STOLEN FUTURE: CHAPTER 8/20
Title: Stolen Future
Author: Märk Owen
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Rating: R for violence and language
Warnings: Intense fights resulting in graphic violence.
Timeline: AU Season 6 (Zod and beyond)
Disclaimer: Any Smallville or DC Comics related things in this story are the property of their own owners. The only thing that belongs to me here is the storyline, nothing else is mine.
Summary: In this universe, Darkseid made a pact with Zod who adopted Kal-El. He will kidnap the JLA before its creation, leaving Earth powerless. Will Chloe and Oliver ever meet? Will the JLA even form? What will happen to Earth?
Previous Chapters: Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Chapter 8 - Broken bones and disunity
"Well isn't that a heart-warming scene?"
The sneer of the guard followed by the mocking laugh of his peers pictured exactly the sudden change of situation for the young humans. Seconds before, they were profiting of a warm and comforting atmosphere but now that the guards have entered what had become their home, the harsh reality hit them again. The aliens weren't there for nothing.
"Enough with the hugs now," The chief spoke up. "Blondie!" He pointed at Chloe who was still hidden in Bruce's arms. "Guess it's your turn!"
Automatically, the humans stepped closer to each others, instinctively deciding to form a human barrier to protect Chloe. They had already seen one of them fight in the arena and fortunately he won but that wouldn't always be that way and they knew it. They would not let themselves be fooled again. If the Kryptonians wanted one of them, they would have to step over their dead bodies.
Then again, they were just plain humans and the aliens standing in front of them could crush their skulls with a single hand. They were quickly reminded of that as the guards didn't wait for an answer and were already moving forward.
They first stopped in front of AC who stood protectively as a first line defence before his peers who were all tightly grouped around Chloe.
"Step aside!" ordered the chief but was only met by an insult from AC who was quickly reprimanded by being thrown away.
He hit the bars of the wall and landed on the floor with a grunt of pain.
Agitation and shouts were thrown in protestation but Tess was the first to react by an idea of her own as she knew that her best friend was in no condition to fight at the moment.
"Stop!" she yelled. "Take me in instead."
That only got a snort out of the man who continued to reach for the blonde. Tess grabbed his arm and stared him right in the eyes.
"Get me into the arena instead!" she repeated.
"Go away, bitch! General Zod wants blondie, not you!"
"Tell him he's just a worthless and stupid bastard who has no balls and that my grandmother could give him the beat of his life herself." That was a bold move or stupid even, it depended on the way you looked at it but she was out of options. She only hoped the men were stupid enough to change their minds after that.
Fortunately or unfortunately for her -She didn't really know- it worked.
"How dare you?" the chief yelled. Tess saw him lift a hand in the air and she braced herself for the blow she knew would happen.
Strangely enough, it never came.
Instead she heard a gust of wind and when she opened her eyes again she saw that the fist of the man had been stopped a few inches away from her face by none other than Kal himself.
The guard looked surprised and opened his mouth to protest but Kal beat him to it.
"Don't!" he reprimanded easily. "Do as she says, take her instead, I have a feeling she'll give our subjects a great fight."
The corners of his mouth turned into a twisted smile. He had always trusted his guts in the past and they had never failed him, not once. And right now his guts were telling him that sending the redhead in the arena was the best choice, she seemed hard-headed and tough, maybe that in another life she could have chosen the other side.
As Tess was being led away by his men, Kal turned around to see the humans united in a group, fiercely protecting the petite blonde in the arms of Bruce. They all looked torn between protecting Chloe or helping Tess, a powerless expression on their faces.
Yet, the guiltiest one was the face of Chloe. Kal easily made his way to her by pushing some of them away easily, reminding them he was the one in control, and found himself head to head with Bruce Wayne, whose arms were protecting Chloe in more a brotherly gesture than anything else.
He didn't focus his attention on him for long before, looking at the woman, whose body -he now remarked- was tiny but curvaceous, making a flash of lust appear in his eyes. He lifted his hand to stroke her cheek.
