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Thundercrash (w/DeviousFish)

Little seemed to have changed in the underground base. A few pieces of equipment were missing; perhaps they were upstairs. Now that she was investigating more closely, she could see that several of the large, humming machines were generators. There was no sign of Silver Soul or his hostage, at least, not until she reached the pillar where she had been chained. Her blood was still dried on the manacles, but there was other blood splattered against the pillar itself. It started at about waist high, then ran down to the floor where it collected in a still-wet pool. There was an awful lot of it.
 
Sparkler shone the light around the room, it felt all too eerily familiar. For a minute, she half expected Soul to appear behind her, complaining about his lack of an apple. The feeling was so strong, that she had to turn around and check, her heart racing. Nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief, she went back to examining the room.

Much of it was still the same, and as she had suspected, he had generators standing by. Those would have to be taken care of. The circle of light continued to travel across the floor; she saw the place where he had cast her earthward and the impact had split the concrete, the place where she had shocked him with all her might and scorched the ground, and finally the place where he had pinned her down and taken her. From there, she had to look away, the feelings were still too raw.

It was then that her light fell on the pillar where she had been chained. It seemed the bastard hadn't even bothered to clean her blood off the chains before he brought in his next victim. The newer stains worried her. That was a lot of blood. How many pints of blood loss was lethal? Four to five? Surely it wasn't that much. The victim could still be alive. Assuming her injuries had been treated and she wasn't left to bleed to death somewhere.

As she stared at the pillar, the fear that had been gripping her was slowly replaced by a new, darker emotion. Soul was horrible. He was a horrible, disgusting, pitiful excuse for a human being. No, he wasn't human, he was a monster. He didn't deserve the mercy and deference she offered the other criminals. Up until now, she still had the vague plan to arrest him. But as she looked at the blood and the memories of what had happened returned vividly, she began to doubt that solution. How could she send this...this creature off to live every day with a chance of escape? The chance to acquire more victims? To talk, no brag, about how he had violated her to every scumbag in the city? How could she face each day with that shame hanging over her, reflected in the eyes of every criminal she caught? She hated him. She hated him more than she thought she could hate anything. It frightened her how deeply she could feel that emotion. Was that the way a hero should feel? Her moral code told her not to kill. But maybe she should make an exception? An exception for monsters?

"Focus," she reminded herself. "I'll deal with that when I have to. Now, a life may be at stake."

Resuming her search, she shone the light all around the pillar. If the victim (presumably Ms. Jackson) was still bleeding when she was moved, there might be a trail that indicated where she had been taken. If that lead turned up false, she would then set to dismantling the generators. She'd lost track of the time, but she figured she had at least fifteen minutes left before the power went.
 
As easy as it would have been to simply fry the generators, it would have used up too much of her strength. So, it was necessary to take them apart more carefully, and that took more time. Apparently too much time; as she was beginning to dismantle the final generator, silver bands appeared around her wrists and began to drag her away.

Silver Soul's mocking voice came from behind her. "There you are, darling, I've been looking everywhere for you. You mustn't run away like that, I get so worried."
 
It was a tedious task, but she was making her way through the generators like clockwork. Just as she was about to take the tank out of the last one, she felt firm, hard pressure around her wrists, drawing her back. Her throat tightened and she swallowed nervously, knowing it was him. At the sound of his voice, her heartbeat quickened. For a moment, it seemed she was going to collapse in fear. Then she straightened herself, remembering her resolve. If her plan was going to work, she needed to get him to use as much of his energy as possible before the blackout, then finish it while he was weak and unable to recharge. Focus, she told herself. Its not going to be like last time.

"You shouldn't be," she said, cooly. "I'm not your pet, you know."

Balling up her fists, she pulled against the restraints around her wrist. Gripping one band with her opposite hand, she crumbled it and yanked it off. Then, did the same to the other in it's turn. Slowly, she turned to face him.

"And I'm not your 'Darling', either," she spat and slid into a fighting stance.
 
