Don't Fear the Reaper

Got him!!  

Frontline couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as he felt the fist connect, colliding with Fausts face, and even with his superspeed, the villain couldn’t react in time to negate the power behind the blow. It was all the hero needed to end this fight, as he put enough power behind the blow to knock out the villain, given what his previous attack had done.  

"A good attempt."

“What!!?” Frontlines eyes grew wide, as he felt his fist stop short of knocking the villain off his feet, and even being pushed back, as Faust straightened back up. In shock, he didn’t see the counter punch, which dug into his gut like a drill, knocking the very air from his lungs, and forcing him flying back, crashing into a stack of crates.  

Where did this sudden strength come from? Was he faking it before, trying to lure the hero into a false sense of security??

Either way, Frontline clenched his fist, as he lifted himself out of the broken crates, his eyes immediately locked onto Faust. “I already told you...” He dashed forward. “There’s too much at stake to walk away.”  

From his previous attempts, Frontline had learned a few things. First being, this man was much stronger and tougher than he had let on earlier and was going to be a challenge for the young hero.  

The second part, and the most important part, was that he was adamant about not letting anybody get to the bomb.  

As Frontline got near, it appeared he would be trying for another frontal assault, his right fist pulled back, preparing to give a superman punch.  

However, as defenses would most likely go up, or the villain would brace for the blow, readying his own counterattack, Frontline suddenly shot up into the air. Flying over Faust, he dashed for the top of the stairs, glancing back briefly, before disappearing down the lower levels, making his own way to the bomb.  

What was Faust to do, he could easily subdue Shuriken, but she was slippery fighter, and Frontline was fast.  

If he stayed to finish her off, he risked the bomb being destroyed.

Chie ran full force the second she was back on her feet, and for a moment victory was in her clutches. The stairway was her salvation, years of parkour would make climbing them a sinch. Unfortunately, Chie had celebrated pre-emptively and she barely ducked the hammer as she heard it whistling through the air. To make matters worse, in a blur her adversary had caught up to her and was standing before her menacingly. She had heard Frontline hit him, the shockwave was intense, yet here reaper was, acting as of he was playing a childish game of tag. If even that bulldozer of a man couldn't make him flinch, Chie wasn't sure she could hurt him at all.

Instinctively her fist curled up and flung forward at his chest and all the momentum of her break neck speed clambered into his chest to no avail once more. Her wrist was in pain from the blow, Reaper was built like a brick wall!

Reaper's gaze fixed on her and Chie was frozen in fear for the first time. She had dealt with unkillable hooligans, gun toating goons, and inhuman mutants her whole life yet Reaper's eyes truly struck terror in the young heroine. For all the composure he kept, she could tell he had an unmistakable glare of murderous intent. Her legs trembled as his hammer readied and she faltered as his words trailed off in her head. Maybe she should surrender, at least then she'd be able to help evacuate.

Another Woosh of wind flew by her and Chie got the faintest glimpse of Frontline abandoning his plan in favor of a race to the finish line. At first she was furious, it seemed so cowardly to leave her behind. Then, she realized he opportunity he was seizing. Quickly dropped low, swinging her leg at Reaper's own in a fast and desperate sweep. She just needed to buy her companion a little time. Lord knows he was faster than her.


After her leg sweep, Chie tucked and rolled backwards, ready to dodge an incoming attack. Reaper may he fast but she was ready. She just needed to survive.
"Fine then! Deal with me first, if you're man enough" she said as she rose back up, though her voice was quakey and hoarse.

The ground beneath Faust crunched as his feet buckled down against it. Faust had chosen to block to punch Frontline threw his way and while the pain was minor, not nearly enough to stop him, it had enough force to cause the ground around them to fissure from the impact. The residual force from an immovable object against an unstoppable force.

That was good. This was good.

