Classic Adventures of PWNage! No. 10: Memento Mania

## The Story

The view comes in from the outside of Earth, as it zooms into a purple and golden city, when a blue blur rushes by. The Rodent stops, as his metal counterpart clashes to the floor in front of him.

The Rodent tenses up, as the machine points at him, and then flips him off, making him sad.

“This cutscene is the longest thing in the entire game.” Says Chad, who is revealed to be streaming on his channel, speedrunning the game.

“I’m gonna hit him with the turbo nip-twister 8 million.” He mutters as he smirks evilly.

“Man, that reminds me of that loser wearing the pots and pans that got totally bodied by Aiden before anyone even knew about him.” Says Spiral on the half couch, watching Chad play.

“It’s been like, 7 years since our last big scuffle. Feels like a vacay. When even was our last big villain-of-the-week?” He asks

“It was those fish guys, remember?” Chad replies

“Oh yeah those guys are awesome! Chat play sea shanties on the music bot for those guys they rule.” Spiral walks up to the face cam as seven different pirate songs overlap and Chad laughs.

On the game, Chad gets the final hit on the boss, and a loud BOOM echoes around the two.

“Dayum!” says Chad as he takes off his headphones. “That effect was loud as hell!”

“That wasn’t the game dude.” Spiral says as he looks out the window.

In the skyline, a massive red ship looms over the city by the coast, as Chad and Spiral dart out of Chad’s room. Spiral runs into his room, gently caressing Circa, who is napping.

“Hey baby, you alright?”

“Mmmhbnmm..” She mumbles.

“Awww… YOU ME FRONT LAWN VERY IMPORTANT GOTTA GO RIGHT NOW!” He shouts her awake, throwing a bunch of clothes on her and zooming outside.

Circa drowsily looks outside, before the shock jolts her fully awake. Outside, Snark’s news van is already pulled up out front.

“Snark, we really don’t have time dude.” Chad says with a tinge of anxiety in his voice.

“Oh relax ya fool, I’m here to ask the light red ruffian here why an OMINOUS RED SHIP is ONCE AGAIN ravaging my HOME?!” Snark barks at Spiral.

“Why are you saying that like I work with them?” Spiral asks

“Oh don’t think you’re gonna slink by ME Speedster. Once I get a good scoop on you, you’ll be at MY mercy! Yeah, I’ll grab you by the-!” Snark tries to threaten, but is flattened by a large claw from the ship.

“Oh no, ahhh.” Spiral sarcastically voices his remorse for Snarks crushing.

Several other long titanium tendrils exit the ship, as they attach to different parts of the surrounding buildings.

“What’s happening?” asks Circa, who runs out from the front door.

“The twins are back.” Says Chad, picking up a limp Snark.

She growls, looking up at the ship as her hands start to smoke up. Suddenly, a van peels around the corner, drifting in front of the three. The window rolls down to reveal Aiden.

“This better be worth it. We were gonna pick up some candy.” Says Aiden.

Ejay pushes Aiden out of the way, visibly angered.

“I WANT SOUR SKITTLERS!” He shouts with furious munchies.

Inside the ship, Myrna speaks to a computer screen, talking to an unknown figure.

“Are you certain that you have correctly installed the Xero Cannon?” asks the person.

“Ready and warming up for use.” Myrna replies.

“If you do not succeed… Do. Not. Return.” It demands, as the view show’s the computer screen, with the only thing visible being two angry glowing eyes, and a mouth.

“I understand.” Myrna says, a bit shaken.

Myrna hangs up the call, and presses a button. The massive ship bellows a deep horn-sounding alarm, before all of the claws begin to retract, ripping out parts of the buildings on the street. The tall buildings begin to moan and crackle, which causes the EDF to panic.

“OKAY, LET'S ROCK!” Chad shouts, pointing up at the ship.

Chad runs with The Speedsters as they all dash into the street, getting any potentially endangered people out of the area, with Chad catching falling debris, and Ejay flying Aiden up to the crumbling weakpoints. Ejay holds up the building with plasma fields, as Aiden binds them together with spells. The Team then notices that the last few arms are retracting into the ship.

Spiral quickly jumps onto one, holding on for dear life as it rockets back to the ship like measuring tape.

Inside the ship, he slams up against some pipes, tumbling down them until he gets to a big, cylindrical room.

“Ouch… Damn, what the hell?”

He stands up, rubbing his head, when suddenly, the floor begins to spin, as spotlights, laser pointers, and fog begin to fill the room. The center of the floor drops down, and a mini elevator rises up from the hole it made, and on it stands a spiky silhouette with two glowing orange dots.

The figure’s mouth glows in a shining smile, as it seemingly teleports behind Spiral, kicking him in the back. He falls forward but catches himself, rolling into a defensive position now in the same spot that the figure just was.

The silhouette disappears again, as a tornado of orange lines spin around Spiral, getting closer and closer, until eventually, the figure jumps out, stretching its metallic talons to try and grab him.

Spiral grabs its wrists, trying to slam it into the floor, but it activates jets on its feet, sending it backward and kicking him in the stomach, pushing him back.

“Wow, you’re pretty quick! They may be a couple of lowlifes, but they sure know how to make a machine!” Spiral chuckles.

The fog parts, giving Spiral a clear view of the attacker. A metallic machine, with his body painted similar to his clothing.

“Hey, this outfit is copyrighted jerk, hope Spyron’s ready to pay up.” He snarls jokingly.

“Hueh HEEH Hueh.” The Machine laughs.

Spiral’s eyes widen, as he recognizes the particular vocal twinge of that goofy number he sings to embarrass his girlfriend. He furrows his brow, as he stands up straight.

“It’s really a bother to finally meet you, Spiral. I’m betting you’re just as annoying in person as you are in everything else.” The Machine says as he clanks in a clockwise circle.

“And what’s your name, little guy?” Spiral mocks as he circles the other way.

“Massively Enhanced Totally Tubular Ass-Kicker.” He gestures to his body.

“Yeah, that sounds like something Spyron would make up on the spot.” Spiral says with some groan in his voice.

“Well Mettak, think you’re ready to take on your uncle?” He smirks.

“The K is silent, skidmark.” Metta growls.

He rocket boosts himself at Spiral, but he ducks to the floor just in time, picking himself up and standing on his hands, beginning to do his breaker dance. Metta counters with his own breaker, as they clash against eachother like beyblades.

Eventually, they knock eachother out of the clash, and they stand across from one another in the elevator, getting their next move ready like two gunslingers in a draw.

After a few seconds, they “fire” at eachother, with Spiral launching a spike beam at Metta, and Metta returning with a beam of his own.

The two launch at eachother, with them clashing in a series of rapid fire punches. Metta once again breaks out of it with a kick and circles Spiral in another Steel Tornado. He kicks Spiral back once again, sending him flying backward toward the wall.