"Of course you are," he said with a chuckle. "You belong to me, and yet you are no mere possession. You are a living thing, and precious to me. I do care about you, Sparkler, though you may not yet understand." A collar formed around her neck and jerked her towards him. "What else can I call you but a pet? A lover?" A glowing hand appeared in front of her and clamped down on her breast, squeezing it through the suit. "That's your old costume, isn't it? I'm hurt, I really am. I went out of my way to get you something new."
 
The collar around her neck startled Sparkler, though she realized it shouldn't have. It pulled her and she resisted, but not enough. She stumbled towards him, her breath catching in her throat as she drew closer.

"I don't... I don't belong to you..." she said weakly.

This was not good. She was losing it. When the hand clamped down on her breast, she had to bite her lip to conceal a whimper. "No," she thought. "No, not again!" Then she remembered Ms. Jackson. And how she was probably critically injured somewhere. She thought about the people he had killed at the bank. How he used the money he had stolen to get her that "something new." Most of all, she thought about how he had hurt her. Now having the audacity to say he "cared." Her stomach turned. But her fear subsided and was replaced by rage. She looked up at him and met his gaze fiercely.

"I'm not interested in anything you obtained with your blood money," she said cooly. "I'll do my own shopping."

Calmly, keeping her eyes locked with his, she slipped two fingers between her neck and the collar. Gritting her teeth, she pulled as hard as she could. It tingled and stung against her skin, almost cutting into it, but it eventually gave way and shattered. Then she stepped back, ripping the groping hand from her breast.

"I don't understand, you say? Well I don't want to. I don't want to understand your twisted way of caring," she said, her voice hard, slow, determined. "If you gave one damn about me, you wouldn't hurt the people I try to protect!"

Once again, she slid into the fighting stance. Her feet parted and fists raised.

"I am NOT your pet. I am NOT your lover and I do NOT belong to you," she said, her voice low and growling. "I am only one thing to you... your ENEMY."

With that, she launched herself at him, aiming a punch at his smug face. She wasn't sure how much time she had left, maybe five minutes, but she needed to engage him now. Somehow, she had to pull him out of his casual mood and force him to fight with everything he had. For now, this seemed to be all she could think of. That, and she just really, really wanted to hurt him.
 
Silver Soul opened his mouth, no doubt to make some witty reply, but he was quickly occupied with her fist. For the briefest of instants, his smug smile slipped and he looked genuinely surprised. A silver wall appeared in front of his face, but cracked under the onslaught of her knuckles. New silver hands appeared, grabbing at her wrists and upper arms, trying to drag her away from him.

"I understand that you feel that way now, Sparkler, but in time you will come to accept me as your beloved master." He reached a hand towards her face.
 
Her fist met the silver barrier and the shock of the impact reverberated up her arm. It did little to deter her, however, as she reeled back to drive another blow at him. Before she could do that, she felt her wrists and arms caught up by the disembodied hands. She struggled against them, but could make little progress. Her eyes widened when his own hand drew near her face.

"I am my own master," she snapped. Though she often called herself a servant of the people, she never really felt she belonged to them. Not in the way Soul wanted her to belong to him, anyway. "I don't want you. I don't need you."

Still held by the hands, she twisted her hips and swung her leg in an crescent kick to knock his hand away.

"Though, I understand, that you might need me."

Then, with her other leg, she aimed a ferocious kick at his face. Whether it was physically or with her words, she was searching for a weakness. Even though it was a part of the plan, in a sense, there was also that desire for revenge. He had hurt and humiliated her, she planned to return the favor.
 
Silver Soul put up another silver wall to block her kick, but it wasn't strong enough. Her foot shattered it and crashed into his face. He reeled, though how much of the shock was from the construct breaking and how much was from the kick was unclear even to him. Either way, he quickly regained his balance, his broken jaw setting itself before her eyes. New hands appeared to grasp her thighs and ankles as he walked towards her once again. This time, he spit a mouthful of blood in her face before, then reached up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. Only with that done did he respond to her. "Of course I need you, Sparkler. You were meant for me, to be a part of me, and I am incomplete without you. That's why I know that, no matter how you struggle, you will eventually be mine."
 
