Chapter 11: Interrogation

In the capital city of Berlin, citizens could be seen running away from a certain direction. Braver civilians pulled out their phones to record. In the sky above the countless rooftops, a massive dragon clashed against a caped hero. Military jets accelerated past the two figures. It was an extremely hectic and high stakes situation.

The sky was covered in fire. Jets continued to make passes over the fighters. The stoic hero seemed to have the advantage. Inside the area of flame and smoke, the elite soldier manhandled the dragon. The two crashed into each other once again.

BAM

The dragon recoiled back from the impact, its humongous body falling toward the ground. Taz flew below him in order to stop the fall. Grabbing a handful of his mane, the stoic viltrumite dragged the mythic beast higher into the sky. The elite soldier's free hand clenched into a fist. The air detonated as it hurtled up into the dragon's chin.

BOOM

The massive uppercut sent the humongous villain's head reeling toward the clouds. His extremely long body followed in a snake-like trail. A few teeth burst from his mouth in bloody fashion.

"Fucking rat!" The monster roared.

A gargantuan tail swung down on Taz's body. The young viltrumite raised his arms to block the attack. It connected. The momentum sent him spiraling down for a few seconds. Once the two were no longer in direct contact, the military jets made their move.

"All green. Firing." One of the pilots droned.

A plethora of missiles launched toward the dragon. A stream of fire was its response. Explosions littered the sky and shrapnel fell to the floor. When the smoke cleared, an unscathed dragon remained. His beastly expression rose into a sneer.

"Heh. Useless." He commented.

"You are just as fragile." A cold voice spoke from behind.

"Wha-"

The worst mistake the beast could have made was turning away from his enemy. An overwhelming fist was already nearing his jaw. The dragon could tell that this attack was different. It was like a mountain and weighed heavily on his consciousness. The air whistled due to the friction.

KRAKOOOM

The impact created a loud shockwave, causing civilians on the ground to cover their ears. The buildings rattled and groaned. Dust and debris rose up from the ground. High up in the sky, the dragon could be seen falling at high speed. The lower half of its jaw was completely blown off. The beast had only been able to see a fist before everything went black. It was unconscious.

"Typical." Taz muttered. He had let go of his hold on the air, falling beside the dragon. Once again the target was nothing special. As he watched the unconscious villain fall beside him, he raised an eyebrow. The beast's massive body had started shrinking.

The closer they got to the ground, the smaller the villain became. Eventually the figure reverted into an old chinese man. His lower jaw was still blown to pieces. Taz grabbed the back of his collar before stepping off the air. His figure burst into motion, quickly descending from above.

Eventually he landed on the ground. A large group of military soldiers and vehicles waited directly ahead. The plethora of soldiers approached him. After dropping the villain to the floor, the stoic hero spoke.

"This is the dragon. It's over."

After speaking these words, he jumped to the sky and accelerated. A sonic boom could be heard as he disappeared. One of the soldiers patted his comrade's shoulder.

"Dude! That was Absolver!"

"No shit."

"Did you see his face? Why is he always so mad?"

"He's not mad. It's just his face."

"Yeah? How do you know? Did you look him up?"

"...Of course I did. He's literally a younger Omni Man."

"No way you just said that. You joined his fanpage?"

"Shut up. I don't know if it's just me, but he seems a bit stronger than Omni Man."

Another soldier walked out of the humvee and joined the conversation.

"Did I just hear that? No one is stronger than Omni Man."

"Whatever dude."

"Can we at least agree that Absolver has a cooler suit?"

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

…

…

…

"I need you to finish school. Please. Can you do it for me?" Kate pleaded. Paul heaved a sigh of annoyance. After scratching his head for a moment, he spoke.

"Fine." He relented. The nonchalant beauty exhaled in relief. She seemed truly concerned for her brother.

A plate of food sat on the table in front of Paul. He couldn't help but wolf it down. It was incredibly spicy, forcing the teen to breathe out his mouth. As he ate like a total slob, Taz arrived.

The stoic man walked to the table and sat beside his lover. Kate immediately rested her head on his shoulder. The younger brother continued to eat. He was too preoccupied with his meal. Taz couldn't help but frown seeing his eating habits. It was becoming more and more obvious where the chinese beauty got her way of eating from.

"Was it another villain?" She asked. The young viltrumite nodded.

"A dragon." He responded. Kate raised an eyebrow but Paul froze. His silverware dropped onto the table with a clang.

"You fought a dragon?!" He exclaimed with his mouth full. The mushy food was visible for all to see. If anyone saw this, they would immediately lose their appetite. Taz frowned.

"Swallow your food. It's unbecoming." He said.

The younger sibling choked on his food. Kate blushed with embarrassment. She had done the same thing plenty of times, but Taz never said anything to her. She would have to shape up. The nonchalant beauty didn't want to seem sloppy. She strived to live up to his image. It was all in her head though. The stoic hero never had any expectations for her.

