The courtyard of the Dove Corporation Headquarters, moments ago serene, now bore witness to unparalleled chaos.
Alko, a broad grin stretched under his mask, charged through the sea of officers like a wrecking ball. Every swing of his fists sent Dove officers sprawling.
The joy he derived from each encounter was evident in his mirth-filled eyes as he clobbered them with wild, unbridled strikes.
Not far off, Kimberley was a force to be reckoned with. Her movements were like a deadly dance, a whirlwind of grace and power.
She seamlessly transitioned between lethal hand-to-hand combat and the sharp, fatal bangs of her pistol.
Meanwhile, Udo demonstrated his mastery over traditional Igbo wrestling. He effortlessly caught officers, lifting and slamming them to the ground with technique and raw strength.
The assault was methodical, relentless, and by its conclusion, the courtyard was littered with the unconscious forms of the Dove officers.
Kimberley leaned down, grabbing a fallen officer by the collar, hoisting him up to her eye level. "Alright, let's make this quick. Where's Captain Smyth's office?"
The terrified officer stuttered, "Seventh floor, third door to your right!"
Kimberley raised an eyebrow, "Oh…that was…quick."
Then, without warning, a sharp voice echoed in her ear. "Kim! Watch out!" warned Atamai through her earbud.
Reacting on instinct, Kimberley sidestepped, her image seeming to flicker as a swiftly zipping rugby ball whisked past her, missing by the slimmest of margins.
Turning sharply, Kimberley, Alko, and Udo's gazes locked onto two familiar figures, both poised and ready: the robust Rory and the lithe Scarlett.
Scarlett, her gaze cold, announced, "I don't know who the fuck you cunts are, but just know none of you is leaving here alive."
Rory, standing side by side with Scarlett, nodded, adding, "You got that right, Scarlett."
Udo, eyebrows furrowed, remarked, "Squad Smyth…"
Alko's smirk widened. "Just what I was waiting for."
"But where's their Captain?" Kimberley mused aloud. "Probably hiding in his office or something, keeping Kenny hostage. Udo, you heard the officer earlier, right? Go look for him..." Her eyes fixed on Rory with an icy intensity, "...we'll take care of these two."
Without another word, Udo chanted, "Natus: Transi," prompting a portal to open in front of him. He jumps into it and it shuts, leaving Rory and Scarlett in shock.
Rory's face contorted. "W-what?"
Scarlett, equally stunned, whispered, "Did he just...teleport...?"
But before she could even finish, Alko, grin even wider, appeared before her, his fist drawn back menacingly. "Don't get distracted, cam girl!"
And with that, he swung, connecting with Scarlett's face and sending her catapulting out of the compound.
Rory's face twisted with anger, but before he could react, Kimberley's voice broke his focus. "Hey! I'm your opponent."
Rory's voice cracked with rage, "You fucking prick!"
Rory, every muscle coiled with intent, took a heavy step forward and launched his rugby ball with deadly precision.
The ball, imbued with his anger, cut through the air like a missile, heading straight for Kimberley's head. But with a dancer's grace, she tilted her head to the side, allowing the ball to whoosh past, barely grazing her ear.
But before she could relish in her dodge, Rory used the momentum of his throw to surge forward, shoulder poised for impact.
Yet Kimberley flipped effortlessly over him, landing gracefully on her feet. Without hesitation, she aimed her BB gun and shot a bullet into Rory's exposed back.
"Argh!" The sound escaped his lips as he was propelled forward, crashing onto the hard cobblestones below.
Rory's grit was evident as he tried to rally himself, pushing off the ground to get back to his feet. But Kimberley was relentless. As he rose, she lunged, driving her knee sharply into his chin.
And before he could even register the pain, she spun around, delivering a powerful kick that connected squarely with his face. The impact sent him sprawling backwards.
From her superior position, Kimberley taunted, "Really? That's all you got?"
Rory, touching his mouth, felt the warmth of his own blood. His fingers, stained red, fueled the fury in his eyes.
With a grunt, he scrambled to his feet, his voice dripping with venom. "I'm gonna rip that mask off your face, you cunt!" And with that declaration, he launched himself at her with renewed vigour.
And in the chaos of the courtyard, the battle raged on...
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Meanwhile, not far from the courtyard's tumult, the quiet streets around Dove Corporation Headquarters had transformed into a battlefield of their own.
The air was thick with tension as Alko relentlessly pursued Scarlett. His punches, heavy and unyielding, sought to find their mark.
Each movement he made was a testament to his training and raw power. Scarlett was hard-pressed to block his relentless assault, but she held her own, albeit with difficulty.