The glow of satisfaction that came with feeling her boot make contact with his face was short lived. In the next moment, she felt her thighs and ankles restrained by more hands. She cursed herself for not freeing her arms when she kicked him. When he spat blood at her, she flinched as the red liquid splattered across her face. She could taste it on her lips and feel it trickling down her cheek. The action was intended to humiliate, but instead, the simple knowledge that she had made him bleed emboldened her.

"You sure about that? What if you're wrong?" she said, sneering. "What if you have to go your whole miserable life... incomplete, as you say. Flawed."

She twisted her arms and pulled at her legs. The grasp of the silver hands was firm, but if she really threw herself into it, she suspected she could break free. For now, though, she held still. Her heart was beating in her chest with fear and adrenaline. His words had struck fear in her, fear that there was truth in them. But she only stared at him contemptuously and continued.

"Your powers need to be fed constantly, right? Can't say I can relate, but that must suck," she said, with a snide grin on her face. "What happens when you run out of things to leech off, huh? What happens to you then?"

Was she pushing the right buttons? Maybe, maybe not yet. She wanted to piss him off, get him off balance, make him lose that control he grasped so tightly. Maybe it would take more physical action to do that. If he got too close, she'd have to go back to that tactic. There were only a few minutes before the blackout. He needed to be weak before then.
 
If Silver Soul was angered by her words, it did not show on his face. Instead the same smug grin settled over his features, though the impact was perhaps lessened by the blood smeared across it. "It's rarely a problem; in this increasingly modern world, there is power everywhere. But, just in case... I'll have you. That is what I meant, Sparkler, when I said your power was mine. All that energy your body generates, it generates just for me." His high pitched laugh echoed throughout the station. "Why do you think it yielded to me so easily? And not just your power..." He reached a hand towards her face once more.

The truth was that he was running out of power, and quickly. Restraining someone as strong as Sparkler took a lot of energy. But once he had his hands on her, he could replenish that in an instant. He was sure she was brimming with delicious power.
 
"Gee... every girl's dream. To be a back up battery."

That laugh had a unique way of unnerving her. Why, she couldn't say. Then again, there were lots of things about him that affected her inexplicably. Like what he was referring to. No, she didn't want to think about that. So he'd pressed a few buttons, proven he had a fair knowledge of anatomy, that didn't mean he had some mysterious control over her body. It certainly didn't mean she was bound to him in any way, whatever the marks on their palms might suggest. Or that he could elicit those reactions again. Not that she'd allow him the opportunity.

"Nope, not happening," she declared as his hand approached.

She ground her teeth together and jerked backwards with all her might, pulling the silver appendages along. The hands tugged and pulled at her arms and legs, hurting and bruising and ripping into the cloth of her suit, but after a moment's struggle she broke free. Floating backwards and panting from the exertion, she stared down at him.

"I think I'm in charge of who this power is for, Soul," she sniffed. "And you're not getting another drop."

Just then, the lights flickered. It was a bit sooner than she'd hoped, but it seems they were cutting the power. She'd just have to turn up the volume a bit. She put up her fists and prepared to dive down at him.
 
Silver Soul couldn't help but wince as she broke free of the various hands, breaking several of them in the process. When she dove at him, he kicked off the ground and flew away, but Sparkler was faster--at least, at the moment she was. He could have outrun her, but with the energy he had left, it would not have been for long. And that would have been the end of him. He needed to buy time, even if it was only a few seconds.

At the last second as Sparkler approached, he put up a thin screen. It was his weakest defense yet, and he didn't expect it to stop her. But it would slow her down, by the tiniest fraction, and more importantly it would obscure her vision of him. Most likely she would crash right through it, right into his waiting attack. Once he had knocked her to the ground, he would have the time he needed to recharge, and it would be over for her.
 
It was hard for her to be sure just how much power Soul had left. She saw him wince when she pulled free of the hands, but he'd feigned weakness before. The power was finally being cut, there was no time to hesitate. She dove at the barrier fists first, intending to power through it, and into him.
 
