Chapter 52 - Night of the ball [3]

Sara kept her eye on all three foes while Prime watched closely the rough-looking man who began to run toward them on all fours, displaying his sharp fangs. Prime didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to be bitten by fangs that size, especially coming from someone with that appearance.

(Impressed by how suddenly we've both become popular) Prime said in an ironic tone.

Hearing those words, Sara raised an eyebrow as she turned to the man charging toward her.

"We? Pretty sure you're the culprit of that" Sara replied with a wry smile on his face.

(We're one and the same, remember? If they're after me, then they're after you too) Prime retorted.

With a wry smile on her face, Sara lifted her foot. "You know..." Sara briefly interrupted her words as she stomped her foot with all her might on the ground in the direction where the rough man was coming from. "I hate it when you're right about something"

Following, a sticky, slippery red liquid burst from the ground. As soon as the man made contact with the liquid, he began to slide even faster. Instead of losing balance, it seemed like the ground itself was forcing him to do so.

The man's senses quickly surged, and he looked at Sara urgently. A red arm with claws now extended towards the girl, fists clenched as he stared at her. Even if she tried, dodging was nearly impossible given his speed.

Sara, sensing the man's approach, prepared herself, and as he lunged to attack, she delivered a powerful punch to his face. The blow was so strong that the man was thrown backward, rolling to a supporting wall on the school's ceiling.

Hearing a whistle, Sara turned towards the blond-haired man, whose name she still didn't know. Although she knew the name of the other, as it had been mentioned by the blond man, she preferred not to use it. Instead, Sara chose to address him differently.

"Impressive. It may not seem like it, since you stopped him so effortlessly, but his strong suit was his strength" the blond man remarked.

Sara ignored the blond man's words, focusing on her two remaining opponents. She and Prime were aware that the previous attack probably hadn't been enough to completely neutralize the other adversary, but they hoped it would give them a few minutes of advantage.

Sara inquired, shifting her gaze between the man hovering a short distance from her and the blond-haired man. "One down. Who's next?"

By the way, the man should have been by Sara's side a few seconds ago. She sincerely had no idea how he had disappeared so quickly from her proximity.

"Your powers are impressive, but you're still young" the helmeted man said. "I'll make my offer to you just one more time. Join me, and together we'll create a utopia for others like us. A place that will last forever, where we, mutants, the next step in evolution, will reign"

From Sara and Prime's perspective, he seemed like nothing more than a deranged dictator with ideals too dangerous to be tolerated. Moreover, Prime had his own perspective on the term "mutants".

(The term "mutant" seems sincerely self-deprecating. I think "metahumans" fits better in this context) Prime thought, sharing his opinion with Sara.

With a smile on her face, Sara stared at the helmeted man floating a short distance from her. As her body underwent changes, Prime enveloping her completely to initiate the transformation, she spoke.

"Sorry, buddy, but my answer is still the same. Besides..."

Sara's voice was momentarily interrupted as her transformation completed, revealing a significantly larger body, sharp claws, and a piercing gaze, accompanied by a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"You speak exactly like someone I sincerely hate with all my might"

Hearing those words, the man simply raised one of his hands. Shortly after, Sara and Prime felt an invisible force around them. The pipes running through the building began to tremble, as if suddenly they had gained a life of their own.

Suddenly, the pipes started to come loose. One by one, they levitated, covering the entire area. On the other side, Sara also noticed the other man, who, after firing the flames from his flamethrower, began to control it.

"Two against one? An uneven fight, but I wouldn't expect more from two fifth-rate villains"

After these provocative words, they both began their attacks: metal pipes started flying towards Sara, while a whirlwind of flames approached her.

"I can see I'm going to lose this fight"

Saying this, Prime slammed one of his feet into the ground, causing a wall to appear on the side where the flames were approaching. He then turned his gaze to the pipes that were flying towards him. Turning his hand into a huge scythe, he stretched out his arm towards the pipes and began to cut them.

Once the pipes had been completely cut by Prime, he momentarily shifted his gaze to the wall that had prevented the fire from approaching him. He then slammed one of his arms into the ground. Without realizing what was happening, Pyro was suddenly surprised when red whips emerged from the ground, wrapping themselves around his body.

"Another one out of combat. Now it's just you!" exclaimed Prime, fixing his gaze on the man in the helmet.

"It seems I'm being underestimated. You clearly don't know me, but I know you. From the start, it was stupid to take it easy. You'll come to know Magneto's power"

Saying this, the man raised both hands and, with this simple gesture, all the metal in the vicinity began to be manipulated by Magneto. Even if Prime tried, he probably wouldn't be able to cut through it in time, considering the risk to the many people present at the ball at that moment.

"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" commented Sara.

"You were thinking the same thing, so it's not all my fault" replied Prime.

In the middle of the discussion, several pieces of metal were thrown in Sara and Prime's direction. Turning their arms into a shield, both protected themselves against most of the attacks, but as the onslaught continued, they realized that they would need to change tactics to deal with Magneto while defending themselves.

Prime slowly crouched on the ground and, when he was close enough, placed one hand on the ground. Instantly, a small red barrier appeared around Prime. He then placed his other hand on the ground, concentrating intensely.

In response, several arms emerged from outside the barrier and advanced towards Magneto. With a simple movement of his arms, he deflected the attacks, disintegrating the arms one by one. However, there were too many, and in a battle of endurance, Magneto couldn't determine the winner. Uncertainty hung over both sides, as there was not enough data to predict how the battle would end.

"How long do you plan to sleep, Victor?" exclaimed Magneto, his voice echoing with authority.

Although Sara and Prime had heard Magneto's words, they could never have anticipated the events that followed. Suddenly, the ground shattered and Victor, as Magneto called him, emerged roaring. In one swift movement, he grabbed Prime's head and plunged it into the roof of the building, causing them both to collapse.

Sara and Prime were undeterred. Before they could hit the ground, they both grabbed Victor's head and threw him back towards the ceiling.

"Not again!" shouted Victor as he was thrown.

As the smoke dispersed, Prime and Sara landed softly on the ground. However, when the mist cleared completely, all that remained were the curious stares of the various teenagers at the dance. In fact, they had been watching the movement on the ceiling through the school's glass for some time.

"I don't think the day can get any worse" commented Prime.

As he finished this sentence, Prime and Sara were thrown when a metal beam crashed into them, causing them to fall onto a table.

"Seriously, you must be a bad luck magnet or something" Sara commented sarcastically.

As they stood up and looked around, they realized that they were only a short distance from their friends, Gwen, Ned and Betty, who stared at them with surprised and nervous expressions, while Peter just looked at them with a confused look.