Just before Creel and Fantasma joined Dial

X

Pushing with just enough force, X tossed Stend through another wall, then let him go. X noted the room they’d found themselves in, some sort of public bathhouse built inside the arena, possibly for those guests who were rich or important and wanted to relax in between bouts. It was rather primitive in design, with brown stones pressed together with mortar, and water flowing into the baths, most likely piped from somewhere else where it would be boiled first. The water was cold now, dripping everywhere.

X took in the sight for a moment before looking back at Stend. The slaver spun to his feet, glaring at X. “Who are you!?”

“X, an AI created by Dial. I have been told to guide you in a lesson on making mistakes,” X lowered into a martial arts stance, facing Stend with blue eyes glowing.

Stend stared at him, uncomprehending, before growling. “Fine. I’ll kill you first, then I’ll find the Outsider and-”

The Stegosaur-man ducked when a metal fist tried to take his head off, only to receive X’s boot to his chest, sending him back into a pillar, his back spikes embedding into the stone.

“You misunderstand,” X swung his fist again, Stend blocking with crossed arms only for the force of the blow to send him through the pillar, leaving the man sliding back on the wet floor as chunks of stone flew about.“This is a lesson. Be silent and take it in.”

“You-” then Stend was forced to dive aside as X kicked out at him. Stend swung his tail out, the four spikes flashing out to stab toward X. X grabbed the tail out of the air and pulled while spinning, letting go to send him skipping across the water of one of the baths like a stone before he hit the side of the pool with a large splash.

“Silent. Now. The first thing you must learn is simply not to enslave individuals anymore. I will allow that you were raised in a culture that prided itself on such things,” X walked around to where Stend was sputtering in the water. “But it’s an uncivilized and cruel practice. However, that brings me to my second subject.”

Stend struggled out of the water and got on his hands and knees, dripping wet, only for X to punch him in the face with enough force to send teeth flying. X kicked him in the ribs, sending him sliding back.

“Pick your battles wisely,” X strode towards Stend as the stegosaurus-man got staggered to his feet. “You kidnapped a man with a sword and armor far in advance of anything you’d ever seen, wearing a watch you were unable to remove, who made it clear the only reason he was willing to enter any negotiations was the fact he was injured. And now, you have the eyes of the most powerful organization on Earth on you, with men and women capable of destroying cities, assassinating political figures, and dueling gods ready to attack you.”

Stend reached out to try and grab X. X caught the other man's wrist, pulled his arm close, then broke it with a jab to the elbow. Stend’s eyes widened in horror and shock before he began to scream.

“You couldn’t have known,” X said, ignoring the pained screams to punch Stend in the face once more. “That you were poking a sleeping giant. But you should have suspected that Dial was more than just a human. That someone with armor and weapons that had clearly gotten lost in the jungle might have friends that worried for him. Friends who would hear what you had done. Who would become enraged.”

“I-I-” Stend said, staggering back.

“I won’t kill you,” X said. “In fact, if you surrender now, I’ll simply place you under arrest for the numerous crimes you’ve committed.”

Stend’s eyes flashed. “No! I-”

X’s fist took the breath from him as it slammed into his stomach. “Then I suppose I must continue. As a being with enhanced durability, you will be able to sustain spectacular amounts of damage,” Stend’s tail flashed forward. X let the spikes hit him this time, the sharpened bones bouncing off his metal body. “I would like to apologize in advance. If you continue to refuse to surrender peacefully while continuing to fight back, you will be significantly hurt. But I will admit. After hearing how you treat those under your care, that is more of a bonus for me than anything.”

Stend responded by grabbing at X. Claws scratched against a metal body, and he tried to lift X off the ground. The android responded by headbutting Stend. As he did so, he continued to communicate with the incoming Quinjet.

Four minutes until reinforcements arrived.

------

Kraven

Kraven and his latest opponent had found themselves in a garden just outside the arena. The garden was large, lit by torches, and made up of flowers, bushes, and trees right out of the jungle. Pter, the Saur-Lord with orange skin, had a long slash across his chest, bruises around his neck, and an excited look on his face as he walked along the trails. Kraven watched him from the trees, calmly watching Pter.

Neither man spoke. They had no wish to banter. No words had to be traded. They were trying to kill each other after all, and speech was but wasted movement.

Instead, Kraven swept down for the trees the instant Pter was in range. His daggers nearly sliced into Pter’s neck, before the Saur-Lord parried them in a loud clash of blades. Kraven landed on the ground and pressed the attack. Pter spun his daggers around, and fought back. Lit by the fires of the torches around them, shadows dancing across Kraven’s tan skin and Pter’s orange scales, the two men tried to kill each other. Their blades clashed in a spray of sparks from the speed and strength of their blows.

Kraven’s abdomen obtained a thin scratch. Pter’s right shoulder was briefly stabbed. They both kept silent, continuing to clash.

