Chapter 5
Tyler was pacing back and forth in his bedroom, his brother and Arthur are obviously whispering about him from the other side of the door.
His body was tense, his head was full of pain, his identity was exposed and he finally knew why control was so important to mage. While it was true relying on the emotional part of magic boosted him, it was also a double edged sword, making him more emotional and impulsive.
His anger was so fiery, it materialised as a flaming monster, a projection in the shape of a Dobberman with its head a cold gun barrel, it had mouth with gleaming white fang, drooling like a rabid dog, it's claw are breaking his floor, it's muscle was tensed, standing behind Tyler like a predator that ready to hunt anything even it's creator
He needs to calm down. The only thing that could kill the hound was another emotion.
"Fuck this world." He cursed and kick his bed, you think it easy to calm down his anger, fuck the PRT for their status quo, fuck the gang for their grubby hand and fuck his patron for his over the top fashion.
Tyler Aura who become monster suddenly growled and it's head explode spark of brain, metal, bone seems to become real before it reshape into his red aura but instead regrowing it's head, sword, knife, saw, laser and all sorts of weapons conjured on its body as it wanted to rip the shred of reality itself.
Bang bang. Tyler barely flinched when he heard the gunshot, but he flinched when someone smacked his head.
He looks up, staring at the barrel of the gun he modified, he can still hear her song and although he gave her rebirth it wouldn't hesitate killing him, Tyler grin wondering how much growth it would have by killing its own creator.
"You think having a temper tantrum would solve the problem, wake up boy. The world isn't going to wait for us, for all we know most of the gang would be walking on us."
Fuck the gang, he need to think, to escape, Tyler closes his mouth trying to suppress his hyperventilation, his brother lives here, they know who he is. What would he do, what should he do, he didn't regret being a cape for him it will be better to die with his own accord then be died cluesly in Cape battle but he want to give Ethan live, he need more than survival he need school, he need friend, a childhood and, andandandand.
"Tyler, calm down." Said Arthur who had stepped down and held Ethan to protect the boy, he stared at the space surrounding Tyler, there are two space manipulator capes in this city, too much for Arthur's taste and he had an unfortunate encounter with both of them.
Vista, had the ability to pinch space and Labyrinth also had the ability to alter her surrounding space and Arthur now had new reference, space was cracking, creating a high annoying sound that make his brain matter tremble, shape and form twist like the laugh of madman at night, it create colour, hole, new space that seem to create wriggling maggot, trying to reach into his eye and tickling his bone and nerve, blood drop from his eyes and he finally got the clue and stop staring.
The monsters become more huge, complex, knowledge poured into the Aura, magic, will, hope and despair, they become a mix of biological and mechanical creation, a gun that is going to pierce the world.
"TYLER, wake up, you're not alone okay." He screams trying to wake the boy from his manic episode but the boy continues to mumble.
James tries his hardest to wake up the boy but the other sibling had already create trouble and runs away from his clutch into the hazard where his brother was, weirdly the red Aura, the golden thunder dodge the boy, allowing him to safely get close to his brother, even the monstrous creation seems to grow eye and stare into the boy.
"I don't want to move to another world." Said Ethan. "Yes I heard you that night, I don't want to move to another world, this is our home, my school is here, so was my friend. I- you can't keep running away Tyler."
Tyler stops his breathing, his blood froze, his heart stops beating, he closes his face with his hand but as he raises his head again, Ethan stares at Tyler right eyes between his fingers. It was like seeing into an abyss that keeps trying to shoot his soul, so much knowledge, so many answers, he took huge breaths and shouted.
"Wake up."
Then as time rewinds, the aura, the monstrous creation, the crack, the damaged room return to normal and Tyler stands once more, yet as they observe the boy, he becomes more straight, more leaner, his demeanour becomes more sharp, like an upgraded version of himself.
He was one step greater and one step away from his humanity.
Tyler walks two steps to teary eyed Ethan still in his pyjamas he bought him at the mall, clutching his shirt, he walks step by step looking down at the boy.
"You think I'm a coward do you." Arthur tries to get between them but with a wave of his magic, the man slides across the room.
"Heroes don't run away." Said Ethan.
Tyler let out a chuckle, gritting his teeth, he tried to grasp the boy's face making Ethan flinch but he still grabbed him making Ethan look into his eyes.
"Do you know what happened to the little boy who didn't have fear in this city? Do you want to know what happened to that little hero, Ethan?" He bent with each word, his voice becoming softer but Ethan heard it clear, as if Tyler's words travelled into his skin, etched into his bone.
Ethan grit his teeth and look into Tyler eyes without fear. "Yes!"
"They get burned by the dragon, their skin is burned, scorched along with their clothes, the smell of chemicals and meat are spreading in the air, their beautiful black hair melts down to inky water, I watch his green watch burn melted into his bone. He didn't scream, he writhed on the floor, brave little heroes didn't scream don't they." He smiled as he retell the story of his friend being burned by Lung.
"Tyler enough."
Tyler ignores Artuhr and leans on Ethan's ear.
"I heard his scream, Ethan, it was so loud, his mouth was wide open there was no sound but I heard it and do you want to know what is worse?"
"Enough, both of you." Arthur stood between them, trying his best to separate them, hypnotising himself that this is just another sibling fight he needed to separate.
"What is it, let me hear it." Ethan's face was pale, he was crying but he refused to close his eyes, he refused to lower his head.
"The princess he tried to save also burned, ahahaha, isn't that funny, his bravery got him killed, his kindness didn't save the girl, isn't that the funniest thing you ever hear. HE DIDN'T KNOW HER, he didn't know her and he died for nothing."
He closed his eyes, his leg trembled and he sat down on the floor while Ethan was still standing facing him instead of turning or running away.
Arthur sighed and rubbed his forehead, he had two crying boys, thankfully he had managed to force them change and have a quick shower to clear their heads. Of course he supervised, god knows if they start doing something stupid, especially Tyler.
They sit at the dining table, Tyler shoves his sugary treat into his mouth and takes out the burner phone. Since his brother didn't want to move to a new world, he started the wizard tower project, turning his home into a safe fortress.
Earth Bet didn't have magic or magic resource but isn't cape themselve are the biggest resource, without source of energy it was hard to move the whole house but the bug girl could command a swarm, with her cooperation, Tyler has solved the energy and many helper and don't forget that Aura could be awakened and his sugar daddy also sent him Dust, a crystallised element, he had four kind of them, water, fire, earth and air, good enough for now.
He called the Bug Girl and he only waited a second before she picked it up.
"Hey this Tyler, from last night." He said opening it like he was casual friends who knew if the girl was in the public.
"Oh, wait, stop that-"
Tyler frowned as he heard scuffling, screaming, cursing come from the other side of the phone, he heard more cursing, bitch, slut and many more crying. Tyler sighs, even outside their mask, Parahuman still attracts trouble.
"Pant, pant." Tyler let the girl take her breath.
"Do you want to skip, I need your help." He said.
"Yes, please." She said, as if he was the one who gave her favour instead of the opposite, he shook at the girl's antics and there would be a problem on how the girl would approach his house, he knew it would be monitored, both in civic and costume would set a problem.
"So how confident are you?"
"Umm, zero." Said Bug Girl, still the same I see.
"Okay, here is my plan." He said his address and guided the Bug Girl on how to approach her home safely.
After the call, he saw his house and caressed its wall. "There's going to be a big change."
Holding his key, he chose the wardrobe and opened his pocket reality and sat on the sofa.
His hand waved and his Aura appeared again, it was a wave of red energy that surrounded him, it felt warm, soft, like a part of him that managed to extend out.
