The air trembled as Paragon dove down, sonic booms left in his wake. Below on the ground, Lobo easily flipped to his feet and looked up as Paragon was just a few feet away, a wide grin on his face and his hands raised.
Dust and sand exploded upwards, Lobo letting out a howling laugh even as his arms strained against Paragon's own push.
"Not bad there, little shit!" With a growl, Lobo tried to kick at Paragon, but the hero easily avoided his attack.
Landing behind the bounty hunter with their hands still linked, he heaved and pulled Lobo overhead, the bounty hunter staring at the sun for one moment before his vision went dark.
The ground cracked and exploded as Paragon slammed him into the ground, the hero immediately pulling him back up while pulling his own hands free from his grasp.
Clamping them together above his head, Paragon swung down and the air exploded as tactile telekinesis significantly enhanced the blow.
Yet, Lobo didn't stop his laughter even as he bounced off of the ground, simply crossing his arms to block the stomp aimed at his head.
"Hahahaha! Ah, you say you're a hero, but no hero fights like a beast!" he exclaimed as he spun and flipped over, eyes easily tracking Paragon's movements when the krypto-human shot forward.
Running in a zigzag pattern, he weaved left and feinted right, tricking the hunter for a moment as he went even further left. Then, with a large lunge to the left, he ducked and swung with an overhead fist.
His blow cracked against Lobo's nose as the hunter missed his punch, but Paragon was surprised by the rising knee that snapped a rib and blasted him backwards.
"What? Thought Ol' Lobo, the Main Man, didn't have any tricks?" he asked with a cackle, to which Paragon snapped his rib back into place while sliding backwards.
"Nah, I was just waiting for the hunter to finally try. After all, no one's going to listen to me if I said that I fought the Main Man while he was holding back.
"You think you can beat me, Lobo, when I ain't holding back? Supes couldn't even do it and that fucker got put six feet under by his own clone," he replied with a scoff, though he hid his smirk as he saw the flash of anger hidden behind Paragon's indifference.
"I like you, Lobo, guy to guy. Don't ever disrespect Superman again."
"Why not? He ain't here to spout his usual 'justice to all' bullsh-!" Lobo's eyes widened as Paragon lunged forward and swung a right hook, snapping his jaw to the side while making him fly back.
"He is a better man and living being than the both of us combined!" Paragon growled as he stomped down on Lobo's chest, knocking the wind out of Lobo.
However, the Main Man let out a bloody laugh as he grabbed onto Paragon's legs, pushing off the ground with his back while spinning and slamming the hero into the ground.
"And yet, that didn't help him in the fight, now did it?!" Lobo exclaimed with a grin. "I have the highest respects for that fucker whether he's alive or dead, but a fact remains a fact. That justice shit didn't help him during his fight nor would it have! He was nothing more than a goodie two-shoes boy that didn't want to see the world from anything other than his optimistic baby point of view!"
That earned Lobo a spike punch down to the top of his head, caving his skull in as well as shattering the ground below them.
Paragon did not stop as he grabbed Lobo by his throat, kicking his feet out from under the bounty hunter and burying him halfway in the dirt.
Despite the blood pouring from his orifices, Lobo's laughter didn't stop, his right hand swinging and landing a vicious blow to Paragon's jaw.
"Aw, did someone get mad?!" he asked with glee, enjoying the naked rage on Paragon's face. "The truth hurts, don't it?"
"It does, but you're going to be hurting a lot more," the hero whispered and swung a fist down, one which Lobo tilted his head to avoid.
Thrusting his hips upwards and pushing Paragon forward, he dug his feet into the ground and pulled, ripping himself free from the hero.
Spinning around as Paragon did the same, they both landed a powerful blow that sent them flying back. However, Paragon caught himself and rocketed forward as Lobo's hoverbike drove in under him.
Turning with a spin and a cackle, the hunter reached for his side and took out another blaster, one that made the krypto-human pause as Lobo aimed at him.
