Chapter 3: The Lion's Roar
"What the heck is that? Is that a lion?" Mark's voice trembled slightly with disbelief. The creature's mane shimmered faintly under the room's pale light with smooth silky white fur and muscles coiled like iron beneath skin. "Damn… this is so fucked up."
Through the dim dark tint of his goggles, Mark counted. One… two… there were at least ten of them. Each one dangerous, each one a potential killer. He wanted to tell himself this would be easy - that he'd handled worse but honestly deep down, a shiver crawled up his spine. Something felt wrong. The air was heavy, charged with hostility and fear.
Then, everything erupted.
A sudden flash of light followed by the crackle of electricity. One of Machine Head's goons hurled a lightning bolt straight at me. The air screamed as it tore forward.
Before it could reach me, Robot moved - his calculations perfect to the millisecond. The shield on his forearm unfolded in a shimmer of energy, absorbing the bolt in a burst of blue sparks. The entire room flashed white for a moment, and the sharp smell of burnt ozone filled the air.
I didn't even flinch.
I knew Machine Head too well. Selfish, power-hungry, cunning and a man willing to burn everything just to hold control. And right now, I was an obstacle standing in his path.
I had built a relationship with the Order — an agreement to protect my businesses and properties across this Earth. I refused to lend Machine Head aid in his insane plan to overthrow Mr. Liu. I had known it would come to this eventually just waiting when.
"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered, my expression unchanging, though my eyes were cold and sharp.
Even Invincible and Titan looked startled by the sudden betrayal.
"I thought they were together," Mark said, his brow furrowing. "Maybe I got it all wrong…"
He didn't finish his thought.
The room exploded into chaos as the rest of Machine Head's hired killers charged in. Gunfire, lightning, fire - a storm of sound and violence.
Machine Head watched from behind his desk, his fingers drumming lazily on the metal surface. His mechanical voice carried smug amusement. He saw this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one shot.
In that instant, realization hit me. I knew who the mole was now, the one who had leaked information to the Guardians about my merchandise.
"You'll regret this, you twit," I said, voice low and edged with venom.
Machine Head didn't even blink. His faceplate gleamed beneath the overhead light, lifeless.
I tried to open a portal, to pull myself out of this chaos — but nothing happened. The air shimmered faintly, like static. My energy wouldn't respond.
Machine Head's laughter echoed through the room.
"No, no, no… surprised?" he taunted. "This room is surrounded by an electromagnetic force field. It blocks your ability to open portals. Brilliant, isn't it? I invented an inhibitor just to shut you down."
His laughter was mechanical and hollow — almost hysterical.
Meanwhile, the battle raged. Robot was holding his own against Magmaniac and Kursk, but even he was being pushed to his limits. His suit could absorb kinetic energy, yes, but there was only so much it could take before it overloaded.
Battle Beast, on the other hand, was carnage incarnate. He moved like a force of nature targeting the strongest one in the room. He tore through Mark with ease. His mace swung in heavy arcs, each one followed by a crack of bone or the splatter of blood.
Mark fought back desperately, his punches strong enough to shake the air but Battle Beast caught one mid- swing. The lion's golden eyes flashed with savage amusement before he twisted and the sickening sound of bone snapping echoed through the room.
Mark screamed, his voice raw with pain.
Across the floor, Titan wasn't doing any better. Furnace and Tether Tyrant were relentless — one whipping molten fire, the other flinging Titan across the room like a toy. The rock armor on Titan's skin cracked and burned away bit by bit. His groans filled the air, echoing between the metallic walls.
And I stood there my hands still in my pockets my gaze fixated on machine head. Inside my thought, I swore I was gonna reap that metallic head off his neck.
Then Battle Beast turned his gaze to me with Mark laid motionless on the floor, his body barely twitching as blood pooled beneath him ,dark and glistening after receiving a beating of his life.
The lion's grin widened as he took one heavy step after another toward me. Each stride echoed through the silence that followed the chaos. His mace rested across his shoulder, dripping with blood as he stood infront of me.
"So tell me," he growled, his deep voice vibrating through the air, "what can you do, little worm?" He asked leaning forward, his face inches from mine feeling his hot breath on my skin face.
I didn't move. My hands remained in my pockets. My eyes locked on his.
Battle Beast raised his mace, his muscles coiling. "Don't worry," he said, a savage smirk twisting his mouth. "This will be quick."
The mace came down.
But before it could land, my fist met his right cheek.
The sound was deafening-my fist sunk onto his cheek with an impossible force. Battle Beast's body flew backward, crashing through the far wall with a roar of breaking steel and concrete.
The room froze.
Even Machine Head and Isotope stood motionless.
Every hired thug stopped mid-fight. Titan, still trapped in Tether Tyrant's tentacles, turned his head weakly. Furnace stopped his flame attack on robot his molten glow fading while the latter pinned on the ground lifted his head just enough to see his master.
All eyes were on me now. Machine head was the most surprised, he hadn't anticipated this, his calculations now realized the magnitude of danger I posed. So he retaliated by ordering his hired goons to take me out first.
Kursk recovered first. Electricity crackled around his arms as he fired another bolt of lightning — but in the blink of an eye, I was gone.
The next moment, Kursk's body hit the ground face-first, unconscious.
Tether Tyrant tried to react, his tentacles snapping around me like whips. Furnace and Magmaniac unleashed a wave of molten fire, engulfing me in heat and smoke.
When the flames died down, I was still standing — untouched. The nanotech suit gleamed, not a single scratch marring its surface.
I looked down at Tether Tyrant, still clutching me mid-air.
With a flex of strength, I shattered his tentacles, the shockwave sending him flying backward into the wall.
Furnace roared and charged again. I moved faster — my eyes glowing red. Twin beams of energy shot forward, searing through the air. They hit Furnace square in the face, melting through the armor that covered his nostrils before tearing the entire suit apart in a shower of sparks and molten steel.
Magmaniac hesitated just for a second as he turned to run, he realized this wasn't an opponent who could simply be subdued by heat.
But I couldn't let him clapping my hands together.
A thunderous shockwave exploded outward, shattering every window and sending Magmaniac flying through the broken glass, vanishing into the sky.
Silence followed, I had done away with four deadly villains without breaking a sweat.
Then, a low growl rumbled from the far side of the room. Battle Beast pushed himself up from the rubble, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand followed by a predatory smile.
"Finally… a worthy challenge," he said, his voice filled with excitement. "Don't hold back."
He bent his knees and with a single leap, cracked the ground beneath him. The shockwave rippled outward as he jumped toward me, mace raised high.
I dodged, the weapon as it smashed into the floor where I stood. The ground crumbling, leaving a deep crater.
Battle Beast didn't slow down. His attacks came in a storm of wild swings, brutal and precise. I dodged every one, weaving between the strikes with measured calm.
But then a single kick slipped through. It caught me in the torso, forcing me back a few steps. The impact resonated through my ribs.
That mace was a nightmare of pure destruction.
"Fine. Two could play that game." I exhaled slowly as the nanobots that made up my suit coat rippled across my body leaving me in a shirt. The black material shimmered, flowing down my arm like liquid metal.
They moved with my thoughts connected to my neural network, obeying my will.
In seconds, the swarm condensed into shape of a weapon. A sword, double edged, gleaming with cold light.
Its edge hummed faintly as I raised it pointing it at Battle Beast, who simply grinned wider. "I'm glad you're taking this seriously," he said.
And then silence again. The two of us stared at each other, the tension thick enough to crush the air before the both of us charged at each other with unrivaled malice.