Heroes Off Campus
Mar 31, 2017 21:18:58 GMT
Post by dbzbabe on Mar 31, 2017 21:18:58 GMT
Episode 14- The Final Redemption
At the entrance to the docks, all of the police and ambulance staff were busying themselves trying to deal with all of the wounded and dying swat officers. The Olympus drones were also marching off the premise along with Optic and Wizard. Rajesh went about setting the drones up to form a perimeter around the docks just as Herbert had instructed him to do. Optic just paced nervously, feeling helpless in the current situation.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom that came from the direction of where Herbert had been. With her incredible vision, Optic's eyes zoomed in on what was going on. She saw Herbert rocketing into the sky and Signe flying after him before she knocked the hero back down to the ground. Everyone else's heads were on swivels as they frantically looked around for the cause of the sudden boom but only Optic had the ability to see what was going on. Overcome with concern for Herbert, Optic went to rush off to his aid but was held back by Wizard.
"Whoa there Tasha! You heard what bossman said, we need to stay out of this one," he tried to reason with her.
"But we can't just stand here and do nothing, Herbert's getting his arse handed to him!" there was genuine fear in her eyes.
"Herbert survived the Redeemer, I think he'll be able to overcome this opponent," Wizard assured her, "and don't give me that look, I've done my research on the big super organisation that I'm now a part of, don't be so surprised," he chuckled off at the end.
"I know he's been through a lot," Optic sighed, "but that doesn't mean he won't need out help this time!"
"Quite right, which is why we shall help him by doing as he asks and staying out of the way."
"But…"
"No 'buts' Tasha. This is something that is simply beyond us."
Back in the remains of the warehouse, Herbert sat himself up and stared at Signe who was still hovering above him and Chris. The hero then pulled himself to his feet and stood defiantly in front of his opponent, a stern and determined look on his face.
"Go get 'em Herb," Chris managed to grumble as she gave Herbert a half smile.
He smiled back before returning his gaze to be fixed upon Signe.
"A stronger will. No. It'll take much more than that," he said as he slowly knelt down and placed a hand on Chris' shoulder.
A bright green light sprang forth as he activated Lucio's power and began to heal her and at the same time, he took on her injuries. Instantly realising what Herbert was doing, Signe immediately burst forth with another sonic boom and smacked Herbert further down the building as he slammed into the back wall. She then came down as she kicked Chris in the stomach and sent her rolling and tumbling across the room.
Herbert rolled onto his back as hit the deck after colliding with the wall. He felt slightly drained after using those two powers at once. He hadn't been able to take on all of Chris' injuries or even cure her that much but he'd hoped it'd be enough. By taking on some of Chris' injuries however, Herbert had gotten a taste of what it was like to have his powers drained and as such was now feeling slightly weakened. He thought it'd be a better idea to just stick to using one ability at a time for now.
He had wanted to quickly tap into Lucio's power again to bring himself back up to one hundred percent and use his abilities at will but Signe came back at him too fast. Herbert instinctively activated his mother's ability as that was his go-to power when defending. Bending over backwards, Signe flew right over him and smashed her punch through the wall, shattering the concrete like glass. Herbert then burst forward and connected a sonic punch into Signe's chest, sending her flying into the air. His aim was put distance between them to give him some time to heal but as Signe was flying around at supersonic speeds, he was unable to activate Lucio's power quick enough.
Signe came speeding back down towards Herbert, her fist drawn back at the ready. This time Herbert jumped backed a good few metres. Where had that burst of strength come from!? Signe's attack once again missed as she splintered the ground with her fist. She then catapulted back at Herbert yet again before he had a chance to steady himself and prepare for the next assault. Purely as a knee-jerk reaction, Herbert crossed his arms over like an 'X' to try and block Signe's attack. Just as Signe's fist connected with Herbert's arm there was suddenly a brilliant blue flash as a small explosion which sent Signe hurling through the air.
Herbert looked down at his arms to find that they and the rest of him were surrounded by a dark blue glow. Of course! Now he remembered. Signe had been using a force field to repel the bullets before he'd shattered it with a bolt of lightning. He'd also seen her use telekinesis and she'd been flying around at supersonic speeds. Thinking on it even more, Optic had been inflicted with what looked like a standard use of Olem's power. Now knowing that his arsenal had been greatly added to, he began to come up with a plan to try and incapacitate Signe.
The Dane let out a thunderous cry from pure frustration that she had been unable to land a single hit on her opponent. She came flying back down at Herbert but this time he was ready for her. Tapping into Nathan's ability, Herbert began to create a vacuum around himself, sucking out all of the wind energy. Channelling this he began to drain away at Signe's ability to fly as she came swooping in. Feeling the pull and the strain on her body, Signe swerved away from Herbert, taking back off to the skies. As she did so however, Herbert was still tapping in to the wind energy that was now surrounding Signe and so he too was catapulted off the ground and was essentially using the wind like a rope to hang on to Signe.
