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Rise of the Assault

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(this is when I lived in Stony. I am still only 21, my hair is short, my teeth are straight, and my acne, CP, shunt, tube, and scars are all still long-gone!! Marc and his friends are back, but are still only normal humans!)





I could feel it coming, like cold hands on the back of my neck, and I was powerless to resist or stop it. As I fell asleep, the feeling of falling seemed to take hold of me, as did the abject fear. Suddenly I could have sworn that I was feeling the cold air rushing around me!!

I opened my eyes to find myself falling through the air toward a desert of cold, ash-grey sand. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and the cold, coarse sand felt like tiny slivers of razor-sharp metal slicing into my back, arms, and shoulders! I gasped for breath, and sat up slowly, blinking hard to clear my eyes, and tried hard to ignore both the pain of impact, and of the coarse sand scratching my skin. As soon as I saw where I was, back in the lonely, endless desert with a fiery red-yellow sky, but more blood-red than yellow, I felt cold fear!!

'Oh God, no! Not here! Not this again!' I thought desperately, but I knew it was as real as the pain I now felt, and I was no longer at home in my bed, simply dreaming of it, or was I? I couldn't be sure, but I knew that now it was more terrible than I could ever imagine, and I knew that Marc had the power to bring me into a world somewhere between myth and reality, but for the aspects and purposes of evil. I looked around, noticing I was sitting on a huge sand flat, with gigantic sand dunes far away in the distance, dark and ominous against the blood-red-yellow of the sky, almost like mountains, and far enough away that I could only just see them, and it was eerily silent all around. However, I could never have known that God had sent someone very special to help me, and he was somewhere out there, waiting.

Looking down, I noticed I was wearing my black runners and jeans, and my plain dark blue t-shirt, which I thought wasn't enough to make an imposing figure of myself, certainly not to Marc, I knew.

I closed my eyes, trying to envision one of my friends, or anyone in my family, knowing that just having a memory of them would serve to comfort me, but nothing turned up, and the harder I tried, the more I got a headache, but I knew Marc had the ability to weaken my brain's functions, and hinder my ability to remember what I needed most. I tried with all my might, but instead of hearing a voice or seeing a mental image, I only received painful feedback in the form of the same psychic static that Matt experienced whenever his telepathy was blocked by either the Haitian, or another telepath.

However, the feedback that I myself experienced was a combination of when Matt tried reading Peter's mind in the Heroes episode 'Fallout', and also of when Matt tried reading the Haitian's mind as both the Haitian and Noah Bennett were walking down the street(in the same episode). I tried even harder, my face twisting in intense concentration, but the static only became stronger; the humming, whirring, and screeching echoing around me like a barrier, which was what it actually was, working to nullify the thoughts I sought.

Suddenly I gasped, grunting in pain as I held my hands to my temples; a dizzy sensation washing over me!! Then I felt something ooze from my left nostril, as I reached up to wipe it away, finding it was blood!!

I then heard a cold, malicious laugh, that made the hackles on the back of my neck rise, but I fought down my fear, and slowly got up, turning to face my archenemy, who was none other than Marc de Manthaeus, the son of Satan!! Judas, Moloch, Curtis, and Dallas had all already been destroyed about 20 years before in my last battle with them, but I had already known the ultimate battle, which was now, had been yet to come, and Marc had, all along, been more powerful than all five of them combined!!

He wore Sylar's black outfit from 'Five years gone', his black hair glistened like filthy oil, and the evil in his black eyes was colder than death itself!! Our first, of two battles, was not an easy fight for me, and I was badly beaten and tormented by him. He had left me lying on the sand, in indescribable agony and fear; my clothes merely rags, now bloodstained and dirty. I sobbed silently as the pain racked my body, and it soon overcame me, as I passed out. I was vaguely aware of the soft jazzy music from my radio, which slowly lifted me from my tormented sleep into the morning world. Everything seemed hazy as I slipped into the shower, and the warm water woke me somewhat, but maybe not enough.

After cleaning up, I got dressed again, and went out to sit on the front step.

I found myself reflecting upon the nightmare I'd experienced the night before, as I felt faint psychic static. Just thinking about it made tears threaten to come again.

'Why does it have to be this way?!' I asked myself. 'What have I done to deserve this agony?' I felt a stray tear fall again, and choked back a sob, wiping my eyes.

