Threat Level: E

Destructiveness: E

Killability: C

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Might: E

Survivability: E

Recovery: D

Mobility: D

Spark: D

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Powers: Enhanced Sight and Hearing, Sonic Blasts, Durable Arms, Metabolic Regeneration, Desert Jackal’s Reflexes, Aether Drain, Elastic Tension

Fortunately, the Power Merchant didn’t have super strength or agility. Kabandha’s gifts and the essences had moved Danny a couple of steps above average, but it wasn’t anywhere close to a specialised hero’s standards. As a result, pinning down the firearm was still a challenge. It wasn’t just a battle of force. Whenever he fired off a bullet, the sound shook Danny’s forearms and made the palm mouths spasm. Danny didn’t quite understand what the reaction meant besides his body despising the high decibel.

I bet things would be a lot worse if the weapon weren’t silenced.

When Danny realised the struggle wouldn’t end unless he disarmed the Power Merchant, he grabbed the arm holding the weapon around the wrist, squeezed and bashed the hand repeatedly against the ground. Meanwhile, his knees kept Power Merchant’s chest and pelvis pressed to the floor. He kicked and thrashed, of course, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t long before Danny started feeling light-headed.

When he looked down, Danny realised a pool of blood had spread below them. Metabolic Regeneration hadn’t completely fixed the wound, and the fight had reopened it. Suddenly, Power Merchant’s body vibrated violently, and when it stilled, Danny felt the ceiling against his back and saw the floor far below them. Power Merchant had teleported them to the ceiling. Then they fell together, and Danny landed on the villain with all of his weight. Yet the man didn’t stop thrashing.

Danny’s body started to shake by the time he got the man to release his weapon. Spots danced in front of his eyes and refused to leave when he shook his head in an attempt to focus. Killing Power Merchant wasn’t an option—assuming the man was truly Power Merchant and not a stand-in or a look-a-like. Either way, his opponent likely had information regarding the operation. So, he pressed a hand to Power Merchant’s shoulder and prepared a sonic blast. That’s when the villain’s body started transforming.

Due to Danny’s spinning head and the struggle, he hadn’t given the Power Merchant’s odd actions much thought. While one hand clutched the firearm, the other didn’t try to push him away. Instead, Power Merchant kept putting his fingers in his own mouth. When Danny saw the blood on his hands and lips, he realised the villain had been consuming his blood. Then the Power Merchant pressed a palm to Danny’s chest, and loud, concussive force struck his chest, throwing me several feet away into the air. Danny landed on his back painfully. The padded helmet protected his skull from damage, but his back and shoulders still hurt.

It felt like a battering ram had struck Danny’s solar plexus. The light-headedness was bad enough, but now he struggled to breathe too. The eyes in Danny’s head still struggled to focus, but the floating eye took the sight in for him. The Power Merchant’s body had changed. Rippling muscles now covered his naked form, and his forearms were as thick as mine.

“You took my powers?” The words came out in laboured gasps. Talking to the criminals wasn’t a part of the mission, but Danny needed to buy time. His Holoscreen flagged the location and sent out an update regarding his vitals. The man seemed intelligent when Danny first spotted him, but his actions during the fight suggested otherwise. Danny hoped the fool would fall for it and showboat now that he was on the ground and bleeding out. “Damn.”

“No,” the Power Merchant answered, laughing. He walked towards Danny rolling his shoulders and neck. “I’m just copying it.” He paused, looking up at the floating eye. “That thing is yours?” Power Merchant chuckled. We’ve been going crazy trying to figure that out. Why don’t I have those them?”

“I can’t give you all my secrets,” Danny answered, rising into an upright position. His arms struggled to support his weight, and nausea threatened to take over.

“They’re pretty neat.” He watched them for a moment before returning his attention to me. “If not for them, you’d most likely be dead now.” The Power Merchant bounced on his heels. “Holy shit, mate!” He exclaimed. “There are so many different things going on in here! What the hell is up with your calves—"

The Power Merchant’s right calf and knee stretched, sending him into an uncontrolled spiral into a pillar of devices covered in flashing LED lights, and they collapsed on top of him. The lights on the vats went out, and one of them buzzed before smoke started rising from the water.

Danny used the opportunity to dig another energy bar out of his coat and devour it while the Holoscreen displayed a conversation between his fellow heroes.

Druid: On my way!

Fenrir: No. You continue what you’re doing. I’m sending Mista Fista.

Druid: I’m heading down.

Fenrir: Goddammit, man! Respect the chain of command.

Druid: With all due respect, your command is stupid. The chatter here is insane. That’s Power Merchant he is fighting. If I don’t get involved, Rev is going to die.

Fenrir: My intel was incomplete. Everyone converge on Rev’s position.

Mista Fista: Roger!

Nyx: Roger!

