superhero Marvelous Man - Chapter 24

[EcchiMultiverse]

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4)

For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included.

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Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/

For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse

First Chapter | Previous Chapter |  Next Chapter

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS:
SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4)

For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included.

FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/

Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/

For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse

First Chapter | Previous Chapter |  Next Chapter

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS:
SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA

 

 

Chapter 24: Dancing With the Fiend

Marvelous Man stood in front of the fog; staring at the whisping darkness curl about. Every few seconds, a pair of hands would lash from out of the fog. The hands would then slam into a magical barrier that caged the creatures from within. Runes, magical circles, sticky note talismans, and even enchanted items were plastered all over the barrier.

The musclebound superhero drifted his eyes downwards to the rows of cubic-shaped machines placed around the outside of the affected ghetto area. Every cube had a large Arkos Division logo engraved on the side with a cable branching out from each machine to a gadget-decorated cable. The new cable projected a film of light; covering over the magical layer.

The scenery in front of him caused his mind to drift back to his jacket’s pocket. His large hand fidgeted with a silver key in the pocket. He could feel every groove and the keychain attached to it, an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top. The itching temptation to use the key came back harder than the night of his first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. He wondered if it was the right thing to turn down his parents’ invitation to stay in Sunnysville...where it was safe and nothing changed.

“Ugh, I do not envy what you’re about to do,” said a female voice from behind.

Marvelous Man turned around to face the voice. Standing with all eight cybernetic arms crossed was Octomentist. The hulking bodybuilder immediately noticed that the prosthetic superhero now held a slouched posture compared to her usual power pose with the back straightened.

He nodded, “Oh...yeah.”

Octomentist lightly bit her lip, as an awkward second ticked by.

“I never did thank you, did I? For helping out at the Arkos Division headquarters. I was out on patrol when it happened. And then you showed up a few minutes after I got there…” she said.

The multi-armed heroine continued, “I helped try to clear the rubble, but you were the real hero. You actually got to save lives...and that was the first time I actually felt powerless. And that’s never happened to me, ya know...Is it fucked up that I kinda wish I was back in that tunnel fighting the Skeleton Lord, and our only way to save those people was to euthanize them?”

The muscle demigod’s mind flashed back to the tunnels during the second battle against the Skeleton Lord. His stomach twisted at the blood, the terrible things the ancient villain said, killing the Teratoma...and first experiencing the power of his Soul Venom. To reflect on those memories for a second more might cause him to vomit.

“I don’t think so. But it’s not exactly something I want to go through again,” replied Marvelous Man.

Octomentist nodded, “Right..yeah, sorry. That was a dick thing for me to say. But I do mean it when I say thanks for what you did. You’re the greatest hero in my book.”

Marvelous Man smiled. His heart gave a soft flutter of joy before wondering how long this nice attitude would last.

“Thanks,” he said.

The prosthetic hero smiled back, “So go get ‘em, Marvelous Man. I’ll just be manning the front over here. But just so you know, after this, it’s back to you being called Naked Justice.”

“Yeah...I figured,” Marvelous Man giggled, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Octomentist pointed with her golden thumb over to a tent painted with runic symbols; housing the musclebound superhero’s other team members. The flaps of the tent parted ways, as Gemini exited the temporary structure. The bulky Soulem appeared to be heading over to Marvelous Man’s position.

“I’ll be over there if you need anything,” she said.

The muscle demigod nodded, “Sure.”

The multi-armed woman departed from Marvelous Man, as she passed by Gemini. The Soulem arrived in front of the musclebound superhero in a few steps; mood rings glowing in the color yellow. Gemini stood still, while gently pounding the rubbery, robotic fists together. The mechanical being seemed at a loss for words before finally speaking up.

“Um...hey,” said Gemini.

Marvelous Man replied, “Hey.”

The Soulem gave an artificial cough to clear his throat.

“So I thought that we should go over one more time about the spell you got from the Bruja,” he said.

Marvelous Man responded, “Sure. But don’t I just have to touch the imp when I cast the spell?”

“Yeah, but you need to touch a solid part of the imp,” corrected Gemini, “You can’t just use its own foggy essence, since the spell would basically be grabbing air. That essence could easily escape the spell, and then you’d give away your own element of surprise. So make sure you’re grabbing the imp’s physical body when you cast that spell.”

Marvelous Man frowned, “Well, can’t you modify the spell to suck in some of the essence to hold it in one place?”

Gemini lurched his head back, while his face displayed a mix of horror and disgust.

“Whoah, no! That spell is already complicated enough as is. I literally can’t tamper with a thing on that spell. It’s airtight and any mods on that thing will cause an entirely different reaction!” exclaimed the Soulem.

