Chapter 6 - Independence Day 3

As his eyes fluttered shut, his body collapsed forward, seemingly weightless. But before he could hit the ground, a G-elf moved caught him smoothly. The motion was almost too perfect, —no jerk, no hesitation. The creature turned, cradling his unconscious limp body while the G-gnome that knocked the kid out climbed on its shoulder and they took off.

That seemed to be the signal. Like a switch had flipped, every G-elf around me snapped their heads toward me and charged. There was no hesitation. No pause. They all charged, swarming like animals uncaged, wild, feral, and foaming at the mouth as they closed in. Their shrieks pierced the air, a chorus of madness that sent a chill through my spine.

I barely had time to react before one of them leaped at me. It moved fast—too fast—but I was faster. My hand shot up, gripping it by the throat mid-air. Its eyes bulged, and its jaws snapped in rage, inches from my face, spittle flying as it thrashed in my grip. Its claws lashed out, desperate to find purchase, to rip into me, but I angled my head just out of reach. The sound of its choked gasps mingled with the feverish howls of the others closing in around me.

Behind the thrashing elf in my grip, I caught a glimpse of the G-gnome vanishing into the chaos, Kid Flash limp in its arms. I cursed under my breath—I was losing them.

I opened my mouth to shout a warning to the others, but before I could even form the words, the elf in my grasp seized the opportunity. Its hand shot forward, cramming itself into my mouth, fingers forcing themselves down my throat. My eyes widened in shock, bile rising as it snarled, rabid, froth spilling from its jaws.

I gagged, tasting blood and filth. My teeth sank into the thing's flesh, but it didn't care—it kept pushing, harder and harder, its claws digging into the back of my throat. My vision blurred as I started choking.

I didn't think—I bit down, hard.

The taste of copper flooded my mouth as its fingers cracked under the pressure of my jaws, the warm, salty blood coating my tongue. It was metallic and tangy, a grotesque mix of flesh and fluid that turned my stomach. I felt bone splinter, cartilage crush, and still, the thing didn't let up. Its other hand clawed at me, desperate and wild, as if the pain of losing its fingers didn't even register.

With a sharp twist of my head, I tore the mutilated fingers free from its hand, spitting them out in a furious spray of blood and spit. They hit the ground with a wet thud, but the genomorph didn't even flinch. Its hand now ended in a bleeding stump, a jagged mess of torn flesh and exposed bone, but it was still as feral as before, foaming at the mouth, eyes glazed with madness.

It lunged again, and without hesitation, I clenched my fist and snapped its neck. A sickening crack echoed through the chaos as its body went limp in my grasp. But there was no time to think, no time to breathe.

The others elves weren't stopping either.

One of the elves clamped its jaws onto my shoulder, teeth scraping against my skin as it tore through the fabric of my suit. Its fangs dug in, shattering like brittle glass against the hardness of my body. Still, the creature continued to bite even with only just a gum and no teeth.

I reached back without even looking, grabbing and slamming it into the ground with a sickening crunch. Its skull split open, the wet sound of bone and brain matter splattering against the floor.

More came, swarming like insects, their bodies flinging themselves at me with kamikaze intensity. They were mindless, crazed—no fear, no hesitation. They weren't just trying to tear me apart; This was suicide, even with their claws raking against me, their bodies piling up, gnashing teeth snapping at my face, my arms, my legs.

I smashed one aside, felt its ribs collapse under my fist, but another took its place. They were like ants crawling over an anteater—swarming, biting, relentless. Their bodies collided with mine, no regard for their own survival, just a singular drive to drag me down with them.

One of them, shrieking like a wild animal, lunged for my face. I caught it mid-air by the throat, its limbs flailing, claws slashing at my eyes. I crushed its windpipe with a twist of my wrist, and its body fell limp, but even in death, it was like a ragdoll—unhinged and foaming at the mouth. Before I could catch my breath, two more tackled me from the side, teeth scraping against my ribs, one trying to shove its claws into my ears, the other jabbing its arm toward my eyes.

