Brent Cosmos: A Hero's Quest

Chapter 4: Brent vs. Misty

    The next thing I knew, Misty and I were standing in the Amazonian arena. It was a like a big stadium where the strongest warriors on the island would battle each other. There was no ceiling so when you looked up, all you could see was the open sky. The seats of the arena were completely packed with Amazons anxious to watch their beloved princess do battle with the strongest being on the planet. Even Queen Alicia had taken her special seat in the stands to watch her daughter in action.
    Misty and I were standing on opposite sides of the arena. We were both stretching and preparing ourselves for our big fight. I looked over at Misty. As stretched her arms and legs I saw that her face was serious and intense. But when she caught my eye and looked back at me, she gave me a big smile. She clearly wasn’t mad at me, but this still didn’t make any sense. What could Misty possibly want from me that she’d be willing to fight me for it. It was just crazy.
    Like I said before, Misty and I haven’t fought since the day we met. Even though Misty and I are best friends now, we didn’t always see eye to eye. In fact when Misty first met me, she tried to kill me. Back then Misty thought that men were evil and they weren’t allowed on the island so when I showed up, she attacked me. Even though I was only 10, I beat her pretty quickly. Then again all she had was a regular sword and basic training while I had…you know, superpowers. So needless to say, beating her wasn’t that difficult. However, Misty had gotten a lot stronger since that day and something told me this time was going to be very different. As Misty and I finished getting ready, Queen Alicia began to speak.
    “My sisters,” she spoke in a loud, commanding voice so everyone could hear. “Today we are going to witness a battle of the ages. This will truly be the greatest battle Amazonia has ever seen!” The audience roared with excitement. Battles are like TV for Amazons, it’s their main form of entertainment. They can’t get enough of it. “Here we have our challenger: warrior princess of Amazonia, my daughter, Misty Enchantra!” The Amazons cheered and screamed with joy after hearing Misty’s name. She smiled and waved to all of them. They all really loved her. “And her opponent: The Great and All-Powerful Superhero, Brent Cosmos!” The audience cheered for me too. I flexed and posed for my adoring fans. Misty giggled. “Now, this is an all out battle. It will go on until one of the opponents is knocked out or gives up. No moves are forbidden and all weapons are allowed. However, killing your opponent is strictly prohibited.” As soon as she said that, every single person in the audience looked directly at me and just stared for a minute.
    “WHAT!?” I shouted angrily.
    “Anyway,” the queen continued. “Let the battle commence!” With that, Misty and I took our battle stances. We stood there staring deeply into each other’s eyes. We didn’t move, we didn’t speak, we didn’t even blink. The audience was silent as well. The silence was intense, yet somehow awkward at the same time. Misty then reached behind her back and pulled out a glorious golden sword. That sword held a great deal of significance to me because it wasn’t just any sword. It was the Sword of Masters and it once belonged to my father.
    The Sword of Masters was my father’s sacred artifact. A sacred artifact is a special weapon that every Cosmos has that amplifies their powers when they wield it. My sacred artifact is my 4th dimensional, hammer space utility belt. It can give me anything I need when I reach into it. It could be a weapon, a high-tech gadget, or even a normal everyday object. My sacred artifact was special because it was the first Cosmos sacred artifact that wasn’t an actual weapon. Still, my dad’s sword was something else altogether.
    The Sword of Masters was all that was left of my dad after he passed away. When he wielded that sword, it gave him great power (well, greater power than he already had that is). He could slice through mountains, fire energy waves and do all sorts of amazing things. He used to use it to train with me all the time. When I saw my dad fight with that sword, I thought that he could do anything. After my father lost his life, that sword was the only thing he left behind, besides me. When I started my quest to become a hero, I brought my dad’s sword along. Even though I couldn’t use it as well as him, carrying it made me feel like part of him was still with me.
