A sudden chill enveloped Flare the moment she saw the man’s smile and the dangerous glint in his eyes. Her intuition screamed danger, forcing her to make quick decisions without giving the consequences a single thought. Kicking the floor, she crossed the distance between them and pulled her fist back. The man’s eyes widened and he tried to jump away, but it was too late. The hero’s fist dove deep into his stomach, sending a violent tremor through his body. His cheeks bulged, the air almost knocked out of him, but he held it in even as he went flying into one of the walls.
Watching him drop to the floor, Flare couldn’t help but grimace. She tried to hold back a little, afraid to kill him by accident, but she still had to make him vomit that capsule one way or another.
The tattooed man didn’t make a single sound as he struggled to get up. He kept his mouth closed, ensuring the contents of his stomach didn’t spill out. Though it irked her to hit an opponent who could barely stand, Flare suppressed her emotions and dashed toward him, raised her right foot, and swung it before she could have second thoughts.
An odd metallic sound blasted through the hexagonal room, like a gong had been struck by a blunt object. Flare watched as her foot bounced back, then a sharp pain climbed up her shin like a snake ripping through her flesh and bone. Her eyes spreading wide open, she put strength into her healthy foot and jumped back, quickly inspecting it and confirming that nothing was broken.
"Daaaaaaamn that HURTS !"
Slamming the floor once, the man chuckled, then broke into a coughing fit. Flare turned a stern glare in his direction, but what she saw wiped it off of her face. A brown spot appeared on the man’s right flank, right around the area she had just kicked. It spread out gradually, reaching his back and then his shoulder. In less than a minute, his entire upper half was covered in it, the pale color of his skin now replaced by a lustrous bronze.
Raising his arm, the man slammed the floor again. His strike didn’t cause a faint thud this time. Instead, a loud clang echoed in the hexagonal room, as if an iron bar fell from a great height.
"Damn, bitch!" The man slowly rose to his feet, chuckling all the while. "You really pack a mean punch!" He patted his stomach and his side then turned to face her, a wide, maniacal grin splitting his face. "You tried to kill me with that kick, didn’t you? Since when do heroes kill unarmed people like that?"
Flare didn’t respond, continuing to stare at the man with wide eyes. It was exactly what she had been searching for, yet now that it was in front of her, she found it almost impossible to accept it.
The process to become a Genome was beyond her understanding, but one thing she knew was that it required ample time. It’s not something that starts and ends in less than a minute.
"What’s wrong? Never seen someone transform before?" The man spread his arms out and looked down at himself. "Great, isn’t it? The power of a god in a single pill!"
His muscles looked more pronounced, each sculpted by the hands of a highly skilled artisan. The tattoos on his arms and shoulders had their colors changed, becoming lighter as if to contrast the dark color of his skin. If not for the scars on his face, he would have looked like a bronze statue one would see in a museum.
"So this is it..." Flare muttered. "This is the power of Catalyst..."
The bronze man took a step forward. "This is only my second time taking it." He took another, this one more forceful, then- "I’ve been looking forward to it so, so much!" He suddenly broke into a dash. "I’m gonna really enjoy this!"
Flare pierced him with a glare, watching his every move as he closed the distance between them. Just as he reached her, his fist raised, she jumped back and let him punch nothing but the white floor.
The impact thundered through the room and a ripple rose through the man’s arm. His grin remained as he followed the red-haired hero with his eyes, and before her feet touched the floor he was already running toward her once more.
Contrary to his expectation, however, Flare didn’t didn’t retreat a second time and instead lunged straight at him. The difference in speed couldn’t be more clear as she arrived in front of him before he could take a second step. Forced into a sudden halt, her opponent tried to pull back, but it was already too late. Her right fist burst forth, then the left followed. She landed three blows to his chest then a fourth to his face, sending him staggering back.
"Hahaha" With his back still arched, the bronze man began to laugh. "hahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Straightening herself, Flare loosened her right hand and shook it a little, frowning as she felt a slight prick in her wrist.
"Not a thing..." Said the bronze man, his laughter yet to stop. "I.DID.NOT.FEEL.A.THING!!!"
He raised a hand in the air, as if reaching for the ceiling, then bent his fingers one by one, forming a tightly clenched fist. Staying still for a second, he then brought that fist down on his chest, causing another loud bang to reverberate through the hexagonal room. He did the same with his right fist next, then followed with the right.
Several blows thundered, and the sound quickly grew unbearable. To Flare’s eyes, the bronze man appeared to blur a little, further disorienting her. She refused to look away, however. The previous clash informed her raw strength wouldn’t work on him. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and prepared to use the full extent of her power.