Getting up, I decided to go for a walk, so I headed down the road toward the arena, toward the outskirts of town. I was walking down the road, when I suddenly heard running footsteps!! I ran faster, then jumped, planting one foot on one of the wooden posts of the fence bordering the pen hill, and kicked off, spinning and landing a flying back kick to Marc's chest. Yelling in agony, he flipped, slamming into the ground on his back, and coughed up blood from a cracked rib!

I then spun, leaping up to land a fast spinning split kick between Judas and Moloch, sending both of them flying!! Finally, I spun and leapt, landing a flying round kick to both Curtis and Dallas, knocking them both down the road, where they came to stop both unconscious, at the bottom!! I then spun down to kneel over Marc, landing a lightning fast double head slug.

I then had a split-second flash, that made me stop. I turned my head slightly, focusing as I felt the faint psychic static of my telepathy.

Suddenly, even though it lasted only a second, I foresaw a future battle I would wage against Marc, after Drethan helped me with something very special.

But then Marc managed to swing his left foot up into my temple, knocking me to the ground, and snapping me out of my premonition. Suddenly, before I'd realized what had happened, Marc was on top of me, choking me with both hands!!

"Time to die, Charlie!!" he growled while grinning evilly. I hacked and gasped, before managing to kick Marc in the gut, sending him flying off me!

He spun, running at me, then he drew a Bowie knife, and tried to stab me, but I easily dodged him, before running toward the schoolyard. Jumping the fence, I ran toward the doors, as he caught up, trying to slash me with his knife, but instead cut a large electrical cord running along the outside wall of the school, as I leapt clear!!

Swiftly throwing his knife away, Marc punched me in the head, sending me falling back, then lunged at me.

Dodging him, I let Marc drop, and roll, before I spun to slug him in the temple again. I then grabbed his neck, squeezing with all my might!!

"Charlie…!" I turned my head to see Drethan running toward us. He made short work of Marc's friends who tried to stop him, but, just as he was about to reach us, Marc grappled with the sparking electrical cord, and thrust it upward, jamming it into my eyes!!!

Jerking up, I screamed in agony, as I instantly released Marc, covering my eyes with my hands as I continued screaming, before staggering and collapsing to the ground!!!

Tossing the now-dead cord aside, Marc quickly got back up, hacking while holding his throat, before gagging and spitting.

Slowly lowering his hands, Marc grinned, laughing evilly under his breath.

As I turned forward again, Drethan gasped in horror upon noticing my eyes were completely scorched out; thin trails of blood oozing from the horrible burns around where my eyes had been!!!

Slowly, I got up, staggering to my feet, and began to walk slowly toward Marc, following the sound of his breathing and footsteps.

"I wish you could see yourself now, Charlie!" Marc said coldly. "A blind, pathetic wretch of a man! Jesus saved many blind people in His time, but now, you're left behind,"

He then slowly raised a large crowbar that had been left by workers who were earlier trying to fix part of the school that Marc and his friends had damaged earlier in the summer. "and just waiting to be put out of your misery!"

Then Marc swung the crowbar with all his might, and just when Drethan expected it to hit me, I swiftly ducked, as he gasped, staring in shock!!

As I stood back up, Marc swung the crowbar again, but I suddenly grabbed it, locking it under my right arm, glaring straight at him, as he stared at me in utter shock!!

"I can see you, Marc!!" I snarled. "I ain't no blind man!"

Then I swiftly rammed my knee into his gut, as his collapsed to his knees with a yell, before I grabbed the bar's end, and wrenched it out of his hands while twisting it; his grip on the crowbar enough to cause the momentum to twist and break his right forearm, as he yelled in agony!!!

But then I felt Drethan's hand on my shoulder, as I turned to him.

"Just leave him, Charlie. He can't hurt you any more."

I nodded, throwing the crowbar down, as it struck Marc's broken arm, making him scream, then collapse and pass out from the sheer agonizing pain! Drethan then helped me walk down the road toward The Second Identity.

Reaching the door, he magically unlocked it, before helping me inside.

Closing the door, he then helped me walk toward a bench just outside the back room, and sit down.

Magically conjuring some cool water in a silver bowl from a nearby shelf, Drethan then proceeded to carefully wash my burnt eyes.