Metta throws his hand at the Speedster, but He catches it, trying to slam Metta down, however, his attack is canceled by Metta using his rocket feet to fly backward, negating Spiral’s downward swing.

Metta retracts his hand, bringing Spiral straight to him, but he lets go, boosting off of his spike to grab onto Metta. Metta gets angry as Spiral rides on his back like a monkey, shouting for him to get off.

The machine spirals out of his flight path, trying to shred Spiral off using the wall, but it’s to no avail, as they reach the main hull of the ship, and the elevator door closes. Metta lands back first onto the floor, getting Spiral off of him, before snickering, and flying away to some sort of control room.

Spiral tries to give chase, but is kicked down by Spyron, in a now upgraded version of his space suit, black with glowing red accents.

“I trust you’ve made good acquaintance with our latest creation?” He asks mockingly.

“Yeah, he’s a real ray of SUNSHINE!” Spiral yells with a smirk.

As if on cue, Ejay bursts though one of the windows of the bay, attempting to land a firm kick in Spyron’s chest, but he catches his ankle, turning and throwing him behind.

“Son of a bitch! That freaked me the Hell out! Nice coordination boys!” Spyron grins maliciously as Myrna jumps up behind him.

“Wanna see how we play teamwork?”

Metta snickers in his control room, pressing random buttons to see what they do, when he alarms Spyron and Myrna that other unidentified lifeforms are entering the ship and approaching the bay.

Spyron asks where they are now, when a blue arm bursts through the steel between his legs.

He growls, grabbing the arm by the wrist, and wrenching Chad out of the ground, slamming him onto the floor.

“Just in time, Groanhammer.” He snarls at him

Ejay makes his return and attempts to strike Spyron, but he catches him by the throat, blasting him back with a red lightning bolt, but Ejay is unharmed, parrying his attack with his own plasma.

Chad socks Spyron in the gut telling Ejay to go help Circa and Aiden with the people outside in the street, which he obliges to, albeit somewhat halfheartedly.

“Yeah, do your little baby work while the ad-” Spyron is interrupted by a kick to the face from Spiral.

Spiral flips back, standing next to Chad, as they all get into a fighting stance.

Spiral and his brother engage in their own lightshow of a battle, as Chad engages Myrna. Chad throws a hook at her, but she quickly burns some metal around her fists, making a loud CLANG as Chad’s fist comes into contact with them.

They catch eachothers hands in a struggle, one person’s hand constricting the other’s.

“Gotta say, Chad. As much of a nuisance you are? You sure help me get in touch with my roots!” She says, grinning.

“It’s the kinda connection you can’t buy.” Chad smiles back, before trying to headbutt her.

She moves back, kneeing him in the chest, and getting loose from his grip, and as they run at eachother, It switches to Spyron and Spiral’s battle

“What’s the big scheme this time huh? Got an army of metal lackeys to do your bidding this time?” Spiral asks, jumping up fist first at Spyron.

“That would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?” Says Spyron.

“No that would totally su-”

“However, that ain’t the case, but how about instead of telling…” He grabs Spiral by the collar.

“I get to the SHOWING!” He electrifies Sprial with Red Lightning, and flies him up to the roof, slamming him and holding him against it.

“Fire it… NOW!” Spyron shouts at Metta, who Huehs at the order, pressing the control stick’s button.

Chad knocks Myrna down, when he hears the whirring of some sort of weapon. He stops to turn around, seeing Spiral struggling with his brother on the ceiling.

He tries to run up and help, but Myrna grabs him in a chokehold, though he easily breaks out by teleporting away from her.

Chad has no choice but to watch as Spyron throws his brother downward, into the now firing beam.

“SPIRAL!” Chad screams, as Spiral stays suspended by the beam in midair, yelling in pain. The laser burns a hole directly into the center of his shirt, scarring his chest.

Everyone in the ship stops to watch what will happen. Spyron looks like his job has finally come to an end, Myrna can’t believe her eyes, Chad mutters that Spiral will make it, with a determined look on his face, and Metta grins, with a look of pure evil in his eyes.

In the anguish, Spiral manages to reach his arm forward, and from his hand, a few bolts of spike begin to clash with the harsh beam, traveling up back into the laser itself. Spiral begins to scream louder, not in pain, but in charging up his power, until the whole beam turns an orange-ish yellow, and finally, explodes.

The explosion of the laser is massive, completely demolishing the control room, with Metta inside.

Ejay looks to the top of the smoking ship, exclaiming about it.

“YES!” Shouts Chad ecstatically.

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Roars Spyron with fury, blasting toward Sprial in the air.

They slam into the floor of the ship, as it begins to tip over a bit.

“What have you DONE?!” Spyron shouts, as they slide down.

Outside the ship, Circa, Aiden, and Ejay all watch in shock as the massive ship begins to fall down, until it crashes down on top of a few warehouses.

From the hills of rubble, the dust settles, and Spiral’s hand bursts out from the debris.

He pulls himself out, coughing and stumbling.

“Chad..? Babe..?! Guys?!” He calls out.

“Anyone…?”

From a little bit away, Metta’s remains stick out from the rubble, as he looks around, seeing a silhouette.

“Mah…. Meh…” He mumbles, reaching out toward the figure.

“It’s me, Metta… It’s Myrna.” She says, gently caressing his face, when they hear a horrifying roar.

“RRAAAAAGH!” Spyron lunges at him, but is judo thrown head first against the wall.

Spyron groans, holding his head, As Spiral grabs his shoulders roughly.

“Careful with the suit! It’s-”

“SHUT UP!” Spiral cuts him off.

Myrna and Metta watch from afar, hidden behind broken pieces of the ship.

“THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD HAVE DIED?!” He screams, no longer cheerful and witty.

Spyron looks up at him, dumbfounded, never seeing him like this before. He smirks a bit.

“What?! WHAT NOW HUH?! WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LEARN THAT EVERY TIME YOU TRY THIS CRAP YOU LOSE!” He shakes him, as Spyron laughs a little bit.

“Could’ve died, heheheheh… I think you mean WILL DIE!” He gets in Spiral’s face, laughing as he presses the panel in his chest.

“What..?” Spiral says, as it begins to beep, counting down from 10. Spyron slowly begins to cackle. Spyron takes a big breath in, when he’s interrupted by an absolute haymaker to the face, stopping him dead in his cocky tracks.

Spiral grunts as he throws another mean facebreaker, then another, and another.

His exclamations get louder, growing more exhausted with each punch, as he doesn’t hold back anymore.

This time, instead of rapid, light punches, that normally would knock the wind out of him, Spyron is being hit by the full wrath of his brother, not even able to make sounds of pain due to the shock of the experience.

