Our unending resolve

There was a time when Kadyn saw Mike as the hero who emerged from the ashes, fist in the air, coat in the wind and resolve shining like a diamond. Now she stepped out of the ashes of defeat with the same resolve as Mike. One does not need superpowers to take on the sky. When the heart is in the wrong place, even a God can be as feeble as a human. 

[Kadyn] - "KD-554! You wanted to see me? I'm here, come at me, bitch! "

Yelled Kadyn as an increasing amount of drones and soldiers began to surround her. 

Despite how guns were pointed in her direction, Kadyn remained unflinching without an ounce of fear on her face. When KD-554 failed to respond, Kadyn calmly began to cut away her long hair. The soldiers didn't know what to do as they simply watched Kadyn trim her hair until they were neck length like the way they were before. Finally, KD-554 arrived inside a black van with a surprised expression on her face. 

[KD-554] - "You have some gut showing yourself like this again. It seems like you forgot how badly I destroyed you last time. "

Said KD-554 with a smug smirk on her face.

[Kadyn] - "At least I wasn't the bitch who crawled to safety in the sewers. "

Responded Kadyn with an equally smug smirk on her end. 

With a hand sign, KD-554 ordered all her men and drones to retreat. Soon, the only ones remaining were KD-554 and Kadyn. 

[KD-554] - "Our battleground will be that massive factory on your left. And to ensure you don't run away or that your friends don't intervene, let's bring in a third party. "

Astroboy abruptly appeared beside Kadyn and KD-554 with a ground-shattering landing. When Astroboy looked down at Kadyn expecting her to be frightened by his presence, she simply gave him a death stare out of disrespect. 

[Astroboy] - "Don't act tough, little girl. A single breath is all it takes for me to end you. "

Said Astroboy with a smirk. 

[Kadyn] - "There are things far worse than death, don't be so eager to experience them. "

Said Kadyn before walking away with KD-554. 

As they walked toward the middle of the factory where the massive warehouses were located, Kadyn's eyes began to show several alerts concerning KD-554's body.

[Kadyn] - "I see you have added additional gadgets to your body. Scared that I would best you again? "

[KD-554] - "Why value honour when the victor is one to write history? "

[Kadyn] - "Good, double the gadget, double the embarrassment. "

KD-554 remained silent while beginning to walk faster in frustration. 

Kadyn, meanwhile, smiled knowing Mike would've been proud of her rebuttals. Soon, Kadyn arrived in front of KD-554 in the middle of a massive warehouse. When Kadyn extended her wrist blades, KD-554 responded by extending a pair of mantis swords out of her arms while a set of extended wrist blades extended above her hands. 

Time began to slow around both of them as they entered acceleration. KD-554 jumped in and locked her blades with Kadyn before swiping her mantis blades forward. Kadyn reacted by immediately dodging downward and pulling herself out of the lock. After a few swipes with her four blades, KD-554 realized how agile is Kadyn as she managed to dodge them without any problem. 

[Kadyn] - "What's wrong General Grievous? Can't coordinate your arms properly? "

The comment only served to anger KD-554 who charged Kadyn and grabbed her left hand between one of her mantis blades. Just as Kadyn was reacting to the attack, a small port opened on KD-554's abdomen and a bullet abruptly punched right through Kadyn's right thigh. With a swift strike, Kadyn managed to cut off one of KD-554's mantis blades and free herself. By this time, both of them reached the maximum duration of their accelerator and time gradually resumed for them. 

As KD-554 advanced, Kadyn quickly ripped a piece of her shirt and used it as a bandage around her wounds. As KD-554 charged toward her, Kadyn immediately grabbed one of the abandoned tires and rolled it toward KD-554. With a swift motion, KD-554 backflipped over the wheel and landed in front of Kadyn but Kadyn immediately stabbed forward toward KD-554. As expected, KD-554 recoiled to avoid the blade but it was exactly what Kadyn planned to happen. 