His voice grew soft, “Besides, I only understand bits of it...the spell itself is...impossible. And while that should scare me, what scares me more is who you got it from…”

“...I didn’t have much of a choice, Gem...I needed to end all of this. Doin what we usually do didn’t stop the Skeleton Lord. He always got away every time. And the only way I feel like we can actually win this time is if I upped my game and did something crazy,” explained Marvelous Man.

Gemini sighed, “Let’s just...get this over and done with. I just hope the Bruja doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass. If she has access to that kind of magical knowledge, I don’t even know what she’s capable of if she ever tries to hurt you…”

“She’d probably just send Sugar Skull instead,” remarked the muscle demigod.

The Soulem smirked, “Right. Why bother wasting magic when you can just send an immortal lackey to do the dirty work for ya.”

His cybernetic eyes flicked down at the ground before returning to look back at Marvelous Man. Gemini’s mood ring then transitioned to a rose red color.

“Look, I gotta head back, but I just wanted to say...good luck out there. And please...come back safely. Alright?” he said.

Marvelous Man smiled, “Thanks. I will. And it’ll be fine. I got Gene and Sugar Skull to watch my back.”

“Would’ve been nicer if we had an A-lister like the Director,” frowned Gemini.

Marvelous Man shrugged, “He has to help with keeping the barrier up...But I do think it’s kinda weird we couldn’t get help from anybody else. Everybody seems busy with their own crisis. Even the Nemesis Branch isn’t helping out cause we’re somehow not dealing with a A-rank villain or above.”

“What a bunch of assholes,” huffed Gemini.

The accent of a Southern gentleman emanated from behind the Soulem, “Mr. Yin and Mr. Marvelous Man. So glad both of you are here. This makes things easier for our final talk before we begin.”

As Gemini turned around, Marvelous Man spotted the Director walking towards them. Accompanying a few steps behind Director Doug was the master witch’s familiar and the musclebound superhero’s teammates, Gene Lightfoot and Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man could feel a sense of nervousness wash over himself with every closing distance between himself and Gene. His eyebrow then perked up in confusion.

“Hey, wait. Where’s Fairuza?” he asked.

The Director answered, “She’s been reassigned to keep an eye on our wards, since it is a guarantee that she cannot gaze into the fog nor keep a connection with you three. I’m afraid the moment you and Gene and Sugar Skull pass through, you’re all on your own. We won’t be able to pull you out either, so you better not hold back. Do what you have to do to make this stop.”

Director Skye’s eyes seemed to intensify their gaze into Marvelous Man’s, as he said his next words.

“Marvelous Man, are you sure you want to go in there? Your healing abilities would be invaluable in assisting the troops out here should the barriers fail. You don’t have to do this,” he said.

Marvelous Man’s mind lingered back to his meaty hand still in his jacket’s pocket. The jagged teeth of the silver key poked at his thumb. There was still time to run away from all this, and every part of him screamed it...But what if he could win?

The muscle demigod hesitated, “Honestly...I kinda don’t want to go. I’ve never done anything as...intense as this before. But you said a while back that I was one of the people capable of handling the Skeleton Lord. And I need to be there for my partners to patch them up.”

“Oh-ho ho! Thank goodness!” exclaimed Sugar Skull, “Because Gene would have really died out there if you didn’t come along. But I’d be okay. I can regenerate.”

Silence weighed heavily in the air, as Sugar Skull’s spinning, yellow flower eyes flicked back and forth. None of the company appeared amused at the comment. The ghoul quickly thrust a hand into his sleeve before pulling it out immediately.

“...And look! I have the new devices the Bruja made. Whaaaaat. Presenting the Bruja’s magical gadget, the Benighted Badge. Now we match each other!” said the Limbo being.

He held out his hand; uncurling his fingers to reveal what rested in his palm. Everybody leaned forward to see two objects glittering on the ghoul’s palm. They looked exactly like the brooch Sugar Skull had always worn; a weeping closed eye.

Puzzles called out from below, “What is it?”

The Director frowned, while Marvelous Man realized the smoke imp was too small to see what the ghoul was holding. The Totochton prince and the muscle demigod picked up the pin jewelry; holding it up for a closer look. Director Doug then scratched his beard.

“It looks to me like they are copies of Sugar Skull’s brooch,” reported the master witch.

Sugar Skull replied, “Exactly. They do the same thing my brooch does. We’ll be able to pass through without any of the other ghouls seeing us.”

The half-alive ghoul looked over at Marvelous Man.

