Chapter 54: Superman Special

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Superman Special

Jared ducked back through the gate, one second before it sealed. It didn’t since the boss was back inside.

Somehow, Karl was keeping up.

He darted across the dust like a man dancing on a griddle, leaping, rolling, twisting, one step ahead of a monster no one could see.

Jared could only follow the boss by the damage it left behind. A boulder cracked in half. A cloud of dust burst up from the ground. A footprint, wide as a truck, sank into the dirt a half second after Karl vacated it.

’How is he doing that?’

The man seemed to read the thing’s mind. He moved before it moved. He dodged before it struck. Every blow missed him by inches.

Then the dust cloud swelled, and something enormous slammed into him.

Smack.

Karl flew across the basin like a thrown doll, hit the ground with a loud thud, and rolled to a stop in a cloud of grit. He lay there, one arm flung out. The pouch at his belt had torn open. Three gems skittered across the dirt and rolled to a stop.

They cracked, one by one.

Light flared.

Three beasts burst out of the glow.

Two were owls, large and gray, with golden eyes and hooked beaks. The third was something stranger, an upright, muscular cat, striped like a tiger, standing on its hind legs, its tail lashing, its green eyes glinting. A tigercat.

One of the owls swooped down, snatched Karl by the back of his coat, and hauled him out of the way just as a massive, unseen shape smashed down where he’d been. The ground shook. A crater opened in the dirt.

The tigercat didn’t wait.

It shot forward in a streak of orange and black, faster than Jared’s eyes could follow. It was a blur, a flicker, a smear of motion across the land. It circled the empty air in a wide, whirling loop, kicking up dust, never stopping. Its ability, he guessed, was speed.

’Speed.’

It was the obvious answer. But something nagged at him.

’Karl’s owl isn’t fast. And his tiger can’t fly.’

He watched the two of them work together. The owl hauling Karl through the sky. The tigercat racing across the ground. And Karl, in the middle, moving in ways no single beast could explain.

’Was he able to combine the skills of two beasts?’

It was a staggering thought.

’He used the owl’s flight and the tiger’s speed. Both, at once. To cover those distances.’

’That’s incredible.’

[Is this guy really supposed to be a rookie.]

[Even with SSS ranked beasts. He’d put you to shame.]

The tigercat wasn’t attacking. Jared noticed that, too. It circled and circled, ripping furrows in the ground, flinging up great plumes of dirt, and every plume landed on something

. A faint outline began to take shape in the air. A broad, hulking silhouette, dusted in gray. Four thick arms. A huge, rounded back. A pair of stumpy legs.

It was creating distance, and it was throwing dirt on the boss, giving it vague markings.

The boss was becoming visible.

"Cover your ears, Jared!" Karl shouted.

He did so without delay.

He slapped both hands over the sides of his helm, and the world went muffled and dull. A faint ringing pulsed in his skull. The second owl lifted its head, spread its wings, and opened its beak.

It screeched.

It was a sound like nothing Jared had ever heard. A long, high, shuddering shriek that seemed to shake the air itself. The dust trembled. The ground vibrated. Cracks spread across the nearest cliff. The shape in the dirt, the huge, dusty silhouette, shivered, swayed, and let out a low, rolling groan.

’Sound?’

Jared stared.

’No. There’s no way that’s enough to bring it down.’

He frowned.

’And simply covering my ears won’t stop sonic waves, now will it? I can still hear the screech. ’

But Karl wasn’t done.

He had his own hands clamped over his own ears, elbows out, as he soared over. He dove at the swaying boss. The thing didn’t move. It stood there, rocking, groaning, stunned. Karl hurtled toward it like a cannonball, drew back one fist, and threw a punch.

CRACK.

It hit like a meteor.

The boss was launched off the ground, flung into the sky in a blast of dust and gravel, rocketing upward like a cork from a bottle. Karl shot after it. He cut the air in a streak, caught up to it at the top of its arc, and slammed both fists down on its back. The monster plummeted. It hit the ground with a thunderous boom.

Jared laughed.

He couldn’t help it. He pulled his hands from his ears and doubled over, wheezing.

"I’ve seen that combo before," he said. "It’s the superman special."

[A what?]

’Never mind.’

[Is that a thing? Is that a reference?]

’It’s a very old reference.’

Karl backed away from the crater, breathing hard. He brushed dust from his shoulders and glanced at Jared. His coat was torn. A thin trickle of blood ran down his temple. But he was grinning.

"I’ll be needing those flames of yours right about now," he called.