Signe could feel an even greater strain being put on her as she grumbled and growled at Herbert. Her altitude was dropping and so was her speed. She wouldn't be able to keep up her flight for much longer. Attempting to try and manoeuvre Signe against her will, Herbert began to manipulate the wind to try and force Signe to stop. As she felt the pull however, she started to fight back. Herbert knew that using one power alone would not be enough and so he had no choice but push through the pain and use another. He drew on his emotional connection to Signe and pulled out telekinesis. That combined with Nathan's ability allowed Herbert to slam Signe into the wall before he then sent her crashing down to the ground. Using a telekinetic field to pin Signe to the floor and keep himself airborne, Herbert then stretched out his other hand and began to charge a small bolt of lightning. His arm crackled as electricity fizzed down it forming a concentrated ball in his hand.
"This should keep you down," he mumbled to himself as he released the bolt of lightning at Signe, just about powerful enough to incapacitate her.
The bolt came hurtling down, aimed at Signe's head but the Dane was able to counter it by releasing a force field to protect her. She now tried to push the offensive and so used her own telekinesis to fight back against Herbert. As the ability of telekinesis was now part of her very DNA, Signe had greater mastery over the ability than Herbert and so she was able to push through and bring herself to be standing again.
Herbert could feel his body straining after chaining together so many attacks. He was still feeling slightly weakened and so was nearly powerless to prevent Signe from pushing back against him. He allowed himself to drop to the ground so that he was now stood opposite Signe as they faced off once more.
"Those were some impressive moves you managed to pull off there," Signe gave Herbert a cold stare.
"Why thank you," Herbert mockingly beamed back at Signe, "I do seem to have a natural talent for this whole superhero thing."
"Don't get too cocky and confident Herbert, this isn't over yet," she warned him as her sickly smile returned.
"No, it isn't. But I promise you Signe, I will stop you from doing this," Herbert steeled himself.
"And what makes you so sure?"
"Because I must."
"Ha," Signe scoffed, "typical hero nonsense. Oh you have to stop me because you must oh boo hoo hoo," she ridiculed him as she put on a mocking tone of voice, "you only stop someone if you're strong enough to do so and have the conviction," her voice hardened, "and I have the conviction!"
Once again Signe released a sonic boom as she burst forward at Herbert, reeling off a flamethrower from each hand. Herbert activated his mother's ability before turning himself invisible as he dodged around the rocketing Signe and her flames. Using Nathan's ability to also absorb any sound that his footsteps might produce, Herbert silently walked over to where Aurora was lay and readied Lucio's power. Signe however, had halted and was now surveying the area using her enhanced senses and her incredible keen awareness. With one hand she began to gather all manners of debris and rubble. Bits of brick, shards of glass, huge splinters of wood and metal parts all began to swirl around the Dane as she held them in a swirling motion above her hand with telekinesis. Around her other arm, she released more flames, engulfing it.
Signe's eyes were sharply darting all over the place and her ears were tuned in to every layer of sound. She could hear everyone's breathing with great clarity and each beat of their hearts boomed like a drum. Her emerald orbs now honed in on Aurora's features as she was looking around, trying to see what was going on, if there was any sign of Herbert. Suddenly, the room began to fill with the sweet scent of wildflowers as it spread throughout the ruined building, overwhelming everybody's sense of smell. It was like breathing soup. But there was no green light. Herbert was concentrating on using Nathan's power to nullify anything that might give his position away.
Fully healed, Herbert continued to slowly pace towards Aurora. He tentatively began to crouch down to her level, his eyes firmly fixed on Signe, making sure she was still unaware of what he was doing. As he placed a hand on Aurora's shoulder, she suddenly reared up in shock as her head quickly spun round to her left. That was it! Signe immediately picked up on Aurora's movements and guessed that was where Herbert was. She fired off all of the debris to cover the area just above and to the side of Aurora, as well as the poor girl herself. Signe then spun round and released a flamethrower at Chris.
"Let's see you save them all!" she cried as the flames burst forth from her hand.
Herbert suddenly pulsed out of invisibility as he wrapped himself round Aurora to shield her before he erected a force field around himself, deflecting all of the debris.
Whilst Signe and Herbert had been fighting, Chris had managed to shuffle her way back into the main area of the warehouse after having been kicked away to the side. Despite Herbert having slightly healed her, she was still not one hundred percent and even though she loved the thrill of a good fight and a challenge, she wasn't a fool. She knew when she was beaten and outclassed but now she was being forced back into the fighting. With a loud cry, Chris dug as deep as she could into the last of her energy reserves in order to engulf her entire body in energy. Her body pulsed as her aura sprang forth to combat the fire that was now enveloping her.
Hearing Chris' cries, Herbert's eyes suddenly darted up as he beheld the sight of Chris being engulfed in flames. He once again tapped into his mother's ability as he sped off to Chris' aid.He skidded sideways to halt right in front of Chris as he cut through the flames. Activating Nathan's power, Herbert absorbed the fire in one hand and then sent it firing back at Signe with the other.
Angered by Herbert's continuing interference, Signe threw her other hand forward, releasing more fire as the pair's attacks clashed in the middle of them. Focusing his concentration, Herbert began to inflict diseases onto the Dane. As a rash broke out on her arms, Signe quickly began to morph her body into stone to combat it and stop its spread. Whilst she was distracted, Herbert once more used his mother's ability to weave his way out of the streams of fire before he flew forward with a burst of supersonic speed.
