The Plagued World: The Story of Maximus

Episode Ten - Planet Marcellion Pt.2

Seek sighs, "I can't...defeat you." Zatara laughs, "you think that will spare you? You murdered hundreds."

They snap-vanish in front of Seek, striking him in the stomach, causing him to cough up blood. They then strike him to the ground, breaking the ground around him.

They chuckle, "you are weak. It's unfortunate we'll never understand our own strength." Seek struggles to stand up, coughing up blood. He growls, looking up at the fused fighter. He stands, letting his remaining power erupt.

"Oh? A final breath? This will be fun," Zatara taunts, grinning. "You'll regret this," Seek shouts. He dashes up at Zatara, throwing a punch. They catch his fist easily, grinning at him.

"Learn your lesson, and stay down," they say softly. They throw one final punch to Seek's face, sending him flying into a mountain, nearly killing him. He twitches, his mouth hanging open with blood pooling out slowly.

"Heh...pathetic," Zatara says.

Maximus opens his eyes yet again, holding his head, "ugh..." He struggles to stand, his energy was cut by 70%. He winced, feeling the immense energy from before. He flies off in that direction, "Seek...please be okay."

Zatara holds a hand to the defeated Seek, firing a blast to finish it all. He falls to the ground, on the very close verge of death. Maximus arrives, panting heavily, falling from the sky, his energy critically low.

Zatara looks over and down at Maximus, frowning, "I was hoping you wouldn't come here, Prophet." Maximus catches his breath, standing straight. He slumps back slightly, panting, "I didn't want to...but I need Seek." Zatara falls to the ground, landing on their feet.

"He killed innocents, you know that," they said. Maximus nods, "I know..." "So you know I can't let you take him."

Maximus bursts into Peacemaker, but he couldn't hold the form. His hair flickers to his Awakened Form. He looks at his hands, noticing he was in his Awakened Form. He looks at Zatara, getting into a battle stance.

They sigh, "I didn't want to do this..." Maximus dashes at them, throwing a punch. They catch his fist. He kicks them in their side, staggering them. He jumps back, firing several energy blasts. They deflect them, dashing in, striking Maximus in the face.

He gets knocked back. He catches himself, throwing a punch. They clash. Maximus growls, and Zatara was silent. He jumps back, then dashing in, kicking Zatara's feet out, then he kicks them into the air. He jumps up, pulling his fist back. Zatara flips around, grinning.

They catch themself, firing a massive energy beam. Maximus flinches, pushing his hands out, catching the beam, struggling to keep it from overpowering him. "I was hoping to ask you some questions, Prophet," Zatara shouts. Maximus growls, the beam pushes against him, causing him to struggle more. Zatara bursts into Founder's Ability, laughing, "it's a shame! The Prophet was nothing but a shameless murderer! I guess we'll never know just how strong you are!"

The power boost puts them over the edge, completely overpowering Maximus. He struggles with all his might, dropping to base. But then he succumbs to the energy beam. It completely takes him over, sending him to the ground.

It explodes, quickly defeating Maximus. The dust settles, and there lies Maximus, completely defeated. Zatara lands before him, "it's unfortunate. We could have been great together."

They turn and walk to Seek, "now...it's time to finish this." They hold their hand to him, generating a powerful energy blast. They fire it, exploding on impact. The dust settles, and Seek was missing.

"Wha-?"

Suddenly, a surge of limitless energy erupts from afar. Maximus stood, his hair completely white. A strange, perfect white aura surrounds him. He sets Seek down, turning back to Zatara. They step back, "what is this...?"

"I'm not sure," he says softly, looking at his hand. He then looks at Zatara, "but this should be just enough for you."

Back on Earth, a very old Kevin walks from his home, feeling Maximus's new power. He smiles warmly, "that's my boy..."

Maximus vanishes, reappearing behind Zatara. Hundreds of flashes of light pierce them, acting as punches. They are sent flying and collide with a mountain. They open their eyes, and Maximus was already there. "You-! You!!" They scream, bursting into Tomorrow's Breath. Maximus watches, completely unphased.

Zatara dashes at Maximus, throwing several punches. He evades all of them seamlessly, countering with a blind strike, knocking them back slightly. Then, he strikes them to the ground. Before they collide with the ground, he kicks them in the stomach, sending them into a mountain.

He stands, lowering his leg. He walks up to the fused fighter, looking at them, "stop now. We will leave this planet...there is no need to fight." Zatara growls, letting their energy erupt. They dash at Maximus, firing a blast. It evaporates before it can even hit Maximus.

They growl even more, throwing hundreds of punches, but Maximus blocks and dodges all of them super easily. He then counters again with several of his own, completely stunning Zatara. He strikes their jaw, then their stomach, grabbing their wrist, throwing them into the air, firing a effortless energy blast, defeating the transformed warrior.

He reverts back to base unwillingly, he looks at his hands, "huh...that was something else." He runs over to Seek, grabbing him, running into their spaceship, starting it up, and flying out of the atmosphere, and back into space.

Zatara defused, Zeke and Tara pant heavily. "The Prophet...he...was more strong than either of us ever could ever hope to be," Tara says before passing out. Zeke nods, passing out himself.

Maximus looks at his hands, clenching them, "these hands...covered in innocent blood." Seek was sleeping, recovering in the ship's medbay. Maximus was in the pilot pit. He sighs, standing up, walking out and into the main area. "This won't ever happen again, Seek...it's over," he says finally. He enters his room, laying down in his bed. He looks at a picture of his wife, Charlotte, who he had forgotten about throughout his journey.

He felt sick to his stomach, realizing he killed fighters who could have had families. He closes his eyes, trying to let the thought leave his mind.

Seek awakens, sitting up, noticing that he was in the spaceship. He leaves the medbay and into the main area, "did...did he finish it? But how...both of us were completely tapped out." He heads to the pilot pit, changing course to another planet.

"...our journey isn't over yet, Maximus."