“Oh...but, you can’t do any supercharges or getting bright,” he said, “It’s easy to cover up sound, but your light can’t be, uh, suppressed when it’s bigger and brighter than a flashlight. Bending that much light without blinding you would have taken longer to make.”

It was a huge handicap to what Marvelous Man could do. Supercharging his allies was something the muscle demigod felt made him indispensable to the team and helped turn the tide of a battle. But he knew that as long as the brooches worked and cloaked his team from immediate danger, he would be fine with limiting his abilities.

The musclebound superhero nodded, “That’s fine. Could I still do normal healing? I still have to use some light, so I can heal.”

“It’s not a problem. The gadget should be able to hide it,” answered Sugar Skull.

A slight weight lifted from the hulking bodybuilder’s shoulders. It felt good to know that he could help support his teammates in some way. Marvelous Man was already aware of how much his combat ability paled in comparison to his companion’s and even the Skeleton Lord’s.

The ghoul chimed, “I think we need a speech. This is the part where we’re about to do something dangerous and need some, ummm...encouragement!”

“Here’s one,” said Puzzles.

The entire cast turned to look down at the smoke imp. He stood with a silver zip lighter in one hand, and a glass bong, sized appropriately for his single paw, in the other. Flicking open the lighter to spark a flame, the familiar then lowered the flame onto the bong’s herbal-stuffed bowl.

Puzzles snapped the lighter shut, “Don’t die.”

Director Skye smiled at the smoke imp while flexing a single eyebrow up.

“The Reefer Ballroom?” he questioned.

Puzzles replied, “You’re combining your defense magic with the lesser spellcasters and some force field projectors from the Arkos Division. Even with all that, those ghouls are still getting through. You honestly think my Cuban Room can stop them, Boss?”

“Containment isn’t working, so I shall impede,” concluded the smoke imp.

The master witch looked over at Gemini, “Duly noted. Now, Mr. Yin, I heavily implore you to vacate this area. Seeing as how I am now lowering a part of the barrier. Monsters will most definitely be scurrying from out of my artificial opening, and I would hate for you to be caught in the midst of combat.”

Mood rings on the cybernetic cheeks flared yellow, as Gemini’s eyes dilated. The Soulem instantly turned towards the tent and began power-walking.

“Nope! Don’t have to tell me twice,” he exclaimed, “GoodLuckMarvelousManOkayLoveYouBye.”

Director Skye watched the Soulem dart passed Octomentist and into the tent before reaching into his pocket. Pulling out a cell phone, the master witch dialed a number. He then placed it next to his ear, while it rang once before being answers.

He announced, “This is Director Douglas Skye. I am authorizing the deactivation of your force field generators for ninety seconds...Yes. Begin now.”

As the Director ended his call, the small humming noise from the force field projector cubes started to die down. The thin layer on top of the magical barrier eroded; starting from the top and making its way down. Within seconds, the projected force field from the Arkos Division had completely deteriorated.

Director Skye placed the phone back into his pocket and held up his hands. The master witch’s hands then began to glow blue with magical energy. Gesturing with his hands, a magical circle appeared.

“When I’ve created an opening, all of you must charge through. Do not worry about the monsters that get through, Puzzles and I, as well as the other heroes and police officers, will dispose of them. It is highly likely we will lose communication with y’all, so please be aware that you are all on your own once you three enter. Gene, you will be the field leader for this mission,” stated the Director.

Gene pinned the brooch to his shoulder’s strap, “Understood.”

A hole the size of a baseball appeared on the magical barrier above the magic circle. The hole then moved; splitting into both horizontal directions. While the incision on the barrier continued, Puzzle pressed the top of the glass bong to his lips and took a long inhale. When the gap reached a certain wideness on both ends, the ends of the gap made its way down. The very end of the whisping fog seemed to drool from the artificial outline that appeared wide enough for three men to charge in at the same time.

Puzzles disengaged from the glass bong and exhaled a big puff of marijuana smoke; cascading to the concrete ground. The white smoke flooded in every direction, as it grew higher. Marvelous Man quickly fumbled about to pin the brooch onto his black leather jacket. In seconds, the bong smoke swallowed everyone. The last thing Marvelous Man saw, after successfully pinning the Bruja’s brooch, was the dissection of the magical barrier coming to a stop upon contacting with the terrain.

Marvelous Man’s eyes blinked. He turned about; trying to absorb his new surroundings. The hulking bodybuilder was transported in what appeared to be a grand ballroom. The walls and furniture were adorned with the colors of gold white, and the paintings and decorations had a pastel color to them. Memories of art and architecture taught by Apollo allowed the musclebound superhero to surmise the ballroom was an eighteenth century Russian palace in the rococo style.

