Tavor stood completely stunned as the avian demon stood directly in front of the tear in space.
Entire patches of the demon's feathers began to rot away, leaving behind scaly, lizard-like skin that held a dark green color.
His beak remained but seemed to shrink, condense, and harden, no longer a tool for aggression but a tool for defense.
A single plume of feathers stretched from the top of the demon's head, like a mohawk, casting the avian demon in a sharp silhouette.
The demon's once-feathered wings transformed into a sharp, leather-like form, their menacing texture accentuating the creature's sinister presence.
Fully extended to their greatest span, the wings loomed overhead, casting a deep, elongated shadow that stretched ominously through the spacious alleyway and blanketed Tavor in thick darkness.
The demon extended its clawed hands and let out a mad chuckle.
"On the honor of Ukelele of the demon-clan, I shall show you a small measure of the suffering my father will bring!"
Tavor assumed a defensive stance, his vision partially obscured by the crimson haze of blood streaming from a gash on his forehead.
His body bore the marks of battle, mottled with deep purple bruises, each a testament to the ferocity of the fight.
Yet, despite the throbbing pain and his battered state, the unyielding fire of his Saiyan blood blazed hotter than ever.
Ukulele took an aggressive stance; his hands did not close into fists but rather remained open to effectively use his claws.
The avian demon pulled its wings in so close to his body that they seemed to merge with his flesh and crouched into a sprinter's position.
"What is he doing? Stretching?" Tavor thought as he attempted to rub some of the blood from his eye with his arm, but when he looked forward again, Ukelele was missing.
Tavor looked around frantically but was unable to perceive Ukelele's position; however, despite the fact that he could not see the demon with his eyes, his instincts were another story.
He suddenly twisted and pulled his right leg into a sharp knee.
POW!
A muted thud echoed as flesh and bone collided with brutal force, the figure of Ukelele manifesting briefly in the chaos.
Their gazes met in a moment of tense recognition before the demon's beak curled and twisted into a knowing smirk, and in an instant, it vanished again in a blur of untraceable speed.
Tavor began to frantically move, his body only pausing for milliseconds as he defended himself from one of Ukelele's high-speed attacks.
POW!
CRACK!
THUD!
BANG!
The sounds of powerful blows continued to ring out as attack after attack rained down on Tavor from multiple angles.
Despite Tavor's utmost efforts to maintain his defenses, they were ultimately shattered. He experienced a jarring vibration through his skull as Ukelele delivered a powerful uppercut to his chin, propelling him forcefully into the air.
Ukelele once more flashed from his position and reappeared, delivering a high-speed kick that sent Tavor flying in another direction entirely, and the process repeated.
POW!
POW!
POW!
POW!
Ukelele vanished from his position in a blur and materialized on the far side of Tavor, seizing the back of his head before driving them both downward.
The demon's gaze burned with lethal intent, envisioning the brutal moment when Tavor's skull would shatter upon impact with the ground.
Tavor struggled to free himself, blood leaking from between his lips as he gritted his teeth; he was utterly unaware of the flash of metal swiftly closing the distance.
Suddenly, before either Ukelele or Tavor could strike the ground, a massive hand shot forward, seizing the demon by the neck with such momentum and power that it compelled Ukelele to release Tavor instantly.
Tavor tumbled to the ground near the spatial rift, while a strangled gasp escaped the demon's throat as Colossus drove him neck-first into the back wall of the alley with bone-crushing force.
This wall, being made entirely of cement and rebar, was able to resist the impact, but a large crater appeared, and the rebar groaned under the duress.
"WHERE IS MY SISTER, TELL ME OR I WILL KILL YOU!" Piotr's expression was fierce, etched with deep, somber lines, a visible testament to a mood far darker than his usual demeanor.
Yet, despite this, Ukelele expelled a thick glob of blood that splattered against Colossus's cheek, then fixed an unwavering gaze directly into the eyes of the imposing metal mutant.
"We both know that you, of all mutants, don't have what it takes to kill anything!" Suddenly, Ukelele delivered a punch straight to Colossus's eye, causing the metal giant to stagger and roar.
As Colossus staggered, Ukelele dashed forward at blinding speeds and delivered a high-speed punch directly to Colossus's abdomen, causing the metal mutant to slide backwards for a few feet.
Ukelele struck once more from behind, then again from the left, each attack forcing Piotr to slide a short distance before regaining his balance.
However, when Ukelele launched his latest charge, aiming a decisive blow at Piotr's head, Piotr reacted swiftly, reaching up to seize Ukelele by the wrist and applying a firm, unyielding grip.
Ukelele let out a shrill cry as Colossus swung the demon over his head and slammed him hard against the ground on the other side.
BOOM!
The demon spat out a mouthful of blood as its body smashed into the ground, but soon found itself once more being lifted over the metal mutant's head.
BOOM!
Colossus smashed the demon face-first on the original side before stepping on the demon's head and pulling his wrist up with him.
