The Watcher: Adaptability Of A Bounty Hunter

Chapter 4) The Fist, and the Knife

The man charged toward the Watcher, who in turn fired off three consecutive shots from his handgun. The bullets sliced through the air, making contact with the male mage’s arms. The projectiles failed to penetrate the man’s skin, instead collapsing in on themselves, falling to the ground in small crumbled up bits of metal. With the speed of a panther, he launched himself at the Watcher, a cocky smirk covered his face from ear to ear. His footsteps seemed to boom throughout the night, once he had closed the distance he pulled his arm back, the fingerless gloves covering his palms seemed to emanate a deep, crimson glow. The Watcher gasped and tried to evade, but he stumbled on his feet. Grunting, the man then slammed his fist into the Watcher’s chest. The metal alloy that made up his chest plate dented against the shear force of impact. He coughed and gagged, trying to catch his breath. Cliff let out a playful chuckle, staring down the Watcher with that cheeky grin. The Watcher strained himself trying to keep his eyes open.

“What’s wrong buddy,” Cliff said, lifting the Watcher’s limp body into the air.

“Did your little tin suit fail you?” Parading the Watcher around like a gladiator, basking in the roar of applause from the spectators. Cliff turned towards Mari, holding the Watcher up as a trophy, evidence of a successful show of dominance. But then,

“Cliff lookout,” Mari shouted, but she was too late. The Watcher had sprung back to life, he flicked his wrist activating a mechanism in his right gauntlet which released a seven inch blade above his knuckles. Cliff twisted his head around just in time to get slashed across his left cheek. He groaned and released his grip on the Watcher, dropping him to the floor. The Watcher landed on his feet, lunging forward, his blade drawn, aiming to end the Dulvian’s life with one strike.

However, right before his blade made contact with Cliff’s chest, the Watcher noticed a flash of violet light in the corner of his eye. Swiftly, he bent his knees and hopped back, just barely evading Mari’s overhead s***h. The Watcher’s boots scraped against the concrete, coming to a stop against the edge of the roof. His cloak flowed with the wind, he steadied himself, standing tall with the moon’s glow behind him. Cliff snarled, his fists radiating a blood red glow, he was preparing another attack. Although Mari didn’t fight with the same level of passion as her partner, with her face contorted into that sadistic grin, no one could deny the enjoyment she found in combat.

The Watcher knew his limitations, and after his ruse he had a mild understanding of his opponents fighting style. Unfortunately, now that he’s pulled the wool over their eyes once, it wouldn’t work again. Inside the Watcher’s head, he worked on creating a battle plan, compiling all the information he’d obtained during his brief engagement. Judging by the throbbing pain in the Watcher’s stomach, the male mage Cliff seemed to adhere to the stereotype of brawns over brains. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume he’ll always be on the offensive, opting to strike first, ask questions later. I’ll have to keep my distance, the Watcher thought as he brought his weapon up, his sights trained on Mari.

Cliff spat onto the ground, slammed his fists together, and cracked his neck.

“Oh you are gonna get it now,” Cliff shouted, using one leg as a base to thrust himself forward. In response the Watcher stepped to the side, evading Cliff’s strike. The Watcher countered, slamming his blade down but before the stainless steel could even graze Cliff he jumped back, neither combatant gaining any ground. Mari saw an opening and took full advantage, charging towards the Watcher, who responded in force. Four bullets cut through the air, Mari swiped her mana blade, dissolving the projectiles. He attempted firing again, click, the magazine had been emptied, in less than a second he swapped the empty clip out with a fresh one, but it was too late. Mari was already on top of him, Mari sliced into his chest, the heated blade scorched the Watcher’s chest plate. She twisted the blade around, trying her luck with another overhead attack.

Acting fast, the Watcher pressed his palm against the woman’s stomach, releasing a powerful gust of wind which hurled Mari across the rooftop.

Mari screamed at the top of her lungs as she flew through the air. The force behind that blast was immense, without a doubt strong enough to fling her off the building. Her heart was racing, practically beating out of her chest, augmentation magic wouldn’t be enough to cushion the impact of a fall from such a height. She’d be crippled, maimed, or worse… dead. Mari thrashed out, trying to move her limbs in hopes of regaining balance, but it was useless. The wind current easily overpowered the small mage, Mari shut her eyes, bracing herself for what was to come…

As the second’s went by, Mari felt no pain, not even any forward momentum, but what she did feel was a radiating warmth which wrapped around her body. She opened her eyes at a snail's pace, and after finding out what actually occurred, Mari thought she may have preferred death. Cliff had jumped into the air, intercepting Mari before she cleared the roof, his muscular arms wrapped around her stomach, saving her from a grotesque death. Mari felt her body heat up, especially in her cheeks which felt as if a fire had broken out on her slender cheeks. She could feel the wind’s current shift, they were both falling down towards the rooftop. Mari’s lengthy hair, flowing upward, obscuring Cliff’s sight.

