Friends On The Road

Packing up his stuff, Daihatsu Ren left the arena for the night.

Walking around the nocturnally active cityscape of Ichin Seruko (a neighboring citadel of Sombrero City), he heard some engines. Louder than the usual civilian cars or buses. Which could only mean one thing....

Some speeding automobiles were on the road, tonight.

'Ah, a race. Fast cars. Hmmm... this reminds me.' Ren smiled after cooking up an insane experimental theory in his mind. He planned to test his full strength by punching at a car's front when it will be in front of him.

He walked at a faster pace, taking some shortcuts between alleyways, following the noisy trail of where the speed machines were headed. 

'They are fast.' He arrived at a point in another road where the cars still hadn't reached yet. 'But not too fast.'

Cracking his knuckles, he braced himself for the unthinkable....

He charged immediately towards the first car he spotted. A punch landed at the front hood of the racecar.

~Slam!!~

The car stopped, the rear part lifting up to the air by 60° before landing back down on the ground. (Due to inertia)

But the effect on his fist was way too painful.

Ren yelled out in agony. Pedestrians nearby were already observing what was going on, nonetheless.

"Oi! That's my ride, you baka (stupid) hunk of flesh!!" the driver got out, styling an aura of unforgiveable attitude.

Rén was already in a lot of pain, clutching his right hand. But the identity of who the driver was sent an imaginary dagger through his heart.

It was Mahir Beats. Ren's role model.

He had wrecked the ride of his own hero.

"Ai ai ai... I'm sorry, Mr Mahir. I...." 

"Don't be just sorry! I need to finish this race!!"

"Race, oh?" Ren's nerves fired up an alternate strategy to deal with the troublesome situation. "Um... okay okay... I have a plan..."

"Plan? What plan? Spit it out, fast!"

"Muhh...."

"Hurry before the cops arrive! Or I'm gonna knock out that skull of yours!" Mahir grabbed Ren's arm, crushing it with a single touch.

'Damn... Mr Beats is strong.' Despite Ren being a hulking giant-sized person, Mahir had more muscular skill and capacity than him. No doubt, Mahir was his role model in fitness. 'I'm not sure he'll approve of this idea, but I need to save his reputation. For Mr Beats. For the faith of working out!'

"Okay... Mr Beats, get in the car. I will push it forwards."

"Nani (what)?! How're you gonna do that? All the way to the finish line?" Mahir was stunned by his solution. But he trusted his confidence and sighed. "Alright, do as you wish. Try not to dent my ride. And get there FAST."

Mahir got in as requested. Ren placed his massive hands onto the back of the car. Feet on asphalt, ready to propel forwards via the power of friction and potential energy.

"Here..."

The cars were coming right behind them.

"...we..."

Ren glanced at the road ahead of him.

"...GO!!!"

Like a monster uncaged, Ren darted forwards along with the car. His leg muscles shone with sweat and burst with veins popping out of the surface. All across his body, nerves and veins swelled up and burned in the might of adrenaline.

No, this was intense. Way more than any shot of adrenaline. His clothes ripped off at certain points due to his entire body shaking and trembling under his own procedure of metamorphosis. Ren was transforming! 

This was his own specialty. Ren's bodily power. His already massive boulder of a body was even bigger now, expanded and ready to rock.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Ren bellowed and roared as his legs sprinted faster and faster. Gaining velocity. Gaining more momentum.

"Whoa, man," Mahir had never witnessed anything like this. "Are you a man or a monster?"

Civilians and onlookers began recording footage of the incident.

Ren slowed down and stopped the car. Spinning round, he landed five destructive punches to seven cars which had almost caught up to Mahir's position. (Two of them swerved and crashed with others)

Steam drove out of Ren's nostrils. He steered his attention back to Mahir's ride.

"Hello.. Sirutov... help... cars... race... casualties...."

Ren heard a civilian talk on their phone.

'Dang it! They're calling the Sirutov?'

Ren provided a big thrust to provide Mahir's car with a massive boost that even regular nitro boosters fail to achieve. However...

...instead of the cheery finish line they had anticipated, some Sirutov military vehicles had blocked the road and had set up a blockade.

Some more military vehicles arrived, flanking the car. Mahir had no choice but to kick on the brakes.

Some (corrupt) Sirutov soldiers get out of their vehicles. And they wielded guns.

"Your game ends here, racer," a Sirutov commander confronted them. He gestured at the other soldiers. "Arrest them."

Two soldiers subjugated Rén and Mahir.

"Tow the car away to the incinerator," the commander added further orders. "We could recycle the metal for weapons."

