Blood Obsidian

Issue 6

Where fall the gods ... - Part 6

Blockchain was big. Really, really big. Caitlyn had seen the pictures on all the super sites, the charts, the comparisons, but here, in real life, in the flesh, he looked like a mountain. Said to be almost as tall as Menhir, the stone giant of the world's premier super-team, Bastion, seeing him now almost made Caitlyn wet her pants, and she didn't want to do that while wearing whatever it was that covered her.

The villain had hurt Aunt Mary, though, and Caitlyn had been given a gift to pay that hurt back in kind. From the roof of the car, she launched herself forward and up, intending to punch Blockchain's stupid, mullet-haired head off. That was the intent. The reality proved somewhat different entirely.

The slab of concrete swept around, slamming into Caitlyn's body, almost crushing her chest and sending the air in her lungs rushing out, leaving her fighting for breath as she crashed into the wall of a nearby building, the wall crumbling and collapsing around her. Bricks fell upon her, but they didn't hurt anywhere near as much as her chest. Bruised boobs were not what she was expecting to suffer today and she wished she had more protection there.

"Ah knew you wuzn't dead! Ah knew it!" Thunderous footsteps shook the ground as Caitlyn fought to breathe. "They said you wuz dead and ah knew it cain't be true. Not Black Staff. No way. Wait ... you ain't Black Staff! 'Ur nothin' but a puny pipsqueak!"

A monstrous hand grabbed Caitlyn's head, lifting her from the rubble and holding her in front of Blockchain's face. She could see his teeth, yellow and crooked, black spaces where he'd lost other teeth, breath that stank of cheap beer and even cheaper whiskey. He shook the chain wrapped around his other fist as he glared at Caitlyn and she knew she had to move, do something.

Gripping his wrist, she lifted both feet as hard and as fast as she could, slamming then into the monster's chin and his fingers flexed. He staggered backward, hand rising to his face and Caitlyn knew she had to keep fighting. By instinct, Blockchain swung his chain, the concrete block lifting up into the air, arching, and then falling down toward Caitlyn's head, but she had already moved, using the drop to the ground to give her purchase to jump straight toward the giant of a man.

The concrete block destroyed the sidewalk where Caitlyn should have stood, but she was long gone. She had thought about a weapon, something to hit Blockchain with, and that staff reappeared in her hand. No, it grew from her hand, expanding out of both sides, and she used both her hands to slam the staff down toward Blockchain's head.

Somehow, the chain moved without Blockchain's help. It looped up as though it had a mind of its own, knocking the staff aside and Caitlyn stumbled as the force sent her that way too. She rolled, turning as she did so, her fingers scraping along the tarmac, bringing her to a halt. By now, Blockchain had recovered, shaking his head.

"You're right, doofus, I'm not Black Staff. He's dead. I saw him die." She had to think and think fast. If the chain had a life of its own, she wasn't fighting Blockchain alone. She was fighting two enemies. "I'm Blood Obsidian."

Where that came from, she had no idea, until visions of finishing her geology report flashed through her mind. It was as good a name as any. Not that she was going to continue this superhero gig, anyway. This was a one time thing. For Aunt Mary. Plus, any super with the word 'blood' in the name was usually a villain anyway. Shaking her head, feeling like an idiot for getting distracted, she jumped aside as the concrete block smashed into the street once again.

"Tha's a stoopid name. Ain't no-one gonna call you that." Blockchain scowled, trying to think and, from what Caitlyn had read, that wasn't one of his talents. "Ain't no way Black Staff's dead. No way. 'Ur lyin' to me! Why're you lyin'?"