LIGHTFOOT (ONC 2021)

7.2| beating the final boss.

It took four thousand, two hundred and sixty-nine loops for Saint-Max and Janice to master their abilities.

The first thing they discovered about the loop was it only took one of them to die for it to restart. The first thousand loops left Saint-Max frustrated as Janice kept dying early before he got the chance to explore his abilities. So they came up with a plan, which ended up being the best thing they ever did.

They each fought the masked villains alone, switching after fifty loops. They weren't a problem compared to The Leader who always killed them no matter what.

The two surmised if they killed The Leader, then the time loop would end. So, they trained hard by killing the masked villains before the final boss caught up with them.

Janice learned she had ultrasonic sound and telekinesis as her primary abilities; enhanced senses, super strength, and flight as her secondary.

"Do you think Tim and Fabian will recognize us?" she asked.

They had changed a lot since the first loop. Not only were they different mentally, but also physically. Saint-Max's muscles grew three times larger—he had some explaining to do to his parents and friends—making him almost rival superheroes like Gorilla-Man, Giant-Size, and Skyscraper. Thankfully, his parents designed the super suit to alter its size according to the wearer.

Janice became leaner, looking like she spent her life avoiding carbs. Her clothes didn't fit anymore. Every time the loop restarted, she rushed to a clothes store to change. Saint-Max promised to ask his parents to make her a super suit.

"I hope so," Saint-Max replied. "I didn't expect the loop to affect our bodies."

"I'm not complaining."

"Same." He glanced at the bank. "It's time we killed The Leader."

The masked villains weren't a bother to them anymore. By loop four thousand, they beat them with ease. One time, Janice did it with closed eyes, relying on her enhanced senses.

"You think we can?" she asked.

The Leader's gravity manipulation was breathtaking. He could force everyone in the bank to stand as still as a rock and kill them off one by one like ants.

Janice had tried using her telekinesis, but The Leader used his power to make her arms heavy enough for her to fall on the floor and not be able to stand. And with Saint-Max, he covered the speedster with a zero-gravity ball, then made him spin fast, leaving him unable to think clearly.

"Yes," Saint-Max replied.

"How?"

He whispered in her ear, then asked, "Do you understand?"

"Yes. Let's do this."

Looking back, the two agreed the loop was the best thing to happen to them. Janice's dormant gene became active, and Saint-Max spread his wings more instead of relying on his superspeed. It would've taken them ten years—maybe longer, considering casualties—to be this strong and skilled at fighting enemies.

The scariest thing was they could become even stronger.

If only they knew how to create time loops so they could trap Class-1 supervillains and fight them.

Upon entering the bank, Janice headed for the three villains alongside the five bank tellers, while Saint-Max targeted the five villains in front of the cashiers.

Janice aimed her arms at the villains and tellers, making them float in the air. Then with the clench of her hands, she crashed their bodies into meatballs, blood spilling on the floor before she dropped them.

The constant deaths at their hands early on made her ruthless towards them. She even smiled while the sound of their cracking bones echoed in the room.

Saint-Max thrust his fists toward his targets, releasing concussion waves that made their bodies explode on impact, making the customers shriek as blood splattered on them.

He hated using this ability before because it did so much damage. But after training in the loop, he could limit its destructive nature to his targets. Though he still wasn't used to hearing a human pop like a balloon.

The remaining five villains had killed the customers while Saint-Max and Janice fought their friends. In the real world, the two would've felt guilty for not saving the customers. Thankfully, they weren't in the real world.

Janice used her telekinesis to throw the remaining villains in the air, allowing Saint-Max to take them down with his concussion waves. It had been nearly two thousand loops since they worked as a team.

"Saint-Max, behind you!" Janice shouted.

Saint-Max turned, but he was too late. Bullets pierced his left arm, tearing it off its joint. Blood didn't splatter from the stump. Instead, it came out like vines and reattached itself to the arm, healing the bullet holes too.

Like Janice, he discovered he had inherited his parents' healing factor. But unlike theirs, which took hours to heal small wounds, his healing ability reattached or regrew any missing body part in seconds.

"I won't miss next time," The Leader said, aiming his machine gun at him. "This is the end for you."

"Funny, I wanted to tell you the same thing. Now, Janice!"

Before The Leader stopped them with his gravity power, Janice raised the human meatballs and threw them at him like a cannonball. The Leader focused on stopping the meatballs, and Saint-Max shot concussion waves at him.

The Leader used both hands to stop the assault from killing him. It was the first time they had him in this position. He clenched his jaw, looking strained as sweat covered his forehead.

We can beat him, Saint-Max thought. "Next attack!"

With a flick of her wrist, Janice tore off The Leader's limbs before throwing him towards Saint-Max. The unranked hero darted toward the man, meeting him halfway. He punched The Leader's chest with every ounce of his strength, tearing him in half.

"Is it over?" Janice asked, staring at The Leader's corpse on the floor.

"I hope so," Saint-Max replied.

They waited for the bright white light to show up and for the loop to end. Nothing happened. Instead, the masked villains, bank staff, customers, and The Leader turned into pixels before vanishing.

"What's going on?" the reporter asked.

"I don't know."

Someone clapped repeatedly behind them. "Good job. Good job," a feminine voice said. "Even though it took you over four thousand loops, you're finally strong enough to save the world."

Total Words: 13,808.