"Way of Wind," Zack muttered to himself, quickly pulling his fist back.
His muscles bulged immediately, making him two times taller and bulkier than he was before.
Everyone wondered how he could move with intense amounts of lightning coursing through his veins, but in a second, that was the last thing on their mind.
Because in that second, Zack punched the air, creating a shockwave powerful enough to send Potentia flying several metres away.
It was like he fired a bullet with his fist.
Cell barely noticed her fly out of his reach. He turned to see her unconscious body slump to the floor and screamed in rage.
Although his lightning was much weaker now, he didn't let up. Ravenger didn't let up either, and finally made it to Zack.
He slashed Zack with his advantagem blades, but heard a faint murmur from his mouth.
"Way of stone..."
Ravenger raised a brow for a moment as his mind recalled something similar to what he said.
He brought his mind back to his attack, only to see it did nothing except break his blades.
Just like Crusher, Zack didn't even flinch.
He tried to rationalize this in his mind, but his thoughts were interrupted by another set of words.
"Way of wind."
Before he could realize what the attack was, his body was pulled in by a vortex, and his jaw was punched by a fist so devastating, he lost consciousness in an instant.
Cell screamed out with all he had left and tried to turn himself into electricity, but Zack was already right in front of him.
So close in fact, Cell could hear his breathing.
"Stand down."
His voice was not much louder than a whisper, but carried the power of a tidal wave about to level a city.
Cell was smart enough to listen to the wave.
In a short moment, he was on the floor, covering his face.
"Cell?! What the fuck are you doing! Get up!"
"I'm afraid he won't be doing that," Zack said, turning his attention to Target.
"Wh...what the hell are you?" Target asked, slowly backing away from an approaching Zack.
"You said it yourself. Green Guardian, former member of the Danger Squad. Now stand down."
"Wait!" Target shouted, causing Zack to silently scoff as he still walked towards him.
"Why are you even here? You super types have little loyalty to politicians. Me getting rid of scum like him would do the world a favor."
Zack got closer.
"You heard everything right? The fact he's trying to bury his past with no consequences. We can't let him go with that..."
"We?" Zack said, finally stopping, his voice much deeper than before. "There is no we. Just you. Andy deserves justice, but this ain't the way to do it."
"And what's your way, hotshot?" Andy said under Target's boot.
"You'll see soon enough."
Andy's eyes widened at that.
"Well then, if I'm going down, lemme at least go swinging," Target said as his face began to morph and stretch into some kind of weapon.
That didn't stop Zack.
What did stop him was the explosion from Target's face, now a giant gun.
In fact, it sent him flying into a pile of debris.
"Not so hot are ya, asshole!" Target shouted, celebrating by stomping down on Andy's head.
It only lasted a moment, as Zack emerged from the debris with a cold look in his eye.
Target immediately followed up with another set of blasts. This time, though, Zack was ready.
"Way of stone."
They were all direct hits, leaving a screen of smoke in their wake. Target didn't let up and kept firing more blasts.
He let go of Andy and focused all his attention on Zack.
"You think you can fuck with me?! With my team?! I may be a rookie, but I'm not a fucking pushover! I run this city! Me! And no one can do shit about it! Not Amazo, not those circus freaks, not the Dragon Clan, and especially not you!" Target shouted as he kept firing.
And firing.
And firing.
Until he ran out of stamina.
"Huh... I forgot how much my blasts drain me," Target said, panting as his face returned to normal. He stared at the giant cloud of smoke and broken debris in front of him and laughed.
"Let's see you survive that, prick!" Target shouted, jumping up and down like a child.
Until suddenly he stopped.
And placed his hands on his head.
As he saw a figure emerge from the smoke.
"No... nononononono... No!"
"Way of wind."
Target tried to run, but he only tripped himself.
Before he could even reach the ground, a powerful force hit his back, sending him flying across the room.
He lost consciousness before he even hit the wall.