"I never thought something like this would happen to me, Drethan!" I said quietly. "I only said to Marc that I wasn't blind so that his shock would give him enough pause to let me beat him."

I then looked up at Drethan, following the sound of his voice.

"So, Charlie, you really are…?!" Drethan replied in worried shock. I nodded, before we hugged each other, and I cried into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie…!!" he whispered, now both saddened and shocked beyond belief that his best friend was now blind!!

After a few more minutes, I composed myself, lifting my head from Drethan's shoulder.

"Wait here, Charlie."

With that, Drethan rose, and walked toward the door across from the bench. Going through, I heard him ascending some stairs. A short while later, he returned with a long, thick strip of black cloth.

Walking around behind me, he proceeded to gently set the cloth flat against my burnt eyes, then gently but firmly wrap it around my head, tying it securely.

As I got up, Drethan then told me he knew it wouldn't be safe for me to go home, due to Marc and his friends still being out there, possibly waiting for me.

I agreed to spend the night here with Drethan; my momentary sadness over my loss forgotten as I looked forward to spending some quality time with my best friend.



The next morning, I awoke to the delicious aroma of steak and eggs, and got up, heading downstairs and through another door off the one into the shop, arriving in a well-kept kitchen/dining room.

" 'Morning, Charlie!" Drethan greeted me, stifling a yawn. "Sleep well?"

I smiled. "Very. Thanks, Drethan!" I then sat at the kitchen table, as Drethan offered me fresh steak, scrambled eggs, and orange juice.

As we ate, I couldn't keep a thought from my mind, but didn't need to voice it, due to my friend's telepathic ability.

"I know that Marc and his friends will stop at nothing to try and hurt you, Charlie,' Drethan said, as I looked up at him. 'but I won't let them, and I have a surprise for you! I think you'll find it's abilities will compensate for your loss very nicely!"

This statement left me confused, but I knew I would eventually discover it, so knew better than to ask questions.



After breakfast, and cleaning up, I went back down to the shop with Drethan. Today it was closed, so there were no customers.

Drethan then led me through the door into the back room.

I stopped upon suddenly hearing a soft shuffling sound in front of me. Raising my head, I listened, then tried to locate the sound's source.

Drethan could feel the power of my desire like a beacon.  

A costume, hanging on a rack just to the right of the door I'd entered through, began to tremble.

Drethan smiled upon recognizing an Assault, a reptilian creature with a bipedal stance, roughly as big as I was, with dull green scales, a strong, wiry physique, but instead of just four fingers on each hand, the Assault had five, like a human. It also had clawed feet that were roughly human-like, with two long, sharp greenish-grey ridges on its back, tinted red at the tips.

The Assault's armour plates covered its back, down to the base of its spine.

Finally, there was the metal helmet that shielded its eyes and ears. However, in this case, instead of just ordinary metal, the helmet was made of solid adamantium, a rare, nearly-indestructible metal alloy!

I stood still, before slowly spreading my arms.

Suddenly hearing a low hiss, I turned my head slightly, before reaching out my hand to feel around.

Coming in contact with cool rubber, I scoffed, and shook my head.

"Just because I have a desire to be a reptile, does not imply that I want to be a dragon!" I said, annoyed.

Regardless, the dragon grabbed my left arm, but I was fast as lightning, grabbing its shoulder, and spinning, throwing the dragon across the room!!

The dragon hissed in shock as it hurled through the air, landing on the floor and collapsing in a crumpled heap!!

Drethan suddenly smiled, and stifled a snorting laugh, knowing that that particular costume was corrupted through a flaw in its design, which meant that its free will was too strong for a person to handle!!

Drethan had meant to destroy it, as it was his very first flawed costume, but his best friend seemed to have did it for him!!

Grinning, I spread my arms slowly, as the Assault formed itself, and stood up behind me.

"Do as you will." I said quietly, speaking to the creature. It nodded in response, as Drethan smiled.

Stepping forward, the Assault's body suddenly seemed to liquefy, smoothly flowing over my feet, ankles, and up my legs, using invisible 'muscles' to slowly pull my feet and legs into the correct posture.

'Are you ready?' a small baritone voice in my mind asked. I nodded mentally.