This was exactly what he wanted. It was why he did the job. Job wasn’t the right word for it either. Villainy was more of a passion for him. Sure, it paid the bills, but at the end of the day… this kind of thing…it made him grin. It was wide and unsettling. His eyes were the same. They welled with that strange mix of mirth and excitement. It had been too long since he had a power like this, and even longer since he had engaged in an intense fight.

And then all at once the expression, those feelings, all drained from him as Frontline just dashed away. The “hero” left the girl behind to hold him off. Surely he had to know that she alone wouldn’t be able to do a thing against him. Even as Frontline ramped up the power he had only taken a minor injury. This girl…this unpowered girl who-

She tried to leg sweep him. He was unmoved. If anything, it might’ve hurt her more to do that.

He stared at her, his form looming in the darkness. He was silent. It was that painful kind of since, one where you could taste the malice that was brewing just beneath the surface.
Was it her fault? No.
Would she suffer for it? Absolutely.

In a flash, using as much speed as he could muster, he would be gone. In a blink he’d be by his hammer, hand wrapped around it and then….gone again, only to appear right before her. His eyes pierced through the darkness as he glared down at her. In the next moment, his hand would be on throat and he would attempt to throw her down on the ground. It would hurt, though not nearly enough force to break anything. He’d stand again and set his foot against her chest, aiming to pin her to the ground to ensure she would not go anywhere.

If the pain had been bad, the heat would be worse. The hammer’s head held enough to heat to melt most metals, the only thing keeping it from causing too much collateral damage was invisible, intangible force keeping the heat contained in a small bubble. Even this close, though, the heat could be felt. It was that kind of heat that could you burn and sizzle. It was like putting your hand a little too close to a fire.

It wasn’t close enough to cause real damage yet, but he held the hammer just above her shoulder, ready to let it fall at a moment’s notice. He had done as she wanted. He dealt with her first.

“Leaving your ally to die?” He called, “If that is what you both consider heroism, my my…you both have some way to go.” His voice echoed down the stairs. “Unless you scurry back and surrender I will kill her in…five…four…three…”

Frontline found a perfect point to stop, preparing to ambush Faust. He had put enough space between himself and Shuiriken, that would give the vigilante enough room to avoid the fight, and slip towards the bomb. He was certain Faust wouldn’t risk wasting time on her, and would certainly stop him from getting to the prize.  

“Leaving your ally to die?”

Damnit, would he really risk the bomb, just to inflict pain?? What kind of villain was he?

“If that is what you both consider heroism, my my…you both have some way to go.”

He really was willing to risk it, he wasn’t just a villain, this man was a monster!!

“Unless you scurry back and surrender, I will kill her in…five…four…three…”

The air shifted around Shuriken, as a sudden burst of wind washed over her.  

From Fausts blind spot, Frontline appeared, flying low and fast, going for a spear tackle.  

This time, he wasn’t holding back, as the fear that lingered in the back of his head had completely subsided, and his mind was clear. He had to make this hit count, and give Shuriken a clear opening. Plus, he knew the villain could take it, as he had already proven to be at least on the same physical level as the young hero.  

Right now, all Frontlines focus was on the monster in front of him, watching every movement he makes.

As her leg slammed into Faust's she immediately regretted it as she bounced off him like a steel beam, reeling from the pain. Her eyes followed his blinding movements, but off balance and startled, she only managed to flip away from him before she realized how meanless the movement was. Before she truly saw what happened Faust tossed her with a loud thud against the hard ground, and he was on her just as quickly once more.

Fear was a feeling Shuriken always managed to quell, even when faced with death-defying odds. Danger was part of this line of work and Shuriken had learned that from the get-go. Perhaps because of Faust's fear aura, or the fact a hammer burning like the sun was dangling right over her chest, Chie had begun to truly panic. She squirmed for a moment as the gravitas of the situation began to truly kick in. This was no goofy ne'er-do-well or lowly criminal. Her throat grew dry and with Fuast pressing against her chest she wheezed to breathe. Despite all of this, when Fuast taunted her she managed to courage and will out of spite for how he demeaned her.