As he was catapulting towards Signe, Herbert used telekinesis to turn her hands on herself as the fire spewed into her face. Taken by surprise by this move, Signe was only saved from charring her face by the fact she had turned herself to stone. Shutting off her flames and morphing her body back to normal, she quickly sensed that Herbert was upon her but by then it was too late as Herbert slammed a supersonic fuelled fist into her jaw.
Signe was knocked clean off her feet and sent flying through the air. Now more enraged than ever, Signe used her own flying ability to suspend herself in midair before she rocketed off again, swooping down towards Herbert. She held out her hands in front of her as she descended, throwing forth yet more fire. At the same time, she concentrated her mind on gathering as much debris as possible in a telekinetic field as she hurled the numerous projectiles at Herbert.
The hero once again began to absorb the fire that was aimed at him but he had not accounted for the rubble being flung towards him. Rock, glass, wood and metal all began to slice and pierce Herbert all over his body as he activated Lucio's power to try and combat it all. Faster than he could blink however, Signe had come hurtling down and landed a punch into his chest, knocking Herbert to the ground. With a swift wave of her hand, yet more debris lodged itself in Herbert's body as he tried to get to his feet. Lucio's ability was working over time trying to force the shards of glass and splinters of wood and metal out of the wounds they had created.
Signe grabbed Herbert by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him up as his throat began to sear and burn as she activated Olem's ability. At the same time, she drove another fist into Herbert's face. Herbert clenched both his fists together and brought them down on Signe's arm, causing her to relinquish her grip. The hero then quickly followed this move up as he smacked a right hook right across the Dane's face.
He then went to throw his other fist into Signe's gut but was blown back as she had instinctively erected a force field to protect herself. Still surrounded by her force field, Signe hurled herself back at Herbert as she flew through the air, firing off her flamethrowers yet again. Herbert used his reflexes to dodge around the attacks, the last of his wounds sealing up as the remaining shrapnel left his body.
Signe then bore down on Herbert, swinging wildly with fire surrounding her fists. As Herbert ducked and weaved his way around the attacks, Signe began to morph her arms to become longer, extending her reach. Her swings came closer to hitting their target but Herbert was still able to dodge under the attack and charged at her.
As Herbert sped towards Signe, he knew that she would be protected by a force field and so he knew he would have to hit with everything he had. A sonic punch would not be enough. He gave out a loud cry as he powered himself up, his body becoming engulfed a bright yellow aura, increasing his speed and strength. He also began to draw upon all the energy around him, adding to his incredible power. And last but not least, he tapped into the more conventional super strength he had acquired from Signe.
With all this power and force at his disposal, Herbert balled his right hand into a fist as he propelled himself forward. He drew his arm back, readying his attack. With one swift movement, he swung his body forward, putting all of his weight and might behind this one gigantic punch. Hist connected heavily against Signe's body, shattering her force field. There was huge eruption as it exploded, firing the Dane through the air. The force of the blast also sent Herbert flying as he landed with an almighty thud near where Freya was still sat with Alex's body.
Back at the entrance to the docks, Optic, Wizard and the rest of the police who were still there listened to the numerous cries and eruptions coming from the warehouse.
"Alright that does it! We have to go in there!" Optic resolved after hearing and feeling the after shock of that last explosion.
"Whoa slow down there missy! Cool ya' tits!" Wizard stepped out in front of her.
"How dare you!" she cried as she slapped Wizard across the face, knocking off his sunglasses and toothpick, "Do you have an idea of what's going on hear!? Lives are stake!" Optic cried.
"How many times!? Bossman said he will handle this," Wizard said as he rubbed his cheek.
"Handle it!? Have you not been hearing what's going on!? All those blasts!?" Optic protested.
"That's probably him giving that bitch a good beat down! What are you worried about? It's Mega Man! He's the most powerful super ever! He's better than Omega! And let me tell you, Omega was great, he was really something, I remember when I was younger…" he began to trial off.
"Raj!"
"Alright, alright, alright. We'll go, take a couple of drones and you can do your thing to take a look, just a look mind you! If you start shouting and try to get involved I will drag you back here. Deal?" Wizard gave in as he tried to bargain.
"Fine," Optic grumbled as she folded her arms across her chest.
Herbert lay on the ground, slowly rocking as he grunted in pain. The force of the impact of his punch onto Signe's force field had shattered his arm and he was in no shape to be trying to heal it. He had put a big enough strain on himself by using three powers at once when he fought Ukobach and Nebrios but using four at once was enough to nearly break him. Herbert continued to grunt and groan as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
Signe however was not in such bad shape. She let out a frustrated growl through gritted teeth as she go back to her feet and dusted herself down. Cracking her back and then her neck, Signe began to slowly pace forward, her face set with pure rage. As she walked towards Herbert however, a grim smile began to form across her expression and a murderous glint started to sparkle in her eyes.
Stretching out her arms, Signe wrapped a telekinetic field around all of the survivors and pulled them all towards her, suspending them in midair in front of her. Chris, Lucio, Aurora, Herbert and Freya were all now dangling in front of the Dane as she looked set to finish it. Lucio was still out cold so Signe made a slapping motion with her hand to wield the telekinetic energy to lightly knock Lucio around the head a bit.