Kraven forced Pter to back into a tree, only for the orange-skinned Saur-Lord to backflip into the air and land among the branches. Kraven followed, his boots scarring the bark as he twisted to face Pter. The two jumped from branch to branch in their quest to murder the other, the trees shaking loose leaves from the violence of their attacks. Kraven ducked under a stab, landing on a lower branch, and bouncing back up with an uppercut slice. Pter twisted desperately out of the way but was too late. The blade sliced deep into Pter’s jaw, then moved upwards, cutting out Pter’s left eye. Pter screamed, but still managed to stab outwards. His knife stabbed deep into Kraven’s shoulder, then cut down at an angle, stopping at Kraven’s vest. Kraven kicked Pter in the stomach, pushing him back. The two stopped fighting for a moment, panting as they stood in the trees. Pter’s eye spilled blood and intraocular fluid. Kraven’s shoulder and part of his chest had been split open, revealing muscle beneath to the open air.

They took stock of their injuries. Then they moved forward in a flash, leaping from branch to branch before meeting in mid-air. Kraven reached his blade out. Pter stabbed down with two daggers.

In a single move, it was over. And both fighters ended the night with no regrets.

------

(Sound of Stone Shattering in Harmonic Fashion)/Demi

Demi punched a Saur-Lord in the chest, caving in his ribs, then was forced to block an axe on her right arm. She’d been fighting among the stands of the arena for several minutes, desperately keeping back the guards.

The last few days had been a nightmare. First, she had been kidnapped in the middle of the night, forced to fight in gladiator combat, taking on warriors she had no business fighting. She was a chef, not a warrior. And yet, since she’d been enslaved, she’d been forced to battle to the death, getting beaten with an axe for her trouble.

Her people were peaceful. She’d never seen violence the likes of the past few days.

And then… A man stepped forth. From all the rest of those enslaved. He’d been kind. He’d also been a killer. She hadn’t known the two traits could be in a single person in such excess. The man had trusted her with a single task. Protect the civilians, as he’d called them. Those who were unable to fight.

She wasn’t sure why she didn’t count among them. But Dial had praised her. Said she was a natural. She’d try to live up to that.

So she fought on, getting exhausted as her stone muscles ground down faster than they could regenerate. The Saur-Lord guards were pouring in, trying to get to the people higher in the stands. She punched someone’s sword, a T-Rex-lord’s teeth snapped against her skin, a Bronto punched her back before the Raptor gladiator stabbed him in the stomach. Demi took deep breaths, trying to keep on her feet. A small army was coming at them. Above, the two-winged Aerian’s were throwing spears as they dived and rose above the crowd, fighting desperately to help while dodging arrows, the male already having a single one embedded in his thigh. Below, she could see Gresh slicing and leaping about, fighting frantically, the Ankylosaur-lord dueling with two others of his kind. Somewhere in the distance, green explosions could be seen in the city, with plumes of fire to the East. Dial and Hauzer.

Ten minutes. That’s how long X (so shiny) had said they had to survive. Had it been that long already? Demi felt like she’d been fighting for hours, and yet somehow like no time at all had passed at the same time. Help had to be coming soon. Soon.

But right now, they were in trouble. Demi raised her fists, wincing internally as she waited for the next blow.

A noise came from the sky above. Demi looked up at it, only to jump in surprise and awe. It sounded like something spinning really fast in the air. The two Aerians above shouted in surprise as they dived down from where they had been harassing the enemy. The beat of their wings sent air flying. Then, dust was blown away by far stronger winds.

The object that came down towards them was enormous, as big as a triceratops or bigger, yet impossibly hovering in the air. A man was sitting inside it, behind a pane of some sort of clear crystal. Something under the object began to make loud booming noises.

Just like that, the enemy began to die. Massive gaping holes appeared in their backs, with smaller ones in their fronts. Surprised and horrified, they staggered.

Something spilled out of the back of the object that Demi was just realizing was a vehicle of some sort. A human in some sort of black armor. Three more came out, all holding long rectangular shaped objects. The objects released noises, and more Saur-Lords fell.

“Get into the quinjet,” the vehicle said, surprising them all. It sounded like X. “This is our escape vehicle. Enter it as fast as you can.”

“Holy-” the Raptor gladiator was about to say before he was cut off by more loud noises.

“Get in!” one of the humans said in a language Demi didn’t understand. She could understand the frantic way he pointed however, and quickly rushed to follow his instructions.

The humans who had come to help split up, some going down to the arena to aid Gresh and the Anklyo-saur-lord who had been helping him.

Gena, the Aerian with one wing, panted as she pulled her spear from the chest of a Saur-Lord. “These are the Avengers!?” she shouted, her face set in amazement as people ran into the back of the vehicle, standing awkwardly inside.

Someone chuckled, apparently understanding the word ‘Avenger’. “Nah, lady. That’s them.”

He pointed up at the sky. Demi and Gena looked up in unison just before entering the Quinjet.

A woman dressed in purple, holding a man made of metal, shot over the arena, headed in the direction of the explosions. Gena’s face lit in purple light as she watched a woman fly with no wings to support her, her mouth open in awe.

------

Hauzer/The Earth Dragon

Styro burst out of a third story headfirst, falling to the street below. A plume of fire burst forth from the hole he created, lighting the street in a burst of red. The flames faded, before the building began to shake. Moments later, it crumbled apart as Hauzer exploded out of the stone structure, magma dripping from his lips as he roared.

“SKREEEEE-EEEEEONGK!!!” the ground shook under Hauzer’s footsteps as he ran towards Styro, his top horn extended forward. He stabbed down at Styro, who side-stepped the attack and punched Hauzer in the face. Hauzer rolled with the blow and spun around, his tail snapping out to smash into Styro’s chest, sending the yellow-scaled man back-flipping through the air until he hit a wall with enough force to form a crater.