Spiral slams his fist against his head one last time, his knuckles encrusted in blood and dust, as he looks down at his battered, and beaten Brother’s face.

Myrna looks on in shock, terrified at the display of her sibling’s brutality.

Spiral slumps down next to his limp adversary, defeated, as the timer finally lands on one, he closes his eyes.

“G-G-G-GOTCHA!” Screams his suit, playing a laughtrack.

Spiral looks confused at first, but then his face drops. He looks at the face on the panel, sticking its tongue out, mocking him, then he looks at the face of the one wearing it, caved in, bruised, and ruined.

Spiral looks at his hands, beginning to hyperventilate, as his eyes well with tears.

“W-... What..?” Is all he can muster from his fractured psyche, but his panic is interrupted as he hears a voice from behind him.

“Holy shit…” Spiral turns around, disheveled and horrified by his actions, seeing Ejay, flying above the debris.

“What happened..?” Ejay asks, bewildered.

“At 3:39 pm, Esteemed member of the Earth Defense Force, Spiral Crimsal, found himself to be the perpetrator of what some folks are calling, cold blooded murder” Says a news anchor, reporting on the situation.

“Now going down with our man on the ground, Reporter Snark Thompson.” Says the anchor, switching the channel to footage of Snark, who is covered in bandages and using a crutch, reporting on the scene.

“Thanks Dan, as you can see, public perception of the Sly Speedster has really been split, here we are with Decorated Veteran, Peter Teesdie.”

“Thanks Snarky. If you really ask us, that Red son of a bitch had it coming. He’s been terrorizing Chicago and her people for almost a decade, and it’s about time someone put his ass in the dirt!”

He says, raising his fist.

“That doesn’t give him the right to murder someone in the middle of broad daylight! Has he ever been put to trial?!” Screams an angry person from the crowd at Teesdie, as a shadow appears above his eyes.

“I’LL PUT YOU THROUGH A FUCKIN’ TRIAL YOU MEASLY YELLOW MOTHERFUCKER!” He shouts at them, causing Snark to tell the cameraman to cut.

“Well, there you have it Chicago, and the rest of the world watching. Spiral Crimsal, Savior, or Sadist?” The anchor asks, as NUGG3T turns off the television.

“I don’t think you’re very happy watching this, Orange. Do you wanna watch scooby does? He vlogs now! Ha! Dog with a vlog!” NUGG3T asks, trying to cheer Spiral up.

Spiral’s face is cold, as is the living room. It’s been a few hours since Spiral’s outburst, and he’s stayed in the tower, while the rest of the team deals with damage control, and the removal of the wreckage.

He gets up, walking to the bathroom, and starting the shower, looking at himself in the mirror.

“**What are you showering for? You think what you did is just gonna WASH AWAY?**” He asks himself.

“Shut up. I’m not buying into this fucking mirror cliche crap. I didn’t do anything wrong, he would’ve done the same to me, Hell, he would’ve done the same to a fucking BABY for all I know. I don’t care what anyone else says. In that moment? I did the right thing.”

“**If you did the right thing, then why does it just EAT you up inside? Your last action alive, beating your brother to death with your BARE HANDS. Bet he feels really stupid now.**”

“He doesn’t feel anything. He’s dead.”

“**Oooo, I like that.**” His reflection snickers.

“**You sound just like dad.**”

Spiral quickly slams his fist into the mirror, shattering it.

“Fucking Hell!” He shouts, angry at himself for indulging his negative thoughts. He grumbles as he leaves the bathroom, catching Aiden, who comes in from the elevator.

“Hey Spiral, you doin okay?” He asks

“I’m going out.” He cuts him off, not even looking in his direction.

“Oh…. Kay..? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why? Will the people that I’ve been protecting for the past nine fucking years suddenly witch hunt me? Because I’m a MURDERER?” He grows more upset just speaking about it.

“What..? No no, I was jus-”

“Just trying to keep me in here in case they change their minds about all of you? How do all the criminals of Chicago feel when they see you whip out that axe huh? You make em all fear for their life?” He walks up to Aiden.

“What..? Where is this all coming from?”

“It’s coming from a long… LONG fucking time of this shit. I can’t do ONE thing wrong without people all over me, like I’m Ceasar of God Damn Greece.”

“What the Hell are you talking about? Everyone has always idolized you! Nothing has even changed! Even the news people are talking about how what you did had to be done!”

“But there are still people blaming ME, no? Like I’m not already blaming myself enough… I killed my fucking brother..!” Spiral looks down at his hands again.

“And?” Aiden asks, bluntly.

“What did you just say?” Spiral looks at him slowly.

“And? You killed Spyron. That’s a good thing, dude. All he has ever done your, and by extension, my life has threatened us and those around us with horrible, burning death, and every time they always run away. You finally stepped up, and DID something about it!”

“I didn’t WANT to! I never wanted to beat him to death!”

“That’s all he ever wanted to do to you! He never ever cared about you Spiral! WE care! All of us! And he put that at stake every time he hatched a new scheme, even after every time we took him down! Why do you care if he was the one to finally bite it?!”

Spiral stops, letting his face get smooth and calm, looking back at Aiden.

“I don’t expect you to understand. I know it can be hard…” He says in a calm tone.

Aiden loosens up a bit.

“Considering you never fucking had a family that cared about you in the first place.” Spiral squints, furrowing his eyebrows at Aiden.

Aiden looks at him with a dumbfounded expression, in complete disbelief at what Spiral just said.

“Wh-... What the fuck is WRONG with you?!” Aiden shoves Spiral a bit, causing him to grab his jacket.

“Try me you fucking cultist.” He stares angrily into Aiden’s eyes, with Aiden looking crazed with anger.

The elevator opens again, this time having Circa standing in it. Spiral quickly lets go of Aiden.

“Hi guys! Just here to pick up some water jugs for the crew. That ship was HUGE! I don’t think we really got a good scope of it until it crashed!” As she talks, Aiden and Spiral look at eachother, both of them angry.

“What’s the matter, you two?” She asks.

“Just feeling down hon. You know.” Spiral says before being cut off by Aiden.

“He’s being fucking awful.” Aiden says angrily.

“What?” Circa asks, looking at Spiral.

“Yeah, I came here to check on him, and I’m met with shit I could never even imagine him saying.”

“Oh boo fuckin hoo. I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings after you straight up told me I should be HAPPY about him dying.” Spiral says, mocking Aiden.

“Well, honestly, you should.” Circa says, a blank expression on her face.

“You fucking too now?” Spiral gets upset once more.

“All he ever wanted was to rip us apart, one way or another, why do you feel bad for getting him before he gets you?” She asks sincerely.

“Becau- He- oh my GOD..!” Spiral stammers.

“That’s exactly what I was trying to tell him.” Aiden says.

