Chapter 58: A Smoke in Flames

Cpt. Jackson looked at Lucy with a calm demeanor as he relit his cigarette. As he did, Lucy charged towards him with a maniacal grin on her face, her claws ready to strike. She slashed at him, but as her claws made contact, his body dissipated into smoke once again.

Frustrated, Lucy filled her cheeks with fire and blew it towards the ground, dispersing the smoke in the area. As the smoke began to scatter, Cpt. Jackson reappeared, blocking the huge flames with more condensed smoke.

Lucy noticed him and prepared to charge again, but before that, she spat another fireball in his direction. Cpt. Jackson maintained the smoke barrier to block the attack. 

That brief distraction suddenly allowed Lucy to instantly get above him using her wings.

"There's nowhere to hide," she declared, firing a stream of fire down towards Cpt. Jackson, engulfing him completely. After a few seconds, she stopped and hovered down, looking at the spot of her blast, waiting to see what had become of him. "Is that all?" she asked, disappointment evident in her tone.

"I think you're cutting me a little short," Cpt. Jackson replied. As he spoke, a chain of smoke wrapped around Lucy's neck, dragging her to the ground. He slammed her body down hard, then picked her up with the smoke chain, he flung her body towards a boulder and as her body is in the air flying in that direction he started forming four smoke spears. Simulating gun fingers, he shot the spears at her, piercing her leg, gut, wing, and shoulder, sending her crashing into a boulder.

Lucy coughed up blood and glared at Cpt. Jackson as he approached. "How did you avoid my attack, you bastard?" she demanded.

Cpt. Jackson continued to walk towards her, stopping right in front of her body, which was sunk into a hole in the boulder. "Who said you actually hit me?" he asked. Smoke gathered around him, and different versions of him started appearing, all made of smoke. "This entire battlefield is my domain. You have no chance of winning."

Lucy smirked and then started laughing hysterically. "IS THAT SO?" Her voice deepened as her body began to grow in size, becoming more reptilian. Her claws and fangs grew sharper, and her presence became more menacing as flames radiated from her body. It was almost as if she were a dragon incarnate.

Lucy fully emerged, breaking out of the boulder and attacking the ground where Cpt. Jackson stood. He dodged, but Lucy pursued him relentlessly, trying to attack him wherever he landed.

Cpt. Jackson continued to dodge, jumping side to side, maneuvering around every attack she launched. Lucy's frustration grew, and she fired a huge fireball right in front of her. Cpt. Jackson prepared to dodge but noticed a cliff behind him, blocking his escape route.

"Touche," he muttered, preparing to block the attack with both arms. Suddenly, Lucy appeared out of the fireball right in front of him. "I'm not done with you yet," she said in a deeper voice, punching him in the gut and smashing him into the cliff, cracking it. She wound back another punch and unleashed a barrage of fists.

"ENTERTAIN ME MORE!" she laughed hysterically as her fists sent rapid blows, breaking the cliff more and more. She wound back once more, preparing to unleash her final punch, and hit him with full force, collapsing the cliff around the punch. Cpt. Jackson's body was buried in rubble, and Lucy smiled, satisfied with her actions.

Lucy prepared to walk away from the rubble, but as she did, Cpt. Jackson appeared next to her, completely unharmed, lighting his cigarette again. Surprised, Lucy swiped at him, but his body dissipated into smoke. Panic crept into her voice as she yelled, "HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?"

"I told you, this smoke is my domain," Cpt. Jackson replied as smoke gathered to form yet another body. "You have to do more than that to beat me." He brought out two fingers and motioned upwards, causing the smoke around Lucy to consolidate and funnel upwards, spiraling like a tornado. The air within the smoke became thin, and Lucy started gasping for air. Unable to breathe, she falls to her knees, thinking this might be the end.

Images flashed in her mind—horrible images of experiments done to her. She screamed in agony as doctors with a military crest discussed a new type of mutant that resembled a dragon. She woke up with a vengeance, giving a huge roar of fire that blew away the smoke tornado. Her ferocity returned, but her body shrunk back to its previous form, the smaller dragon form. She charged at Cpt. Jackson again, grabbing his neck and forcing him to the ground. With both hands on his neck, she prepared one final attack.

"This was a fun fight, but now it's over. I'm taking you with me, you bastard!" Lucy inhaled, preparing a large final attack of flames aimed at Cpt. Jackson point-blank.

Cpt. Jackson looked at her as she choked him, preparing for her final attack. He thought to himself, "Why would she go so far?"

Lucy's chest and cheeks grew with fire as she prepared to unleash her attack. Just before she did, Cpt. Jackson's body turned into smoke, covering her entire head as she blew the flames. The attack detonated within the smoke, causing an explosion.

Lucy's body returned to normal as she fell to the ground, completely knocked out from her own attack. The rubble from the broken cliff began to move, and a hand emerged. Cpt. Jackson, looking roughed up and with blood coming from his mouth, stood up and stretched his body. "Well, she was a tough one."

In a flashback, we see that after Lucy's attack at the cliff, Cpt. Jackson never left the rubble. The punches sent by Lucy were cushioned by smoke, softening the hits. He had attached a tiny bit of smoke around her neck, allowing him to keep track of her location and send smoke clones at her, making her think she was fighting him. This forced her to panic and use her strongest attacks, thinking nothing she did was working.

Cpt. Jackson walked up to her with his ripped shirt, igniting another cigarette and using his smoke to tie her up and restrict her movements. He noticed a tattoo on the back of her neck that he recognized—a snake shaped like a triangle. "She's an experiment from that bastard, huh?" he mutters.