Origins- Protectors

Chapter Eleven: Nemesis

Noctum knew that this battle with Bjorn was going to be decisive. It was the culmination of the two years of resentment that Bjorn and Adam had shared since that night, that night where Adam had lost everything that he had gained, when he had truly embraced his title as Noctum, the taker of life. Bjorn had lost a lot on that day, Noctum had gotten away, and Bjorn had been ridiculed as a gangster. The giant wanted to kill Noctum every day, but, as their agreement stated, unless Noctum challenged Bjorn, the two may never fight. Now, it was happening, the moment both warriors had dreampt of for years, the showdown between the Vigilante and the Norseman,

"Noctum," Bjorn said seriously, "this will be your last day on earth. As a gesture of goodwill, I will make your end quick,"

Noctum looked back at Bjorn, grieving over Lune and the life the two could have spent together. The sensation was crushing his chest. It was as if his insides were filled with wool, muffling the valiant attempts to keep his heart beating. At that moment, Noctum realised something. He did not wish to live. He wished to be dead, where he could not feel the pain of his past. A vision came to him as he closed his eyes, the coarseness of his scarred body gone as he fell into a deep, welcoming darkness, his puny form evaporating into nothingness. Then he saw Lune's face, pale from the loss of blood, shiny brown hair splayed across her forehead as he carried her from the scene of the fight. Her lips, blue from the nearness of death, whispering a final request for their doomed love,

"Keep living, Adam, keep on living,"

Adam Oughton opened his eyes once more, and in that moment, he knew that no Bjorn, no Kinetic, no Stranger could take his friends from him now.

Niamh and Shaine were not fast enough to save Zachary, who was crumpled on the grass, his organs and blood circling him like buoys in a red ocean, the glistening objects that were supposed to keep him alive far from their host. Yurin smirked. He knew how powerful Zachary was and could not let him fight,

"You're next," he drawled, gesturing at Spirit. Even as he did, his hand became water and evaporated,

Hot steam flew towards Spirit, barely leaving her enough time to throw up a shield that was formed from the sand at their feet. Two things happened when the sand was raised, a faint purple glow about it. The first was that some of the steam broke through the barrier, scalding Spirit and causing her to cry out. The second was that Yurin found that he was not standing on anything and flipped over backwards, landing on the sand with a loud thunk. Misfortune rushed at Yurin, twin swords drawn, and slashed at the Russian. Gaping wounds opened up on the man's body, but water, not blood, poured out. The water surrounded Misfortune's body, cutting off her oxygen supply. Spirit blasted Yurin, but the energy merely evaporated some of his body, which promptly grew back,

"Hard to defeat someone you can't hit?" Yurin drawled,

"Fuck you,"

A great gust of wind hit the Russian, blowing his watery body to bits. Soaring above him was a sort of bird, a giant, feathered beast, with a gaping wound that stretched through its entire chest. It was evident that Zachary had gotten up for another round,

"This- is fun," Shaine panted, and somehow, the words sounded sarcastic,

Zachary fell from the sky, shards of ice jutting from his wings as he reverted to human,

"Stupid animal," Yurin barked, agitation in his voice as he rounded on Misfortune,

"Oh, you're done," Shaine said evenly, and a loaded RPG appeared in her hands, "boom."

The rocket slammed into the sand in front of the water man, and with an ear-splitting bang, sand was thrown everywhere. Even then, under the heat, the sand began to transform into glass, leaving behind a massive crater, shards of glass shooting from the centre like the petals of a lotus,