Styro pulled himself from the wall as fast as possible, barely dodging the fire blast Hauzer unleashed his direction by diving and rolling. He stopped near a carriage, grabbing the side. His muscles twisted and bunched as he lifted the large wooden vehicle and turned to toss it at Hauzer like a child’s toy. The carriage shattered apart on contact with Hauzer’s head, sending the dinosaur staggering back with fire still pouring from his lips. Hauzer landed on the building behind him, still breathing flame as the stone shattered beneath his bulk, before cutting off the stream to stare at Styro.

Hauzer did not speak any sort of language. While he was sentient, his thoughts were in the form of emotions and feelings, on images, sounds, and scents, not words.

So when he glared at Styro, his thoughts on the man were simple. Hate. Deep hatred, formed from days in captivity. Styro, on the other hand, only stared back at Hauzer with a neutral look on his face.

Deep within Hauzer, the flames that had been blended into his body raged forth. He held them back. Thus far, Styro had been dodging all his flames. Hauzer was a trained fighter. He knew better than to stick to a strategy that wasn’t working. Instead, he spun in a circle, lashing out with his tail again. Styro ducked under it, then had to back off when Hauzer followed with a kick, his talons sending Styro back in a roll.

Using that momentum, Hauzer snapped his teeth out at Styro, who caught the dragon’s jaws in his hands, holding them open. Styro grunted, struggling with the massive being attempting to devour him.

“You’ve… ugn… gotten stronger…”

Hauzer understood the words, if not as language, then at least the feelings behind them. They only enraged him further.

He had not gotten stronger.

As Hauzer lifted Styro and tossed him aside, the Earth Dragon knew the truth. He had simply regained his true power. He was finally unleashed, ready to unleash hell.

Styro landed on a nearby building and started running, just before the building he’d been standing on began to crumble. The roof exploded in a burst of fire. Hauzer stood in the flames, his eyes glowing with power. Styro landed in front of him and stood tall, gazing upon Hauzer.

The pair eyed each other, one glaring, the other smiling just a bit. Then they rushed towards each other, slamming together with explosive force.

Yeah. The fight was gonna take a while.

------

Karl Lykos/Sauron

My name is Karl Lykos. When I was a child, my father, a famed paleontologist, took me to the Antarctic circle, a place called Tierra del Fuego on an expedition. With us came a man named Dr. Anderssen, who brought his medical skills… and his daughter.

Tanya. As a young man, Tanya was everything to me. As a child, I felt so alone. I went on expeditions with my father so often that I had no chance to speak with anyone else. All I had were my books and my father. So Tanya… she changed my life. She was smart as a whip. She was brave. And she was funny! Or at least, I thought so at the time.

In truth, my memories of Tanya become rather rose-colored as the years pass. But I can’t help but remember those days fondly. Tanya and I in our tent, her white hair cut short, her blue-eyes flashing as we talked about Lord of the Rings, dinosaurs, and shared jokes a child finds hilarious.

We spent months in the Antarctic circle, playing together, reading, making plans for the future… one day, she kissed me. Because she wanted to. I only wish I could have been as brave as she was.

Because, in the end, Tanya was everything. And the beginning.

One day, she went missing. Our fathers went looking for her, telling me to stay behind. But I went anyway. And found her, impossibly, fighting a group of Pterosaurs in front of a cave. I wasn’t as brave as her. But that day, for the first time, I did something courageous, charging in with a walking stick held high, to save the girl I loved, just like the heroes of my books.

It ended with me bitten, scratched, and hospitalized, deliriously screaming about prehistoric dinosaurs somehow alive and attacking us. That, in combination with Tanya hysterically trying to say the same thing, led to no one believing us. By the time I recovered… well, no one is easier to convince than a child. Tanya and I were left believing what we had seen was impossible. We must have been attacked by some other wild animals. Had made up the story.

We went back home. I continued my studies, sending mail to Tanya, though I have never seen her again. Then, one day, I began to feel sick. I was tired, sore, and dizzy. My dog, Jasper, tried to comfort me.

He was the first being I ever absorbed energy from. I managed to stop before he died, but he never saw me the same. Never approached me as eagerly.

I found my own feelings on that mixed. On the one hand, I was horrified that I had nearly killed my puppy. On the other… power. Pure, absolute power, filling a gaping hole in my chest I hadn’t realized was there. It was as if I had been thirsty for years, and only now drank my first sips of water.

Sips. Not enough. Not nearly enough. My timid nature held me back. But my true self awoke under the scared child.

I began to experiment. First, with small animals, trying my best to control the intake. Many fish simply died in moments from my touch. But I soon got better. I moved up the ladder. I began to workout. Not to gain strength, but to have an excuse to be in the vicinity of men and women with incredible vitality as they became tired. I would brush up against them, take a portion of their energy, and not a single soul was hurt. This hunger inside me grew, even as I felt my own body, once so weak and small, grow in power as well.

Then… Tanya. She told me of her troubles with her father in a letter. That she was supposed to marry a man with the financial means to support her. She railed against the idea of marriage without love, without freedom. And I began to put my efforts towards medical school, focusing on a field that would make me a great amount of money.

