Crystal Ch. 18

"I hope you like the taste bug brain," Acrobat yelled as he flew out of Shell's reach. "There's plenty more where that came from."

Shell leapt up to chase after him, but his legs wouldn't budge an inch. Knowing who was responsible, he turned to face Mistress and got a car in the face for no reason at all. Not only that, but she also made the car fall right on him and held it there so that he wouldn't be able to move from underneath it.

And to get his revenge, C4 slid a couple of packs of dynamite sticks underneath the car with him as well as an unpinned grenade. Despite his struggling, Shell still wasn't able remove the car from being on top and the grenade detonated, immersing him in a world of fire and intense pain.

"Com -- Commander, where's that . . . unit?" Shell coughed as he crawled from underneath the car.

"Shell . . . hear you . . . Shell? . . . you okay?" the Commander's chopped voice tried to ask.

"Damn earpiece," Shell growled as he removed it from his ear.

While he was distracted, Acrobat swooped down and picked him up, spinning him around as he took Shell higher into the sky. Once he was high enough, he let Shell go and Mistress telekinetically grabbed him and brought him down harder than gravity ever could.

At this point, his highly durable skin was fractured, making Shell immensely worried. Now, instead of fighting head on, he was thinking about retreating before they actually broke his skin and did real damage.

Almost immediately, he changed his mind. The first and foremost reason was because he was a hero and, even if his life was on the line, a hero never runs from a fight. But the second reason was more important because it was a possible solution to defeating Acrobat, C4, and Mistress if he could get to her.

*****

"I'm going to rip Mistress a new one when I see her," Dot threatened. "She's going to learn real fast not to hurt Shell or even think about hurting him when I get finished with her."

Crystal and the rest of the heroines had been enjoying their exclusive female vacation when they turned on the TV and instantly found the news channel as it was broadcasting the fight between Shell and the villains. Once they saw the situation, they remembered they left their men out to fend for themselves and regretted doing so.

The one who was regretting it the most was Dot, because she was watching her boyfriend fight to no avail, and getting slammed time and time again. When they first started to watch, Dot was making threats every time Shell was attacked and praising him for every hit he got in. But slowly, she spoke less and less, and settled for rocking back and forth.

"Don't worry Dot," Hyper assured. "We'll get them back as soon as we get back to the city."

"I'm not worried about him getting pummeled," Dot replied, her voice strangely calm for some reason.

"It's okay to be in denial," Cherry sat next to her.

"I'm NOT worried," Dot glared. "I might have been worried earlier, but not anymore. He's not fighting Asphalt, so things are different than what they might have been."

"What do you mean different?" Hyper asked.

"When he was fighting Asphalt, he was just trading blows with him," Dot explained, "because they were on equal footing. Since he's not fighting Asphalt, he knows he has to use another strategy."

"Yeah, that's what I would do," Crystal agreed. "If I'm not fighting Ruthless, I'd take a step back and access the situation before I try a different tactic."

"Yeah, but Shell already knows another strategy," Dot informed.

"Really?" Cherry said. "What's the other strategy?"

"Getting pummeled as much as possible," Dot replied, staring at the TV.

"But isn't that what he's doing?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah, that's why I'm wondering why he hasn't gotten it over with," Dot snarled.

"Um, do you mind telling us what you're talking about?" Hyper asked. "I thought when he got beat up, his skin broke and he'd lose the fight."

"That's true . . . if he's fighting Asphalt," Dot revealed.

"Care to explain?" Cherry asked.

"Fine," Dot said, not looking away from the TV. "From anyone's perspective, Shell is an immensely strong hero with really durable skin. From Shell's perspective, and now mine since he told me, Shell is just a bug on a human scale."

"A bug?" Crystal asked.

"On a human scale?" Dot added.

"Yeah, scientists say bugs are quite strong," Dot explained. "They can lift things that multiply their body weight. Anyway, Shell has the characteristics of bugs. Strength and durable skin is just a couple of those attributes he displays. However, like a bug, Shell also molts his skin."

"Wait what?" the other heroines asked shocked.

"Yeah, he told me it happened a long time ago," Dot nodded her head as she watched Mistress throw Shell into a building. "He just doesn't do it these days because he's the only one who can go toe to toe with Asphalt."

