The impact

By the time he could realize what happened, he was barely conscious but with his spirit unharmed, still willing to fight back with all he had left. The girl was slowly approaching Lime while dragging the other guy by the collar. She was truly a monster, capable of mass destruction. When she got close enough she stopped dragging him around but proceeded to immobilize him with a thick layer of ice clusters, then looked down upon Lime and chuckled with a vile tone:

-I told you before, you don't stand a chance against me. It was a foolish decision to try and overpower someone far beyond your level.

- And what if I actually can beat your sorry ass; smirked Lime as he spat out some blood and tried to get back on his feet but failed.

-There's no way a loser like you can defeat me in a fight. You can barely stand up; she laughed one more time while leaning towards him then poking his forehead playfully.

- That still doesn't explain why I wouldn't be able to overpower you; he contradicted her a second time, curiously staring into her mesmerizing eyes.

- You're really getting on my nerves, lover boy. I can and I will crush that useless skull of yours this very moment if you'll keep on blabbing; she threatened while grabbing his face with her cold, blueish hand.

- Crush me, please. I beg you; he suggested with a smile on his face.

-Shut up! Let's see if you'll still smile after I'm done with you; she replied with a pissed look on her face. She then slowly started to sink her nails into his cheekbones, thinking that the gesture would make him stop acting like a fool.

- This is bad... I like this; he whispered with a satisfied expression after blood started flowing across his face.

- You disgust me; she frowned while pulling her hand back then shaking off the blood.

-Hey, I'm not the one who initiated this; argued Lime trying to find an excuse.

-What? You're the one who asked to be crushed; she yelled in disbelief, taken aback by his attitude.

- Well you called me "lover boy". Who the hell calls their enemy "lover boy"? I was trying to avoid an awkward moment; reasoned Lime while averting her enraged gaze.

They kept on contradicting each other until a third party (the red haired guy) intervened:

- Guys, guys. Can you stop yelling for a second.

- What!?! We're busy here; they both shouted in sync while turning around.

- Aren't you guys a couple? I'm confused; confessed the one trapped.

- Did you get a concussion or something? No, not even if he was the last man alive; she refused as she was tightening her grip around his neck.

-Yea, man. What is wrong with you? She's batshit crazy; he agreed still trying to free himself.

- But you two have such a good chemistry. Plus you're both cult members; he concluded but soon got his mouth covered by a thick layer of ice.

- Respectfully, shut the hell up! I'm trying to end this guy's life here; she snapped. She shifted her attention towards the other guy, which caused her to loosen her grip on Lime.

- On second thought, maybe he's right; he agreed while his eyes started to glow a bright hue of green, he had been waiting for this to happen all along.

She made a big mistake by getting so close and personal with her enemy. While she was distracted by the other guy, Lime took the opportunity to grab her wrists, pin her down, then proceeded to lean closer.

- If you really value your life you I advise you to keep your hands to yourself; she stated, struggling to move around.

-I told you I do have the guts to overpower a psychopath like you. Squirm around all you want. It's useless; he taunted her as he got even closer.

He went in for a kiss in a matter of seconds and no amount of battle experience could have prepared her for such a thing. She tried to resist but Lime seemed to be a lot stronger than before. Something within him changed, it was as if his core was bursting with energy. After he kissed her, he got up and smirked once again while brushing his finger over his lips.

- What have you done to me? My powers, I can't use them anymore; she mumbled in shock then her eyes closed.

- Blueberry flavor, ice cold and kind of sweet as well. Surprisingly, I like it even though it's coming from a blood thirsty bi**h; he stated coldly while turning his back on her.

-Holy moly... That was incredible, man. How did you do that? I need to know; tried to voice out the red haired guy in shock but failed to due to his mouth being still covered by ice, resulting in incoherent moans. He had no other choice but to watch as everything unfolds in front of him.

With his heart shaped lens he was capable of seeing their pigmented cores in their raw form as one consumed the other's energy. The immobilized chromati couldn't believe what he just witnessed. It was the first time he ever saw someone transfer core energy just through physical touch alone. This was beyond any ability ever recorded or dated, it was scientifically impossible. As his opponent seemed to be unconscious, Lime decided to casually having a dance break; maintaining his body active was vital because he was trying to keep everything under control. His dance moves were unusual, rigid and somewhat alien-like but they did the part. After channeling his energy thorough his body evenly, he came back to his senses and realized that he was being watched. He turned around, trying to play it cool, as if his sudden dance break was something that never occurred in the first place.

-I almost forgot about you; he said, trying to act natural.

The wounded man still couldn't believe what he witnessed. As silence made its way in, the two of them looked at each other awkwardly until one of them broke the soundless momentum. The muscular man decided this wasn't the time to lay down like a corpse so he squirmed around restlessly until he could use his remaining strength to break the ice. He bit down on the ice as hard as he could, took a deep breath, then looked up only to find Lime crouched beside him.

- Let me help you out; suggested Lime in an awkward tone.

-What about the cult freak? We need to immobilize her at once; he suggested after spitting out the remaining ice shards, then focusing his attention towards the weakened opponent.

- Don't worry I made sure she's barely able to move around; reassured Lime while melting the ice down using his bare hands.

- Who sent you here? I doubt the fact that you're just a passer-by; he concluded with suspicion in his voice.

- I actually am just a regular chromati. Just look up the data base if you don't believe me; reasoned Lime.

- Cult members are registered as regular chromati most of the time since they try to lay low. That's usually the case until they blow their cover up and end up having their names on the Aberration list. So I don't really buy it; stated the wounded man with distrust.

-You still think I'm one of those lunatics? Even after knowing that I fought that crazy woman over there, only save your frozen ass?! Jeez; voiced Lime in shock.

