Chapter 36 : Fraternal battle

Hi, everybody ! Today is a good day ! CapitaoCav is back ! Will of the Force will resume ! I rea~lly wanted to know what Darth Vader was gonna do next ! If you don't know this writer, I invite you to check out his work: Will of the Force, as mentioned before and Reincarnated as Supergirl. Those the two, I'm reading but there are others (on his Patrèon).

Anyways, I'll stop advertising for someone else and do it for me ! Check out my page by searching for Cathbel on the website.

Also, please leave a comment, a review or send a few spare stones my way. See you all later and enjoy !

===========

Deep in a forest, a teenage boy looks deeply into the eyes of a teenage girl standing a few feet away from him. Out of context, it almost sounds as if Cory and I are just about to lock lips… First : Eww~ ! Don't get me wrong, Cory is a beautiful girl with mixed caucasian and asian features, startlingly piercing dark eyes that are currently metaphorically shooting me down, and auburn wavy long hair.

Thing is… It's my second life and I feel like the difference between the two of us is like a father and his daughter. Which is also why I treat her like my sister. A few month ago, she had commented about Doreen and I's relationship and I said that I wasn't ready to date… In a way it was true : I'm not ready to date someone my age, right now.

Not that this train of thought has any relevance here… I think I'm just trying to distract myself from the feeling of impending doom. At the moment, I can't afford to think of her as a family member or a friend. If I do, I'll probably pull my punches which isn't something I should be doing in front of THE Quake !

Her power was used to shatter the Earth in the series Marvel : Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She wasn't the one to do it, but it speaks to her powers' potential. Again, I have no idea if she has the same amount of power but… Let's assume the worst and act as if she does.

With very little hope, I start to speak :

« Listen, Cory ! I know you're mad. I'd be pissed too if my dad was crazier than a bag of cats. Not sure why that's the saying… » I shake my head and focus my gaze back on my foster sister. Just as I'm starting however…

« Anyway !… » I avoid an invisible attack from her raised hand.

That's the tricky part about vibrations : they're composed of invisible waves. Especially when traveling through the air. The only thing I can do, is avoid standing in front of her opened hands for any lengths of time.

I start by sending various ink constructs towards her : small animals, mostly. Meant to bite her and transfer ink to her skin. If enough of it stacks, I will put her simply put her to sleep…

She glances once and then stomps her foot on the ground. I feel it wobble under me and I widen my stance in order to stay standing. Her stomp isn't enough to do damage to the ground, but my constructs… They burst and I feel my hold over my ink fade.

« That's new… » I mutter.

In my former life, I've read a lot of fan-fictions, with some writers arguing that Alter-human powers stemmed from other dimensions, much like sorcerers channelled some magic spells. Was this why her power could simply render my ink inert ? Or was this simply a new weakness of my power ? Perhaps vibrations could actually sever my connection to it somehow ?

I shake my head.

« Can't think about that now ! » I exclaim as I frantically dodge a barrage of blasts sent my way. Cory is not talkative, at all ! That's actually a rather great contrast to her usual self.

Before my parents took her in, she remained mostly aloof, keeping her distances in order not to make friends. Doreen and I kinda wormed our way into her inner circle forcefully… Only time and the sheer stubbornness of a certain Squirrel Girl allowed it. But then, when she actually opened up, she became very chatty ! Now, it's like seeing the old Cory… No, actually, it was even worse.

The trees burst and fell around me and only the tattoo of enhanced defense prevents me from being diced by the shrapnel flying everywhere. Similarly, Cory was also under assault from her own power. Not only is she taking damage because of how she uses it constantly, the wood splinters, the rocks and earth she upturns flies everywhere, even falling in her general vicinity.

I increase the number of tattoos on my body : speed, reflexes, senses. I push them all to the brink of what my powers are currently capable of. When all put together, there's a decrease in performance but the synergy… It makes it all worth it ! It's also abso-fucking-lutely necessary 'cause Quake is really making it hard on me to continue breathing.

I skate around the forest, using the trees to obscure her vision, in order to try and disappear from her sight… I have this theory that, perhaps, she's only driven by instincts and if she loses me, she'll forget me. Hasn't happened yet. She's relentless, quick to spot the briefest of movements and has an extremely quick reaction time. Frankly, she's like a beast right now… Tracking me, unrelenting, to make me her meal.

A few times already, I almost took the full brunt of her vibration blasts… Not sure how to call those. I didn't get hurt too much, only because I managed to get a shield up in time. Unfortunately, Cory doesn't like it, it seems : her blasts are increasing in power and frequency.

The thing is… My ink can't get close to her ! I think she's almost constantly making her skin vibrate or something, since every time I try to inscribe a tattoo on her, I lose control over it.

Panting and getting increasingly more annoyed and desperate, I mutter :

« Looks like it's time for this… » I swallow my saliva, feeling a knot in my stomach form. « It's not ready… »

Truth is, I don't know if it is… It might be, but I haven't tested it because I'm afraid it won't work. If it doesn't activate, it's okay. However, if it does activate but wrongly… I fear what'll happen to me, or Cory in this situation.

I spit a large amount of ink that will serve to shield me both physically and magically. While Cory's vibrations seemed to disturb my control over my ink, once a spell is cast and stable, her vibrations don't seem to have such a potent effect. I mean… They're potent enough, but they don't instantly destroy my spells.

