Episode 1-3: Kay-Oh

I feel my body getting dragged away, and eventually, the police cruiser with both cops is brought into my view. Including Clyde, they all watch over me.

"Troy, say something!" Clyde demands. I try to move my mouth, but since the jaw is a muscle too, I can't form words. I feel saliva pool up and dribble out of the corner of my mouth. Kay-Oh apparently has more than just a single power, and this last one only makes his first one that much stronger.

Clyde cradles my neck and lets my head go limp. I'm hanging upside down, and it kind of feels good. "Dammit, I had no idea things were going to get this bad. To hell with his rules, I should've jumped in and saved you."

No, Clyde, that would only have resulted in both of us being defeated at the same time. You need to review the footage and find out what things look like when you fight him. Study the video you took, and come back with a plan.

"Can you hear me at all?"

I try to gurgle something with my spit-filled mouth, but no sound comes out. Am I going to drown in my own saliva? Oh god, Clyde, put me on my side! Hanging upside down is only making it harder to breathe now.

"I'm going to airlift you back to Ispio. Doctor Nivans is going to make you all better."

No, dammit! I can't prove it, but something tells me there is no cure to this unless it's Kay-Oh's defeat. Nivans won't know how to treat this strange anomaly. This isn't normal science.

I see Clyde look in the distance and begin to talk. I think he's using his comms. "Amy, I need you to check on Troy's vitals for me."

I'm still linked in, I can hear Amy's response. "Looks like his vitals are fine, but there's something affecting his muscular system. It's as if his caloric count has been reduced to zero. If that's true, then he must not be able to move a single muscle. Is he okay?"

"No, Amy, he's paralyzed. Kay-Oh did something to him when he lost the fight. He won't move, he's just staring into the sky letting his drool dribble down his chin."

"Whatever you do, don't feed him. He won't be able to swallow correctly, and he'll choke to death. I'm reading that his nanobots recently ran the resuscitation program. Don't let his heart fail too many times, the shock won't be able to save him all the time. In fact, it might kill him."

Oh great, my own nanobots will kill me if my heart stops too many times. Without any calories in my body, organ failure is bound to happen, my heart will stop with or without choking. I wonder how much time Clyde has to fix this mess before I end up croaking like a watch with a dead battery.

"If I can't feed him, what about an IV?"

"Did your tech team actually pack you an IV kit?"

"No…"

"You're going to have to get him here quickly so Nivans can help him out. I'll get Barry on the line."

"Roger."

Guys, that's not going to work. Why can't anybody read my mind yet?

"Clyde, bad news. Barry's jet is already active today, I'm afraid I have to send in another pilot. Without Barry's camouflage abilities, this other pilot will have to take a longer flight route to avoid airspace trespassing. It'll be a long wait. What about a local hospital?"

Clyde peeks over at Kay-Oh, I hear screaming, but I'm not sure who it is. "Kay-Oh has the whole town as his hostage. Trying to leave the scene is an invitation to hand-to-hand combat. No one can leave, and no medical teams may enter without also being seen as a combatant."

"Then the pilot is prepping, but that's all I can do from my end."

"Thanks for that, Amy. I'll take it from here."

Clyde looks back down at me and stuffs his nose into my neck fur. "Don't worry, Troy, I'm not letting this be the end for you."

You son of a bitch, that tickles like crazy! I can't even laugh either. He gently puts my body up against the police cruiser so I can sit down comfortably.

"Will you two watch over my partner? Please, I need you to promise me that you'll keep a close eye on him, okay?"

I can see the cops nod and one says, "Sure. You're not going to challenge that maniac too, are you?"

"I'm pretty sure we're the last line of defense here. Just give me a second to catch my breath." Clyde puts on the glasses that recorded the fight and watches while sitting next to me. He puts an arm around my shoulder, the broken one, but my nanobots won't let me feel the pain.

His face continues to make different expressions as the video plays. I can't hear anything, but I think I figured it out when I came on the screen to tell him what I learned during the fight. Come on, Clyde, please understand what I'm trying to say there. It's important. There's no part of the video that explains how to damage him. I'm hoping he can piece that together himself.

He finally takes the glasses off and places them on my face. Gee, I've been reduced to a tablespace. Clyde stands up and peeks over the cruiser, his ears twitching at the sight of Kay-Oh.

"Here, doggy doggy. You look strong, do you want to try next? Your partner was incredibly witty, he figured out a little more than I thought he would." I hear Kay-Oh say.

"He's a top-tier detective, but not the best fighter. He'll spill all the secrets that you keep hidden."

"Wait a minute, you don't smell."

"Uh…thanks?"

"You don't smell at all. You're just a regular person."

"What are you talking about?"

"Begone, or end up like the rest. You stand no chance without the touch of the relic. Why is it that your friend has the scent, but not you? I guess he doesn't share every secret after all."

Clyde hops over the cruiser and I can no longer see him. Oh wait, he gave me the glasses for a reason. I can log into the camera placed in his earring! I just need enough energy to log into it using my neuron charges. Come on, brain, make it happen! Yes! The screen lights up and I see a camera feed coming straight from Clyde's earring. What a great view.

"I don't think so, Kay-Oh! You said that anybody is allowed to challenge you. That includes me, and I'm officially challenging you."

"My apologies. I've tricked myself into thinking I was going to meet a spectacular opponent for a moment. Of course, you can challenge me, I welcome all combatants to fight for their freedom. You may start whenever you like."

"Hold it! I've got a quick question. What are the factors that define what defeat is?"

