Powers Against The World

The crunchy grass replaced that dusty wooden floor, to which one had to be grateful. That person was Lero in fact, even though he knew that he wasn't the only one thankful to be in a safer place. Even though he was dosing off after giving up some of his energy, everything inside that room was clear. Jamal was a lost soul at this point, and these wars and fighting were mentally affecting him at such a young age. 

"Is, is that the Viligantes?" a voice alerted the group that they made it if they hadn't known yet. 

A quick look around informed them that they were in the fields outside of the city, as large groups of their troops were making their way out of weeks of fighting. Their faces said it all, as it seemed that everything they'd lost was in vain and an overall retreat was happening in all sectors.

"Why did you tell us to go back?" a soldier made their way to them, her face filled with despair, "I lost buddies out there, and we had to give it all up! We were doing our part, were y'all doing yours?"

"Yeah, we just saved you lot." Lero was the first to speak, although it was a struggle, "Why don't you be bloody grateful and move along before it's too late, will ya?"

"Who the fuck are you?" she spat towards him, before stomping away in disgust.

"Lil twatter." Lero cackled at her missed attack, before shedding a yawn.

The rest of the group hadn't said a word yet, as they stared towards the smoke-filled city. No one, not even them knew what was about to happen, but this type of event wasn't something they were looking forward to.

"Whatever Jamal's about to do, it's not going to be pretty." Hops shuttered, "So be ready."

"And take note too, so we can make sure this never happens again." Leon crossed his arms, waiting for the sign of the chaos to come.

.....

A quick flash had blinded his vision, but once it faded away, Jamal could see no more people within the room with him. In fact, the only thing left was a growing fire that his powers started, licking the wood around him with ease. But that was of little concern to him, no, he wanted the enemy to suffer now. Just like how he had to be in pain, it was only fair that the man got to retaliate as well. 

Almost instinctively, he launched himself through the structure's roof, or what was left of it, giving him full access to the view of the city. The thick smoke from all the warfare made the air putrid and sooty, but Jamal was glad with his surroundings. Within all these buildings, were Youden supporters and soldiers, willing to die for his false cause. The cause that haunted him and everyone he knew for several years had to stop with him taking control. 

The hideous rage from within was expelling out, as the man floated hundreds of feet above the skyline. His body was moving uncontrollably, itching to finish the prey, as the streams of fire grew longer in the air. A quick look ahead showed the utter destruction of the residential areas and apartment complexes. Entire houses collapsed like squashed bugs and the complexes covered in holes like ones of a sinking ship were the only things he saw. The effect that Youden had forced him to bring to these people, the thoughts that made Jamal hate it all.

"Youden!" he roared so loud, that any windows that had yet to shatter broke with ease, and the streams of flames began to move more erratically.

Those long attachments swatted the ground like a giant, licking up anything in its path. It didn't matter the material, for the destructive nature of the flames ignored any compositions it touched and simply burned with ease. Such power was sealed inside him, and Jamal did his best to keep it together, without him realizing what he was doing. But this chaos, this insanity, this was his justice.

.....

A few shots still rang out the hallway, but Heskins kept his cool, his rifle peaking past the wall. His group of soldiers had made it up to the third floor of one of the apartment complexes and had faced little resistance so far. Here and there, were a platoon of Reserve Guards, which either surrendered or engaged in a quick fight over the ambush. Heskins already had to drop six of them within the last couple of minutes but it was light work to him at this point. Being part of the army in Suruthum had given him plenty of experience, and made him an excellent example to lead his contingent through the structure.

"Keep an eye on your surroundings men, we know what they are capable of. I'm sure they're still in those rooms." Heskins remained alert, as the shots stopped.

The couple of soldiers with him nodded, as they crept along the hallway, taking their time to investigate the floor. Compared to the lower two, it was relatively cleaner, with little debris and blockage in their path. Perhaps some of the civilians had gotten the memo beforehand and dipped before it got worse. Good choice, Heskins was thankful for. 

"If you are hearing this, and recognize my voice, you likely know who I am. We need to retreat back to our former positions immediately, as a powerful assault is coming our way. Please wait for further instructions as soon as the Viligantes return." her thoughts pierced through their minds, and likely thousands of others. a female voice rang through the air, breaking the silence. 

"Who was that?" one of Heskins's men turned around.

"Not me," one of the women with them aimed her weapon toward the ground, "Is it an ambush?"

"Wait, that's Alice, with the Viligantes of Powers, y'all know." Heskins scratched his head, to no response, "The group that's always with Jamal."

The answer got a lot of nods and activity in understanding, while Heskins paced around in wonder. She was nowhere in sight, let alone near the battlefield and Alice dropped that into their minds? Giving up all this territory they've sacrificed to gain wasn't what he or his people were willing to do, but his suspicions no doubt were there.