I became a skilled hypnotherapist. I used that profession to become close to my patients, obtaining money even as I absorbed their vitality, even using medical technologies I created to make the process easier. I began to approach Tanya about the prospect of love. I met a man who opened my eyes to a greater world. I helped his students. I helped myself to their energy.

And it went off even better than I had hoped. One of his students awoke my true self! I still remember the pleasure of my human weakness burning away to reveal the man I had always been! I took a name befitting my power!

No more was I Karl Lykos! I was SAURON! Named for the symbol of power I respected most!

I took to my new gifts with ease, battling my enemies with brilliance, despite some minor defeats! Mere gravel on the path to my greatness!

But… my wishes began to change. My true destiny called me back to the place of my birth. To the distant lands that had made me.

I left America. I flew back to Tierra del Fuego, and found my way further south. And soon, I found myself in the cave Tanya and I had been fighting in front of. I entered the cave. I followed the tunnels, and soon reached my new home.

I used my knowledge of biology to make my children. I made a kingdom. I guided them in the lessons all other civilizations must learn. I watched, proudly, as my children rose to dominate their lands.

And then, he arrived.

Dial, the Outsider. A man with the ability to change into a seemingly harmless insect. An insect that has turned blocks of my home to rubble in moments. He is a beast with powers the likes of which I have never seen. His allies are much the same.

The ultimate test of my greatness!

------

I can feel my blood boiling as I follow him into an alley, breathing flames. He ran on top of one of those green orbs of his, spitting out more to explode behind him. I stopped when he turned a corner, landing on the ground to join him. The buildings around us began to fall. I raised my arms, the power I had absorbed from Dial flooding through my veins until it left in a flurry of silver light.

Instead of hitting the small insect, I found my beams splashing against a strange energy field made of purple energy. I was reminded of shields in the Star Trek show.

How fascinating! Wondrous even! I watched as the barrier fell apart to reveal the young woman who had come to Dial’s aid. She was dressed rather scandalously. But then, it was none of my business what she chooses to wear.

What truly mattered was her powers.

I stood before her as she floated down to land on her high heels, her hands glowing with violet energy, her hair fluttering about.

“You will not touch him!” the young woman declared proudly. “Not without going through me!”

“Oh!?” I had to smile. She was serious. As she and Dial stood side-by-side, she looked positively enraged. “Is she your saviour, Dial?”

“Some days,” Dial responded while glaring at me with those alien eyes. “We switch it up.”

“Then I suppose I can’t be so rude as to ignore a lady’s request!”

I beat my wings while jumping forth. I grabbed her by the neck and lifted off into the air in moments, absorbing the purple-clad woman's energy as I took off into the air.

Something… strange, happened. While she struggled in my arms, and I flew higher up, I felt the energy I was absorbing fill me with power.

But it was not human. It wasn’t even like my old friends children. It was something dark. Something intoxicating. It entered and bolstered me like few things I’d ever seen. I hadn’t felt so strong since I first turned to my true self.

And the girl. She wasn’t getting tired. She raised a hand with a snarl of something that sounded Russian and blasted me back with shockwave of pure energy.

I let her go and tumbled back. Someone was laughing. I was so intoxicated with power that it took a moment to realize it was me.

“My god! The strength within you, girl!” I stopped tumbling to spin around flying towards her hovering form.

“HOW DARE YOU!?” the girl raised her hands and spoke in a strange language. And for a moment, the world chilled. My children below could be seen shivering in the sudden chill that rose in the air, despite the fact the girl and I were hundreds of feet above them. I felt my limbs weaken. The girl said a final caustic word, her eyes glittering violet. Then she thrust her hands towards me. “Burn.”

A floating skull came from nothing. It seemed to rise from the air, like a hole had been opened in empty space. The skull was the size of a man, made of violet fire.

That was when I felt it.

Fear.

I was going to die. And there was nothing I could do.

The feeling sat in my heart, certain and focused. I felt my wings stop beating as I fell through the sky. A horrific heat began to burn me. My mind began to fad-

“WHAT!?” I shouted, realization filling me as my eyes snapped open.

DIE? Before I had realized my dreams! Before I had seen my children rise to greatness! NEVER! I would turn death himself aside if it meant rising to the challenge!

“RAAGH!” the shadows fled my vision. I felt my skin beginning to burn under a purple flame that surrounded me. I ignored it with brilliance!

The skull! That was the source!

I released a proud call, silver light bursting from my skin, and blasted the skull. For a moment, we struggled. I felt it attacking my mind.

What folly! Mine is the mind of a genius, a warrior, someone who has known love, triumph, and failure that would kill lesser men! What was this sorcerous monster that my own life had not already set before me!?

I glared into the empty sockets of the specter. “Come specter! Let us see if you can stand against SAURON, LORD OF THE SKIES!” With that final defiant cry and a full force of my peerless strength, I unleashed the full blast of power! The skull stood for a moment, before shattering apart.

The girl reeled back, shouting in pain. I flew towards her, ready to finish the job, only for her to stop and blast at me with a purple beam I was forced to dodge.

“Most impressive!” I shouted at her, feeling as proud as if she was one of my own children. She had clearly spent herself, panting as she floated in the skies, sweat dripping off her, staggering. But still she fought. “What is your name!?”

“Fantasma!” she hissed.