She stiffened and jerked her head away, Bruce pushed her body behind his making the Kryptonian laugh.
"Don't worry baby, when I got time I'll come back for you." He sneered and stared at Bruce who much to his anger was a bit taller than him.
"Keep dreaming" he whispered in a threatening tone.
Kal only smirked as his eyes were firmly engaged in a staring contest with Bruce's.
"I'm gonna enjoy having my way with her right in front of you and the other bastard. Speaking of which- where is lover boy?"
"None of your business." the taller man replied through gritted teeth.
"Well I'm letting it go for now, only because I don't wanna be late to see your friend die in a painful way. I'll make sure her opponent will be worth it too, not like the other time."
"If it weren't for that stupid piece of metal, I'd scream in your ears till your brain jumps out of your screwed skull, you moron!" Dinah snapped as she gestured at the necklace that kept her from screaming.
"Keep saying that and you'll be next after the red bitch, birdy!" he said as he walked for the door.
He glanced at AC who was recovering from the blow he took earlier, helped by Victor.
"You took the easy road because of your father, and I would never renounce on fighting against you when the time comes." the robot-man told him.
"You would have to be free and much stronger to frighten me, you're just a piece of tin now and I could break you with one hand if I wanted."
"I don't understand why you keep doing all those things to the people in here."
"Because I can." He flashed a daring smile before he left.
A few steps later, he glanced over his shoulder and shot one last line.
"Where is the fun in helping ignorant and selfish people?"
His laugh resonated in the air while he vanished from their sight.
Oliver was staying back, unwilling to face his peers after what he had done. He had seen the whole scene from the moment the guards entered their cell. He almost had a panic attack when he heard Chloe's name being called to be sent into the arena. Tess had sacrificed herself for her, proving once again that the bond between the two women was strong. Oliver was glad that she did and he knew he owed her a lot now but he also felt bad for preferring having her sacrificing herself instead of Chloe, and again he was amazed by how much he had come to care about the blonde woman. He wondered if that made him a bad man.
Oliver was torn now as he saw his friends being forced to leave while he stood back from them, he did not know what to do between going with them and somehow trying to protect Tess or, staying at Bart's side and hoping that he was going to wake up soon. He would never admit it out loud but he missed the silly jokes the young man had been cracking and that Oliver had been complaining about since the first time he met him. He always had a way to cheer up anyone who was down, even in this hostile world, he had been one of the only thing that helped them all to be a bit more comfortable
A muffled voice shook him out of his thoughts and he realized that the guards were making their way inside the cell.
"Oliver!"
He turned his head to see Condo waving at him, gesturing him to follow his steps, which he did quietly.
"Come on! I'll hide you"
"But my friends-" Oliver began only to be cut by the alien shushing him.
He moved a wooden plank hidden under a pile of hay and shoved him inside a hand-dug hole, a bit forcefully when he saw that the guards were coming in quickly.
With one last glance at the young man, Condo delivered his instructions.
"Hold your breath as much as you can and try not to make any sound!" he half-whispered to him before closing the trap and spreading some hay on it and quickly standing up to face the Kryptonians. He could only pray that Oliver acted as he had been told and that the aliens decided not to use their super-vision.
It was only a matter of seconds before the men spotted him and made their way to him, one of them grabbing him by the neck, lifting his body from the ground.
"You piece of filth, are going to tell me where the Green Arrow guy is!" the guard violently shoved him against one wall and Condo knew he had to simulate fear to get them off his back.
"I haven't seen him, I swear, please don't hit me, please! I don't know anything, I.. I swear!"
He could tell by the cruel smirk on the men's face that he had been convincing and next thing he knew, his neck was released and he stumbled on the ground.
He heard the guards evoking the possibility that Oliver had been taken away by Zod or Kal as they left the cell and secured the door.
Wrapping one hand around his sore throat, trying to ease the pain there, he stood up and waited for the guards to be far enough to open the trap once again, revealing the civilian appearance of the infamous Green Arrow.
"Are you okay?" the blond man questioned.
"Don't worry about me, you already have a lot to worry about for me to add to it."
