Chapter 35: Zack POV - "Fast Enough"

I bolted down the stairs, heart hammering, the sounds of chaos still echoing behind me. When I reached the ground floor, I stopped dead in my tracks.

There—standing like statues of war—were two figures. One was the Captain, backed against a wall, weapon drawn but visibly straining to hold position. In front of her stood two people: a blond girl with glowing golden eyes and a twitching animal tail, and beside her, a brown-haired boy with a confident smirk and sharp whisker-like markings on his face.

They looked... alike. Siblings?

As soon as their eyes met mine, something shifted. The girl's gaze narrowed, the boy's smirk widened.

"Well, well," the girl said, voice laced with amusement. "Why are you here?"

The boy tilted his head. "More importantly… how are you here? You shouldn't have been able to escape their powers."

I stared them down. My fists clenched at my sides. "Because we defeated them."

Their eyes widened in unison. For a moment, the room was dead silent.

Then they laughed.

"Defeated them?" the girl gasped between cackles. "Hah! They must've really underestimated you."

"But we won't," the boy added, and just like that, the laughter died. Their expressions turned deadly.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies twisted and transformed. The girl dropped to all fours, her muscles stretching, limbs narrowing, and fur exploding over her skin. Her tail lashed through the air as she turned into a massive cheetah.

The boy's body bulked up, shoulders widening, fangs lengthening as a mane of fur grew around his face—he became a towering lion, radiating ferocity.

"They're not just animal hybrids," I thought. "They're beast-type morphs."

The cheetah turned her glowing eyes to me.

"I'll handle the fast one," she purred, tail flicking. "Brother, take care of the Captain and that loudmouth Alex."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why me?"

She gave me a cold smile. "Because you look like the weaker one."

She disappeared.

No sound. No warning.

My instincts screamed. I spun on reflex just in time—her paw slashed through the air where my head had been a second before.

She skidded to a stop, eyes wide. "What?! How did you—?"

"Simple," I said, cracking my knuckles. "You picked the wrong target. I've got speed, too."

She grinned. "This just got fun."

We clashed again—and again. Blurs of motion flashed across the building as we raced through hallways, down corridors, up flights of stairs. Fangs and claws met fists and kicks. I moved fast—maybe faster than I'd ever moved before—but she matched me, strike for strike.

I kept guiding the fight away from Kuroki and Visor. Kuroki was injured, and I couldn't let anything compromise the mission. This girl was fast, aggressive—and if she got close to them, it would be over.

By the time we reached the top floor, both of us were panting, scratched, bruised, still circling each other like wild animals.

Then the ground shook.

A deep rumble echoed from below—an explosion?

She snarled. "Tsk... Brother already used it?"

I blinked. "Used what?"

She gave me a sly look and whispered, "You're done."

Then something unfolded from her back—an automated mechanism, sleek and mechanical. A machine gun. The barrel rotated as bullets loaded with a chilling click-click-click.

"Surprise," she grinned. "Let's see how fast you really are."

She fired.

A storm of bullets poured out in a deafening roar. I zigzagged, flipped, ducked behind crumbling pillars and broken beams. Splinters and sparks flew everywhere. Every time I got closer, she jumped back, laughing like this was a game.

I gritted my teeth. "I've got to end this now."

I pushed forward—closer—until I was within striking distance.

Just as I leapt, she faked a stumble... then kicked me hard across the face.

I crashed through the side wall of the top floor. Bricks exploded outward as I slammed onto the balcony ledge, dazed. My nose throbbed—a hot wave of pain pulsed through my skull. I looked down and realized... she broke it.

My beautiful nose.

With a wince, I grabbed it with both hands and shoved it back into place.

CRACK.

"AAARRRGHHH! WHY MY NOSE?!"

Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes.

Still... I grinned through the pain.

"This is the end," I growled. "You put up a good fight—but I'm finishing this."

She tilted her head. "How?"

I sprinted, maxing out my speed. Wind howled in my ears. My vision tunneled. I launched off the wall, soared over her, and slammed down hard—right into her face.

Her body crumpled. She hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Unconscious.

Panting, I stood over her, rubbing the blood off my hands.

"You're tough," I admitted. "I hope we meet again. That was... a real fight."

I turned away and groaned, holding my nose again.

"IT HURTS!" I cried. "MY BEAUTIFUL NOSE...!"

I wiped the tears away, just barely holding back a whimper.

Even heroes have their limits.