“Both of you have NO IDEA what something like that is like. You could never begin to understand, have either of you ever been-”

“Babe, listen-”

“No YOU listen!”

“Stop yelling at me! At us!”

“Stop assuming that I’m overreacting over this!”

“Nobody has said anything like that! We just want to help you and you’re acting a little too crazy!” yells Aiden

“Shut up…”

“And when you’re like this, we know it’s not your fault. It never was your fault for what happened.”

“Shut up..!

“You have to know that I know you’re really fucked up right now, I get it.”

“NO. YOU. DON’T!” Spiral screams, striking Circa across the face with the back of his knuckles.

Circa falls to the floor, her glasses clacking against the tile of the kitchen, as she drops the jug of water she just filled, spilling onto the floor. She looks at him in utter disbelief, as does Aiden, both of them staring at Spiral with wide eyes, looking at him like he’s gone insane.

Spiral doesn’t say a word, staring back at them with an equally shocked look, like he was a witness to his own action. After a long silence from all of them, Spiral practically disappears down the stairs, leaving Aiden and Circa to stare at eachother in shock.

Down by the docks, where the ship’s wreckage is, Chad is lifting heavy chunks of destroyed metal, and putting them in the backs of trunks to be removed, when he is suddenly pulled in between part of the wrecked ship’s interior.

Chad is pushed up against the wall, when his attacker is revealed to be Myrna. He looks upset, but he doesn’t attempt to hit her at all.

“What do you want? Is this the final act of your devious plan?”

Chad stops mocking her, noticing her worried expression.

“I know you can’t trust me… But I need your help, and you’ll need mine. I swear.” She tries to explain to him.

“You’re right. I don’t believe you, now GTFO so we can clean up your mess.”

“Wait! Chad, please…” She begs, pulling on his shirt.

“Spyron is alive.” She looks him in the eyes.

“...What…?” Chad asks.

“He’s still alive, and I have to heal him!”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Chad please! You are going to need him too!”

“Oh yeah, I really miss his kicks to my head, so sad he’s gone.” Chad pulls his shirt from her

Walking away from her.

“He’s the only thing that can help save you all from Spiral.” She finally admits.

Chad looks at her, confusion painted across his face.

In the Chicago streets, Spiral wanders around, shivering from the cold January night winds. The sidewalks are barren, with everyone helping to get rid of the wreckage. He stumbles around, mumbling to nobody, before encountering himself in the reflection of a store’s window.

“**YOUCH! That look like it HURT!**”

“F-f-f-fuck off-f-f…” He sputters out, chattering from the cold

“**\*Tsk Tsk Tsk\* Man… Just LOOK at you. Doesn’t that spike of yours keep you warm?**”

“I-it’s n-n-n-not w-working… I-I don’t know w-w-what’s wrong with me…”

“**Wild guess here, but uhh… I’m willing to bet a few big ones that you’ve hit your breaking point, and I don’t just mean mentally. Did you see how they looked at you? Yeesh…**”

Spiral looks at the floor, crying a little bit over his actions.

“How could I ever h-hit her, especially like that? And all of those things I said to A-A-Aiden… It was like I was an observer to the whole t-t-thing…”

“**Maybe because they insisted on LYING to you. “Meeh meeh, I get it man! I know what it's like to watch your sibling’s blood slowly drip from your knuckles! Durr!” Yeah fucking right.**”

“You’re c-c-c-crazy… They might not understand, but it isn’t their fault, and there was definitely no reason to berate, or HIT anyone!”

“**Oh just face it, they just wanted you to SHUT UP. To stop MOPING AROUND, and be their funny-happy-man again. They don’t really care, they can’t fathom for a SECOND that you might need some time to mourn.**”

Spiral doesn’t say anything, considering “his” words with a sad expression.

“**I know what you need. You need someone new you can rely on. Someone who can provide for you, and I can be that person, starting… right now…**”

His reflection fades away, revealing a mannequin with a nice, black winter coat.

Chad follows Myrna to a storage depot, where Myrna brings him inside.

“Hey Earl.” She says, waving at an old man behind the desk, dead asleep.

“Nice guy.” Says Chad.

They walk through the halls of the building, eventually finding the unit that Myrna has the key for. She unlocks it, and inside lies Spyron on a bed, hooked up to very crude medical equipment. A torn apart Metta sits on a fold out table next to Spyron, becoming alerted by Chad’s presence.

“INTRUDER!” Metta shouts, crawling toward Chad, before Myrna scoops him up.

“No no, Chad is here to help Spyron.”

“What the fuck? Why would he care?" Asks Metta

“Yeah man that’s what I said.” Replies Chad

“Okay, both of you, that's enough, it has to be quiet for us to wake him up. Chad, close the door please.”

Chad closes the door, as Metta turns off the light in the unit.

“Metta, lowlite please.” Myrna asks.

A faint yellow light glows from Metta’s chest onto Spyron, as Myrna kneels down, holding his hand.

“Spy..? Can you hear me? I have someone here that can help us.”

“Hnnnh?” Spyron moans, barely able to see.

Chad leans in to see his face, causing Spyron to fume with anger.

“YyyyyyyOOOUUUU..!!!” He growls, using all of his strength to try and reach out at him.

“Hey, hey! Calm down… He’s going to help us! He’s gonna make you strong again.

“Mnggggh… Podehabber…” Spyron slinks down in his bed, mumbling.

“What exactly do you need me to do?” Chad asks Myrna.

“Well, with you and your friends’ abilities, I think we’ll be able to non-conventionally bring him back to top shape, then we can discuss how we’ll help Spiral.”

“GRRRRRNNN!!!” Spyron shoots back up in his bed.

“Tsuu zasef, Nidiah!” Myrna holds him down gently.

“He’s not exactly on board with the prospect of helping the guy who did this to him, but I’m sure he’ll warm up to the idea once his brain isn’t so… Mushy.”

“Blleeeugh…” Spyron expresses his distaste.

“You still have yet to tell me, Myrna… What’s wrong with Spiral?” Chad asks sincerely.

Myrna takes a deep breath in, standing up and taking out her lenses.

“Our father developed a weapon to attempt to stop all of you once and for all, the only problem was, we had no reference of a being like him to test it, so it wasn’t exactly 100% accurate enough to combat his spike, which is why it exploded like it did.”

“The weapon focuses dark matter to such a certain point that it converts it into Dark energy. This can cause chemical imbalances in the whole body, more importantly, Hormonal imbalances.”

“So you’re saying this death ray makes him angsty?”

“I’m saying it makes him ruthless. He stops holding back, caring about what any of you think, and eventually… He’ll become a whole different person, a person who won’t hesitate to kill all of us.”

“That’s insane. He had enough power to completely blow up your “death ray”. I’m sure he can withstand a little hormones. I’m out.”

“But what about Spyron?”