Once the barriers are up, I sigh a deep sigh. A frown digs in my face gradually as I make my resolve. Finally, after another sigh and a nod of my head, I spit ink yet again, guiding it with my hands…

« Time for some experiment… Let's not die, shall we ? » I speak, the fingers of my left hand crossed.Chapter 36 : Fraternal battle

Deep in a forest, a teenage boy looks deeply into the eyes of a teenage girl standing a few feet away from him. Out of context, it almost sounds as if Cory and I are just about to lock lips… First : Eww~ ! Don't get me wrong, Cory is a beautiful girl with mixed caucasian and asian features, startlingly piercing dark eyes that are currently metaphorically shooting me down, and auburn wavy long hair.

Thing is… It's my second life and I feel like the difference between the two of us is like a father and his daughter. Which is also why I treat her like my sister. A few month ago, she had commented about Doreen and I's relationship and I said that I wasn't ready to date… In a way it was true : I'm not ready to date someone my age, right now.

Not that this train of thought has any relevance here… I think I'm just trying to distract myself from the feeling of impending doom. At the moment, I can't afford to think of her as a family member or a friend. If I do, I'll probably pull my punches which isn't something I should be doing in front of THE Quake !

Her power was used to shatter the Earth in the series Marvel : Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She wasn't the one to do it, but it speaks to her powers' potential. Again, I have no idea if she has the same amount of power but… Let's assume the worst and act as if she does.

With very little hope, I start to speak :

« Listen, Cory ! I know you're mad. I'd be pissed too if my dad was crazier than a bag of cats. Not sure why that's the saying… » I shake my head and focus my gaze back on my foster sister. Just as I'm starting however…

« Anyway !… » I avoid an invisible attack from her raised hand.

That's the tricky part about vibrations : they're composed of invisible waves. Especially when traveling through the air. The only thing I can do, is avoid standing in front of her opened hands for any lengths of time.

I start by sending various ink constructs towards her : small animals, mostly. Meant to bite her and transfer ink to her skin. If enough of it stacks, I will put her simply put her to sleep…

She glances once and then stomps her foot on the ground. I feel it wobble under me and I widen my stance in order to stay standing. Her stomp isn't enough to do damage to the ground, but my constructs… They burst and I feel my hold over my ink fade.

« That's new… » I mutter.

In my former life, I've read a lot of fan-fictions, with some writers arguing that Alter-human powers stemmed from other dimensions, much like sorcerers channelled some magic spells. Was this why her power could simply render my ink inert ? Or was this simply a new weakness of my power ? Perhaps vibrations could actually sever my connection to it somehow ?

I shake my head.

« Can't think about that now ! » I exclaim as I frantically dodge a barrage of blasts sent my way. Cory is not talkative, at all ! That's actually a rather great contrast to her usual self.

Before my parents took her in, she remained mostly aloof, keeping her distances in order not to make friends. Doreen and I kinda wormed our way into her inner circle forcefully… Only time and the sheer stubbornness of a certain Squirrel Girl allowed it. But then, when she actually opened up, she became very chatty ! Now, it's like seeing the old Cory… No, actually, it was even worse.

The trees burst and fell around me and only the tattoo of enhanced defense prevents me from being diced by the shrapnel flying everywhere. Similarly, Cory was also under assault from her own power. Not only is she taking damage because of how she uses it constantly, the wood splinters, the rocks and earth she upturns flies everywhere, even falling in her general vicinity.

I increase the number of tattoos on my body : speed, reflexes, senses. I push them all to the brink of what my powers are currently capable of. When all put together, there's a decrease in performance but the synergy… It makes it all worth it ! It's also abso-fucking-lutely necessary 'cause Quake is really making it hard on me to continue breathing.

I skate around the forest, using the trees to obscure her vision, in order to try and disappear from her sight… I have this theory that, perhaps, she's only driven by instincts and if she loses me, she'll forget me. Hasn't happened yet. She's relentless, quick to spot the briefest of movements and has an extremely quick reaction time. Frankly, she's like a beast right now… Tracking me, unrelenting, to make me her meal.

A few times already, I almost took the full brunt of her vibration blasts… Not sure how to call those. I didn't get hurt too much, only because I managed to get a shield up in time. Unfortunately, Cory doesn't like it, it seems : her blasts are increasing in power and frequency.

The thing is… My ink can't get close to her ! I think she's almost constantly making her skin vibrate or something, since every time I try to inscribe a tattoo on her, I lose control over it.

Panting and getting increasingly more annoyed and desperate, I mutter :

« Looks like it's time for this… » I swallow my saliva, feeling a knot in my stomach form. « It's not ready… »

Truth is, I don't know if it is… It might be, but I haven't tested it because I'm afraid it won't work. If it doesn't activate, it's okay. However, if it does activate but wrongly… I fear what'll happen to me, or Cory in this situation.

I spit a large amount of ink that will serve to shield me both physically and magically. While Cory's vibrations seemed to disturb my control over my ink, once a spell is cast and stable, her vibrations don't seem to have such a potent effect. I mean… They're potent enough, but they don't instantly destroy my spells.

Once the barriers are up, I sigh a deep sigh. A frown digs in my face gradually as I make my resolve. Finally, after another sigh and a nod of my head, I spit ink yet again, guiding it with my hands…

« Time for some experiment… Let's not die, shall we ? » I speak, the fingers of my left hand crossed.