But her defence was shattered when Alko unleashed a thunderous kick aimed at her ribs. The sheer force of the blow sent Scarlett soaring through the air, her silhouette momentarily eclipsing the moonlit sky.
While airborne, Scarlett brought her hands together, invoking her power, "Kalo: Blissful Capture!" The moment she landed, albeit roughly, a camera appeared in her grip.
But before she could use it, the ever-aggressive Alko closed in, his speed making it almost impossible for her to react.
With a swift movement, he struck the camera with his knee, the force of the blow also connecting with Scarlett's face, drawing blood. "No pictures!" Alko growled.
Seizing the moment, he grabbed her legs and, using all his strength, spun her around and sent her crashing to the ground some distance away.
Scarlett, still displaying her unyielding spirit, scrambled back to her feet, her face smeared with blood and grit.
"Shit... my camera... it's going to take at least 5 minutes for it to be summonable again..." She lamented. Yet, the fight wasn't over.
She clasped her hands once more, "Kalo: Monopod." Instantly, a sharp monopod materialized in her grasp.
As Alko launched forward, Scarlett swung her monopod.
Alko, agile and alert, skillfully slid underneath her attack, causing her swing to hit nothing but air. He seamlessly flipped back to his feet, dodging each swing of the monopod with finesse and agility.
Suddenly, in a move that caught Scarlett off-guard, Alko blocked the monopod's swing with his bare arm. The sheer audacity of it widened Scarlett's eyes in shock. A wicked grin spread across Alko's face as their eyes locked.
Without warning, he launched a series of swift punches, topped off with a sweeping kick that lifted Scarlett off her feet. Using his momentum, he delivered a fierce spinning kick, sending her crashing to the ground once more.
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Rory charged Kimberley with his rugby ball in hand, a glint of determination in his eyes. As he closed the distance between them, Kimberley reacted swiftly, her gun drawn and ready. She fired off a few rounds, but Rory seemed to be shielded by some invisible barrier.
"Hm. I guess he gets some weird invisible screen by carrying that ball," Kimberley mused aloud, eyeing him warily. "Does it protect his whole body though?"
Testing the limits of his protection, Kimberley aimed for a nearby lamp post and fired a bullet. With a sharp rebound, the bullet struck Rory on the right side of his head, eliciting an "Ow!" from him.
"Nope, just his front," Kimberley observed coolly as Rory recoiled from the blow.
Frustrated and in pain, Rory cursed under his breath. Kimberley, undeterred, aimed at a rock on the ground. The bullet ricocheted off the stone and hit Rory's left cheek, prompting another expletive.
Before Rory could fully comprehend the situation, rubber bullets began to rain down on him from all directions. They bounced off poles, walls, rocks, and even officers' bodies, striking him relentlessly.
"I...I can't react...it's too fast...and she isn't even using real bullets for fuck sake!" Rory gasped, struggling to defend himself against the onslaught.
Finally, the barrage ceased, but Kimberley wasted no time. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Rory, disarming him with a swift kick that sent the rugby ball flying. She then unleashed a flurry of hand-to-hand strikes and firearm blows, battering him mercilessly.
With a final blow from a rubber bullet to his chest, Rory crumpled to the ground, defeated and breathless, as Kimberley stood over him.
Rory and Scarlett found themselves trembling as they gazed up at Kimberley and Alko, each one facing their respective opponent with a mix of fear and determination.
"I hate how damn clever she is," Rory muttered through clenched teeth, his eyes locked on Kimberley's calculating form. "And her movements... they're just too clean."
Scarlett nodded in agreement, her voice tight with frustration. "He's too fast. Even when I manage to land a hit, my monopod can't slice through his defences."
Rory's brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation. "Who..."
Scarlett's expression mirrored Rory's confusion as she finished his sentence. "...the hell..."
Together, they voiced the burning question on both of their minds. "...is under that mask!?"
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Inside the plush, grand office of Captain Smyth at the Dove Corporation Headquarters, Kenny, bearing marks of violence, was immobilized on the floor.
His bindings were unconventional: a collection of five sharp-edged playing cards that eerily floated around his neck. Captain Smyth, looming over the boy, watched the door with a mix of trepidation and bravado.
"They'll come for him," he murmured, attempting to reassure himself. But I have an ace in the hole. Those masked cunts try anything, and the boy's life hangs by a thread." Captain Smyth was staking everything on backup, betting on the arrival of Squad Barclay to save the day.
The atmosphere in the room grew icy cold, making Captain Smyth's skin prickle. An unsettling silence choked the room until Smyth finally ventured, "Are you... taking the piss?"