The blast that was fired was a vibrant blue, one which Paragon avoided as it sailed past him. There was a chilling feel to it and Paragon watched as it froze solid the piece of rubble that it impacted.
Spinning back, he punched the ground and made a rock wall, one that blocked another blast before he raced to the side. Another blast was fired and Lobo raced away as well, Paragon hopping over the blast with a barrel-roll before he punched the earth again.
A powerful shockwave rippled outwards from his attack before the dirt erupted upwards, creating a cloud of dust that obscured the area for miles in both directions.
Focusing on his enhanced senses, Paragon easily picked out Lobo between the dust and shot forward, but his eyes widened and he crossed his arms when the bounty hunter pointed his blaster at him the moment he got close.
"Boom," Instead of a blue blast, the energy blast was a sparking red as it exploded and wrapped around Paragon's neck, whose eyes widened as the strength faded from his body and he fell to Earth.
"You didn't think I'd only have one red sun blaster, did ya?!" Lobo exclaimed as he dove down with his hoverbike, Paragon gritting his teeth while struggling to uncross his arms.
It was as he did so that the bike crashed into him, a wheeze escaping his lips as the wind got knocked from his lungs. The impact sent him spiralling towards the ground, crashing into it with a deafening boom and cratering it.
The shockwave created by his impact also pushed away the dust, leaving Lobo hovering in the air on his bike as he stared down at where Paragon was lying in the crater.
"Shouldn't have thought you could hang with the Main Man, little Supes," Lobo spoke as his hoverbike floated down, landing next to Paragon.
The hero in question was giving unsteady and painful gasps, pushing and pulling his bones back into place while glaring at the bounty hunter.
As Lobo stepped off of his bike, the ground sunk in below and pulled his legs in up to the ankle, which made him look down in surprise.
That pulled his gaze away from Paragon, who immediately hopped to his feet and landed a vicious punch to Lobo's jaw.
His arm snapped from the impact while Lobo's jaw popped out, but with a thought, tactile telekinesis snapped it together as Lobo held his jaw with a cackle.
"You a crazy boy, little Supes, and I like it!" he spoke with a grin, but Paragon didn't answer, using all of his mental power to keep his broken body intact.
He felt weak, unable to feel the empowerment of the sun's rays thanks to the red sun energy collar around his neck. On top of that, the regenerative capabilities of his body were struggling to keep him up and heal his broken bones at the same time, making him grimace as he took a deep breath.
'Focus all power into keeping me up,' he thought as he diverted his regeneration, immediately hiding his pained expression as his broken bones were not fully healed.
Still, he felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins thanks to his human side as he stood tall, cracking his knuckles as Lobo chuckled.
Instead of firing again, though, the bounty hunter put his blaster away and took out a pair of dual bowie knives, each one's edge lined with a green crystal that made Paragon grimace.
"Does everyone just have fucking kryptonite weapons?"
"Nah, I stole a bunch of this shit when Krypton was still around."
"...How old are you?" Paragon asked with a frown, which made Lobo laugh as he gave a shrug.
"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that I'm old enough to fuck, to drink and to kill. Which one you want?"
"The drink, if you're offering?"
"I'll get you one after I'm done kicking the shit out of you," Lobo replied and Paragon couldn't help his chuckle, cracking his neck as Lobo shifted his stance.
The moment Lobo's foot lifted half an inch off the ground, Paragon lunged forward, swinging a right hook that the hunter avoided with ease.
His left knife came low and to his chest, Paragon shifting back to avoid the attack while his footwork made the hunter look down.
That left him open as Paragon feinted a lunge to the left, Lobo's eyes following and leaving him open for a hook to his right side.
Just an inch shy of connecting, Paragon detonated the air his fist was touching and a shockwave exploded from the blow, Lobo's eyes widening as it rippled through his chest.
He could feel his organs shaking from the sudden shock and Paragon capitalized on that, continuing with a flurry of jabs that each echoed with the popping of the air's explosions under his knuckles.