He stood with his teammates amidst a crowd that were watching people court and dance. The citizens within the lavish ballroom were dressed of higher class Russian fashion from the eighteenth century; possibly even royalty. Marvelous Man could hear an orchestra composed of string and woodwind instruments. The muscle demigod was aware Puzzles could concoct illusions through smoke, but even the sound of violins and flutes playing nearly convinced himself of traveling through time.

The hulking bodybuilder also spotted the Director amidst the dancers and had continued to channel the spell. The dancers twirled about Director Skye, yet never seemed to make any accidental physical contact to the master witch.

Before questioning the scenery, his attention snapped to a commotion on his left. Ghouls and monsters from the fog had charged through a wide, opened doorway; screaming and snarling. The citizens and the scenery slightly warped, as smoke was channeled from them. Puzzles’ smoke reached out in the form of gentle vapors, as it funneled into the nostrils and mouths of the enemies. The Limbo creatures slowed to a stop; their eyes fogging in confusion.

The residents within the ballroom that were closest to the stupefied foes sauntered over to them. The dancers guided the ghouls onto the main floor and danced with them, while the viewers petted the monsters like they were adorable dogs. More Limbo beings clamored into the ballroom and were quickly pacified.

“Go now! Go!” commanded a deep Russian-accented voice from above Marvelous Man.

A figure, blurred in grey and blue, fell from up high. It then collided onto the head of one of the dancing ghouls. The object that had landed came into focus as Puzzles with his dagger sunken onto the top of the inhibited ghoul’s head. The ghoul immediately disintegrated into dust, as Puzzled fell towards the ground.

Gene spoke up, “My teammates, we must make the haste, while we still have the time.”

The rabbit superhero ran towards the opened doorway with the purple ghoul following behind. The muscle demigod stared at his compatriots for a second before snapping out of his surprised daze and gave chase. As the three made their way closer to the doorway, the dancers and bystanders immediately stepped out of the pathway like water being parted.

“Turn on the brooch with magic now!” shouted Sugar Skull, “The ghouls will attack us the moment we pass through!”

Placing their hands on the Bruja’s magical item, Gene and Marvelous Man’s hands glowed blue with magic. The glowing immediately died, as the magic channeled into the weeping eye brooches upon passing through the doorway. Ghouls from the fog continued to pour in, but they weaved around all three allies without even passing a glance.

The whisping fog crashed into the team’s faces; blackness obscuring their visions. The trio came to an immediate stop; their eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden darkness. Regaining enough sight, Marvelous Man noticed the countless, monstrous Limbo beings had continued to charge passed the hulking bodybuilder and his friends. His muscles, flexing into cords as hard as rocks, relaxed back into its natural round, firm state.

With the danger temporarily alleviated, Marvelous Man’s body realized it had stopped breathing for over a minute. He gave a loud, sharp gasp before immediately coughing; the bleach scent of Limbo’s air hung heavily in the fog. The musclebound superhero bent down, as his throat continued to hack.

The rest of the team flinched at the sudden noises given off by the hulking bodybuilder. The spinning, yellow flower eyes in Sugar Skull’s sockets transformed into red exclamation points. The purple ghoul stared up at Marvelous Man.

“Wow, that actually gave me a fright!” commented Sugar Skull.

Gene spoke up, “Marvelous Man, are you well?”

The muscle demigod held up his index finger to indicate towards his teammates. Seconds later, Marvelous Man stood up straight. He looked down at the rabbit superhero.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t realize I was holding in my breath until just now,” he answered.

Gene’s white rabbit ears twitched about, “I must do the commending, Sugar Skull. The Bruja’s magical jewelry works as you have said.”

The purple ghoul turned to look at the bunny demigod. The red exclamation points in his eye sockets returned to its spinning flower form.

“The Bruja is the real deal. After all, she struck a deal with your, uh. What’s the word I’m looking for? It’s predecesor in Spanish...Oh, haha. Predecessors. It’s why all the Toto’s restaurants act as the entrance to the land of the living when I leave Limbo,” replied Sugar Skull.

Gene frowned, “I do wish to continue the talk regarding your master’s connection to my people, but we all must make the haste to defeat the Skeleton Lord.”

The Totochin prince proceeded forward with the two party members immediately  following behind. The howls and groans of the Limbo monsters echoed unseen throughout the streets. The line of sight for Marvelous Man could only extend as far as ten steps ahead before being swallowed by whisping fog enveloping the crew.