“Fantasma… I will remember you,” I promised. Then I began to speed around her, flying even faster than I ever had before in my life, shooting beams of energy from my palms. She blocked the first two on purple shields of energy the shape of mandalas. Then I added my fires, forcing her to tax her energy stores further. I could see her gritting her teeth. Elated, I stopped flying to hover in front of her, fire and energy pouring onto her shields as she struggled. She began to slowly get pushed back. The mandala’s were sputtering. Just a moment longer-

The familiar sound of green explosions distracted me. I looked away from Fantasma in time to dodge the silver being who attempted to punch me in the face. It was only as he passed me that I realized he had been aiming for Fantasma, catching her out of the air when she finally faltered. Then I saw a green ball fall in the man’s wake.

I realized in a moment what had happened. Dial had used his explosive power to propel this metal man into the air, and gave him a smaller one to hold. As he passed, the metal man had tossed the explosive my way.

I had enough time to raise my arms before the explosion sent shooting out of the sky, landing in front of a guard tower. Dial landed in front of me, followed by the silver man and Fantasma. The three eyed me as I stood up. I was laughing.

“The fuck you laughing about?” the silver man said rudely.

I scoffed at his language, clasping my arms behind me. “I am amused, of course. And happy.”

“About getting beat up?” Dial asked, cocking his head to the side.

“OF COURSE!” I laughed, ignoring Dial’s small ‘there he goes again’ comment. “Don’t you know? The most important part of this isn’t me… it is the city. It’s people. All fighting to defend it… from the monsters attacking it.”

“What are you talking about?” Fantasma panted. “You enslave people, force them to fight in death battles.”

“You’ve been gaslighting a city for decades,” Dial growled. “Never telling them-”

“The truth…” I looked at the guard tower. “How serendipitous that we should land here…”

The three before me looked at the tower. Through the windows, we could see my people watching. Saur-Lords, humans, saurians, all staring at us. At them in fear. At me, with hope. They were too far to hear us speaking. But I knew what they thought we were saying.

I chuckled. “They have known no life but this. And now you come here. Invaders to our nation, killing and beating our guards. Trying to assassinate their leader with monstrous powers and abilities. You are villains, come to kill, rampage, and force your ideals upon us.”

“Because you never showed them a better way!” Dial shouted.

“And your way is best?” I raised an eyebrow, my amusement fading. “You could have left… This nation may have treated you incorrectly, I will admit that. But you have no need to continue fighting. Go,” I nodded towards a nearby gate.

“I-” Dial began to say. He stopped, staring at me.

“Ah… I see. Stend,” I nodded slowly. “You wish to kill him.”

Fantasma and the silver man looked down at Dial. He didn’t speak.

“So… you are attacking me, terrorizing my people, destroying my city, for revenge. These people have nothing to do with your anger. They are innocent, their only crime being raised in a primitive society. And now? What will the outside world think? When they hear that you brought a city of indigenous people to their knees out of a grudge?”

Dial’s eyes widened as I spoke. He stared at me. I could read his pain. I could only guess at what he was realizing.

This would not end well. He may well get his revenge. But this city would stand. It would rail against those who had attacked it, against whatever organization he worked for. The outside world, as well, did not look well on armies attacking tribal nations with superior force.

“I must say… for your vengeance, Dial? You have managed to destroy the homes, lives, and families of many others,” I shook my head. “I have my sins. But they do not negate yours.”

Dial was staring at the tower, at the civilians and guards watching. I looked as well.

That was when I saw it… The girl. The young raptor who had been with her mother earlier. She was leaning out of a window, screaming something while tears fell from her eyes. She was calling out her support to me, distraught. It made sense. I was covered in burns and bruises. She was worried about me-

The child leaned out too far. I stared, horrified, as she began to tumble from the window. My arms spread out, and I leapt for her. Too far, I needed to be faster! I had to save her! I reached out, beating my wings desperately-

A blue blur came from my left. I had enough time to watch the girl disappear from my vision. Then the wind blasted past me. I tumbled, still reaching out, then slid to a stop.

A figure knelt near the guard tower. He was covered in blue fur, his body shaped like a human man. He was clutching the small raptor-girl to his chest. She was shaking, crying as she held him for comfort.

“...thank you,” the man said. His eyes opened. They were a bright piercing green. “I forgot. At some point, in all the… mess, what my life is. I forgot what I am. A hero,” he looked down at the child in his arms. “I protect the people who need it. At some point, I got so focused on revenge. On Stend. On you for creating this place. I wanted to hurt someone. But I could have done it a better way. Without hurting you,” the last sentence was said to the raptor child, who he gently placed on the floor, making sure she could stand on her own. As she stopped clutching to him, I finally saw the symbol on his chest.

Dial. This man was Dial.

The catman he had become gave the girl a smile. “You have any parents?”

The raptor girl sniffed tearily. “Mommy,” she said, looking at the tower. We could hear someone inside calling desperately to her as a scuffle went on.

Dial nodded. “Okay,” he patted her head. “Go to your mother.”

“N-No!” she sniffed. “Stop hurting Lord Sauron!”

He shook his head. “Heh…” He gave me a look. “I will. But we need to finish talking first… And I’m sorry kid. But I’m not giving you a choice.”