Oliver only nodded and grabbed a hand Condo was offering him before climbing out of the hole.
"Why did you go into all of this trouble for me? You know they can go after you if they realize I'm not anywhere to be found." He asked, concerned and also a bit curious by the alien's motivation.
Condo only shook his head and gestured Oliver to follow him.
"You were standing back from your friends and I figured you didn't want to leave the kid's side besides, I needed to talk to you." He explained, glancing at Oliver who only arched an eyebrow, silently asking him to continue.
Condo didn't say anything until they reached the upper floor. There, he asked his alien friends who had taken refuge up there to make their way downstairs because he needed to a private conversation with Oliver. The group accepted and left, leaving only Oliver and Condo in the room. The latter gestured the human to sit on a simple chair. Oliver did as asked and saw Condo reach for a dusty bottle and two handmade goblets before setting them on the piece of wood they used as a table.
"You're afraid." He bluntly announced him as he filled the glasses with some crystal-blue liquid.
Oliver looked up to see the alien's face who was calmly studying him.
"Afraid of what?"
"Of everything." Condo moved the bottle to fill Oliver's glass before speaking again when he saw that he was going to protest. "You are afraid that Bart's going to pass away so you close on yourself, You know that Zod wants you more than your friends and even if it scares you to the death you know you would sacrifice yourself to protect them even if you didn't know half of them a few days ago."
He paused, letting his words sink in. When he saw Oliver shift uncomfortably on his chair, he knew he had a point. He grabbed his glass, gesturing Oliver to do the same before clinking their glasses together and drinking them. Condo drank it in one gulp and Oliver did the same, instantly regretting it when he felt the alcohol violently burn his throat, all the way to his stomach, making him cough relentlessly.
Condo only smirked before filling Oliver's glass again and handing it to him.
"Drink again, the second time it appeases your throat." He told him, a bit of amusement in his voice.
Oliver knew it was his only option to calm his body so he drank it again, surprised when the burning instantly calmed down as the liquid made its way down his throat.
"Moloko" Condo said. "That's the name of this beverage from my planet, I managed to keep it with me and didn't open it until now. They say it gets better with time."
Oliver snorted.
"You can say that!"
Condo laughed before filling their glasses again. This time, Oliver gulped the strong liquid without any protest.
The alien's face grew serious again as he continued his earlier speech.
"You don't want your friends to get hurt because they're close to you, you know you couldn't deal with that kind of guilt." He looked into his eyes before continuing. "So you push them away."
Oliver gulped as the fresh memories of his last encounter with the woman whom he had come to care about came into his mind. "Chloe."
His voice was barely audible but Condo heard him.
"Exactly." Condo nodded.
"How do you know all of that?" Oliver asked, part of him was curious but he was much more eager to change the subject of their conversation. He sighed in contentment when Condo took the hint.
"My race is reputed to have a lot of empathy." explained the alien before shrugging. "But this is not about me, this is about you and your ego."
Oliver sighed. Apparently the man seemed determined to make a point. He focused on the first emotion that came to him. Anger.
"What do you want me to do uh?" Oliver's voice rose as he shot up from his chair and began to pace like an enraged tiger in a cage. "That's the only way to prevent them from being hurt!"
"Is it?" asked Condo. "Or is it just so you can appease your conscience?"
Oliver only shook his head in denial. Condo grabbed Oliver forcefully, his patience was wearing thin and the man was so damn stubborn.
"Listen!" his voice was hard as he shook the human, trying to make him understand his mistake. "Whether or not they're close to you they'll get hurt eventually." said Condo. "No one can flee the wrath of Zod."
"I... I just don't know what else to do." Oliver finally let out his helplessness. Condo relaxed a little, seeing he was finally opening his eyes, but his grip on him was still strong.
"We all felt that when we first came here, trust me." continued Condo. "But by your actions you're only creating division in your own side when you should all be united to face what can happen every minute in this world."