Which is what it is, Aura is the extension of one soul, the light or the fire from our own soul, it can protect the user, activate dust, increase regeneration, creating of Semblance, a more advanced skill of Aura, and that's it, his crazy hound, the golden thunder wasn't his aura, it was his magic, knowledge that just mixed in, almost granting his wish to just rip space apart and send him to other world.
Now he have two energy, magic is something of himself and not, it's like two being that decided to work together, he guess the typical path of mage is to truly tame magic and make it part of himself but Tyler didn't choose that part, hence it was uncontrollable well not uncontrollable, more like a childlike djinni who always eager to answer his wish, just like his previous outburst.
"I need a focus." He said, was he a Tinker, he's not, from the get go that wasn't his power but he was modelling himself after that, but after familiar with his power, he didn't fall into the technological side, if Tinker is a builder that focus on technology and then he shall be a Magus, a builder that focus on magic.
"What kind of Tinker named himself Gun Cultist." He brushes his hair and starts to work. He needs his focus, his wand, in his case it shall be a hammer. Thankfully he already had his prototype, his home depot hammer.
His ideal hammer is created with material or technique that makes it turn into any kind of tool he needs. Unfortunately he didn't have that kind of material so he had to rely on skill, he was confident to fit every kind of tool into his hammer.
While he was working, pushing the skill given by Craftsman, to push every tool he can imagine inside the hammer, using his peak state over gun magic but not enough he accidentally create a gun, no yes he can create a gun, the reason he almost didn't do it because the peak of gun magic is something you had to use to hurt other, that's what tied this specific school of magic but his hammer will harm, not people but matter, his ingredient, it was the destruction before creation, it was harming the inferior to built something more perfect.
He laughs in glee and starts his work, the sound of clanging can be heard in the workshop and he keeps throwing the Dust in powder because boy they are greedy for energy.
Then he created a special gun in his head, shooting his ego and suddenly he had two lines of thinking, one containing all his skill and knowledge, continuing working the hammer, the split one was thinking about his goal.
Sure he had a concrete plan, but it was short term. He can't always expect to get lucky or have enough guns to solve his problem, what his long term goal is, his goal always to protect his brother, his friend and family and what he needs to do.
Built, that's right, he was never interested in playing villains or heroes, he just wanted his beloved to be happy and safe and how many are there, Ethan, bald Arthur,... and maybe Bug Girl, at least he didn't want that girl to get hurt.
He takes a huge breath, and merges the two lines thinking again and starts his work.
After an hour of work, he had his hammer which he named Cloud, in the base form it was a simple square steel hammer, the metal looked black, with the wood having the natural wavy brown. When you look closer,it seems too full of gaps and slits. There are greek words etched into the hammer which is the name of the Hammer itself and four crystal holes for the dust crystal.
He holds the hammer in his hand and it seems to explode into a cloud of matter, scalpel, screwdriver, small hammer, glue gun, magnifier, any kind of tool he needs and it can change and transform with his thought because it was controlled by Aura and his magic.
He kissed the hammer and strapped it to his waist and it latched automatically without any kind of trouble.
The next object is shield for his brother, previously he didn't have this ability but now oh, it's easy, the concept is to contain rain inside a pendant, a raindrop is just a bullet, at first he just wanted to use to natural rain, not only he have to wait for one he have to go outside but now he had a lot of supply of Dust he can create one in the white void.
Several minutes later, Tyler was standing in the white void, he had an anvil he just created by using the metal block from his basic supply, a gold chain attached to water crystal Dust and he modelled it into an inverted pentagon. A group of clouds had been created above his head, using a lot of real water, magic dust for that oomph and magic power as control, it had started to turn grey and made the room start to feel damp.
Taking a deep breath, changing Cloud into a smaller hammer, he crushed the water Dust to trigger the rain.
Once the first rain drop fall into the pendant, he strike the pendant, his mind was focusing on the pendant, replicating his split mind technique and splitting his mind into two stream, in one stream he is creating a gun where drop of water will shoot in all direction, destroying anything that try to get into it's range. While the other was a man that was observing the rain, seeing the rain fall.and watching it's cycle, from forming a puddle to evaporate and turning into clouds and finally turning into rain again.
These two streams are walking separately but the closer he was to finishing the more they start to merge, a man that tried to enclose a cycle of rain into his creation.
It will not be a truly infinite ammo gun but it would be able to create an area with a tiny shaped water bullet shooting in all directions for three in a dry environment because of its own cycle.
He strains his aching muscle, shaking his head from the magical water. Rain infused with water dust was much colder and dealt more damage to him. He started to feel pressure in his body but he kept going, striking the pendant capturing the water drop into the pendant.
Bang, the last drop of rain disappeared, there is no clue
Finally the pendant was finished, the room was dry like there was never a rain in his white void.
"Finally done but where the hell is bug girl?" He had told her to call but it had been more than an hour. Did it really take that girl and two ho or did she walk from school to his home. Tyler started worrying, while both of them weren't teammates but he still thought of the girl as an ally.
He quickly wears his costume and all his equipment, there is really no time to upgrade his gun but the fact he could spew bullets out of his mouth was already good enough and he had created his set of material art.
God is the shape of a gun and a human is the mirror of his image. His gun kung fu is basically treating his body as a gun, using his movement as loading a bullet and through magic and body power launch a punch or kick as a shot.
"Arthur, Ethan." He hesitated a bit when calling his brother's name, he was a bit overboard and it was his fault for his own outburst, he was going to apologise then he saw the boy face and forget it, why would he apologise first.
'Sigh.' Tyler sighed and knelt in front of the boy, he took the pendant and clasped it around Ethan's neck and inserted the pendant inside his shirt, he saw another necklace, an oak. He held the carving of a fish made from oak wood, itt was a summer camp souvenir, he remembered throwing it to the boy.
"Why do you still wear it?"
"I like it." He aggressively put the wooden fish inside his shirt again.
"You such a dork, don't tell me you are being bullied."
Ethan looked confused before he realised his implication and punched his stomach.
"It's a cool necklace."
He snorted and saw Arthur wearing a shirt printed 'I love boob' and in slack white pants, he doesn't know what exactly the man was thinking but he's not going to comment.
"It's my ex's gift."
"I don't care, let's get this short, I'm not your average tinker, like my power had the semblance of growth, the thunder and the well are the sign of my new power. One of these powers had a technique that could make humanity awaken their own aura."
"I see." Said Arthur, he seem to be surprised but then he back to his own calmness, Tyler observe the man and notice his change, weirdly enough the man remind him of capybara that ride an alligator, zero fuck to the world while Ethan seem to try to ignore him, he snort and ignore the boy childisness.
"Okay, be ready." He turned Cloud into a long handed hammer and aimed it at Arthur's head.
"Woah, woah, where are you aiming that hammer?" There's normal Arthur, he really considers whether the man has been mastered.
"I'm going to awaken your aura, I'm not going to hit your head but hitting your soul to awaken your spark, so to speak." 'And also make sure you aren't being mastere.'
"It looks like real metal and don't tell me, banging a hammer into my head is the only way." Bark Arthur stepped back from the hammer reach.
"Well, there was this poem reading if you like that thing." He tapped his lips.
"Yes, read me the poem and none of this business."
"Fine, kneel." He sighs and slams the hammer on the floor.
"Why." Arthur frowned.
"Because I need physical touch and you are two heads tall from me." The man sighs and kneels on one knee like a traditional knight. Tyler looked weird, he didn't do this fancy pose but whatever, he held his hand in his chest, closing his eyes to read the poem.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." Loading Bullet process injecting his own Aura into Cloud.
"Through this we become a paragon of virtue." Ignite magic, use it as propellant.
"And glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death." Aiming the soul.
"I release." Tyler screamed and bonked his hammer to Arthur's bald head, a burst aura emerged from the man, deep royal violet, contrasting the man's lecherous shirt.
