Chapter 5: Flaxans [2]
[So I added a new mechanic to Kaito: It is in the 7th one in drawbacks and features in the auxiliary chapter. To differentiate them, suppressed means negative, and disabled means positive.]
Mark let out a nervous chuckle, but he adjusted his grip, making sure I wouldn't lose a limb. In a blur, we shot across the city, cutting through the air as we neared the explosion site. The moment we got close, my eyes narrowed.
Yep. Flaxans. Again.
But this time, something was off.
The last time they showed up, they were disorganized, relying on brute force and numbers. This time? They had formation; they moved in coordinated squads, covering each other with green energy shields while another unit advanced behind them. Their armor looked reinforced, bulkier, with more intricate plating.
And then I saw them.
Three massive, hulking Flaxans, easily three times the size of the others, marched forward with weapons that looked like small tanks attached to their arms. Their glowing visors scanned the battlefield, and when one of them locked onto us, its weapon began charging up.
"Oh fu-"
BOOM!
A concentrated green energy beam tore through the sky. Mark twisted midair, barely dodging it, but the sheer heat of the blast seared the air around us.
"Okay, yeah, they definitely learned," Mark muttered.
"You think?" I muttered.
"Okay, Mark. Time's up, drop me." I told him.
He nodded, then he dropped me right in the middle of the chaos.
"Save me! Is anyone there?!" I heard faintly as I reached closer to the ground, when I disabled gravity to land safely. I looked around the surroundings to find anyone under the rubble. No one in sight. She's completely covered.
I then ran up to the nearest rubble and rendered gravity powerless in that area. As the pieces of concrete slowly rose, I saw a woman holding a baby.
The woman clutched her baby tightly, her face pale with terror. The moment she saw the rubble lifting, she gasped, eyes darting around before locking onto me.
"It's okay, I've got you," I reassured her as I reached out. She hesitated for a split second before scrambling to her feet, cradling the child protectively. The moment she was clear, I let gravity take hold again, and the rubble crashed back down where it had been.
"Go! Get somewhere safe!" I urged her.
She gave me a quick nod and took off running, but there was no time to celebrate. Another explosion rocked the street, sending debris flying. I barely ducked in time, and when I turned back, one of the massive Flaxan enforcers was stomping toward me.
Its visor flared ominously as it raised its arm cannon, energy pulsing at the barrel's core.
I sprinted forward, momentarily disabling friction, and skidded to a stop beside the huge Flaxan. Then, with a flick of power, I disabled the law of electrical conductivity.
As the power went out, I punched the Flaxan. Without the law of conservation of energy, the energy dissipated instead of concentrating in one spot. My punch completely obliterated Flaxan's chest plate. The alien stumbled back, its weapon sparking uselessly.
But I wasn't done.
I disabled inertia just for the Flaxan, and instantly, it froze mid-step. It didn't fall, didn't sway, didn't even react.
Its glowing visor flickered in confusion as it processed what had just happened.
I then suppressed gravity, increasing the gravity in that area.
CRACK!
Flaxan's body instantly crumpled under the built-up gravitational force. Its reinforced armor buckled, its legs snapping under the sudden shift. The moment it collapsed, I disabled gravity altogether.
The result?
The Flaxan shot upward like it had been launched from a cannon, soaring uncontrollably into the sky. It flailed in panic, desperately trying to regain control, but without proper footing or stability, it had no way to stop itself. In a matter of seconds, it was just a speck in the distance, likely doomed to float until it either hit something… or never came back down.
"Not bad," Mark's voice came through my earpiece. "But, uh… we've got a problem."
I turned, already bracing myself for whatever he meant. That's when I saw it.
More Flaxans.
Hundreds of them, swarming through the city streets in tight, disciplined squads. Their energy shields flickered as they covered each other's movements, and more of those massive enforcers stomped through the chaos, their arm cannons charging up like miniature reactors.
The first wave was just a scouting force. This? This was the real invasion.
"Teen Team, engage! Keep civilians clear!" Atom Eve's voice rang over the comms. "Kaito, how long can you keep up?"
"Long enough," I muttered. Then, I moved.
I sprinted toward the densest cluster of Flaxans, weaving through laser fire as their soldiers adjusted to my sudden charge. One of them raised its rifle, but I flicked my power and disabled friction beneath its feet.
The alien skidded helplessly, its armor scraping against the pavement as it crashed into a pile of its troops, sending them sprawling.
Before they could recover, I suppressed gravity in a small radius.
CRUNCH.
A dozen Flaxans collapsed under their own armor, their reinforced plating buckling like tin foil under the sudden shift.
"That's brutal... and gorey," Dupli-Kate commented as she fought off the troops.
Eve soared overhead, using her energy constructs to slam Flaxan troops into the ground. Dupli-Kate overwhelmed enemies with sheer numbers, and Mark was a blur of destruction, ripping through their ranks with sheer brute strength.
I?
I ran toward another squad, disabling the Law of Conservation of Energy just as I threw a punch.
The moment my fist connected—
BOOM!
Instead of transferring energy normally, the impact exploded outward, sending the entire squad flying in every direction like ragdolls.
Another enforcer lunged at me from the side, its massive fist coming down like a wrecking ball.
I flicked my power—
Disabled the Law of Kinetic Energy.
Its attack connected—but felt like a light tap.
The Flaxan stared at its own fist, confused.
I took the opportunity.
I suppressed gravity directly under its feet, increasing its weight to absurd levels.
The result?
