"Why does a church have a Faraday cage?" Coming from Roy who's using all his brain power to push past this impenetrable barrier. A pool of spit sits at his feet as he grits his teeth, the taste of electric on glass is one thing, but this felt like chewing on a battery. "Maybe, I should turn into water and scour their ventilation system for a closer look," He ponders. "Nahhhh. I haven't mapped out all the exits yet, if they have Blue Lights anywhere in there then I'll be fucked. Hmmmm." He paces around the roof, plotting on the best course of action. "Welp. Fortune favors the bold, fuck it." That being said, Roy's body morphs and turns into water and seeps down into the vents. "Let's make this quick" He says in a bubbly voice. Roy streams through the shafts of the massive vent system, sending multiple parts of his watery mass to the deepest corners of the vents simultaneously.
"Is it raining outside? I like the rain." BP says to God's Beauty, unbeknownst to Roy's actions.
"Most unseen." The woman says, turning her head to catch beams of sunlight through the stained glass windows. "Hmmmmm…what is it about the rain that comforts you?" Again with the investigatory voice.
"I refuse to work during the rain. I cherish it too much. It's…I just…I'm a busy person. I see just about a thousand people everyday and half of them are Lena. Thousands of people living completely different lives under completely different circumstances and somehow manage to be within the same space and time as me. Completely unaware that I've just come back from a job where I killed their brother, their father, their son, who knows." BP reveals.
"And you feel that the rain helps you bear the burdens of your sins?" God's Beauty probed.
"Kinda. It just makes the world more grey. I remember every face, in incredible detail at that. It's harder to remind yourself of the people you've killed when everyone has umbrellas. A well needed rest for these perfect eyes." BP closes his eyes then chuckles.
"Mr. Cassidy, you truly amaze me." God's Beauty announces, looming over BP to his confusion. "I am bewildered to believe someone so willing to take others' lives but be simultaneously so distraught by their deaths. Surely, amongst your heinous acts, there is one that caused this spiritual shift in you. Yes?"
BP sighs, then laughs, then says, "Actually, it started with my first one." A flashback appears in BP's mind of a 9 year old shakily bearing the weight of a pistol in his hands "Her name was Esmerelda. She was my mother."
Upon reaching reliquary in his watery mass, Roy feels much more electrical presence humming from below him. After stretching his liquid body thin and trickling it down the stone staircase to avoid anyone coming-or-going, Roy reaches the bottom undetected. He becomes whole again to properly view his surroundings, he's standing in a large stone corridor where a massive bunker door prevents him from going further. Roy can feel the thousands of bioelectrical signatures on the other side. "Alright let's see what we have here."
Roy places his hands on the door and surges his electricity into it. Within the same level, Roy can feel a myriad of different rooms connecting to the central room where everyone was located, the problem was that going any deeper resulted in hitting that same wall from before. "Damn it." He says under his breath. "I'm no where closer than I was from outside, maybe if I-"
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
A shriek followed by an opposite electrical charge pierces Roy's mind, causing him to drop to his knees in anguish. "Gaahahhhhh!" Whatever this thing was, it clawed at Roy's brain until he cut off his radar-like connection. He held his head, in pain, and tried to regain his footing but-
tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut.
Someone was running down the stairs to Roy's position, full speed. Roy quickly turns back into a puddle of water and spreads himself to the edges of the room. The sound of blades sharpening can be heard before Requiem lunges into the room blades first. If Roy didn't have this convenient ability, he'd be looking like that flame guy he cut in half a few days ago. Roy stayed in his water form and tightly pressed himself into the corners to observe this new threat. Requiem was truly a mix of priestly and military aesthetics; a mix of a Germanlands flight jacket and a Justacorps, a service cap adorned with several stars, and cold eyes that scanned the room intensely.
Requiem retracts the blades from his arms, then kneels, touching the faint leftover water residue. Rubbing it between his fingers. He smells it, and even tastes it, to Roy's discomfort. Roy inches his liquid form to the stairs but Requiem's cocks to the side and he roars, "SHOW YOURSELF DEFILER!" The God's Blade protrudes them from his arms and slashes the air just above Roy, destroying the stone wall behind him. Once again, a convenient ability. Roy remains hidden, seeping into the cracks and debris. Requiem sits on the stairs and sighs. "I apologize if I woke you, brother. It seems that Leviathan has played another one of his games on us." Roy wanted to scream due to his exit being cut off, but more importantly who was Requiem talking to?
Across the city you could see a streak of gold and neon green racing and wrapping around buildings, weaving through traffic and having too many near-misses for comfort until Leo and Neon reach a construction site near I Street. Leo stops to breathe as Neon cuts him off. "Okay…hoo…you got it…hoo…you were on my ass. I'll give you that." Leo says in labored breaths.
"There's nowhere to run now, Speed Demon." Neon says hovering closer.
"Bro! Stop fucking calling me that! I'm not on whatever fake lame shit you and Trevor got going on." Leo spat.
"I assure you, I have no relationship with that man, I actually don't trust him at all."
"Then-"
"Nor do I trust you! Especially after finding out who you are! I should have revoked protocol when I first saw you to arrest you and your-" Neon is cut off, one second he sees Leo, the next he sees a fist in front of his face. A massive shockwave quakes the area as Neon is punched back into the street.