"Goddamnit Tyler, I smack your ass until it's red like an apple." He held his head cursing while rubbing the pain away, Tyler jumped back avoiding the man, he didn't want to be spanked again, he was17 goddamnit, it doesn't matter his behaviour was childish.
"I need to activate Ethan's aura too."
"Come here, Ethan, you're not going to run." Arthur caught Ethan before he escaped, he held the boy's hand and lifted him until he was kicking the air.
"Don't be so dramatic Ethan, it just a little pain, like-"
"Pulling wisdom teeth." Add Arthur grinning.
"Yeah like that." Tyler holds his hammer aiming at Ethan black hair, repeating the whole process without the poem reading and bonk.
"Wooo." Ethan cried holding his head as yellow sun Aura emerged from his body, he raised his hand tremblingly and gave him the middle finger.
"Give me your gun." He held Arthur's gun, threw it into the air, his golden aura flaring and Cloud showed himself what it meant to be free as cloud, his hand was moving in like a group of swallows attacking the gun in ever changing tool until it finally fell down and he finished his modification.
"I tuned it to your aura, you could now use your aura as a bullet and it could work with Dust now." He didn't forget to give Arthur some and teach them a bit about Dust, Aura and how to use that.
He takes Ethan's bubble gun and does the same modification, now Ethan gun has several modes. The most useful is with water guns he can create large enough bubbles that trap anyone that is close to him.
"Guard the house Arthur, it is alive and will help to fend off bad guests."
He put his costume and his mask, he know his identity had been blown and he honestly don't care about secret identity when he want to double it down by modifying his own house but it feel really weird to just go out, he want to unmask in front other cape, just to be more symbolic.
He walked into the front door he take a light jog and he could already see and hear the black swarm in the air and ground, did that girl take detour to collect her swarm, i guess make sense, he should be able to create swarm type bug, just modify the bee gun to accomodate more than one type of bugs, make it hive or breeding type gun but that would be heavy, then slap some wheel, anyway, maybe attach some rope so Bug Girl can pull it around, anyway he can make the gun create ultra nutritious food and drug, cut their already short lifespan for faster growth and he can create one for biological bug and other is energy projection but can she control it, probably not, he wasn't sure but there are many way to solve that like pre command action or Aura control.
The more he think the more inspiration he find, by the time he walk outside, he was writing in his notebook designing what he would partner tool, a code for creation that boost and enhance his partner, like the Bug Girl swarm would become a mini bug factory, it would be big enough for her stand and would be able to fly and can create four type of elemental bug, just give the girl four no need to over complicated the design, she trust the girl creativity.
There were three eye to eye in the street in front of his house and Tyler or Gun Cultist were walking in there with quick scratching on his notebook.
He closed the book and looked at Bug Girl.
"So what's the hold up?" He said casually to Bug Girl all in her black costume, standing in the morning light, roach, spider, fly, beetle, surrounding her like a depressing shadow and honestly he wondered why anyone wanted to fight with the walking biblical plague.
Then the E88 with with Rune on the scene with her all green robe costume Hookwolf and Fucking Kaiser in starematch.
Then the PRT side is Miss Militia alone.
"Well here comes the star, come on Gun Cultist, join your brother, come with us to fix this city from its putrid element."
From his side eyes, he saw Miss Militia tensing and slightly turning her body to him, he snorted as expected of the Heroes who keep this city. He didn't answer but continued to walk, Kaiser was smiling at his silence, as if he had won him and Tyler admitted Kaiser had a much higher chance than the rest of the gang.
"Gun Cultist, nothing good will happen when you join them." Miss Militia was walking slowly toward him but whether it was an accident or not, Bug girl was there to block her.
Tyler turned his head and stared at the woman, her green weapon was something he liked to see and observe. It would be great data for his Hammer but right now he was staring at the heroes as a person, as a citizen of this city.
"You don't understand, do you?" He asked the woman and sighed because beside Kaiser and Hookwolf there was another boy, he was tall and buff, wearing a white singlet, and black combat pants. The boy was blonde with blue cold eyes, he was what a girl would say pretty boy with his cold demeanour and sharp features.
He stared at the boy and then turned to Bug Girl, his friend was nervous because the bug was still like a statue and so was she.
"I trust you Bug Girl and I hope you could trust me back."
The Bug Girl didn't immediately answer or even turn to face him but her swarm did turn their eye at him.
"You're not really joining The Empire Eighty Eight, are you."
"See Girl, I told you-"
"Silent." Bug Girl's voice was low along with the buzzing of the swarm, slowly without the capes releasing more bugs were drawn into the girl and Kaiser and other capes started looking at the girl more seriously.
Rune shut her mouth and started marking the asphalt under her feet but it was small compared to the swarm Bug Girl collected.
"I said trust me."
"Sigh. I- I give you a chance to explain Gun." Bug Girl crossed her arm, whether it was Miss Militia or the Empire she would guard Gun Cultist so he could answer her.
''That was the Bug Girl he knew'. Now it was time to face the music.
The more he walked toward the boy and the empire, the more tense Miss Militia and Big Girl and the more happy Kaiser was, he couldn't see the man's eye but he knew the man had already considered him as his property.
"We can't let a Tinker join an Empire, you need to stop Gun Cultist." Said Miss Militia aiming her gun at him, the woman should consider herself lucky he hasn't crafted the King of Gun.
"Please don't interfere." Said Bug Girl she doesn't do anything crazy with her swarm, just piles them up to obstruct Miss Militia's vision of course there are also many bugs to the Empire Gang.
He lifted his hand and lifted it in his face, his hand paused hovering in front of the white mask and slowly removed it.
"Hello Jamie." He stares at the boy, how many years since they talk, how many times he had avoided him in the hall off winslow.
"It really surprised you to join the scum that killed Amarta."
"It was the chink dragon that kill him, the empire protect this city Tyler, it was us who keep the scum from other children." He said that without hesitation, is that a mask or he really had changed? James was a cold person, he had a mask of stone as his face but he was also the most rational and perhaps radical between the four of them.
"The dragon was japanese descent, Amarta would be sad you became worse kind of racist, the retared one." He looked at the boy. "So, Hookwolf lieutenant huh, I heard a rumour."
"We offer you a warm welcome Tyler, come on, join us, join me." He saw Jamie offer a hand and he would be a liar if his hand didn't move it. Joining such a big organisation like the empire is good for him, it meant getting the resources, cape, and manpower in this organisation. He was confident with his talent, and power he could bend this organisation in his own vision and more than that, when Jamie say join me, that was like whisper of the devil, like an offer to go back, back like in old time but he realise that couldn't happen, they used to be four now it was only two of them.
"Beat me." He said and stood forward facing Jamie.
"Beat me and I will join you and if I beat you, you will join me." He said, Jamies, give him a look 'are you an idiot, do you think they would let you' but he ignored the bastard and looked at Kaiser.
"Is it alright, Kaiser."
Kaiser nodded and waved his hand. "Of course, young people will always be more vigorous." He touched the ground and, huge metal sword rise from the ground enclosed him and Jamie into the metal colosseum, Kaiser then created a platform behind the wall with a throne for him to sit, in his left and right, he created chair for Hookwolf and Rune but Hookwolf choose to stand and look at Jamie with 'You better win.'
Bug Girl also got a chair but she didn't sit but stood there menacingly. Though Kaiser created a platform for Miss Militia he was petty enough to not give her chair.
"How do you want to get beaten?" Jamie cracked his fist.
"With Aura." He said and changed Cloud into a long hammer and waved his hand to Jamie. "Come on, I'm going to give you a boost then we fight."
Jamie walked confidently, either he still trusted him, which is doubtful, or he was just that confident.
Load, aim and shoot. Another bonk and Jamie body bloom with Aura, his aura colour was dark blue almost as the same as his eyes.
