Drayke hovered in the broken sky of Marsh, air bending subtly around his body as if the planet itself was trying—and failing—to reject him.
The battlefield below was a scar of craters, shattered stone, frozen blood, and scattered heroes who had given everything they had.
He straightened slowly, rolling his neck once.
"Us?" he repeated quietly, his voice carrying without effort.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "You think this is us?"
Before he could finish the thought—
A roar cut through the thin atmosphere.
"HEY!"
Something slammed into Drayke from the side with the force of a meteor.
Bear.
He came flying straight out of Chitki's rescue ship, body wrapped in raw energy, face twisted with fury and exhaustion.
Behind him, the ship swerved dangerously as Chitki's voice blasted through the comms.
"BEAR! ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU CAN'T EVEN STAND—"
Too late.
Bear twisted midair, palms glowing violently as energy compressed between them, unstable and shaking.
"I know," Bear muttered, teeth clenched. "That's why I'm using it now."
The energy detonated outward.
COLOSSAL BLAST.
A colossal beam tore through the sky, swallowing Drayke entirely and launching him across the planet like a broken star.
The shockwave rippled through Marsh, flattening debris, cracking the ground further, and nearly throwing the rescue ship off balance.
Bear's body went limp midair.
Chitki screamed his name as automated systems barely managed to pull him back toward the ship, his energy signature dropping sharply.
Drayke smashed into the planet miles away, carving a trench so deep it exposed glowing layers beneath the surface.
The beam's afterimage lingered for seconds before fading.
Silence.
Then—movement.
Drayke pushed himself up slowly, smoke curling off his body. Parts of his outfit were torn, his skin scorched, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.
He struggled.
"You," he admitted, wiping the blood away with his thumb, "were alive?."
A sensed a shadow coming at him.
He blinked—
—then saw a fist.
Tuka.
Wrapped in hastily applied bandages, blood seeping through every layer, face pale, eyes unfocused yet burning with pure will.
His body trembled violently, muscles screaming in protest, but he didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't think.
His punch landed square against Drayke's jaw.
Chitki shouted.
"NOT YOU TOO!"
The sound wasn't an impact.
It was a detonation.
Drayke was sent flying—not across the planet, but upward, breaking free of Marsh's weak gravity and tearing straight into space.
The stars warped behind him as his body spun uncontrollably, momentum carrying him higher and higher.
Tuka remained standing below.
Barely.
Looking at Drayke with death stare.
His arms dropped to his sides.
Blood poured freely now—from his nose, mouth, and the reopened wounds across his torso.
His knees shook violently, body screaming for rest that he refused to take.
Chitki's system screamed warnings inside the rescue ship.
ALERT: MEMBER TUKA – STATUS CRITICAL
POTENTIAL OUTPUT: S-CLASS (TEMPORARY)
BODY FAILURE IMMINENT
Chitki clenched her fists.
"Handling these idiots," she whispered. "is a seperate job."
Drayke twisted midair, stabilizing himself with a violent pulse of warped air.
He exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing as he stared back down at the planet—and the heroes who refused to stay down.
"…What do you even think of yourself?," he said, voice echoing through space itself.
Chitki's fingers flew across holographic panels.
"System," she commanded sharply, "unleash the suit."
Far away—
On Earth—
A sealed chamber deep beneath Tema HQ opened.
Metal screamed as something awakened.
Across space, a streak of light tore through the void at impossible speed.
Drayke sensed it a fraction of a second before impact.
"What—"
The suit slammed into him like a living weapon.
Plates unfolded mid-flight, locking around his arms, legs, and torso with violent precision.
Mechanical restraints snapped shut, joints stiffening instantly as energy suppression fields activated.
Drayke roared, thrashing violently as he tried to tear it off.
"What is this—?!"
The suit responded by tightening.
Chitki's voice echoed cold and precise through the comms.
"Custom-built. Anti-mobility. Anti-output. No need to thank."
Drayke snarled, air warping violently as he forced his power outward, cracking parts of the suit, bending metal with sheer pressure.
"A stupid toy," he growled. "Really?."
Then—
A laugh echoed through space.
Unhinged. Loud. Familiar.
Chiki.
He came flying out of the rescue ship, propelled by explosive force, eyes wide with manic excitement as he armed a device glowing dangerously bright in his hands.
"YOU ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, CONSTRUCTION WORKER!" Chiki shouted, grinning madly.
"You broke my friends. You broke our base. Heck you even tried to kill us."
He slammed the detonator.
"And now?"
"My turn."
The bomb detonated directly against Drayke's face.
Light swallowed everything.
The explosion wasn't just power—it was precision. Layers of energy unfolded inward, tearing through defenses, shredding the already damaged suit and sending Drayke spiraling violently once more.
The shockwave rippled through space itself.
When the light finally faded, Drayke was still there.
Floating.
Smoking.
Breathing heavily.
His eyes burned with something darker.
He struggled.
As if trying to unleash his final attack.
Below, Marsh trembled.
Above, the rescue ship stabilized, Chitki pulling injured heroes aboard one by one, her face tight with fear and focus.
Tuka fainted even though he is standing, body giving in at last.
Bear lay unconscious, barely breathing.
Chiki hovered in space, bomb launcher smoking, chest heaving, grin still plastered on his face despite the danger.
Drayke straightened fully, cracking his neck as the remaining fragments of the suit fell away.
"I....gave you all so..many chances...but guess what?.,"
he said calmly, air warping violently around him, power rising like a storm, "I was holding back all this time."
The battlefield wasn't over.
It had only just begun.