“He looks like he’ll live. Plus, the longer he’s out? The better. For his sake.”

“Chad!”

Myrna’s yell echoes through the hall as Chad leaves the depot, when he finally returns home at the same time as Ejay.

“Hey man!” Ejay says landing next to the front door.

“Hey.” Chad replies

“What do you think they’re gonna do with all of that metal?” Asks Ejay

“Probably melt it down, make a new line of Mistubishis with it.”

“Great. Like we need a surplus of alien-made Mitsubishis.”

The two chuckle together, as they get into the elevator.

“Had an interesting conversation with someone.” Says Chad

“Oh yeah? Who?”

“Myrna.”

“What the Hell was she doin’ talkin’ to you?”

“Tried to sell me some BS about how this laser they shot Spiral with will make him evil if I didn’t help them or some crap like that.”

“Classic Red Twins scheme. I know they don’t really get Earth stuff, but they could at least try to be good at lying.”

“Yeah.” Chad agrees, letting his guard down now that Ejay has confirmed his suspicions.

The elevator opens, and they walk into the living room, where Aiden is holding a wet towel over Circa’s face. They look at Ejay and Chad, and begin to have a sad expression.

Still on the outskirts of Chicago, Spiral happens upon a large abandoned system of girders. He looks up at the building, and slowly shambles inside to keep warm.

Spiral finds a barrel, with a bunch of clothes and trash still inside, deciding to light it. He charges up a little bit of spike, but it fizzes and sparks, before almost exploding in a purple-ish flash, knocking him back, but lighting the barrel.

He lands next to a puddle, where he can see himself.

“W-what the fuck was THAT?!”

“**It’s the new power I bring you. It may seem difficult to control, but when we hone it, it’ll make spike look like nothing.**”

“Hey! This is our building motherfucker! No visitors! No Loiterers! You’re trespassing!” Shouts a homeless man, as another joins his side.

“It’s an abandoned building, jackass. Nobody owns it.” Spiral says, annoyance in his voice.

“There are laws in this country that say I can defend my land.” One man says as he breaks a bottle against the wall.

“You some kinda anti-American Jagoff?”

Spiral looks at the puddle again, his visage now looking more manic and deranged.

“**Let me take over. I’ll sort them out.**”

Before Spiral can even reply, one of the men’s shoes crashes into the puddle, as he attempts to shank him. He catches his wrist, Dark energy coursing over his hand, and his forehead.

“Be my guest.” Spiral finally fully indulges himself, letting go of the wheel.

He lifts up the homeless man by the arm, slamming him into the floor, then slamming him again, and throwing him at the wall. The other man tries to run, but Spiral pounces at him with large, claw-like hands, getting him to the ground, and then putting him up against the wall.

“I-I’m real sorry man! I wasn’t even gonna hurt you, I didn’t think he would actually try and fight like that! We’re old men, please, come on! Think about what you’re doin!”

“**I’m thinkin’ about painting my new walls with your guts.**” Spiral replies in a darker voice, as he turns the man the other way, converting his hand into a massive claw, ready to disembowel him, when he stops, gripping at his chest, and letting the man go.

“Take your friend to… The infirmary…” He says, sounding normal again, even as he falls to his knees in pain. The homeless man grabs his friend, and runs out the doorway.

Spiral sits back, in pain from his chest, as he pulls his sweater down to see a large, dark purple mass on his pectoral, pulsing with negative energy.

Back in the storage unit, Chad and the rest of the EDF are now attempting to help Spyron.

Aiden kneels by Spyron’s bed, channeling a sort of healing magic using the solar power from Ejay’s hands.

“Thank you for reconsidering, I knew it was hard to believe, and I’m sorry it got this far, but we really appreciate it.” Myrna says, looking at all of them,

“Yeah. I’m REALLY LOVING lookin’ at all of your fuckin’ faces in MY H-\*cough\*-OUSE.” Spyron nags at them.

“Shut up you Dickhead. We’re only helping you to get Spiral back on track,” Aiden says, begrudgingly holding his arm.

“And what if I don’t help you assholes after I’m fixed, huh?”

Circa leans over, right in his face.

“Then we’ll beat you worse than he did, and we’ll make sure you’re GONE.” She snarls at him.

Chad puts his hand on her chest, holding her back.

“He’s just being a cunt, Circa, don’t let him work you up. He’s going to help us, right?” He looks over at Myrna

“Yes, we are.” She says, sternly looking at him.

“So… How old are you?” Metta asks Ejay.

“Nineteen. Why?” He replies

“Hueh HEEH… No reason...” He says to Ejay, as the latter makes a disapproving face, ready to leave.

Eventually, Spyron is able to stand again, taking a few steps, before collapsing, holding his head. Myrna catches him, putting him back on his feet.

He stands there for a second, his back turned to the EDF, before he gives them all a side-eye.

“We don’t have alot of time before we lose him.”

In Spiral’s new tower, he stands at the top of it, overlooking the city.

“Oh man… What have I done…?” He slumps down, finally having a moment to feel the toll of his actions.

“Listening to a fucking… scary voice, in my head… Like I’m some kinda… MARVEL villain… What the fuck is even happening..?”

“**You’re realizing.**”

“SHUT UP! I’M TIRED OF YOUR GIMMICK! I WON’T BE A VICTIM TO YOUR INANE BULLSHIT ANYMORE!” Spiral shouts, falling to his knees, as the world around him turns black.

“What the Hell?”

“**Close, but no dice. We’re in your conscience.**”

“Are you fucking kidding me? What are you a demon possessing me? “Blehh I’m the real you mwahaha..” Cut it with that bullshit! I’m done listening to you!”

“**I don’t think you have much choice.**”

“Of course not. Do I have to fight you now? To “clear my mind”? Free myself from my own evil ways? What hard decision do I have to make to get you to get the fuck out of my life?!”

“**You don’t have to worry. I don’t intend on bothering you much longer. I don’t really need to speak to you ever again, honestly.**”

“...What?”

“**I’ll leave you be now.**” The figure disappears, while Spiral remains in the void of his mind.

“Wait… No!”

Back in the real world, Spiral still kneels on the ground, but now he looks up, and smiles.

“**Ahhh… The crisp cold air… Hmhmhmhm….**” He opens his arms, looking down upon the city.

In the EDF tower, NUGG3T sits on the table, snoozing, and waiting for everyone to come back, when Circa calls him.

“HAI GIRL!!!” He shouts excitedly.

“Hey sweetheart! How is the kitty?” she asks him.

“Oh, The Rat came over, and waved his hands in front of me for like 12 minutes, and then I watched him try to put cat food in the bowl for an hour. Now is all over da floor.”

“Nugget, you are the one that has to feed Timo while we’re gone buddy.”

“Oh… WoOOW!”

“Yeah. Good try, though.”

“I did a good job!”