He closes his eyes, feeling the aura enchanted his body and sense, feeling an unfamiliar feeling, like a long forgotten summer wind.
"They are going to eat you up, Tyler." He said with worry and his eyes filled with resolve. "But I'm going to protect you from them." He said and launched himself in the air.
Tyler put his gun and hammer and aimed his fist at Jamie, the boy surprised at how fast his fist and he gut punched the boy and threw him across the ground.
"I'm going to need some adjustment." Jamie rushed into him and he started to use his newly created martial art and they both landed a hit on each other. Tyler was just an ordinary chubby teenage boy while Jamie was a Hookwolf lieutenant, he was used to fighting with other gang members and parahuman.
Everytime he punched Jamie,the boy would avoid with honed instinct and fighting experience. His super martial arts are too straightforward, he missed one more time and created a hole in asphalt with his punch alone.
Tyler was thinking about a solution and Jamie gave him a gut punch and a kick in his face for daydreaming in a fight. Tyler's body flung into the ground, he looked at the sky and found an idea, his foot touched the ground and his muscles tensed, he visualised his heart beating, imagining it as a gun and boom.
James heard a crack like a shotgun and saw Tyler disappear, leaving behind a hole in the road.
Bang. Bang, Tyler boot and leg were tearing apart as he kicked the ground to gain huge speed, Jamie couldn't read his movement anymore and he prepared another gun punch and Jamie managed to turn his head but it was already too late, boom, Tyler fist shot like a cannon and hit a wall of metal.
"Argh." Jamie screams from behind a strip of metal. It was grey metal like an armadillo shell.
A semblance, the bastard awakened his semblance before him. He pushes advantage and gives Jamie a single punch instead of dodging sideways, the same metal appears and Jamie screams again.
I don't understand, thought Tyler, he doesn't seem to have any injury, the metal floats in front of him so he shouldn't be able to feel it, unless he can feel the metal, trading damage with pain?
He looked at Jamie, his face was now in grimace with tears in his eyes.
"Turn it off, please." He grit his teeth.
"You should be able to control it." He said, semblance should be controllable, it shouldn't really harm its user, he saw Jamie's distressed face and wished he could help his friend and his wish was granted in the form of semblance.
Tyler's breath stopped, his semblance granted his wish. He can claim an item or a person's soul and master them. James wouldn't be hurt anymore because he would control every aspect of his life. If he is sad, it's easy just to make him happy.
'This isn't how semblance should be, what is going on, is he the source of the problem, Tyler didn't know but what he knew he had given his brother a chance to mini trigger.
Fuck, fuck, Tyler hold his head, trying to get rid of this voice, he need to come home, he need to run, he need to get back and make his brother safe, he saw Jamie eyes and saw there are advantage in giving people a chance to trigger, he could see the shadow of old Jamie more, he didn't know if it was good or bad but when they see each other they get their skill of communicating without saying anything.
They both nodded and continued their fight except people who watched would feel weird, the current combat felt theatrical like the combat in movies, it was coregraphic and silly. Kaiser is already tapping the side of his throne, when Tyler makes James awaken aura he was already uneasy and now every cape knows things are going to explode. Miss Militia power keeps changing from one form to another, Bug girl swarms keep coming but they are silent like a soldier in front of the battlefield.
While James was helping him to stall time, Tyler mind was thinking about the solution and about the Gun Magic, to see the truth, is to see everything as a gun, hence his martial and him spewing gun from his mouth, it was just opening his mind and freeing all kinds of human restraint. Like becoming a gun elemental.
Tyler shakes his head, that need to more research and more study on philosophy, no he had another ace or new technique, the creation of the magazine backpack maybe coincidence or an instinct for him but since a magic gun could be used as magic material then what's stopping them from being a supercharged bullet.
"My body is a barrel for the divine."
"Did you hear singing?" Asked Miss Militia, it sounded like a nursery rhyme from a toddler.
"No." Said Bug Girl. "But I smell broccoli."
Tyler magazine started to light up, most of his gun was nonsensical so people could hear a rubber duck crying, the smell of alcohol could knock a man in one sniff, and one green glow filled with vitality and disgusting taste.
Tyler had to focus all his energy, the magazine flared the singing started to be heard by everyone 100 metre radius
"Veggie, Veggie, eat your veggie to get healthy."
"Delicious like crunchy peas, tasty carrots and juicy celery."
"Bug Girl." Gun Cultists screamed and threw earth crystal Dust and water Dust above his head, brown light full of earth elements suddenly appeared above his head like floating land and the water Dust filled the earth with life.
Green light that symbolises veggie gun lights up in the magazine, the green light shoot to Tyler spine, the whole gun had been deconstructed into energy form travelling inside his spine his body became the divine gun, it travels to his head then his arm to his palm. Tyler grit his teeth, strengthen his will and grab his palm, raise it up to the Dust above his head and green light shoot with a child like glee.
It landed in the earth dust and green sprouts popped out from the magic ground and the hidden water energy glowed, shining like a root system.
Pop, pop, the sprout keep growing, absorbing the energy in the Dust, green stalk rise in the air and from it's branch singing vegetable pop out, with eye and mouth singing the healthy song
"Veggie, Veggie, eat your veggie to get healthy." The vegetable cheered and exploded in green light and flew into his body, Jamess, body, Miss Militia, Bug Girl and finally all the remaining of the vegetable energy shot into the swarm.
Sharp noise started to fill the battlefield, the reaction of the veggie sent the bug into frenzy, some of them grew a second pair of wings, some of them buffed up their size and probably the most horrible was the bug bit each other and merged into a hive mind creature, becoming one creature.
"Bug Girl." Hookwolf screamed at a bug that swarmed them that had become life threatening and now became more dangerous as they mutated, he jumped from the platform and turned into his wolf form, destroying any kind of bug in his path before a missile shot out, stopping the wolf's mad charge.
Chunk of rock flew past him but it was resisted by James' shield. Jamie uses this moment to hold his waist and carry him away from the battlefield, Miss Militia were shooting, spider webs are tangling hookwolf and Bug Girl multitasking by sending her swarm into Hookwolf eye and the others are harassing Rune and Kaiser.
They evacuate to the middle of the arena because Kaiser had sprung up many blades from the wall of steel he created early, by a piercing scream coming from Rune who is brought down by Bug Girl.
Tyler takes a deep breath and prepares to supercharge again. This time he was going to shoot the rubber duck gun. His magazine flared, yellow light shot into his spine to his outstretched right hand and he shot the gun into the sky where the gun showed itself as a projection of gigantic rubber duckling.
Its empty black eyes are staring at the cape full of indifference, like an outer god watching the plight of mortals. Slowly the rubber duckling opened its rubber maw and uttered a cold and maddening word.
"Quack." The minds of the three cape are suddenly assaulted with squeaking noise, Kaiser and Hookwolf almost become like rabid dogs the way they roll on the ground but Kaiser managed to snap with red eyes and Rune let out scream.
"Shut the fuck, shut up, shut up."
While Hookwolf was scraping his metallic head into the ground, Kaiser looked at the battlefield, and saw the coming backup and waved his subordinate to flee.
Their tactic failed and they had lack of information from the two, no, new three capes. Besides James, their long loyal member, he was still confident to draw the boy into his empire.
Tyler snort, thinking they could run away like that, he raise his palm grinning, although his body screaming at the the damage he do but his and magic still singing at him, they are so happy to be used, to perform in all their glory, he didn't count how many gun he created and shove it in his magazine but soon each of them scream, the morning light was overpowered by the chaotic light that was spreading from his stone magazine and he aim at the running empire.
All of them had the look of fear in their eyes, he ignored the mad gaze of Hookwolf and Rune the teenage girl, falling down and crying in fear.