The barrier gave, probably more easily than she had expected. Silver Soul wasn't quite where she expected either; he was still there, but he was angled forward, his body coiled tightly, and her fists flew right over his head. That was when he darted forward, slamming his elbow into her solar plexus. The blow would have been quite heavy if she had been stationary; with as fast as she was moving and as perfectly as he had timed it, it was all of her own forced turned against her, and then some.

That blow delivered, Silver Soul all but dropped from the air, using his power only to slow his descent. His landing was still a bit rough, and he fell to his knees. But it was fine. It would take Sparkler a little time to get up from that, and by that time he would have all the power in--

But there was no power. Although it was barely perceptible behind his mask, Silver Soul's eyes widened. How had he not noticed? He'd been so focused on the fight, so eager to get his hands on her again, that the lack of power around him had slipped his attention. The only thing left was the one generator. He could drain its power, but he already knew it wouldn't be enough. Still, there was a use for it...

But for that to work, he had to look like he had more in reserve than he actually did. So he got to his feet, running his hands through his hair to tuck away the few loose strands.
 
The barrier collapsed far too easily and Sparkler realized her mistake a moment too late. The elbow thrust into her abdomen with incredible force and the air rushed out of her lungs. She crashed face first to the ground behind him, eyes closed in pain. Her diaphragm in spasm, she opened her mouth trying to gasp for air but could not inhale.

"Stupid!" she thought angrily to herself. "Such a stupid mistake!"

At any moment, she expected the villain to be on top of her or restraining her with his constructs. But he didn't come. Her clenching muscle untwisted and allowed breath to flow into her lungs again. It had been only a moment, but enough time for him to strike another blow. Yet he hadn't. She coughed and pushed herself up off the ground a little, peering at him. Was he toying with her again? Or was it possible he was running out of juice?

"Something wrong?" she sneered. "Is that all you've got?"

The power would be out for only five minutes. If he was really weakened, now would be the time to hit him with everything she had. Now would be the time to... what? Kill him? As much as she hated him, she wondered if she could do it. Maybe not. Maybe if he begged and pleaded for his life she would spare him. Yes, that sounded right. But that was getting ahead of herself. She had to see what he was playing at first.
 
Part of him wished that he had used the last of his energy to follow her to the ground, to grab a hold of her and drain her energy. But he knew that if he got so close when he was this weak, she could end him with a single blow. Besides, he had a plan. "Of course it isn't. Clever trick with the power grid, Sparkler, but you've made a mistake. Now that you're my only energy source, you're going to have to give me everything." Trying to maintain his calm, he walked over to the one working piece of equipment--the computers and giant monitor, which were rigged up to the last working generator. He typed hurriedly on the keyboard.
 
"What?" Sparkler coughed, feigning innocence. "Don't blame me if you forgot to pay the bill."

So he'd noticed? That must mean he had tried to feed himself. A wide grin spread across Sparkler's bloodied face. He was weak. A sudden thrill shot through her; she almost felt giddy. Slowly she stood up and, staring at him coldly, adjusted her gloves.

"I don't have to give you anything," she said, laughing darkly. "You certainly can't make me. Not now. Not ever again."

With that, she flew at him as fast as she could. Certainly, if she had lost all her restraint, she could have killed him right then. But she didn't want to do that. Not yet. A part of her, a part that was far less than heroic, wanted him to suffer. She grabbed him by his neck with both hands and tried to throw him away from the keyboard.

"Now, you're going to pay for what you did to me," she hissed, completely forgetting about his other victims for the moment.
 
Silver Soul was just about to turn the monitors on and let the show begin when Sparkler's hands closed around his throat. He gagged as air forced its way out of his throat. She threw him aside and he began to gasp for breath, which turned out to have been a bad idea as he hit the ground, hard, and expelled the air he had just taken in. He was breathless and dazed, but he had to focus. He had to take control again.

"I... I don't..." He coughed. "I don't have to... make you." There was a slight glow as a silver hand appeared behind her and pushed a button, then she was bathed in a much brighter glow: the set of monitors had lit up to reveal a chilling image.

