Legacy & War (Battle of Nippur)

[Proto Man]

Property?

“Property!”

The blood-stained monarch had fallen, his hands clutched around an abdomen now torn to shreds. More blood played at the edges of Gilgamesh’s mouth and stained his chin. Although the sword blast had hurt more than anything since his creation, Proto Mouse sprung forward and drove a knee into the king’s face.

The impact threw the warrior like a ragdoll across the street, but even though every inch of his body throbbed, Gilgamesh pulled himself up to face his opponent.

“Is that all yo—”

The word was left unfinished as the monarch’s expression soured at the sight of the glow around his foe. At first just a faint aura, the energy soon surged into a small cyclone around the cybernetic rodent. As Gilgamesh watched, Proto Mouse’s body expanded outward in all directions. The almost gaunt, undefined arms and limbs that had once belonged to Mickey Mouse bulged with new musculature. Cybernetic guards on his wrists, legs, and chest swelled out to make new space, and with just a few moments, Proto Mouse had doubled in height.

When he spoke again, it was a few octaves lower than the nearly squeaking tone of Mickey Mouse.

“I don’t know what a LAW is…” Proto Mouse growled as he closed a hand around Gilgamesh’s throat and lifted the man up to the level of his eyes. “But I know that you don’t deserve the blood, sweat, and tears of these men, women, and children.” The rodent let go of his opponent just long enough to smash his helmeted skull against the villain’s face. A spray of blood splashed against Proto Mouse’s countenance as the impact drove Gilgamesh to the ground.

With a thud, the monarch hit shoulder-first and rolled to avoid the crashing impact of a metal boot against the paved surface.

Although he’d lost the glowing runes, Gilgamesh still had enough spring in his step to scramble to his feet. Sword in hand, he sneered as the transformed cyborg stalked across the street toward him. “You’re still a mongrel, Mouse. You don’t have enough tricks to defeat a true king!”

“Tch,” Proto Mouse muttered as he dashed forward, gracefully slipping around an erratic sword slash and drilling his fist into Gilgamesh’s torn abdomen. The force was enough to pop the man up off the ground by a few inches, and before the gilded monarch could move to defend himself, a swift kick to the side of the skull launched him through the wooden façade of a nearby structure.

Before the dust could settle, Proto Mouse charged a blast and fired into the thin layer of dust. In a brilliant flash of yellow light, the building exploded outward as if it was made of playing cards.

Stepping back from the pile of smoldering debris, Proto Mouse let out a sigh as his scanners swept the scene around him. “I know you’re alive, Gilgamesh,” he whispered beneath his breath as he checked to see that they were the only ones for at least a solid city block. Whatever the reason, no one wanted to get anywhere near their scuffle.

From somewhere in the rubble, the cyborg rodent saw something shift—a brick twitching before rolling down a few feet.

Proto Mouse’s thrusters carried him forward, and with a blank expression on his face, he plunged a hand down into the debris and grabbed hold of something warm and fleshy. A moment later, he tore the king up out from the brick, wood, and stone by the wrist, and without skipping a beat, he spun and hurtled Gilgamesh against the side of the adjacent structure.

The man, whose trademark blonde locks were stained brown by dust and drying blood, let out a soft chuckle as blood dribbled down the front of his face. “That’s it? Are you pulling your punches, you petulant little fuck?”

As a blur of red and white, Proto Mouse rushed forward and bashed his fist into the left side of Gilgamesh’s face, crushing the underlying cheekbone into a pulpy mass of bone, muscle, and flesh. “Language!” The mouse barked as he slipped his hands under the other king’s armpits and hoisted him up to his feet. “Are you ready to surrender? I don’t like hurting you, Gilgamesh, but I’m not going to stop unless you agree to stand down.”

In response, the monarch sucked in a deep, gurgling breath of air and spat a mouthful of blood and spit into Proto Mouse’s visage.

“Fuck you, Cur. I’ll enjoying watching your head roll.”

The retort came in the form of two palms smashing against Gilgamesh’s chest. There was a sound like splintering ribs before the force of the impact collapsed the wall behind the city’s king. Once more, the man vanished beneath a sea of brick and mortar.

Used Tier 2 power up 'Overclock' for this post -2 SP