Another blue blur. I released a beam his way, but he was already gone. Before I could do anything else, he hit me in the face with incredible speed! I heard the doors to the guard tower open, and blearily noted the raptor girl in the arms of her mother again.

Dial was next to his friends again.

“Done with your little crisis?” the silver man asked him.

“No,” Dial responded. “I screwed up. Guys. Mind helping me make-up for it?”

Fantasma smiled. “I do not. I get the feeling it will be a regular occurence.”

I rose to my full height. “So. You have more power than I thought!”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah,” he looked down at the green symbol on his chest.

“And what now? Dial, the Outsider?” I asked.

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

I had screwed up. I’d been so obsessed with getting Stend. With destroying the center of power of the place I’d gotten stabbed and tortured in, that I had decided a whole city was worth my anger.

Then… that girl. She’d been crying, reaching out for Sauron. Her mom was behind her doing the same. Then she’d slipped. And everything crystalized for me. I tried to speed towards her. Fantasma reached out. Creel got ready to jump. Sauron spread his wings.

And in me, something shifted. Maybe literal. Maybe just mental.

I’d proven I could fight on my own. But at heart, I needed a reminder of who I was. A hero. Someone who saved, no matter what. She was falling from the window. And I could see the fear in her eyes. Her scales glittered with tears as she reached desperately for her mother, who screamed.

In that heartbeat, I didn’t care about Stend, Sauron, or me. She was afraid, in danger. And I wanted to save her.

The Omnitrix glowed. And fur erupted across my body. I was Fasttrack in between steps, transforming and running forward in the same breath. And when I saved her, I felt all the disquiet in my heart, all the rage and shame, disappear.

Now I was standing with my friends, across from Sauron. I looked at the Omnitrix. It was glowing on my blue furred chest.

“And what now? Dial, the Outsider?” Sauron asked me.

“...Karl. You have no idea what you’ve been fighting,” I said, looking at Creel and Fantasma. “You called yourself Sauron. Fine. This is my fellowship,” I waved at them. “And I’m the hobbit,” I tapped the Omnitrix as I spoke. “Guess what the ring is?”

Sauron, to his credit, was already flying upwards. But I had already become the wolf.

As Blitzwolfer, I howled at him. "▅▅▅▂▅▂▄▅▃▃▄!" The unholy blast of sound hit him with physical force, sending him back as he screamed in pain, clutching his ears. Creel and I jumped for him, but he dived out of the way, spinning off to fly away. Fantasma followed, blasting at him, while Creel and ran on the ground. He fired beams of energy at us, which I dodged, running on all fours and returning with soundwave blasts. Creel just tanked the blasts, running through them to finally leap upwards and grab Sauron by the ankle.

“Off, damn you!” Sauron shouted, lifting upwards as Creel clung to him.

“Not a chance!” Creel shouted back, shifting to a denser metal as Sauron struggled.

Fantasma and I came in, her floating down and me jumping up to blast Sauron. He fired his silver beams and fire at us, but was still sent spinning back, jarring Creel off of him at the same time..

“Out of the city!” I shouted at Fantasma. She nodded while breathing hard.

Then I changed back into Fasttrack form and ran forward. I grabbed Sauron as he was falling and blasted forth while carrying. Realizing what was happening as we approached the city limits and the jungle, he breathed flame again, blasting beams of energy from his palms. I shouted as my fur burned, but kept going.

We hit the city limits before I let him go, letting him bounce ahead of me while I ungracefully skidded to a stop. With a thought, I changed into one final form. For nostalgia’s sake, I shouted out the name of the transformation. The one that had been my very first.

“Swampfire!”

I clenched plant fists and sighed happily. “Man… I missed this guy.”

“You…” Sauron struggled to his feet. He had a grin on his face. “What has happened to the world beyond… to require warriors of your caliber?”

“Honestly. HYDRA came back.”

“...Seriously?”

“Yeah, really.”

“That is disgusting,” he said sourly. “I hope they are swiftly destroyed.”

Huh. I guess evil really does have standards.

Then he took a deep breath and breathed fire. Couldn’t blame him. I was made of plants after all, and you didn’t have to be a Pokemon fan to know what that meant.

So the look in his eyes when I raised my hands and released my own flames must have surprised him. Our two streams of fire met in the middle, then poured out from each other. The temperature rose around us. I felt my body produce more and more of the gases I was igniting. I guided the flames, forcing them to get hotter. Hotter. My plant body adjusted to the insane heat, even as my flames started to become more precise, more focused. Soon, Sauron was struggling to push my fires back.

He didn’t seem ready to give up though. He raised his hands, both sprouting that silver energy he was able to project, and sent twin beams of power at me.

I wasn’t too worried about it though since I’d seen my friends coming to join me. Creel dropped down next to me and caught one of the beams against his chest, while Fantasma flew down and blocked the other on one of her defensive mandalas.

Sauron didn’t stop using his beams, forcing Creel and Fantasma to keep defending. He held us there for a moment. I was forced to partially grow my feet into the ground for more support. Creel’s silver form reflected all of us. Me in Swampfire gritting non-existent teeth as I blew fire from my palms, the vines in my arms moving as they constantly regenerated under the heat. Fantasma holding off fire and energy beams with a look of determination on her face, her mandala’s sparking under the power assaulting them. Sauron breathing flame and blasting energy our way, his eyes slowly glowing.

