Chapter 5

"You remember when I was telling you that we were going to make a difference a second ago?" Nekane asked Dolores as they started to take a couple of steps back. Dolores just simply nodded her head as she could not find a way to speak through the emotional tension she was starting to feel. "Well… I think we just hit a huge roadblock." Nekane nervously said as he continued to shake in his shoes. They had just barely managed to survive Thane and they were standing around the room from one of his most trusted members. There was the chance that Eduard wasn't going to work along with them. Why would he though? He didn't even know who they were. To add to the issue some of the DPHC members hide their power in order to have an advantage during battles. Nekane out of pure survival instances took a step back to look around at his surroundings. Regret started to fill the face of Nekane as he realized that he had just used up most of the electricity in this building. As well as the building looking like it was about to start falling apart it seems like Nekane was on a timer would it come to effectiveness. Still Neaken kept looking for a way to survive this battle out of hope.

Soon Nekane started planning out the layout of the battle. Nekane started laughing to himself because even though he had gained superpowers it didn't make him stranger in the way that he hoped. He may have been able to use the flow of electricity to his advantage but when that ran out he didn't have anything else going for him. Most people would think that having powers would naturally make you stranger but the real case is that unless your power affects your body your physical strength wouldn't ever increase. Nekane also took into account that Dolores had the same issue; the only difference is that her power was something her body caused while Nekane had to find a source. Eduard on the other hand seemed to have a power that affected his body as he would just have to worry about endurance. He just had to hope that Eduard would end up working with them. "I leave the HQ under your watch for one second and somehow I come back to this. Here I thought I could go out to get something to eat. Let's deal with these trouble markers so we can go recover the one who escaped" Christian said as he started to become annoyed with this situation. Charlotte and Daif took a step back as they feared that they would take the blame for the whole situation. "Not only did we lose thousands of soldiers that seemed like prime candidates to become super powered humans but all the powers we were planning on transferring have managed to get out… How am I supposed to explain that to Thane" Christian said as he started to look around at the damage that was caused. Christain felt like a pretty different person from Thane but there was a sort of ora that would come off him making him feel like a monster of a horror film. Only made worse by the fact that it seemed like everyone was fearful of disappointing him.

Thane always came off as a person that would just head first into battles always believing himself to be stronger then his opponent while Christian seemed a lot smarter of a fighter. More like wanted to be attacked first before he attacked. Nekane took this into account as he started to realize that he needed to avoid being provoked. Christain still had his top officers beside him so a direct attack would result in him getting knocked out of the fight if not killed. Nekane took another breath as he started to look around at his environment. The building had a lot of open space and little hazard to restrict movements. Though this would result in him not being able to hide in his surroundings Though the room being extremely open could prove it easier for Nekane and Dolores to fight together. The room looked like it was the only room in the first building which also felt like a poor design choice. It seemed like only other rooms in the building would have to be on another floor. There were also the beds that remained. They seemed like a good way to help extend his electrical attacks but that would also prove to be difficult to pull off.

As Nekane continued to look around the area he noticed another factor that could come into play. It seemed like an effort to make quicker repairs when needed; the DPHC had built the water system on the outer side of the building. Meaning that Nekane could help Dolores have a huge supply of resources to battle. There was just the problem of Dolores not being able to affect solids so getting to the water was hard for her unless they could somehow manage to bust them open. When Nekane scouted over the lower floor he decided to look up at the other floor for more options. He soon realized that there were still some electric currents that he could use as he didn't have enough range to reach all the power in the building. He just needed some way of being able to hold the electricity without it causing too much of a burden during a fight. Remembering that Cooper was a good conductor Nekane realized that he could use some of the currency in his pocket to be able to control any electricity that may be left in the building. Also like an apm to help him increase his abilities. There was just a small issue of him having around 15 pennies which would mean if he lost one his power would start to decrease. He was going to have to be careful with how he uses his pennies. Still, it would be the only way that Nekane could try and bust open the water pipes for Dolores. The only thing that he could try and use in Dolores' favor at the moment were a couple of sinks but that wasn't going to be of much help.

There was also the presence of 4 red barrels that read flammable. Maybe that would be able to help out but at the same time he didn't know how the electricity would react to fire. Seemed like he was going to have to save that for whenever Christain started to get the upper hand on him. There were also some vehicles still running in the background. Thankfully they seemed like a great way to escape knowing that the odds of winning were low. Still that was also the fact that Eduard would end up helping them. Seemed like they had a common enemy so the chances of him attacking them would be extremely low. At the same time he seemed pretty strong so getting his help would be able to give him a chance… still he seemed pretty wounded as if he had been in a battle with them for a while now. Nekane started to think to himself more about what could be used to his advantage. Maybe his phone could help but the electricity in there was very little so chances of it making a difference was out the window. Still the option was there and he would rather buy a new phone than get captured.