"No no, no goddess, that's not how you do it, it doesn't go there," he mumbled as he came round in a sort of daze, "if you force it, it will break, it's very fragile…." His mumbles trailed off.
"Such a fool!" Signe scoffed.
"Lucio! You gotta wake up buddy!" Herbert raised his voice.
"It doesn't really matter, soon none of you will be waking up! You have gotten in my way for the last time! You always were a meddling bunch! Could never leave well enough alone no matter what the situation was be it to do with super hero work or just life in general!" she growled at each of them.
"S-Signe……p-pl-please…" Aurora managed to stammer out.
"Please? Please what? Please end your miserable little life you mean!?" Signe started to cackle.
Her sinister laugh echoed out through the remains of the warehouse before she suddenly began to cough, violently. Her grip on her powers waned as the heroes were released from her telekinetic grasp. They all hit the floor on their hands and knees as Signe continued to stumble back, still coughing as she wrapped her hands round her throat. She too then began to slowly collapse down on one knee, fear and terror setting in to her features.
"Urgh….what's going on?" Freya wearily mumbled.
"I don't know," Herbert said as he got to his feet and began to walk towards Signe.
"Herbert be careful!" Chris cried after him.
"Signe?" Herbert said as he tentatively approached.
"Keep back!" Signe roared as she threw a blast of telekinetic energy at him.
"Signe no!" Aurora shouted in panic.
"I don't need any of you!" Signe growled as she collapsed forward and began to stare down at her hands as she noticed that her veins were all popping out through her skin and were coloured a most sickly green.
"Signe something's wrong, let me help you," Aurora now tried to approach the Dane in order to help her.
"Stay away!" Signe pushed Aurora away before stumbling forward, her body going limp.
"Whoa! Hey there, I got'cha," Chris said as she reacted, catching Signe in her arms.
"No, get off me, I don't need you," Signe's voice was growing fainter and sounding very husky as she wearily flailed her arms around at Chris in an attempt to get her off.
"Herbert what's wrong with her!?" yet more fear and concern was setting in to Aurora.
"I don't know," Herbert confessed as he once again approached Signe.
Chris readjusted her position so that she was now cradling Signe. Aurora and Herbert began to crowd around. Lucio was still trying to come to whilst Freya kept her distance somewhat. Signe just looked around at the three faces in front of her. All of her veins in her face were also bulging forward, the same sickly green power. Her skin was also starting to turn yellow as if she was beginning to decay. She haunched forward as some blood sputtered forth from her mouth, dribbling down her chest.
"What is happening to me!?" fear had set in to her eyes, "I am the strongest super. I am to build a new world where I will rule and be accepted. I am to crush you all beneath my feet. I am stronger than you. Why? Why is this happening to me?" Signe could not make sense out of any of it.
"Herbert what can we do?" tears were beginning to trickle down Aurora's cheeks.
"I don't know Rora," Herbert felt pained by his seeming useless to do anything in this situation.
Stretching out a hand, Herbert placed it on Signe's chest and with tremendous strain tried to call upon Lucio's power to try and heal what ever it was that was wrong with Signe. The usual green glow flared up around Herbert's hand but he could not feel it working. It was as if there as nothing there to heal.
"This is really weird. Whatever is affecting Signe, it's not something that can be so easily cured. It's like….her injuries aren't physical," Herbert gave his diagnosis.
"But then why are the symptoms showing up physically?" Aurora's tone was becoming more desperate.
"I don't know," Herbert's shoulders sank.
"Why? Why are you still trying to save me?" Signe's voice was like a ghostly whisper now.
"Like I've been trying to tell you ever since we first met, you're our friend Signe, we care about you. I-I know that…that you erm…l-loved me…and that I didn't love you back the same way…but Signe there are more than one type of I love….and I did…do love you…but as your friend," Aurora struggled to speak these words, "I-I always have…and I always will," Aurora broke down as tears came flooding forth.
"To me, you all had funny ways of showing how you felt, towards anybody. It was like none of you could be honest with yourselves or each other. I couldn't understand it and none of you were any good at explaining it to me. I have failed in my mission to create a new world, one that would be better for people like me," Signe lamented.
"Are you saying that you regret nothing!? You regret nothing of what you've done!? Of what's happened!?" Freya suddenly entered the conversation, her face full of anger.
"I regret only that I've been stopped," Signe resolved.
"How can you say that!? After all the lives you've taken!? Alex! My Alex! Did killing him mean anything to you!?" Freya's rage wash building.
"No," Signe's tone was cold.
"Why you…" Freya growled as she strode forward and drew back a fist.
"Hey!" Herbert cried as he got to his feet and restrained Freya, "don't become like her by taking a life, be better. Would Alex want you to a killer?"
"He want me to avenge him!"
"I think this enough vengeance," Herbert said as he looked back round at Signe.
"She doesn't deserve redemption!" Freya's tone was fierce.
"Signe?" Aurora began to shake Signe, "Signe!?" the light in her eyes starting to fade.
"I hate you," Signe gasped these last words.
Signe's skin had continued to yellow as her complexion grew more and more sickly. She coughed a wheezed, sputtering up yet more blood for a few moments before the light in her eyes began to fade. The glistening green shine began to draw back into the whiteness of her eyes. Signe let out one last breath as her head tilted to the right and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Signe was no more.