“Mhm. Hey, Do you remember that little stick that we put in that kid who got stung by a bee?”

“Yea! That bee was mean it tried to sting me too.”

“Well I need you to bring that stick to us at this address, okay? But don’t come inside! It’s a surprise!”

“Yeah Yeah! Okay! I’ll leave it outside!” NUGG3T runs toward the elevator, tripping and clanging on the floor, before he gets back up.

“Who the Hell was that?” Metta asks

“Our chicken.” Circa sighs.

Myrna comes in a little bit later with the Epi-Pen that NUGG3T brought them, handing it to Spyron.

“Thanks.”

Spyron takes it, injecting himself right on the neck.

“Oooooh yeah….”

“Was that all that was for?!” Circa yells at him.

“Calm your tits, I just need an empty injector for the Witch’s brew to go in.”

“I told you to quit callin’ me that Thundercunt.” Aiden says, giving him a small flask full of a dark turquoise liquid.

“Gotta say, I don’t really know you at all, but this is a pretty potent concoction…” Spyron swishes it around.

“You gonna drink it or is it actually useful?” Ejay asks, his arms crossed as he leans against the wall.

“If I drank it I’d probably start liking you idiots.”

“Must be some strong stuff.” Says Chad.

“It’s a channeling Elixr, you drink it to get a grip on yourself.” Aiden says

“One small thing, this alone might not be strong enough to snap him out of his maniacal trance at this rate.” Spyron explains, looking at Chad.

“We’re gonna need a little something something that’ll ground him entirely.” He raises his eyebrow, smirking while looking at it.

The view cuts, as Chad sits at the store with Aiden, and the clerk scans several bottles of Frozen Margarita syrup.

“Doin some partyin’ tonight?” He asks.

“Uh huh.” Chad and Aiden say in unison.

Once they get back, Spyron roots through the bag, looking frantic and upset.

“What the fuck, did you guys not get any lime??” He asks

“We really just went out to get drinks for you?!” Yells Aiden

“No, it’s just my favorite. Whatever, let's get to work.”

Spyron begins to use all of the materials they’ve gathered to create just enough of a now glowing Cyan liquid, putting it inside the case of the Epi-pen.

“Alright Groanhammer, this serum should act as an “anitvirus” for the Xero Ray’s effects. All we’ll need to do is catch him, somehow.”

Chad takes it, grabbing Spyron’s forearm.

“I know we don’t like eachother at all, but… I won’t forget about this. Thank you.”

Spyron looks at Chad’s hand, then up at his face, with a puzzled expression, before fixing his face.

“Yeah. Thanks for not letting me die.”

“Well, that wasn’t all me.” Chad smirks, looking over at the rest of the group, all of them waiting for their thanks.

Spyron is not amused.

Later at midnight, three bikers are thrown through the window of a bar, with one grabbing a shotgun, aiming it at the smashed glass. Spiral stands, stepping over the broken window, as the bikers line up next to eachother, terrified, but ready to fight.

“**Dime-a-dozen Gangbangers. You’ll be the first gang I wipe out.**”

“Quit fuckin’ around kid! I know how to use this gun! We’ll kick your ass!”

“**Don’t kid yourself, fat boy. Your gun won’t work.**”

Spiral reaches toward them all, with two of his dark, firey hands extending toward the left and right bikers. The middle biker shoots, but a monstrous face forms in between the arms, eating all the pellets.

The hands grabs the outside bikers, slamming them all together, as the face rushes toward them all to take a big bite, but then it’s suddenly sliced in the neck by Lazelokk.

The Head and Spiral’s dark arms fade away, as he looks angrily over at Aiden, who summons Lazelokk back into his hands. He says nothing, stepping to the side, letting Ejay fly at him.

Ejay grabs his jacket, as Spiral grabs his arms, flipping him backward, making them hit the ground.

The same dark claw forms around Spiral’s forearm, as he’s about to slash at Ejay.

Aiden fades in from the smoke behind the two, grabbing his arms.

“Get him! Now!” He yells to whoever can hear.

“**rrRRRRRRAAAAAAHGGGH!!!**” Spiral screams, as a huge burst of dark flames explode into the form of a beast, knocking Aiden back.

Spiral runs away back to his tower, as fast as he can.

“Hold on guys, let him take us to the final zone.” says Chad, holding Ejay.

At Spiral’s tower, Ejay lands with Aiden, both of them carrying Chad.

“I think Chad should go in alone.” Says Aiden.

“You think that’s a good idea?” asks Ejay.

“I agree. If you need to come with, be stealthy about it. Maybe just me will lower his guard a bit.” Chad agrees.

“I’ll wait here, ready to take you two out of here if things go south.” Ejay says.

Chad makes his way up to the top of the tower, overlooking the city as Spiral was earlier, when he suddenly drops down next to him.

“**I was wondering if any of you were actually gonna come up here. Are Aiden and Ejay gonna flank me?**”

“No. They’re just there as security, to make sure you don’t scurry away. I’m only here to talk to you.”

“**Get out of here, Chad.**”

“Can’t. It’s time this new personality of yours goes to bed.”

“**Oh ho ho, this isn’t some fad, buddy. This is the real deal now. The silly speedster act is gone. Now? It’s just me.**” Spiral says, patting his chest.

“I heard you hit Circa.”

The two of them stare at eachother for a long time after Chad says that, just looking to see who could possibly have a follow up to such a statement, until Chad finally continues his thoughts.

“I know that’s not something the “Real Deal” would do. I know that’s not actually you, which is why, unlike everyone else, I don’t care what happens to you, as long as I get what I want from this.”

“**Mhmhmhm… That’s real heartless of you, Chad. I would do the same thing.**”

“Uh huh. I don’t care. Everything you have to say is bullshit. I won’t give you a speech. I won’t give you any warning. I’m just gonna get rid of you, and it’ll be like Spiral never even went through this.”

“**Spiral is DEAD.**” Spiral makes Chad freeze in his place.

“**And once I’m done with you, so will be the rest of our little “team” for getting in my way.**”

Chad charges at Spiral out of nowhere, giving him no time to react as he tackles him through the railing of the balcony, and into the destroyed remains of the building. The two plummet together, as Chad tries to grab Spiral in a way that won’t let him escape.

Spiral kicks Chad off, but he just teleports back onto him. Spiral attempts to slam him against the unfinished girders of the apartment, slamming his back and head, but nothing frees him from Chad’s grasp, eventually getting him in a headlock, and putting the injector to his neck.

Spiral stops Chads hand with both of his, struggling to get the syringe away from him, before he lets out an infuriated growl, and bends his head forward, injecting Chad with the serum instead, causing him to gasp deeply, and let go of Spiral.