My body was slick with blood now and suit and hands soaked red as I grabbed one by the skull and crushed it like a fruit. But even as its brain splattered against my palm, another genomorph was already leaping at me, screeching in blind rage.

I growled, particularly vexed now. They weren't even fighting—just trying to overwhelm me, targeting every orifice, shoving their hands and teeth anywhere they could reach, like a swarm of rabid vermin. It was like being drowned in bodies, their snarls echoing in my ears, their breath hot and rancid against my skin.

I had enough.

With a roar, I slammed my hands together, a shockwave rippling out from the force. The air trembled, and the ground beneath me cracked as the wave exploded outward, sending bodies flying in every direction. The elves around were hurled back, crashing into the walls, slamming into the floor with brutal force. The room seemed to breathe for a second,

I didn't waste it. Immediately, I took to the air, rising above the fray. But they weren't done.

Even as I ascended, one of them leaped onto me, clawing at my legs with a desperate, feral scream. I grabbed its head mid-flight, my fingers sinking into its skull, and with a single squeeze, I crushed its skull like a ripe melon. Blood splattered across my chest, the limp body tumbling back to the ground as I rose higher, clearing the horde below.

From my vantage point, I could finally see through the chaos. Look beyond the wall. The elf with Kid Flash had already left the room, still running, a G-gnome perched on its shoulder like a twisted guardian. They were fast, disappearing into the maze of corridors, heading for —— the elevator.

An elevator we needed to get to.

The room kept shaking and I looked below to see—Superboy. He was a beast unleashed, screaming in rage and fury. as he pounded his fists against one of the G-trolls. The sound of bone crunching and flesh giving way echoed through the lab, and I could feel the reverberation of his blows even from up here. His eyes were wild, every punch an outlet for whatever primal fury was coursing through him. Grabbing one of the trolls by its arm, he spun it like a ragdoll, the troll's feet barely touching the ground before he hurled it into the wall with a sickening crash. The impact shook the room, dislodging bits of debris from the ceiling.

But he wasn't done. He turned on another troll, his body trembling with barely controlled rage, and unleashed a flurry of punches. Each hit was punctuated by his screams, each strike landing with a sickening crunch that sent shudders through the entire lab. For a moment, he was less human and more like the G-trolls he was demolishing—wild, untamed, undisciplined, disgusting.

My lips curled. His lack of control and the animalistic frenzy that had overtaken him visibly disgusted me. This was not power. Just rage.

But I guess it was to be expected.

He was only half the blood.

And genetically, my inferior.

"Superboy," Aqualad called out, increasingly proving to be the voice of reason, "our goal is to escape, not bury ourselves here!"

Superboy just growled, and shot Aqualad a glare as if the words hadn't registered. But then he grabbed one of the downed trolls and, with a grunt, hoisted its limp form over his head. "You want escape?" he growled, his voice low, guttural. He hurled the troll across the room, its body colliding with a group of its comrades. They toppled like bowling pins, crashing into each other with a deafening roar. "There's your escape."

Still, his savagery had given me an idea.

"Everyone!" I shouted, my voice snapping them out of their separate battles, "Get ready to move! Fast!"

I didn't wait for confirmation. I shot upwards, slamming into the ceiling with everything I had. A shockwave radiated from the impact, dust and debris showering down as the entire structure groaned in protest weakened already from the half breed's frenzy.

The ceiling shattered with a thunderous crash, debris cascading down like a waterfall of rubble

Huge chunks of stone and metal rained down, collapsing in a wave, starting from where I had rammed , and where I crashing through, flying my way through reinforced concrete and steel.

"Run!" I shouted to the team.

They bolted, sprinting for the hole in the wall, the only way out. I could hear Robin's frantic heartbeat in real-time as his boots pounded across the floor. Aqualad was right behind him, Superboy-

Superboy was still standing amidst the collapsing wreckage, his eyes wild, fists clenched like he was about to take on the entire building. Debris rained down around him, cracks spreading through the floor beneath his feet.

"Move, you idiot," I growled, my voice cutting through the chaos like a whip.