At the entrance to the docks, all of the police and ambulance staff were busying themselves trying to deal with all of the wounded and dying swat officers. The Olympus drones were also marching off the premise along with Optic and Wizard. Rajesh went about setting the drones up to form a perimeter around the docks just as Herbert had instructed him to do. Optic just paced nervously, feeling helpless in the current situation.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom that came from the direction of where Herbert had been. With her incredible vision, Optic's eyes zoomed in on what was going on. She saw Herbert rocketing into the sky and Signe flying after him before she knocked the hero back down to the ground. Everyone else's heads were on swivels as they frantically looked around for the cause of the sudden boom but only Optic had the ability to see what was going on. Overcome with concern for Herbert, Optic went to rush off to his aid but was held back by Wizard.
"Whoa there Tasha! You heard what bossman said, we need to stay out of this one," he tried to reason with her.
"But we can't just stand here and do nothing, Herbert's getting his arse handed to him!" there was genuine fear in her eyes.
"Herbert survived the Redeemer, I think he'll be able to overcome this opponent," Wizard assured her, "and don't give me that look, I've done my research on the big super organisation that I'm now a part of, don't be so surprised," he chuckled off at the end.
"I know he's been through a lot," Optic sighed, "but that doesn't mean he won't need out help this time!"
"Quite right, which is why we shall help him by doing as he asks and staying out of the way."
"But…"
"No 'buts' Tasha. This is something that is simply beyond us."
Back in the remains of the warehouse, Herbert sat himself up and stared at Signe who was still hovering above him and Chris. The hero then pulled himself to his feet and stood defiantly in front of his opponent, a stern and determined look on his face.
"Go get 'em Herb," Chris managed to grumble as she gave Herbert a half smile.
He smiled back before returning his gaze to be fixed upon Signe.
"A stronger will. No. It'll take much more than that," he said as he slowly knelt down and placed a hand on Chris' shoulder.
A bright green light sprang forth as he activated Lucio's power and began to heal her and at the same time, he took on her injuries. Instantly realising what Herbert was doing, Signe immediately burst forth with another sonic boom and smacked Herbert further down the building as he slammed into the back wall. She then came down as she kicked Chris in the stomach and sent her rolling and tumbling across the room.
Herbert rolled onto his back as hit the deck after colliding with the wall. He felt slightly drained after using those two powers at once. He hadn't been able to take on all of Chris' injuries or even cure her that much but he'd hoped it'd be enough. By taking on some of Chris' injuries however, Herbert had gotten a taste of what it was like to have his powers drained and as such was now feeling slightly weakened. He thought it'd be a better idea to just stick to using one ability at a time for now.
He had wanted to quickly tap into Lucio's power again to bring himself back up to one hundred percent and use his abilities at will but Signe came back at him too fast. Herbert instinctively activated his mother's ability as that was his go-to power when defending. Bending over backwards, Signe flew right over him and smashed her punch through the wall, shattering the concrete like glass. Herbert then burst forward and connected a sonic punch into Signe's chest, sending her flying into the air. His aim was put distance between them to give him some time to heal but as Signe was flying around at supersonic speeds, he was unable to activate Lucio's power quick enough.
Signe came speeding back down towards Herbert, her fist drawn back at the ready. This time Herbert jumped backed a good few metres. Where had that burst of strength come from!? Signe's attack once again missed as she splintered the ground with her fist. She then catapulted back at Herbert yet again before he had a chance to steady himself and prepare for the next assault. Purely as a knee-jerk reaction, Herbert crossed his arms over like an 'X' to try and block Signe's attack. Just as Signe's fist connected with Herbert's arm there was suddenly a brilliant blue flash as a small explosion which sent Signe hurling through the air.
Herbert looked down at his arms to find that they and the rest of him were surrounded by a dark blue glow. Of course! Now he remembered. Signe had been using a force field to repel the bullets before he'd shattered it with a bolt of lightning. He'd also seen her use telekinesis and she'd been flying around at supersonic speeds. Thinking on it even more, Optic had been inflicted with what looked like a standard use of Olem's power. Now knowing that his arsenal had been greatly added to, he began to come up with a plan to try and incapacitate Signe.
The Dane let out a thunderous cry from pure frustration that she had been unable to land a single hit on her opponent. She came flying back down at Herbert but this time he was ready for her. Tapping into Nathan's ability, Herbert began to create a vacuum around himself, sucking out all of the wind energy. Channelling this he began to drain away at Signe's ability to fly as she came swooping in. Feeling the pull and the strain on her body, Signe swerved away from Herbert, taking back off to the skies. As she did so however, Herbert was still tapping in to the wind energy that was now surrounding Signe and so he too was catapulted off the ground and was essentially using the wind like a rope to hang on to Signe.