“Don’t look in his eyes!” I shouted as an afterthought.

“We know!” Creel shouted, before he grunted as he was sent back a step. “Holy shit, is he getting stronger!?”

“YEEEESS!” Sauron roared, though I guessed he wasn’t shouting it as a reply. He stopped breathing fire, instead bringing his hands forth and blasting a single beam of pure silver energy. The beam sliced through the fire I was blasting to smash into Creel and Fantasma’s beams. “This is wonderful!”

“I have never hated a compliment more!” Fantasma shouted.

“Split up!” I shouted. “I’m almost ready!”

“Hope you know what you’re doing!” Creel said, spinning past the giant beam of destruction. “Come on asshole, give me all you’ve got!”

“You are extremely rude,” Sauron scoffed, blasting Creel once more. When the beam only bounced off of his vibranium form, Sauron instead shot the ground under Creel, sending him stumbling. “You are quite fast. So that metal of yours must be rather light right about now…” Sauron mused while speeding forward to grab Creel by the shoulders and tossing him high into the air with a display of superhuman strength.

“Fuck!” Creel shouted as he flew back, landing in the wall surrounding the city.

I stood at the edge of the jungle and began to toss seed pods into it while releasing bursts of gas from my palms, spreading them into the trees, bushes, and vines. I felt the jungles metaphorical heartbeat slowly fill me as Fantasma flew down to confront Sauron behind me.

“I must confess, young lady,” Sauron said while dodging an energy blast. “You’ve recovered rather well from being absorbed by me. How is that possible? I took enough from you to power a city. And yet, here you are, still fighting.”

“Magic,” Fantasma scoffed, raising her left hand to create one of her purple swords.

Sauron ducked under a sword slice and raised his right hand to counter Fantasma’s energy beam with one of his own. “Truly? Or are you simply being facetious?”

“Both,” Fantasma grit out, blocking one of his beams with her mandala. Creel ran in then, tossing a boulder at Sauron. Sauron blasted the boulder out of the air, only to widen his eyes when he was forced to dodge Creel’s follow up haymaker. Fantasma looked at me. “Dial, hurry up!”

“I’m ready!” I shouted back.

“As am I,” Sauron snarled, spinning back. “ENOUGH! I will not be brought down without a fight! THE LORD OF THE SKIES WILL BE VICTORIOUS!”

“Who gives a fuck!?” Creel shouted in response.

Sauron stared at him for a long moment. “...”

That was when the Pterosaur-man began to glow. “Uh oh,” I said softly.

He let out another roar. Then he exploded. That was the only comparison I had. Waves of silver energy sliced out from his body in a cacophony of the air being split, the rocks and dirt under us shattering and burning away. Creel was sent flying back, spinning through the air before grabbing the ground, screaming as he was bashed at all sides by pure energy. Fantasma raised her mandalas into a pair of shields in front of her, only for both to shatter after a moment, sending her back into a wall. For fifty feet around him, Sauron created a field of energy that sent us flying back.

Except for me. When the waves of energy hit me, I only had time to widen my eyes. Then I was being ripped apart. My whole body became nothing more than ash as the wave of silver energy passed over me.

He kept that up for a moment longer. Then, slowly, the wave of energy petered out. When he was done, Sauron stood in a crater, panting with his arms spread out. He looked around. “Incredible,” he said between gulping breaths. “Incredible.”

“...Are you… complimenting yourself?” Creel asked.

Sauron’s eyes widened as Creel slowly rose out of the earth. His body was still silver. He looked tired, but none the worse for wear. “How?”

“...Vibranium,” Creel said softly. “It’s immune to everything.”

Sauron tried to say something else. I raised a single sprout of my body behind him, then grew into my full Swampfire form in mere moments. He somehow sensed me in time to spin around and slice out with his claws. I let his hand pierce my chest, then hardened the plants there, momentarily trapping him in place as I glared down at him.

“Like you said before you pulled some Dragon Ball shit. Enough!”

From the jungle beyond, they shot under the ground before popping up around him. Sauron stared around in surprise as trees grew up into the sky, the work of centuries happening in seconds. Then vines snapped out to grab him, wrapping around each limb. “No! Unhand me!”

“Not today,” I narrowed my eyes. “Happy Arbor Day.”

Then the forest I’d created came down around him. Sauron, in a roar of defiance, began to fight back. He sliced with his claws, breathed out fire, blasted out beams of energy. But I kept pushing the plants to grow and grow, to move in as he tore them apart. Then I moved in.

He sliced my right arm off, so I punched him with my left while growing back the other. He tried to fly up and out, only to find a canopy made of branches as thick as cars blocking his path. A tree the size of a building grew next to him before creating more of a net above.

Creel was on that tree. The second he was close enough, he leapt off it and grabbed Sauron by both ankles, pulling him back down until they landed on a branch. Sauron blasted a wave of energy at Creel, tossing him back a bit and sending wooden splinters and leaves flying. Fantasma dropped in and hit him with a wave of purple energy. Sauron tried to hit her back, but I grew a branch that blocked him off before more vines snapped out to grab him. When Sauron turned to block them, I landed beside Fantasma and Creel. The forest grew so thick that the only illumination came from Fantasma and Sauron’s powers. I was on my last legs by now. I think Creel and Fantasma felt the same.