Using the forward momentum, Kadyn allowed the tip of her blade to return to a fluid state which sent a droplet of mercury alloy right into KD-554's left eye. In a scream of annoyance, KD-554 backed off with a massive blind spot in her eye. 

[KD-554] - "Clever girl, but you forgot I'm not like you. "

Without hesitation, KD-554 dug her blade into her eye and ripped out the droplet of metal with surgical precision. 

[KD-554] - "I can't feel pain, I can't be injured but you, on the other hand, are inferior to me! "

Said KD-554 with a sadistic expression on her face. 

All of a sudden, time slowed to an almost halt once more. This time, while KD-554 possessed all of her mobility, Kadyn lost most of her movement due to her injured leg. With a bloodthirsty look in her eyes, KD-554 launched a series of relentless and brutal attacks against Kadyn. 

[KD-554] - "How does it feel? How does it feel to be made of flesh? How does it feel to fear death? How does it feel to have nothing in the world other than your misery? "

Yelled KD-554 as she slashed her blades at Kadyn with increasing force. 

[KD-554] - "Tell me, sister, TELL ME! "

Screamed KD-554 before pinning Kadyn's neck against the wall with her hand. 

As she kept choking Kadyn with all her hatred focused in her palm, KD-554 suddenly noticed a drop of liquid escaping her own mouth. Suddenly, an uncontrollable tremor caused her palm to lose its grip and release Kadyn. KD-554 rubbed her neck before noticing an unnoticeable wound which damaged her spine. Kadyn smirked as KD-554 backed off covering her neck but as KD-554 raised her head, Kadyn also noticed a smirk on her face. 

Upon looking down, Kadyn noticed a grenade stuck to her chest. Without thinking twice, Kadyn immediately slashed off a chuck of her clothes alongside the sticky grenade and threw the package away from her. However, it was already too late as the grenade exploded in mid-air and filled Kadyn's body with holes and shrapnel. The explosion also demolished a portion of a wall which hid the assembly section of the factory. 

As KD-554 walked forward unharmed by the blast, she pulled out a bottle of sealant gel and splashed a thick coating around her neck wound. When she reached the wall, Kadyn was nowhere to be seen. As KD-554 walked into the assembly section, Kadyn observed from her concealed position. 

Meanwhile, McCree and Senju rushed through the streets looking for Kadyn. Although they were starved, the adrenaline kept them both going. As they called out for Kadyn, they came suddenly face to face with Astroboy who abruptly appeared around an intersection. 

[Astroboy] - "The party is already full. No more entry. "

Said Astroboy with his arms crossed. 

[McCree] - "We'll take him together, Senju, wait! "

Before McCree could finish, Senju dashed forward and slashed at Astroboy with his sword. However, not only did the sword do no damage but instead, Senju saw a massive crack form on his crystals. Before Senju could react, Astroboy reached his finger toward him.

[McCree] - "Watch out! "

Yelled McCree as he fired a shot at the ground. 

The pressure wave created a backward motion which caused Senju to trip and Astroboy's attack to miss. Where Astroboy pointed, a massive gust of wind abruptly destroyed several streets worth of buildings. Now finally realizing what happened, Senju activated his acceleration and jumped back up. With careful aim, Senju used a thousand cuts on Astroboy while McCree jumped in to fire several shots at him. 

When time resumed, Astroboy simply smirked as Senju's crystals shattered into a hundred pieces. On the other hand, every time McCree's bullets collided with Astroboy, they were immediately reduced to a jet of molten metal which flew away from Astroboy. 

[Astroboy] - "You both done? Or do I need to show you the exit? "

Said Astroboy with a mocking smirk on his face. 

[McCree] - "Never! "

McCree entered acceleration followed by Senju and together, they charged toward Astroboy with their weapons raised. Just as things couldn't get worse, Astroboy suddenly began to move with the same speed as them. 