"I think, I think we need to move out, now." Heskins slung his weapon around his shoulder.

"Why?" one of his men looked at them all unease. "I just watched my own brother lose his arm and we had to waste everything in vain?"

"No, I know that woman and she hasn't done anything like that before. It has to be that severe for her to tell everyone that."

The group couldn't believe his suspicions, as more shouting came toward the staircase.

"Yeah, I'm not waiting here any longer. It's up to y'all to either listen or get dropped by Youden's scum." Heskins was quick to move past his soldiers and towards the downward staircase.

He didn't even have to look behind, as several footsteps followed behind him only a few seconds later. Guess they didn't have to wait long for reality to set in, as the group made it down to the first floor, practically skipping over several of the steps. The only visible exit was an opening where a door would have normally been, which had already been smashed down hours ago. No one looked past any of the corners, as Heskins was the first to be greeted by the long march of their men moving out. They all had gotten the message to move out of the area immediately, despite all their progress. 

Heskins waited by the doorway, as he took a quick count of the soldiers assigned to him as they left the building. All twenty of them had made it out safely, as Hesksins gave them the final order to move back towards their trenches as soon as possible. Ensuring that they would be safe, Heskins split ways with them, pacing himself towards the residential section of Appleridge.

Where were the rest of them, the man could only ponder with wonder, as he zipped past tired men. Ever since he initially entered those buildings, Heskins hadn't even heard a word from Sera or Fonda, or anyone else that was of significant power for that matter. He could only assume that they all got the same message from Alice, and was worrying too much. Relax and breathe, we'll make it back to them, Heskins collected himself in thought, as the last of the tall buildings closest to the suburban area were behind him.

"Youden!" a piercing cry roared through the air, forcing Heskins and all in its vicinity to cover their ears. 

What person could have made such a sound, Heskins turned around as shards of glass crashed among the streets, showering those that hadn't found any cover yet. Looking east, he could finally pinpoint the source of the sound, as a dark figurine of a person was floating in the air, and long streams of some type of energy were stretching out. But he couldn't help but notice some similarities to Jamal's power, unless it was him.

"Wait, it can't be." Heskins's mouth dropped, "No, it's can't be him?" 

"Sir, what do you mean?" a nearby soldier was confused, as Hesksins began to back up faster than most people's jog.

"Everyone run now!" Hesksins yelled out, just as those streams struck the ground and began their journey as they pleased.

Screams came from behind, as Heskins didn't even turn to look at the chaos behind him. That state he reached in that one town a few weeks ago had taken over, and practically made him a monster. For all he knew, there was no actual way to stop him or what even got him to reach such a state, but they were gonna be cooked regardless unless they did something about it. But what could be done, Heskins had no answer to, as a line of fire narrowly avoided his head and sliced the side of some brick building. He wasn't going to wait and find out in the open like this, but someone would do something, that he was sure of.

.....

The streams of fire continued to lash around him, but the damage wasn't enough for Jamal. He could watch as people were fleeing from his attacks, although the people still running appeared to be on his side. Some of them attempted to wave their hands as a sign to stop the onslaught, but Jamal couldn't stop. Youden and his men were still hurting their side. Harming his friends and the people that took him back in.

"Jamal, what are you waiting for? Kill them!" his shadow self pierced his mind.

His mental instability caused him to pull back the streams of fire, as the man staggered through the air. The same message continued to repeat in his mind, with his flames rapidly diminishing and leaving behind a soft outline around his disfigured skin and dark eyes. 

"I can't do-" he started to cry out.

"Yes, you can! They want everyone you love dead! I thought you figured it out by now! The bitch inside of you is refusing to let go of your softness. Get a grip on reality and kill these scum!" the shadow self broke down, causing Jamal to let loose another cry through the air. 

In a state of extreme confusion, Jamal began to form fireballs between his hands before launching them towards the ground. It didn't matter the direction, as the barrage landed anywhere it chose below him, striking a few stragglers or unlucky Reserve Guards in the open. The nature of the fire remained the same, as the screams from below could do little to remove the flames that stood strong no matter what was done to them. 

Jamal was no longer focused on the ground itself, as a new sensation was growing in his throat. It burned, like the acid from one throwing up, as the man was hacking from the feeling. Even still, the voice inside didn't stop, as the steam from his mouth finally disappeared. In the state Jamal was in, he couldn't figure out the reason as to what could have been the case, until that horrible feeling escaped his throat. 

Surprising anyone who could still get a good eye on him, Jamal let loose one last roar before literal fire burst out of his mouth. The hot content spewed across hundreds of feet through the open air, as it quickly fell towards the ground and scorched whatever structure or living thing it was able to.

"I can't, I can't do this. No more." Jamal clutched his throat, wheezing for breath and sparks still leaking out of his mouth. 

"No! Finish them all! Be the man you promised to be!" the voice ruptured his thoughts some more. 