There was also the fact that the walls around them were falling apart. They seemed to be usable as a way to distract them but Nekane couldn't think of a way that it could be used with the powers they had. There were computers all around them but there was the problem of them having no more electricity because of the attack from earlier. Would be funny though if somehow a pencil from one of the desks ended up saving him. Towards one of the ends of the building Nekane could see weird devices unlike any he had seen before. Was that what they were using to transfer the powers on to other people? Actually… were they even transferring powers to begin with or were they taking them away? After Nekane had heard that Christian had said he was starting to worry about what the building was truly being used for. Nekane started to laugh at himself as doubt started to cloud his mind. Still time was up and the stalemate between the two sides already seemed to be coming to an end. "What are you doing to these people?!" Dolores asked in an attempt to get answers. Dolores could not understand why anyone would be willing to agree to doing such things to people that have done nothing wrong.

"Doing? Oh sweety I am pretty sure you can already tell what is going on here.'' Charlotte told Dolores with a smile. "I can see that but why? Why are you harming innocent people?" Dolores continued as sadness started to fill her eyes. Christain took another step forward but unlike for… this time it was so he could speak more loudly. "Haha! Innocent you say? We are not monsters you know. Do you think that DPHC would end up killing these people for the sake of doing so?" Christain told Dolores as he took another step forward. "Trying to provoke an attack again?" Nekane thought to himself as he took another step back. Even though stepping back was showing fear on Nekane's end, Nekane just simply knew that getting any closer to him would just end up being bad news for him. "Then what are you doing here? Why experiment on these people?" Nekane asked with a strong tone. He was hoping that would help show him having some backbone but all that stepping back may have killed off any chance of him making Christain believe him confident. Actually that is all Christian has been doing. Showing off his confidence in this situation. To Nekane it felt like Christain already knew what his powers were so Nekane started to second guess himself. Maybe his power has to do with getting close…

"We aren't doing anything wrong he…" Christain tried to speak but was cut off by Dolores. "You are disgusting people." Dolores said as her temper seemed to be getting out of control. "They don't feel it. Well anyway we were not hurting innocent people. Who do you guys think these people were?" Christain continued to speak as he finally managed to get on the same level as Nekane and Dolores. His two followers are right behind him. "Super powered humans! What else would they be, you idiot!" Dolores yelled just as Nekane was getting ready to speak. Nekane could see the expression on Dolores' face getting tenser than it has ever been before. Which wasn't saying since they just met. Still something was telling Nekane that he was going to have to defuse the situation before it got even worse. Then something else managed to come to the mind of Nekane. "What if he managed to see us on the news that day? Maybe he already knows our powers and was taking measures to make sure he could close in on us." Nekane thought to himself. Still it was almost time for himself to start getting his pennies ready because they were running out of room. "Look at this, ladies and gentlemen, we have a genius in the house. No you idiot. I was not talking about that. Of course they were super powered. They would be of use to me if they were not. No no no… these people are horrible people." Christain replied to Dolores.

Soon Christain's face turned into one of someone who believed himself righteous. "These people are the ones who decided to use their powers to harm others. They deserve no mercy because when those who are powerless asked to be spared they were just killed like lambs to be slaughtered!" Chirstain yelled to the top of his lungs. It was almost as if he was trying to show off but there were only two people able to watch. "Yeah you tell them!" Charlotte started chanting as she got excited listening to Christain's speech. Dolores just started to become frustrated with the answer she was given. They could have been good people and Christain was lying but what would happen is he is not. Did she really just end up letting hundreds of dangerous people with bad intentions escape? Is she in the wrong in this situation? "You seem conflicted." Christain said as he started to smile. Nekane became worried that if he said one more thing that would make Dolores angry she would end up attacking and with her limited power she was not going to be able to do much harm. Depending on what power Christian made there could always be the chance that she could end up being one shot. It doesn't really matter how strong you are if you don't see the attack coming you are a goner. As Nekane started to look in Dolores' direction hoping that she would not do something dumb the final stalemate took place. No one is willing to move and Nekane has limited options.

"Smallings!" Nekane heard a voice yell. Everyone watched as Eduard jumped up from where he was. He started running at the group at lightning speeds as Nekane realized that he had not moved a bit. Eduard was lying down on the ground the whole time and everyone had completely forgotten about him. He waited for Christian to get in closer to him to attack. Nekane was surprised because he did not expect the wildcard of the situation to think of this situation. As Nekane saw Eduard lunge at the group, he soon realized that he was going for the head man. It felt like not even a second had gone by and Eduard had managed to surprise the leading star of this show. The only issue was… "Oh you thought that I had forgotten about you?" Christain said as he stood there completely transformed. "I think you already know who I am by now but those two down there may not. I am the man that took down a record breaking 179 super powered humans in one year by myself. I am the one that everyone fears and wants to be in this business. I am the one that helped Thane build his empire and watched everyone fall before our knees to ask for safety. I am the person that single handedly turned New Burn into a city that super powered people can not stand. I am the one they call Inhuman Beast.'' Christain told Nekane and Dolores as he stood there. Christain Smalling had indeed transformed into an Inhuman Beast.