The enforcer crashed to its knees, its reinforced joints cracking under the pressure. Before it could even react, I disabled gravity completely, sending the alien shooting into the sky.
It flailed wildly, completely helpless.
"Another one for orbit," I muttered.
The battle was turning.
Teen Team was holding their own, but there were just too many Flaxans.
Eve's voice crackled through the comms. "We need to take out their reinforcements, or this won't stop!"
I glanced toward the city outskirts—where a massive portal shimmered, pouring more Flaxan troops into our world.
My hands clenched into fists.
"Then we close it."
Mark zipped to my side. "You got a plan?"
"Actually..." I looked at Omni-Man land near us, and not wasting a single second, he began decimating their troops one by one. Yeah, I couldn't do that shit, because I was not as fast as he was. I was more suited for 1v1s, so yeah, in this situation, he's better than me.
I barely had time to process what was happening before bodies started flying. Flaxans were ripped apart in the span of milliseconds—no wasted movement, no hesitation.
A regular soldier? Punched so hard it liquefied.An enforcer? Crushed like a tin can in his grip.A massive war machine? Torn in half like wet cardboard.
This wasn't just a beatdown. It was an extermination.
Mark swallowed hard beside me. "Y-yeah, okay, we should probably—"
Mark turned to look at me, but I was gone.
Omni-Man was handling one side of the battlefield, and honestly? I wasn't about to interfere with that. But that left the other side still swarming with Flaxans—tens of them trying to overwhelm the Teen Team.
I could hear Kate grunting as she and her clones got mowed down by energy blasts, Mark struggling to keep up with too many enemies at once, and Eve getting backed into a corner, forced to defend rather than attack.
Alright. Time to get disgusting.
I flicked my power.
Law of Conservation of Energy? Disabled.
I clenched my fists and sprinted straight at the nearest squad. One of them saw me coming and aimed its rifle.
Too slow.
I cocked my arm back and swung.
BOOM!
My fist detonated on impact. The moment it touched Flaxan's head, the lack of energy conservation turned the kinetic force into a chain reaction.
Chunks of flesh and guts rained across the battlefield. The other Flaxans hesitated, their glowing visors flickering as they tried to process what had just happened.
I didn't give them time.
I dashed toward the next squad, disabled friction, and slid past them like I was on ice. One reached out to grab me, but without friction, their footing was nonexistent. They stumbled forward—
—and I suppressed gravity.
CRUNCH.
Their bodies collapsed in on themselves, their armor crumpling like tin foil. I could hear their bones snapping, popping under the pressure. One of them tried to scream, but their lungs had already collapsed.
Too bad.
The moment their bodies gave out, I disabled gravity altogether. Their crushed, barely-alive corpses shot into the sky, spiraling into the upper atmosphere.
"Jesus Christ, Kaito!" Mark's voice came through my earpiece.
"Not now, Mark." I grabbed the next Flaxan by the face.
Law of Inertia? Disabled.
Its body froze in place. No movement, no reaction. Just stuck in time, like a grotesque mannequin.
I pulled my fist back.
"Bye-bye."
Then I re-enabled inertia.
BANG!
The sheer force of everything catching up ripped the Flaxan apart. I was left holding nothing but half of its skull, its body exploding outward in a mist of blood and armor fragments.
I grunted as I looked at the battlefield; All I saw was dead, undoubtedly.
Then, I looked at Omni-Man as he sped into the portal, leaving along with the remaining Flaxans.
I exhaled sharply, letting my hands drop to my sides. Blood—so much blood—coated my arms up to my elbows, and my clothes were torn from the sheer chaos I had unleashed.
"Jesus…" Mark muttered behind me, staring at the devastation. His suit was scorched, his hair a mess, but he was alive. So was the rest of the Teen Team.
"Yeah," I exhaled. "That got… messy."
Kate wiped sweat and blood off her forehead, her clones flickering out one by one. "Messy? Kaito, this was worse than Final Destination. This is a goddamn horror movie scene."
"Hey, don't be like I'm the only one who did it, look at Omni-Man, he was just as brutal as me."
Kate wiped more sweat from her face, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, at least Omni-Man isn't our problem. You, on the other hand?" She gestured to the blood-soaked battlefield, then to my still-dripping hands. "You might need therapy, dude."
I flexed my fingers, letting the crimson streaks drip onto the pavement. "Probably," I admitted. "But let's be real—none of us are walking away from this mentally okay."
"Facts," Mark muttered.
Eve sighed, hovering down next to us. She looked exhausted, her energy constructs flickering slightly. "Well… at least it's over."
I frowned, glancing at the portal's last remnants. "Yeah. But for how long?"
Omni-Man had disappeared through it, taking the surviving Flaxans with him. Which meant either A: He was ensuring they'd never come back, or B: This problem was far from over.
I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. "Doesn't matter. We did our job."
"Hey, uh… you good?" Mark asked, studying me. "You kinda went off back there."
I shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
"Yeah, but—"
A loud squelch interrupted him as I stepped in something wet. I looked down.
Oh. Right. That was a Flaxan… or what was left of it.
Mark gagged and turned away. "Okay, nope. I'm done."
Kate groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let's just get out of here before the news choppers show up."
Eve lifted into the air. "I'll make sure the last civilians are clear."
Then, as I thought he had left me alone, a voice rang in my head. "Kaito, re-"
"Leave me the fuck alone for like two days, please. Have some gratitude, Unc."
Mark, still looking a little green, coughed into his hand. "So, uh… where did my dad go exactly?"
"To suck my ass, where the fuck do you think he went?" I snapped at him.