19 Chapter 19: Growing Up
*P.S. I don't give a damn if y'all disappointed lmao. Read something else! I know what I'm doing and don't need to explain shit to you. One punch isn't the answer to everything.
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"A bug is a bug." Taz said. Without wasting time, he appeared in front of the villain. Gridlock couldn't even react as a hand dug into his torso. His feet left the ground as the young viltrumite took to the clouds.
"You can't kill me. The earth-"
"The earth is your bandaid? Let's rip it off." Taz interrupted.
Now that he was away from Kate's eyes, he reared his arm back. He would finish things quickly. This superpowered villain was weak, but his regeneration came from the earth. The stoic hero couldn't just blow the planet away.
"I keep coming across you regenerating ants. Here's a lesson on trying me."
"What? Wait!"
Once his words were finished, Taz threw him with extreme force. The rock villain sped like a rocket into the outer atmosphere.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!" He screamed.
His rock body melted over time as his orbit around the planet continued. It would only take a minute or two for him to become dust. Taz scanned the area once more. He didn't want to leave his lover in a vulnerable position. Luckily, the villains didn't know where she was hidden.
Another laser beam shot across the city. It was futile. The elite soldier raised his palm and caught it effortlessly. Only a bit of smoke wafted from his hand.
"Enough is enough." He muttered.
This would be the last time he would allow anyone to target Kate. If she wasn't still recovering, she could've held her own. The two both knew that being dead weight was a horrible feeling as a hero. The nonchalant heroine would definitely work harder after this event.
It was time to deal with the far away villain. Taking a step off the air, he burst into motion. His cape fluttered in the wind.
BOOM
The air crackled as he passed the sound barrier. The villain immediately noticed Absolver's approach. His eyes smoked with heat before releasing an even bigger ray. The young viltrumite easily dodged the beam and sped up. The laser slashed across the city, severing the limbs of innocent civilians. Some were stuck under debris.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!"
"What the hell?!"
"It's Absolver!!! Save us!"
"Mommy! It hurts!"
"I'm stuck! I can't feel my lower half!"
A huge chunk of the city was instantly in danger. The laser had destroyed the infrastructure, causing buildings to collapse. The casualties would be astronomical. As Taz neared the villain, he felt an emotion he had never felt before.
'This…is my fault.' He thought.
He knew they were weaklings. He knew humans died easily. This was just another moment of that. The problem was that he caused it. The shark villain's death. He could've killed him faster instead of taking his time. The Order saw him somehow. That was when he got on their radar. If he was extremely unlucky, they might have footage of him.
The stoic hero realized that he needed to do better in public. His actions needed to be thought out and meditated on. Even if it was only for the notion of having a slight amount of control over the people around him. How could he enjoy his life if enemies always came from nowhere to kill the people close to him? He knew Kate heard Gridlock's words. That would be something he'd have to deal with later.
In only a split second, the young viltrumite had matured a bit more. It was at this moment, he appeared in front of the villain. His face was cold. The anger inside him was boiling over, but he knew that he had to fight without it. Anger made one blind.
"Hero scum! No one man should have all that power." The villain said. His eyes were steaming.
In an attempt to escape, he jumped off the tower. The red eyed man began his freefall. Unfortunately for him that was a useless endeavor. His descent ended abruptly. Looking up, he could see Absolver holding the back of his collar.
"Are you going to rant? Why does every villain think I want to hear their monologues?" He mocked.
In an instant, they sped out of the city. The sharpshooter started suffocating from the speed they traveled. Right before he lost consciousness, they stopped moving. His eyes opened to trees, plants and dirt. They were in a forest.
"Where are we?! What did you do?!" He exclaimed. Taz cracked his neck.
"We're not in America anymore. And it's not what I did. It's what I'm about to do." He spoke while reaching toward the villain.
"Stay away! You can't do this! I'm Red Eye, a valuable asset! Even the government needs me!" He roared. His eyes shined with energy. Absolver raised an eyebrow.
"Not anymore. You were the closest to killing Dupli-Kate, so you get special treatment."
Taz placed both hands on the man's head. Red Eye shot a laser at the viltrumite's face. It changed directions in an attempt to find a weak point. It was useless. Taz's thumbs slowly dug into the sharpshooter's eyes.
"AAAHHHHH!!!!" He cried in pain.
His body curled into the fetal position as he trembled unconsciously. The pain was too much. Taz gently grabbed his wrist.
"Don't curl up. I've barely started…" He soothed darkly. After grabbing a finger, he pulled. It tore right out of the socket. Blood spurt out.
"AAAHHHHAHHH!" His guttural scream almost sounded like a laugh. The viltrumite smirked.
"Count down from 100. Can you do that for me?" He asked. His hand gripped another finger.
"Oh god! Oh god!" The villain squealed. He realized that there were worse things than death.
Absolver raised his face to the sky and closed his eyes. He truly did enjoy when his enemies understood how fucked they were. Unknown to him, this trait had carried over from Anissa. Her influence was still strong inside him.
