Mr. Ammer was able to easily dodge Quarry’s lumbering blows, even with the state his body was in. He closed the gap between them, out speeding the mass of rock. His hands began to vibrate, his powers activating, right as he smashed them into Quarry’s sides.

  It was the first attack I ever saw penetrate Quarry’s stone skin. The loud cracking of stone lasted only a few seconds, before a horrific squelching took its place. Mr. Ammer’s hands were stronger than any ordinary jackhammer, and they hit flesh a lot worse than they hit stone.

  Squirm wasn’t able to help Quarry, however, with his path blocked by Surge. He fired his pistol at Surge, but the bullets struggled to even faze the super. Surge’s left hand clamped down an exposed wire, torn out of a street light that Mr. Ammer had broken.

  Surge, if you could believe it, was a villain that used electricity to fight. The reason he worked well with Mr. Ammer was because of his lieutenant’s ability to reach any wire blocked off by metal, concrete, or really anything. All the lights on the street flickered for a moment, with Surge pulling in every drop of electricity.

  At that moment, the only source of light that remained was Surge. An electric glow wrapped around the man’s right arm. Squirm tried to sprint towards Quarry, but Surge near instantly cut him off. He dashed in-between them, sparks of electricity flying off of his body. Squirm slowly stepped back, terrified of dealing with a powered up Surge.

  Quarry had blood pouring from his sides, enough flesh torn apart that most men would’ve died by now. It was obvious that Mr. Ammer thought he won the fight, but that was only because he didn’t know who Quarry was. Quarry interlaced his fingers, lifting his fists into the air, while Mr. Ammer was focused on liquifying his insides.

  His arms swung down, Mr. Ammer’s body crushed underneath the massive force. Even with the crackle of electricity and crying of car alarms, that sickening crunch drowned it all out. Mr. Ammer was left twitching on the ground, his skull was split open and spine was bent at multiple angles. If he was going to live, he needed to take a Throm immediately.

  Surge turned around at the sound, ignoring his fight with Squirm, and he came to the same conclusion that I did. He dashed forward, crashing against Quarry. The stone titan lost his footing, falling onto his back.

  He picked up Mr. Ammer and dashed away, fishing a Throm out of his pocket. After he forced it down Mr. Ammer’s throat, he placed him on the ground away from the fight. When he dashed back towards Quarry, the camera followed, leaving Mr. Ammer out of frame.

  Surge was enraged, his shouts of fury amplified by the electricity that crackled alongside his voice. Quarry had gotten back onto his feet, but he was in a dire condition. The holes in his torso were pouring out blood, and he winced with pain at every movement. Squirm wasn’t in the video anymore, having run off while Surge was distracted.

  I felt my chest tighten, excited at what could happen next. Surge not only ran one of the four major gangs, but his territory was next to the Disciples. He’d survived through countless gang wars, assassination attempts, and even multiple fights with the Disciples.

  Even if Mr. Ammer was taken out, Surge was barely injured. If he could just kill Quarry, then that would be a major obstacle out of the way. The best case would involve him hunting down Squirm afterwards. Squirm wasn’t much of a threat on his own, and it’d be more than easy for Surge to kill him.

  Surge started attacking the second he was in range of Quarry. With the cracks in his armor, it was easy for Surge to overpower Quarry. Surge’s left handed strikes made Quarry wince, his exposed muscle struggling to take the blows, causing him to lose focus and balance.

  But it was the right handed strikes that were going to kill him. Each hit resounded with a meaty thud and a violent burst of electricity. Quarry struggled to keep standing after each blow, his body barely able to handle the thousands of volts coursing through him. Or hundreds of amps. I was into super powers when I was younger, not electrical work, so bite me if I don’t know the difference.

  Quarry struggled to keep standing, each blow threatening to take him to the ground. He made a few attempts at attacking, but the electricity caused his body to tense up, his strikes losing momentum before they could land. The only chance that he had was Squirm helping him out. The only issue was that Squirm was nowhere to be seen, having run away a minute ago.

  But right as Quarry fell to the ground, his body unable to handle the continued assault, Surge ran out of energy. The last sparks of electricity flew out of Surge’s right hand, leaving him powerless.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Surge’s abilities made him a powerhouse when he was charged, allowing him to strengthen and enhance his body, but he needed to be charged by an outside source. When he ran out, he would have to absorb more electricity through his left hand.