"Back to the molting his skin thing," Cherry said, trying to get her back on track. "How does he do that?"

"It's quite simple really," Dot shrugged. "Whenever he's getting beaten up, his skin gets fractured, so it would be easy to remove it, which is what he calls molting. In doing so, his physicality would pretty much change as his speed and reflexes would dramatically increase (not to Zipper's speed, but to a greater degree) at the cost of his strength and durable skin. The only problem was that it only lasts a short amount of time due to his skin drying, so he needs to time it exactly at the right moment."

*****

He could feel the breeze going across his wet skin on his face, a little chilly but still refreshing. For a brief moment, he enjoyed the caress of the wind, unable to remember the last time he enjoy such a light breeze He stretched his stiff bones then twisted them in difficult positions so that they would crack and pop, releasing all the tension from his body. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body and fingers started to twitch as a result.

"Where are you bug brain?" he heard Acrobat ask.

Shell smiled. It's been a long time since he was able to fight like this, so he was going to relish this short time of freedom. Knowing Acrobat had extensive senses, Shell knew he was going to have to move fast. Having just molted, it wasn't going to be that hard.

With an accurate amount of pressure, he leapt off and went against the wall, then leapt from that wall to the other side. Continuing that pattern, Shell made sure he never touched the floor as he and Acrobat drew closer to each other.

As for Acrobat, he was confused as to why he was hearing something going off the walls instead of running on the floor. If Shell had been running on the floor, Acrobat would've been able to anticipate his attack and get him first, but he was using the walls . . . and coming at him fast.

Rounding the corner first, Acrobat wasn't expecting Shell to be as close as he was even with his extensive hearing. Unprepared, he couldn't stop Shell as he leapt off the wall, driving his shoulder into Acrobat's stomach, and sending them both out a window and into the building across the street.

Shell made sure he landed on Acrobat, driving the wind out of him so that he wouldn't move to call for help. With his increased speed, he rained blow after blow on Acrobat's face, breaking a good handful of his teeth. The pain didn't even get a chance to settle in until the third punch, at which point Acrobat pushed Shell off and tried to crawl away.

Since he wanted to leave, Shell grabbed him by the foot and swung him out the window, watching him crash into a nearby car. As he stepped outside, he could see Mistress and C4's incredulous faces, wondering how the hell he moved so fast when he couldn't do so earlier.

A split second later, that didn't matter to Mistress. She was going to finish the job Acrobat was supposed to and call it a day. But as she raised her arm to use her powers, Shell moved first. One second he was standing before them, but in the next, he was smashing his head right against her nose, knocking her down to the ground as she tried to stop her nose from bleeding.

And just as fast as he was in her face, that was how fast he turned to face C4, and just in time as the villain was throwing a grenade in his direction. He leapt over the grenade, letting Mistress deal with it herself. Instinctively, she tore a wall from a building and had it fall on the grenade, but that still didn't diminish the blast, sending her back down an alley.

Landing, Shell rushed at C4, engaging the ninja in a blinding fist fight. For C4, he was thankful he went through very intense training because those skills he learned were put to the test as he fought Shell. He just couldn't seem to get a blow on the hero, not because he couldn't find a target, but because Shell was in all attack mode, leaving him with no opportunity to launch an attack himself.

Right hook; blocked. Left knee; parried. Right foot; dodged . . . barely. And then he reversed it. Left hook; blocked. Right knee; parried. Left foot; dodged . . . barely again. But the head butt . . . didn't see it coming.

Stumbling backwards, C4 brought out his swords, momentarily halting Shell in his tracks, giving the villain a brief moment to get his bearings together. It didn't take him long though and took a stance, ready to take on Shell . . . who was holding one of his swords.

He didn't even feel it being taken from him. For a moment, Shell tossed the sword from one hand to another, getting used to the grip and seeing which hand was better at holding the sword. Without warning, C4 was forced to parry his own sword heading straight for his cheek.

Off balance, C4 was having a tough time deflecting and dodging the attacks coming at him. As time wore on, he could feel blood drip from various parts of his body. His arm was first, and then his leg, his cheek next, after that was his hand, and even his chest. Fed up with being on the defensive, C4 twisted away from another incoming attack and lunged forward, driving his sword straight at Shell's unprotected side.