He lowered his hand and looked at Kaiser.
"That was a warning."
His body was tense, his head was full of pain, his identity was exposed and he finally knew why control was so important to mage. While it was true relying on the emotional part of magic boosted him, it was also a double edged sword, making him more emotional and impulsive.
His anger was so fiery, it materialised as a flaming monster, a projection in the shape of a Dobberman with its head a cold gun barrel, it had mouth with gleaming white fang, drooling like a rabid dog, it's claw are breaking his floor, it's muscle was tensed, standing behind Tyler like a predator that ready to hunt anything even it's creator
He needs to calm down. The only thing that could kill the hound was another emotion.
"Fuck this world." He cursed and kick his bed, you think it easy to calm down his anger, fuck the PRT for their status quo, fuck the gang for their grubby hand and fuck his patron for his over the top fashion.
Tyler Aura who become monster suddenly growled and it's head explode spark of brain, metal, bone seems to become real before it reshape into his red aura but instead regrowing it's head, sword, knife, saw, laser and all sorts of weapons conjured on its body as it wanted to rip the shred of reality itself.
Bang bang. Tyler barely flinched when he heard the gunshot, but he flinched when someone smacked his head.
He looks up, staring at the barrel of the gun he modified, he can still hear her song and although he gave her rebirth it wouldn't hesitate killing him, Tyler grin wondering how much growth it would have by killing its own creator.
"You think having a temper tantrum would solve the problem, wake up boy. The world isn't going to wait for us, for all we know most of the gang would be walking on us."
Fuck the gang, he need to think, to escape, Tyler closes his mouth trying to suppress his hyperventilation, his brother lives here, they know who he is. What would he do, what should he do, he didn't regret being a cape for him it will be better to die with his own accord then be died cluesly in Cape battle but he want to give Ethan live, he need more than survival he need school, he need friend, a childhood and, andandandand.
"Tyler, calm down." Said Arthur who had stepped down and held Ethan to protect the boy, he stared at the space surrounding Tyler, there are two space manipulator capes in this city, too much for Arthur's taste and he had an unfortunate encounter with both of them.
Vista, had the ability to pinch space and Labyrinth also had the ability to alter her surrounding space and Arthur now had new reference, space was cracking, creating a high annoying sound that make his brain matter tremble, shape and form twist like the laugh of madman at night, it create colour, hole, new space that seem to create wriggling maggot, trying to reach into his eye and tickling his bone and nerve, blood drop from his eyes and he finally got the clue and stop staring.
The monsters become more huge, complex, knowledge poured into the Aura, magic, will, hope and despair, they become a mix of biological and mechanical creation, a gun that is going to pierce the world.
"TYLER, wake up, you're not alone okay." He screams trying to wake the boy from his manic episode but the boy continues to mumble.
James tries his hardest to wake up the boy but the other sibling had already create trouble and runs away from his clutch into the hazard where his brother was, weirdly the red Aura, the golden thunder dodge the boy, allowing him to safely get close to his brother, even the monstrous creation seems to grow eye and stare into the boy.
"I don't want to move to another world." Said Ethan. "Yes I heard you that night, I don't want to move to another world, this is our home, my school is here, so was my friend. I- you can't keep running away Tyler."
Tyler stops his breathing, his blood froze, his heart stops beating, he closes his face with his hand but as he raises his head again, Ethan stares at Tyler right eyes between his fingers. It was like seeing into an abyss that keeps trying to shoot his soul, so much knowledge, so many answers, he took huge breaths and shouted.
"Wake up."
Then as time rewinds, the aura, the monstrous creation, the crack, the damaged room return to normal and Tyler stands once more, yet as they observe the boy, he becomes more straight, more leaner, his demeanour becomes more sharp, like an upgraded version of himself.
He was one step greater and one step away from his humanity.
Tyler walks two steps to teary eyed Ethan still in his pyjamas he bought him at the mall, clutching his shirt, he walks step by step looking down at the boy.
"You think I'm a coward do you." Arthur tries to get between them but with a wave of his magic, the man slides across the room.
"Heroes don't run away." Said Ethan.
Tyler let out a chuckle, gritting his teeth, he tried to grasp the boy's face making Ethan flinch but he still grabbed him making Ethan look into his eyes.
"Do you know what happened to the little boy who didn't have fear in this city? Do you want to know what happened to that little hero, Ethan?" He bent with each word, his voice becoming softer but Ethan heard it clear, as if Tyler's words travelled into his skin, etched into his bone.
Ethan grit his teeth and look into Tyler eyes without fear. "Yes!"
"They get burned by the dragon, their skin is burned, scorched along with their clothes, the smell of chemicals and meat are spreading in the air, their beautiful black hair melts down to inky water, I watch his green watch burn melted into his bone. He didn't scream, he writhed on the floor, brave little heroes didn't scream don't they." He smiled as he retell the story of his friend being burned by Lung.
"Tyler enough."
Tyler ignores Artuhr and leans on Ethan's ear.
"I heard his scream, Ethan, it was so loud, his mouth was wide open there was no sound but I heard it and do you want to know what is worse?"
"Enough, both of you." Arthur stood between them, trying his best to separate them, hypnotising himself that this is just another sibling fight he needed to separate.
"What is it, let me hear it." Ethan's face was pale, he was crying but he refused to close his eyes, he refused to lower his head.
"The princess he tried to save also burned, ahahaha, isn't that funny, his bravery got him killed, his kindness didn't save the girl, isn't that the funniest thing you ever hear. HE DIDN'T KNOW HER, he didn't know her and he died for nothing."
He closed his eyes, his leg trembled and he sat down on the floor while Ethan was still standing facing him instead of turning or running away.
Arthur sighed and rubbed his forehead, he had two crying boys, thankfully he had managed to force them change and have a quick shower to clear their heads. Of course he supervised, god knows if they start doing something stupid, especially Tyler.
They sit at the dining table, Tyler shoves his sugary treat into his mouth and takes out the burner phone. Since his brother didn't want to move to a new world, he started the wizard tower project, turning his home into a safe fortress.
Earth Bet didn't have magic or magic resource but isn't cape themselve are the biggest resource, without source of energy it was hard to move the whole house but the bug girl could command a swarm, with her cooperation, Tyler has solved the energy and many helper and don't forget that Aura could be awakened and his sugar daddy also sent him Dust, a crystallised element, he had four kind of them, water, fire, earth and air, good enough for now.
He called the Bug Girl and he only waited a second before she picked it up.
"Hey this Tyler, from last night." He said opening it like he was casual friends who knew if the girl was in the public.
"Oh, wait, stop that-"
Tyler frowned as he heard scuffling, screaming, cursing come from the other side of the phone, he heard more cursing, bitch, slut and many more crying. Tyler sighs, even outside their mask, Parahuman still attracts trouble.
"Pant, pant." Tyler let the girl take her breath.
"Do you want to skip, I need your help." He said.
"Yes, please." She said, as if he was the one who gave her favour instead of the opposite, he shook at the girl's antics and there would be a problem on how the girl would approach his house, he knew it would be monitored, both in civic and costume would set a problem.
"So how confident are you?"
"Umm, zero." Said Bug Girl, still the same I see.
"Okay, here is my plan." He said his address and guided the Bug Girl on how to approach her home safely.
After the call, he saw his house and caressed its wall. "There's going to be a big change."
Holding his key, he chose the wardrobe and opened his pocket reality and sat on the sofa.
His hand waved and his Aura appeared again, it was a wave of red energy that surrounded him, it felt warm, soft, like a part of him that managed to extend out.
Which is what it is, Aura is the extension of one soul, the light or the fire from our own soul, it can protect the user, activate dust, increase regeneration, creating of Semblance, a more advanced skill of Aura, and that's it, his crazy hound, the golden thunder wasn't his aura, it was his magic, knowledge that just mixed in, almost granting his wish to just rip space apart and send him to other world.