    My Destructoid instincts made me a master of all weapons, but to be honest I don’t really like swords. I’m really more of a gun or blaster guy myself. Misty however, was a different story. She was training to be the world’s greatest swordswoman and she knew that she’d need a sword that no one could rival. So, I let her use my dad’s sword. Now don’t misunderstand, I didn’t just give my dad’s sword away. But the thing is, a normal Furyian shouldn’t be able to wield a Cosmos sacred artifact. Chances are that the immense power would kill them. But Misty could wield my dad’s sword, which meant she had the strength, will, and heart of a true hero. That’s why I let her use my dad’s sword. She wielded it like a pro and to be honest, she uses it a lot better than I ever did. The energy the sword gives her grants her great strength and speed (not as much as a Cosmos, but enough to get by). She can even activate the sword’s magic powers. Actually, I’ve even seen her do things with the sword that my dad hadn’t done before. Maybe the sword obtains different powers depending on who wields it? Who knows?
As Misty and I stood there completely on guard, everyone waited with baited breath.
    “Well?” Misty said finally breaking the silence. “Aren’t you going to attack?”
    “Ladies first,” I said with a smirk.
    “On Amazonia, the opponent gets the first attack against the challenger,” she replied.
    “Alrighty then,” I said. “Let’s do this!” I then reached into my utility belt, and pulled out a stun grenade cannon. I pointed it at Misty and pulled the trigger. Then little, heavy black rubber balls fired out of the barrel of the gun at an incredibly fast speed. One right after another they came flying out right towards Misty. Misty kept a straight face as she spun her sword around like a pinwheel, deflecting each grenade. She then let a blast of lightning out of the sword and which hit my canon destroying it with an explosion.
    “Stun Grenades?” she said sternly. “Seriously?”
    “What?” I said confused.
    “Time out,” Misty said.
    “Time out?” I said. Misty then stuck her sword in the ground and looked at me.
    “Let me make this clear Brent. We are not training, and we are not sparring. We are fighting. Get it? That means you have to give me everything you’ve got. No holding back or going easy on me. Otherwise my challenge was pointless. Promise me you’ll treat his like a real fight okay?” I looked at Misty a minute before I answered.
    “Okay Misty. You wanna fight? You’ll get a fight,” I said.
    “Great,” Misty replied. She then proceeded to pick up the sword and shoot me with a blast of energy that sent me flying backwards into the wall of the arena.
    “Uggghhh…Hey no fair!” I shouted.  “You didn’t say time in!”
    “Oh right…sorry,” Misty said embarrassed.
    “So that’s how it is,” I grumbled. “Fine,” I pulled myself off the wall and dusted myself off. I then reached into my belt, pulled out a huge bazooka and aimed right at Misty. “Time…IN!” I said as I pulled the trigger. BOOM! A missile bomb came shooting out like…well, a missile. It was headed right for Misty. Misty thought quickly and, using the sword like a bat, whacked the bomb sending it upwards into the sky. She couldn’t relax yet though, because just then I jumped up into the air and came flying down about to hit Misty using the bazooka as a blunt object. As the bazooka was about to bonk her on the head, she blocked my attack with her sword. We stood there locked in a head-to-head struggle, each of us desperately trying to push each other back.
    After a while, Misty’s sword finally sliced through my bazooka. with nothing to defend myself, I jumped back to gain some distance.
    “Excellent!” Misty exclaimed. “This is the kind of fight I wanted!”
    “Happy to oblige,” I said. “But I wouldn’t be too happy if I were you.” Misty looked confused. I pointed upwards. Misty raised her head and looked up. To her surprise, the bomb that she a smacked to the sky was about to come down right on top of her.
    “Uh-oh,” Misty said weakly. And with that the bomb came down with a massive explosion. Smoke covered the spot were Misty stood. Everyone in the arena looked worried, but I wasn’t. After hanging around me for six years, Misty has been through her fair share of explosions and I knew that one was like nothing to her. Sure enough, the smoke soon cleared to reveal Misty standing there with barely a scratch on her. She flipped her hair and smiled at me. “Nice move,” she said.