"Don't listen to him, stop th-" She began, but before her words could escape her lips Frontline had slammed hard into Fuast, and the impact sent them both flying away.

In the commotion, Fuast's hammer went flying into the air, and Chie barely rolled out of the way before the unwieldy weapon came flying back down toward her head first. It left a crater in the concrete mere inches from her nose. Endorphins thoroughly running through her veins she flipped back to her feet in a sudden surge of speed, gripped the hammer in her hands and lifted with all her might until she swung it once and let go right when it would be sent flying again, this time at where Faust was. She didn't stick around to find out if the hit landed. Another smoke bomb was swiftly deployed and this time Chie was once again rushing for the stairs.

The hero returned and Faust was sent flying back as the man's fist collided into him.

It was a good, solid hit.

Then came the hammer, which burned against his chest for a moment before being pushed away and sent flying towards a far wall. That one...that really hurt. It was the kind of pain he didn't even have the time to process and scream out in protest. It was that silent sort of pain that didn't render any sort of reaction.

There was a hard impact as his form collided with the concrete floor, bounced, and then collided again like a flat stone thrown across a lake. Each strike against the ground broke the concrete and was accompanied by a loud, thunderous crash! As the distance grew, his body slowed to a skid until he struck a pile of boxes that buckled and collapsed on top of him, burying him in a wooden grave where he would hopefully stay down for the counter.

For the briefest of moments, there may have been a tinge of hope that Frontline's strike had been enough to bring the villain. His body was still on the cold ground, unseen with the mountain of boxes atop him. Silence fell on warehouse. The only sound that would follow would be that from the heroes and their own movements. It was a long moment, a moment that felt like minutes could've passed, hours even. It was the sort of moment that left one questioning whether or not it had really happened, on whether or not the join attack of the heroes was enough to bring Faust down.

All at once the moment ended and there was almost pulse of dread that cascaded out from the mound! It would wash over the warehouse and all within it like a crashing wave that tore away at the shore. It wasn't over, Faust, the Crimson Reaper, Nemesis still stirred from beneath the rubble and worse, the rage he felt was almost tangible. And it was all directed at the two heroes (bumping to level three dread: Loss of hope begins to occur here, and extreme anxiety is felt. At this point, people who are not trying to engage with Victor will unknowingly try and flee from the aura. When engaged one may feel as if there is little hope in actually beating him, killing morale and slowing reason. This range covers about a sixty-foot radius.)

The collapsed boxes seemed to explode outward from that spot, coming down like a hard hail that crashed against anything in their way. A few boxes, either by rotten chance or mal intent, landed right by the staircase to block the way forward. They wouldn't be a hard barrier to pass, he was sure either of them could just break through at a running pace, but there was a chance it might make them pause for a moment.

He wouldn't even give them that moment. He stomped a foot down with enough force to break the ground around in him a wide radius; enough force to send fragments of cement up in the air. He barreled forward, with a speed nearly to fast to follow, charging with the intent to take down anything that dared to be in his way. He was headed straight for stairs that led downward and for the hero that was making her way towards it.

Before impact, though, a sudden sound broke through it all.

"...You are my sunshine, my only sunshine~" A pleasant sounding song, sung by a woman with an even more pleasant voice.

The sound made Faust stop in his tracks, stopping between the stairs and Shuriken. He lifted a finger to the pair, the universal sign of "Give me a moment" and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the source of the signing, a small flip phone which he opened and held to his ear. Before answer he put a hand over the receiver and smiled at the two heroes, "It's my daughter, one moment please." He looked forward at nothing, "Yes, sweetie?" He answered in much sweet, softer tone, just standing there and ignoring the heroes.

Standing firm, Frontline watched, with a hint of satisfaction, as the villain went airborne, rag dolling across the ground. The hammer hitting him next, hitting with a rather impressive amount of force, giving its weight, and Shurikens smaller frame. From the heroes view, it seemed they had dealt some serious pain, as the warehouse was suddenly still, Faust being buried under a pile of collapsed crates.  

