"Isn’t that Commander Ronan from the 6th Assault Unit?" One of the operatives asked, surprise in his voice. He had clearly recognized the crippled STF mber. "He’s not dead?"
"Target visual confird. Secure the periter. Isolate and protect the survivors. Move." Kara gave the order without hesitation. The team dismounted cautiously, weapons raised, eyes sweeping the darkness for any sign of a trap or ambush.
She approached the group with steady steps, rifle trained low but ready.
"Officer, identify and report," she said, sticking to protocol despite a faint sense of recognition.
Nevis stood holding the Boy’s hand, staring in disbelief as STF soldiers closed in around them.
Then, from within the group, a battered man stepped forward. Missing an arm and a leg, he leaned on another captive for support. Despite his condition, he drew himself upright and gave a formal salute with his remaining hand, addressed to soone of lower rank.
"Lieutenant Commander Ronan Vex. 6th Assault Unit," he said clearly.
The mont he spoke, Kara’s posture shifted. Recognition clicked into place. She lowered her weapon and returned the salute without hesitation.
"Kara Vance. Captain, 15th Support and Recovery Unit. It’s an honor to see you alive, sir."
With the identity confird and the area secured, the STF team moved quickly, escorting the survivors toward the vehicle.
"Are you with that young man from the PTF?" Ronan asked as Kara helped him walk.
"Adyr?" Kara’s expression shifted for a second, but she answered imdiately.
"Yes, sir. We were the team assigned to escort him to a nearby village. He was deployed on an infiltration mission into the enemy headquarters. Do you have any intel on his current status?"
She delivered the report without delay. The rest of the STF operatives had already focused their attention on Ronan, silently waiting for his reply.
"I see... so his na is Adyr." Ronan gave a tired smile, then exhaled. "He’s the one who saved us."
The STF team exhaled sharply. For soone from a newly established division, pulling off a mission like that was unheard of. And what ca next would only deepen their disbelief.
"And his current status?" Ronan grinned despite his condition, a strange energy in his voice. "I’d guess he’s busy kicking the Cannibal’s ass right about now."
"I’m sorry?" Kara blinked, unsure if she had heard correctly.
Everyone knew what the Cannibal was. A monster capable of wiping out entire STF units alone. The idea of one person going against it, let alone winning, was absurd.
Until...
A thunderous explosion echoed from deeper within the dark.
"What the hell was that?"
The STF squad snapped into alert mode, weapons up, all eyes locked on the direction the sound had co from. But in the darkness, they could see nothing.
Then ca another sound. This ti, not a blast, but a strike. A heavy impact, sharp and violent, cutting through the silence.
A shape flew from the shadows.
"Switch to night vision," Kara ordered, already pulling her goggle attachnt down. In the enhanced view, the object landed so distance away, and it was human-shaped.
"Captain..." Derek’s voice trembled. He couldn’t be entirely sure, but based on the profile, body mass, and what Ronan had just said... it all added up.
Others saw it too.
Even with night vision’s distortion, the figure’s dark gray skin, bald head, and grotesquely deford mouth were unmistakable.
"It’s the Cannibal," Kara whispered, swallowing hard, ready to order a retreat at any mont.
But the shock wasn’t over.
Another figure entered their view. Descending from above with glowing wings that flared like divine fire in the goggles. It landed beside the Cannibal with incredible speed and, without hesitation, drove a fist straight into its face.
THONG!
The sound of bone hitting steel reverberated across the ruined terrain. The survivors clutched their ears, flinching. The STF operatives froze, jaws slack.
"What the hell is that..." Derek murmured, eyes wide.
But it wasn’t over.
The winged figure didn’t stop. It adjusted its wings, then darted forward mid-air. Before the Cannibal’s body hit the ground, he caught him and drove a knee into his gut, hamring him into the dry earth.
BAM!
The second impact was louder, deeper—like soone had drop-kicked a slab of iron through a concrete wall.
"Captain..." Derek swallowed hard. "The winged one... he’s wearing an STF uniform."
It wasn’t a full uniform; the jacket was missing, but everyone saw it. No one spoke.
Until Derek broke the silence. "I told him once... that I thought third-generation mutants had three heads and six arms."
He continued, forcing a tight smirk. "Now I see he has fucking wings."
Turns out, his assumptions hadn’t been that far off. The others didn’t even laugh. They couldn’t.
For the next several minutes, they watched in silence, unable to look away, as a fight they would never forget unfolded in grainy green.
—
"You damn tin can," Adyr muttered, shaking his leg out after the last kick.
Even with his high [Resilience] stat, the Cannibal’s skin was sothing else. The recoil from the Burst Hop-powered kick had cramped a muscle in his calf.
"Cough... You... cough..." The Cannibal struggled to rise, spitting blood as he tried to speak.
"Sothing stuck in your throat?" Adyr calmly grabbed him by the neck and slamd him face-first into the ground.
"Better now? No?" He tilted his head, watching the man twitch, then stomped on his skull with the heel of his boot.
"How about now? Still not working?" No answer. Adyr stomped again. Then again. Until the Cannibal’s face was buried in the dirt.
He paused.
Looking down at the half-buried head, he grabbed him by the neck and dragged him up again.
"What are you, a damn ostrich?" He laughed, staring straight into the Cannibal’s eyes.
"Wait..." The Cannibal finally found a gap between beatings to speak.
Too late.
Adyr shoved another punch into his mouth.
"I can’t wait. You better speak fast." Another punch followed. And another. He didn’t give the man’s jaw a mont to recover.
Soon, sharp, jagged teeth were snapping and breaking loose, mixing with blood as they hit the dirt.
"Hey," Adyr said, finally pausing. He let go of the Cannibal’s neck, allowing the man to collapse to his knees. Then he leaned in, grabbed his face, and brought it to eye level.
"I forgot to ask—where exactly is the Spark located in your body?"
He’d been pumling him for a while, but the Spark still hadn’t revealed itself. No system ssage either.
Then again, this world didn’t always give ssages. Even when using energy crystals, no prompt appeared confirming the energy gain.
"L-leabh ’lone... you mah’ban...’’ The plea barely left his mouth before another fist shattered two more teeth.
"Batman?" Adyr said, raising an eyebrow. For a second, a wave of nostalgia from his old world washed over him.
"I sed... leh goh, you mah’man..." the Cannibal repeated, his voice desperate—clearer this ti, but still strained.
"Oh, madman." Adyr laughed, but his expression snapped back to cold in an instant. "Manners." Then ca another punch, sending blood splattering across the dirt.
"Now—where is the Spark located in your body? Tell , and I’ll let you go." He added calmly.
His blank stare wasn’t convincing at all.
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