HERA

I've resolved myself to fight. I've resolved myself to fight. You’re the Harpy, act like it!

Despite all her self encouragement, Hera maintained a block’s pace behind Zeta as they crept to her home. She wanted to stray closer, but her body refused to shorten the gap between them. Or was it her mind? Either way, her speed remained stagnant.

Often, she paused and made thorough checks around every corner, lamp, alley, and ground floor they passed. A part of her believed Balder Rex might ambush them at any second. She told herself that she was just paranoid and indulging in cowardice.

None of it helped. Even with Hera's attunement to the mind, Hera failed at therapy.

Zeta walked firmly towards danger with his sword already drawn. How the hell does he not hesitate? Not once has he flinched!

They were almost separated when a massive chunk of rock smashed into a building between them and sent half of its structure crumbling into the street. Boulder was one of the few of Rex’s sigmas she recognized. She was in the dark otherwise. Even so, the sheer destructive power Rex possessed from throwing a rock was a frightening hurdle by itself.

She recovered by coughing up the dust, then was promptly quieted by Zeta’s forceful hand. He pulled her into the destroyed building’s shadow of debris.

He shushed her to silence her protest. “Someone’s coming up the street.”

Zeta released her, and she peeked around the corner. Sure enough, the stocky figure of Balder Rex was stomping their way, dragging the body of one of his former henchmen by the skull. She could hear the skull crack as he crushed it and tossed the corpse into the middle of the ruins.

“Is it him? This monster?” Zeta asked, pressing tightly against the wall.

Hera nodded, shaking. “Yes. But this is so unlike him. I don’t know why he is pursuing a rampage.”

Rex had torn off his shirt, exposing him as a juggernaut, no longer boss of a lucrative criminal organization. Hera caught a glimpse of his face. The way he smiled was the same way he always smiled, which meant that he had not gone insane. This was Balder Rex all right, and he knew exactly what he was doing.

Hera wished they did too.

“Listen, I know I can be headstrong, so I’ll tell you ahead of time that I’m going out there.”

“Zeta!”

“Wait. It’s not as reckless as it sounds. I’m taking your advice,” Zeta said. “I’ll search for an opening and end this in one strike. He’s out of control. I don’t want a fight, I want a victory.”

Hera felt an unwarranted urge to complain. Then she realized he was actually doing the smart thing for once. “Then seize it!” she said. Looks like some things I said pierced your dense skull.

Slowly, Zeta skulked around the alley and scaled the structure. He disappeared after climbing to the roof. “Make the opportunity count, Zeta,” she said in a whisper. He didn’t hear her.

In the street, Rex picked up a boulder and juggled it in one hand as if it were hollow and pumped with helium. He analyzed the way he came, searching for a target of some sorts. When he was satisfied with his choice, he lobbed the boulder in that direction, aiming for a destination Hera could not see. Although a few seconds later, she could hear the crashes and screams.

Why are you doing this?

Rex turned around, examining his vicinity. He raised his arms in an outcry of disappointment. “Seriously? Did you all run? It’s not exciting taking down empty buildings.”

Aspic had not done much for Hera during her half-decade tenure in the city. In fact, it had hurt her in the most recent days. That did not mean she wanted to see the town torn apart. Regardless of its people and the apathy they displayed, this was her home.

With every slight move Balder Rex made, Hera used a great deal of strength to seal away the flourishing rage inside her. Every vivid, angry thought pulsed in her brain and struggled not to slip out of her mouth in a stream of scorn.

Finish this quickly, Zeta. Or I will.

She did not have telepathy, but Zeta responded to her mental cue. As Balder strolled to the center of the street, Zeta leaped from the building with his sword pointed at Balder’s nape. The plan was crude, but she understood. Their options were limited. His fall was silent, a perfect assassination.

Then Rex turned around, gripped the incoming sword by the blade, tugged and smashed both it and its owner into the pavement. “There you are.”

His hands did not bleed when he released the black steel blade.

Zeta rolled to his feet in a stupor of apprehension. He wasted no time assaulting with follow up strikes at the Lion. Rex moved slower than he should have been, and Zeta’s blows kept grazing him. Not a single one of them cut the skin. Natural Padding.

When Zeta realized that, he pulled back. With his free hand, he popped off Impossible Shots. The Lion switched into full battle mode, ducking from side to side to avoid the bullets. Despite the excessive speed needed, he never took a single heavy breath until he finally retreated for cover in the ruins of the building.

Zeta froze. With Rex out of sight, the mere prospect of moving must have seemed lethal. Hera imagined a dozen ways she could join the battle, but none seemed particularly effective. She was trembling. Why can’t I move?

As if reading her mind once more, Zeta gestured for her to stay put, keeping absolutely silent.

There was a grunt. A wall, once fixed into the ground as firmly as the world’s mantle, nearly crushed Zeta with its cobble fixtures.