"No! NO!!!" Mahir yelled out at once.

"Ah, 'no' ?" the commander clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk... okay then. Finish here and now. Open fire!!"

Several heavy guns sprayed the car with bullet holes. Another soldier launched a rocket to end it all. The car had been reduced to cinders, right in front of Mahir's eyes.

"You... " tears rolled down Mahir's cheeks. His eyes blazed with a new power. "You're not abiding laws, are you?"

"Hmm? Come again?" the commander pulled his finger from his ear. "Repeat that."

'True Sirutov would never harm or destroy civilian property.' Mahir responded in his mind. 'These guys are plain brutes misusing their power.'

The commander stepped forward and was about to slap Mahir when someone else slapped him instead.

~SMACK!~

It was Daihatsu Ren. His body still had not returned to normal size.

"You dared...." the commander faced him, clutching his cheek. "You slapped... a Sirutov comma--"

Blood spewed out of the commander's mouth midair as Ren used his knee to kick him.

Ren cracked his knuckles. Its very sound sent a shiver down the remaining Sirutov soldiers.

'This... this guy took down our commander?!!' one of the soldiers exclaimed to himself.

Mahir and Ren stuck their backs together as they looked around their surroundings. There was no easy exit. They must fight.

"Yo big guy..." Mahir called out to him.

"Huh?"

"I've seen you before. You're a famous boxer, right?"

"That's true."

"Good. Now, now... let's see how adept your martial skills are."

'For real?' Ren couldn't believe this. 'Am I dreaming? This is a combat scenario with none other than my greatest training sensei. Damn. I'll not let this go to waste! Fo--'

He got shot at.

The soldiers triggered their guns.

*****

"What's this? A distress signal?"

Back at the armory, Bain received a signal on his Sirutov intel card.

"Wan, it's okay. Forget about what happened," he tapped on his friend's shoulder. "Some of my comrades have engaged on a target." He pretty much knew that it was a false alarm, and only part of a programming of their system to alert all nearby units about any activity.

"W-where is it?"

"Hmm..." Bain took a moment to read the details. "Ichin Seruko, Halberd Street 2nd, some kind of assault. A commander has been killed."

"Understood. Sounds serious."

Wan created a portal leading to that location, getting his glaive prepared for an ambush.

"One more thing, bro..." Bain cut in.

"Yeah?"

"We're actually fighting AGAINST the Sirutov soldiers. Aim for their heads. Leave no witnesses except civilians."

Wan blinked twice. 'What's he saying? Betray his own comrades?'

"For your information, our current Sirutov leader is a tyrant. So until he is slain," Bain slid his electric blade out. "Assume every other Sirutov to be under his possession. No mercy."

Wan gulped before positioning himself in his battle stance.

"Ready? Go!"

At the right moment, they dived through the portal converging on a striking spree.

(Epic combat music.)

Wan doesn't use his special ability; only his glaive is his weapon.

Same for Bain. Although he knew several spells that other Sirutov didn't bother learning, he limited himself to using his primary guns only.

Mahir and Rén were startled to meet them at first sight.

Ren was about to hit Bain.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm on your side, big guy!" he blocked Ren's fist with the flat side of his blade.

"What? Bain wun Donn?! You are rooting for the wrong side," a Sirutov soldier exclaimed. "Are you in your senses?!"

"Yes... I," Bain sliced off that particular soldier's arms. "Am."

All three main heroes ( + one guest hero ) burst into motion.

(Soundtrack shifts to a more energetic and crazier phase.)

Bullets firing up, guns barking. Rockets and fire flew across the quarantined street.

{ I have skipped some of the action scenes. Imagine them up yourself. }

After a loooong battle storm, the brawl party is over. Sirutov soldiers lay dead on the ground, brutally decapitated or severely injured. Their vehicles were set on fire. 

"This... this is too cruel," Mahir glanced at Bain and Wan. And then at Ren. "Come with me, pals. We'd better get off the street before the Sirutov send in reinforcements. My studio is nearby. A five minutes' walk from here. We'll be safe. Follow me."

The characters meet up together. Mahir invited them all to visit his studio.

Before the episode ends.... there's a hint of another upcoming character's introduction.

Spying at the four men from atop a nearby building's rooftop, a mercenary had been watching the whole incident silently, an advanced sniper rifle in hand. He removed his mask (like an Alan Walker type mask).

A special phone was fixed to his ear. It beeped.

"Marlizo..." the caller began by calling out his name. "Come here fast. We've got a demon invasion."