With the unsettling feelings being forgotten the ghetto usually radiated and enhanced by the Skeleton Lord’s creepy fog, it became a tempting thought for Marvelous Man to fly his teammates over to the Skeleton Lord’s dwelling. It would have been faster, but the plans set days before the three went into the fog said otherwise. It was agreed that the trio would have to traverse the fogged area by foot at walking speed. Sugar Skull had pointed out that even with the Bruja’s magical items, the Skeleton Lord could still detect them. The safest strategy would be taking slow movements to avoid drawing sudden attention on themselves should the ancient villain return on the estimated date.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As the team drew closer to the Skeleton Lord’s hideout, the streets became more spacious. There were still ghouls roaming about, but the majority of the Limbo creatures were loitering at the barriers surrounding the ghetto. The ones that Marvelous Man were now passing by were the naked ghouls he had seen before in Limbo; lying on the ground with the same surrender to despair.

“Hello, Totochtin,” said a voice from behind the group.

The group instantly turned around to face the person addressing Gene. A figure stood in the middle of the road; its height as tall as an imp. The being wore a dress covered in tatters, and the ribbon bow encircling the neckline had eroded with its color faded. It’s head and right arm no longer existed; replaced with whisping essence bleeding out and blending into the fog. It’s other arm seemed to be avian, as the limb was shaped like an arm but was compiled of tattered feathers.

The creature turned to Marvelous Man. A voice then emanated from it; sounding as if it were under water.

“You must be Marvelous Man,” it said, “Your shape is much like Gilgamesh. A giant man of muscles. So it’s not hard to figure out.”

The smoky figure turned to Sugar Skull, “And you must be the Bruja’s ghoul. My master has been wanting to see you again to pay back all the torment you have given him.”

As the demigods opened their mouths to reply, Sugar Skull interrupted them.

“Don’t acknowledge him! If you do, he’ll be able to see you!” exclaimed the purple ghoul.

Gene pointed out, “I believe there is none of the point to doing that. He identified us by the shapes of our bodies.”

The creature spoke up; pulling the team’s attention back to itself.

“I can’t hear you, but I know you’re talking about me. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice something I couldn’t see but was still taking up space in my own essence? Reveal yourselves to me, or I’ll get nasty,” it said.

The trio remained frozen at the threat. Marvelous Man gulped; trying to build some courage within himself. The musclebound superhero needed confirmation first before he did anything else. He then took a step forward.

He announced, “Yeah, I’m Marvelous Man. Are you the Skeleton Lord’s familiar?”

“That I am. And will the others come forward as well? Or shall I have them skewered?” said the imp.

Marvelous Man finally had his suspicions confirmed. To see an incomplete imp firsthand was...more disturbing than Puzzles could have described. He could only feel sadness for the imp; imagining how it existed for thousands of years in a constant state of pain and rage. The muscle demigod wanted to activate the spell immediately to put the imp out of its misery. But he knew what Gemini had said to him earlier. Now was not the time; not when the element of surprise had been lost. Marvelous Man would have to wait until another chance arose.

Gene acknowledged, “What is your name?”

“I am Digz,” replied the incomplete imp, “And what is your business here?”

“We wish to defeat the Skeleton Lord,” answered Gene.

Digz cackled, “He’s not here...yet. The Skeleton Lord will return soon.”

The smoky familiar crooked his shoulder; seemingly staring at Sugar Skull. A sharp object shot out from behind the familiar. It screeched through the air in less than a second before making the sound of flesh being impaled.

Marvelous Man turned to his half-alive friend. He could see an arrow sticking out of Sugar Skull’s left shoulder. The purple ghoul staggered back a few steps, as Marvelous Man noticed Sugar Skull wielding the signature black glock. The Limbo being’s eye sockets were completely covered in television static noise.

“...You sneaky fatherfucker,” said Sugar Skull.

Digz remarked, “I just said that I could see Marvelous Man’s shape. You honestly thought I couldn’t see you about to use your gun superpower?”

“Well, yeah,” giggled Sugar Skull.

Marvelous Man hurried over to Sugar Skull, while feeling the emotions of fear ebb from Gene. Placing his hand next to the wound, he fed the light within himself memories of his mother cooking his favorite breakfast. The muscle demigod then grabbed the arrow with his other hand, as his light began to heal the traumatized area.

He spoke, “I got you, Sugar Skull...This is gonna hurt.”

“...Hey, Marvelous Man. Remember that dickhead ghoul in the diner who told you that he was embracing life now that he could feel pain? Could you take my gun, go back in time, and shoot him in the fucking hea-AAAAGH, FATHERFUCKER!” exclaimed Sugar Skull.

The musclebound superhero held the arrow in his hand; detached from the purple ghoul’s shoulder and dripping with crimson blood. Marvelous Man could not help but feel a small amount of cynicism despite seeing his friend in pain.