A wave of warmth washed over Danny’s body. Seconds later, nausea subsided, and his head stopped spinning. Danny’s body still felt heavy, and climbing back onto his feet proved to be a challenge.

“Careful when you get on-site,” I whispered. “He’s a mimic and has absorbed my powers. The idiot can’t control them, though.”

The Power Merchant exploded out of the pile of metal and wires and dashed towards the wall. He ran faster than an average human but didn’t utilise Elastic Tension’s benefits. It took control and practice to use them, after all. The floating eye spotted his target. It was a hook across the room with dark clothes hanging from it. It was the outfit Power Merchant usually wore. Danny was sure it contained a communicator or a Holoscreen and chased after him despite his weakened state.

A stabbing pain spread from his right thigh as Danny tried to pick up speed. Unwilling to open the wound again, he uncoiled the muscles in his left leg and launched himself towards the Power Merchant. Because of his weakened state, Danny lacked his usual degree of control, and his trajectory was way off. A second jump carried him the rest of the way there, and he grabbed the man just as he grabbed his hat.

This time, Power Merchant fell on his face, not his bottom. Danny grabbed him by the hair and smashed his head on the ground again. The Power Merchant pressed his hands against the floor, and Danny saw the muscles in his forearm bunch up much too late. The uncoiling threw both of them into the air. Danny held onto the man for dear life and wrapped his right arm around his neck.

The force carried them all the way to the ceiling, and the collision knocked the air out of Danny’s lungs. He still didn’t let go, though. The Power Merchant had copied Danny’s physiology and powers, but that didn’t mean he knew how to use them. The man tried to land on his feet with an unbalanced load on his back. He staggered and fell onto his side. Danny’s injured leg went under the two of them, and a scream escaped his lips. The pain was too much. His body disobeyed his commands and released the villain.

The Power Merchant and Danny lay next to each other on the floor, groaning. He didn’t have head protection like Danny and had suffered one too many blows.

I can’t deal with him like this.

Then the floating eye confirmed that the wetness around them was vat fluid. When Danny realised the squishiness under me was rift monster organs, and an idea blossomed in his head. There was no guarantee it would work, but he had to try. Backup would be with them soon, and Danny just needed to delay Power Merchant long enough for them to arrive. However, he couldn’t afford to have the League interrogating someone with his powers. So, Danny forced himself into action.

He ripped the tongue out of the nearby reverse-centaur’s head. A groan escaped the Power Merchant as he tried to get up. It took every bit of willpower Danny had left to get on his hands and knees and crawl over to him. A sonic blast to the side of his knee made him scream and fall back down. As he let out cries of pain, Danny shoved the reverse-centaur’s tongue into his mouth and clamped it shut. Power Merchant struggled, but he held tight. Fortunately, the hypothesis proved correct. The villain’s forearms regained human dimensions, and his neck grew longer.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he whispered as Danny’s field of vision narrowed. His consciousness was starting to fade, but he refused to give up. Power Merchant’s struggle lessened, and his panicked eyes looked up at Danny. The villain’s legs thrashed, and his hands swiped blindly at his chest and face. “The League has questions for you—”

“You’re killing him, son.” Danny recognised the voice. A pair of delicate hands pulled Danny off the man, and then a spectral wolf took his place. Fenrir pulled the centaur tongue out of Power Merchant’s mouth before gagging him and zip-tying his wrists. The Power Merchant had no fight left in him, but the hero tasered him anyway.

“You’ve lost too much blood,” Nyx’s voice spoke in Danny’s ear. She dragged him out of the wetness and propped him up against a nearby wall out of Fenrir’s line of sight. She pressed the manual release on his mask, opened the panels and pressed a protein bar into his mouth. Danny bit into it weakly. Even though strength returned to his body, the drowsiness didn’t fade, and darkness bordered his vision. “It’s okay, Rev,” Nyx said. “Mista Fista and the rest of the Freaks have taken care of the top floors. It’s over. Druid is on his way.”

Danny pointed down the corridor. “They are holding children down that way,” he said, struggling to get the words out. “Jose, the Lizard was sent to check on them.”

“I’ll deal with it!” Nyx jumped to her feet.

“No!” Fenrir exclaimed. “You’re too close to the matter, and I can’t trust you to hold back. We need—”

“Jose the Lizard isn’t one of them,” Danny continued, interrupting the hero. “Power Merchant has some sort of mind control on him. I saw it.”

“Rest up, son,” Fenrir said, standing over Danny. He couldn’t tell whether the hero had walked or teleported over. The world was fading quick. “You did good, son. Taking down a power mimic is not easy, especially after losing half the blood in your body.” He faced Nyx. “Get him out of here. I’ll have Druid deal with Jose and the children.”

Nyx disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Danny gave in to the drowsiness a heartbeat later.