'Yes.' I replied. The Assault then reached up, and used its claws to easily loosen and untie the knot in my blindfold, before gently lifting it away from my eyes.

They were still badly burnt and thus unrecognizable, but everything would change for me in a few seconds!! Tossing the blindfold to the floor, the Assault controlled its form to smoothly flow over and transform my human body, but there was no pain.

Soon I was completely absorbed into the costume; my human body slowly and smoothly flowing and reforming, like water, to fit and fill the suit, bonding with it and changing me into the creature.

In just under twenty seconds, no trace of my human self remained in the form that now stood before Drethan. He smiled as he looked upon a living, breathing, flesh-and-blood reptilian Assault!!

I felt the raw power course through my veins as I slowly turned, flexing my body and my tail, getting used to my new form.

I could see only darkness for the moment, but then Drethan's footsteps caused faint amber 'waves' to suddenly flow rapidly across it, and as the ripples continued, I could make out the familiar shape of the room, and the racks of costumes; my new vision being good enough to clearly define shapes and contours of objects around me!!

However, due to my new vision being monochromatic, I couldn't perceive colour, aside from black, brown, orange, amber, yellow, and white.

My new vision was a very interesting combination of Daredevil's sonar, and Neo's thermal vision from "The Matrix Revolutions"!!

"Charlie…?" I turned to look up at Drethan, seeing the sound flow from his mouth as he spoke, outlining him in bright orange-amber thermal light, much like how Neo perceived Bane, as Smith!!

"Can you understand me?" I nodded, giving a thumbs-up, as he smiled.

I was amazed to find that not just my hearing, but my taste, smell, and touch were all superhumanly-enhanced as well, exactly like Daredevil, only I wasn't human.

I then followed Drethan back down to the shop, and headed for the door, when I stopped short.    

Raising my head, I sniffed, picking up Marc's foul scent!!

Drethan didn't need to ask me in order to know what I had detected.

We decided to surprise them, so Drethan turned himself invisible, giving the same power to me through our empathic connection, before we waited in the shop; a wizard, and an Assault.

Soon, Marc's voice was heard; my heightened senses letting me pinpoint his and his friends' exact locations before they even reached the store.

"…you know, Judas, I could just pick a dragon, wolf, or some other beast that Charlie would find hard to stand against."

He answered. "Yeah, you could, Marc, but you're forgetting his friend."

Marc scoffed. "Drethan is just an old man, hardly worth worrying over!"

At this, Drethan could feel my anger.

'Those fools will feel my wrath if they DARE to speak of my best friend that way!!' I growled quietly to myself.

Feeling them getting closer, I readied myself, keeping as quiet as a cat.

Soon my thermal-sonar vision let me watch Marc open the door, as the bell sent fast, tight ripples of sound and heat rippling out, reflecting off of every surface, creating a veritable 'sonar barrage'.

However, unlike Daredevil, who had to use a single strong sound to nullify this effect, I, in contrast, could still sort through individual signals to pinpoint one source, but if the sound increased to over 200 dB, I would literally go blind; my visual field becoming an overwhelming haze of light from compacted sonar frequencies.

The human ear can handle up to 110 dB, but my enhanced senses were also superbly stronger than any human, allowing me to easily handle much higher frequencies without harm.

I waited until Marc was about ten feet from my hiding spot, before I heard Drethan's voice whisper in my mind,

'Get him, Charlie!'

Leaping out from hiding, I landed crouched before Marc, who screamed, leaping back in terror from the large, muscular reptile now standing before him!!

His cry attracted his friends, who came running, stopping dead upon seeing me!!

"What is that thing?!" Moloch gasped, staring at me as if I were a ghost.

"I dunno, Moloch, but…"

Before Judas could finish his answer, Drethan was standing before them, beside the creature, as their eyes all widened!

"Nice to see you all here!" he said; his tone seemingly friendly, yet at the same time dangerously sly!!

"Who, or what, is that…thing?!" Moloch gasped, looking at me as I crouched beside the wizard.

"I take it none of you have ever seen an Assault before." Drethan said with a grin, before looking right at Marc.

"And I think that you, Marc, might not want to mess with my friend here." he said, referring indirectly to me. "Perhaps you know of whom I speak?"

Suddenly Marc's face twisted in rage!