“Why did you jump…” Mari muttered, “You could have caught me without flying into the air like this.” Cliff sneered, letting out a haughty laugh that pushed Mari’s buttons. Her face scrunched up but before she could snap at him, Cliff whispered something into her ear. Down below the Watcher wasted no time, sending another barrage of gunfire towards the assassins. Mari twirled her blade, absorbing the metal casings that were flung at her. In the blink of an eye, Cliff hurled his partner towards the Watcher, she rushed through the air with such speed the Watcher assumed Cliff had used augmentation magic. Like a heat seeking missile, Mari flew towards the Watcher, her blade at the ready. The Watcher tried to dodge, but it was no use, Mari was faster. Reflexively, the Watcher blocked the s***h with his left arm, the blade’s sharpened edge sliced through the gauntlet as if it were constructed using paper. Using her momentum to bolster her strength, she placed her boot on the Watcher’s chest, using him as a base to flip backwards into the air. Staggered, the Watcher tumbled back, unprepared as Cliff rejoined the fray.

Cliff crashed back to the rooftop, splintering and cracking the cement beneath his feet. His right leg soon took on the same crimson shine the Watcher had observed earlier, then he thrust himself forward, soaring through the air. The Watcher had yet to gain his bearings before this mountain of a man reached him. His fist struck the Watcher’s chest, instantaneously shattering his body armor. A sonic boom rang out along with a gust of wind while the Watcher was hurled backward, crashing into one of four stone struts that held up a rounded water tower. The Watcher cried out in pain, a high pitched whine reverberated inside his head and blood trickled down from his forehead down to his chin. He dropped to his knees, shifting the constant flow of blood, smearing it across his face in a red blur.

The impact had fractured his visor, inside the screen that provided the Watcher with all relevant data had been reduced to a mess of garbled pixels and static. Outside, the glowing white light that once heightened the fear of his targets, the light that helped mask the actions of a human within armor, the light that completed the Watcher’s image of being some sort of unstoppable monster, dimed and faded away. Not again… he thought, just like that fateful encounter with the Vidic Raider he was battered and beaten.

Not yet.... Those two words repeated over and over again inside his head, I’m not done yet. The Watcher hoisted himself up with both palms firmly planted on the ground. Slowly he got back on his feet, adrenaline pumped through his veins, all the pain and damage he withstood was pushed back into the depths of the Watcher’s being. He slapped the side of his helmet, switching the display inside, the mess of artifacts and bright colors faded, allowing him to see through the cracked visor, the only choice if he wanted to retain sight without removing the helmet.

“Well look at that Mari, the man’s got some fight left in him.”

“Some…” The Watcher’s voice leaked out of the damaged filter, alternating between a low and high pitch, sometimes the machine would give out, unmasking his natural voice.

“There’s only one person who can beat me, and you pale in comparison,” He reached behind with his right hand, ripping off the tattered rags that once made up his cloak. Cliff sneered, Mari burst out into a fit of laughter, hugging her sides in a vain attempt to retain composure.

“Is that so, big guy?” Mari remarked, “Because you aren’t doing so hot.”

“It’ll take more than a busty bimbo to take me out.” Flabbergasted, Mari couldn’t even form a sentence that properly conveyed her disbelief. She took a step forward only to be stopped by Cliff, who held out his arm.

“Mari wait, Somethings off about this”

“Your right, it’s the fact he still has his limbs attached!”

Brushing Cliff away she moved towards the Watcher her anger subsided once she drew closer to him. She spoke without a hint of malicious or sarcasm.

“You know, I was sort of looking forward to meeting you. The merciless vigilante, the cyclops, hell the kids round here call you the grim reaper. It sets one hell of an image, but got to say I’m disappointed,” her calm façade shifted, she shot the Watcher a cold glare.

“You're not some mythological beast, you're just any other human,” Mari’s voice grew progressively louder as she continued. “And right now you look like some feral animal with it’s back against the wall. You even resorted to some half-assed insults to get a rise out of me, I thought you were supposed to be above that!”

Rage fueled Mari, mana thrashed around inside her veins. A massive spike of energy surged throughout her body in a way the Watcher had yet to observe. Similarly to a physical augmentation, a colored hue started to form around her body, but this was far more visceral. Darkness, black as the void of nothingness that engulfed the stars, that was the color emanating from her small frame.

Mari screamed, no, howled out into the night. She gripped her sides, dropping her hilt onto the ground, it’s shining blade fizzling out. Her partner in crime shouted, but anything he said was drowned out by the orchestra of sparks and buzzing noises coming from the black aura which grew by the second. Twin streams of this dark energy formed, flowing under and over both of her shoulders. Soon the assassin’s screams came to a sudden halt, the darkness having formed a smooth shell around her. The Watcher was at a loss for words, never in his life did he expect to encounter such a monstrous form of magecraft, but he did not have time to theorize.

The cocoon burst open, and like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis Mari’s form had changed. She had grown quite a few feet, now tall and thin with both arms coated in a light layer of gray fur alongside the dark mist which surrounded her. Sharp, lengthy claws protruded from each finger. Cliff sprinted towards his friends, unphased by her absurd transformation only worried by one thing, “Mari no, we need him alive,” he repeated, growing more and more desperate.

