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I updated Lucien's Devil Fruit name.
Previously: Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Bat
Now: Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire Bat
I made this change because I originally misread and mistranslated it. My bad!
- Isopuff
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The physical toughness of Zoan-type Devil Fruit abilities was no joke. Just like Clint before him, Lucien barely flinched under Black Widow's electric cable attack. The high-voltage jolt would have incapacitated most opponents instantly, but for Lucien, it only caused a few involuntary muscle spasms—nothing more.
It was almost insulting how effortlessly he shrugged it off.
"You're not a cop," Lucien growled, his hybrid bat form looming over her. His voice was guttural, menacing, and carried a predatory edge. His sharp gaze bore into her as though trying to pierce through her facade.
Black Widow, unfazed, gave a casual shrug. "Never said I was."
His expression darkened, his nostrils flaring. "FBI? CIA?" His tone dripped with disdain. "Doesn't matter—they're all the same to me."
Lucien let out a cold snort, his lips curling into a sneer. He launched himself toward her with terrifying speed in the blink of an eye. His movements were almost a blur, leaving a ghostly afterimage as he closed the distance.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Black Widow's instincts kicked in immediately. Before Lucien could reach her, she drew her pistol in a single, fluid motion and fired off three rapid shots.
The sharp crack of gunfire echoed through the street.
Unlike the panicked and scattered shots fired earlier by the police officers, Black Widow's aim was razor-sharp and deliberate. Her years of training showed as she targeted vital points with each pull of the trigger.
Lucien's heightened reflexes saved him. As the bullets zipped past, narrowly missing his body, he was forced to break off his assault and dart to the side. The precision of her shots was impressive—she wasn't wasting a single round.
He twisted and weaved through the narrow streets, his wings creating gusts of wind as he maneuvered with uncanny agility. One wrong move, and he knew she'd land a hit. Despite his cocky exterior, he couldn't afford to take her lightly.
"Shit," Black Widow hissed under her breath as her last shot rang out. Her clip was empty, and not a single bullet had connected. She lowered the weapon slightly, her sharp eyes tracking Lucien's every movement, calculating her next move.
By now, the truth of the situation was crystal clear—Lucien wasn't just a vampire, as his appearance might have suggested. His half-transformed state revealed something much more dangerous.
He was another Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, just like Clint.
Her mind raced, piecing together the clues as she studied him. His grotesque bat-like features, the incredible physical resilience, the frightening speed—it all matched up. If her analysis was correct, he had consumed the Devil Fruit, Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire Bat, a Zoan-type known for granting monstrous abilities.
"Well, this is just perfect," she muttered to herself, her tone dry with a hint of frustration.
Lucien smirked from a distance, his wings slowly folding behind him as he circled back. His hybrid form loomed in the dim light, and his glowing red eyes locked onto her like a predator sizing up its prey.
"Running out of tricks, darling?" he taunted, his voice mocking yet laced with dangerous confidence.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The fight was spiraling out of control faster than Black Widow had anticipated. Lucien's speed and sheer resilience were pushing her to her limits, and every second felt like a countdown to disaster.
"Hawkeye, I need backup!" she barked into her comms, her voice steady but urgent.
She didn't have time to pause—her fingers worked the trigger while she called for reinforcements, each shot forcing Lucien to stay on the defensive.
"Got it. Hold on, I'm on my way," came Hawkeye's calm yet determined response, his voice crackling faintly through the comms.
"You better hurry!" she snapped, frustration creeping into her tone as Lucien began closing the distance between them again.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Another round of gunfire rang out, sharp and precise. Each shot was aimed to slow him down, to buy her just a little more time. But with every passing second, it became clear she was barely holding him off.
Meanwhile, the woman who had been in the passenger seat of Lucien's Ferrari had long since bolted, her heels clattering against the pavement as she fled in sheer terror. She didn't even look back; her only thought was to get as far away as possible from the chaos she had unwittingly walked into.
*Click-click!*
The dreaded sound of an empty magazine echoed in Black Widow's ears. Her pistol was out of bullets, and Lucien noticed immediately.
*Whoosh!*
He moved like a shadow, his body blurring as he crossed the distance in an instant. Before she could react, Lucien was standing right in front of her, his towering hybrid form radiating menace.
"It's pointless," he sneered, his voice dripping with malice. His red eyes glowed with savage delight as he loomed over her, reveling in the panic he thought he saw. "Nothing you do can stop me now!"
His laughter turned manic, a crazed, bone-chilling sound that echoed off the surrounding buildings. He lunged at her without hesitation, claws extended and fangs bared.
But Natasha didn't panic. She had faced monsters before—human and otherwise—and she knew that staying calm was the key to survival.
She took a deep, measured breath and moved just as his claws were about to connect. With a swift roll to the side, she narrowly dodged his attack, her movements fluid and precise.
*CRASH!*
Lucien's massive frame smashed into a parked car with devastating force, his momentum flipping the vehicle like it was made of cardboard. Metal groaned and screeched as the car rolled onto its roof, its windows shattering into a rain of glass.
Natasha pushed herself up quickly, her sharp eyes locked onto Lucien as he shook off the impact with a growl. Her mind raced—she was out of bullets, and backup was still on its way. She needed to stall him a little longer.
"Nice try," she said, her voice calm but edged with a dry sarcasm. "You almost had me there."
Lucien snarled, his wings flaring wide as he turned to face her, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "You've got nowhere left to run," he taunted, his voice a low rumble.
