Protectors- Consequence

Chapter Fourteen: Noctum Versus Noctum

The past Noctum emerged from the crater that he had created after being struck, red power lighting up the sky once more. He turned just in time to see the present day's Adam Oughton rocket towards him. He punched the air, his Aura pulling him right behind his more powerful foe. Adam punched Noctum square in the face, knocking him backwards, before he leapt after him again. The Chrysalis glowed as Noctum recovered, hopping aside as Adam ripped a large building from the ground, throwing it at his foe. Noctum was crushed under the skyscraper briefly, giving Adam the time to gather his unconscious friends and Crimson, taking them swiftly back to Damien and Zachary,

"How the hell are you matching him?" Damien asked, sweat from the heat of the Magma dripping from his forehead, "you're nowhere near as jacked, and you have less Chrysalis,"

"I developed a technique to deal with more powerful foes," Adam explained, "but it has drawbacks, so I would recommend getting these guys away from the city,"

Damien replied, "You're gonna end up killing innocent people if you fight him head on,"

"If I leave him unchecked, he'll kill millions more," Adam spoke cordially, "this city will be totally destroyed either way, so get out of here while you still can,"

Noctum turned swiftly, taking off back towards the city, leaving Damien to pick up the pieces. He noticed Crimson stirring, and slapped the man, waking him up,

"You dealt with that psycho paladin guy? Damien asked,

"Bit his head right off," Crimson's evil-looking grin caused Damien to flinch slightly,

"The fuck is up with your face?" Damien demanded,

"Minor accident," Crimson's grin faltered slightly, "ahh, fuck,"

"What's up?" Damien asked tentatively,

"We're gonna have to go into the city," Crimson responded, hitting himself in the face with his palm, "my machine's in there, so I can't go to another dimension without it,"

"Why the hell do you think you can just leave?" Damien demanded, "you obviously came here for a reason, so what was it?"

"I'm here to look for allies," Crimson answered, "something is wrong with the multiverse, and I have to find people strong enough to save it,"

"So why didn't you tell Noctum?" Damien blurted, "he's the strongest on this planet,"

"He can't measure up to multiversal beings," Crimson responded, "he's just not on the right level for something like this,"

"Fine," Damien muttered, "I'll pass on the message that there could be a threat to the others, now let's get going,"

"Go home to your girlfriend, Damien," Crimson sighed, "I get stronger when I come close to death, so I should be able to survive Noctum for long enough to get to another place, so get the others out of here,"

Crimson pricked himself on a sharp bit of hardened lava, before forming his bloody halo above his head and making his way to the city. Damien looked back at the unconscious superhumans, before spinning on his heel, following closely behind Crimson,

"There's no way I'm going to miss this," Damien spoke to the back of Crimson's head, "Noctum was my mentor after I got these powers, and I know there's no way he'd go in alone if he didn't have any tricks left,"

Adam Oughton's Aura poured from his body, melting the earth around him slightly as he watched carefully for the movement of his doppelgänger, his eyes sharper than he had ever had them. He wondered how the hell he had got to the city, it was as if he had another moment of clarity, of self, and had taken off towards the pillar of light. He heard a crack of the sound barrier being shattered, and felt the presence beside him almost before he saw Noctum dash from the rubble, fist pulled back to deliver a killing blow right off the bat. Adam knew that there was no time to avoid the punch, he just wasn't fast enough, so he pushed his body towards it, managing to collide with the attack using his head just before it had the opportunity to pick up much momentum. The impact took Adam's vision for a moment, and the scorching Aura of the Chrysalis hit him again, just a moment later, sending him flying backwards, his face burnt by the heat of his foes Aura. Adam Oughton was barely able to move after the full-force impact, but managed to struggle into flight, staring across the destructive line in the ground his defence had failed to prevent,