A deafening cry echoed throughout the night, Mari swiped at Cliff luckily for the stalky Dulvian her aim was off, giving him enough time to stumble back. Now that her partner was out of the way, she had no qualms with attacking her target. In an instant, this grotesque creature was right before the Watcher. He ducked, narrowly avoiding a decapitation, her speed was already impressive beforehand but now, she was an entirely different beast. Mari’s claws carved out a two inch chunk of rock from the stone supports, the Watcher maneuvered to the adjacent pillar, throwing himself to the right, landing directly under the water tower. Once again, Mari cut into the stone structure, reaching deeper than the previous column.

“Two down,” the Watcher mumbled whilst picking himself off the ground, “Just one more to go.” His attacker snarled pouncing the Watcher before he could finish his thought. Her knife like talons jutted out, digging into the Watcher’s right shoulder, without skipping a beat she slammed the beaten man into the third stone structure, cracking the column to its foundation.

Cautiously Cliff inched closer to the water tower, barking out reminders that the Watcher was to be brought in, alive. The beast only growled in response, the Watcher could feel the pain, vividly nothing stood between him and the hooked claws of his opponent. The slightest movement on his part only heightened the pain, but he had to fight through it. Blood seeped out of his wounds, both those sustained previously and those inflicted by Mari’s talons. And as he groaned, he mustered every little bit of his lingering strength and used it all in one last movement.

Mari felt something push up against her stomach, she turned back and barked digging deeper into his flesh. “N...Ngh!” he coughed, blood flew out and covered the inside of his helmet. “...Argh!” In one last gamble for victory, he sent another powerful gust of wind into Mari’s belly, flinging her back into Cliff and both fell to the floor.

Much like before, the Watcher was forced to his knees. But this time, there was no shred of doubt in his mind, he was going to live, and take out these Dulvian assassins in one fell swoop. Pushing himself back up with his right leg, he glanced forward and as he predicted Mari was still eager to rip him apart, running on all fours approaching himself. But the Watcher was not going to let that happen.

“Three,” he slammed his left gauntlet into the cracked pillar. The machinery built into it detonated, shattering the third stone strut. What once was Mari skidded against the ground, coming to sudden halt. The remaining pillars whined and groaned, faltering under the weight of the spherical shaped container, and the gallons of liquid held within.

“Mari!” Cliff’s voice roared, finally grabbing the attention of his beastly ally. Who in turn, turned on her heels and bolted away from the failing water tower. The container tilted forward, uprooting the metal bolts thick metal wires that attached them to the building. The animal-like woman narrowly avoided being crushed by the layers of steel of the water container as it struck the surface. But she was swept up in the rushing water all the same, her partner too. Both were caught inside the powerful stream of clear, life sustaining liquid that shot out of the wreaked container.

The Watcher, who had been knocked back into a brick wall do the explosion regained composure just as the last of the water spilled onto the desolate streets. He cringed, all the pain that had been numbed by adrenaline hit him all at once. Hunched over, he caught a glimpse of his mangled left arm, luckily the armor plating prevented the complete evisceration of his forearm. His bone however was snapped in two, his arm past his elbow hung off, barely remaining attached much like a hangnail.

While horrifying, the Watcher didn’t have the luxury of treating himself, he still had a battle to win. Forcing his exhausted limbs forward, walking past chunks of stone and scraps of metal. The bottom of his boots were dampened by the scattered pools of water that remained. Literally dragging himself towards the end of the building, his entire body screamed in agony all of which he internalized only allowing it to surface as occasional groans. He expected to see two bodies stuck to the pavement, but instead he noticed a hand clinging to the ledge.

Cliff, the mountain of a man that nearly bested the Watcher was now dangling off the rooftop. Clutching the collar of an unconscious Mari, noticeably lacking in demonic body alterations.

Both a moment's way away from a grizzly end.

The male assassin grunted, focusing all his strength on keeping the pair suspended in the air. He tried to raise himself, but the Watcher’s boot brought about a swift end to that attempt. Admittedly the Watcher was indulging himself, grinding his boot against Cliff’s hand, accompanied by a c***k that forced a shout out of the burly man. However just as the Watcher prepared to stomp his opponents fingers into dust, Cliff mumbled something to himself.

“That bastard was right again…”

“What’re you-” a single red dot appeared on the Watcher’s helmet. Following the red line of light to its source, another hooded figure stood on the building directly in front of himself. Then another dot appeared, coming from the right side of the same building. Before he could even blink, seven hooded figures appeared, each having their sights trained on himself. These weren’t some random thugs, no their weaponry suggested they were part of an incredibly well armed organization. And given the ethnicity of his attackers, these figures belonged to the Dulvian terrorist group, shadows requiem.

Without any other options, the Watcher stepped away from the ledge and put his still intact arm in the air. No doubt about it, he was backed into a corner and he couldn’t do anything about it.