When the Rain Stops

How dare you tell your disciple to call me by that name! But now that I'm back with all my equipment, I can take care of both Deep Sea King and your disciple. I can't wait to see the look on your face when I return him to you in scraps.

Sonic's 'Hail of Carnage' had forced Deep Sea King and Genos apart.

Now, with his hand on the hilt of his ninjato, he smirked. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece, well almost, cyborg."

"A stalker always comes back," Genos said, eyes filled with disdain.

Sonic gritted his teeth. Something about this machine irritated him. He couldn't wait to cut him down.

"The small fry returns. A grand fool who dares to oppose me twice," Deep Sea King said, tilting his head at an odd angle.

"Your demise begins now." muttered Sonic.

BOOM!

He dashed forward, sonic booms erupting in his wake. Let's see how you handle my 'Full Frontal Attack.'

In a blink, he was upon Deep Sea King. His blade flashed upward, slicing clean across his target's chest. A spray of blue blood followed. He swung again, aiming for another deep cut, but at the last moment, he had to dart away—as Deep Sea King's massive fist was already barreling toward him.

Sonic narrowed his eyes as Deep Sea King's wound vanished without a trace.

"My, the small fry can actually bite," Deep Sea King mused, pressing a hand to his chest. "But in this rain, you can't truly harm me."

An innocent smile stretched across Sonic's face. "Let's see you regenerate when you're in pieces."

Before he could make his move, Genos blitzed in, launching a relentless flurry of strikes.

"'Machine Gun Blows!'"

Is this robot trying to steal my kill?

Sonic's grip on his weapon's hilt increased. "This is my fight!"

Pushing his speed to the limit, Sonic carved several slashes across Deep Sea King's back. The monster's blue blood surfaced for only a moment before the relentless rain washed it away.

"Annoying pests!" Deep Sea King roared, slamming his fist downward, sending shockwaves rippling through the concrete like a massive wave.

Sonic and Genos leaped back, avoiding the impact zone.

"None of you will escape me!" Deep Sea King snarled, launching himself toward Genos with terrifying speed.

In response, Genos threw back his arm, firing his incineration cannon in order to propel himself forward to meet the charge head-on.

Not one to be outdone, Sonic flashed into the air, his blade cutting toward Deep Sea King's exposed neck.

Deep Sea King twisted sideways, evading the blade, and hurled his arms in opposite directions—one fist rocketing toward the airborne Sonic, the other smashing toward the charging Genos.

Sonic deflected the strike with his ninjato, leveraging the blade to redirect the force and spiral through the air, landing unharmed. Meanwhile, Genos wasn't as fortunate. His fist collided with the fully hydrated Deep Sea King, sending him flying backward.

Deep Sea King cracked his knuckles as the wounds on his body regenerated themselves once again. "See? You pests can only die, miserably."

WHOOM!

At that moment, a shockwave rippled through J-City, scattering the torrential rain in its wake.

Genos emerged from a gaping hole in a nearby building's wall, staring into the distance. 'Master…'"

Sonic followed Genos' gaze. Caspian's here? Good! That means I can take care of him and his disciple right away.

Both Sonic and Genos snapped their focus to Deep Sea King as his hulking form shrunk, reverting to his earlier, smaller state.

"This… I'm very annoyed now," Deep Sea King uttered, his anger seething, visible in the tightening of his muscles and the flare of his nostrils.

¤ ¤ ¤

The remnants of Lord Great White's shattered body crumpled to the ground.

Caspian locked eyes with the stunned Mumen Rider for a moment before turning to the silent, awestruck crowd in the Evacuation Shelter.

I don't want to listen to that bowl cut slander these heroes. Time to get this over with…

"I got lucky!" Caspian raised his hands in mock humility, addressing the crowd. "If the heroes here hadn't weakened the monster, I'd have been flattened." He jabbed a thumb at his chest, grinning. "Perfect timing, though, right? Barely lifted a finger… and I walk away with all the credit."

His word riled up the crowd.

"What does he mean?"

"The monster was weakened?"

A short-haired man in the crowd suddenly stepped forward. "Wait—is that Caspian? His appearance matches the rumors. They say he travels from city to city, defeating monsters in a single strike before vanishing. That's him, I'm certain. Though who knows if the rumors are true?"

"I've heard it too," another voice cut in. "Dude appeared out of nowhere and shot up the ranks like a rocket."

"Sounds fishy," muttered a skeptic nearby.

Murmurs swelled as more joined in.

"The A-Class Hero Sneck, the number one C-Class Hero Mumen Rider, and all the other great heroes worked so hard to get it to that point and…this guy gets the credit?"

"What the hell? That's so unfair!"

Caspian stood unfazed, basking in the chaos. He turned back to Mumen Rider—just as the storm clouds parted, sunlight beaming down like a spotlight on his triumph.

Mumen Rider wore a troubled look. "Why did you…?"

Caspian shook his head and brought up his hand to rest on Mumen's shoulder. "You all did well. Who could've predicted Lord Great White would make his appearance here of all places?" He stepped back. "I'll be seeing you around."

Without another word, he walked away, the crowd's angry shouts fading behind him.

¤ ¤ ¤

Genos's energy reserves flickered dangerously low. Across the street, Sonic's breaths came ragged and uneven. Between them, sprawled on the rain-slicked road, lay Deep Sea King's bloodied, mutilated form. Under their relentless assault—and the sudden halt of the rain—they had overwhelmed him, ending his rampage before he could cause any more harm.

Sonic leveled his ninjato at Genos, the blade glimmering under the sunlight. "Your turn, cyborg." A smirk twisted his lips. "And when I deliver you to Caspian...heh."

Genos mirrored Sonic's stance, his incineration cannon whirring to life as he raised his arm. "Master warned me of your perverted battle tendencies." His eyes smoldered with energy. "Even with one arm, I have more than enough power left to end this. You won't waste another second of my master's time."

Before Genos and Sonic could clash, a hand patted Genos on the shoulder. "Let's go home."

"Master!" Genos turned, relief flashing in his eyes.

Sonic grinned. "You saved me the trouble of hunting you down, Caspian. Now I'll crush you both."

Ignoring him, Genos fell into step beside Caspian as they walked away.

"You think…you both can just walk away?!"

Genos spun around at the sound of rushing wind—Sonic was already in the air, arm raised.

"'Hail of Carnage!'" A storm of explosive shurikens rained toward them.

"Boring. Sonic, come back when you've learned some new moves." Caspian exhaled sharply, a gust of wind hurling the shurikens backward.

The explosion engulfed Sonic mid-air. "Damn your luck Caspiaa—!"