Oliver knew that Condo was right, he had probably made a mistake by pushing Chloe away but maybe that now it was too late to fix it. There was still a part of him that whispered in his head that maybe he'd been right, maybe that would give her and his friends more time to live. Another voice in his head was just telling him that this was bullshit because living longer in this world meant living in pain where death was the only release.
The truth was that he was nowhere near ready to lose anyone of his new-found friends.
Condo was watching the young human struggling with himself, the outcome of that battle would tell him if Oliver had been receptive or not. He hoped that he had been.
The alien was about to leave him quietly so that he could find the answers himself when cries came from downstairs, startling them both.
Condo and Oliver exchanged a look before rushing towards the noise only to stop dead in their tracks when they came at the source of the cries.
Their eyes widened at the sight in front of them.
"Bart!"
The group had arrived at the arena, the guards had pushed them in the place where the prisoners were being forced to watch one of them fight and die in the battle zone.
Hal was worried. Tess was still nowhere to be seen and he was sure that the fight that was going to happen would not be pretty. In his agitation, he was glancing everywhere, trying to find a way to help her.
A faint blue light caught his eye. Doing further inspection he saw that the light came from the ring that a kryptonian was currently slipping off his finger. The same ring that Zod had slipped onto his finger before beating him when they first met, he remembered.
Hal watched as the alien took off his ring and put it in his back pocket.
He had an idea of what these rings did to Kryptonians but he wasn't sure of his theory yet. He made a mental note to ask about it to one of their alien cell-mates when they were back.
"Do you think she'll make it?" He heard Dinah asking from behind him over the impatient and demanding shouts of the crowd. He could hear the concern in her voice.
Hal turned around to see his friends regrouped in a little circle. He wanted to tell them that she was going to be okay but he wasn't even sure himself if it was going to happen.
"I guess... Well it'll depend on her opponent I suppose." Victor announced the most rational thought as usual, making the other humans nod in agreement despite them.
"Tess is able to take care of herself, I'm sure she's gonna win." Hal joined the conversation. "No matter who her opponent is."
"You know I want to believe like you but.." AC sighed.
"But what?" Hal cut him, his voice raising a little. "She's gonna win, I tell you!"
Bruce only shook his head and decided to leave them alone till they stopped fighting over something that could only make them miserable. Instead, he decided to join Chloe who was alone in a corner of their space, she looked deep in thought and sad.
Now that he came to think of it, Bruce realized that she's been rather silent on the walk over the arena, that wasn't like her.
"You okay, Chloe?"
She didn't even move but he heard her mutter something like 'Stupid question'.
He chuckled a little. There she was the Chloe he had come to know over the past few days.
She turned around and he could see that her expression was clouded by guilt. That wasn't surprising considering that she was supposed to be at Tess's place right now.
"This is not your fault, you know." He tried to reassure her but she raised a hand to stop him.
"Don't do this." She told him in a firm tone. "We both know that I should be out there right now, not Tess."
Bruce wanted to retort by telling that she had been in no condition to fight when the guards came in their cell but he didn't want to remind her of her argument with Oliver so, he decided to use a different approach.
"Don't torture yourself Chloe, right now, what's important is that we support her while she goes through that fight, she'll need us." said the billionaire.
Chloe let out a long sigh and nodded right as the crowd began to cheer, announcing that one of the fighters was going in.
They all rushed towards the arena, pulling themselves as close as they could to it without being crushed by the barbed wire delimiting the area of the fights.
Tess had barely put a foot inside the arena that already the crowd roared in impatience. The shouts overwhelming her, her heart began to beat erratically in her chest as she felt anxiousness but also dread invade her body. That was the feeling provoked by the fear of the unknown. In this case, the fear of who might be her opponent.
Will it be another giant monster like the one Oliver had beaten? Or will Zod be fairer and give her an opponent she could stand a chance against? Maybe it was going to be a woman's fight. She hadn't seen any woman fight in this arena yet so maybe Zod reserved that for this moment and knowing him, the woman was not going to be easy.
The worst part was that Tess wasn't even afraid of killing the person that was soon going to meet her on the sandy ground of the 'ring' because she didn't want to die and if she had to kill to survive then she was going to do it. That was part of the darkness she felt since the time her parents...
