Date: Saturday, May 22, 2011, 00:18 am
Location: Cactus City, Texas
Julius took a deep breath, settling into a sprinting position with the blade gripped tightly in his right hand. His entire focus was locked on the sickly tongue wrapped around Laura's leg. With a ferocious surge of power, he pushed off the ground, the earth beneath his feet cracking and groaning under his immense strength. At the same moment, he bent the wind to his will, a silent force propelling him forward. He launched himself into the air like a human missile, tearing through the atmosphere at the speed of Mach two.
The long-tongued, bug-eyed mutant, who was toying with Laura, snapped his head up at the sound of the loud boom. He barely registered a face; instead, he saw a blur of motion, a human missile streaking toward him. Time seemed to slow as he saw the blade about to make contact with his tongue. The toad-like man's eyes widened in panic as he tried to pull back his tongue, but he feared it was too late.
I got you, Julius thought to himself, his focus absolute.
However, his attack was thwarted as a blur of silver slammed into him, launching him several feet away with a sickening thud. The frog-like mutant, now saved from losing his tongue, registered his rescuer and smiled with glee. Standing over Julius was a handsome man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was six feet tall, lean and muscular, with slick, long silver hair combed back. He wore a stunning, silver, black, and white suit that made him look like a model right out of a magazine.
"Quicksilver! Oh, thanks, man! He almost got my tongue!" the long-tongued mutant stated, relieved.
Though Quicksilver didn't even bother to look at him, instead, he let out a disgusted sneer. "Must you always be so clumsy, Toad?" he said, his voice laced with a cold impatience. "Honestly, what my father sees in you I'll never understand." He then snapped his head to the side, his voice a blur of frustration. "And you, Blob! Stop moving like you're wading through molasses!"
Both Toad and Blob flinched, instinctively backing away as they knew they had messed up by playing around with Laura. At that moment, Laura, who had been patiently waiting for her chance, leaped to her feet and launched herself at Quicksilver. However, true to his moniker, he was fast. He casually swatted away the strikes she threw at him, then landed three lightning-fast punches to her face, sending her crashing back to the ground.
"I admire your tenacity, Laura," Quicksilver said with an arrogant sneer. "Unlike these two fools, the Brotherhood could always use a real fighter like you."
"I'll never join your father," Laura said, spitting a mouthful of blood. The wound was already closing as she rose to her feet with a chilling swiftness, her gaze locked on him. Her voice dropped to a cold whisper as she got into a fighting stance, every muscle taut. "Pietro."
"So be it," Quicksilver said, his tone completely unsurprised. He then vanished in a flash of motion, an invisible blur that streaked toward Laura, his hand extended like a lance.
The moment his hand was about to pierce Laura's chest, a blade suddenly appeared, streaking down toward his wrist. Quicksilver reacted instantly, a blur of motion as he snatched his hand back, narrowly avoiding a blow that could have maimed him.
His eyes snapped to the attacker: Julius. Quicksilver was genuinely surprised to see him not only on his feet but moving. He had hit the young mutant with more kinetic energy than a bullet train, a force that should have shattered every bone in his body. Yet, Julius had not only recovered but had launched a retaliatory attack just in time.
"So you have superhuman durability, and it seems... super speed as well," Quicksilver said, going back into a relaxed pose.
"What makes you say that?" Julius asked, his mind reeling as he wondered how the person before him had figured out some of his powers so quickly.
"Please," Quicksilver scoffed, his arrogance palpable. "You didn't become a fine mist of organic matter when I introduced my kinetic energy to your body, which suggested some level of superhuman fortitude. And then you, a mere human, nearly intercepted me? You must possess some form of accelerated movement, which often has a symbiotic relationship with super strength. It's a rather obvious conclusion, really, and as for the specifics... I, of all people, should know."
Julius frowned after hearing Quicksivler talk. He really didn't like the person before him. Julius grew up in Cactus, Texas, a place that basically oozed with Southern Hospitality and humbleness. Yes, he was used to people bragging because of his involvement in sports. However, this was the first time he had met such a braggart, someone so conceited. Julius was determined to wipe that constant smirk off his face.
