'Stand UP. Son.'
It was his father. The shadow...the manipulator...the one behind it all.
The one behind this event.
Wait....or was it him. Did Jon lead Hannah to here? The butler was right...
'Hannah...stay with me!'
'Jon.....' Gripping tightly onto Jon's arms with a strength he didn't know she had.
'I am sorry...' Jon said, tears dripping down onto Hannah's cheeks, and she still.....had a smile?
'No...I don't believe them.' Hannah smiled, 'you would never do anything like that....'
'I...I will get you out of here now!' Jon promised, 'wait for me!'
'Ok...' Hannah said, 'remember, if I am stuck, I will need your help.'
'I will be right back.....' Jon promised, 'I promise.'
Hannah nodded as she locked her eyes onto Jon as he gently laid her down on her side.
'The hand as steady as the center of a black hole. The finger as accurate as entangled quantums. The eyes as sharp as a string of atoms. The footwork as fast as shoot stars.'
Jon vanished from the air, and all of the foot soldiers surrounding him are taken down by a shadow traveling at blinding speed. The neck of the last one was snapped before the body of the first realized what has happened. As bodies dropped one by one, more and more foot soldiers appeared from the streets, the shops, the restaurants and the residential rooms.
They are all dressed in black, matching the color of the suit of his father.
He simply stood there and watched as his son went on the rampage, only to see his efforts being useless.
Then, as Jon prepared to attack again, his father lets out a low grunt and dashed forward, his speed many more times faster than Jon as he rammed through the street, the air pressure from his movements ripping up the materials of the road. He kicked through to Jon, sending the of his son flying away.
'STAND. SON.' He ordered again.
'Screw you.' Jon cursed, dashing forward now at his father as he prepared his attacks. However, no matter how many punches he threw, how many kicks he dished out, how many time he pivoted around and avoided the counter attacks, his father just looked so...effortless in his movements.
'AHHHHH!' Jon screamed out in anger and channeled all of his strength into the next attack, his speed becoming even faster than before as the duel of the father and son is now way too fast for anyone else to see. As Jon swung a punch towards his father's stomach, creating shock waves along with his hands, his father reached out with his gigantic hand and grabbed onto Jon's face before slamming him down onto the ground.
The ground underneath first was cracked, compressed before it exploded and jetted out materials from the side as Jon became partially buried in the crater created by the impact.
'STAND OR YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CARRY ON THE LEGACY.' His father ordered, 'You belong here. You belong to the strong. There is no need to associate yourself with the weak.'
Jon coughed a few times and found himself losing his voice. His lungs are nearly collapsed from the impact, and he lost count of how many rib bones that he has dislocated or broken during the fight.
Looking over towards Hannah who's lying helplessly on the ground, Jon reached out his hand towards her, only to see her mouth a phrase towards Jon before she was surrounded by the crowd.
"it's okay."
'....escalation 2....ACTIVATE!'
A shock wave traveled outwards with Jon as the epicenter as the release of energy became the last straw on the camelback for the structures surrounding them. With the total collapse of the buildings around him, Jon stood up tall.....no.....he levitated up from the ground. His entire body filled with the energy of the cosmos as parts of his body came in and out of existence.
He looked in the direction of Hannah and the crowd that devoured her, and he flicked his finger.
A wave of air shot out and blew all of those soldiers dressed in black away, the impact of the blast completely obliterating the bodies of the few that stood near the outside as all that remained are strands of fabric and pieces of flesh raining down from the sky.
Vanishing from where he was and reappearing above Hannah, she has already lost her consciousness, but it looked like he appeared in time to prevent any further injuries to her body.
He needed to finish the fight as quickly as possible and get her out of here. However, if he were to carry Hannah out in this state, the travel itself may be enough to kill her. He needs to get rid of his father as quickly as possible before he could do anything else.
Turning to face his dad who now carried a twisted smile on his face.
'WHAT'S SO FUNNY!' Jon asked, grabbing onto his throat and bringing him high up into the air before he could even process what he has said, 'Is this what you wanted? To die at my hand?'
'YES!' He said ecstatically, 'THAT'S HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE! THAT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY YOU CANNOT RUN AWAY FROM!'
'Don't press your stupid games on me!' Jon said, gripping tighter and tighter onto his thick muscular neck.
'I am not going down like this.' The father chuckled coldly before grunting again, channeling his power and slammed his fists into the sides of Jon. However, he hit nothing as his fist disappeared into the voids inside of Jon's body.
'I don't have time for you.' Jon said, closing his fist.
In the end, there was no satisfaction in his father's eyes of a job well done, there was only a mixture of shock, fear and regret. However, death comes way too quickly for those involved in this line of business.
Appearing back on the ground level again, Jon tossed the body of his father into the crowd of people standing in front of the nearest portal before deactivating his escalation 2 and picking up Hannah from the ground. There was still warmth in her body and a glow that is too faint to see.
Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed through the portal.
The portal took the two of them directly to the middle of zone 2's central park.
There is nobody near them under the night sky, and Jon kicked the doors shut behind him before dashing away in the air. Now that his Escalation 2 has been turned off, all of the pains and injuries he suffered in his previous state came flooding back to him. Mistepping, he flipped and fell again on his face while protecting Hannah in his arms.
'J...jon...' She murmured and opened her eyes.
'Hang on there!' Jon said, 'I did it! I beat them...I beat them!'
'Jon...' Hannah said, gripping onto Jon's arm and said, 'you are in no condition to...to run.....'
'What are you saying? I am taking you to the nearest hospital!'
'I have been suppressing my wounds with my powers, but I know my limits...Jon, I.....'
'I am not doing this!' Jon shook his head as he gripped tightly onto Hannah, 'I love you! I want to be with you for a long time, so you better be damn sure you HANG THE FUCK ON!'
'I...I am happy...' Hannah smiled as a teardrop traveled down the side of her cheek into Jon's hands, 'I am happy to know...I really am...but it looks like....
With trembling lips, Jon forced himself to shut the hell up as Hannah's glow bathed his shaking body in the darkness.
'you.....may have to seek the truth without me...'
'What even is the point without you...'
'That's for you to discover...' Hannah said, her voice growing ever lighter and quieter and Jon leaned in close, 'I always wondered how it feels to hug you, now I...'
She reached out and kissed him on the cheek gently before continuing.
'Tell Patty...and don't be so h...'
Jon leaned and waited for her to finish, but as the glow fainted away and darkness began to surround him, Jon couldn't make out the last of her words. With the last glow of hers, all Jon saw was her smile.
Kneeling there in the darkness alone, Jon held onto Hannah and did not move until the day breaks.
He was found a day later by other park users and put into the hospital.