[Senju] - "What? "

With a slight tap against Senju's sword, Astroboy shattered the weapon into a rain of hypersonic shrapnel which filled Senju's body with holes. Following this, Astroboy tried to attack McCree but he skillfully dodged his attacks while firing at him. 

[McCree] - "Aaaaaaargh! Fuck you! "

Yelled McCree as he desperately hoped for one of his bullets to do some damage. 

Senju, now completely immobilized and out of combat, watched as his friend hopelessly fought an invincible beast. 

"I wished I was stronger... If my body could do better... "

Thought Senju as he fought the looming darkness that began to fill his vision. 

Three, four, five, six seconds... McCree has already reached three times the limit of his acceleration. A searing pain shot through McCree's body as he abruptly collapsed onto the concrete ground. All he could feel was pain all across his body while his limbs refused to respond to his brain. 

[Astroboy] - "How unfortunate. It's a pity, really, to think you could challenge me at all. "

Said Astroboy as he kneeled over McCree's unmoving body. 

With a cruel expression on his face, Astroboy pressed his finger to McCree's head and began to slowly crash his skull. Meanwhile, Senju watched with increasing desperation, desperation to save his friends, desperation to see the people he loved back home, and desperation to win against evil. Using everything he got, he pushed himself off the ground and lumbered toward Astroboy. Astroboy suddenly felt a weak punch against his back before slapping Senju in the face with his palm. 

[Astroboy] - "Would you look at that? "

Said Astroboy in an amused tone as he turned his attention toward Senju. 

Senju pulled himself off the ground and formed a fist using his only functioning arm. 

[Senju] - "I can do this all day. "

[Astroboy] - "Where is your shield then, captain? "

Said Astroboy before sending Senju to the ground with a single punch. 

Just as Astroboy began to laugh at Senju's miserable state, he began to push himself back up once more. 

[Astroboy] - "Oh, what a fucking annoyance! "

With a single kick, Astroboy severed Senju's legs from his body.

[Senju] - "Ugh! Kadyn sensei didn't give up, McCree didn't give up, so I shouldn't either. "

Whispered Senju as he began to push himself up using his arm. 

With an apathetic look in his eyes, Astroboy put his foot against Senju's back and forced him to the ground. The harder Senju struggled, the harder Astroboy pushed until Senju finally went limp, having exhausted all of his energy. 

[Astroboy] - "I hate useless struggle. In fact, I find people like you pathetic. When life tells you that you are an ant, act like an ant. The harder you struggle, the more embarrassing you appear. "

In his last moments of consciousness, Senju took a look at his paralyzed friend and gave him a thumbs-up before blacking out. McCree could hear what was happening but even his facial muscles refused to bulge. With one last look at the sky, McCree also closed his eyes. 

Meanwhile, Admiral 76 arrived inside the conference room where Jagger waited for him. Upon entering the room, the long table suddenly split in two in an unnatural manner which created a path for him toward Jagger. Upon arriving in front of Jagger, Admiral 76 fell to his knees and pressed his head against Jagger's shoetips. 

[Admiral 76] - "Greeting, my lord, I wish to report to you that we have found the location of the two rogue agents. We presume the prey you were looking for is also in that vicinity. "

[Jagger] - "Then what took you so long to report this to me? "

Said Jagger in a hateful tone as he lifted the admiral by the neck. 

[Admiral 76] - "We wanted to make sure it was them! We also sent a task force there to support you in your quest... "

Jagger slammed the admiral against one-half of the table.

[Jagger] - "Stop talking in piecemeal sentences and tell me where they are! "

Whispered Jagger in a menacing tone. 

[Admiral 76] - "T... Trump city... "

Whispered the admiral as he struggled to breathe. 

In a violent motion, Jagger sent the admiral crashing through all the utensils and glasses on the table until he fell off on the other side. With a satisfied smile, Jagger approached the massive window that stood adjacent to the table. In an instant, the glass shattered into a fine powder before the ice-cold wind began to fill the room. In a flash, Jagger disappeared into the cloud, leaving only three sonic booms nearby. 

To be continued...