With a yell, he lunged at me, but I instantly grabbed his arm, flipped him into the air like a rag doll, then spun, whacking him with my tail and sending him crashing into the ceiling!

However, due to Drethan having placed powerful shields over the whole shop, nothing, aside from Marc himself, was even slightly damaged!!
   
Judas then tried to hit me with a stool, but I reared up, grabbed the stool's metal legs, and bent them as easily as if they were rubber, before shoving the stool forward, ramming it into Judas' face and sending him flying, before I threw it aside!!

Luckily, he landed smack-dab on the corrupt dragon suit, which instantly began swelling and forming, enveloping and trapping him, then forcefully transforming him, as his screams became roars!!

The dragon then lunged at me, blasting a thin but extremely powerful fire jet, but my helmet and armour plates proved to be fully fireproof!!

Drethan watched in amazement as I deflected the flames, then Judas stopped, but not even a scorch mark could be seen on my armour!!

I then lunged forward, flipping up my visor and swiftly biting into the dragon's neck!!

Squealing like a stuck pig, the dragon was lifted, shaken viciously, then swung and launched through the air to smash through the front window; the dragon narrowly dodging the shards of flying glass!!

I then spun to see Marc in another dragon suit lunge at me, but I dodged its claws, as it flew through the window and off into the sky; Judas swiftly following beside him!!

I easily leapt out the window, landing crouched on the ground, with Drethan beside me.

We watched the two dragons circle around, and then head straight for us, picking up speed!!

I stood my ground, as did Drethan.

'C'mon, you filthy lizards! Let's get ready to rumble!!'

I watched Marc and Judas both shoot across the sky toward us; their eyes blazing with malice!!

Then Marc suddenly unleashed a massive fireball straight toward me, but like lightning, I crouched, as Drethan instantly conjured an invisible shield; the flames harmlessly deflecting about a meter in front of us!!

Upon stopping, I glanced up to see both dragons staring down at us with stunned expressions!!

Then Marc snapped out of it, diving toward me with a roar!! I instinctively dived into a roll to dodge him; his talons scraping my adamantium shield, but then I heard the unmistakeable ripping of tissue as one of Marc's wing membranes caught one of my spines!!

Roaring in agony, the dragon careened skyward; blood dripping from his torn wing!!

I waited, then spun, flipping back the shield, and catching Marc by the tail!!

As Drethan watched in disbelief, I easily spun the dragon around, before hurling it through the air to smash into the other dragon, knocking them both senseless!!  

As the two dragons fell and crashed to earth, Drethan shot a bolt of energy that exploded the dragons' hearts, causing their internal furnaces to overload and fry them from the inside, burning the dragons alive!!!

Moloch ran at me, but I swiftly slit his throat with the razor-sharp edge of my adamantium shield, and finished off both Curtis and Dallas by breaking their necks!!

Afterwards, Drethan disposed of their bodies.

Turning to me, he smiled.

"Thanks for helping me, Charlie!" I nodded, lifting my helmet.

"No, thank you, my friend!!" I replied.

Smiling, Drethan patted me on the shoulder, before lowering my visor again.

"Farewell, Charlie, and good luck with your new form!"

I nodded, giving one more thumbs up to my friend, then turning and bounding off down the road, disappearing into the twilight.

Smiling, Drethan turned to go back into his shop, and went about closing down for the night.

'Finally, my best friend has what he desires, and there is peace as well! For Charlie to be happy, makes it the absolute best it can be!' Drethan thought to himself, as he went to bed.

I, an Assault, continued bounding down the highway, away from the shop, and my home.

I knew I was alone now, aside from Drethan, so leaving this town behind was my choice.

Heading down the moonlit highway, I pondered all the infinite possibilities now open to me.

I had lost my sight, but becoming the ultimate weapon gave it back in a way I had never expected.

I looked up at the stars, glowing like amber pinpricks in a black sky.

'For him who has eyes to see, then let him see…'

   The End!
A good story about how my friend, the wizard Drethan, saves me from Marc, and allows me to become the ultimate weapon. Inspired by both 'The Matrix Revolutions', and 'Daredevil', as well as the dA story "Once More, with feeling", by 'Paladin12345678'.
© 2014 - 2024 Rethar-Stonehammer
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