  Surge spun around, dashing towards the wires of the exposed street light. But before he could reach it, he paused, slowly raising his hands above his head. The camera panned over to Squirm, who was currently holding Mr. Ammer hostage. The bastard had a gun pointed at Mr. Ammer’s head, threatening to kill the lieutenant.

  It was surprising that he managed to put together a functioning thought, let alone one that was actually useful. The audio was muffled, but I could understand the gist of their conversation. Squirm ordered Surge to leave, threatening to kill Mr. Ammer if he didn’t. As long as Surge complied, he would let his lieutenant go in the morning.

  Surge looked around, eyeing Quarry who was barely holding on, his body battered. If he was truly heartless, he would sacrifice Mr. Ammer and take out Quarry. After that, he could easily kill Squirm in revenge. That would’ve been the best outcome for me.

  Sadly, it turned out that Surge had a heart. He slowly walked away, the camera following him until he was out of sight. Squirm walked over to Quarry, tossing him a Throm. Even though his injuries were severe, that tough bastard would survive. Squirm then walked back to Mr. Ammer, who was unconscious and undefended. He unloaded two shots into the villain’s skull, killing him without remorse.

  I just stood there staring, shocked at what I just saw. The cashier finally spoke up, bringing me back to reality. “Yeah, it’s some real crazy shit. Can’t believe they just killed ponytail guy like that.”

  “That’s beyond crazy. Things are definitely going to be changing in South Rain.”

  “You really think so? It’s just one villain dying.”

  “All it takes is one death to start a war. Thanks for showing me that, I’ll catch you around.”

  I started to walk out of the store, when the cashier called out to me. “Wait, you still have to pay for your clothes!”

  I pointed at the camera facing the counter, not breaking my stride. “No, pretty sure I remember giving you the money. Don’t worry, you can keep the change.”

  “What? That was for the video, not the clothes!”

  “Get your boss to rewind the tapes then, I’m certain he’ll help you out.” I chuckled, walking out of the store. The kid had the makings of a hustler, but he still had a lot to learn.

  While the fight could have gone better, it was still more than I could ever have hoped for. Polymeniac had figured out I was the one behind the conflict, which shouldn’t have surprised me. Out of everyone in the Disciples, he was the one who knew me the longest. And if the fight was nothing then a couple of henchmen shooting each other, that would’ve been an issue. When they eventually talked things out, weeks or months down the line, they’d realize I was responsible.

  But that didn’t matter anymore. When I attacked, I made sure to wear my mask so they would recognize me as a Disciple super. So to Surge Gang, it wasn’t just an attack on them, it was one done by a super. The only way you could respond would be by sending your own supers to fight.

  And in that fight, Mr. Ammer was killed. Even if the Disciples tried to explain that they didn’t start this fight, it would just fall on deaf ears. Squirm’s stupidity meant that they not only killed his lieutenant, but that they also went back on their word. Surge couldn’t let this go, not if he wanted to be respected in this city.

  The Disciples were also down one of their best lieutenants. Quarry would take days to heal, considering he was missing most of his torso. One of Polymeniac’s powers was regeneration, so sadly, he was likely better already.

  The Disciples never had a good relationship with Surge Gang, but things had been decent for the past year. There was a meeting between Surge and Agony, where they defined their territory and agreed to a truce. It wasn’t perfect, but it managed to keep the peace between two gangs who had a violent history. With that truce broken, the Disciples were going to be entering another war.

  But even more important than their relationship with Surge Gang was their position with the other villains in South Rain. While there were officially four major gangs, the Disciples of Agony were the strongest without question.

  And a lot of gangs would love to take advantage of their momentary weakness. Whether it was the smaller villains and gangs that were in the south or Backhand in the west. The Disciples were strong, but even they couldn’t handle that much pressure.

  I just needed to build up my own forces before I could attack. If I was lucky, we could strike before Quarry was healed. Even just killing out one of their lieutenants would completely change this battle in my favor.

  I had nearly a thousand dollars on me, though I would probably need even more to get an non-affiliated super to work for me. From what the rumors said, she should be at work right now. I’d likely need time with each employee, searching for any signs on who the super is. But I was dedicated, willing to put everything I had behind this.

  Even if it meant that I would need to spend hours of my time searching there, I would find her. I was willing to spend every last dollar that I brought if it was required. There was nothing that would stand in the way of this search. The fact that she worked at a strip club was unrelated to any motivation I had.