Signe could feel an even greater strain being put on her as she grumbled and growled at Herbert. Her altitude was dropping and so was her speed. She wouldn't be able to keep up her flight for much longer. Attempting to try and manoeuvre Signe against her will, Herbert began to manipulate the wind to try and force Signe to stop. As she felt the pull however, she started to fight back. Herbert knew that using one power alone would not be enough and so he had no choice but push through the pain and use another. He drew on his emotional connection to Signe and pulled out telekinesis. That combined with Nathan's ability allowed Herbert to slam Signe into the wall before he then sent her crashing down to the ground. Using a telekinetic field to pin Signe to the floor and keep himself airborne, Herbert then stretched out his other hand and began to charge a small bolt of lightning. His arm crackled as electricity fizzed down it forming a concentrated ball in his hand.
"This should keep you down," he mumbled to himself as he released the bolt of lightning at Signe, just about powerful enough to incapacitate her.
The bolt came hurtling down, aimed at Signe's head but the Dane was able to counter it by releasing a force field to protect her. She now tried to push the offensive and so used her own telekinesis to fight back against Herbert. As the ability of telekinesis was now part of her very DNA, Signe had greater mastery over the ability than Herbert and so she was able to push through and bring herself to be standing again.
Herbert could feel his body straining after chaining together so many attacks. He was still feeling slightly weakened and so was nearly powerless to prevent Signe from pushing back against him. He allowed himself to drop to the ground so that he was now stood opposite Signe as they faced off once more.
"Those were some impressive moves you managed to pull off there," Signe gave Herbert a cold stare.
"Why thank you," Herbert mockingly beamed back at Signe, "I do seem to have a natural talent for this whole superhero thing."
"Don't get too cocky and confident Herbert, this isn't over yet," she warned him as her sickly smile returned.
"No, it isn't. But I promise you Signe, I will stop you from doing this," Herbert steeled himself.
"And what makes you so sure?"
"Because I must."
"Ha," Signe scoffed, "typical hero nonsense. Oh you have to stop me because you must oh boo hoo hoo," she ridiculed him as she put on a mocking tone of voice, "you only stop someone if you're strong enough to do so and have the conviction," her voice hardened, "and I have the conviction!"
Once again Signe released a sonic boom as she burst forward at Herbert, reeling off a flamethrower from each hand. Herbert activated his mother's ability before turning himself invisible as he dodged around the rocketing Signe and her flames. Using Nathan's ability to also absorb any sound that his footsteps might produce, Herbert silently walked over to where Aurora was lay and readied Lucio's power. Signe however, had halted and was now surveying the area using her enhanced senses and her incredible keen awareness. With one hand she began to gather all manners of debris and rubble. Bits of brick, shards of glass, huge splinters of wood and metal parts all began to swirl around the Dane as she held them in a swirling motion above her hand with telekinesis. Around her other arm, she released more flames, engulfing it.
Signe's eyes were sharply darting all over the place and her ears were tuned in to every layer of sound. She could hear everyone's breathing with great clarity and each beat of their hearts boomed like a drum. Her emerald orbs now honed in on Aurora's features as she was looking around, trying to see what was going on, if there was any sign of Herbert. Suddenly, the room began to fill with the sweet scent of wildflowers as it spread throughout the ruined building, overwhelming everybody's sense of smell. It was like breathing soup. But there was no green light. Herbert was concentrating on using Nathan's power to nullify anything that might give his position away.
Fully healed, Herbert continued to slowly pace towards Aurora. He tentatively began to crouch down to her level, his eyes firmly fixed on Signe, making sure she was still unaware of what he was doing. As he placed a hand on Aurora's shoulder, she suddenly reared up in shock as her head quickly spun round to her left. That was it! Signe immediately picked up on Aurora's movements and guessed that was where Herbert was. She fired off all of the debris to cover the area just above and to the side of Aurora, as well as the poor girl herself. Signe then spun round and released a flamethrower at Chris.
"Let's see you save them all!" she cried as the flames burst forth from her hand.
Herbert suddenly pulsed out of invisibility as he wrapped himself round Aurora to shield her before he erected a force field around himself, deflecting all of the debris.
Whilst Signe and Herbert had been fighting, Chris had managed to shuffle her way back into the main area of the warehouse after having been kicked away to the side. Despite Herbert having slightly healed her, she was still not one hundred percent and even though she loved the thrill of a good fight and a challenge, she wasn't a fool. She knew when she was beaten and outclassed but now she was being forced back into the fighting. With a loud cry, Chris dug as deep as she could into the last of her energy reserves in order to engulf her entire body in energy. Her body pulsed as her aura sprang forth to combat the fire that was now enveloping her.
Hearing Chris' cries, Herbert's eyes suddenly darted up as he beheld the sight of Chris being engulfed in flames. He once again tapped into his mother's ability as he sped off to Chris' aid.He skidded sideways to halt right in front of Chris as he cut through the flames. Activating Nathan's power, Herbert absorbed the fire in one hand and then sent it firing back at Signe with the other.
Angered by Herbert's continuing interference, Signe threw her other hand forward, releasing more fire as the pair's attacks clashed in the middle of them. Focusing his concentration, Herbert began to inflict diseases onto the Dane. As a rash broke out on her arms, Signe quickly began to morph her body into stone to combat it and stop its spread. Whilst she was distracted, Herbert once more used his mother's ability to weave his way out of the streams of fire before he flew forward with a burst of supersonic speed.