His eyebrow flexed upward, “I’m sorry, but...I’ve seen your abdomen being disemboweled before. How was that arrow much worse than this?”

“You ever had a paper cut before?” fired back the half-alive friend.

Digz spoke up, “And now I wonder what I should do to the lot of you.”

Marvelous Man thought quickly. He knew that Digz would not harm Gene, since the Skeleton Lord has use for the Totochtin prince. As for the hulking bodybuilder and the purple ghoul, Digz would have found them disposable. The musclebound superhero still needed more time to stop the ancient evil, and he needed to know more about the Skeleton Lord to find the weakness for defeating the supervillain.

“Tell us about the Skeleton Lord!” he blurted out, “I mean, we hardly know the guy. We’ve come this far. Could you please answer our questions about him?”

Sugar Skull chimed in, “I’m with him on that! Besides, I’m sure the Skeleton Lord would like to see us one more time.”

The incomplete imp said nothing. Seconds ticked by, while whisping, black smoke continued to flow out of its neck and shoulder. Digz then shrugged.

“I don’t see why not,” it answered.

A small sigh of relief escaped from Marvelous Man’s lips. He could feel Gene’s emitted emotions become calmer, as he spotted Sugar Skull’s sockets returned back to displaying the spinning, flower eyes.

Digz held up a feathery finger, “BUT! You each get one question. And before I can answer them, you have to defeat the guardians.”

The imp snapped his fingers. The blackness behind Digz stirred, as three figures stepped through. They walked past the whispy familiar; revealing their identities upon drawing closer to the heroes. Leading from the center was Zareb and wielding his pair of short-handed axes. He clanged his axes together; causing the runes etched on the weapons to glow and spark electricity. Appearing on the electric tribesman’s left was Itzcóatl. The vengeful hunter pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it onto his equipped bow. On the other side of Zareb was a knight geared in a suit of polished silver armor. The knight shifted into its fighting stance; armed with an ornamentally-decorated glaive polearm that had appeared in the second confrontation with the Skeleton Lord.

Sugar Skull yanked up his gun and aimed it at the knight. Pulling the trigger, an explosive bang went off. The knight’s helmet became slightly dented, while the sound of ricochet echoed from it.

“GAH!” screamed Marvelous Man.

A sudden, sharp sting rippled in Marvelous Man’s sculpted abdomen. The hulking bodybuilder grabbed at his stomach; crouching nearly at the ground from the pain. Sugar Skull’s yellow flower eyes transformed into a yellow-and-black-striped caution sign displaying an exclamation point.

The half-alive ally looked at Marvelous Man, “Sorry! I didn’t think he was bulletproof!”

Sugar Skull’s body gave an abrupt shake, while the sound of pierced flesh resounded from beneath him. His eyes fizzled from the caution sign back into the television static interference screen. Turning back to his armored opponent, the knight had appeared at a closer distance to the purple ghoul. He then looked down; spotting the knight’s glaive protruding through his abdomen. Blood started dripping from his mouth.

The half-alive being coughed, “You know...when a guy stabs my guts...it’s usually from behind. Gahahaha...What? It’s funny.”

The knight shifted his legs; hoisting the purple ghoul into the air. Sugar Skull screamed in midair.

“MM! Tag in! Tag in!” exclaimed the half-alive teammate.

Marvelous Man looked up at his skull-headed friend. He spotted Sugar Skull being lifted up before an arc of blue and white light crashed into him. The hulking bodybuilder’s muscles seized; painfully cramping everywhere while feeling a tingling sensation. In his scattered thoughts, he knew this had to be Zareb’s electrical attack.

Gene watched Marvelous Man become too paralyzed to save Sugar Skull, while the knight proceeded to slam the purple ghoul over his head and into the ground. Crouching down, the rabbit superhero immediately pushed off with his legs. The Totochtin prince flung himself into the air with his back bending backward. As he performed his backflip, Gene quickly dug his hands into his ball pouch.

His body then completed the twirl while still in the whisping air; now faced again towards the fight. The bunny demigod yanked his hands out and unleashed a fistful barrage of silver balls. The shiny projectiles rained down on Zareb; piercing into the electric tribesman and the ground around him. Blood splattered from the impacted damage Gene had caused, but the spheres were not thrown hard enough to completely pass through the enemy.

The lightning guardian discontinued the electrical attack and recoiled from the silver ball affliction, as Gene landed. The Totochtin prince brought his hands close to his face and clenched them into tight fists. A yellow runic symbol appeared; glowing on top of his fingerless gloves.

