Valen: A Collector's Item

Earthquake

"PETER, NO!" Valen screamed as Peter lunged himself at Nitro.

The full force of his tackle off of a sprint caused the two men to fall to the ground. Peter braced himself all the way down for impact as Nitro was readying himself to turn into a bomb.

As Peter laid on top of the crazed man with his arms wrapped around him, he was squeezing his eyes. His muscles tense.

But ...

Nothing happened.

Peter dared to open one eye and look around. His first thought was that the impact was painless. That he had died immediately and was now in the afterlife. But that thought came to a close as Nitro tried to wiggle himself out of Peter's hold.

Valen was brushing the tears off her cheeks as she thought that was his end. She stood by the van perplexed about why Nitro wasn't turning into blazing red and orange flames. She stood there immobile waiting for it to happen.

"V, the car. Get the trap out of the car!" Peter yelled in urgency.

Her mind lagged behind her body as it moved on its own accord. She was at Peter's car when she realized she was grabbing the contraption off the floorboard. She didn't know how to use it or what it was for, but considering Peter wanted it now, she assumed it had to do something with Nitro.

Almost like a middle school fight, the two men were rolling around the concrete seething mumbled nos and let gos. Peter kept his iron grip around Nitro's arms and waist while Nitro was bucking, kicking, and wiggling to get out.

It wasn't until Nitro bit down on Peter's ear that Peter finally let go. Blood pooled in a half circle of teeth marks on the top of his right ear. The white-haired man scrambled to his feet, he spit out blood that wasn't his and cursed the two under his breath.

"Val, now." Peter opened his arms as he still laid on the ground.

Valen tossed him the grey cylinder-looking thing as Nitro prepared to end what he started. Peter messed with the contraption, pushing this, turning that. Valen stood with her hands turning a dark shade of blue, ready to step in if Nitro got too close.

Nitro stomped his way closer, making sure he was in range of maximum destruction when Peter webbed Valen's waist. She practically flew toward him as he then webbed the sign of the pizza house near the road. He circled an arm around her waist before they took off away from Nitro.

Nitro was already mid-combustion when he realized the two had cleared his way. His face turned into anger as he couldn't stop himself from exploding. Even though Valen and Peter were no longer in the dying range, they were still close enough that the force of the combustion pushed them off their track in the middle of the air to reach the pizza sign.

Peter's arm that was pulling them to the sign latched around Valen to hold her close to him as they landed in a grass ditch a mere foot away from the main road. His goal was for her to land on him and not the asphalt, but the grass was still not a cushion to land on.

They both grunted from the force and coughed up a lung. Valen rolled off Peter and they both laid there in the wet grass staring up at the cloudy sky.

Peter was the first to laugh. He laughed and then groaned in pain and then laughed again. Valen joined him as she put her hands on her stomach.

"Are you okay?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Peter lifted a thumbs up.

"I'm sorry." She tried to say sincerely but she couldn't stop the giggles from taking over.

"Are you guys okay?" MJ ran up to the two and assessed any visible injuries but she didn't see any.