    “Well let’s see how you like this one!” I yelled. I then jumped up and stopped, floating in mid air. “Rapid-Fire!” I exclaimed. I then started frantically spinning my arms like wheels. Colorful orbs of energy began to come out of my hands and were headed towards Misty. Misty began to run. She zigzagged across the arena, dodging every one of my rapid-fire orbs. Each one caused a little explosion as they landed on the ground. As Misty continued to run, she then jumped up high in the air. She raised her sword over her head as she closed in on my position. She was going to attack me.
    As she brought her sword down, I stopped my attack and caught the sword with my hands. Since Misty was still holding on to the sword she was stuck suspended in mid air with me. I then spun around and around and threw the sword (and Misty) down to the ground. It looked like Misty was going to fall on her back, but she quickly straightened up and landed on her feet not even dizzy from my spinning attack. Misty then raised her sword up into the air, holding it with both hands.
    “Lightning Strike!” she yelled. Just then a bolt of lighting came down from the sky. It was about to hit me, but I flew out of the way just in the nick of time. Then even more lightning strikes came down on me. I really had to maneuver to get out of the way of them. I swerved and bobbed and weaved through the sky like a leaf being carried by the wind. It was easy enough, but I couldn’t do it forever. I had to find a way to stop Misty’s attack. Then I got an idea. My whole body began to glow, and then there was a giant flash. Everyone was amazed to see that I had transformed myself into…a giant jellyfish!
    Another bolt of lightning came down and I let it hit me. My jellyfish form absorbed the electricity and amplified it. I then raised my enormous tentacles and aimed them at Misty. I then let out a giant burst of electricity right down towards her. Misty then used the sword to create a golden force field around her body, protecting herself from my attack. Even though I didn’t beat Misty with my attack, I did make her stop her lightning attack. This was my chance to go on the offensive.
    With another flash I transformed again, this time into a huge robot. I was sleek, modern, and equipped with more weapons that a fully equipped military force. I fell down to the ground with a thud. Misty was totally caught off guard by my transformation. I then pointed my arms at her, turning them into laser blasters, missile launchers sprung out of my back, and my robotic eyes locked my targeting system onto her.
    “Prepare to be terminated,” I said in a cool robotic voice. I then let all my weapons fire at once. Misty ran frantically to avoid my lethal, high-tech, attacks. I was even shooting red laser beams out of my eyes. My missile launchers fired, their projectiles homing in on my target. Now I know this might seem a little over the top, but hey, Misty said she wanted me to give it my all. Besides I wasn’t really trying to destroy her or anything. I just thought if I could tire her out, it would make it easier to beat her. Pretty smart huh? I thought so.
    It looked like my plan was working. Misty was running, jumping, flipping, and doing everything she could to avoid my robotic wrath. My sensors told me that her she was getting winded and soon her energy would be completely drained. When that happened, I would go in for the kill. Well…not really kill but…oh you know what I mean! As Misty continued to dodge my attacks, she did something I didn’t see coming. She stuck her sword into the ground like she did before, but this time she did something different.
    “Geyser!” she yelled. I then began to feel something under the ground. The rumbling actually made me stop using my weapons. Suddenly the ground underneath me opened up and a giant burst of water shot upward and blasted me into the sky. And to make matters worse, I was still a robot so the water was also short-circuiting me! When the water finally stopped shooting out, I transformed back into my normal freaky-looking self and crashed down to the ground.
    “Well, I have to admit, that was pretty clever,” I said as I picked my self up and dusted myself off.
    “Thank you,” Misty replied. “You aren’t too bad either.” We smiled at each other. Even when we fight, Misty and I are still the best of friends. We have a way of bringing out the best in each other no matter what.
