Underground…
"Dude, are you sure we should go in there?"
"Come on, don't be such a scaredy cat! She's calmed down."
"Man, she's attacked every guard that walked in that cell! She almost attacked the boss!"
"That's what your gun is for, you pushover!"
A pair of goons walked through the cellblocks, arguing until they reached the most secure cell, which was blocked by a large metal door. One of them put in a code, and the door opened, revealing Xenova, who was strapped to a chair, wrapped in chains. The moment they walked inside, she lifted her head.
"More visitors, how wonderful!" she remarked. "Are you here to play?"
They both stopped as she gave them an innocent look. The first goon nudged his partner. "Go on. Go talk to her."
"Why me?"
"Because I outrank you!"
The second goon brought her a plate of food, setting it in her lap. "Boss told us to bring this to you. Doesn't want you to be hungry."
Xenova looked down at it. "Okay! But how am I supposed to eat this? I'm all tied up!"
"Yeah, exactly," the first goon said. "And it's gonna stay that way."
They turned to leave. "We'll be back to escort you later. The boss wants to have a little chat with you."
"Aww, you're leaving? But I was getting lonely!"
"Listen, girl," the goon said. "Stay there and don't make any trouble. We don't want any problems, do we?"
Xenova began to giggle, and a tendril sprouted from her back, scaring the two goons. "Bye-bye! I'm leaving!"
With ease, she slashed through her chains, and the goons pulled their guns. "Stop! Don't move!"
Before they even knew it, she stabbed into both of their legs, holding them up in the air. "AHHH!"
Without hesitation, she slammed them into each other, and their bodies crumpled to the ground, moaning and unconscious. Xenova walked outside her cell, taking note of the massive cell block she was stored in. "Whoa! Look at all these prisoners! What are they here for?"
She kept walking. "Well, time to find Mykhail!"
Alarms began to sound, but she casually strolled through the halls as crazy prisoners shouted at her and some tried to reach out.
"Hey, free us!"
"Freak! How'd you escape?"
"I don't wanna die in here! Someone help!"
Xenova continued walking through the halls, eventually finding a door labeled "Laboratory."
"In I go!" she said, pushing the door open.
Once she entered, the door closed right behind her, locking itself shut.
Meanwhile…
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
On the opposite end of the cellblock, Justice and Lord Axel slammed from wall to wall, causing the entire prison to destabilize. Eclipse tracked their movements, sending shadow after shadow, which Lord Axel swallowed up with portals.
"He's the real deal," Eclipse noted. "Finally, a challenge!"
Justice got thrown into the wall behind her, and Lord Axel dropped to the ground, cracking his neck. "Weak prey don't suit my tastes. Fight me with all you've got!"
"That was my plan," Eclipse stated. "Shadow Soldiers! Kill him!"
Large humanoid shadows sprang from her back, wielding swords and axes. Axel used his portals to evade their attacks, before knocking them all to the ground with a powerful slam attack. He lunged at Eclipse, but a shield-wielding shadow appeared before her, taking the blow.
"You're a tricky little bug," he growled. "No matter. Bugs get squashed."
A shadow tried to slash him from behind, but he grabbed its head and crushed it without looking. Eclipse fired a large shadow at him, which he swallowed up with a portal. Justice landed next to Eclipse, breathing hard.
"Is this the usual level of foes you face?" she asked.
"No. Not really," he replied. "This is new."
"I like it," she smirked.
Lord Axel grew twice his size, his skin shifting to fur and his hands shifting into claws. His face resembled a lion's. "I have no more time to play with my prey. You two will come with me."
"I'd prefer not," Justice remarked.
Just like a cat, Axel tried to leap onto them, but Justice pulled Eclipse out of the way as Axel's claws sank into the ground. When both of them looked down, they noticed a portal beneath their feet, and they fell through it, landing right above Axel, who grabbed them by their necks.
"Beautiful," he snarled. "I can smell your fear."
Justice's sword came at him, glowing dark blue, and it slashed off his arms, forcing him to drop the pair. Eclipse stared at it, mildly shocked.
"Incredible…"
Axel looked at his arms. "I agree. Not many things can sever my hide."
His arms began to regrow, surprising both Justice and Eclipse. "That sword is a worthy prize of taking, and if it only bends to your will, you will be taken alongside it!"
His claws began to extend, and his muscles bulked even further. Serratine dropped next to him. "Did I miss all the fun?"
He gave her a sharp look. "Check on the prisoner. I'll handle things here. My prey won't elude me."
She nodded and headed off, but Justice tried to stop her. "Prisoner? You tell me where she is, right now!"
Serratine was already gone, and Axel stepped in front of him. "You want the girl?"
He cracked his knuckles. "Prove it."
BOOM.
With one heavy punch, he sent Justice crashing through several cellblocks, charging after him. Eclipse formed a large shadow chariot and followed after them.
BOOM.
Justice got up, dodging another blow from Axel before retaliating with a powerful punch of his own, which briefly staggered the villain, causing a nosebleed. "Mmm. What a punch."
Justice summoned his sword, but Axel batted it out of the way before it could reach him. "No tools! Straight hands!"
Axel struck him in the face, but he recovered and punched him in the chest, sending him flying into a cell. Prisoners watched and cheered on the fight as Axel got up, forming a portal and dropping over Justice.
"RAHHH!"
