Chapter 77 - Red Menace [3]

"Annie, Ema, you both okay?" Prime asked as he approached his car.

As Ema and Annie noticed their dad approaching, both flashed a small smile on their faces. It would be a lie to say neither of them was scared about the current situation; or rather, they were getting extremely anxious. Their dad was taking too long to return and with each passing moment, the bridge trembled more.

"Hey, Daddy!" Ema exclaimed, waving her hands.

Alongside Ema, Annie didn't think twice before bombarding Prime with question after question. From Prime's point of view, Annie was anything but calm.

"What exactly is going on? Some kind of dragon suddenly flew into the sky" Annie asked, visibly confused.

Though Prime really wanted to answer their questions, he himself wasn't sure what was happening. Suddenly, a Hulk who wasn't the Hulk attacked him and before he could understand, a dragon was summoned and now was fighting the Red Hulk.

Prime had a much larger arsenal of powers compared to his previous fights, but honestly, he didn't feel like it would be a good idea to use them now. First, because the bridge would likely collapse if he attacked with full force against his foe, and second, he didn't want to put his daughters' safety at risk who were at the scene.

He really didn't want to reveal all of his abilities so soon. Prime still didn't fully understand the extent of his powers, so the more he saved the ones he already knew for later, the better. Though he knew that eventually, he would have to fully explore his abilities, it could help him better understand his own identity and origins.

"I know you two have a lot of questions, but right now, our priority is getting you out of here safely. I'm not sure if that dragon is on our side, but let's take advantage while the two are busy fighting" Prime replied, reaching out his hands towards Ema and Annie.

But before that could happen, a gunshot echoed in the area. Prime turned his head with confusion towards the sound and saw two police officers pointing their guns at him. This made him look down, noticing that the shot had been aimed at him. However, Prime didn't even feel anything, so he wasn't sure if the man had actually shot him.

"Why the hell did you shoot? The plan was to interrogate first" commented one of the officers, relatively low, although it sounded loud and clear to Prime.

"What else did you want me to do? He was about to get his claws on the kids" replied the other officer who had fired the shot.

Prime was genuinely confused by the situation. Of course, he felt anger at being shot for no apparent reason. It was evident that Prime didn't consider simply being a scary monster with claws and sharp teeth a valid reason to be shot at.

But in the end, the two officers were just trying to save his daughters. Prime would have genuinely thanked them if they hadn't shot at him. Though Prime was inclined to retaliate, he knew he shouldn't act impulsively just because he was shot. Nor was Prime so petty as to retaliate in kind, especially considering the shot didn't even affect him.

So, without saying a word, Prime started to slowly approach the two officers. The reason for this? Prime simply didn't want to leave without giving them a little scare. Of course, he had no intention of harming them; he just wanted to show that shooting at everything one sees isn't always the best option.

"You there, stop where you are! If you take one more step, I'll shoot" said one of the guards, keeping his gun pointed at Prime.

Even hearing the warning, Prime continued advancing towards the two officers. Anyway, it's not like they could hurt him, so there was no reason for Prime to even consider obeying.

"He's not showing any signs of stopping. What do we do?" asked the other officer, clearly nervous and anxious.

Prime could clearly see that both cops were shaking. Also, with his enhanced hearing, it was easy to pick up the sound of their racing hearts. In short, they were so nervous that Prime could almost smell the fear coming off them.

However, before Prime could take any action, something crashed heavily behind the two cops, raising a huge cloud of dust. Coughing immediately engulfed the two men, who looked around dazed, not understanding what was happening. Meanwhile, Prime remained unperturbed, directing his gaze to a fixed point behind the cops.

The cops, still dazed and confused, abruptly stopped when they felt a wave of heat hitting their backs. Slowly, they turned to face a completely black wall, with reddish remnants.

Both cops looked puzzled at the wall, trying to decipher what was going on. To them, that wall seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. However, before they could fully process what they were seeing, the wall suddenly changed color, transforming from black to a bright white, as if by magic.

Both cops felt an uneasy sensation of being watched, though they couldn't identify the source of this feeling. There were no discernible pupils in that structure in front of them, so it didn't seem possible that it was an eye. However, they were about to find out they were completely wrong.

The white wall began to rise, growing gradually. First, what seemed to be the body of the being emerged. A pointed tail snaked near the cops before the creature got closer, revealing its face. Though vaguely reminiscent of a cat's, its face was a mix of mysterious features. Uncertainty grew as they observed the creature's arm, which didn't entirely match the appearance of a feline.

Long bat-like wings protruded from its arm, seeming to block even the sunlight. The cops were paralyzed by the sight, unable to decide if they were horrified or fascinated by what they saw. As they remained hypnotized, the monster slowly brought its face closer to the cops and let out a short hot breath from its nostrils.

Shortly after, as a kind of yellow slime dripped from its mouth, the monster opened it wide enough for both cops to fit inside. With widened eyes, the cops watched as the drool touched the bridge's asphalt and instantly melted it completely, leaving no trace behind. It was clear the fate that awaited them if touched by that.

"RRRAAAARRR"

A loud, menacing bestial roar echoed in the area, causing both cops to fall to the ground in shock. Right after, the monster quickly advanced toward them, its mouth open, causing them to instinctively close their eyes. But, to their surprise, nothing happened. Slowly, they opened their eyes and saw a red figure with a white hood standing in front of the dragon.

But looking closer at the scene, the dragon had stopped inches before hitting the red figure that had saved them. Prime, who was on-site, hadn't actually intervened to save the men. The reason for this was because Ema and Annie were not far from the two cops. It was clear that both would be caught in the situation if the dragon continued to advance.

But to Prime's surprise, the monster stopped as soon as it spotted him. Even without knowing if he could control it, Prime remained on guard, prepared for any eventuality. However, no attack came. The monster then slowly retreated, its eyes completely white, devoid of emotion. At least that's what it seemed to the others. For Prime, there was something in the monster's eyes.

Though a bit hazy, Prime could discern reverence in the monster's gaze. It was a reverence mixed with fear and awe, as if challenging Prime were a complete blasphemy for that being. Prime couldn't fully understand what was happening, but he knew he couldn't just keep staring at the monster.

"Back off!!" Prime ordered, his voice echoing with more authority than he intended.

To Prime's surprise, the monster began to retreat, its imposing size allowing only a slow movement. Still, Prime was stunned to realize that the monster was actually obeying him.

(Seriously, can someone explain to me what's going on?) Sara asked in Prime's mind.

Though, that was a question that was also swirling in Prime's mind at that moment.