A Hero's Song (Darkest Secrets Volume 1)

Chapter 16 - Pop Quiz

This time it wasn't a dojo. Instead, the five Supers appeared in the middle of an empty shopping mall food court. Zero stood before them on the side of a small fountain between the escalators and tables.

He spread his arms wide. "This is your battleground today, Gamma. Take a moment to assess the situation and gauge your surroundings. The exercise today is simple, take this."

He held up his hand, and a blue bandana appeared in it.

"Easy, right? Now before you answer my rhetorical question, I'll tell you; no, this will not be easy because I will attempt to stop you by any means necessary - which includes killing you. Rest assured, I will be toning down my attacks for the sake of training."

"WHAT? NO WAY! You have to take us seriously. If you don't, I'm out for today!" Lilith exclaimed.

Zero cocked his head to the side. He looked at the other members of Strike Force Gamma. "You all willing to take the training wheels off? I guarantee you; it won't be pretty."

When none of the Supers objected, Zero grinned. "I was going to wait a few more days, but fair enough. If you want to see what the real world is like, so be it." He began to grow, and a dark chuckle echoed through the mall.

The demon stood where the Hero had been. None of those assembled was surprised. They all knew what Zero could do, but knowing they were about to face off against him did not help their natural fear.

"We're going to forget the flag stuff for a moment," he tied the flag around his neck. "This is a fight to the death. You have a minute to prepare."

Gamma formed up into a huddle, the energy tense. Gabriel spoke up first. "I've seen him fight; we have to plan this right. I think Rosenquartz should stay with me, with Falco and Lilith providing support from a bit farther away. What do you think?"

Rosenquartz and Falco nodded their heads, but Lilith seemed to be deep in thought. Noticing the stares of her team, she reddened and started whispering. "I don't remember putting you in charge, Gabriel. Your plan won't work; Zero is too fast. I say we split up and all try to gang up on him as hard as we can. On three, ready? One, two-

"Lilith, wait a se-" Gabriel tried to interject.

"THREE" Lilith yelled as she turned and charged towards Zero, moving even faster than she had in her fight with Gabriel.

She wasn't fast enough.

Zero laughed and spread his arms - as if to hug the charging amazon. Shadows from the surrounding area coalesced around Zero, then shot towards Lilith while expanding. The two collided, and the shadows engulfed her holding her in place.

She screamed in frustration, trying in vain to escape as Zero readied another glob of darkness to finish his first opponent.

Without stopping to think, Gabriel shot forward, the force jarring his bones. His AM Cannon activated without his conscious input, responding to his intent. Gabriel thanked Alfred silently as he aimed at Zero, hurtling through the air at Mach 10.

I will adjust your aim as well; no need to thank me.

Gabriel launched two antimatter blasts at the demon heading for his teammate. The first went wide. One out of four wasted, he thought. Thankfully the second shot and struck Zero straight in the chest. The super staggered, his shadows losing density and receding away from the areas hit. A plain white shirt was visible underneath the shade construct.

Zero snarled.

"FALCO!" Gabriel yelled as he hit the ground in front of Lilith, hoping the speedster had followed his plan and stayed ready to pinch-hit when he could.

The Hero barely had time to doubt when the german zipped past him so quickly he could only tell through the environmental data fed into his brain. Falco ran a zigzag towards Zero, feinting left and appearing on the right. He stabbed a dagger into Zero's exposed chest, causing the demon to let loose a piercing scream.

Rosenquartz was also ready. He darted behind Falco, barreling straight for the fight.

Zero dominated his pain, gathered the shadows around him again, and aimed a sloppy blast of shadow at the speedster. The pink giant jumped in front of Falco. The shadow slammed against his body and cascaded outwards like a waterfall.

Rosenquartz took a step, grunting, and Falco took the chance to throw his knives. Ten blades flew, and all struck the monster. Zero laughed, phasing around them.

Gabriel stayed in front of the yet immobilized Lilith, shooting an AM Lance as he had with the training robot.

The lance impaled Zero. His eyes went wide as he clenched his jaw and fell to his knees, struggling to rise. His shadow form flickered. Gamma couldn't lose this chance.

"Now!" Gabriel yelled.

Rosenquartz charged, aiming a haymaker at Zero. The demon leaned away and slammed Quartz to the ground with an overhand elbow to the face. Falco blurred behind him, machetes in hand. The demon had other plans, snapping his wings together and knocking Falco off balance. Zero backhanded him fifty feet into a wall.

Zero turned, launching a massive wave of shadow at Gabriel. He closed his own wings around himself, monitoring his sensors. As the wave hit, Gabriel opened his wings, knocking the shadows upwards - away from Lilith.

He moved to counterattack when Falco passed by again. This time his feet moved quick enough, and he was able to plant two large knives deep in Zero's chest before flitting away.

The demon let out a deep rumble and reformed his shadow body; the knives clattered to the floor. Gabriel's antimatter was the only thing they had that removed the shadows from Zero's body, so he fired his last AM blast as he flew forward. Gabriel's lance pierced Zero through the abdomen - this time, he stayed standing.

Out of constructs, Gabriel activated his Scissor and prepared for close combat.

As the monster turned to finish the fight, Rosenquartz grabbed his leg and yanked. Knocked off balance, Zero kicked at him to get free, but the crystal giant held firm.

Falco moved in and out of Zero's reach, slashing at him while Gabriel closed the gap. The milliseconds stretched out for eons as he flashed at his Mentor, sword leading. He braced for impact and almost lost his grip on the blade as he stabbed it to the hilt in the demon's already damaged midsection.

They had done it. They'd won. Gabriel slumped against his sword, exhausted.

"You, let your guard down again." Said the demon.

It was too late.

Zero's shadows exploded from him and filled the entire battleground, trapping the rest of Gamma. Zero stared down at him from where he stood, still impaled by the AM Scissor.

Suddenly Zero smiled, showing a mouth full of three-inch, serrated teeth. "That was much better than I expected. I won't kill you since it's obvious I won this fight. I was planning on doing more than just one exercise, but we have done enough today. Time for the rundown."

END SIMULATION.