Justice backed away before he could slash him, and Axel slashed a pillar, causing an entire row of cells to collapse onto Justice, who caught it above his head and managed to keep them afloat.
"You possess strength, kitten," he admitted. "But you're still just a cub! I can see it in your eyes."
A shadow tackled him, and he attempted to outmuscle it as a barrage of them swarmed him. Eclipse strolled it, hopping off her chariot. "Now that I take a good look at you. You aren't anything to write home about."
"An overconfident pup, masking herself as a wolf," Axel remarked, tearing her shadows in half. "The worst kind of prey."
He immediately closed the distance between them, but before he could attack she formed a shadow minion around her body, which armed itself with a claymore and shield.
"Dude," Justice thought. "Is she just holding out at this point?"
Axel stretched his arm and punched the shield, causing the entire cell block to shake. The shadow bashed him in the face with the shield, but Axel delivered a powerful headbutt to it, causing a momentary lapse.
"Feeble."
He grabbed the shadow by the neck, but it bashed him with its claymore, sending him flying down the hall. Justice set the row of cells he was supporting down, while Eclipse separated from her shadow.
"Let me guess, you've got plenty more where that came from," Justice said.
"I've got enough," she scoffed. "Weakness is a curse."
Axel calmly got up, the rubble falling off his body. "Let's resume our hunt."
His biceps bulged in the dim light. Eclipse sighed. "This tiger won't stay down. How about we poach him?"
Justice's sword flew into his hands. "I prefer the term catch. But this is one bad kitty."
A grin appeared on Axel's face, and with a devastating slash of his claws, the entire cell block collapsed around them.
On the other end, Serratine ran through the hallways of the prison, ignoring the screams and cries of prisoners. She quickly found the primary containment unit, which was wide open. Once she ran inside, she saw two goons lying on the floor, moaning in pain.
"What the hell is this?" she demanded. "Where is Xenova?"
"Gone…" one of them groaned, coughing.
Serratine put her foot on his neck. "Gone where? Tell me!"
"I…don't know…"
"Idiots! You had one task, and you failed it! You've let our precious specimen go! What do you think the Boss will do to you?"
"She doesn't know the layout…" the second guard croaked. "Maybe she hasn't gotten far…"
Serratine pulled her knife out. "You'd better hope, for your sake, that she isn't."
Serratine left the cell, scanning block after block until she found the entrance to the laboratory. She paused, letting out a gasp. "She wouldn't have…"
The door was open, and Serratine hurried through it.
Inside the lab…
Xenova walked through a bunch of dark corridors and doors, before reaching the entrance to a giant glass dome. Once she opened the door, she noticed a massive, complex lab in the center, with vials, containment pods, and tubes everywhere.
"Weird," she thought. "It's a wonderland for nerds."
At one of the tables, there was a man in a hood mixing potion after potion. He dumped a vial of green liquid into a vial of purple liquid, turning the resulting product into gold. Kazuma was next to him, waiting with his arms folded. "Hey, can I get my money, or what? Don't make me rip this entire place in half."
"It's coming along," the man assured. "These diamonds will be priceless."
"They'd better be."
After mixing a few more liquids, there was a large slab of diamond on the table, and the man handed it to Kazuma. "Here. Enjoy your reward for capturing the girl."
"Appreciate it. I'm outta here."
Before he could leave, he noticed Xenova standing in front of him, her hands on her hips. "Jerk! You're the one that captured me!"
"You got out?" he exclaimed. "What happened to the 'best security in the country?'"
Kazuma dropped the diamond, preparing to attack, but the man raised his hand. "No. You've done your duty. I can handle things from here."
Kazuma looked between them, before picking up his diamond. "Whatever."
He used his impacts to quickly flee the scene, leaving Xenova alone with the mysterious man. "Who are you? And why did you lock me up?"
The man pulled back his hood, revealing a face that appeared to be in his late twenties, but with weathered red-orange eyes and hair. "You can call me Neon. I'm currently in charge of operations."
"Okay, Neon," she replied. "Answer my question!"
"That's a question the boss will have to tell you," he answered.
"Then where's your boss?" she demanded. "I need a word with him!"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible at the moment," he remarked. "Now, I must ask you to please return back to your cell."
"No," she refused.
"The hard way, then. That was to be expected."
He stopped mixing his potions and threw off his robe, revealing a bunch of wires and tubes attached to his skin from a harness he was wearing. "This is a special harness I wear. It controls the excess neon gas I emit and uses it to make my attacks stronger. I would recommend you not to proceed with this battle."
"I would recommend you shut up, jerk," she snapped.
Her tendrils swirled around her, violently attacking and tearing the lab to pieces. When she was done, she saw him standing a good distance away, unharmed.
"Lots of great work you just trashed," Neon remarked. "That won't do. You'll have to be my next project. Once you're back in your cell."
She rushed to attack him, but with a powerful blast of neon energy, he blew half her body off, which began to regenerate. "Hey!"
The laboratory began to rise suddenly like an elevator, catching Xenova by surprise. After mere seconds, they were inside a large observatory, with dozens of goons waiting for her, including Fujio, Keisuke, and Jin.
"Villain Syndicate!" Neon ordered. "Take this girl down! Her power could be an advancement in our abilities! Do not let her escape! Once we possess her and the sword, we shall be unstoppable!"
"YES, SIR!" they shouted.
All at once, they charged at Xenova, powers at the ready.
"FOR THE SYNDICATE!"
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