"Try me, foul demon!" Piotr growled as he twisted and pulled.
"AAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGG!"
The arm that Colossus grasped made a distinctive cracking and popping noise as the metal mutant pulled; the cries escalated in intensity until the distinctive tearing sound of wet flesh echoed through the alleyway before Colossus kicked the demon away.
Ukelele cried in pain, a trail of crimson blood following behind the new stump, before the demon crashed hard into a wall.
The demon emerged from the wall, fixing Colossus with a glare brimming with unrestrained hatred, before unleashing a fierce and resonant yell.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" As Ukelele yelled, a dark, dense, swirling mass of gaseous energy began to swirl around him; the stump, which was previously bleeding profusely, suddenly ceased flowing, as if a water faucet was twisted closed, but unlike a water faucet, the stump began to bubble, twist, and writhe.
"HHHHAAAAAAA!"
SSPLATT!
A new arm emerged bloodily and explosively from the confines of the stump, and Ukelele raised his newly formed hand, flexing it several times before his face as though assessing its functionality.
Satisfied with the result, he cast a wicked smirk toward Colossus and beckoned the metal mutant forward with a deliberate gesture of his regenerated limb.
Colossus charged first, his massive steel frame thundered across the fractured alley, every footstep leaving shallow impressions in the shattered pavement.
"COME BACK HERE!"
Ukelele answered with laughter.
"Hah!"
The demon blurred, and Piotr's fist crashed through the space where Ukelele had stood a heartbeat before.
BOOOM!
The cement wall behind the demon exploded inward, chunks of concrete and twisted rebar flying through the alley like artillery shells.
"...Too slow."
A green blur flashed across Colossus's right side.
CRACK!
Ukelele's claws scraped across Piotr's ribs.
A shower of sparks erupted, but the demon frowned.
"...Hm?"
Not even a scratch.
Before he could react, Colossus swung a backhand the size of a car door.
WHOOM!
Ukelele folded his wings and vanished, the colossal strike cleaving through empty air before flattening an abandoned delivery truck.
The vehicle collapsed into a compressed slab of mangled steel.
The demon reappeared behind him.
POW!
A claw slammed into the back of Colossus's head, causing Piotr to lurch forward a single step.
Nothing more.
Ukelele narrowed his eyes, and he vanished again.
Then again.
Then again.
The alley erupted into a storm of impacts.
POW!
CRACK!
THOOM!
BANG!
Each strike landed from a different direction.
A kick to Piotr's shoulder.
A claw across his neck.
A punch into his abdomen.
A spinning heel aimed at his jaw.
The attacks came so quickly that only brief afterimages remained in their wake, yet every blow ended the same way.
With the metallic groan of organic steel, Colossus endured them all.
His body rocked.
He slid backward.
His feet carved trenches into the pavement, but the demon's claws could find no purchase.
"...Impossible."
Ukelele hissed.
"My talons should be splitting your flesh!"
Piotr slowly turned toward the sound of the demon's voice.
"You are quick."
His steel fists clenched.
"...But you lack the strength."
Ukelele's eyes narrowed.
"And you..."
His body blurred once more.
"...lack the speed."
The demon flashed past Piotr's shoulder.
Colossus swung and missed.
Another blur.
Another miss.
Another, and another, until the battle became almost surreal.
The fastest predator Tavor had ever witnessed, against the immovable mountain that was Piotr Rasputin.
The sharpest spear, against the strongest shield.
Neither could overcome the other.
One could never land the decisive blow.
The other could never catch his target.
The alley became a blur of steel, green scales, shattered masonry, and exploding concrete.
Several yards away, Tavor struggled onto one knee.
Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, while blood dripped steadily from his brow, pattering onto the broken pavement below.
His breathing had become ragged.
"...Illyana..."
He forced himself upright.
One shaking step, then another.
The tear in space pulsed before him.
Its edges writhed like living flesh, crimson and black energies folding over one another as impossible whispers drifted from the darkness beyond.
He could still hear her, or perhaps he only imagined he could.
Either way...
He wasn't leaving without her.
Behind him, another explosion shook the alley.
BOOOOM!
Piotr crashed through an abandoned storefront as Ukelele struck him with another blinding combination.
The metal mutant immediately burst back through the collapsing wall with a furious roar.
Their battle continued, and neither even noticed Tavor.
He extended a trembling hand toward the rift.
The air surrounding it felt...
Wrong.
Cold.
Hot.
Heavy.
Weightless.
Every instinct he possessed screamed for him to pull away.
Instead...
He reached farther.
"...I'm coming."
The tips of his fingers brushed the edge of the tear.
For the briefest instant, the entire world froze.
Even Ukelele and Colossus seemed suspended in time.
The portal flared with blinding crimson light.
FWWOOOOOOOSH!
The alley vanished beneath a flood of scarlet radiance.
"TAVOR!"
Piotr's voice echoed through the frozen moment.
Then...
The light collapsed inward, and with a single brilliant flash, Tavor disappeared.