The man's screams resounded through the forest as each of his fingers were torn off. It was a slow and painful process. Once all of the fingers were gone, Taz looked at the figure below him. His body was convulsing, his nervous system overloading from the pain.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't over. Absolver forced him to stay still and held his arm.
"Focus on my voice. Can you hear me?" He spoke calmly. The man didn't respond. He was too focused on the pain.
"Count. Down." He ordered. Red Eye opened his lips, tears mixing in with his bloody eye sockets.
"One…hundred. Ninety nine! Guhk…Ninety eight!" He began.
An eerie smile appeared on the viltrumite's face. He leaned in closely to watch the man's expression. Utilizing his strength, the hero slowly pulled on the arm. The bones on the arm started to snap. The skin began to tear.
RIIIP
The arm was torn from its socket. Even more blood splattered onto the dirt.
"AAAHHHHHHKK…eighty five…"
Now that his arm was gone, blood poured out in waves. Taz didn't have long before the villain died from blood loss. His eyes shined red. The wound was seared shut. This way he would be able to continue.
"Seventy six….seventy- AHHHHHHH!" He sobbed.
…
…
…
Time passed as the hero became more of a villain than the actual villain. Eventually, he grew bored. Therefore he decided to end it after one more act.
"Alright, Red Eye. Your time has come. Be grateful, I could've gone on much longer." Taz declared. The villain didn't respond but his body did.
The viltrumite straightened his hand. Slowly digging under the man's jaw, he grabbed onto the bone. Then he pulled.
POP SKFFFFT
With a disgusting sound, the man's head was ripped off his neck. His spine followed as well since it was still connected. Absolver then dropped the head to the floor before evaporating everything with his heat vision. The gore on his hands disappeared. He didn't bother to clean the blood on his suit. There could possibly be more on the way.
Taz launched into the sky. Stepping off the air, he accelerated. Sonic booms accompanied his flight. It only took a moment for him to return. Kate was still peeking through the crack. She hadn't noticed his arrival yet.
The hero opened the door of the train car. Due to the sudden action, the chinese beauty jumped in fear. The first thing she saw was blood. It was all over his suit. Splatters here and there with a bit on his stomach.
"Heeeeeeeee!" She squealed in terror. Her back hit the wall. Her hands covered her face. Taz frowned.
After floating into the train car, he kneeled in front of her. The stoic man patiently waited for her to calm down.
"Kate. It's me…It's okay."
The beauty lowered her arms to see her lover kneeling in front of her. Their faces were close. Kate frowned seeing his appearance.
"Taz…you're covered in blood!" She exclaimed.
"It's not mine." He said.
"You…you killed them?"
"......"
"Oh my god you killed them!" She continued.
"Kate."
"You…you're a murderer!"
"Kate!" Taz raised his voice slightly. Kate stopped while staring at the blood.
"Look at me." He said. The chinese beauty locked eyes with him. The young viltrumite placed his forehead on hers.
"Relax…Breathe." He said.
"You-"
"Kate…"
Kate took a deep breath. A moment of silence followed as she came to terms with him. Taz wouldn't allow this to spiral out of control. He wasn't like Nolan. His lover finally broke the silence.
"You've been killing villains…" She muttered.
"Only some of them. The ones that can't be reasoned with." He lied.
In a way he was telling the truth about killing only some of them. The dragon, the nazi, Battle Beast, and Machine Head, were all villains who survived the encounter.
"That doesn't make it better." She responded calmly. The elite soldier shook his head.
"I'm not trying to give an excuse. I'm telling you straight." He said. Kate placed a hand on his cheek but immediately pulled it back.
"This is bad…I don't think I can do this." She spoke quietly.
"You can. And you will. I'm not the same type of hero as you. Cecil knows this. I'm more like a mercenary. He gives me a target and I eliminate it." He explained.
"So the leader of the sharks?" She questioned.
"Exactly. He was a target." He lied.
"Still, what if you turn on the people? You've killed so it wouldn't be hard to kill again! Are you going to kill me if I do something wrong?" She interrogated. Taz sighed.
"I would never hurt you. You know that." He didn't speak about the people.
"I can't do this! I can't-" Kate stopped upon seeing the look in his eyes. It demanded obedience.
"You can. I won't ever let you go. You are mine. Do you understand?" He stated. His tone was stern.
"Am I just a possession to you? Is that it?" She asked.
"No…you're much more than that."
"That's not what it sounds like."
Taz kissed the corner of her lips. Kate did nothing and only watched. The viltrumite narrowed his gaze.
"It doesn't matter what it sounds like. You're not going anywhere." He responded calmly.
Kate bit her lip in frustration. Her eyes watered up as she realized her true situation. Even then, she loved him. The stoic hero stepped out of the train car before turning back around.
"Taz-" Her voice cracked.
"Stay here. There's one more villain. I need to make sure she's down."
"Don't kill her, Taz! Don't-"
The sliding door shut. Absolver flew away leaving a sonic boom in his wake.