-How could I know that you actually did that out of pure heroism, not ill reasoning? Your stats are way too unusual; said the guy, still standing his ground.

- I must admit P.H.D. agents really do have a lot of things to deal with nowadays. Your strength of character and intelligence are admirable but I really am just a regular citizen; laughed Lime diverting his attention towards his initial focus point, the ice trap.

-How did you know that I'm part of the P.H.D. unit?

-Well you have the P.H.D. sigil on your vest, it can't be more obvious than it is already. You're also using special gear so there's no denying it, you're working for the government; blabbed Lime as he continued melting the ice down.

- What's your name? I feel like I know you from somewhere; questioned the man while analyzing every inch of Lime's body.

-Lime, Lime Green. What about you, sir? I never thought I'd end up meeting a high unit member when I went out today; confessed the boy while carefully melting the ice around his wounded arm.

- I'm Burgundy Red, there's no need to call me sir. It makes me feel like I'm centuries older than you; he joked while continuing his analysis.

- Got it; confirmed the boy as he almost finished melting the huge ice clusters.

-You still haven't told me whether or not we've met before; persisted the agent while glancing upon the young man that was solely focused on freeing him.

Lime intended to answer him this time but he was once again interrupted by a cold blast of energy that pushed him down immediately. The girl was awake and willing to finish him off at all costs. She entered the focus mode, a state where the core mutates her DNA structure in such a way that her body is capable of withstanding a huge energy flow for a short amount of time. The focus mode is induced either by strong emotions or a special serum. The serum can be crafted and sold on the black market or developed by government facilities; it's hard to get your hands on it and it's advised to be used for emergencies only since it has some nasty side effects. In this case, she was entirely blinded by pure rage and embarrassment. Her resentment towards Lime was undeniably stronger than what one could estimate.

-Get up; she demands with an aggressive tone and an ice cold gaze.

Lime barely opened his eyes but refused to show any sign of cooperation; his body was in a state of shock. He could only perceive some distorted sensations such as a sharp, overwhelming noise, his heartbeats and irregular breathing along with his vision that was as blurry as it can be. Everything felt surreal and confusing for Lime; his consciousness starts to fade, being devoured by unimaginable pain. The torture has only begun, for the girl was still yearning for revenge and bloodshed. The unsatisfied freak completely lost it when she saw that Lime was unresponsive so she grabbed him by the braids and lifted him off the ground, ready to crush him for real this time.

- I said, get up you imbecile! Your pathetic dirty moves can no longer affect me; she added as she glared at him with deep hatred. Lime was still not capable of responding to external factors the way he would in normal conditions and this perplexed her far more than we expected, she was eager to talk more than actually fighting him at the moment.

-You really amuse me. Just look at you, you're weak, vulnerable, just like a wounded fox; I almost pity you. Let's see if this wakes you up; she continued the mockery then threw him aside once more.

In the meantime, Burgundy was quietly freeing himself from the remaining ice clusters in order to save Lime. She attempted to kick Lime once more but the red haired guy had other plans:

-Stop throwing him around like a piece of trash, he's human. It's me you have unfinished business with; intervened Burgundy, saving Lime from the impact.

- You again; she gnarled in frustration.

-Don't expect me to be as gentle as I was before. Things have changed; he replied while sheltering Lime from the icy shards.

- What makes you think anything changed? You're just an old man who can't even stand a cold breeze; she laughed. Her words were soon followed by a cold blast of frost; ice shards were flying towards them at full speed but that still didn't stop Burgundy from protecting the unconscious victim.

-Who are you calling an old man? I'm full of vitality and my body has never looked better; argued Burgundy after placing Lime in a safe spot, away from the fight.

-For your age; she chuckled while sending a big chunk of ice towards them.

-Too slow, you missed; smiled Burgundy after dodging her attack.

-Did I? I just disposed of the trash you told me not to throw earlier; she grinned.

-No! It can't be; he muttered in shock after turning around.

He wasn't the one she was targeting; she was aiming for the spot where Lime was placed. This freak truly wanted to get rid of him in the most gruesome way and did so as soon as she got the chance.

She showed nothing but pure delight after the chunk of ice crushed everything in its way. Her satisfaction grew when she noticed how shaken was Burgundy.

- You should be glad, now that he's dead, I can fully direct my attention towards you; she laughed.

- Too bad this wounded fox is still alive; whispered Lime behind her.

- You! You're supposed to be dead; she yelled in disbelief.

-I missed you too darling. Also you're supposed to act like an empathetic being but I don't see you doing any of that so I guess we're even; replied Lime with a sassy tone, trying to avoid her attacks.

- You're alive! I can't believe it; cheered Burgundy with relief, looking a bit exhausted.

- He is but you won't be for long; snickered the cult freak directing her attack towards him.

- Look out; yelled Lime before speeding up, blocking the attack with a burst of pure energy.

The collision between her attack and Lime's intervention was quite explosive. The shockwave pushed everything away in an instant. When Burgundy regained his consciousness, he opened his eyes and saw a big hole through the ceiling. He tried to get up but felt something heavy, adding pressure to the wounds on his chest; he looked down only to realize that Lime's body was weighing on him. He looked around to secure the area, there was no trace of her, they were safe.

- Wake up, boy. Are you alright? Hey, open your eyes; asked Burgundy slightly concerned about Lime's state.

Lime had his eyes slightly open, his ear ringing was worse than last time and blood started to leak out of his nostrils heavily. It was clear that he never had to use this much power in such a short amount of time and this battle took a huge toll on him.

Barely awake, Lime sees small blurry fragments where Burgundy tries to wake him up and is now surrounded by other men in combat uniforms.

Everything goes blank...