"I’ve got one better," Jared offered.

It was out of his mouth before he’d thought about it.

Karl lifted an eyebrow.

Jared swallowed.

He hadn’t tried it before. Not once. But the idea had been circling in his head forever, maybe especially since the moment Karl had flown across the plain without a beast. A spark of curiosity. A tiny, stubborn what if. He wanted to use Starfire’s ability in his regular form, without summoning the beast.

’I can do it.’

It seemed like something he could pull off. And he was wearing the gorilla suit. It would make a perfect cover. If anyone asked, he could say the blast had come from the swamp. A strange gas, a chemical reaction, he’d lie he’d figured out ignition without an external source. It was a lie he could make up easily.

’Okay.’

He knew throwing up wouldn’t work this time. That was how he’d released the gas, how he’d released the ice. It was a trick for something that wanted to come out of his mouth. This was something else.

He stood still, closed his eyes, and thought.

Behind him, Karl was pounding the boss, flinging punches and kicks, ducking blows, weaving through the dust. The tigercat flickered around them. The owls wheeled overhead. Every few seconds a thunderous boom rolled across the basin.

Jared lifted one hand.

He pointed a single finger at the sky, then slowly lowered it, aiming at the battle.

’Come on.’

A faint warmth gathered in his fingertip.

It was a tiny glow at first, a pinprick of white. It grew brighter, and brighter, until a thin shimmer ran down the length of his arm. His skin tingled. His hair stood on end.

He knew what it meant.

[That’s it,]

[That’s Starfire. You’re doing it.]

’I know.’

[It’s going to take everything you’ve got though. ]

He lifted his voice.

"Karl! Get out of the way!"

Karl glanced over his shoulder. He saw the finger. He saw the light. His eyes widened, and he threw himself to one side, rolling clear, and the owl swooped down and snatched him out of the line of fire.

Jared released the blast.

A beam of pure white light burst from his fingertip.

It crossed the distance in an instant. It was thin as a needle and bright as a sun. It struck the boss squarely in the chest and punched clean through, out the other side, and struck the far cliff with a rumble that shook the ground. The invisible shape stiffened. A spiderweb of light cracked across its body. It let out a long, low, rattling sigh, and burst apart.

[Veil Warden (lv47)] defeated!

The beam winked out.

Jared’s knees buckled.

As the last of the energy left him, his vision narrowed to a tunnel. The edges went black. He had just enough time to think, ’That’s everything,’ before the ground rushed up to meet him, and everything went dark.

He passed out.

* * *

Karl laughed.

"Wow," he said. "That’s the manifestation of an SSS rank, alright."

He stopped and gazed at the smoking crater where the boss had stood. A faint, glittering dust drifted in the air, sparkling in the gray light.

"You just slew an A rank boss," he said, "on your own. That’s..."

He turned around to finish congratulating him.

Jared lay face down in the dust, one arm flung over his head, perfectly still.

Karl’s grin faded.

"Jared?"

No answer.

"Hey."

He crossed the distance in three long strides, dropped to one knee, and rolled Jared over. The boy’s face was pale and slack. His eyes were closed. A thin line of sweat ran down his temple.

"Dude."

He pressed two fingers to Jared’s throat. A slow, steady pulse beat against his skin.

"He’s fine," Karl said, mostly to himself. "He’s just spent."

He slipped an arm under Jared’s shoulders and the other under his knees and lifted him. He was light. Lighter than he looked. Karl glanced at the owls. One bowed its head and dropped to the ground, wings spread.

He rose into the air, Jared cradled in his arms.

They soared across the land and over the cracked dirt and the shattered boss, toward the gate. The wind whistled past. Karl didn’t look back. He passed through the oval, and the world flickered, and they were standing in a quiet lot behind a warehouse.

The gate closed behind them.

It collapsed in on itself, shrinking to a point of light, and winked out.

The rest of the team was waiting. They stood in a loose cluster near the fence, staring.

"Is he okay?" the fox girl asked.

"He’s fine," Karl said. "He’s just out."

"He killed the boss?"

"He did."

A murmur ran through the team. A few of them exchanged glances.

"We still have two more," one beastmaster said, glancing at his watch.

"I know."

"Without Jared?"

"I know." Karl shifted the boy in his arms. "Let’s go. I’ll meet you guys at the next site. Take the jet. I’ll go drop him back at the guild first."

The team hesitated.

"Go," Karl said.

They nodded.

"Yes, sir," they all answered.