"I hope you have enough money to pay for this, Donnie Darko." I taunted, trying to keep my voice steady despite the exhaustion.
"Don't be absurd, Building proof." he rolled his tongue over his teeth. "Say.... these factories have more than just brink and mortar."
Crepuscule shot up above the buildings. He ripped off all of the roofs and his eyes went wide.
"Ahhhh... just what I ordered."
A large vat lifted into air, clear liquid sloshing over its lip. It fizzed when it touched the ground.
"Why don't you just put that back where you found..." I meekly suggested.
With a swipe of his hands he beckoned the container towards me, twisting it in the air to cover the hole courtyard. The liquid beaded off of Orbweaver's costume harmlessly, and Ace Citizen used a canopy of stars to protect himself. However, I was thoroughly blanched.
The last strips of my suit melted away. My skin, which just healed, dripped off me before the pain even registered. My whole body felt like a knee scrap administered with hydrogen-peroxide. I screamed.
Once the acid ate into my spine, I lost control over my lower half. He levitated me several feet in the air and I heard metal buckle as another vat freed itself from its bearings.
He married us in the night sky. I no longer had arms, legs, most of a torso, just bones without cartilage. My saving grace was the ceramic tactical helmet that kept the acid from my brain. I hung there, suspended by Crepuscule's power, feeling each fiber of my flesh dissolve.
My body began to fight against the chemicals. Flesh bubbling up just as it is burned away. I had to endure.
Crepuscule laughed, a deep, sinister sound that echoed through the night.
"You are resilient, I'll give you that," he sneered.
After the fourth vat, Coleman ran out of acid.
If I had a heart, my hole body would have reconstructed itself faster than a heartbeat. Nerves stretched into a loose approximation of a human body. Bones grew around the neurons and muscles stitched themselves over the calcium. Skin painted itself on top to finish an almost brand new human.
He floated higher, surveying the destruction he had wrought. "But you're not the only one who can play this game."
I flexed my new limbs. I used to be buff, but now I had an eight-pack, 30-inch biceps, 60-inch chest! This body was tailored to accommodate my physical superiority. I could feel it.
Coleman extended his hands like a malevolent conductor. At his gesture, the ground around us began to shake. Massive chunks of concrete and metal debris began to splinter off the world.
"Woah David by Michelangelo! Let's hide your little statuette before the press show up." Orbweaver said, his banter tinged with amusement.
Orbweaver spun a suit of silk for me, much like his own.
"We don't have the time for me to align all the ends to let you stick to anything, but she'll do." he added with a smirk.
The silk was light but breathable. It contoured my body perfectly while thicker portions covered anything indecent.
"Would a cape be asking too much?" I asked, half-joking.
"What do I look like? A Spirit Halloween?" Orbweaver replied.
"Touché. Ace you still got fight left?"
"Enough." he replied, determination in his eyes.
"Alley Spider?" I called out.
"You bet." Orbweaver responded confidently.
The three of us readied for action.
"This is my domain." Crepuscule declared, "While you're busy playing human jigsaw, physics bend with my command, and you... you're just another piece of debris to be swept away."
"Orbweaver, I need you to web up those big chunks!" Ace shouted, his stars swirling around him like a celestial shield.
"Got it!" Orbweaver responded, shooting his webs with precision, ensnaring the larger pieces of debris. "Deadman, clear the path."
I nodded and sped towards the floating debris, my movements a blur. Each punch and kick shattered the skyscrapers of earth into harmless dust.
Orbweaver landed on the far side of Crepuscule, signaling for the plan we intuitively understood.
"Now, Ace!" I shouted.
Ace's stars converged into a glowing point above his head. With a haymaker, he launched the star at Crepuscule. Simultaneously, Orbweaver shot out a web, pulling the star even faster toward its target. The combination of the star's energy and Orbweaver's web created a deadly, unstoppable projectile.
Crepuscule attempted to deflect it with a wall of debris, but I was already there. Using my super speed, I blitzed through barrier, parting the field at the speed of sound. The projectile hit Crepuscule square in the chest, spiking him into a crater of his own making..