Natasha's lips curved into a faint smirk. "Big words for someone who just lost a fight with a car."
His grin faltered for a split second, his eyes narrowing in irritation. She wasn't afraid, and that fact alone was enough to make his blood boil.
Black Widow's sharp gaze darted between the looming shadow above her and the chaos around her. 'This guy's on a whole different level,' she thought grimly, her instincts screaming at her to find a way to even the odds.
But giving up wasn't in her vocabulary.
She clenched her jaw, raising her gauntlet once again. This time, she unleashed a concentrated burst of tear gas from her Widow's Bite.
*Hiss!*
The chemical vapor erupted, rapidly expanding into a dense, white cloud that blanketed the area.
*Cough! Cough!*
A muffled series of coughs came from within the smog, but they were subdued—barely noticeable.
Then—
*Whoosh!*
The sound of rushing wind cut through the smoke, followed by an ominous silhouette emerging from the haze.
Lucien soared into the sky high above her in his full bat hybrid form. His enormous bat wings stretched wide, their leathery membranes glistening under the dim city lights. He hovered effortlessly, his monstrous figure dominating the night sky.
"Really?" Natasha muttered under her breath, unimpressed. She cocked her head to the side, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "That's got to be the ugliest transformation I've ever seen. At least Clint's falcon form is way cooler."
Lucien's crimson eyes burned with fury, his voice rumbling from above like distant thunder. "You're mocking me?!" he bellowed, his rage palpable.
With a mighty flap of his wings, he dove straight down, claws extended and ready to rip her apart.
Black Widow's instincts kicked in, and she rolled out of the way just as his claws slammed into the ground where she'd been standing a moment before.
*Boom!*
The impact was catastrophic. A parked car took the brunt of the force, flipping through the air and slamming into a nearby building. Shattered glass and twisted metal rained down onto the street, but Natasha didn't stop moving.
She darted behind another vehicle, trying to distance herself from the relentless bat hybrid.
Lucien adjusted his trajectory mid-air, his wings giving a powerful beat as he launched himself toward her again. His speed was terrifying, and her escape options were limited this time.
"Nowhere to hide, now!" he roared, his claws outstretched once more.
Natasha raised her right arm and fired another device from her gauntlet. The small, metallic object shot out precisely, spinning as it sailed toward him.
Lucien's sharp instincts kicked in. He'd been electrocuted by her gadgets before and wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. With a sharp twist of his wings, he dodged to the side, the projectile harmlessly missing him.
*Whoosh!*
But Natasha wasn't done. Her other hand moved like lightning, drawing her gun. Without hesitation, she fired.
She had fired at her own projectile, detonating it in midair.
*BOOM!*
A massive explosion rocked the street, sending a shockwave that hurled Lucien straight into the pavement with a thunderous crash.
An eerie silence settled over the battlefield for a moment, broken only by the faint hum of crackling energy dissipating in the air. Dust swirled in the aftermath, obscuring Lucien's figure as he struggled to his feet.
He rose slowly, his imposing frame looming through the haze. Though his suit was scuffed, his hair disheveled, and his hybrid form flickering unsteadily, it was clear that he wasn't seriously hurt.
But his expression? That told a different story.
Lucien's crimson eyes burned with unbridled fury, his fangs bared in a snarl that sent chills down anyone's spine. For days, he had rampaged unchecked, a force of nature that no one could stop. The authorities? Pathetic. He had toyed with them all like playthings, slaughtering anyone who dared to cross him.
Yet now—this woman.
This ordinary woman had managed to wound him, to challenge him.
He couldn't stand it. He wouldn't allow it.
"Damn you!" Lucien roared, his voice echoing like a beast unleashed. His wings flared wide, shattering a nearby lamppost with the force of his movement. "I'll tear you apart!"
Fueled by rage, he lunged forward with everything he had, claws outstretched, his massive frame bearing down on her like a hurricane of fury.
But then—
*Whoosh!*
A blur of motion appeared to his side, faster than even his enhanced reflexes could track.
Lucien's instincts screamed at him, a primal warning of danger. His head snapped to the side, searching for the source of the threat.
And then—
*Boom!*
Pain erupted in his gut.
Lucien's pupils shrank as his mind tried to process what had just happened. A fist had slammed into his stomach with devastating force, driving the air from his lungs and leaving him momentarily stunned.
'What?! Someone… got this close?! Without me noticing?!' The realization hit him like a second blow. It was impossible. He was the predator. No one could approach him without his awareness.
*Boom!*
Lucien's massive frame was sent hurtling through the air, slamming into a nearby wall with bone-crushing force.
For a moment, he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. But before he could even regain his footing—
The figure moved again.
Lucien's sharp eyes caught it this time: the brief flash of a transformation.
Beast-like features rippled through his attacker's form—clawed hands, elongated limbs, and a feral glint in their eyes. It wasn't a full shift, but it was enough to send a jolt of recognition through Lucien's mind.
"What…?" His voice wavered, barely a growl as his mind reeled. "Another Zoan?!"
He barely had time to process it.
*Boom!*
The second impact hit like a freight train. Lucien's body crashed into the ground with a thunderous quake, the asphalt cracking beneath him. Dust and debris clouded the air, settling over the scene like a heavy curtain.
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Next Chapter: Clash of Zoans – The Power of the Falcon Zoan
Next Next Chapter: Tony Stark's Fate Has Nothing to Do with Me
Next Next Next Chapter: Pepper Potts – Only a Devil Fruit User Can Save Stark
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