Zack emerged from the smoke, his fist releasing some sort of vapor. Andy was already on his feet helping Sting up. She refused his help and got up on her own.
Zack didn't approach them, but rather turned for the nearest exit.
"Wait," Andy said, smiling. "Thank you... but..."
"But?" Zack said, his voice as deep as when he spoke to Target.
"Were you spying on me?"
Zack smirked. He didn't want to smirk, but he did. He could sense the fear in Andy's voice, the same kind of fear Target showed.
He tried his best to hide it, but Zack saw it clear as day.
"I guess we'll find that out soon," Zack said, preparing to fly out of there.
"Wait!" Andy said, running towards him.
"If you're trying to negotiate like Target did, I suggest you stop. The results won't change."
"I might as well try. Hear me out at least."
Zack didn't know what made him stop, but he did. "Go on."
"I... this city is a cesspool. Everyone knows it. People are leaving by the hundreds every day. Monster attacks, gang wars, crazies who just discovered they have powers—it's a lot for people to handle."
Zack finally turned to him.
"The previous mayor relied on Target to keep things in check, but it wasn't cuz of his power. It was cuz of his influence... or rather, the influence of the people he worked for."
Zack raised a brow at that.
"By taking down Target, you've made those people your enemy. You've also given leeway for the scum Target kept in check to rise up. Don't you see that?"
"I do. I just don't care. I'll take them all down."
"The kind of enemies you've awoken aren't the type you just punch away, friend. These are people with connections to the government, roots so long they penetrate into the deepest parts of our society."
"Who are they?"
"The Heavenly Yaksha. They are beings so powerful, so covert, they'd rather burn this city to the ground before they've had their existence be known. They've done it before, and they'll do it again."
"How do I stop them?"
"You can't. Not without my help. We..."
"No."
"But..."
"No!"
Zack flew away immediately after that.
Andy smirked.
"If at first you don't succeed..." Andy muttered, but stopped when he heard Sting pinning Cell to a wall.
"Now wait a minute, Sting. Let's have a word with our friend here," Andy said with a smile.
Cell watched him approach with wide eyes. He was ready to turn into lightning and bolt out of there once he was free of Sting's poisonous grasp.
"Your boss is slumped on the side of a wall. So are all your other colleagues. Cops'll be here in a minute to pick 'em up. I made sure of that. You wanna go with them?"
Cell stared at his fallen comrades for a moment. He didn't know them. Not really. Potentia was the only one who was nice to him. He knew deep down that it was all business.
At least that's what his dad told him.
Cell shook his head frantically, causing Andy's smile to grow even wider.
"Alright then. How about you come work for me?"
Cell didn't even ponder it for a moment. Once he heard that, he nodded immediately.
"Good boy."
As Zack flew, he thought about what happened. He didn't let the conversation go on. He didn't want to work with another Milten, no matter how effective his methods are.
He'll find his own way to save the city. His own way to protect it.
Otherwise, his training would be for nothing.
Once he got to the forest he left his bag in, he pulled out his phone.
"Stella? Kevin? You still there?" Zack said, his voice dropping its intimidating tone.
"Zack?! Holy shit, dude!" Kevin said, seemingly panting from the sound of his voice.
"Kevin? What's wrong?"
"We're not there, dude. We're in Stella's apartment. We heard the cops were coming and bolted immediately. I recommend you do, too. They're almost there."
Like clockwork, Zack heard the sirens from afar, getting louder and louder as time went on.
"Okay. I'll be there in a minute."
"What happened in there, man?"
"I'll... I'll tell you once I get there. Just..."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever heard of the Heavenly Yaksha?"
Kevin was silent.
"Kev?"
"Just get here, man."
He hung up right after that.
Zack stared at his phone for a few seconds until he could hear the sirens from a few metres away. At that moment, he put on his bag and flew as fast as he could.
"The Heavenly Yaksha..." he muttered to himself as the wind blew against his face.
To be continued...