"IT'S ZAROR!" A man shouted over the constant din. Instantly a wave of renewed impatience mixed with excitation seized the crowd.
"Zaror! Zaror!" they were already chanting the fighter's name yet, he or she hadn't even entered the arena.
Their screams were going to lead her deaf, she could swear that her ears were hurting already. Tess quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind - She needed to stay focused. She was losing her focus, she could not let that happen.
At the other end of the arena, Zod had just arrived in time to see the human being led to fight. Anger marred his face as he recalled the conversation he had had with his son over the reason the redhead had been chosen over Queen's girl. He hadn't wanted Tess to fight, he wanted Chloe. She had to fight and die in this place like so many other people had been doing for twenty years already.
Chloe Sullivan had to die, he figured she was probably the only person whose death would break Queen forever. Usually he didn't like to break people outside of this arena because when they were in it, they were only seeking death and the fight would be quick and boring. Yet it had become personal between him and the human and that was the reason Oliver wasn't planned to be sent to fight again. He would stay in his cell only to see his friends die one by one till he is alone. Then, a long and painful death was awaiting him in the sinister underground of his mansion.
Zod sighed. At least that was until Kal decided to mess with his plans. Apparently, his son also had a personal grudge again the human archer and he seemed very excited over the idea of fighting against him and personally killing him. Zod could only accept as he felt a sense of pride over the fact that all those years of efforts were finally rewarded by the fact that the little Kal from the House of El truly embraced the House of Zod's ideals. He had even made sure to change the fighter against whom Tess was going to fight. This time, there would not be some random combatant chosen, no. This was time for the champion to come back.
"Zaror !" the spectators were impatient. Some of them had seen the fighter enter the corridor leading to the arena despite his men's attempts at hiding the alien from the crowd. It didn't matter. It was time.
Zod nodded at Kal who discreetly left by a back-door to reach the barbed corridor under the royal rostrum. Approaching a black-cloaked figure encircled by guards who were awaiting his order, Kal spoke up quietly.
"It's been a long time since your last fight, the crowd's practically going wild just by the mention of your name, Zaror." he told the fighter.
"It's show-time!"
Kal smirked before indicating his men that they could open the door. It was going to be a good fight, he felt it.
"Damn where's this fucking Zaror? Or is that even a name?"
"Shh Dinah, you shouldn't be impatient to see Tess fight there." AC reprimanded her.
"But look at her, she's scared so I figured the faster, the better!"
"Fuck! Are you so eager to see her die?" Hal's angered and agitated tone cut what AC was going to say as he aggressively stepped towards her.
Bruce put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I'm sure Dinah didn't mean it that way, Hal."
"Of course I didn't! Hal don't get offended, sometimes I just.. It just came out the wrong way." apologised the blonde.
"Sorry." Hal sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers nervously. "I do not want to see her die, not now not ever."
"She can handle herself, trust me." Everyone turned around to see Chloe approaching them. "I know her better than anyone."
Bruce smiled faintly as he finally saw her join them for the first time since they left their cell. He put an arm around her shoulders before squeezing her lightly.
"She knows we're here and that we won't let her down." he said simply.
This time the spectators cries and shouts multiplied exponentially as they saw a mysterious black-clad figure finally enter the arena actually making the crowd turn completely wild. Some were bouncing of excitement, others were screaming 'Zaror' till their lungs burned and a few were crying of emotion. That surprised them, that was the first time the humans had seen some of these people display a 'decent' emotion. Yet, no matter what the emotion was, it was still triggered by the same thing. The thirst for blood.
The figure turned its back to Tess before shrugging off the black veil, hiding his or her body. Slowly at first, to tease the crowd then, the cloth fell to the ground revealing a man over six foot tall and about 200 lbs of lean muscle.
Hal scoffed. 'So much for a fair fight!' He thought.
The man wasn't as imposing as the beast that Oliver had managed to defeat yet, he knew that this man wasn't going to make it easy on Tess if the black tattoo on his back was anything to by:
An open eye dripping blood.