Jumping out of its aftermath, Balder Rex punched Zeta’s cheek through the opening the distraction gave him. The force sent Zeta crashing into another, still-intact building. Hera recognized such a mighty blow for Igel had used it many times. Enhanced Swing.

“Ah! That was a good try, swordsman. An ambush is the only way to kill me. Unfortunately, no ambush would work on me.” He stared at Zeta’s beaten body amid the rubble. “The same cannot be said for you.”

Balder Rex glanced in Hera’s direction, and even though he did not see her, he still spoke to her. “I’ll take it this is your new thug, Harpy? If he’s here, then so are you. Come out.”

Her body and mouth moved before her brain could hesitate. “What the hell is wrong with you, Balder! You foul-tongued, sadistic son of a beachrat!”

She twitched. That was not at all what she intended to say, but Hera had a problem with hard cursing. It was almost like a mental block. She couldn’t help but censor herself even if she tried. Regardless, she embarrassed herself during a battle, a feat which shouldn’t be possible.

“Impressive use of our language,” Rex commented.

The body of Rex’s man lay near her. His eyes had rolled back into his skull, and his body only moved with the assistance of the breeze. His skin had grayed as the soul has descended to hell. “Why are you doing this? Answer me!”

He shrugged. “I’ve run out of patience for weaklings. Nature favors the strong, and I’ve decided to assist her with the process of natural selection.”

“So you tear down homes? Your chucking rocks at innocent lives? That’s your justification?”

“Harpy, I don’t want to hear that. Least of all from you. Where did you get that rhetoric from? Nobody’s innocent in this world. Certainly not the people of Aspic.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s always a skeleton in someone’s closet. Hell, sometimes the muscles and skin are still there when its discovered. They may not be killers like you and me, but everyone, from the businessmen running trading charts to the lovers kissing on the Cerberus Street, they all find ways to ruin lives without taking them.”

“Don’t call me a killer! I’ve never taken a life and I never will!” She may have played the accomplice to many murders in the loosest, most indirect fashion, but that didn’t really count, did it? Her heart dropped as the doubts began to settle in.

“And that’s why I categorize you as one of the weak.” He glanced up at the sky. “May the heavens recognize your death as proof for my just cause. Oh, who am I kidding? The heavens don’t exist.”

Rex plunged his hand into the ground, where it tore a hole without resistance. He plunged his other hand into the ground and lifted. “Boulder…” he groaned as he pulled a massive piece of rock out of the street.

“Go on Harpy, run,” Rex said. “I want to see how accurate I am against a moving target.”

She really should have heeded him, but her legs were frozen. Out of instinct, she used Neural Flash, and Rex was taken aback from a moment. He blinked several times as if trying to process what just happened, but he did not drop the Boulder.

“That was mean,” he said.

But it was just enough time, Hera thought as a figure shifted in the ruins.

Zeta flew out of the debris and sliced rapidly at Rex’s arm. The sudden shift to dodging led Rex to toss the Boulder to receive better weight distribution.

Once again, none of Zeta’s grazes made a dent in Rex’s skin, no matter where he was struck. Seizing an opening, Balder kicked Zeta back to gain some distance.

“Is there a place on you that doesn’t have Natural Padding?” Zeta asked through clenched teeth.

Balder Rex grinned. “Fortunately, no. I am completely protected.”

What? That made no sense to Hera. “He’s lying, Zeta. His set is incomplete. Keep at it!”

“Harpy, you’re wrong,” Rex said. “I acquired a recent… contribution.”

“What?”

“All I needed was a little gravedigging, and your dear deceased partner, Berto, helped me complete my set.”

Hera heard the world stop for a moment. Her heart clung to her chest.

“You robbed his grave?” Zeta seethed. It was strange. He was behaving as an outlet for the emotions she currently felt but was too paralyzed to express. In a way, it was charming. For a dolt, he knew how to help people without even trying to. “Have you no respect for the fallen!” he yelled.

“I don’t see the problem. There were sigmas just lying around unused. The real tragedy is knowing you two just left them there.”

Zeta shook with absolute rage. He sent a single glance to Hera. “Don’t worry, Hera. I always ask myself a question before facing my enemies, and this man already gave me my answer. He will receive no mercy.”

“Oh?” Rex cocked his head to the side. “Do you think you can kill me?”

Black Meridian glimmered as Zeta readied to fight again. “Without a doubt.”

Boulder - Terrestrial: Extracts a massive chunk of rock from the ground that can be manipulated for the benefit of the user. (190).

(A) Plunge both hands into the ground and attempt to lift. Strength is automatically granted to maneuver the boulder. Boulder can be manipulated with any means once extracted from the ground. Opponents cannot use the boulder in a similar fashion unless they possess the natural strength or sigma capability to do so. No matter what physical state the boulder is in, the user can still manipulate the boulder with supernatural means.