The mutants charged forward, claws dragging across the ground.
Their eyes locked on Starjack, who stood in the center of the street, completely relaxed.
Starjack spun both pistols in his hands, then quickly pulled out a small orb from his belt and tossed it into the air.
It hovered, blinked, and projected a live feed across a floating screen in front of him.
"Alright, everyone," he grinned. "Welco back to the Starjack Show!"
The drone blinked twice, and [Showti Nerve] kicked in.
Ether surged through his body, sharpening his senses and boosting his speed and aim.
He raised both pistols. "Let’s kill so mutants, yeah?"
One of the mutants roared and lunged at him with a beastly leap.
Its arms thickened midair as it activated [Brute Pounce Mutation], aiming to crush Starjack in one hit.
Starjack smirked. "Too slow."
He tossed out a glowing decoy clone behind himself.
[Spotlight Decoy]
The clone flashed with a bright light and drew the mutant’s attention just enough.
It crashed into the decoy, breaking through it, only to catch two bullets to the head mid-roll.
Starjack twirled, shot twice more, and flipped backward.
The second mutant opened its mouth wide, gathering a glowing orb of corrupted energy.
Then it spat it toward Starjack like a cannon blast.
[Acid Core Spit]
Starjack ducked and slid under the attack, one hand on the ground, spinning low.
The acid flew past him and splashed across the wall behind, hissing and lting the tal.
"Oooh, nasty," he said. "Let’s not touch that."
The third and fourth mutants rushed him from both sides, moving in sync.
Their arms grew longer, claws sparking with electricity.
They triggered [Shock Tendril Lunge] and swung at him with wide arcs.
Starjack snapped his fingers, and two small hover drones buzzed out from behind his back.
They fired flashing beams that blinded both mutants mid-swing.
He jumped between them and rolled forward.
[Flash Recast] triggered as he spun and kicked one in the back of the leg.
He then emptied three shots into the other’s shoulder.
The drones buzzed again and circled him, making it harder to hit him cleanly.
The crowd watching his stream began climbing.
He smirked and looked into one of the drones.
"You see that, viewers? That’s what we call sick movent."
But then the fifth mutant slamd its hand into the ground.
[Howl of Chaos]
A pulse of corrupted ether burst outward, shaking the ground and sending Starjack stumbling.
His drones flickered. One was hit and sparked out.
He grimaced and dropped to a knee.
"Alright..." he said, gritting his teeth. "That was actually decent."
He stood up again, brushing dust from his jacket.
"But you just ruined my cara angle."
He pulled both pistols back up and grinned wider than before.
"Now I’m gonna have to make this ssy."
He fired several rapid shots at the nearest mutant, each bullet crackling with light.
The mutant stumbled but didn’t fall.
Instead, it roared and activated [Bone Plating Surge], thick armor-like growths forming along its chest and shoulders.
The next few bullets bounced off uselessly.
Starjack cursed under his breath. "Oh co on, that’s cheating."
Another mutant sprinted toward him from the side.
Its legs glowed with red energy as it used [Burst Claw Dash], moving in a zigzag and slashing at him.
Starjack jumped back, rolled, and fired mid-air.
[Flash Recast] triggered, allowing him to shoot while moving.
Still, he only clipped its arm.
Then the third one tackled him from behind.
Starjack crashed hard into the ground, his back scraping against the pavent.
His goggles cracked.
He barely rolled out of the way as a claw stabbed down beside his head.
"Where the hell is this Ironstride?" he shouted, scrambling back and shooting twice to hold them off.
"I’ve got five of these freaks!"
Another mutant howled and sent out a shockwave of sound.
[Sonic Frenzy Cry]
Starjack staggered, clutching his ears as the noise hit him like a punch.
His drones flickered, one dropping from the air and crashing beside him.
"Seriously?!"
He tried to stand, but one of the mutants grabbed him by the collar and raised him up.
Its eyes glowed, mouth dripping with thick venom.
Starjack looked down at his nearly empty pistols.
"Not how I wanted this episode to end."
Then a loud boom echoed across the plaza.
A massive tal shield crashed into the side of the mutant holding Starjack, sending it flying.
Starjack dropped and hit the ground, coughing once.
"Ironstride!" he shouted. "Finally!"
Ironstride stepped into view, calm and steady.
His armor glead, and his shield locked back into place.
"You said you had it covered," Ironstride said.
"I did! Until they started using skills like pro-class mutants!"
Ironstride raised his shield and blocked an incoming acid spit.
[Bulwark Deploy] shimred around him, absorbing the blast completely.
"Next ti, don’t separate from formation."
Starjack stood up, brushing off his jacket.
"Next ti, don’t vanish in the middle of my spotlight!"
Ironstride didn’t answer.
He stepped forward, placing himself between Starjack and the incoming enemies.
The mutants roared, regrouping for another charge.
Starjack spun one of his pistols, grinning widely as another drone zipped into the air beside him.
"Alright, alright," he said, eyes lighting up.
"Ti to wrap this up... just like the classics."
The drone locked in and flashed bright, starting a new stream.
Ironstride stepped up beside him, shield raised and steady.
He glanced at Starjack. "Together, then."
Starjack raised both guns. "Let’s make it a show."
The two launched forward as the screen cut to black.
---
From the rooftop across the plaza, Zain and Velra watched the battle.
Velra crossed her arms, eyes following the two heroes below.
"They’re pretty good," she said.
"Stronger than the A-rank heroes we saw back in B-Zone."
Zain nodded slowly.
"Not bad. But if they’re just patrolling... that ans they’re low-tier here."
Velra glanced at him. "So the real elites must be sothing else."
Zain’s eyes narrowed, still watching the battlefield.
"Exactly. This place hides monsters in suits."
He turned away.
"Get ready," he said. "We move when they finished."
Velra smirked. "Always ready, Master."
Reviews
All reviews (0)