Strange Quark flew with all of his might toward the towering Jinn. Air cut so hard against his ears that the scream almost overwhelmed the battle below. Thousands of demons fought the heroes, an endless battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of Earth.
Krystal Fae lobbed magic bolts at Jinn while Fiero blazed across his wings with energy beams. Quark charged his hands with unpredictable quantum energy. This was not something he wanted to use in this reality, but he had no choice. Nothing thrown at Jinn was doing much harm. He raced faster and faster, breaking the sound barrier. Approaching the speed of light, Quark made an abrupt stop and let the energy fly out, carried by the incredible momentum.
Jinn twisted in the air and hit that bolt with the back of his hand. Quark was not prepared for such a precise counter-strike. The blue energy flew back at Quark. The impact forcibly phased him out of this existence and through layer after layer of alternate realities. He slipped back into this existence in time to hit the ground in a crashing skid.
“Oh, my head. How did he do that?” Quark blinked the blurriness out of his eyes. It was then he saw the 747 flying overhead. “Oh, god! They’re still evacuating the area?” He rose to go protect the innocent when an evil force struck him.
Ghostly demons swarmed around him, grinning with their fangs, and readying their claws for ripping. Quark quickly blasted one away and then punched another in the face. They were no match for him, individually, but the sheer numbers were overwhelming. He couldn’t even get airborne. That hit from Jinn had messed his head up enough that he couldn’t phase out.
“Need help?” Crimson Guardian flew over. He held Furious Squirrel by his arms.
Furious dropped and helped to balance the battle. “Looks like we’re in deep crap!” Furious used a steampunk gun to blast demon after demon.
Crimson came lower, but Quark yelled, “GO PROTECT THAT PLANE!”
“Plane?” Crimson shot a demon and then looked up. “Good lord! What’s that doing in this airspace!” He shot off at top speeds.
Crimson activated his suit’s extra power to the boosters and charged toward the plane still in the hot zone. He almost made it out of town when a random energy blast deflected from Jinn hit him. His suit took the shot, but it blew his booster rockers out. He spiraled and crashed into a building.
Coughing hard, Crimson checked a gauge on his arm. “Crap, boosters are shot. I...” He was kicked and sent tumbling off one roof, landing on another.
Wicked demons rushed over the buildings, licking their thin lips as though he were their next feast.
“So, it’s a fight you want.” He jumped to his feet and readied his disruptors.
One after another after another, he shot demons in the face. He was like a disco ball projecting light. The demons couldn’t get within ten yards of him before he nailed them. Then two dark hands broke through the roof below his feet. They grabbed him and forced him to fall over. This disruption gave the gathering horde the ability to advance.
“Damnit!” He fired from his new position, now barely keeping them two feet from him. That demon below him tore at the roof more, opening a considerable hole.
Just as the demon rose from the hole, an arrow stuck it in the skull. After that came several dozen more arrows. Demons were cut down quickly. A blue woman jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Each time she landed, she sent more arrows at the demons.
“Zanazola!” Crimson called out. “I...I can’t get up. Stupid armor!”
Just then two hands helped him up. Gamma Ray pushed him to his feet and then quickly got back to back with him. “Cut the chatter!” He swung his foot out and kicked a demon off the roof.
Zanazola made it to them and released five arrows at once, clearing the area for a moment. “This is out of control.”
Crimson fired his arm laser as he said, “We still have civilians in the area!”
Gamma said, “We know. We saw the plane. They still haven’t fully evacuated the outlying areas.”
Zanazola twisted around and used an arrow like a knife in the face of a demon and then fired it into the chest of another demon. “This’ll be a bloodbath.”
She gave him a quick nod and then did a backflip off the roof and sped away at incredible speed. She didn’t fly, but the dust behind her was all they could see.
Zanazola raced through the streets, deftly dodging demons and heroes alike as they continued the battle. More than once she was able to catch a demon in the throat or face with an arrow as she zoomed by the heroes.
“HELP!” A man screamed.
Zanazola turned in her running, following that plea. She found Fleagle using a large stick to beat away the demons that got close. He straddled a fallen hero. It wouldn’t be long before he went down. She slowed enough to use her bow and fired a dozen shots, taking out most of the demons getting close to the pair.
“What happened to Time Bender?” She noted the hero on the ground.
Fleagle swung and smacked a demon that lunged at him. “Took one too many hits. He was time moving...whatever it is he does and one of these things...” He swung up, nailing another in the chin. “One of these things got him. I don’t think he’s dead.”
She had put away her bow and was now using her fists at supersonic speed to deal with the enemies. “We have to get him out of here!”
Fleagle took a blow to the chest and then swung the stick like a baseball bat, hitting two demons at once. “Excellent suggestion...how?”
Just then a rain of eggs fell on them and created an explosion that blew the demons back by a dozen yards. Easter Bunny hopped down and threw two more eggs, these exploding with goo that caused a group of demons to be stuck to the ground. “Is he down?” EB asked as he continued to throw eggs.
Fleagle answered, “Yes Can’t get him up.”
“It’s Jinn.” EB said and threw another egg. “When a hero goes down, he absorbs power from them. This guy ain’t dead, just down. Get him out of here!”
Zanazola had changed back to her arrows and fired at the now much more distant enemies. “Mutt, move him.”
Fleagle grumbled about her rudeness, but he obeyed and picked up Time Bender. He carried him toward a building to find cover.
EB hopped up and lobbed more eggs at the enemies. “This is wicked!”
She shot two in the face. “This is a disaster. We still have civilians out there.”
EB produced a rather large egg and threw it, creating a tremendous explosion. He said, “Go, I got this.”
Zanazola didn’t argue, she just ran.
EB smiled. “Come one, you stupidheads. I got a treat for ya!” He threw eggs around him so fast he was nothing but a white blur. He was enjoying this spray of colorful destruction too much. He missed that one demon. A massive, black claw swiped at him and he tumbled across the ground. Before he could respond, another claw grabbed his neck and picked him up. He squeaked and tried to form more eggs in his paws, but it did little good.
Suddenly a sword sliced through the head of the demon holding EB, and he was dropped. Nova dodged more blows and then used his massive blade to cut down five demons in one swipe.
“YOU ALRIGHT?” Nova cut straight down and split a demon in half.
EB coughed and then hopped up. “BUDDY!”
“Watch it!” Nova kicked EB out of the way and split two approaching demons at the chest.
EB hopped up on Nova’s shoulder and held onto his head. “We have a plane to rescue!”
Nova growled but then saw what EB was motioning toward. “Fine, you throw, I cut.”
With a guttural scream, Nova charged straight into the throngs of demons, hacking them apart with uncanny skill. EB remained on his shoulder, using one paw to produce eggs that hit enemies Nova didn’t split apart.
“It’s getting away!” EB cheered as they watched the plane fly higher.
Just as Nova cut down one last demon, the massive Jinn turned and spit a fireball in the air. It hit the 747 in the middle and broke in half. The ensuing fireball sent metal, debris, and bodies raining down over the countryside.
EB whispered, “He didn’t have to do that. They were innocent.”
“That’s why he did it.”
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