Chapter 68: Outclassed?
"I guess it’s just you and me now," Zero said with a smile as he looked at the Splinter’s newest addition.
The speedster.
The awakened human looked at him for a while before taking out what seemed like a gas mask and putting it on.
"I see you came prepared," Zero said with a chuckle before looking into his bag of jelly babies and stretching his hand forward, "jelly babi—"
Before he had the chance to complete his words, a hand suddenly reached for his neck, but just before it could grab him, the hitman leaned to the side.
"You could’ve just said no," he said as he grabbed the hand of the speedster before him....or at least, tried to.
The speedster seemed a bit surprised that Zero could react to him; after all, unlike before, he wasn’t interested in playing with the man, lest he get caught off guard again.
So how was the white-haired man reacting to his speed?
Zero could only smile, seeing the expression on the speedster’s face.
Learning about humans from the inside out wasn’t only useful in making clones; it was also beneficial in understanding the human condition. Another fascinating discovery had come from understanding the human body at a fundamental level.
Self-reinforcement.
By reinforcing his muscles at a cellular level, Zero could dramatically increase his strength and speed.
And by reinforcing his brain, nervous system, and sensory organs, he could ensure that his body was actually capable of handling those enhancements.
There was no point in giving himself the strength to move at impossible speeds if his brain couldn’t process what was happening.
In other words, he had essentially used Genesis to create a reinforcement Factor, though that still heavily depended on his Pragma levels; the Pragma battery solved just that.
The speedster frowned before he disappeared again, forcing the hitman to quickly lift his hands before him just in time to stop a fist from reaching his face.
But the speedster didn’t stop; instead, he disappeared again, reappearing in his blind spot and launching another attack.
Again, Zero had been quick enough to react just before the attack could reach him, annoying the speedster even more.
A couple of seconds later, his attack finally managed to land a hit straight into Zero’s stomach.
BOOM!
The hitman was lifted off his feet and launched straight into a wall behind him.
As fast as he had gotten due to his superhuman enhancements, he still couldn’t outspeed someone with a speedster Factor.
"Ow!" He let out, but a second later.
BOOM!
Someone else was launched into the wall beside him, and he turned to see that it was his agent who had been fighting Titan.
"First time?" He asked.
"No," Sable said as he pulled himself out of the wall, "get up."
"I dunno, the rubble feels a lot more comfortable," the hitman said, but he still stood back up and stretched.
He then looked back at the two splinters before saying, "It seems we’re outclassed."
"That’s not unexpected," Sable responded as he wiped the blood off the side of his lips.
"Wanna switch?" Zero asked, only to chuckle as he noticed the look Sable was giving him.
The agent, despite being unawakened, could at least keep up with Titan, but the speedster kid was too fast for the agent to handle.
"Alright then," the hitman said as he looked back at the speedster, "keep Titan busy for now; I’ll give you a hand after handling him."
With that, Zero disappeared, reappearing directly in front of the speedster. However, the hitman still wasn’t faster than someone with a speed-based Factor.
The yellow-haired splinter quickly moved to the side, grabbed him by the collar and launched him to the wall again.
BOOM!
The dust cleared to show Zero fixed on the wall upside-down. Thanks to his reinforced body, though, he wasn’t taking as much damage as he was supposed to.
"...."
This strategy was clearly not working, but the hitman had a plan... or at least he believed he did.
"Why don’t you come at me this time?" He asked as he removed himself from the wall.
The speedster didn’t seem interested in doing that, so he made an argument compelling enough to get the splinter to approach,
Guns.
The hitman created a handgun before pointing it at his target, and without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
It seemed like a useless attack, one that wouldn’t take much effort from the speedster to dodge.
The yellow-haired splinter watched the slowly approaching bullet before leaning to the side, allowing the bullet to harmlessly pass him.
Or rather, that was what was supposed to happen.
Instead, he realized too late that cracks were appearing on the bullet, and the moment he did, the bullet exploded, releasing a shockwave that launched the speedster a distance away.
"Well.... I didn’t think that’d work," Zero said with a chuckle as he watched the speedster pull himself from the ground.
Blood was rolling down his face, and from the way he looked, the hitman could tell that he was disoriented.
Still, this was the perfect chance.
"Oh no," Zero let out dramatically as he looked at the gun in his hand, "I’m holding quite the dangerous weapon, if only someone would use their superspeed to retrieve it from me."
That was a provocation as horrible as any, but the yellow-haired Splinter’s mind wasn’t in the greatest of states.
His yellow eyes suddenly glowed brighter as she launched himself forward, leaving a crater behind him.
It took the speedster less than a second to close the distance between him and Zero.
He then extended his hand, but instead of the gun, he was reaching directly for the hitman’s face.
Hypnos be damned, he was going to kill this annoying pest himself. Besides, that was the original plan approved by their leader.
"Die," he said as his hand drew close to the unaware Zero.
But the next second, a smile appeared on Zero’s face as he said,
"Got you."