In agony, Jamal hadn't even realized how close he was to the ground, which was only a few feet from the charred concrete. Somehow, there were a few Reserve Guard members still hidden in one of the blown-out buildings, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. With Jamal in his mentally incompetent state, who wouldn't attack a weakened man like this?

"Now!" one of them shouted from within before bursts of bullets came in Jamal's direction.

Turning towards the action, Jamal was at a loss of words, before one of the shots pierced through his side, causing him to howl in pain.

"I told you! They still want you dead! No more mercy! Destroy it all!" the dark voice rumbled once more.

This time, Jamal got the memo, as despite the returning pain, he was able to lift his left hand, before blasting the entire building away in one go. There was no hesitation, no build-up, just pure destruction. The reinvigorated hate quickly returned, as the burst of refound energy made Jamal shoot himself up several hundred feet over the city skyline. The dark flames were quick to return, as the conflagration spun around him faster than ever before.

Instinctively, Jamal siphoned the energy towards his right hand, as it was lifted up toward the sky. The fireball was rapidly gaining strength, as its size grew exponentially in a matter of seconds. The ball of near-black fire was already the size of the entire western side of the city, and Jamal was satisfied with the result. No longer wishing to hold back this power, he made his hand press against the fire, condensing this mass of energy into one the size of an apple. For a second, he considered whether what he was about to do was even the right thing, until Jamal recalled that Youden hadn't cared about any of them this entire time.

The town of Appleridge was as quiet as it had been for weeks, with no sound of artillery, rockets, or any other forms of fighting and warfare the last couple of minutes. Anyone who saw Jamal clearly watched as a small glowing ball dropped down and towards the ground. By this time, there were no more of the Port-O-Bea troops in this section of the city, and instead were multiple groups of Reserve Guards and their vehicles coming back into the space. They could only assume that such a mass retreat meant that the coastal city had no more resources to fight this prolonged battle and Appleridge was once again theirs. At least, that is what they thought up until the point the ball that Jamal created touched the ground.

.....

"Well, looks like we missed the brunt of it." Leon stared at the large explosions being created around the landscape miles away, with Jamal confused in his madness.

"Thank powers, it's getting real bad for him." Fonda felt ashamed to admit it.

"Don't worry, everything's under control, for now." Hops was lying on the ground, taking in the dirty air that had yet to be cycled off all the impurities still left about. 

"Uh, yeah, that's a lie." Sera pointed towards a large mass above the skyline. 

Everyone, including all the troops that had made it out, could see the extremely large ball of fire floating above, blocking most of the sunlight from even the dark smoke that still lingered in the air. The temporary darkness disappeared as quickly as it came, with the ball shrinking to the point where most couldn't even see it.

"You guys, left me, out, there." a new voice came towards the Viligantes of Power, as a quick look showed for it to be Heskins. "Really?"

"Wh-," Lero lifted his head to see, before remembering some things. "Oh no."

"Not now, Lero." Hops grumbled to him, and Lero had no energy to combat or argue.

Even in this temporary peace, nothing could have prepared them for what was to come next. One moment, the visible section of the city was still there for the Port-O-Bea army to still see. Next thing one knew, a shining burst of light and massive explosion erupted through the entire half, creating a loud shockwave that temporarily deafened all those within a fifteen-mile radius. The power was so devasting, that the explosion itself uprooted acres of trees with ease, and completed what would have taken decades of deforestation in a matter of seconds. The large plume of smoke that followed made it so no one could see the true result of the attack, even with that technically not being the greatest of their problems. Not a single member of the Vigilantes could even mutter a sound at what they had witnessed. No, it was how Jamal had that much energy willing to throw around in his crazed state, and the repercussions to come out of it.

.....

Jamal was barely conscious through that final attack, as the impact destroyed all remaining clothing he was still wearing. Not only that, but he was in the brunt of it, as his fire didn't result in him getting more injured, but the explosion itself launched any loosened debris across the entire sector. Piece after piece sliced through his skin like butter, and there was no space to dodge. The upheaval of debris that was upwards of millions, if not billions, of pounds, would make it impossible to survive. Jamal couldn't even comprehend his luck, as he drifted down through the smoke, not knowing how high he was. All the man wanted to do was take a deep slumber and not be disturbed again. 

Several minutes had passed, with the slow decline was as fast as Jamal was able to go. But alas, the ground finally made it to view, and he could feel the dirty road kiss his feet. He had no more energy, as Jamal couldn't even stay upright before collapsing onto the ground, knocked out cold. He couldn't even truly understand the magnitude that he unleashed on the land, or what he had done in a matter of minutes, but that wasn't Jamal's problem then. For the battle of his life was still underway, as it had never ended, but was postponed until his sudden collapse. The revenge of a madman had been acted upon, and though yet, no one could predict if it was fully satisfied.