe in that smog.
That darkness.
"To think I'd be killed... by a Lost Light dog!" He said, right when everything faded to black.
It was over.
Jake had won.
Just as the darkness started to fade, he saw Ivy struggling to get back up amidst the chaos. He reached out his hand to her. Sadly she wasn't herself.
Now, purely a monster thanks to the mutoxin. She titled her head in confusion and slithered away. Just as Jake could say her name.
"Ivy... I'm sorry," He said.
And soon his eyes began to close as his body fell to its knees.
The last thing he heard was a sudden boom of something crashing down behind him.
And a red figure, walking over to him...
To be continued...