    “Regardless,” I continued. “Dodging my robot attacks seems to have taken a lot out of you.” It was true, Misty was pretty worn out. Even though she was able to dodge most of my attacks, they had still caused her a little damage. Not to mention all that running and jumping I had made her do had really taken it out of her. She was dirty, her arms and legs were scratched and bruised, and her face was a little banged up (but still pretty). She was also completely out of breath. “I’ll bet I could take you down use my weaker and more simple attacks now.”
    “Hmm…you might be right,” Misty said. “We’ll just have to fix that.”
    “Huh?” I said. Misty raised her sword.
    “Healing Light!” she said. Suddenly, A glorious beam of white light came down from the sky and engulfed Misty’s body. As the light shined on her, her scratches and bruises began to disappear. When the light finally dissipated, Misty looked just like new. I was like our entire fight hadn’t even happened. She had been completely healed!
    “Damn!” I exclaimed. “I forgot you could do that,” Misty smiled smugly. “Well no matter. This fight wouldn’t be any fun if it was too easy. Let’s kick things up a notch!” I stomped my crystal leg on the ground and a gigantic crystal orb erupted from the ground directly under me. I stood on top of it looking down a Misty with my hands on my hips and a sinister smile on my face. “Time to roll out!” I began to move my feet in a backwards-walking motion, causing the crystal orb to roll forward…right towards Misty. I began to walk faster and faster making the orb roll faster and faster. As the orb closed in on her, it was clear to Misty that she only had one option…run.
    It looked I had Misty on the ropes once again. As she ran around the arena for dear life as I followed with my crystal orb right on her tail the entire time. If I couldn’t tire her out I thought I could at least make her surrender. Just as it looked like she was about to be steamrolled, Misty once again did something surprising.
    “Speed Boost!” she shouted. Then, drawing power from the Sword of Masters, Misty’s speed greatly amplified giving her a great deal of distance from my orb. She then stuck her sword into the ground once again. “Earth Knuckle!” she said. A giant stone fist then shot out of the ground and hit my crystal orb (and me) into the air.
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I shouted while desperately trying to keep my balance and not fall of the orb. As it flew across the arena, it looked like the orbs was about to fall on and crush Misty.
    “Strength Boost!” Misty yelled. Once again she drew power from her sword and was able to get enough strength to catch the falling orb. Then, with a loud grunt, she tossed the orb high in the air and into the sky…with me still on top of it! The orb and I flew higher and higher until we eventually began to descend. I had to think fast. I couldn’t let this be the end. Then I got another idea. I began to use my powers to float while the orb continued to fall. As soon as the orb got just over the top of the arena, I let out a yellow ray of energy from my hand. This ray hit the crystal orb and transformed it into…a giant disco ball! Misty, Queen Alicia, and all the spectating Amazons were in a state of amazement, and confusion.
    “Dance, Dance Party!” I shouted. The disco ball then began spin and upbeat disco music began to play. The ground of the arena turned into the disco floor of a party club with colorful squares that lit up. As the music continued to play, Misty felt the overwhelming urge…to dance! She couldn’t help herself. She danced around the arena and couldn’t stop. She just couldn’t fight the rhythm. Soon, all the Amazons began to dance where they were sitting. Even Queen Alicia got her groove on. This is just one of the many amazing feats I’m able to pull off with my reality powers.
    I flew down to the arena (completely unaffected by my dance party attack) and watched as Misty danced helplessly. She couldn’t do anything to stop whatever attack I was going to throw out next. I smiled cleverly as I got ready to strike.
    “Wrecking Ball!” I shouted. I then curled my body up and began to summersault in mid air at an amazingly fast speed until I appeared as nothing more than a big green spinning ball of energy. I charged towards Misty like a cannonball. Misty then pulled out her sword and spun around and around, still technically dancing. But her spinning dance had allowed her to once again create her golden force field. When I hit it, I ricocheted off of it into the air. I then smashed right into the disco ball, destroying it. This caused the music to stop playing. Misty and all of the Amazons stopped dancing and the arena returned to normal. But the battle wasn’t over yet. Misty pointed her sword up towards me.