Sauron stared at us as we approached, vines wrapping tighter and thicker around him. When he blasted out more fire, it was weaker now, easily blocked by Creel. He tried for another energy beam, but the vines tightened further. He smiled.

“Well… I suppose this isn’t so bad,” he sighed.

“...You sure you don’t have some more second winds in you?” Creel asked, panting.

“Yeah, you’ve been like the Energizer Bunny all fight,” I added in Swampfire’s nasally voice.

“Don’t encourage him,” Fantasma grumbled.

Sauron chuckled tiredly. “No… After many years, I believe I am, for once, exhausted to my bones. And satisfied. This fight… my people will remember it for decades… So. Will you kill me, Dial?”

I felt my hold over the vines wrapped around him. They were growing very strong now. And everybody, no matter how strong, can get their neck snapped with enough force. Still, I shook my head after an internal struggle. “Not if you’re beaten.”

“I am,” he said without a hint of shame. He seemed as proud and regal as ever somehow, even wrapped head to toes in vines. “That is too bad, however. If you’d killed me, I could have become a martyr. But this is more satisfying. I’ll be able to see the effects of this adventure in person.”

“No,” Fantasma snarled. “You will be in a cell, as a US citizen who enslaved dozens if not hundreds, and who was complicit in the kidnapping of an Avenger. You will never see the light of day again, otherwise.”

Creel and I looked at her. I think we were both surprised at how… vicious, she sounded. After some time around her, I’d started to forget the short witch I’d befriended was also a Russian soldier. Less Hermione, more Dresden. Both were good guys, but one had killed a heck of a lot more badasses.

“Never?” Sauron chuckled. “I’m sure that seems like a horrific threat, young one. But I think I’ll keep some secrets to myself for now.”

I glared at him. Finally I stepped forward and raised a fist. “I’m going to knock you out now.”

I landed a right punch that shook the leaves from the branches around us. Sauron’s head snapped to the side. He coughed some blood, then turned to smile at me. “Close. You may need to-”

I hit him again. He laughed. “Damnit, go to sleep!”

My final punch sent him, still laughing into his slumber. I sighed in relief.

Finally. Sauron had been the toughest fight I’d ever had. It felt like I was taking on an anime protagonist. Full of speeches, grandeur, and fucking second winds. I finally felt some sympathy for Vegeta. It’s annoying when the guy who is kicking your ass also keeps getting stronger as he does it.

“This guy is crazy,” Creel mumbled.

I turned to look at Fantasma and Creel, about to speak, when I suddenly had to catch Fantasma as she wrapped me in a hug. “Eh! Fantasma! What-”

“We thought you died,” she said against my chest.

I stilled. When I looked up at Creel, he was slowly turning back into his flesh form. He walked up to join us. We looked at each other awkwardly for a moment as Fantasma continued to hug me before I wrapped my arms around her.

“Sorry…”

“...You stink,” she sniffled.

I laughed, honestly surprised, and looked back at Creel. He smiled, shrugging. “She’s right. Swampfire ain’t the best smelling alien.”

“Yeah, well,” I looked around at the forest. In mere seconds, I’d created life that would take thousands of years to create, making the very landscape attack Sauron. “He makes up for it.”

Fantasma let me go, stepping back to look up at me. “You were gone for so long. I’m glad you’re okay,” she said with a small smile.

I smiled back sadly. “Sorry I worried you guys. I-I’m really damn glad to see you again. It’s been a tough couple of days.”

Creel patted my shoulder in a manly fashion. “Same here. Stop getting tossed into rivers, okay?”

“Not like I planned on it,” I grumbled.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Fantasma smirked. “He spent a lot of time in the jungle yelling your name. It was so cute!”

“Fantasma!” Creel shouted.

I grinned at Creel, who looked like he was desperately holding onto his too-cool-for-school attitude. “Awwww. I love you too, big guy!”

“Shut up! I wish you’d died in the jungle!”

“Creel!” Fantasma said, sounding scandalized.

I grinned at the pair, then looked at the city. My smile faded when I noted the fires in the distance. “We aren’t done yet.”

Fantasma and Creel looked in the same direction, their own faces soon reflecting my seriousness.

“What’s the plan?” Creel asked.

“We make sure our people get out, then we get out,” I said.

“Just like that?” Creel looked at me. “Don’t you have someone you want to kill?”

Fantasma looked at me as well. The pair didn’t speak as I turned to where Sauron was tied up and mentally forced the vines to cocoon around him until he had become a bundle that I then brought to my shoulder.

“Maybe… Would you guys stop me if I decided that was what I wanted?” I asked them, finally looking in their eyes.

Fantasma shook her head. “I understand. I am Russian, Mahmoud. We know the importance of revenge.”

I looked at Creel. He hesitated. “...If you do it, make sure no one is around but us. We’ll keep it quiet.”

Didn’t know how to respond to that. Instead, I just mentally told a set of vines to grow into a platform for us. We got onto the platform and began lowering down to the ground as I thought of my next plans.

“... What is ‘Arbor Day?’” Fantasma asked all of a sudden, looking at me.

“It’s a holiday where people grow trees,” I said.

Creel cocked his head to the side. “... You should have said-”

“Got wood, right?” I rolled my eyes, trying not to start laughing my green ass off. “Thanks for the advice, Seth MacFarlane.”