Now he have two energy, magic is something of himself and not, it's like two being that decided to work together, he guess the typical path of mage is to truly tame magic and make it part of himself but Tyler didn't choose that part, hence it was uncontrollable well not uncontrollable, more like a childlike djinni who always eager to answer his wish, just like his previous outburst.
"I need a focus." He said, was he a Tinker, he's not, from the get go that wasn't his power but he was modelling himself after that, but after familiar with his power, he didn't fall into the technological side, if Tinker is a builder that focus on technology and then he shall be a Magus, a builder that focus on magic.
"What kind of Tinker named himself Gun Cultist." He brushes his hair and starts to work. He needs his focus, his wand, in his case it shall be a hammer. Thankfully he already had his prototype, his home depot hammer.
His ideal hammer is created with material or technique that makes it turn into any kind of tool he needs. Unfortunately he didn't have that kind of material so he had to rely on skill, he was confident to fit every kind of tool into his hammer.
While he was working, pushing the skill given by Craftsman, to push every tool he can imagine inside the hammer, using his peak state over gun magic but not enough he accidentally create a gun, no yes he can create a gun, the reason he almost didn't do it because the peak of gun magic is something you had to use to hurt other, that's what tied this specific school of magic but his hammer will harm, not people but matter, his ingredient, it was the destruction before creation, it was harming the inferior to built something more perfect.
He laughs in glee and starts his work, the sound of clanging can be heard in the workshop and he keeps throwing the Dust in powder because boy they are greedy for energy.
Then he created a special gun in his head, shooting his ego and suddenly he had two lines of thinking, one containing all his skill and knowledge, continuing working the hammer, the split one was thinking about his goal.
Sure he had a concrete plan, but it was short term. He can't always expect to get lucky or have enough guns to solve his problem, what his long term goal is, his goal always to protect his brother, his friend and family and what he needs to do.
Built, that's right, he was never interested in playing villains or heroes, he just wanted his beloved to be happy and safe and how many are there, Ethan, bald Arthur,... and maybe Bug Girl, at least he didn't want that girl to get hurt.
He takes a huge breath, and merges the two lines thinking again and starts his work.
After an hour of work, he had his hammer which he named Cloud, in the base form it was a simple square steel hammer, the metal looked black, with the wood having the natural wavy brown. When you look closer,it seems too full of gaps and slits. There are greek words etched into the hammer which is the name of the Hammer itself and four crystal holes for the dust crystal.
He holds the hammer in his hand and it seems to explode into a cloud of matter, scalpel, screwdriver, small hammer, glue gun, magnifier, any kind of tool he needs and it can change and transform with his thought because it was controlled by Aura and his magic.
He kissed the hammer and strapped it to his waist and it latched automatically without any kind of trouble.
The next object is shield for his brother, previously he didn't have this ability but now oh, it's easy, the concept is to contain rain inside a pendant, a raindrop is just a bullet, at first he just wanted to use to natural rain, not only he have to wait for one he have to go outside but now he had a lot of supply of Dust he can create one in the white void.
Several minutes later, Tyler was standing in the white void, he had an anvil he just created by using the metal block from his basic supply, a gold chain attached to water crystal Dust and he modelled it into an inverted pentagon. A group of clouds had been created above his head, using a lot of real water, magic dust for that oomph and magic power as control, it had started to turn grey and made the room start to feel damp.
Taking a deep breath, changing Cloud into a smaller hammer, he crushed the water Dust to trigger the rain.
Once the first rain drop fall into the pendant, he strike the pendant, his mind was focusing on the pendant, replicating his split mind technique and splitting his mind into two stream, in one stream he is creating a gun where drop of water will shoot in all direction, destroying anything that try to get into it's range. While the other was a man that was observing the rain, seeing the rain fall.and watching it's cycle, from forming a puddle to evaporate and turning into clouds and finally turning into rain again.
These two streams are walking separately but the closer he was to finishing the more they start to merge, a man that tried to enclose a cycle of rain into his creation.
It will not be a truly infinite ammo gun but it would be able to create an area with a tiny shaped water bullet shooting in all directions for three in a dry environment because of its own cycle.
He strains his aching muscle, shaking his head from the magical water. Rain infused with water dust was much colder and dealt more damage to him. He started to feel pressure in his body but he kept going, striking the pendant capturing the water drop into the pendant.
Bang, the last drop of rain disappeared, there is no clue
Finally the pendant was finished, the room was dry like there was never a rain in his white void.
"Finally done but where the hell is bug girl?" He had told her to call but it had been more than an hour. Did it really take that girl and two ho or did she walk from school to his home. Tyler started worrying, while both of them weren't teammates but he still thought of the girl as an ally.
He quickly wears his costume and all his equipment, there is really no time to upgrade his gun but the fact he could spew bullets out of his mouth was already good enough and he had created his set of material art.
God is the shape of a gun and a human is the mirror of his image. His gun kung fu is basically treating his body as a gun, using his movement as loading a bullet and through magic and body power launch a punch or kick as a shot.
"Arthur, Ethan." He hesitated a bit when calling his brother's name, he was a bit overboard and it was his fault for his own outburst, he was going to apologise then he saw the boy face and forget it, why would he apologise first.
'Sigh.' Tyler sighed and knelt in front of the boy, he took the pendant and clasped it around Ethan's neck and inserted the pendant inside his shirt, he saw another necklace, an oak. He held the carving of a fish made from oak wood, itt was a summer camp souvenir, he remembered throwing it to the boy.
"Why do you still wear it?"
"I like it." He aggressively put the wooden fish inside his shirt again.
"You such a dork, don't tell me you are being bullied."
Ethan looked confused before he realised his implication and punched his stomach.
"It's a cool necklace."
He snorted and saw Arthur wearing a shirt printed 'I love boob' and in slack white pants, he doesn't know what exactly the man was thinking but he's not going to comment.
"It's my ex's gift."
"I don't care, let's get this short, I'm not your average tinker, like my power had the semblance of growth, the thunder and the well are the sign of my new power. One of these powers had a technique that could make humanity awaken their own aura."
"I see." Said Arthur, he seem to be surprised but then he back to his own calmness, Tyler observe the man and notice his change, weirdly enough the man remind him of capybara that ride an alligator, zero fuck to the world while Ethan seem to try to ignore him, he snort and ignore the boy childisness.
"Okay, be ready." He turned Cloud into a long handed hammer and aimed it at Arthur's head.
"Woah, woah, where are you aiming that hammer?" There's normal Arthur, he really considers whether the man has been mastered.
"I'm going to awaken your aura, I'm not going to hit your head but hitting your soul to awaken your spark, so to speak." 'And also make sure you aren't being mastere.'
"It looks like real metal and don't tell me, banging a hammer into my head is the only way." Bark Arthur stepped back from the hammer reach.
"Well, there was this poem reading if you like that thing." He tapped his lips.
"Yes, read me the poem and none of this business."
"Fine, kneel." He sighs and slams the hammer on the floor.
"Why." Arthur frowned.
"Because I need physical touch and you are two heads tall from me." The man sighs and kneels on one knee like a traditional knight. Tyler looked weird, he didn't do this fancy pose but whatever, he held his hand in his chest, closing his eyes to read the poem.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." Loading Bullet process injecting his own Aura into Cloud.
"Through this we become a paragon of virtue." Ignite magic, use it as propellant.
"And glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death." Aiming the soul.
"I release." Tyler screamed and bonked his hammer to Arthur's bald head, a burst aura emerged from the man, deep royal violet, contrasting the man's lecherous shirt.