As he was catapulting towards Signe, Herbert used telekinesis to turn her hands on herself as the fire spewed into her face. Taken by surprise by this move, Signe was only saved from charring her face by the fact she had turned herself to stone. Shutting off her flames and morphing her body back to normal, she quickly sensed that Herbert was upon her but by then it was too late as Herbert slammed a supersonic fuelled fist into her jaw.
Signe was knocked clean off her feet and sent flying through the air. Now more enraged than ever, Signe used her own flying ability to suspend herself in midair before she rocketed off again, swooping down towards Herbert. She held out her hands in front of her as she descended, throwing forth yet more fire. At the same time, she concentrated her mind on gathering as much debris as possible in a telekinetic field as she hurled the numerous projectiles at Herbert.
The hero once again began to absorb the fire that was aimed at him but he had not accounted for the rubble being flung towards him. Rock, glass, wood and metal all began to slice and pierce Herbert all over his body as he activated Lucio's power to try and combat it all. Faster than he could blink however, Signe had come hurtling down and landed a punch into his chest, knocking Herbert to the ground. With a swift wave of her hand, yet more debris lodged itself in Herbert's body as he tried to get to his feet. Lucio's ability was working over time trying to force the shards of glass and splinters of wood and metal out of the wounds they had created.
Signe grabbed Herbert by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him up as his throat began to sear and burn as she activated Olem's ability. At the same time, she drove another fist into Herbert's face. Herbert clenched both his fists together and brought them down on Signe's arm, causing her to relinquish her grip. The hero then quickly followed this move up as he smacked a right hook right across the Dane's face.
He then went to throw his other fist into Signe's gut but was blown back as she had instinctively erected a force field to protect herself. Still surrounded by her force field, Signe hurled herself back at Herbert as she flew through the air, firing off her flamethrowers yet again. Herbert used his reflexes to dodge around the attacks, the last of his wounds sealing up as the remaining shrapnel left his body.
Signe then bore down on Herbert, swinging wildly with fire surrounding her fists. As Herbert ducked and weaved his way around the attacks, Signe began to morph her arms to become longer, extending her reach. Her swings came closer to hitting their target but Herbert was still able to dodge under the attack and charged at her.
As Herbert sped towards Signe, he knew that she would be protected by a force field and so he knew he would have to hit with everything he had. A sonic punch would not be enough. He gave out a loud cry as he powered himself up, his body becoming engulfed a bright yellow aura, increasing his speed and strength. He also began to draw upon all the energy around him, adding to his incredible power. And last but not least, he tapped into the more conventional super strength he had acquired from Signe.
With all this power and force at his disposal, Herbert balled his right hand into a fist as he propelled himself forward. He drew his arm back, readying his attack. With one swift movement, he swung his body forward, putting all of his weight and might behind this one gigantic punch. Hist connected heavily against Signe's body, shattering her force field. There was huge eruption as it exploded, firing the Dane through the air. The force of the blast also sent Herbert flying as he landed with an almighty thud near where Freya was still sat with Alex's body.
Back at the entrance to the docks, Optic, Wizard and the rest of the police who were still there listened to the numerous cries and eruptions coming from the warehouse.
"Alright that does it! We have to go in there!" Optic resolved after hearing and feeling the after shock of that last explosion.
"Whoa slow down there missy! Cool ya' tits!" Wizard stepped out in front of her.
"How dare you!" she cried as she slapped Wizard across the face, knocking off his sunglasses and toothpick, "Do you have an idea of what's going on hear!? Lives are stake!" Optic cried.
"How many times!? Bossman said he will handle this," Wizard said as he rubbed his cheek.
"Handle it!? Have you not been hearing what's going on!? All those blasts!?" Optic protested.
"That's probably him giving that bitch a good beat down! What are you worried about? It's Mega Man! He's the most powerful super ever! He's better than Omega! And let me tell you, Omega was great, he was really something, I remember when I was younger…" he began to trial off.
"Raj!"
"Alright, alright, alright. We'll go, take a couple of drones and you can do your thing to take a look, just a look mind you! If you start shouting and try to get involved I will drag you back here. Deal?" Wizard gave in as he tried to bargain.
"Fine," Optic grumbled as she folded her arms across her chest.
Herbert lay on the ground, slowly rocking as he grunted in pain. The force of the impact of his punch onto Signe's force field had shattered his arm and he was in no shape to be trying to heal it. He had put a big enough strain on himself by using three powers at once when he fought Ukobach and Nebrios but using four at once was enough to nearly break him. Herbert continued to grunt and groan as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
Signe however was not in such bad shape. She let out a frustrated growl through gritted teeth as she go back to her feet and dusted herself down. Cracking her back and then her neck, Signe began to slowly pace forward, her face set with pure rage. As she walked towards Herbert however, a grim smile began to form across her expression and a murderous glint started to sparkle in her eyes.
Stretching out her arms, Signe wrapped a telekinetic field around all of the survivors and pulled them all towards her, suspending them in midair in front of her. Chris, Lucio, Aurora, Herbert and Freya were all now dangling in front of the Dane as she looked set to finish it. Lucio was still out cold so Signe made a slapping motion with her hand to wield the telekinetic energy to lightly knock Lucio around the head a bit.
"No no, no goddess, that's not how you do it, it doesn't go there," he mumbled as he came round in a sort of daze, "if you force it, it will break, it's very fragile…." His mumbles trailed off.
