Week 29.4 – The Cluster

Previously: A fight had started between Digger and Metalord and Ghost Dragon and Twain. And now…

Digger turned and saw Twain. “You,” he said.

“Me,” Twain agreed.

“Where’s the mask?” Digger asked.

“Around here somewhere,” Twain said. He pointed at the wreckage of the house. “And by here, I mean there.”

“Help me find it,” Digger said and turned toward the pile of rubble.

“Why should I?” Twain asked.

“Two reasons. Number one, you did this to me. You owe me. And number two…” Digger said, “if you don’t, I will beat the living crap out of you.”

“Funny thing about that,” Twain said as he pulled the spring-steel baton from his pocket and flicked it out to its full length. “You’re not super anymore, which means I should be able to beat you up now.”

“Come on and try,” Digger said, and Twain advanced casually, smiling.

***

Metalord figured he should try the old stand-bys before getting creative. He used his magnetic powers to lift two trucks and flung them down at the ghost. The monster bashed them aside effortlessly, even though he seemed mostly insubstantial to Cole’s eyes. Some sort of selective force field, maybe.

So basic lightning didn’t work, and neither did brute physical force. Metalord needed something more creative and indirect. He hovered about fifty feet up and looked around for inspiration. Power lines caught his eye; he could do something with those, probably.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”left”]Digger smiled. “Told you I’m more dangerous without my powers.”[/blockquote]There was a flicker of motion at the edge of his peripheral vision, and something hit him hard. He slammed down into a building, crashed through the roof into the interior. He heard screams as the inhabitants fled into the street. He looked out through a dirty shop window at Ghost Dragon, saw one arm retracting to its normal length while the other suddely stretched out toward him.

Metalord launched himself up through the hole in the roof as the giant claw smashed the small shop to bits.  He shot another lightning bolt at his opponent to slow it down. Of course, if it was just some mental energy projection, there was no reason it couldn’t stretch and grow like that. He should have seen that coming. But it meant he couldn’t just hover in place while he waited for a better idea.

Worse, the streets were filling up with people fleeing the buildings where they had been hiding, now that a simple confrontation had turned into a full-blown rampage. Ghost Dragon laughed amid the chaos and panic.

***

Digger leaped in just as Twain was drawing the baton back to swing. The two clashed, throwing punches, elbows, knees. Twain got in one good shot with the baton, a glancing blow aimed at Digger’s head that somehow caught his shoulder, and then he lost the weapon. Digger’s forehead slammed into his jaw, and Twain stumbled back to catch his breath.

This didn’t make sense. Every other time he’d fought Digger, he’d been in complete control, but this was like fighting a completely different person. What was going on here?

Digger smiled. “Told you I’m more dangerous without my powers.”

What can I say? You don’t want to miss the next episode, when things get even crazier.

To read from the beginning, click here…