Nekane's heart started to beat as he knew that they were in big trouble. They were supposed to come in and take the information and leave. Instead they ended up face to face with the second to last boss in their journey. There was no way of winning for them. Nekane could feel the presence of Christain's power running through his body as adrenaline started to make his heart pump 3 times faster than it should. His power was so strong that it had somehow managed to push both him and Dolores back with just his transformation. Right at the center of that power though was Eduard. Eduard's eyes soon widened as he saw his blade was caught like nothing had ever happened. "You know. Even if I didn't notice you it was kind of dumb of you to yell before attacking. You gave me a head start. Then again you are more brawns then you are brains." Christain said with a laugh that could make any man shake in his boots. His form was fitting for the fear he inflicted. His size grew to become 6.5 to show strength and power while his shin turned a sort of evil red. Fitting for someone that wants people to knee and follow. He grew fur and claws while having a sort of fiery look to him. Even his breath had a coath of fire. As he walked everything seemed to get burned and everything he touched was set ablaze. Even the rock he stood on.

"So your power is to turn any part of your body into blades? I think I have seen a similar case before. It is pretty interesting but not world changing. You should probably stay in your lane." Christain said as he tossed Eduard into the wall beside him. "You two should be ready. I am invincible in this state!" Christain yelled and he prepared to attack. "Get ready!" Dolores yelled as they soon prepared. Before they could fight though Eduard stood up from all the rocks. "You think that small throw would be enough to knock me out?" He said as he started to run towards Christian again. "I am going to be the one to one to save this world!" He yelled and he tackled Christian straight through a wall. Eduard had somehow managed to make his blade sharp enough to cut through the stone, knocking down Christian. Nekane and Dolores looked at him wondering if he had managed to harm Christian. Though their hopes fell down the drain as Charlotte and Daif started to laugh. As the smoke soon cleared and they saw Eduard standing there with third degree burns on his arms and shoulder. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take me down, child." Christain told Eduard, laughing as he stood up as if nothing happened. As soon as he said that though, Nekane noticed everyone was distracted. It was the perfect time. Nekane instantly picked up a rock and threw it at as many sinks as he could. "Dolores, make a path to get me up to a higher level!" Nekane yelled as if it was now or never.

Dolores quickly turned and started to freeze the water around them creating a sort of staircase which led to the second floor. Nekane instantly started to run up the stairs to try and grab a source of power to get back into the fight. "Oh no you don't!" Daif yelled as he grabbed a piece of rock and Threw it at Dolores. Dolores started to use water from some of the sinks around them to create an ice wall to block the rock but there was only so much she could do with her limited resources. It proved to be life saving as the rock blew up the moment it touched the ice wall throwing Dolores back. "You can turn anything you touch into an explosive." Dolores said as she stood back up. Even though she had managed to create a wall to block most of the impact it still managed to pack a punch. "Correct. Though knowing that is not going to end up saving you." Daif said as if he had a dominance complex. Something did not seem to add up to Dolores though. If he had that ability then why did he just blow up the building they were standing in while they were inside. Still there was no more time to think. Her supply of sinks were decreasing by the second. She was going to have to use it wisely for the moment. As Nekane managed to reach the second floor of the building he managed to reach the area where he saw the electric currents. "Just as I thought… Barely anything. Damn it!" Nekane said as he started to use the pennies he had in his pocket as a conductor. 15 coins for conducting electricity and more limited chances for attacks but it was better than nothing. Nekane, using his powers, started to use the coins as an extension to his powers and kept the electricity under his control.

There was just one major problem that he didn't think of. Dolores was too busy battling Diaf and he was on the second floor with no way to get down. The only way left to get down was a set of stairs that he noticed earlier. The only issue was that Charlotte was walking up it and seemed to become a roadblock between him and his chance of destroying those pimps that held so much water. "If only Dolores was able to freeze solid then maybe she would have been able to do this without.'' Nekane told himself in a frustrated tone. Still Nekane knew better than anyone that he was going to need to be ready for a fight. As he looked down to watch Dolores blocking and dodging as many attacks as she could and Eduard barely managing to touch Christian all he could think to himself was "Why did it have to turn out like this.'' As Charlotte managed to walk half up the stairs she started to smile at the idea of Christian winning yet another battle. "I am going to take you down in the name of the great… of so great Christain Smalling.'' She told Nekane. "Are you? Well bring it!" Nekane yelled.