The man waved animatedly at the crowd with his two arms, gesturing them to be louder which they agreed greedily. He turned around and finally faced Tess for the first time since he entered the arena.
Zaror approached her slowly until there were only a few feet between them. He had stopped at the perfect distance to destabilize her. They were close yet still out of reach from each other. His eyes were boring into hers and Hal took notice of his body language. A chest slightly bent backwards and pushed back shoulders. Clearly the man was in control, he was the image of cockiness and arrogance.
He saw Tess begin to lose her patience and Zaror seemed to sense it too because he chose that moment to finally step into her personal space. Feeling endangered, Tess sent a fist forward in a quick movement. Zaror's eyes widened in fake surprise, ducked the blow easily before raising his knee in a defensive posture and making a show of waving his hands at her; adding a grimace in the mix to annoy her.
It worked. Tess shot her leg out, sending a kick to his supporting leg. She was quick and it was clear to Hal that she had some kind of training but Zaror was faster once again. He jumped, dodging her kick before stealthily moving around her, sending a series of easy punches in her direction. She ducked them too and riposted by shooting a right hook followed by a straight uppercut and much to Hal's surprise a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick.
Still, It wasn't enough. Zaror moved quickly avoiding each move with an ease and a speed that was merely human.
Eventually, he stopped in front of her and she took advantage of the moment by trying to hit him again. This time it worked. Zaror's chest was hit by a series of powerful blows yet he appeared unmoved, unmarked and unpained. Tess remarked that she had no effect on him so she decided to use a more direct approach.
Her left fist connected with his jaw forcing him to turn around by the force of it. He took his time to work his jaw and Tess thought she had thrown him off when a kick shot out, she didn't have time to react that she was already on the ground, a dull ache making itself known in her mouth. A liquid tasting like iron flowing over her tongue. She spat blood on the soil.
She tried to get up but the blow she'd received had been strong and she was still dealing with its after effects. It didn't matter to him because her recovering time was over when she felt his hand grab her hair and painfully force her to get up. She tried to send another kick at him to make him loose his grip but he avoided it like all the other blows she'd sent his way.
She saw his face move forward and quickly realized what he intended to do. She sent her arm over her face to protect herself but he forced it away before head-butting her.
She cried out of pain as she felt his forehead hit her nose and cracking the bone. The bastard had broken her nose.
"Don't give up Tess!"
She recognized the voices of her friends. She had spotted them when she entered the ring but now she was dizzy and the last blow had made her lose her sense of orientation.
Yet, their support was reminding her that she could not die. She had to survive.. but he was so strong.
With a last effort she blindly tried to knee him in the groin but as always the jab was easily ducked and she felt his strong arm pull her over his own body. She landed on her back on the hard ground.
She felt him remove his grip on her hair but was too weak to react, she knew that she was on the brink of unconsciousness.
Hal was losing grip on his emotions, a wave of fury surge over him as he saw Zaror leave her on the ground to parade around her body, his arms high in the air, a victorious expression on his face.
"Kill! Kill ! Kill!" demanded the crowd, eager to see the match end on a gory note.
To their surprise, Zaror gestured his refusal. He seemed in no rush to end the fight now. The crowd made offended noises but when he came back towards her, they began to cheer him again.
He towered over her seemingly unconscious form. He clasped his fingers several times above her face, trying to get her attention only to kick her in the gut when he failed to get it.
Again the crowd cheered "Blood! More Blood! More Blood!"
"GET UP TESS!"
It was his voice. Hal's always been very supportive of her since the beginning and it triggered something in her. With all of her willpower she left the edge between reality and unconsciousness. Her limbs became alive again, and she tried to get up. She was confused when she saw Zaror's arm extended in her direction as if he wanted to help her to get up. She shook her head. She could not let herself be fooled again by his antics, she forcefully pushed his hand away only to be slapped back on reprimand. She was back on the ground, her head was pounding, her nose was broken and bleeding profusely and her mouth felt dry and sore.
