The Cloak Guard

Versus Swarm, Part 2

Luke didn't know what he was thinking. He wasn't even sure what he was thinking. Everything that was happening to him right now was pure instinct.

He had woken up and seen the two beams in the sky. And he'd known instantly what they were. He'd seen them up close in action when fighting Swarm the first time. Gabriela. And there was only one reason she'd do that.

He didn't know where the power came from but he flew up into the air, going so fast that he didn't have time to wonder how. The beams cut off a few seconds later but it didn't matter, he'd flown high enough that he could pinpoint the location. And he just flew, on and on, zeroing in on his target, until he landed right in front of it.

With a burst of power, he walked through the door. It was just as he feared. Gabriela was restrained. And there was Swarm with all his microbots.

Luke knew he shouldn't be here right now. The battle with the dirt monsters had taken everything out of him. He was bleeding out at that moment and he was pretty sure he was running on fumes' fumes at this point. But he refused to budge.

"Give my friend back," he said.

"Luke?" Gabriela questioned.

"Luke Decker," Swarm remarked, tilting his head as he regarded him. "I must say, you've seen better days."

"Yeah well, had to take care of a few things first. Now, let her go and get the hell out of here."

"Or what, may I ask?"

"Or I'll beat your ass into the ground," Luke warned.

"Oh my!" Swarm laughed. "Well, I do admire your spunk, Mr. Decker. You've always had that in abundance. But you didn't stand a chance before and given your current appearance, I doubt you'd last even ten seconds against me."

"Care to test that theory?"

Swarm's smile faded, his expression turning hard. "I never really liked people like you. The jocks of the world who think just because they have prowess in some athletic abilities, it makes them infallible. Let me tell you something. It's not heart, or grit, or muscles that makes one powerful. All you need is your brain." He tapped the side of his head. "As long as that is powerful, you can do anything. And just look at what I've done." He threw out his hands, like a priest in church, and the microbots responded, lifting him up high. The rest of the bots surrounded Luke, ready to attack at a second's notice.

He didn't care. Travis had been right that day. Luke had been so focused on his own life, his own goals, that he hadn't seen it. But this was what he was meant to do. This was why he was given the power. This was his purpose. This was all their purposes.

When the colored costumes had appeared, he hadn't really known what to think about them. But now he knew. They were uniforms, which meant they were a team. His team. They had fought together against Swarm the first time and almost beaten him. And now, one of his teammates was in danger. Like hell was he going to let that happen. He didn't care that he was in pain or that his energy was so low it was laughable. All he cared about was helping his teammate.

"Are you going to just stand around and talk all night?" he asked. "Or are you going to fight?"

Swarm gave him a cold look. "If you want your death so badly, very well. Let's get this over with." He waved his hands and the microbots responded, going on the attack.

Luke took a breath, focusing. He didn't know how, but he felt it all. Every single microbot out there, every movement they made. He could feel it all in his mind. And he knew what they would do.

Dodge. He twisted his body to the right, just missing a spike of microbots. He started running, making right for Swarm.

Jump. He leapt to the side, the microbots covering the floor in front of him and filling them with more spikes. The floor was quickly becoming covered in them and he soon wouldn't have any place to walk.