However, at that moment, Shell's skin dried, returning him back to his former self. Grabbing C4 by his throat, Shell lifted him up high and slammed him down on the pavement over and over again until the ninja fell limp.

Automatically, he heard a body drop. Turning, he saw Acrobat on the ground, twitching in pain from being electrocuted by the agents that just arrived to the scene.

*****

"Osprey, Dark Matter," Commander Shinobay called over the earpiece.

"I hear you Commander," Osprey and Dark Matter answered.

"I just got word from Shell that the villains are teaming up with dangerous combinations," the Commander informed. "I've already sent a unit of agents to a specific location, so I want you guys to meet up with them there so that you guys can fight on a more even footing."

"Sure thing Commander," Osprey answered.

"Thanks," Dark Matter replied.

Clicking off, Osprey received the address on his phone and instantly flew towards the address. It really worried him whom he would be fighting in the villainous team ups. The main reason was because every hero and heroine was used to fighting only one villain, whether it was their main rival or not. Two villains at a time was more than a handful because both villains and or villainesses would have to be occupied to the point that they were only focused on the hero or heroine fighting them.

'But the Commander was sending a unit of agents,' Osprey thought it over. 'It can't be three villains at a time. Surely, it can't be three villains at a time.'

As he rounded a corner, he saw the address up ahead. The unit was already there . . . firing towards an unidentified opponent. Swooping low, Osprey was about to provide some assistance for the agents, but at the last second, something hit his helmet with just enough force to put him off balance and send him crashing to the ground. Seeing him fall, the agents fell back towards his position and took him behind a bus for protection.

"Damn, what the hell was that?" one of the agents, nametag reading Harold, demanded.

"Don't mind it for now," Osprey grit his teeth. "Do you know who we're up against?"

"Yeah, Ruthless and that laughing girl we can't see," another agent, nametag reading Lincoln, answered.

"That would be Giggles," Osprey grumbled. "Perfect, just perfect."

"Anything you need us to do?" Harold asked.

"What have you been doing before I got here?" Osprey inquired.

"We've been keeping the Ruthless pinned down for now," Lincoln answered. "The laughing girl keeps breaking into our formation, but we've managed to repel her attacks for now."

"Then keep at it," Osprey ordered. "I'm going to get them from above."

Flying up, Osprey swooped down again as soon as he spotted Ruthless coming around the corner. But before he could pick her off, he was in the head in the exact same spot as last time. Swerving out of control, Osprey crashed again, this time into the side of a building. There was no mistaking it this time.

He was going up against Ruthless, Giggles, and One-Eye.

Without thinking, Osprey ran into an alley to escape One-Eye's sight. Then he flew up in over the building before landing behind the agents. For a second, he watched them run around, trying to ward off Giggles to what seemed to be no success. Then he felt a knife slide right into his stomach.

Shocked, he grabbed onto the knife, feeling a hand around it. The hand quickly let go, but knowing she was still in front of him, Osprey swung his fist in a wide arc, hitting Giggles in the head. Her body shimmered back to visibility after the hit and she scampered back to a safe distance.

"Fire at that building," Osprey pointed. "One-Eye is up there and I don't want to be picked off again while I'm in the air. Don't worry about the girls, I'll take care of them."

"You heard him," Agent Harold yelled to the other agents. "Take out that building."

"So you're our plaything now?" Giggles asked as Ruthless walked up next to her.

"Plaything? No," Osprey glared. "I'm not here to play."

"Just to let you know, I'm not Acrobat," Ruthless smirked cruelly. "I will bust your ass."

"And I'm not Crystal," Osprey remarked. "I'm worse."

"Prove it," the girls grinned.

They ran at each other and clashed midway. Ruthless immediately started targeting Osprey's face, but after a couple of blows, Osprey got the message and began dodging them skillfully. While he wasn't a lady hitter, Osprey wasn't pulling any punches, making sure that each blow packed enough force to jam her senses.

Unfortunately, he was quickly reminded that he had two opponents when he felt another knife slice across his back. Instinctively, he did a 180 swing, hoping to catch Giggles off guard, but his fist only bludgeoned the wind. Now wide open, Ruthless jumped into his view, doing a twirl and catching him across the face with her gravel tasting boot.