Frontline knew, however, that it was never that simple, as he marched towards the rubble, grabbing onto the hammer himself.  

As he drew closer, he came to a brief stop mid-step, as an overwhelming surge of fear hit him like a punch to the gut. It was now clear Faust was still in the fight, and was not happy. The anger came to a climax, as the rubble the villain was formerly piled under suddenly exploded into a wave of splintered, wooden shrapnel.  

Frontline, thinking quickly, rushed over to Shuriken, using his own body as a human shield, to prevent stray shrapnel from hitting her. “Ya know, we need to stop meeting like this...” He joked, hoping it would ease up some of the dread that Faust was hitting them with. “Leave him to me, you get to that bomb!” He charged towards Faust, moving to swing the hammer at the villain.  

“....you are my sunshine, my only sunshine~”

Frontline slid to a stop, looking around the warehouse for a second, before realizing the ringtone was coming from Faust himself. The villain signaled for a pause in the fight, as he pulled out his cellphone. The hero lowered the hammer, looking to Shuriken, raising a brow in confusion.

Shuriken once again was booking it to the stairwell when a much more intense and deeper fear gripped her. She went from a sprint to a full blown run like a cheetah was right behind her, tears welling up in her eyes as she felt the true fear. Chie had always been a particularly bold and headstrong woman, and to feel this level of panic was unbecoming of her, but not even Frontline's casual banter could save her from Reaper's aura. The debris was mostly blocked her ally, and for a moment a glimpse of relief began to pierce the veil of terror clouding her judgement, but just as soon as it seemed like freedom was on her the glimmer of hope was quelled as Reaper was once more in her way. if she was terrified before, looking at the cause of her fear was petrifying. She felt frozen, like a deer in headlights, staring in an awe-filled dread at the man who could and likely would obliterate her. The seared wound on his chest proof that he likely had a bone to pick with her. Regret caused her throat to dry out, and she felt her legs trembling under her as she stayed still in his presence.

Her terror was cut short by a rather adorable ringtone. To her astonishment, Reaper pulled out a rather mundane looking flip phone and began speaking in a much less intimidating tone. The small reprieve was exactly what she needed to strengthen her resolve, and with a deep gulp to swallow her emotions, she tightened her fist. While fear still permeated her mind, now it was replaced by a feeling she had a much harder time controlling: anger.
"He's distracted" She whispered to frontline, who seemed to be looking to her for advice.

She motioned to the brute of a hero with her head to attack with her head and hands, perhaps between the phone call, an invincible tank of a man, and the pain he was feeling, she could slip past. At the very least, it was better than standing here, the longer she stood and watched, the harder it was getting to keep from fleeing.

While the heroes looked to each other and began their murmuring, Faust went on with his phone call, continuing on in that same pleasant tone he had started with. Vaguely, over the line, a young girl’s voice could be heard. She sounded…maybe no more than five? Six? If this was some kind of trick, it was at least a very convincing one; one that had employed the aid of an actual child.

“Yes, sweetie, daddy’s at work right now-oh!” He seemed surprised by some kind of news, “Are you okay? Yes…oh no! That’s awful, sweetie. Mhmm…Oh, I think we might be able to do that. Is your mother there, can I speak to her.? Thank you, sweetie.”

There was a slight pause in the call and he slowly pulled the phone away so he could look to the heroes. He mouthed the word “sorry” to them. At the very least, he was still aware of their presence and to some extent was keeping track of them while he talked.

A woman’s voice sounded over the phone and he set it back to his ear. “Hi honey!” He went on, just as bright as he was when he talked to his daughter. “Does she have a temperature? Uh’huh…yeah. Oh, that’s not so bad, but I can take her to the doctor tomorrow. What’s that? Oh! Ha, yes, of course I can, dear. Let me just wrap things up here and I’ll be on my way home.” He let out another small laugh, “Oh, it’s actually two heroes this time, they’ve done pretty well. You would like them. All right, thank you, honey. Give our princess a kiss for me and I’ll see you both soon. Love you.”

