Derailed

"Before we start I will tell you what my versal force is so we can all be on equal footing" it exposed, caring little for clarity.

"Versal force?" I questioned, conflicted by it's details.

"Yes, what you humans call abilities but it is far more advanced in comparison to your primitive and incomplete abilities. My versal force, 'Nebulum' allows me to bend space indefinitely to my will." It explained inadvertently.

I couldn't make sense of what it was saying as it used terms that I was new to but I could make out what it had meant by being able to bend space to his will.

If it was true, then it would explain how he was able to move very fast when he first attacked us. I spaced out for a while before rejoining the rest of the conversation like I had listened throughout the entire time.

"Well then, shall we begin?."

In an instant, his fist collided with my lower belly, running deep inside as he pushed me with monumental force. By the time I picked up my self from the dusty ground, feeling my insides churning greatly, it had disappeared into thin air and then reappeared in front of me, with it's fist stretched out for another attack.

I retracted my footsteps and lowered my upper body in response to it's outstretched fist, evading it carefully to land a counter attack which it blocked with incredible ease.

"If you're going to hit me, you'll have to move faster than th-"

BAMM!!!

It worked. My feint counterattack bought me enough time to regain my posture and land a definite hit on it's chin with my right knee. I pushed myself backwards, feeling very light from all the spontaneous movements of my joints. They were like newly greased parts of a vehicle, without the unpleasant squeaks upon movement.

"You were saying?" I mocked, arching my posture to return life to my cramped spine.

"Hahaha..... Haha... Hahahaha. You really are very unique human, just like the major reported. Well I guess I won't have to hold back anymore, let's fight for real this time". It responded, smiling like it had hit a jackpot.

The second he said those last words, he stood face to face with me, readying an uppercut which landed ferociously causing me to hit the cold metal truck besides me. The iron body of the truck had pressed back on impact as I felt the weight of his punch drive me straight with a nagging headache.

'Damn, it got faster'

How did his speed skyrocket in just a few seconds??. No this definitely was different from the way he moved, it was a new technique and possibly a part of his ability.

"Instant teleportation" it replied, tracing my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"What I did just now, instant teleportation. Like I said before, I can bend space to my will. Don't worry you'll be seeing more too"

I moved backwards hurriedly, in hopes that I could evade the next attack but his instant teleportation technique didn't give me enough time to react to the next attack.

SMACK!!!

I felt the aggravating force of his thrust towards my belly even before it landed, causing my stomach to roil in reclusion from the pain it felt upon contact.

Blood gushed out from my nose, making it almost hard for me to breathe in at all. I grinded my teeth viciously, trying to suck in the pain I felt and launch another counter attack. My feints were already too dull at this point and using another one in this battle would only be pointless.

"I've changed my mind, you humans really are weak. Kate was so much stronger, I mean compared to you, she was definitely a worthy opponent." It snickered, rescinding it's kick

I couldn't tell if his statement was a bluff by the sound of his voice but for the fact that he mentioned that Kate was alive and fighting, I derived a certain sense of gratitude.

If I was going to win in this fight or even get a chance to survive it, I had to strike him with all I had but I still kept on getting the feeling that it wasn't time to use my ability, at least not at the moment when his concentration was at it's peak. 

The next couple of minutes were hell, punches and kicks flying from different directions, almost like he was pulling them from every blindspot he could find. My headache had slipped into nausea and I couldn't even hear the sound of myself retching in pain because of the intense ringing in my head. I could see the blood clouding my sight while I stared at the rearview mirror of the truck my back was smashed against.

'cough'

"You know, all this while I haven't even seen you use that ability of your's. C'mon what is it, show me!" It pleaded maniacally.

The wry smile on it's face made it clear that he was mocking me and that fact alone made my rage boil even more aggressively than my fever. I clenched my fists tightly till I felt my entire body vibrate, the shame I felt from looking so inferior in front of my subordinates caused the rage to stir even more fiercely.

"You want to know what I can do??..... You want to see it?!!.

I'll show you but I wonder if you'll survive it's might" I bragged idly, watching the space around me distort gradually.

The massive ball of cosmic energy that I felt grow at the top of my palm, spinned furiously as it emitted radiant multi-colors. This was a new feeling for me, as I could now control entirely, the movement of the ball of energy, slowly shifting it to the tip of my index and middle fingers, pointed directly at my opponent. 

"Woah.... That is amazing!, But are pretty balls the only things you can create?" It taunted.

A word came to my mind as I watched the spinning of the ball grow intensely, warping the space around it and almost frying everything behind me.

'GIANT RAY!!'

Immediately the thought eluded me, the ball moved like a giant beam, erasing everything that was in it's path until it disappeared. I fell on one of my knees in labored breaths trying to get my composure back intact.

That had taken a lot out of me and any further would definitely cause a drawback. 

"Cap, are you alright. Woah... That was amazing, how did you even do that"

The sound of Ken's yapping wasn't as annoying as it always was, right now it was very comforting and I let out a silent chuckle before sitting close to the metal door scrap that lay on the ground.

Hopefully, that was the end of whatever that being was and although I couldn't get a name from him, the feeling of victory would definitely suffice.

"Oho... For a moment there I was actually scared. If I hadn't slowed the acceleration by forcefully pulling the spaces around that ball I would have been fried by now. I got to say, the speed of that thing was definitely exceptional, I almost did not see it move!".

'Impossible!'

This had to be a bad joke right now, because I definitely would've laughed if it was Ken using his mimicry to impersonate the entity I had so desperately wanted to obliterate out of existence, but I could tell by the sound of it's voice that it was real and had somehow found a way to evade death.

I felt the strength that was left in my body, zap out like juice being sucked by a straw forcefully. I wanted to utter a word but the pain I felt from my thumping head did not even allow me to speak.

"Wait what the he-" Ken muttered, barely finishing his question.

"Ken, dodge!!..... Kuhh!" I screamed at the top of my voice.

"Too late!" It sneered.

WHOOSHHHHH

BANG!!!

The gushing wind that followed the attack pushed everything that was between Ken and the kick, even throwing me further away from the battlefield.

I began to cough and with it, a bloodied vomit followed. As I tried to ascertain the cause of my bleeding, an over brooding force of tiredness began to cloud my consciousness. It had almost fully enveloped my alertness until the sight of the result of the sudden clash chased it away. 

"Not so fast. It's my turn to tap in"

Rukius.

I never could have predicted that he would step in just the minute that help was needed, judging by the fact that the rest of my team as well as Joe's just stood there in chilling fear. Thin bright flames shrouded his whole physique, making him look like he was covered by the outward flames of a burning candle.

The level of mastery of his flame manipulation was shocking to me, as well as the rest of the task force, as he had already perfectly gained control of the flames, just two weeks after receiving the Z fluid.

"Another fry makes it's appearance" it's voice resounded, carrying disgust.

The entity dashed backwards, removing it's armor in order to reveal it's chipped muscles and bare upper body. There were marks all over his pale chest and even though he didn't mention, it was quite clear that they were the results of intense battles that he fought and won.

"Well don't just stand there, come at me." it offered, reeling for another battle.