"-the fuck up!" Leo muttered, shaking his hand. "Whew! That felt so much better than Trevor's forcefield." A green laser shoots at Leo but he sidesteps it. "Whoa there."
"You have some fucking nerve do you know that? Assaulting an officer? Not once, but TWICE!" Neon shouts hovering back over to Leo
"And I'm about to do it a third time if you don't move, so get out my way or put your hands up, pussy!" Leo drops into a defensive stance.
"You cocky little-"
"What are you waiting for, bitch? Oh shit, I forgot. Roy has a Double B which means he cAn GrAnT oNe PrOvIsIoNaL hewwo LiCeNse." Leo mocks before putting his hands down.
"That means you can't do shit to-" Leo is cut off, one second he sees Neon, the next he feels two fists driving his stomach back. Neon flies them through several layers of wall before coming to a stop, flinging Leo back into the rubble of an unfinished parking garage "...me." He wheezed.
"The owner of the Double B must be within 50 km, and I don't see anyone around here but you and I."
Leo coughs up some blood and gets up laughing. "I like that! Run it, pussy!" Leo darts to Neon to deliver another high speed punch but the cop blinks out the way to Leo's right side.
"Amateur." Neon says, delivering a powerful blow to the gut that sends Leo flying across the room. The force causes Leo to bounce off the ground and as he opens his eyes, time slows to reveal Neon already above Leo to deliver a heavy slam.
Instinct kicks in, Leo pushes off of the ground with his hands to spin around and windmill kick upwards. Sneakers cracking Neon's jaw. Leo back handsprings and flips to regain his footing and puts distance between the two.
"That was cute." Neon says as he stands upright and cracks his neck. "Gloves are off."
"That's what I like to hear! Come on!." Leo stretches his legs before blitzing forward, Neon braces then blasts forward to meet him in the clash.
Leo ducks and weaves to the left, followed with a right uppercut. Neon's chin flies upwards, feeling his teeth nearly crush themselves.
Time slows, Neon is stumbling back and Leo has his right arm cocked.
The officer's left foot lands and before Leo can swing, Neon glows bright green from head to chest as he crashes their skulls together.
"What the fu-"
Neon chokeslams the boy and drags him across the floor before flying upwards through several floors. Upon reaching a middle level with an exposed center, Officer Neon holds Leo by the throat as he desperately claws at the cop.
Suddenly, Leo yanks his arms back then claps them violently onto Neon's ears. The cop drops Leo, ears ringing painfully. Leo lands on a steel beam then jumps to another as a dazed Neon blindly fires at him.
clang-clang
Dust plumes cloud Neon's vision, shooting at evading silhouettes and the faint clanging of Leo jumping between the beams.
clang-clang---clang
"Stand still you-" Neon growled, firing at the last visible blur
Too slow.
clang-clang-CLANG!
Leo shot out of the smoke like a bullet feet first into Neon's chest. Sending the officer crashing back into the concrete column behind.
Leo hit a beam, flipped, then disappeared into afterimages once more.
"Let's play a game, Neon!" Leo's voice echoed from all around Neon, his eyes struggled to keep track.
clang-clang
"Oh yeah?" Neon caught a glimpse from the left. "What game is that?" He raised his arm to fire.
Too late.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG
Leo appeared from above, twisting his torso midair. "Pinball!" He shouts as he axe-kicks Neon down thirteen levels to the ground floor.
Back at the church Roy was dying, metaphorically and at the same time, literally. It takes a considerate amount of focus to keep your consciousness intact when you completely transform into another state of matter. Roy can typically stay in this form for roughly an hour, otherwise the molecules of his body might forget their original properties and he'll be stuck as a pool of water forever.
It's projected that 1,000 amateur gifted die like this every year.
Roy wouldn't be a statistic.
And he's no amateur.
Roy held his atoms close and observed Requiem, still sitting, still waiting.
"Oh fuck it."
In the blink of an eye Roy shifts back into human form, blade unsheathed.
Not fast enough.
Requiem meets Roy's blade with his own and squeals in excitement. "I KNEW I SMELLED A SINNER!"
Roy smiles and pushes further. "YOU'RE FAST! I LIKE THAT!" Their swords sparking between them.
Requiem pushes back and pulls his other bladed arm up. "YOU'RE DEAD! I LIKE TH-"
Roy drops low and turns the apostle into a block of ice. "Not today, I'm not." He chuckles then runs up the stairs.
The frozen warrior wouldn't stay so for long, Roy wasn't halfway up the staircase before Requiem broke free and leapt in pursuit.
Upon reaching the top, Roy spins and slaps the stone wall. The stairs turn into a smooth ramp, while stone pillars form above crushing Requiem back down into the basement before sealing it off.
"Alright, problem solved." Roy says in relief.
DONG-DONG-DONG-DONG
A large bell starts ringing. Roy pinches the bridge between his eyes. He can hear a mass of footsteps running towards him, as well as a slashing sound coming from the sealed staircase entrance. Roy just sighs.
Moments later, many apostles burst into the room wearing robes and carrying spears. A second later, Requiem bursts through the other side of the wall Roy put up.
"Where is the intruder God's Blade?" The follower in front asks.
Requiem looks up to see water dripping from the vents and growls.