"Keep up the pressure!" I urged, seeing the opening.
Ace and Orbweaver didn't hesitate. Ace routed the superstar back around and slammed it into the pit.
"Give me a platform!" I yelled towards my partners.
I jumped into the sky, way higher than I intended. My view encompassed not just all of Binghampton but Midtown, Killowatt Lake, and Kennedy Park too! A shooting star passed me as I fell back down. I caught it and used it as a reverse-springboard to launch myself with all my might toward the pit with Crepuscule.
The world rushed up at me as I streaked down with two fists leading the way. The moment of impact was cataclysmic. The sound was akin to a nuclear bomb going off, the boom shook my whole body.
A massive dust cloud erupted from the epicenter, billowing high into the sky and engulfing everything in a thick, choking haze. The ground quaked violently, sending shockwaves that rippled outward.
I stood at the heart of the crater. My body coursed with the adrenaline of a fight.
The dust began to settle, revealing the extent of the destruction. Ace and Orbweaver were nowhere to be seen, propelled far from the epicenter by the shockwave. A vast gaping crater leveled the ground for several blocks, clearing all asphalt and concrete in the way. The edges of the crater crumbled and collapsed, the ground unstable and treacherous.
Crepuscule lay at the bottom of the crater, unharmed. He slowly rose to his feet, brushing off the debris as if it were nothing more than an inconvenience. The sinister smile on his face revealed his confidence. His eyes, still glowing with that eerie purple light, locked onto mine.
His voice echoed in the desolate silence. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
I could feel the gravity around me intensify. The air grew thick, making it hard to breathe.
He started singing, "It's lonely out in space."
His power invaded my body, lifting me up very slowly.
"On such a timeless flight."
More and more energy coalesced into me.
"And I think it's gonna be a long, long time..."
With a final, sinister laugh, Crepuscule launched me into the upper atmosphere. The force was immense, my body rocketing upward at an unimaginable speed. The air thinned rapidly, and the world below became a distant memory.
I struggled to breathe, my lungs fighting for every bit of oxygen. The temperature plummeted, and I could feel the cold creeping into my bones. My body began to freeze, the chill biting into my skin and numbing my limbs. My breath came in ragged gasps, each one more painful than the last.
It was paradoxical: the cold air while radiation cooked me alive.
I focused on my inner strength, my willpower. My body began to warm as I pushed back against the cold. I could feel my cells regenerating, working overtime to combat the extreme conditions.
But the lack of oxygen was a more pressing concern. My vision darkened further, and I knew I had only moments before unconsciousness took over. I had to act fast.
Gathering every ounce of strength, I forced my body to move- even with nothing to push off of. I moved. Somehow, I moved. I kicked off empty space, rocketing back to Earth.
The world below grew larger, the familiar shapes of continents and oceans coming into focus. My breathing became easier as I descended, the thicker atmosphere providing the oxygen I desperately needed.
Orbweaver's super-silk lasted through reentry and I plunged deep into the Atlantic. The icy water was a shock to my already battered body, but it also provided a respite from the searing heat of non-ignorable air friction. I sank deeper, the pressure of the water compressing around me. I fought the initial panic, forcing my limbs to move despite the exhaustion.
My soles touched the bottom, and I built power in my legs. Like a torpedo from a submarine, I sped through the water leaving white foam in my wake.
I broke through the surface, gasping for air. I floated on top of the surface while I tried to remember which way was west. I treaded water, looking for any sign of civilization.
As I swam, my mind raced. I needed to find land. I need to beat Crepuscule. I needed to be at work in a few hours. I needed to update my order with Jim to everything proof.
The first light of dawn began to break, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange. Ah! West is.... I turned away, putting the sun on my back.... that way!
The coastline grew closer, and I could make out the outline of buildings and a pier. Finally, I reached the shore, collapsing onto the wet sand. The exhaustion was overwhelming, but I couldn't rest yet.
"Excuse me. I hate to ruin your sunrise, but I have no idea where I am," I said, my voice raspy and exhausted.