He kicks him away, and Chad lands on a flat piece of concrete, stopping his fall. Spiral flips backward, nose diving toward the bottom, landing successfully with his dark flames to assist in his fall. He stands up, dusting himself off and walking to a different exit, as the tower can no longer suffice as his home.

As he walks through the hall, he passes the window to the landlord’s office, where Spiral waits in the reflection.

“What the fuck is WRONG with you?!”

“**Who let you out?**”

“That was our best fucking friend! You’re lucky he’s as strong as he is, or he might’ve-”

“**I’M lucky? How am I lucky? What would you have done if he died? I want you to think on that, because you better have some sort of plan for when Aiden or Ejay thinks they can stop me.**”

Suddenly, a hand touches Spiral’s coated shoulder, and he turns to see himself, the REAL him. Spiral looks shocked, as he decks himself in the face. He stumbles back a bit, looking at his rebellious inner self.

“**How did..-**”

“Can it. Now. I’m done with you, with listening and watching you ruin everything I’ve got going. I don’t know what was in that epi-pen you jammed inside his chest, but I do know that that mystery serum means they know you’re not me, and are trying to get you out.”

“**Get back where you belong, I’m not gonna fight you.**”

“That’s fine, it’s easier for me if you don’t fight back.”

Spiral jumps at his darker self foot first, kicking him in the sternum, but Dark Spiral turns into a bunch of purple smoke, then soon into purple flames, which take the form of a beast, which towers over him.

“**KNEEL!**” It commands Spiral, who struggles, before getting down to his knees.

On the concrete slab, Chad groans, yanking out the epi-pen. He leans over on his hands and knees, crawling and falling off to the last floor. Ejay and Aiden run in, helping him up.

“Did you get him? What happened?” They ask, as Chad’s face contorts with pain, and the shame of failure.

“I thought this might happen.” Says Spyron, with all of the members now inside the Storage unit.

“I always have a plan B though.”

“Circa being here means that is 100% false.” Says Ejay, causing Metta to laugh.

Spyron waves his hand dismissively

“Chad, do you have any idea where the remnants of the ship are headed?”

“Yeah, they’re gonna get melted down at Chicago Heights Steel. Why?”

“We’re gonna reclaim my reclaimed metal.” He says, grinning deviously.

Aiden, Chad, Ejay, and Spyron all get ready to leave in Aiden’s van, while Circa stays with Myrna in case something happens around the city with Spiral.

Spyron get inside Aiden’s van, looking around at it for a minute.

“Sweet Ride.” He says after a bit of silence.

The van drives away from the storage Depot, and down the street, completely missing Spiral on the sidewalk, who looks at where they came from.

Circa gets up from a chair in the unit.

“I’m gonna go grab something from the vending machine, let me know if anything happens.”

“Okay.” Replies Myrna.

“Oooooo you got a crush on her don’t youuuu?” teases Metta

“I’m technically her mom.” says Myrna with a disapproving look

“Ewwwwww….”

Circa walks down to  the end of the hall to the machine, putting a dollar into it, she looks to her left, seeing nothing, and looking back to enter the code. As she does, she looks left again, and Spiral stands at the front of the hall.

“Spiral?!” Circa blurts out, as he rushes toward her, grabbing her by the neck.

“ST-AUGHP! THT… HRRTS!” She pleads, looking into his eyes.

Spiral’s angry face begins to slowly dissipate, as the real him regains control. He starts to cry, putting her down, and dropping a bit to the floor himself.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry baby… I don’t know what’s happening to me…” He tries to explain.

“It’s okay hon, I know what’s happening… None of this is your fault…” Circa says, rubbing her throat and his back.

“What do you mean..? What’s wrong with me?”

“You-” Circa is cut off by Spiral being hit in the face by some sort of beam, breaking his glasses and causing his head to shatter the glass of the vending machine.

She looks down the hall, where Myrna is holding Metta like a weapon.

“BULLSEYE! Hueh HEEh!” Metta yells.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Circa shouts, before Spiral grabs her by the collar, throwing her at them.

Circa collides with Myrna, knocking them all to the floor. Dazed and woozy, they look up at Spiral with fear, as he drops his glasses, showing them his blackened eyes, before his head is engulfed in dark purple flames.

“**How lucky am I?**”

Aiden parks the van at the steel mill, as they head inside to recover some of the Maroonan metals.

“Split up, we need as much metal as we can find.” Spyron says, running into the facility.

They all search different bins, when Spyron stops them all, calling them over. When they arrive next to him, he shows them the broken Xer0 Cannon he found.

“Somebody find me a wrench.” Spyron says, smirking.

Spiral, now also at the steel mill, tosses Myrna and Metta to the floor, still holding Circa by the arm.

“**Go warn them, or she’s the first one dying here.**” Spiral says, putting a fiery talon to Circa’s throat.

Myrna worriedly runs off to find the others, while Circa whimpers at the burning flames.

“You’re not him…” She begs out loud.

“**Thanks for the compliment.**” Spiral smiles.

Myrna eventually finds them all, stopping their developments.

“What the Hell are YOU doing here?” Asks Aiden.

“Spiral is here.”

The boys all look at eachother, and look back at Myrna with serious expressions, as Spyron turns the Ray back on.

Circa reluctantly walks alongside Spiral, terrified by his unpredictability, as he walks her throughout the building.

“You’re not going to kill us… You can’t…”

“**Watch me.**” His talons elongate, as he raises them to strike Circa down.

Suddenly, he stops, listening in to the halls, hearing a conversation.

“You have to listen to me Chad! He’s coming right now! He’ll kill Circa!” Myrna begs.

“**Sounds like they don’t believe her. Let's prove it.**”

Spiral gets to where he hears their voices, throwing Circa forward to the floor, giving himself another ravenous flaming claw, when he hears a whistle from up in the girders of the ceiling. Spyron stands next to the Xer0 Cannon, powering it with Ejay’s solar energy.

“MEGAMAN!!!” Ejay shouts, as the beam fires at Spiral. Like before, it immobilizes him, keeping him in place. Circa backs away from him, as he fails to muster the strength he had before, not even being able to raise his arm.

Ejay eventually frees his hands from the cannon, also freeing Spiral from the beam, as he falls to his knees. Drowsily, he looks up toward his attacker.

”Hey.” A familiar voice calls out to him, as his sight adjusts, seeing a Picture perfect Spiral before him.

He throws a weak punch at his abdomen, which the Spiral catches easily, smirking at him and uppercutting him back, sending him back to reality. He growls and tries to stand, as the Earth Defense Force begins to follow.

He manages to get up, stumbling away through the corridors of the Steel Mill, before collapsing again.

“**Get the fuck… Away from me…**” He grunts out, as they get closer.

