Omnificial (6)

Loverboy lunges down, using his entire body to drive his fist down.

Alice takes a deep breath in and launches her punch, aimed straight for Loverboy's head.

The two of them meet eye-to-eye as their fists connect in the middle of the room, the air around their fists went still as their fingers collided. The metal on the surface of their hands melted and turned into goo as their force generated a force field of pure heat.

This force field grew even larger as the two of them blindly charged at one another. The force field grew to such lengths that it had engulfed both of their fists in this hot ball of magma.

Alice and Loverboy both scream in unison as the bubble of heat that had wrapped itself around their hands exploded, sending a massive shockwave that rippled through the walls of the apartment.

A flash of light blinded both Alice and Loverboy, causing Alice to lose her balance and fall over and Loverboy to fall to the ground, face first.

"My arm!" Alice opened her eyes and looked at her hand, all that was left of her arm was her metallic endoskeleton. "It fucking burns!"

Loverboy rolled on the apartment floor and hit his head against the coffee table.

Alice looks around as the apartment was left a giant mess, with holes in the walls and scratches on every surface possible. Everything was not in the place it originally was, objects that were on one side of the room were now on the other. The entire apartment had been turned upside down.

x x x x x

"Everything burns." Danny runs through the outskirts of Cathode City as the population starts to wake up in the early morning, the light of the bustling city melting the snow and dissipating the fog. "Even though my body feels like it's being dragged down to the depths of hell, my legs keep pushing, even though every ounce of energy in my heart and mind has been dripped dry, my legs couldn't care less!" Danny's now brown hair, losing all of its all blue dye, flows in the wind as he sprints through the streets, his feet smashing through the thin layer of ice on the road.

"It's great isn't it?" Jodi is sprinting alongside Danny. "Once you're used to it, you completely forget what it's like being exhausted. It's our blood that keeps us from being tired, so run as much as you like! The only thing stopping you is the pain, and pain doesn't matter when you're immortal!" Jodi laughs as she's barely breathing heavily as she's running at the speed of a slow car.

Danny's legs, although he doesn't feel exhausted, aren't as strong as Jodi's. Hence, he still requires training and exercise to build upon his existing muscles. "Are there more of us?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm sure there are. Millions." Jodi and Danny are now both running in unison, their feet marching onward together like a brigade. Each careful step was calculated without even saying a word. "Danny, you and I can't be the only people in this vast world to be gifted with this curse, the curse of immortality. Trust me, these powers are nothing but a stepping stone to bringing liberation and peace to this cursed world." Jodi points forward, towards a massive hill. "We're going to climb up that mountain before the sun rises."

"Why do I have this disease? Is it genetic?" Danny asks. "I mean, c'mon. The richest have been trying to find a source of immortality for basically centuries."

"Exactly." Jodi and Danny both slow down collectively in the middle of the street. "If they were to ever find out about our existence, the government would appear at our doorstep faster than you and I can regenerate our body parts." Jodi looks around before speaking. She hesitates as she moves in close to Danny's ear. "The government's put a bounty on my head, but they don't know my identity yet, and I plan to keep it that way. Your body may be able to recover infinitely, but your reputation can't. Don't get yourself into a situation that'll force you to use your regenerating ability. We can suppress our abilities for a moment, but when the damage is too serious, our natural instincts take over and heal the wound without a second thought."

"So we keep our secrets to ourselves." Danny could feel Jodi's breath running down his neck, it was warming to feel as the snow around them starts to melt.

"Exactly." Jodi moves back a bit and stops whispering, talking to Danny in a normal tone.

"But wouldn't we benefit society more if we surrender ourselves? Millions of people are dying every day from war and hunger, Cathode City is blessed with natural resources and a haven of oil, but what about those who aren't living in Cathode City? Our blood could be the key to ending death! We can't just hide and be selfish, we need to help society." Danny tries to make a point but he too is unsure of it.

"And what?" Jodi crosses her arms, visibly upset. "After we surrender, what next?" Jodi sighs after taking a deep breath in. "Kid, I know you're pretty new to this shit but you're not a fetus. The government doesn't want to end death. The government promotes death. Each death that occurs outside of the country, is another zero added to the end of their banks. Cathode City is only functional and profitable in this economy because the government is built on lies and deceit, do not trust a single thing they say." The tall skyscrapers of Cathode City loom over Danny and Jodi ominously as the sun rises before them, casting a shadow over the icy ocean. "Whatever you do, do not get caught by the government."

Danny hesitates for a moment to digest this information before nodding slowly, acknowledging Jodi. "Right."

"You won't need to think from here on out, The OutCats will be taking care of you, making sure you're fed, making sure you're clean and anything you need, you get it. We are trying to create a team of like-minded individuals to bring down the former reigning champions of the Piloting scene, the once-great Mavericks. Danny, do you trust me with your life?" Jodi places her hands on Danny's chin, raising them as her soft skin makes contact with Danny's rough stubble.

Danny looks down at Jodi with a raised head. "I guess so," Danny says indifferently. "I don't really care where my life goes, as long as I have fun and get paid, I'm down."

Jodi smiles. "That's the spirit."