The silver balls lodged into electric tribesman exploded out of the enemy and the concrete ground; blood and debris blasting into the air with a misty and dusty consistency. The shiny spheres shot towards Gene. Before the magical projectiles pulverized into the bunny demigod, they stopped at only an arm’s length from Gene.

Free from the electrifying shock, Marvelous Man ignored the pain and reacted. The musclebound superhero pushed himself up. With the arrow’s obsidian head covered in Sugar Skull’s blood still gripped in his hands, he threw it like a dart. The arrow flew towards Zareb and punctured into the lightning guardian’s abdomen.

Zareb froze. At the area of the arrow’s impact, a wave of deterioration spread. As Sugar Skull’s poison expanded, the affected parts flaked off into a whisping, black dust.

Marvelous Man quickly turned to the knight and activated his flight power. Pushing off with his massive legs, the hulking bodybuilder flew. The polished knight took no notice of him, as the armored guardian was only focused on the pinned Sugar Skull with back turned.

The musclebound superhero wrapped his arms around the knight’s torso and flew up. With the silver knight unaware of the muscle demigod’s attack, the ornamental glaive slipped from the guardian’s grasp. Marvelous Man immediately spun his body, as he gained altitude. By the second rotation, the muscle demigod released his hold over the armored guardian.

He shouted, “NGYAH!”

The silver knight flung helplessly in the air like a ragdoll, while Marvelous Man took off his golden wreath. The laurel weaponry appeared sharper; reflecting the muscle demigod’s intent. Spinning his body, Marvelous Man threw his boomerang wreath with an underhanded throw.

“SLICE AND DICE!!!” he battle cried.

The golden headgear shimmered as it whirred through the air like a buzzsaw. A second later, the spinning projectile caught up to the airborne enemy. The boomerang laurel sliced through the knight’s midsection without hesitation. Gravity then took hold of the armored guardian, as the golden wreath returned to Marvelous Man.

The knight broke apart into two separate pieces; bisected horizontally at the wreath’s passing impact. Before the silver knight reached halfway down, both parts of himself exploded into the same texture as the whisping fog. At the same time, the glaive pinned into Sugar Skull had dispersed into the same blackness as the fog. There was now only one more guardian for the team to combat against.

“Gah!” he exclaimed, “...What the-?!”

Marvelous Man felt a sudden, sharp poke in his massive glutes. Rubbing his left bubble butt cheek, he could feel a small hole in his American flag bikini. He then looked down and spotted an arrow clattering onto the ground. It was the same kind of arrow that had struck Sugar Skull earlier; the head of arrow shaped out of sharp, black obsidian glass. The muscle demigod gaze about the area but could not find the most likely assailant, Itzcóatl.

Gene gestured with his hands again by creating a swirling motion with his index and middle finger at the floating spheres. This caused his gloves to glow with a different runic symbol. The silver balls in front of the Totochtin prince morphed; each of them extending a stem of itselves to two other spheres to create a silver bolas. With the magical command complete, a set of three bolas floated in front of Gene.

The bunny demigod grabbed two bolas; one in each hand. Gene began twirling them, while he turned around until his back was facing his allies. The rabbit superhero’s eyes scanned the area, and his white rabbit ears twitched. He then released both bolas; flying off towards his right.

The bolas spun, as they continued their flight. The grouped projectiles then stopped in mid-flight; wrapping around an unseen object. Upon binding, the object immediately revealed itself as Itzcóatl falling onto the ground. With one of the bolas tied around the legs and the other around the torso, the Aztec guardian was unable to move.

Sugar Skull slowly leaned up. With the black gun still in his grasp, he hurriedly dipped the front end of the weapon deep into his opened abdomen. The purple ghoul grunted at the self-intrusion but did not hesitate to immediately pull out. He then aimed the blood-soaked glock at the bounded vengeful hunter.

Pulling the trigger, the bullet’s impact against Itzcóatl’s shoulder was instant. His mocha-shaded skin as well as his clothing began to blacken and spread rapidly from the point of injury. The dispersal of Sugar Skull’s poison overtook the sneaky guardian in seconds before sharing the same fate of disintegration as his other villainous compatriots.

Marvelous Man gently landed onto the ground upon spotting the battle had ended. He then rushed over to Sugar Skull’s side. Kneeling down, he placed his hands on a part of the purple ghoul’s clothing that had not yet been drenched by the toxic blood. The muscle demigod’s mind drifted to a memory about Apollo indulging a young Justice with baking and decorating a wedding cake. The light within Marvelous Man fed on the positive memory and feelings; illuminating the hulking bodybuilder’s large hands and beginning the healing process on Sugar Skull.