"Goddamnit Tyler, I smack your ass until it's red like an apple." He held his head cursing while rubbing the pain away, Tyler jumped back avoiding the man, he didn't want to be spanked again, he was17 goddamnit, it doesn't matter his behaviour was childish.
"I need to activate Ethan's aura too."
"Come here, Ethan, you're not going to run." Arthur caught Ethan before he escaped, he held the boy's hand and lifted him until he was kicking the air.
"Don't be so dramatic Ethan, it just a little pain, like-"
"Pulling wisdom teeth." Add Arthur grinning.
"Yeah like that." Tyler holds his hammer aiming at Ethan black hair, repeating the whole process without the poem reading and bonk.
"Wooo." Ethan cried holding his head as yellow sun Aura emerged from his body, he raised his hand tremblingly and gave him the middle finger.
"Give me your gun." He held Arthur's gun, threw it into the air, his golden aura flaring and Cloud showed himself what it meant to be free as cloud, his hand was moving in like a group of swallows attacking the gun in ever changing tool until it finally fell down and he finished his modification.
"I tuned it to your aura, you could now use your aura as a bullet and it could work with Dust now." He didn't forget to give Arthur some and teach them a bit about Dust, Aura and how to use that.
He takes Ethan's bubble gun and does the same modification, now Ethan gun has several modes. The most useful is with water guns he can create large enough bubbles that trap anyone that is close to him.
"Guard the house Arthur, it is alive and will help to fend off bad guests."
He put his costume and his mask, he know his identity had been blown and he honestly don't care about secret identity when he want to double it down by modifying his own house but it feel really weird to just go out, he want to unmask in front other cape, just to be more symbolic.
He walked into the front door he take a light jog and he could already see and hear the black swarm in the air and ground, did that girl take detour to collect her swarm, i guess make sense, he should be able to create swarm type bug, just modify the bee gun to accomodate more than one type of bugs, make it hive or breeding type gun but that would be heavy, then slap some wheel, anyway, maybe attach some rope so Bug Girl can pull it around, anyway he can make the gun create ultra nutritious food and drug, cut their already short lifespan for faster growth and he can create one for biological bug and other is energy projection but can she control it, probably not, he wasn't sure but there are many way to solve that like pre command action or Aura control.
The more he think the more inspiration he find, by the time he walk outside, he was writing in his notebook designing what he would partner tool, a code for creation that boost and enhance his partner, like the Bug Girl swarm would become a mini bug factory, it would be big enough for her stand and would be able to fly and can create four type of elemental bug, just give the girl four no need to over complicated the design, she trust the girl creativity.
There were three eye to eye in the street in front of his house and Tyler or Gun Cultist were walking in there with quick scratching on his notebook.
He closed the book and looked at Bug Girl.
"So what's the hold up?" He said casually to Bug Girl all in her black costume, standing in the morning light, roach, spider, fly, beetle, surrounding her like a depressing shadow and honestly he wondered why anyone wanted to fight with the walking biblical plague.
Then the E88 with with Rune on the scene with her all green robe costume Hookwolf and Fucking Kaiser in starematch.
Then the PRT side is Miss Militia alone.
"Well here comes the star, come on Gun Cultist, join your brother, come with us to fix this city from its putrid element."
From his side eyes, he saw Miss Militia tensing and slightly turning her body to him, he snorted as expected of the Heroes who keep this city. He didn't answer but continued to walk, Kaiser was smiling at his silence, as if he had won him and Tyler admitted Kaiser had a much higher chance than the rest of the gang.
"Gun Cultist, nothing good will happen when you join them." Miss Militia was walking slowly toward him but whether it was an accident or not, Bug girl was there to block her.
Tyler turned his head and stared at the woman, her green weapon was something he liked to see and observe. It would be great data for his Hammer but right now he was staring at the heroes as a person, as a citizen of this city.
"You don't understand, do you?" He asked the woman and sighed because beside Kaiser and Hookwolf there was another boy, he was tall and buff, wearing a white singlet, and black combat pants. The boy was blonde with blue cold eyes, he was what a girl would say pretty boy with his cold demeanour and sharp features.
He stared at the boy and then turned to Bug Girl, his friend was nervous because the bug was still like a statue and so was she.
"I trust you Bug Girl and I hope you could trust me back."
The Bug Girl didn't immediately answer or even turn to face him but her swarm did turn their eye at him.
"You're not really joining The Empire Eighty Eight, are you."
"See Girl, I told you-"
"Silent." Bug Girl's voice was low along with the buzzing of the swarm, slowly without the capes releasing more bugs were drawn into the girl and Kaiser and other capes started looking at the girl more seriously.
Rune shut her mouth and started marking the asphalt under her feet but it was small compared to the swarm Bug Girl collected.
"I said trust me."
"Sigh. I- I give you a chance to explain Gun." Bug Girl crossed her arm, whether it was Miss Militia or the Empire she would guard Gun Cultist so he could answer her.
''That was the Bug Girl he knew'. Now it was time to face the music.
The more he walked toward the boy and the empire, the more tense Miss Militia and Big Girl and the more happy Kaiser was, he couldn't see the man's eye but he knew the man had already considered him as his property.
"We can't let a Tinker join an Empire, you need to stop Gun Cultist." Said Miss Militia aiming her gun at him, the woman should consider herself lucky he hasn't crafted the King of Gun.
"Please don't interfere." Said Bug Girl she doesn't do anything crazy with her swarm, just piles them up to obstruct Miss Militia's vision of course there are also many bugs to the Empire Gang.
He lifted his hand and lifted it in his face, his hand paused hovering in front of the white mask and slowly removed it.
"Hello Jamie." He stares at the boy, how many years since they talk, how many times he had avoided him in the hall off winslow.
"It really surprised you to join the scum that killed Amarta."
"It was the chink dragon that kill him, the empire protect this city Tyler, it was us who keep the scum from other children." He said that without hesitation, is that a mask or he really had changed? James was a cold person, he had a mask of stone as his face but he was also the most rational and perhaps radical between the four of them.
"The dragon was japanese descent, Amarta would be sad you became worse kind of racist, the retared one." He looked at the boy. "So, Hookwolf lieutenant huh, I heard a rumour."
"We offer you a warm welcome Tyler, come on, join us, join me." He saw Jamie offer a hand and he would be a liar if his hand didn't move it. Joining such a big organisation like the empire is good for him, it meant getting the resources, cape, and manpower in this organisation. He was confident with his talent, and power he could bend this organisation in his own vision and more than that, when Jamie say join me, that was like whisper of the devil, like an offer to go back, back like in old time but he realise that couldn't happen, they used to be four now it was only two of them.
"Beat me." He said and stood forward facing Jamie.
"Beat me and I will join you and if I beat you, you will join me." He said, Jamies, give him a look 'are you an idiot, do you think they would let you' but he ignored the bastard and looked at Kaiser.
"Is it alright, Kaiser."
Kaiser nodded and waved his hand. "Of course, young people will always be more vigorous." He touched the ground and, huge metal sword rise from the ground enclosed him and Jamie into the metal colosseum, Kaiser then created a platform behind the wall with a throne for him to sit, in his left and right, he created chair for Hookwolf and Rune but Hookwolf choose to stand and look at Jamie with 'You better win.'
Bug Girl also got a chair but she didn't sit but stood there menacingly. Though Kaiser created a platform for Miss Militia he was petty enough to not give her chair.
"How do you want to get beaten?" Jamie cracked his fist.
"With Aura." He said and changed Cloud into a long hammer and waved his hand to Jamie. "Come on, I'm going to give you a boost then we fight."
Jamie walked confidently, either he still trusted him, which is doubtful, or he was just that confident.
Load, aim and shoot. Another bonk and Jamie body bloom with Aura, his aura colour was dark blue almost as the same as his eyes.
