The battle raged around them... smoke, fire, and rubble painting a warzone in the heart of Manhattan. But amid the chaos, The Blacksmith wasn't focused on Big Rick.
He was watching his teammates.
Froststorm stood atop a broken light pole, her crystalline armor glowing with white-blue energy. She moved her arms in a circular motion, like a conductor leading an orchestra.....and ice answered. With a sharp motion of her hand, dozens of spears of frozen crystal erupted from nearby rooftops, street corners, even from the shattered windows of a nearby building.
They screamed through the air like missiles.
FWOOOM! FWOOOM! FWOOOM!
Each projectile came from a different angle, each one moving at jet-speed, converging on Big Rick in a split second. When they hit, they exploded in blinding flashes of frost and pulverized concrete.
"Now!" she shouted over the roar.
The Blacksmith didn't hesitate....but he felt it.
That gap.
She's become a damn artillery unit.
He sprinted through the cover of smoke and ice mist, flanking right as Steel Alfredo blurred past him on the left. The man's new armor gleamed silver-black, energy pulsing through the gauntlets like a thunderstorm contained in steel. His movements were faster, heavier.... each step cracking the pavement beneath him.
They've both leveled up… while I'm still swinging swords.
Big Rick roared in fury, swiping blindly through the mist, but The Blacksmith was already behind him.
He dropped low and slashed hard at the back of Big Rick's knees, his twin swords hissing through the air.
CLANG!
The cuts connected....shallow, but effective. Big Rick's leg buckled.
"Now!" The Blacksmith shouted.
Steel Alfredo needed no second cue.
He leapt.
A blur of metal and fury, he soared above the ground with seismic speed, his right fist glowing red-hot as kinetic energy built inside the gauntlet.
"Let's see if you can you survive this, tough guy!"
BOOOOM!
The punch connected with an earth-shaking impact, right in the center of Big Rick's chest. It was like a bomb had gone off, the shockwave shattered every window on the block.
Big Rick flew backward like a ball, crashing through three armored vehicles like bowling pins, then smashing into the corner of a concrete building, embedding halfway into it.
Chunks of debris rained down.
Silence, for just a second.
Then The Blacksmith exhaled, chest heaving.
But his eyes were still on his comrades.
Steel Alfredo landed beside him with a metallic stomp, his suit venting steam. "That's how you drop a monster."
Froststorm floated gently down behind them, her feet touching the cracked asphalt. She didn't speak... just lifted her hand and summoned another dozen ice spears, hovering above her like a deadly halo.
The Blacksmith gripped his swords tighter, forcing a calm breath.
I can't keep up like this. Froststorm can hit from anywhere. Alfredo's punches can shatter buildings. And me? I slash and pray.
He hated the thought.
But it was there.... bitter and real.
If I don't evolve... I'm going to get left behind.
Big Rick groaned in the distance, rubble shifting as he pushed his massive form up from the wreckage. His glowing eyes locked back onto them.
Steel Alfredo grinned. "Round three?"
The Blacksmith didn't answer right away.
He stared down at his swords.
Then up at the beast rising again.
I'll find my breakthrough. Even if it kills me.
Just then…
Big Rick turned slowly toward a nearby car.... untouched, miraculously intact amidst the chaos. His shoulders rose with each breath, massive chest heaving like a locomotive about to explode.
He let out a guttural grunt, deep and grinding, the sound of muscle and fury. Veins bulged along his neck and arms as he sank his fingers into the hood of the sedan.
Metal groaned.
With a roar, he ripped the vehicle clean off the ground, lifting it overhead like it weighed nothing.
Froststorm's eyes widened. "Wait.... he's not...."
Big Rick spun once, then hurled the car like a javelin, straight toward the trio.
"Whoa! He's gonna throw that?!" Froststorm shouted.
The car tore through the air like a missile, headlights spinning, glass glinting.
"I got this," The Blacksmith said, stepping forward.
He closed his eyes for a half second. Inhaled deeply.
His grip tightened around the hilts of his swords. Just like when he sliced through Red Ray's laser beam during the Trials. Only this was heavier. Faster. Realer.
Then....he leapt.
His body arced into the air to meet the incoming car, swords poised like twin fangs of judgment. Time slowed. Fire and wind twisted around him.
With a clean, single slash, he split the car in half.
The two flaming halves spiraled away from him, crashing down harmlessly to the sides. The shockwave of the cut blew dust outward in a ring.
He landed hard, skidding slightly, blades still humming.