His ear twitched. For a moment, I thought he hadn't heard me, but then his head snapped in my direction. He growled low, feral, his eyes locking onto mine with a flash of defiance. The muscles in his jaw clenched as if he was about to argue, but instinct took over. He turned, finally, and with a guttural snarl, barreled through the rubble like it was nothing, shoving aside massive chunks of ceiling as if they were weightless.

I hovered above them, watching, waiting for the exact moment. Timing was everything.

Just as they passed through the hole in the wall, I slammed into the ceiling again, tearing through concrete and steel, sending the last wave of debris crashing down like a landslide. The rubble collapsed into the corridor, sealing it off behind them. I could hear the Genomorphs screeching, still scrambling to catch us, but the sound faded, blocked by the new wall of debris. They were close, too close, but we'd bought ourselves a few seconds.

We were running now, feet pounding the floor as we raced down the narrow hallway. Every second mattered.

"We need to get to that elevator!" I shouted, eyes flicking to the doors at the end of the corridor. I pushed harder, lungs burning, but something was off. I could feel it. The air was thick with more than just fear.

Aqualad glanced back at me, brow furrowing. "Kid Flash—where is he?"

"A G-gnome's got him," I growled through clenched teeth. The weight of the words sank in fast. Robin's eyes went wide, and even Aqualad stiffened.

"It's controlling an elf. They're in the elevator heading up," I spat. "We have to move. Fast."

They didn't need any more convincing. We tore down the hallway, the walls vibrating from the pressure of the Genomorphs still pounding behind the wreckage. The elevator loomed ahead, its lights blinking, the faint hum of it moving below us.

I scanned the walls, my vision cutting through layers of metal, stone, and wiring like it was nothing. The elevator was still descending, heading for level 15. Too slow.

I turned to Aqualad. He met my eyes, barely missing a step. "Go."

In a single motion, I ripped the elevator doors apart, metal shrieking in protest as I flung myself into the shaft. The descent was nothing—an easy leap through the dark, tight space. I tore through the floor of the elevator car in one savage punch, landing in the middle of the cramped metal box.

The gnome was there, perched on Kid Flash's back like a parasite. Its tiny hands clamped tight to his head. Beady red eyes darting to me as I burst through. It had knew what was coming.

In a heartbeat, I had my hand wrapped around the gnome's skull, squeezing hard. Its head popped in my grip like a grape, the wet splatter of blood coating the walls. The elf that had been controlling Kid Flash lunged, but it was already too late. I sliced my hand through its neck before it even got close. The head rolled to the ground in a wet thud.

Kid Flash fell limp, slumping to the ground as the elf's body crumpled beside him. For a second, he was still. Then his eyes snapped open, wild and panicked, taking in the carnage around him—the blood, the corpses, me.

He stumbled to his feet, his hands shaking as they brushed against the wet stain on his suit. "What... what did you do?!" His voice cracked, eyes wide with horror as he stared at the mess I'd made.

I didn't bother answering, just raised an eyebrow.

Just then, the elevator doors groaned behind me.

I turned, my head swiveling slowly, and there it stood.

The monster was massive, hulking, built like something out of a nightmare. From its appearance, Doomsday came to mind, the thing's blue skin thick like armor, muscles bulging under ripped rough flesh. It loomed in the doorway, taking up nearly the entire frame. In its fist, still dripping with blood, was Dubbilex. His body hung limp, impaled through the chest, his eyes dull and glazed over.

Time seemed to slow. My chest tightened, breath catching in my throat as the sight hit me. The monster just stood there, unmoved, slowly pulling its fist free from Dubbilex's chest with a sickening squelch.

Something snapped inside me.

Heat. Raw, burning heat, pooling behind my eyes, bubbling up in my skull. The pressure built, and I roared, my vision exploding in a blinding red blast.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!"

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Hey everyone, it's Khanadiety back with a new chapter! I apologize for the slight delay. I've been busy moving to a new city for school, but I managed to find some time to edit and publish this chapter for you.

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