He closes his eyes, feeling the aura enchanted his body and sense, feeling an unfamiliar feeling, like a long forgotten summer wind.
"They are going to eat you up, Tyler." He said with worry and his eyes filled with resolve. "But I'm going to protect you from them." He said and launched himself in the air.
Tyler put his gun and hammer and aimed his fist at Jamie, the boy surprised at how fast his fist and he gut punched the boy and threw him across the ground.
"I'm going to need some adjustment." Jamie rushed into him and he started to use his newly created martial art and they both landed a hit on each other. Tyler was just an ordinary chubby teenage boy while Jamie was a Hookwolf lieutenant, he was used to fighting with other gang members and parahuman.
Everytime he punched Jamie,the boy would avoid with honed instinct and fighting experience. His super martial arts are too straightforward, he missed one more time and created a hole in asphalt with his punch alone.
Tyler was thinking about a solution and Jamie gave him a gut punch and a kick in his face for daydreaming in a fight. Tyler's body flung into the ground, he looked at the sky and found an idea, his foot touched the ground and his muscles tensed, he visualised his heart beating, imagining it as a gun and boom.
James heard a crack like a shotgun and saw Tyler disappear, leaving behind a hole in the road.
Bang. Bang, Tyler boot and leg were tearing apart as he kicked the ground to gain huge speed, Jamie couldn't read his movement anymore and he prepared another gun punch and Jamie managed to turn his head but it was already too late, boom, Tyler fist shot like a cannon and hit a wall of metal.
"Argh." Jamie screams from behind a strip of metal. It was grey metal like an armadillo shell.
A semblance, the bastard awakened his semblance before him. He pushes advantage and gives Jamie a single punch instead of dodging sideways, the same metal appears and Jamie screams again.
I don't understand, thought Tyler, he doesn't seem to have any injury, the metal floats in front of him so he shouldn't be able to feel it, unless he can feel the metal, trading damage with pain?
He looked at Jamie, his face was now in grimace with tears in his eyes.
"Turn it off, please." He grit his teeth.
"You should be able to control it." He said, semblance should be controllable, it shouldn't really harm its user, he saw Jamie's distressed face and wished he could help his friend and his wish was granted in the form of semblance.
Tyler's breath stopped, his semblance granted his wish. He can claim an item or a person's soul and master them. James wouldn't be hurt anymore because he would control every aspect of his life. If he is sad, it's easy just to make him happy.
'This isn't how semblance should be, what is going on, is he the source of the problem, Tyler didn't know but what he knew he had given his brother a chance to mini trigger.
Fuck, fuck, Tyler hold his head, trying to get rid of this voice, he need to come home, he need to run, he need to get back and make his brother safe, he saw Jamie eyes and saw there are advantage in giving people a chance to trigger, he could see the shadow of old Jamie more, he didn't know if it was good or bad but when they see each other they get their skill of communicating without saying anything.
They both nodded and continued their fight except people who watched would feel weird, the current combat felt theatrical like the combat in movies, it was coregraphic and silly. Kaiser is already tapping the side of his throne, when Tyler makes James awaken aura he was already uneasy and now every cape knows things are going to explode. Miss Militia power keeps changing from one form to another, Bug girl swarms keep coming but they are silent like a soldier in front of the battlefield.
While James was helping him to stall time, Tyler mind was thinking about the solution and about the Gun Magic, to see the truth, is to see everything as a gun, hence his martial and him spewing gun from his mouth, it was just opening his mind and freeing all kinds of human restraint. Like becoming a gun elemental.
Tyler shakes his head, that need to more research and more study on philosophy, no he had another ace or new technique, the creation of the magazine backpack maybe coincidence or an instinct for him but since a magic gun could be used as magic material then what's stopping them from being a supercharged bullet.
"My body is a barrel for the divine."
"Did you hear singing?" Asked Miss Militia, it sounded like a nursery rhyme from a toddler.
"No." Said Bug Girl. "But I smell broccoli."
Tyler magazine started to light up, most of his gun was nonsensical so people could hear a rubber duck crying, the smell of alcohol could knock a man in one sniff, and one green glow filled with vitality and disgusting taste.
Tyler had to focus all his energy, the magazine flared the singing started to be heard by everyone 100 metre radius
"Veggie, Veggie, eat your veggie to get healthy."
"Delicious like crunchy peas, tasty carrots and juicy celery."
"Bug Girl." Gun Cultists screamed and threw earth crystal Dust and water Dust above his head, brown light full of earth elements suddenly appeared above his head like floating land and the water Dust filled the earth with life.
Green light that symbolises veggie gun lights up in the magazine, the green light shoot to Tyler spine, the whole gun had been deconstructed into energy form travelling inside his spine his body became the divine gun, it travels to his head then his arm to his palm. Tyler grit his teeth, strengthen his will and grab his palm, raise it up to the Dust above his head and green light shoot with a child like glee.
It landed in the earth dust and green sprouts popped out from the magic ground and the hidden water energy glowed, shining like a root system.
Pop, pop, the sprout keep growing, absorbing the energy in the Dust, green stalk rise in the air and from it's branch singing vegetable pop out, with eye and mouth singing the healthy song
"Veggie, Veggie, eat your veggie to get healthy." The vegetable cheered and exploded in green light and flew into his body, Jamess, body, Miss Militia, Bug Girl and finally all the remaining of the vegetable energy shot into the swarm.
Sharp noise started to fill the battlefield, the reaction of the veggie sent the bug into frenzy, some of them grew a second pair of wings, some of them buffed up their size and probably the most horrible was the bug bit each other and merged into a hive mind creature, becoming one creature.
"Bug Girl." Hookwolf screamed at a bug that swarmed them that had become life threatening and now became more dangerous as they mutated, he jumped from the platform and turned into his wolf form, destroying any kind of bug in his path before a missile shot out, stopping the wolf's mad charge.
Chunk of rock flew past him but it was resisted by James' shield. Jamie uses this moment to hold his waist and carry him away from the battlefield, Miss Militia were shooting, spider webs are tangling hookwolf and Bug Girl multitasking by sending her swarm into Hookwolf eye and the others are harassing Rune and Kaiser.
They evacuate to the middle of the arena because Kaiser had sprung up many blades from the wall of steel he created early, by a piercing scream coming from Rune who is brought down by Bug Girl.
Tyler takes a deep breath and prepares to supercharge again. This time he was going to shoot the rubber duck gun. His magazine flared, yellow light shot into his spine to his outstretched right hand and he shot the gun into the sky where the gun showed itself as a projection of gigantic rubber duckling.
Its empty black eyes are staring at the cape full of indifference, like an outer god watching the plight of mortals. Slowly the rubber duckling opened its rubber maw and uttered a cold and maddening word.
"Quack." The minds of the three cape are suddenly assaulted with squeaking noise, Kaiser and Hookwolf almost become like rabid dogs the way they roll on the ground but Kaiser managed to snap with red eyes and Rune let out scream.
"Shut the fuck, shut up, shut up."
While Hookwolf was scraping his metallic head into the ground, Kaiser looked at the battlefield, and saw the coming backup and waved his subordinate to flee.
Their tactic failed and they had lack of information from the two, no, new three capes. Besides James, their long loyal member, he was still confident to draw the boy into his empire.
Tyler snort, thinking they could run away like that, he raise his palm grinning, although his body screaming at the the damage he do but his and magic still singing at him, they are so happy to be used, to perform in all their glory, he didn't count how many gun he created and shove it in his magazine but soon each of them scream, the morning light was overpowered by the chaotic light that was spreading from his stone magazine and he aim at the running empire.
All of them had the look of fear in their eyes, he ignored the mad gaze of Hookwolf and Rune the teenage girl, falling down and crying in fear.
He lowered his hand and looked at Kaiser.
"That was a warning."