"Hmm. When you lose consciousness, or when your heart stops beating."

"So as long as I stay breathing and awake, I'm considered still in combat? If I choose to run around this town, you'll be forced to follow me wherever I go?"

Kay-Oh rolls his eyes. "Yes, but don't prolong your defeat by making me chase you around the town."

"Maybe I'm just in the mood to change scenery is all. Kind of like right now!"

Clyde throws a rock he'd been keeping in his fist since he sat on the ground next to me. Kay-Oh easily dodges it, but it technically counts as Clyde's first attack. The fight has begun, and Clyde immediately darts off to a nearby house. I hear a hostage yell that it's his private home, but Clyde doesn't care and neither does Kay-Oh.

He follows Clyde into the home, but it's small inside. Clyde's in trouble if he doesn't know what to look for. He won't have room to put distance between himself and Kay-Oh. Clyde pushes a chair into position and waits for Kay-Oh to enter. When he sees him, he launches the chair right at him, but Kay-Oh slices the whole chair in half with a downward karate chop. He's only gotten stronger after absorbing my muscles. It's a good thing it wasn't Clyde's muscles he soaked up first.

Clyde pulls his gun out of its holster and points it at him.

Kay-Oh seems confused. "You know that's not going to work, right?"

"It might." Clyde points upwards to the ceiling and shoots. The dust and debris from the ceiling start to rain on both of them. I don't know what Kay-Oh is doing in Clyde's vision, but his attack is revealed through the falling debris. Clyde sees the attack coming and counters it by simply punching back at it. It's a hit! Kay-Oh feels the pain of getting decked by Clyde's strength, and it's enough to get him to back off.

Clyde gets in there and begins to deliver a volley and heavy punches. This time, Kay-Oh seems to be taking real damage from it. Every punch forces him to move and grunt. Maybe his being stunned meant that he can't react to Clyde's onslaught and counter properly. Kay-Oh finds a pause in Clyde's attacks and slips out of range just barely.

Clyde tries to keep up the pressure, but Kay-Oh has already reset himself. He throws a heavy kick, but I'm not seeing what Clyde sees. Clyde tries to block from over his head, and the kick lands on his side. Clyde is clearly shocked that the hit landed, but he knew it was coming. It's strong enough to push Clyde through the wall and into a hallway.

Kay-Oh crawls through the new hole, but the smoke from the wall reveals a kick heading straight for Clyde laying on his back. Clyde grabs the ghost leg, and he twitches for some reason. He probably witnessed Kay-Oh's body resetting into what the real attack was supposed to be.

Clyde twists the ankle and forces Kay-Oh onto the ground. Before Clyde can do anything though, Kay-Oh presses all of his limbs onto the floor and launches himself upwards, and clings to the ceiling. Clyde must not have seen that because he's still looking at the floor as if he's there. Look up, Clyde, his body isn't there anymore.

A boot plants itself on Clyde's face, kicking him into a bedroom. He rolls over the bed and lands on the other side. He quickly recovers and grabs the sheet from the bed and balls it up.

"Is it nap time?" Kay-Oh taunts.

"And here I am without my pajamas."

Clyde throws the balled sheet upward, and Kay-Oh is completely surprised by it. He strikes out, his attack visible through the sheet. Clyde quickly draws his gun and blasts a hole through the sheet and through Kay-Oh's right arm.

Kay-Oh rages and tosses the whole bed up through the ceiling. He charges Clyde who just isn't ready, and throws a massive punch at him, sending him crashing through the window and rolling into the front yard. Kay-Oh follows through the broken window and stares down at the bleeding Clyde.

"More tricks, agent? That punch should've ripped a hole through your side, and yet you're still in one piece."

Clyde wobbles up to his feet and raises his fists. "I activated Steel Pill before this fight. Good luck trying to rip through my skin, it's basically the same toughness as a tank. It survived a point-blank explosion while in a locker."

"Ipsio technology will never stop impressing me. Now I have no excuse to pull any punches."

"You were going easy on me? When did all these bad guys receive a supercharge?"

Kay-Oh dashes with a speed I've never seen him use before. Clyde, still a little wobbly, lazily throws his body out of the way with a roll. Only, he doesn't. Kay-Oh stops right in front of Clyde's dodge and grabs him by the neck.

With insane strength, he manages to lift the 200lb dog off of the ground. His free arm repeatedly beats and batters Clyde's unguarded stomach. From the view from the camera, I watch several spatters of blood flying out of his mouth. He's getting his insides totally ruptured with those cannon strikes.

He slightly tosses Clyde's limp body in the air, then spins around and throws a reverse roundhouse. With a final kick to the side of Clyde's head, he goes flying down the street at a speed that dents a car's door when he flies into it. Clyde doesn't get up.

"All that Steel Pill did for you was make you the perfect punching bag. Do you forfeit? Your eyes are closing."

Groans are all I hear. "It's like fighting two people…"

"I'll ask again. Agent Clyde Barker, do you forfeit your match?"

Clyde doesn't make any noise. Did he pass out? Is he even alive? How can someone survive an attack like that? Even with the Steel Pill, I don't think anyone can be tough enough to keep going.

Wait, something's wrong. My breathing, I think it stopped. I can't breathe. My heart, it's not beating! I feel the immense shock from the nanobots, and my breathing comes back. I feel intense pain in my chest. That's my second resuscitation. I hope this death thing doesn't work by the "three strikes" rule, because I don't have a lot of time left before I'm out.