A watery voice called out, “Well done, well done. I didn’t think the fight would end this fast. Hmmm, too bad we couldn’t include Gilgamesh in the fight. He would have really fucked you guys up...What did you do to him anyways? I can’t summon him back to me.”

The Totochtin prince faced towards his allies. Standing steps away from the aiding teammates was the incomplete imp, Digz. The whisping darkness continued to pour out from the stumps of the missing head and right arm.

“Gilgamesh has been detained. We have taken the precautions to prevent any of the attempts to do the escape,” replied Gene.

Digz giggled, “Spoilsport. So how did you find Itzcóatl? His steps are too quiet for your hare ears to hear.”

“He allowed himself to be filled with the anger after failing to attack Marvelous Man,” stated Gene, “Now, enough of the stalling. We have fulfilled the terms of your conditions. Answer our questions!”

The incomplete imp sighed, “Fair enough. Ask away.”

The Totochtin prince paused for a moment, as Marvelous Man finished healing the half-alive teammate. The hulking bodybuilder then helped Sugar Skull to stand up before the two faced the Skeleton Lord’s familiar. The eye sockets on the purple ghoul defaulted back to the spinning flower eyes.

“...Did the Skeleton Lord speak the truth about himself being the cause as to why the Totochtin are split into the multiple tribes? I wish to know the horrors he had wrought upon my ancestors,” demanded Gene.

The fog surrounding everyone reached out; encircling around the bunny demigod. The vortex of blackness covering Gene remained thick; rendering the Totochtin prince unseeable to those outside.

Marvelous Man screamed, “Gene!”

The rabbit superhero did not reply. Marvelous Man’s heartbeat beated rapidly in panic, as he heard Digz speak up.

“Oh, he’s fine. Just spirited away to a memory. So go on. Ask your question,” said the incomplete imp.

Sugar Skull stepped forward, “Alright. What is your backstory? I want to know how you came to be right up to when you met the Skeleton Lord.”

The whisping fog stretch and embraced the purple ghoul in its swirling mass. Marvelous Man stared at the familiar. He was now alone again with nobody to call out to for help...and it terrified him.

“I...I want to know...H-how did…” hesitated the hulking bodybuilder.

Marvelous Man stopped and took a breath. Now was not the time to show fear and urinate on himself all over again. Marvelous Man was on a mission. He needed to get answers and cause the incomplete imp to lower their guard.

The musclebound superhero started, “What is the Royal Burning? I want to know.”

The black essence slithered over to Marvelous Man. It slowly rose up; covering from the feet and working its way up. As the whisping darkness reached his head, Marvelous Man held his breath.

For a brief moment, there was only blackness.

Next Chapter

[Hanugumo]

This chapter was awesome!!! 8D

The fights were quick but detailed epically and it kind off shows that Justice and the rest have grown a lot as well. I mean: I especially can not imagine Justice doing what he is doing in this chapter back when this story started. ^^ <3 Though it does seem like he has trouble holding on to his courage and keeping a completely leveled head but than again: Who wouldn't be having the same trouble after what he has been through. =/

Also: Is the incomplete Imp really there? Or is he just an illusion created by that imp? I mean: Last we saw that imp he was close to the Skeleton Lord after all. =3

 

And also: I really love that you had them ask 3 of the biggest questions so far. 83 Well: At least 2 of them as Gene asked quite the personal question. ^^;

But i definitely am looking forward to seeing what Justice will see in the memory of the Royal Burning. ^w^ <3 <3

But will you also show what Sugar Skull will be seeing? ^^

 

Man i am so excited for the next chapter!! 8D <3 <3

[EcchiMultiverse]

Well, MM is still Justice. He now has the courage to keep fighting, but his fear is still the same...probably magnified even further due to being kidnapped. It does help calm him down when his friends are nearby(just like anybody else), but to be alone is utterly terrifying for him in the face of evil.

 

Yes...and no. I apologize, since it seems like I'm hamming it all in at the last second. Really trying to end book 1 lol. The giant black fog surrounding the ghetto is his essence, so I figured since the place has sorta turned into his dimension, he should be able to materialize. But he's not completely there, since the Skeleton Lord isn't there yet and his form seems pretty incorporeal, so MM can't use the spell to end Digz yet. MM has to use it when Digz's guard is down.

 

OMG, I really wanted to show off what each of them sees! But unfortunately, that would take a lot of time away and isn't completely relevant to resolving the problem in the story. So I'll have to show only what MM sees for right now and just allude to what Sugar Skull saw later on in Book 1. Plus, I'm pretty sure if you read all this as one book, you'd probably get bored fast seeing Digz's origin story.

 

Thanks so much for sticking around! I couldn't have gotten this far without your encouragement X3