Eye for an Eye

[Android 17]

By the time they were within a couple dozen yards of the thief, he was ready for them. Seventeen caught the subtle motion as the man dropped the rope he was using to drag the makeshift sled. There was a faint glimmer before a giant blast of energy came screaming at the twosome.

“Duck!”

The machine-hybrid dove to the wayside as the bolt of energy roared passed him. Slightly less agile, Joe held up his scepter and winced as an impromptu magical barrier flashed to life. The defensive measure soaked up most of the impact, but there was enough kick in the blast that it got through the shield and smacked against the turtle’s chest.

With Joe now feeling on the ground, Seventeen popped back into a vertical position and threw out a hand. A burst of energy sprang forth and caught the thief in the shoulder, causing him to fall backwards onto his haunches. Rather than press the assault, the cyborg simply glanced at his extended palm and frowned. In his head, he’d put enough into that attack to blow a hole in the thief, and instead, he’d done little more than smack his target in the shoulder.

Something tells me that I’m not going to like this place.

As the machine-hybrid waxed philosophical about his predicament, his opponent stood up, shouldered his gun, and loosed another thunderous blast.

Seventeen twisted and threw himself forward as the super-heated lance of energy tore through the spot his head had occupied a few moments earlier. Unlike the last time, he rolled through the leap and ended up on his feet at the end. Wrenching the Power Sword from its sheath, the cyborg closed the distance and swung the blade at the man’s face. The merchant growled as he parried the attack with the barrel of his rifle and caught his opponent in the chin with the stock of the weapon. There was the sudden taste of blood in Seventeen’s mouth as a second bash knocked him off balance.

“Night night,” the merchant snickered as he shouldered the weapon and moved for the trigger. Before his finger could act, a fireball crashed against his chest and shoulder.

Seeing the opening that Joe had made for him, Seventeen stepped forward and smashed his boot into his opponent’s shin. There was an audible snap as the bone splintered under the impact. Pain and fear took over as the man screamed and pulled the trigger, loosing a bolt into the sky above the opponents’ heads. Although this hearing had been reduced to a dull ringing noise, the cyborg’s resolve hadn’t wavered. With the sword clenched in both of his bony hands, he put on his best baseball player impression.

The first vicious swing smashed against the center of the merchant’s rifle, knocking the gun from the man’s panicked fingertips. Before his opponent had a chance to pull back, Seventeen once again teed off, and this time, the baseball was the other man’s skull.

While he knew the Omniverse would take some getting used to, the machine-hybrid was more than satisfied to learn that the old adage of ‘katchin beats anything’ was still in effect. Upon impact, the Power Sword crashed through one side of the man’s skull and exited the other with a spray of chunky, gray-red gore. A beat later, a corpse with half a head hit the ground in front of the cyborg with a wet thump.

“And the crowd goes wild,” Seventeen whispered beneath his breath as he sheathed the sword and watched the man’s blood sputter out onto the dry soil.