He stumbled back, not falling like she had hoped, but came flying right back in her face, pushing her down with his foot in her face for a satisfying revenge as he looked around for any sign of Giggles. Suddenly a thought came to mind and he flew towards the closest agent. Before he hit the agent, Osprey twisted his body sideways and caught Giggles in the head with his wing. Feeling for her, he grabbed her head and kneed her hard before slamming it back on the ground.

But he still forgot his second opponent as Ruthless came barreling towards him. Not quick enough, he couldn't stop her speed and momentum as she tackled him to the ground hard and started pounding on his face again. Despite his predicament, Osprey was still able to time her punches, and moved his head at the right moment. Surprised, Ruthless was a second late to change her plan as Osprey grabbed her and put her in a tight submission hold, hoping to break one of her arms.

That was his plan, but even in pain, Ruthless was able to rise up with him still holding on, and bash him back on the ground. Before she could move, Osprey kicked her right in the stomach, forcing her back so that he could put distance between them to recuperate.

And then, in the corner of his eye, he saw a spinning projectile coming straight for him, which he ducked under with the little time he had. However, that put him in a bad position as Ruthless came running at the same time and kicked him right in the abdomen . . . specifically, right where Giggles had stabbed him earlier.

He grunted in pain as he went back a few feet, hitting a car on the other spot where Giggles had stabbed him. Ruthless was back in his face almost instantly, but he backhanded her with his wing, sending her to the other side of the street. Not knowing where Giggles was, Osprey flew back in the air and screeched in the close area around him, using his wings as amplifiers to increase the decibels.

After a couple of tries, his efforts were rewarded when he heard Giggles scream in pain first, then seeing her now visible body slump to the ground. And then he fell, having been shot once again by One-Eye.

Crawling to his feet, Osprey looked back towards the shootout the agents were supposed to holding to keep One-Eye busy. They were all down on the ground, hopefully unconscious and not dead as One-Eye walked past them through the bus using his intangibility. 'So that's how he won,' Osprey thought. 'No point flying then.'

Breaking off into a run, Osprey ran in a zigzag, knowing that One-Eye wouldn't be able to shoot him as easily. Once he was close enough, Osprey jumped over him and the bus, knowing One-Eye would've turned intangible at the last second. Landing, he turned just in time to see the bus rolling his way at a speed a bus shouldn't be able to go. He jumped back over to avoid being flattened and was shot as soon as he landed.

*****

"Come on baby, you got this," Cherry encouraged through the TV.

Once Shell's battle had officially ended, the newscast had quickly switched over to another city where Osprey was already fighting with the villainesses. From being beaten to gaining the upper hand and back again, there was no time utter a phrase of praise as the battle shifted momentum at the flick of a switch. The only thing the girls did know was that any time Osprey fell from the sky, it was One-Eye's fault.

"Damn, this is literally the worst week we could have chosen to take a vacation," Crystal muttered.

"Don't say that!" Cherry demanded.

"It's true!" Crystal defended. "I bet the villains had this plan concocted up because they knew my birthday had been coming around and were hoping a lot of us were going to be gone."

"Your birthday has nothing to do with it," Hyper replied. "They were probably going to do this because they believed they worked better in more numbers."

"And what? They picked the one day when only three heroes can respond were gone to test it out?" Crystal glared.

"Osprey can hold his own," Cherry declared. "All he needs to do is remove One-Eye from the picture like he did with Giggles and focus on taking down Ruthless."

*****

As fast he could, Osprey rolled to the side before Ruthless could land on top of him, then did a jump kick to her face. Almost simultaneously, he was shot once again in the head from One-Eye. It was becoming a repetitious thing now. Ruthless would get the upper hand, he'd find an opening and get on top, then One-Eye would shoot him whether he was in the air or not. Then the process would start all over again.

There was no point going after One-Eye that he knew, since the villain had his intangibility ready to go anytime Osprey came for the villain. For the moment, he was working on putting space between him and One-Eye, using the battle with Ruthless as an excuse to get farther away.

While that did take out One-Eye from the equation, it just meant that Ruthless had more time to beat on him. But like last time, Osprey was able to time her attacks and found his opening, planting his elbow right in her throat. Coughing, Ruthless moved back to put distance between them, but that meant getting closer to One-Eye and Osprey couldn't have that.