    “Tornado!” she exclaimed. She moved her hand in a circular motion and created a humungous tornado that blew away the wreckage of the disco ball and trapped me completely. As I was being blown around by the raging winds, I began to think.
Wow. I thought. Misty is a lot stronger than she used to be. This is nothing like back when we first met. Even our sparring matches weren’t this elaborate. She’s really giving it all he’s got and if I don’t find a way to end this quickly, she might actually beat me. I don’t know what this request is that she wants me to grant, but whatever it is, she must really want it. Well, it’s too late to back down now. Time to go big!
    Misty continued her tornado attack and watched for any sign that I would counter it. But she saw nothing. It didn’t look like I was going to fight back. Could it be? Could Misty have actually beaten me?
    “Hey Brent!,” she shouted up to her tornado. “If you want to give up it’s okay. There’s no shame in it.” Misty waited for my reply, but what she heard instead was a monstrous roar. She gasped. She was so surprised that she stopped her tornado attack. When the winds settled down, they revealed a humungous, orange, winged dragon flying in the air. In case you couldn’t guess, that was me. Shape shifting, you’ve gotta love it!
    I dropped down to the ground with a slam. I then took a deep breath and when I breathed out, a raging inferno of flames came out of my mouth.
    “Blizzard!” Misty yelled frantically. Reacting as fast as she could, she spun her sword around like a pinwheel. A freezing wind then began to emanate from it. Her blizzard and my flames met in the middle in a countering collision. It seemed like neither one could overtake the other. But then, I slammed my dragon tail on the ground causing a minor earthquake. The vibrations made Misty fall backwards and stop her blizzard attack. This allowed my dragon flames to hit their target.
    Now you might think that burning Misty was taking things a bit too far, but it really wasn’t. While it’s true that the Amazon’s trained Misty to be strong, I had trained her to be tough. Through my training I had helped Misty strengthen her body to the point where she could withstand the most devastating of damage. Burning, freezing, electrocution, bullets, lasers, they were all pretty much nothing to Misty. But still, the fire did take its toll on her. After I had finished my flaming attack, I transformed back into my normal self.
    Misty was hurt. She was burned a little, but she still had the strength to stand and go on fighting. She then raised her sword in the air. She was about to heal herself again.
    “Oh no you don’t!” I said. I then reached into my belt and pulled out a laser pistol. I fired it at Misty’s hand. A red laser hit it and knocked her sword out of her grip. It flew and landed way out in the arena. Misty didn’t dare try to go for it because she knew if she did, I’d stop her somehow. She then did something I really didn’t see coming. She charged towards me and kicked the pistol out of my hand. She then took a martial arts stance.
It seemed that she wanted to turn this into a hand-to-hand combat fight. Well I was happy to grant her wish, but I wasn’t gonna make it any easier for her.
    “Six Arms!” I shouted. Then two extra pairs of arm came out of the side of my waste under my regular ones. I then began to fight Misty with my extra appendages. Our all out super battle had turned into a kung fu fight to the finish. Misty punched, chopped, and kicked as much as she could, but with my extra arms I was able to block each and every one of her strikes. As we fought, I kept forcing Misty back further and further. When we finally reached the end of the arena, I greatly increased the size of my right arm. “Fist of Force!” I said. My robotic arm then began to radiate with red energy. I pulled it back and delivered a devastating punch to Misty’s entire body. She slammed hard into the wall behind her. I shrunk my arm back down to normal size.
    I then extended my robot hand out and grabbed the laser pistol that Misty had made me drop. I pulled it back. Misty then fell off of the wall and onto the ground, right on her face. As she began to get up I pointed the pistol directly in her face. She looked up and saw me grinning, showing all of my pointy Destructoid teeth.  She looked around and saw that there was nothing that she could do. She let out a sigh.
    “ I surrender,” she said weakly. The battle was over. I had won.