Acceleration

Chapter 35: Until Nothing Remains

Hypersonic pummeled Revnid with every bit of fury he could hold in his chest. The pair flew from the rooftop, lightning decimating the buildings around them. The pain between them was greater than any clash they'd endured before. Energy shattered windows, ripping rebar and foundation to shreds as they waged war. The whole city lit up, the sun itself outshone by the electricity coating the sky.

***

The family ran from the room, desperate to stop Erin from his impulsive choice. Liz simply sat, tears pouring down her face. Lisa squeezed her hand.

"I'm gonna stay with you, okay?"

"Go." Her voice was shallow, empty.

Lisa obeyed, unable to bring herself to go against the dying girl's words. The door shut behind her.

As the noises of battle blared outside her window, Liz made a choice. She tore the blanket off herself and stood.

***

The energy surrounding the speedsters dug into the ground, lifting chunks of earth from their resting spots. Hypersonic leapt onto one, bounding off of it to deliver another strike to Revnid's chest. Every attack they launched was amplified, every ounce of rage and power poured into each strike.

Revnid leapt thirty feet into the air, gripping a floating slab of earth and swinging it down. The rock came tumbling into Hypersonic, who shattered it with a single punch. The speedsters collided midair, sending another shockwave through the city.

They landed in front of the hospital. Hypersonic was hurled through an ambulance, terrifying the paramedics inside. He grabbed a scalpel and, in a blur, caught Revnid as he lunged. Metal met flesh as Hypersonic stabbed him four times in the stomach. Revnid broke free with a brutal strike to the chest. Hypersonic dove backward, narrowly avoiding a kick to the skull.

Tearing a lamppost from the ground, Hypersonic swung it into Revnid's head. The metal snapped in two, but Revnid shook off the blow and crashed into his doppelganger again.

***

Liz stumbled down the stairwell, gripping the railing for balance as the building quaked. Nurses and doctors streamed past her in terror, none paying her the slightest attention.

As she limped through the lobby, she saw her family pressed against the glass. Lisa spotted her just as Liz pressed the handicap button to open the door.

"Liz, wait!" Lisa shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the carnage outside.

Liz stepped into the street.

Bolts of lightning crashed around her as her family screamed, trying to stop her.

Hypersonic saw her and cursed. She needed to stay in her room, away from danger. His emotions surged, and in that lapse of focus, Revnid suplexed him through a tree.

He slammed into the park, dirt exploding around him. Sirens wailed. The city was being evacuated.

Erin ripped up a jagged shard of wood and drove it into Revnid's shoulder as he dove toward him. Blood spurted from the wound. Before Revnid could react, Hypersonic grabbed the lightning-bolt insignia from his mask and tore it free. He rammed the sharp end into his opponent's chest.

Revnid's fist crashed between Erin's eyes, shattering his lenses and tearing open his mask. Brown hair bristled through the rips. Hypersonic punched back, blowing pieces of Revnid's suit to ash.

Revnid pressed both feet to Erin's chest, launching off him and catching himself on a floating stoplight. Hypersonic rocketed upward after him. Gravity warped around them, cars began to float, arcs of lightning puncturing their shells. The building beneath Revnid cracked, lifting into the storm as the two rained blows on each other.