Without warning, Captain Smyth was confronted by the very thing he'd been dreading: Udo, who had appeared as if out of thin air. Without ceremony or prolonged confrontation, Udo dispatched Smyth with a swift backhand, sending the Captain sprawling.
Quickly freeing Kenny from the cursed chains, Udo whisked the weakened boy away with a mere thought, teleporting them both out of the predicament.
Just outside the Dove Corporation, Ren awaited, leaning casually against his sleek car. Beside him stood a visibly anxious Kelly, the weight of the world in her eyes. In a dazzling instant, Udo materialized before them, holding Kenny tenderly.
The heartfelt reunion between mother and son was juxtaposed by the ongoing mayhem. Kelly's relief was palpable, her voice quavering, "Kenny?" Udo passed the boy to her, their shared moment raw and vulnerable.
As Ren prepped to depart, he shot Udo a questioning look. "And you?"
With a roguish glint in his eyes, Udo responded, "I want to regain familiarity with my powers." Without another word, he vanished into the portal, ready to unleash his full power.
Inside the luxuriously appointed office of Captain Smyth, tension hung palpably in the air. Captain Smyth, his resolve faltering for a brief moment, started for the door, only to be jerked back abruptly. The source of his restraint was Udo, his grip unyielding on Captain Smyth's shirt.
"Where do you think you're going, Captain? Did I say I was done with you?" Udo's voice was tinged with an unsettling edge as he effortlessly hoisted Seamus over the office table.
Seamus's mind raced with confusion and apprehension as Udo's words sunk in.
"Haven't used my techniques in a while. I'm gonna use you as a warm-up if you don't mind," Udo remarked casually, his grip unyielding.
"What... what the hell is he talking about? Me? A warm-up?" Seamus's disbelief quickly turned to anger. "Who the fuck do you think you are, you wanker!"
Pushed to the brink, he tried to rally his unique defence, sending a flurry of cards racing towards Udo in a desperate offensive move.
But Udo, demonstrating his dexterity, danced through the rain of cards. Swiftly, almost as if they moved in a choreographed dance, he spun around Captain Smyth. With a strength that seemed otherworldly, he hoisted Captain Smyth and proceeded to slam him repeatedly, each impact echoing with force. The final impact, crushing the table beneath, was the last testament to the power Udo wielded.
Then, with an impressive burst of strength, Udo catapulted Captain Smyth upwards, piercing through the ceiling and propelling them both into the sky above. Here, amidst the expanse of blue, Udo toyed with his adversary. With the gravity-defying agility, he spun Captain Smyth before propelling him away, turning him into a mere speck in the distance.
Just as Udo began to descend, a cryptic utterance slipped from his lips. "Natus: Transi." In an instant, a portal opened and he fell into it.
Captain Smyth, meanwhile, was not left to his own aerial devices for long. Out of nowhere, the portal reponed right above him, and Udo came plummeting down, intercepting Captain Smyth's trajectory.
In a spectacular aerial manoeuvre, he grabbed Captain Smyth, spinning and gathering momentum before releasing him, sending Captain Smyth hurtling downward with astonishing velocity.
Once again, Udo chanted, "Natus: Transi, and he hopped into another portal, only to reopen below, at the precise spot where Captain Smyth was destined to land. There, in the midst of the lush forest, he stood nonchalantly, feigning impatience, as if awaiting an overdue bus, all while Captain Smyth plummeted towards him.
The air whistled around Captain Smyth, his clothes flapping wildly, his face distorted with terror. The ground rushed up to meet him. Desperation surged within, and he cried out, begging for salvation, his voice barely audible over the wind's roar.
In the very last moment, as if time had slowed just for them, Udo reached out with nonchalant precision and caught Captain Smyth by the scruff of his collar, halting the violent descent.
"We're not quite finished," Udo remarked with a casualness that was entirely at odds with their surroundings.
Confusion played across Captain Smyth's features as he glanced around, trying to get his bearings. "Where the fuck have you taken us?" he gasped. But his words were met with sudden agony from Udo.
In stark contrast to his earlier display of composure and strength, Udo visibly contorted in pain, his hands rushing to his temples as though attempting to suppress an overwhelming force threatening to erupt.
Captain Smyth, momentarily sidelined, observed the unfolding scene with a mix of astonishment and curiosity. Udo's robust body shook, and he fell to his knees, the forest ground softening his descent. A deep, resonant scream escaped him, its sound hauntingly spreading through the trees.
All Captain Smyth could do was watch, pondering over the sudden affliction that had overtaken this formidable figure. The forest, once again, stood as a silent witness to the unforeseen spectacle occurring within its confines.