Chapter 94 : First boss fight

[Author note : We approach the climax of this arc. Hope you'll like it... Personally, I... When I read it, I'm like : "Meh !"

Anyways. The second chapter of Marvel : The Artist is available on Patréon for those who are interested. Check out my page (Cathbel) on Patréon (e instead of é) to read it, read chapters in advance or some other stories. Also, I take comments, stones and reviews (though I won't be able to read them for a while since my phone is unavailable for a few days).

Enjoy !]

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Ned managed to avoid yet another swipe of Harvest's leg coming out of nowhere. One second, the man was in his line of sight, the next, his proximity alarm was growing louder and louder in his mind. At this point, Ned was actually glad not to be human anymore… Otherwise, his subpar reflexes would have cost him his life more than once.

With the data of the few exchanges they had, however, Ned reached a conclusion… A somewhat despair-inducing, maddening conclusion. Harvest's power… It was Time manipulation. Or, at the very least, it had something to do with time.

That's the only thing that made sense, at all. His travel to the past, the teleportation-like abilities, the sudden bursts of speed and the superstrength, invulnerability… Unless the man was actually an alien, or had undergone a lot of genetic manipulation, only this power could explain it all. By stopping time or slowing it down, he could give himself all of the above. Moving from point A to point B while time was stopped, would make it appear as if he instantly appeared in point B. If he slowed down time, he would appear to move fast. And if he punched or kicked at this moment, the impact to his victims would be devastating ! As for the invulnerability, he just had to manipulate his own time… Reversing it to just before the damage or something like that.

Thankfully, despite his seemingly Godlike power, Ned was still in the fight. Whether it was because Harvest was like a cat with his prey, or simply because his powers had heavy limitations, it was still to be determined. As things were, it was already difficult for him to dodge the villain's attack, much less deal any damage to the man.

Beyond the fact that Harvest didn't use his powers continuously for some reason, instead only using it in short burst, Ned's continued survival was due to his faster cognitive functions and his better predictive capabilities. He felt almost jealous of them now that he knew how his children's minds worked. If only he had been able to think like that just a few months ago… His work would have gone much easier and faster. Not to mention his hero activities.

In his current situation, even with his best armor, filled to the brim with magic, he probably couldn't have done better than he was now. Unless his wings were for ceremonial purpose or just a fashion statement, the man could fly, negating one of the benefits of his armor. As for his offensive enchantments… Well, they wouldn't be of any use if he couldn't do any damage to the man.

The only way he could see to beat Harvest now would be… a continuous attack. However, he couldn't bet it all on an all-out attack either, because whoever controlled time, also controlled space. If he saw him focused on a single point, the villain just had to move somewhere else while time was stopped.

It would have to be on a rather large scale… Or surprise Harvest somehow, and knocking him out instantly. Or killing him. Frankly it didn't matter to Ned.

Now, probably not unlike his enemy, his most pressing problem would be his energy reserves. Like his armors, the golems his children, now him, were inhabiting worked on his mana reactors, built in place of the stomach. When he was exerting like he was now, his energy consumption was much larger than the natural regeneration. So, it would come a time, sometime very soon, that he would be no longer able to avoid Harvest's strike.

« What's the matter, future man ? Having trouble hitting a kid ? »

And so, Ned decided to needle his opponent. Although the man was old and quite intelligent. He was (or used to be, anyway) human and thus, prone to emotional outburst.

Suddenly, Harvest stopped mid-swing. He retracted his arm before bursting in laughter. This surprised, and somewhat unsettled Ned. He clicked his tongue :

« And now you've gone mad. Great ! No, wait… You were always completely off your rocker, weren't you ? I mean… You became something you hated simply to eradicate Metahumans. What were you gonna do when they were all gone ? Take your own life ? Somehow, I don't see that happening. »

Harvest's laughter slowly subsided and his directed his eyeless gaze back toward Ned. He shook his head, with a gesture akin to derision.

« You are, like many people, shortsighted. It makes people like you foolish and uncomprehending. You try and prey on my emotions so that I can make a mistake… It's clear to me. And so, you attack my beliefs… My mission. You think anger will make me more predictable. Less dangerous. »

Suddenly, something in Harvest's attitude shifted. With a deep, low and menacing voice, he affirmed :

« You. Are. Wrong ! »

Suddenly, Harvest was gone and much faster that earlier, his alarms warned him of the attack to his back. He leaped forward, narrowly dodging a swipe of something he couldn't quite see. A weapon of some kind. The next moment, he was in front of him, attacking again.

« My anger ! » The villain exclaimed as he attacked.

Ned avoided again, losing his balance and trying fast to recover. Another attack, from the side this time.

« My pain ! »

Ned rolled to the side, raising his head and using his sensors to scan quickly around himself. In the back again !

« My hatred ! »

Again, he dodged. Only this time, he found himself unable to move a single finger. And he saw Harvest towering over him, a futuristic scythe with a laser blade poised to strike. Only he didn't : he was (finally) monologuing !

« They are what drive me ! They fuel me ! They're the reason behind my sacred mission ! You can not understand my pain. The sight of your wife and children, dying in agony, begging for you to save them. All because of ONE metahuman ! A sadist, engineering plagues with a mere thought, enjoying the sight of his victims. »

His hands clenched around his weapons :

« I did everything I could to level the playing field. I stole military technology, I underwent risky experimental procedures… All so that I could have my revenge. And when I finally did… I understood that it was all meaningless, if others had to go through the same pain I did. Because they would ! As long as wicked gods roamed the Earth in the guise of men, enacting their wills upon the ignorant and weak… As long as the pure human were not left masters of their own world. It would all be empty. I… Would be empty. »

Ned couldn't move an arm, nor his lips. So he couldn't exactly offer any witty repartee… Nor did he want to at the moment. And it wasn't because of the man's story. Sure, it was sad. But they were probably millions of people who went through something similar to what he went through. If each and everyone of them became madmen bent on genocide, then… The world would be left empty. A massive graveyard.

No, the reason he had nothing to say at the moment was because he was thinking hard about what he could do at the moment. And it wasn't very much… The theory behind what had happened to him wasn't lost : space had been locked. No matter how much he exerted himself, he wouldn't be able to lift a finger.

In his misfortune however, he noticed that he had lost his sonic gun a little earlier while he was dodging frantically. It was now laying on the ground a couple of feet behind Harvest. Pointing right at the both of them. And of course, like most of his technomancy, he could…

Harvest raised his scythe, finally at the end of his tirade and ready to end the meddler that had interrupted his event.

« Now… It is time. To DIE ! »

The next few moments felt almost unending. The scythe fell very slowly. Ned didn't know if it was Harvest's power or something else, like his cognitive function operating on overdrive, but everything seemed to slow to a crawl. So much so that the world around him seemed to be fixed, with only the scythe moving.

He saw his children's face in this moment, filled with dread seeing him in such a state. They were trying to head towards him it seemed. Superboy, too, for some reason, with almost a similar expression to Mel. Robin currently in the midst of a backflip after he kicked someone in the chin was also looking in his direction, though it was probably coincidental in this case.

And he also noticed something else, something moving almost as fast as the scythe, heading for him too… Kid Flash. Though, like his children, he probably wouldn't reach in time…

All it took was a thought. And Ned's world, as well as Harvest's, exploded !