Hal saw Zaror's hand wrap around her neck, he lifted her to force her to get up. Another wave of fresh and barely contained anger engulfed his entire being as he saw the man eagerly lick the blood off her face before kissing her. She struggled against him but she was too exhausted by the fight to stop him. Nothing stopped him and he took advantage of it by possessing her mouth with his tongue before breaking the grotesque kiss and gesturing at the crowd again which was on the brink of turning completely crazy and crossing the barbed fences to join them in the fight arena.
Zaror sent her body slamming on a pillar of the edifice, making her express her pain loudly once again. She looked as if she was going to pass out at any moment, her legs seconds away from giving out. At that moment, Zaror decided to truly show his skills. It was going to last only seconds but they were going to be the longest and most painful seconds of her life.
He ran a few steps back before turning towards her again. Hal's eyes widened as he saw Zaror advancing forward by spinning on himself four times on one foot before sending a strong kick to her head. Hitting her painfully, she faltered but miraculously stayed up.
He didn't loose time and pummelled her body with several kicks on her sides. Hal counted, one, two, three, four each time on one side. The man had the most amazing footwork he had ever seen and that was saying a lot. Zaror could literally shift his weight from one foot to one another so quickly that you could miss it if you weren't attentive.
He could only gape as he saw him jump, his legs encircling her right arm, shifting his hips in, he used his weight to make her fall.
It did not even last a second before he made a short but efficient movement at her arm. Her scream pierced through the arena, covering the already very loud crowd. It shook the humans to their very core. It was a scream of raw pain and they could only look as Tess cried helplessly.
"Fuck!" Hal exclaimed as a pain shot through his own body. He looked down and realized that he had gripped the barbed wire when Tess screamed. He saw the blood dripping from his hand but he actually welcomed the pain as a diversion from the horrific spectacle of the arena. It was too much to him, he had to do something.
The thoughts of the mysterious blue ring that he had seen before the fight came back into his mind. An idea formed in his mind. He had do to it now or Tess was never going to make it through.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" The crowd definitely didn't lost a second to ask for more blood, another reminder that he had to act quickly.
"Where are you going?"
"Just stay right here, Chloe!" Hal ran in the direction of the exit, a guards with his back to him fell into sight.
Mind working a mile a minute, Hal elaborated a plan to take the guy down.
Just nice and quiet like the old times!
He stumbled, managed to make a few clumsy steps before falling onto the ground with a thud that got the Kryptonian's attention.
"Already sick of the show, aren't you pretty boy?" sneered the alien.
"Please... help me"
He laughed before grabbing Hal to stand him up and drove his fist into his stomach. Hal doubled over in pain much to the soldier's enjoyment. He didn't notice the quick movement of Hal's left hand that wandered into his coat's left pocket.
He sent another punch but his eyes widened in surprise when Hal stopped his hand before it hit him. He didn't feel the strength he had had just a few moments ago.
A flash of blue caught his eye. "The ring!"
"Thanks, Gorgeous!"
He was rendered silent by a strong punch into his jaw. Hal stepped over his unconscious body and sprinted his way into the arena hoping that he wasn't too late.
He only met two more guards on his way and they were too stunned to do anything. His feet were moving as fast as he could, he was sure that he had never run as quickly before that moment in his entire life because in seconds he was out of the dark corridors and was met by the red sun light and surprised noises of the arena then, silence.
Well what do you say? I know it's been a long time, I actually put my stories on hiatus for a bit of time because life was too crazy to let me find time to write! Now I've got plenty of time and weekly updates does not seem so much of a crazy idea right now!
About the chapter, I personally had issues with this one because the first part is more like a gap-filler and then I had to be inventive for the fight. Next chapter will also be action packed and I promise a major twist in the chapter after it, definitely a turning point of the story!
Loved it? Hated it? Feel free to verbally kill me or stroke me, I personally like both! (Sorry that was lame but hey it's almost 3:00 AM there, gotta sleep!). Review please!
Here are some pictures that could help your mind:
Zaror (character based on the actor Marko Zaror from Undisputed 3): Link here
The tattoo on his back: Link here
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