Who would dare say anything negative to Absolver's partner? They would be courting death. It was the same as walking up to Omni Man and talking down on his wife and son. An incredibly stupid thing to do.

"I can't believe you fought a dragon!" Paul exclaimed. Taz wrapped his arm around Kate's shoulder. The chinese beauty scooted her chair even closer, allowing him to feel her soft frame.

"It's nothing special." He said. The younger brother shook his head.

"Yeah right. What was it like?"

"...He was weak."

"That's it?" Paul responded with disappointment. Kate giggled.

It was funny seeing other people react to her lover's antics. After thirty minutes or so, Paul got up to leave. The nonchalant heroine warned her brother that she would visit again. He seemed annoyed by it, however under all of the falsehoods, a bit of contentment showed. The trio quickly said their goodbyes and parted ways. As Taz carried Kate through the sky, he smirked.

"So that was why you wanted to go to China."

"You got me." She responded in defeat.

"Why didn't you just say that from the start?"

"I didn't think he would actually show up on the corner today. Who knows what he may be doing."

"I see."

"Taz?"

"Hmmm?"

"Am I embarrassing you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean in public. I'd hate to ruin your image-"

Taz held her tight. After kissing her on the cheek, a tiny, almost microscopic smile appeared on his face. Kate's eyes widened. Even though it was extremely small, it was her first time seeing the stoic hero's pure smile.

"You will never embarrass me, Kate. No matter what mistakes you make." He soothed her.

The nonchalant beauty tightened her hold around his neck. Their lips met. They couldn't help but stare into each other's eyes after. It was as if they had their own language, spoken only through their gaze.

After a long romantic flight, the two returned to the high rise apartment. Kate was ready to use her hunk of a man as a body pillow once again. Today was a vacation for her. For some reason the temperature in the place was unusually low. Vapor could be seen whenever they exhaled.

"Geez! Can the AC really get that cold?" She muttered.

Taz immediately scanned the apartment with his enhanced vision. He quickly discovered an intruder. There was a figure staring at them from the kitchen. The elite soldier immediately appeared beside the figure. His hand grasped the intruder's throat in a death grip.

"You…" He spoke coldly.

In his grip was a red skinned man with pointy ears. He wore a tan trench coat and pants with no shoes. Both of his eyes were fully yellow. The top hat made it easy for Taz to figure out his identity. The young viltrumite threw him to the floor.

"What are you doing here, detective?" He questioned. Kate watched everything from the living room. The man from hell rubbed his neck.

"Waiting…for you. You are suspicious." He said. Taz remained stone faced.

"You snuck into my home. Isn't that suspicious?" He retorted. Damien Darkblood smiled.

"I have…questions."

"Am I supposed to care?"

The demon detective raised an eyebrow.

"Worried…that Dupli-Kate…overhear?" He mocked. Taz glanced at his lover before glaring at the demon with an extremely cold visage.

"Speak." He said.

"Hehe. You are strong…like Omni Man. You heard about…death of Guardians?"

"I did."

"Absolver and Omni Man…friends. Did you-"

"Acquaintances. Co-workers." Taz interrupted.

"Maybe…help with each other's dirty work?" He continued.

"No. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Maybe…enemies then? You kill…Guardians?"

"No." He answered curtly.

"All evidence from that day…gone. Clean. Smooth like marble. Like high heat. Your eyes…do they offer more…than lasers?" Damien asked.

"No. What are you implying? Are you calling me an accomplice? I don't even know what you're talking about." The elite soldier didn't budge. He would not let this flea ruin things for him.

"Omni Man…only survivor. Suspicious." He finished. Taz shook his head.

"If you're so sure that it's him, then go bother him about it. Don't pester me."

"Thank you for…your time-"

"Leave. If I catch you sneaking around here again, I won't let you off so easily."

"Hehe." The demon chuckled. He immediately left after giving Dupli-Kate a glance.

Taz walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. As he drank from it, Kate watched from beside him.

"Taz?"

"That demon ruined my mood. Appearing here like that. What if he was an enemy? What if he wanted to kill me? To kill you?" He spoke with meaning. The chinese beauty wrapped around his waist.

"That wouldn't happen because you'd protect me. Being my guardian angel and all." She joked.

"......"

Taz's simple words immediately put Kate at ease. She believed that he was only angry for her. It was an effective way for the stoic hero to shift the suspicion. He wouldn't allow anything to mess up the peace he had just found. The constant itch to fight was beginning to leave him.

"What now?" Kate asked.

"Now…we relax." He said.

The elite soldier picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. His lips found their way to her smooth neck. The chinese beauty closed her eyes in relaxation. She loved when her guardian angel showed his affection.

The two eventually changed into their home clothes before moving to the living room. Kate sat on his lap while they watched TV. Some of the detective's words rang in her mind, but she quickly forgot about it. Knowing Taz's personality, there was no way that he'd ever lower himself to do someone else's dirty work.