Yet, he couldn't help his frown deepening as Lobo laughed with each jab, soon catching up and moving his head to avoid the blows.
Once Paragon swung a low left hook, Lobo trapped his arm to his right side while swinging upwards, delivering a deep gash to his outer right bicep.
Paragon hissed as he popped out his own shoulder to spin on the balls of his feet, ignoring the burning pain of the dagger stabbing through his thigh while landing a vicious roundhouse that sent Lobo spiralling backwards.
Gripping the dagger halfway through his thigh and tossing it as far as he could, Paragon pulled the wound tightly back together as Lobo landed on his feet and lunged forward.
The air exploded as Paragon met his charge, catching the dagger-wielding left hand by the wrist while his own attack was caught with a grin.
Forced back with a stomp to his stomach, he quickly recovered and avoided the slash at his chest, displaying an expert level of combat skill as he and Lobo danced.
Neither committed to a finishing blow as they tried to weaken the other, Paragon's eyes straining to keep up with the unpredictable and sporadic movement of Lobo while the hunter in question avoided the crushing explosions made by Paragon's punches.
A high hook was blocked and countered with a slash that was barely avoided. A thrust to his chest was caught and pulled into a rising knee that pushed Lobo back.
Blow for blow, the two soon found themselves speeding up, but Paragon grimaced as Lobo began to outpace his moves.
He grimaced as Lobo ducked under his high kick with a spin on his knees, gritting his teeth as the hunter cut the back of the ankle of his supporting leg.
Still, he did not fall, instead landing with a stumble and countering with another kick behind him. However, Lobo caught it and spun, the wind escaping Paragon's body as he was slammed back first into the ground.
His vision spun as the dagger was stabbed through his stomach, a sense of weakness overtaking his form as the red kryptonite energy collar and dagger worked together in unison.
"Well, well, little Supes," Paragon blinked slowly as Lobo crouched beside him, a grin on his face despite his jaw and wounds stitching back together. "It looks like you're not strong enough to dance with me after all. Now, goodnight."
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Match growled as he slammed Ultraman into the ground repeatedly, not giving the man a chance to get free. Tossing his body across the landscape, twin beams of scarlet solar energy pushed him further, the evil clone letting out a roar and rolling out of the way.
With a grunt, Ultraman erupted forward with a blistering speed, leaving sonic booms in his wake. Match just grinned and met his charge with a grapple, ducking under his attempt to punch through him.
Wrapping around the evil clone while grappling him around the waist from behind, Match spun with a roar and slammed him skull first into the ground.
The ground exploded outwards as Match spun, swinging an overhead hook that Ultraman barely rolled from. Moving to his feet, he caught Match's charge and spun, throwing him to the side.
Rolling with the attack and back to his feet, Match raised his hands as Ultraman lunged forward, but to his surprise, a golden blur shot past and the evil clone stopped his charge.
Around his wrists were a pair of glowing green handcuffs, one that made Match grimace as Ultraman fell onto his face just as Wonder Woman crashed into his back.
Match blinked as the woman stood up, Superwoman hogtied with the Lasso of Truth on his shoulder while she picked up Ultraman to carry him under her free arm.
"Well done in keeping him occupied, Superboy," Match just gave a slow nod before his eyes widened and he turned, racing off to where he last saw his brother.
His heart dropped though as he didn't hear his heartbeat nor smelled his scent near the area, landing in the centre of a large crater with nothing but a field of empty dust around him.
'Well, M'gann is definitely going to kill me.'
A/N: This week has been atrocious for uploads, partly because of my own incompetence and partly because of the renovations/ buildings we did. I don't count the stomach bug 'cause that's an old friend.
But! Despite that, we managed to get a chapter out and we end it off here~!! To those who thought Paragon would win, no. This is the Main Man Lobo, the hunter himself. He was never going to win.
Anyway, next chapter: The war.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!