“It’s over. We’re getting him back.” Says Aiden

“Only a matter of time too, I saw what that awesome laser did.” Ejay grins

“**I said… Get the fuck AWAY!**” His whole body is engulfed in purple flames, as he slashes at Ejay and Aiden, leaving a nasty gash in Aiden’s arm. Aiden screams in pain at his sizzling wound, as the fire monster slinks away.

“You’re not getting away. Not this time.” Chad snarls, as he sprints after the beast.

Outside, it has begun to rain, as Spiral crashes out from the doors into the parking lot. The rain washes away the flames from his body, as he comes face to face with his true self again.

“He’s right, y’know. This is just about to end.” he says in a taunting voice.

“**I’ll kill all of you. ALL of you.**” Spiral manages to gasp out.

“Kill this.” Spiral all of the sudden goes Burst, flying at light speeds into his stomach, knocking him to the wet ground.

His fiery claws boil the water on the ground as he stands again, now seeing Chad running from the exit hall of the building, and kicking his jaw like a football.

Spiral lies back once again, landing on his hands, semi-stabilizing himself. Chad wastes no time, immediately teleporting in front of him, throwing a haymaker.

Spiral dodges, tackling him to the ground, and slashing at Chad’s face. He swings relentlessly, his claws eventually turning into his balled up fists, as he slams them down on his head, like he did to Spyron.

Everyone else makes it outside, stunned by their fight. Ejay sees what’s happening, and tries to fly in and help Chad, but Circa stops him, telling him to watch Chad.

Spiral furiously beats at Chad’s head, too angry to even realize that Chad’s head isn’t even moving in reaction to his punches. Spiral eventually stops, too tired to continue, looking at his hands but seeing no change on them except his now bruised knuckles.

He looks down at Chad with shock, as he’s totally unscathed by his attack, in fact, he’s in so much shock that he fails to notice Chad beginning to glow.

“That the only move you know?” He mocks Spiral, as he glows brighter and brighter blue.

Eventually, he explodes with energy, shattering the concrete below them, sending Spiral floating as if there were no gravity. Chad jumps off the cracked ground, throwing him to it, and landing on his back.

Spiral tries to get Chad off his back, but he only succeeds by Chad’s volition, picking him up by the back of his coat, like the neck of a cat. Chad’s skin shines like a fine Chrome, as his clothes glow a deep blue, like the aura surrounding him.

He tosses him back, Spiral stumbling a bit before gaining his footing.

“You give up yet?” Chad raises his hands.

“**You don’t scare me…**”

“Such a shame.”

Chad launches off the asphalt, sending himself fist first at Spiral. He luckily dodges the rocket fist, but Burst Spiral returns, grabbing him by the shoulders and flying him to Chad’s clothesline, knocking him to the soaked ground again.

Spiral attempts his own power explosion with his flames, but it’s cut off by Chad, who swings a punch down at the ground, causing a small Earthquake that launches Spiral up into the air, where Burst Spiral is there to meet him, keeping him suspended with a series of rapid punches, before Chad appears behind him, spiking him back to the ground.

He lands on his hands and knees, coughing.

“**This isn’t… F-fair…**” He mutters

“Sorry.” Says Chad nonchalantly.

Spiral swings at him with his Claw, Chad dodges, but he doesn’t escape a punch to the stomach, which does barely anything but it still stuns him. Spiral takes the opportunity to kick him in the side, but this time it’s blocked.

Spiral creates some distance between them, throwing a fireball that Chad uppercuts out of existence, trying another Haymaker, that hits, sending Spiral flying back into the raging fists of Burst Spiral, who keeps punching at him rapidly, finally kicking him in the chest toward Chad.

Chad catches his leg, slamming him to the ground, but Spiral digs his claws into the concrete, stopping the continued assault. He kicks Chad with his other leg, freeing himself.

Spiral tries to run, but Burst catches him. Spiral slashes at him, making him disappear, but Chad kicks him in the back of the leg, bringing him to one knee. Chad then starts to completely decimate him, striking him over and over again in the face. Not enough to make him bruise and bleed, but enough for him to feel it.

The view spins to show Burst doing the same, throwing punches at the speed of light directly into his face. Both of them reel back, charging their full power into one final strike. They throw their punches, with Chad creating a sonic boom with the force of his punch, and Burst completely fading away.

Spiral falls back, out cold, as it rains down. Chad sighs, kneeling and picking him up, as everyone else comes over.

“He’s still alive, just out.” He says.

“Oh thank God…” Circa says, holding his face.

“Oh yeah, never got to ask. Who’s this “God” guy everyone’s so grateful toward?” Asks Spyron

The view zooms out with everyone looking at Spiral unconscious.

A day later, Spiral is in the Hospital, With Spyron, Chad, and Circa watching him. Spyron scans him with some sort of device, before putting it in his pocket.

“Looks like it worked. When he wakes up, he should be normal. Might be a bit pissed at you for his ass kicking though.”

“Thank you. For everything.” Says Circa, holding Spyron’s hand while looking up at him.

“...Yeah… Sure…” Spyron says, not used to compassion from any of them.

“So… What does this mean for us? You go back to scheming? Planning your next big attack?” Asks Chad.

“I don’t… I don’t really know…” Says Spyron.

“Well… Whatever you choose to do, I won’t forget this, and I know you won’t either. Took alot of stone to put everything aside and help us like that. I know you probably can’t understand what you’re feeling… Hell, I don’t even really know how to feel, but thank you. That’s all I can say confidently. Thank you.”

“....Yeah…” Spyron leaves the room, leaving only Circa and Chad left.

The two sit in silence, comforting the unconscious Spiral, with Circa on her knees, rubbing his chest, and Chad sitting next to him, holding his hand. An alarm on Circa’s phone goes off, and she stands up.

“I have to go feed Temo. I know we’re giving more thanks than a Pilgrim on Plymouth Rock, but you deserve some too. This wouldn’t have been possible if you didn’t… Beat the Hell out of my boyfriend…” They both lightly chuckle.

“But you really pulled through. You’re a great friend, Chad. We would be nowhere without you.” She smiles sincerely, before kissing Spiral on the cheek, and wishing him goodbye, before leaving the Hospital room as well.

The Comic ends With Chad holding Spiral’s hand in a far, isolated view of the hospital room, the only sound coming from his heart monitor beeping.

\*After Credits Page\*

An Armored giant sits in his chair in front of a fireplace, as a Stoker shovels some coal into it, before standing straight like a pillar once more.

An Apostle comes in, greeting the Armored Figure.

“*Speak.*” He says in a deep, commanding tone.

“We are no longer receiving any signal from the Xer0 Cannon, Khe’lanum.” They say, standing still as a statue.

“We believe it’s been destroyed.”

The figure doesn’t move, as the view shows his eye, seething and burning with barely hidden fury.

## Trivia

* This comic is originally the FIRST PWNage comic ever made, but after serious lore changes, and finalization, it was changed to how it is now.