Froststorm blinked, eyebrows raised. "Okay… that was impressive."
Steel Alfredo cracked his knuckles, the energy in his gauntlets surging to life. "Let's give him another round," he said, eyes locked on Big Rick. "This time, I'm making sure he stays down."
The attack wave began.
Froststorm moved first, sliding backward like a dancer on ice, her arms raised. Shards of glowing blue frost spiraled into the air around her. She thrust both hands forward.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Dozens of razor-sharp ice projectiles launched from every direction....not just in front of Big Rick, but behind him, above, even from underneath, as jagged frozen spikes burst through cracked pavement like rising fangs.
Big Rick stumbled slightly, shielding his face, distracted.
That's when The Blacksmith and Steel Alfredo moved in.
"Left flank!" Blacksmith called.
Steel Alfredo blurred into motion, his body a blur of steel and power. He darted around Big Rick's side and vaulted upward using a bent light pole like a springboard.
Mid-air, he twisted, leg cocked back.
Full force. Kinetic discharge. Break his jaw.
"This one's for SWAT, asshole!"
WHAM!!
Steel Alfredo's metal-plated boot connected square with Big Rick's jaw. The impact echoed like a cannonshot across the city block.
Big Rick's head snapped violently sideways.
Time seemed to stop.
CRRRAACK!
Bone? Asphalt? No one could tell.
Big Rick flew, actually flew, crashing sideways through a burning armored truck, then slammed into a building wall, cratering it with a thunderous thud.
He didn't rise immediately.
Smoke billowed. Dust settled.
Steel Alfredo landed in a three-point crouch, panting. "Now that's what I call dental work."
The Blacksmith stepped up beside him, blades raised again. "Is it over?"
Froststorm hovered slightly off the ground, frost clinging to the air around her. Her pale blue eyes never left the rubble.
She whispered, "No… look."
Through the smoke… Big Rick's fingers twitched.
Then… he stood.
Slowly.
Then he began to change
It wasn't growth. It was compression. Density.
His massive frame didn't stretch taller, it thickened. Hardened. Swelled with raw, crushing mass. Every muscle doubled in volume, packed tighter like forged steel under pressure. Veins bulged like cables. His skin cracked, revealing fissures of glowing energy beneath....magma-like light pulsing with every heartbeat.
Steam hissed off his back.
Then...FFFSSSSHHH!
The restraint muzzle burned clean off his face, vaporized in a hiss of red heat and molten steel. What was left beneath wasn't human.
His face was twisted, contorted in a grotesque sneer of fury. His mouth widened unnaturally. His eyes…
Solid black.
No whites, no pupils.
Just twin dots of red fire burning in the center.
Pure, ancient rage.
The Blacksmith's breath caught in his throat.
"Wha...the fu...."
He didn't finish the sentence.
Before the blink could register, Big Rick was gone from the crater...
And already in front of him.
A blur of monstrous speed.
WHAM!
One massive backhand caught The Blacksmith across the chest. The impact launched him like a ragdoll through the air...shattering the sound barrier, his body spiraling until he crashed into a supermarket across the street.
BOOOOM.
Glass exploded. Shelves collapsed. The entire building groaned under the impact.
Steel Alfredo's eyes went wide.
What the hell…
Big Rick was in front of him now.
No warning.
Just there.
A giant hand closed around Alfredo's head like it was a melon. No hesitation.
Big Rick spun once...
SLAM!!!
He drove Steel Alfredo down like a hammer, pounding him into the concrete with such explosive force that a shockwave radiated outward in every direction. The ground cratered instantly....cars flipped, rubble was pulled inward like a miniature black hole had formed. The pavement fractured, streetlights collapsed, bodies and debris were sucked into the center of destruction.
A ten-meter pit opened around Alfredo's broken form.
Silence followed.
Then the Beast turned.
Slowly.
Toward her.
Froststorm stood frozen, just meters away, her breath caught in her throat. The ice on her fingertips evaporated in the sudden heat radiating from him. Every instinct screamed to run.
Her legs wouldn't move.
The temperature plummeted, but she couldn't feel it.
All she felt… was fear.
She had faced rogue mutants. Alien tech. Cyber-enhanced warlords.
But this…
This was raw, primal extinction.
Doubt punched into her chest like a spear.
Can we even win this?
Is this the end of my future?
Big Rick stepped forward, smoke curling off his shoulders.
One step.
Another.
His eyes burned with red death.
Froststorm took a trembling breath, heart hammering.
And realized…
She was alone.