And with that, he hung up the phone and let out a sigh. He looked back to the heroes for a moment and sighed deeply. “Sorry about that, heroes. Family, you know?” He reached a hand up to the neck and gave a hard crack of it, letting out some tension. “My daughter is sick with a minor fever, so I am afraid this is where I have to leave you both. I want to stop and get her sherbet before the store closes.” He reached into his pocket and took out a small piece of paper and pen. He scribbled something down quickly and then held it out to the pair. “Here you are. The deactivation codes to the device downstairs. That should suffice, yes?”

If he seemed at all bothered about having to leave the job, he had an odd way of showing it. Honestly, this was part of his contract. In case of family emergency, he would forgo half the payment he had received at the start of the job. He still came out of it with some profit, an honestly decent paycheck, and he kept his integrity.

He smiled at the pair and held out his hand to Frontline, “If it isn’t too much trouble I would like my hammer back, it is such a pain to get a new one made. Do you know how many channels you have to go through to get one of these commissioned?” He let out a small laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “You both have been wonderful, though. I do hope we get to meet again somewhere out in the field again.”

Frontline couldn’t mask the look of surprise on his face, seeing this man go from a blood lusted monster, to sudden gentleman father, all in a span of seconds. It was like the phone call hit a switch in his head, spinning everything on its head. “Oh, yeah, of course...” He managed to get out, mocking how normal the villain was making this out to be. “Family duties come first.”  

It wasn’t until Faust handed Frontline the deactivation code, that the hero realized how serious this man was.  

The code itself was the obvious clue, as he let out a sigh, looking to Faust. “Go take care of your daughter.” His tone was suddenly serious, as he handed over the hammer.  

While Frontline would prefer to take the villain in, and have him face justice, time wasn’t on their side, and Faust was proving to be too much for both of them to handle.  

He looked over to Shuriken, giving her a reassuring look, before turning back to Faust, a smile on his face. “After all, we can always finish this later.” He then turned towards the stairs, clearing the debris from their way. He looked over to Shuriken, signaling her to the stairs. “You coming??”

Shuriken flowered at Faust as he continued his phone call, refusing to let her gaurd down. This was a life or death battle for her, and the terror feild was still weighing on her. The more Faust gave up his nefarious persona the less she trusted him. Even when he offered them the codes and a safe trip to their mission, she remained battle ready and her eyes defiantly burning with a defensive wrath. Frontline, however, did not share her skepticism. Eagerly he reached forward for the note.

"No, wait!" She stuttered out, but to her surprise he had already gotten the note. Faust seemed uninterested in the heroes now, his voice, his posture and indeed his whole demeanor had altered. As Frontline returned his hammer she momentarily stiffened but as Faust let the hero walk past him she slowly eased up. Letting out a sigh of releif when she saw the battle was over, she turned her attention to frontline.
"Actually I think I'm all heroed out tonight, do you think you can finish up here dude?" Chie replied as she leaned against a wall and began to huff and puff with exertion. Adrenaline and sheer moxie had kept her going this whole time, and the intensity of the battle was starting to get to her.
"It's a school night after all" she added with a nervous chuckle as she turned to Faust momentarily. No doubt he would understand.

"But it was nice to have some help. Next time, let a try doong things my way though" she added before tossing another smoke bomb.

As the thin veil of smoke vanished she was gone, though to frontline and his impeccable hearing. He could likely hear the feint footsteps of the girl darting off into the night.

Any other goons left guarding the place would prove to be a minor nuisance at most. The majority of them had left once news that Faust had forfeit and so any others did not have faith in their weaponry. New York had once again been saved from imminent danger. From who, and for how long however. That had yet to be determined.