"Such a fool!" Signe scoffed.
"Lucio! You gotta wake up buddy!" Herbert raised his voice.
"It doesn't really matter, soon none of you will be waking up! You have gotten in my way for the last time! You always were a meddling bunch! Could never leave well enough alone no matter what the situation was be it to do with super hero work or just life in general!" she growled at each of them.
"S-Signe……p-pl-please…" Aurora managed to stammer out.
"Please? Please what? Please end your miserable little life you mean!?" Signe started to cackle.
Her sinister laugh echoed out through the remains of the warehouse before she suddenly began to cough, violently. Her grip on her powers waned as the heroes were released from her telekinetic grasp. They all hit the floor on their hands and knees as Signe continued to stumble back, still coughing as she wrapped her hands round her throat. She too then began to slowly collapse down on one knee, fear and terror setting in to her features.
"Urgh….what's going on?" Freya wearily mumbled.
"I don't know," Herbert said as he got to his feet and began to walk towards Signe.
"Herbert be careful!" Chris cried after him.
"Signe?" Herbert said as he tentatively approached.
"Keep back!" Signe roared as she threw a blast of telekinetic energy at him.
"Signe no!" Aurora shouted in panic.
"I don't need any of you!" Signe growled as she collapsed forward and began to stare down at her hands as she noticed that her veins were all popping out through her skin and were coloured a most sickly green.
"Signe something's wrong, let me help you," Aurora now tried to approach the Dane in order to help her.
"Stay away!" Signe pushed Aurora away before stumbling forward, her body going limp.
"Whoa! Hey there, I got'cha," Chris said as she reacted, catching Signe in her arms.
"No, get off me, I don't need you," Signe's voice was growing fainter and sounding very husky as she wearily flailed her arms around at Chris in an attempt to get her off.
"Herbert what's wrong with her!?" yet more fear and concern was setting in to Aurora.
"I don't know," Herbert confessed as he once again approached Signe.
Chris readjusted her position so that she was now cradling Signe. Aurora and Herbert began to crowd around. Lucio was still trying to come to whilst Freya kept her distance somewhat. Signe just looked around at the three faces in front of her. All of her veins in her face were also bulging forward, the same sickly green power. Her skin was also starting to turn yellow as if she was beginning to decay. She haunched forward as some blood sputtered forth from her mouth, dribbling down her chest.
"What is happening to me!?" fear had set in to her eyes, "I am the strongest super. I am to build a new world where I will rule and be accepted. I am to crush you all beneath my feet. I am stronger than you. Why? Why is this happening to me?" Signe could not make sense out of any of it.
"Herbert what can we do?" tears were beginning to trickle down Aurora's cheeks.
"I don't know Rora," Herbert felt pained by his seeming useless to do anything in this situation.
Stretching out a hand, Herbert placed it on Signe's chest and with tremendous strain tried to call upon Lucio's power to try and heal what ever it was that was wrong with Signe. The usual green glow flared up around Herbert's hand but he could not feel it working. It was as if there as nothing there to heal.
"This is really weird. Whatever is affecting Signe, it's not something that can be so easily cured. It's like….her injuries aren't physical," Herbert gave his diagnosis.
"But then why are the symptoms showing up physically?" Aurora's tone was becoming more desperate.
"I don't know," Herbert's shoulders sank.
"Why? Why are you still trying to save me?" Signe's voice was like a ghostly whisper now.
"Like I've been trying to tell you ever since we first met, you're our friend Signe, we care about you. I-I know that…that you erm…l-loved me…and that I didn't love you back the same way…but Signe there are more than one type of I love….and I did…do love you…but as your friend," Aurora struggled to speak these words, "I-I always have…and I always will," Aurora broke down as tears came flooding forth.
"To me, you all had funny ways of showing how you felt, towards anybody. It was like none of you could be honest with yourselves or each other. I couldn't understand it and none of you were any good at explaining it to me. I have failed in my mission to create a new world, one that would be better for people like me," Signe lamented.
"Are you saying that you regret nothing!? You regret nothing of what you've done!? Of what's happened!?" Freya suddenly entered the conversation, her face full of anger.
"I regret only that I've been stopped," Signe resolved.
"How can you say that!? After all the lives you've taken!? Alex! My Alex! Did killing him mean anything to you!?" Freya's rage wash building.
"No," Signe's tone was cold.
"Why you…" Freya growled as she strode forward and drew back a fist.
"Hey!" Herbert cried as he got to his feet and restrained Freya, "don't become like her by taking a life, be better. Would Alex want you to a killer?"
"He want me to avenge him!"
"I think this enough vengeance," Herbert said as he looked back round at Signe.
"She doesn't deserve redemption!" Freya's tone was fierce.
"Signe?" Aurora began to shake Signe, "Signe!?" the light in her eyes starting to fade.
"I hate you," Signe gasped these last words.
Signe's skin had continued to yellow as her complexion grew more and more sickly. She coughed a wheezed, sputtering up yet more blood for a few moments before the light in her eyes began to fade. The glistening green shine began to draw back into the whiteness of her eyes. Signe let out one last breath as her head tilted to the right and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Signe was no more.