"I'm going to rip you to shreds," Julius gritted out.
Quicksilver simply scoffed. "And you think you have the speed to make good on that? Pathetic. We're not even in the same race."
Julius said nothing in response. Instead, a focused grimace appeared on his face as he prepared to unleash his full might. He activated both his seismic and aerokinetic senses, feeling the subtle vibrations of the ground and the minute shifts in the air to predict Quicksilver's movements. Julius then created a small, compressed wind barrier around him—not as a shield, but as a subtle drag to slow down any approaching attacks just enough to let him react. That was because, even though he would hate to admit it, he knew Quicksilver was faster than him.
That's when the two disappeared and then reappeared right in front of each other. However, all Laura, Blob, and Toad could see was just a blur of movements as the two clashed.
Julius and Quicksilver met in a blur of motion. The moment Quicksilver streaked into range, Julius launched a ferocious upward cut, the blade whistling through the air. Quicksilver simply became a liquid-silver blur, dodging left and ducking under the blade's arc. He delivered a brutal hook to Julius's left rib, followed by a lightning-fast uppercut. Julius, ignoring the searing pain, snapped his head back, a knuckle scraping his chin as the blow barely missed. With his left hand, Julius released the blade and threw a desperate punch, but Quicksilver ducked under it with mocking ease, landing two more sharp, concussive blows to Julius's chest that sent him staggering back. The entire exchange, a flurry of strikes and misses, had lasted no more than three seconds.
"Do you even know how to use a sword? You're better off without it," Quicksilver teased, his voice dripping with condescension.
And in that moment, Julius knew he was right. His clumsy attempts at wielding a weapon with which he had no training were costing him the fight. He decided to go back to what he was used to: his elemental powers and MMA. With a final, furious gesture, he drove the blade halfway into the ground, where it stood upright, its handle still vibrating from the force. A new thought solidified in his mind: I really need someone to teach me how to use a sword.
"Oh, so you're going to take the advice from your betters, huh? Well, it's not like it will make much of a difference," Quicksilver said, a condescending smirk spreading across his face.
Julius said nothing, instead taking inspiration from one of his favorite anime to get into a cornering stance. Flames condensed at his feet, and the ground shook from the raw energy he was emitting.
Sensing the change, Quicksilver was about to charge once more, but the moment he moved, Julius disappeared. A devastating crack splintered the ground as a shockwave of fire erupted behind him, the earth rising from the sheer force of the displacement. Using condensed flames to propel him forward, combined with his super strength, Julius had achieved a new level of speed that finally matched Quicksilver's. He closed the distance in an instant, leaping into a flying kick that Quicksilver barely managed to block. The concussive force sent him flying backward, finally putting him on the defensive.
Julius knew he couldn't relinquish the advantage. The instant his boots hit the ground, he repeated the fiery launch, a human rocket chasing Quicksilver's airborne form. Quicksilver twisted in midair, landing cat-like on his feet, his face a mask of pure rage. He looked up, but the anger in his eyes was instantly extinguished, replaced by utter shock as Julius's fist slammed into his jaw. The force of the punch was enough to send Quicksilver flying. Still, before he could, Julius was already on him, delivering a brutal uppercut to his midsection that launched him skyward. The moment Quicksilver's body was lifted up a few feet into the air, Julius jumped up and grabbed a fistful of his beautiful silver hair. With a guttural roar, Julius slammed him face-first into the ground, a blow that caused the earth to quake and spiderweb with cracks beneath them.
Julius stood over the defeated Quicksilver, his chest heaving as he gasped for air, every muscle in his body screaming from the immense power he had exerted. The exhaustion was absolute, yet the adrenaline coursing through his veins was a fire all its own. After a few ragged, desperate breaths, he threw his head back and let out a guttural, triumphant roar that shook the air around them.
"I WON!" he yelled out victoriously.
In that moment, standing over his opponent, the reality of it all crashed down on him. He, a 17-year-old teenager from Cactus, Texas, had just fought and won against Quicksilver, one of the strongest members of the Brotherhood of Mutants.