They showed a nude woman, about Sparkler's height but more slender, without the heroine's soft curves. She had black hair, and although her face was badly bruised, it looked somewhat familiar. There was dried blood caked on her groin and lower thighs, and there could be little doubt what the root cause was. She was dangling in the air, no doubt suspended by the glowing silver manacles around her wrists. But the screeching buzzsaw beneath her was definitely real. The deadly blade was inches from her toes.

Silver Soul got to his feet and massaged his throat. "I die, she falls. I pass out, she falls. If I so much as will it, she falls. If I run out of power, well..." He stepped towards Sparkler, although his eyes were fixed on the screen and his handiwork. "Get the picture?"
 
No sooner had he hit the ground, then Sparkler was stalking towards him, intent on pummeling his face into the concrete. Whatever reserves she had about abandoning her moral code and killing him were quickly vanishing. He deserves it, she thought, justifying it to herself. Think of all the people he's killed. And turning to her own pain, If he's dead, it will be almost like it never happened. She was imagining what he would look like with his nose broken and front teeth knocked out, when the monitors hummed to life. Her steps halted and she turned slowly to gaze at the collection of screens. At the sight, her body stiffened and she gasped.

"No..." she whispered, as she watched her plan begin to fall apart.

There she was. The woman she had been looking for, helpless, wounded, and in clear imminent danger. As Soul's words sank in, his threat made clear, her face paled. This changed things. For a moment, Sparkler struggled with the choice in front of her. Wouldn't it be the lesser of two evils to sacrifice one life and end the rampage of a murderer? But she knew she could not live with the guilt of those consequences. She could not watch as the woman's body was shredded, hear her screams, and see the blood fly knowing it was her doing. No, she knew the choice she would make, as did Soul, and she hated herself for it.

"You sick bastard!" Sparkler snarled as she turned to him, livid. "Where is she? How do I know this is live feed and she isn't dead already?"

Before now, she hadn't thought he could control his constructs remotely. Didn't they have to be in the same vicinity as him? What were his limits? This had to be some trick. Her plan couldn't fail now! Not when she was so close to ridding herself and the world of this psychopath. How she wished she had put more energy into finding the victim! Even though it was horrible, a part of her hoped the woman was already dead, so she could be free to act. Though, in her gut, she knew the truth.
 
Silver Soul chuckled as he continued to walk towards Sparkler. "I could give you my word that she's still alive, but for some reason you don't seem to trust me. Should I show you something? I'm afraid I am a bit low on energy, so I can't make anything new, but I could make her shackles disappear. Would you like to see that, Sparkler? Oh, but, I'm not entirely certain I could catch her again." He shook his head. "I guess in the end you don't know. This whole thing could be a trick. But can you take the chance? Or are you going to give me what I want?" He reached out for her, intent on pulling her to him. If he was going to drain energy from her, he needed skin to skin contact... her lips would do nicely.
 
As he approached, she stared fiercely at him, her breath quickening. He was right, she wasn't willing to chance the woman's life. Give him what he wants. Was it that simple? Just yield to him and the woman would live? For how long, she wondered. No, that wasn't good enough. She could transfer all her power to him, emptying herself completely, and the woman would still die. He might be just that disgusting.

"Wait," she said, and stepped backwards suddenly. "The power will be back on in a minute, you can take what you need then. I won't attack you."

He had been mere inches away before she stepped back, her body seeming to hum at his approach. Her heart was now pounding in her chest because of that. She hoped this new piece of information would satisfy, and she could keep him at arms length. It was bad enough that she had to allow him to replenish his power, she need not make herself vulnerable as well.
 
Silver Soul laughed, as much at her reaction as at her attempt at bartering. She was scared, but there was something about her that seemed excited as well. That was to be expected. "I don't think you really understand the position you're in. I don't want that power, Sparkler, I want my power. The power you've been generating for me." He spread his arms. "And if you want her to live, you're going to give it to me. Come on, then. Give us a kiss."
 
"I want her to live, but don't push it," she hissed. "She's your only shield, you know."

Sparkler ground her teeth. Why was he laughing? She still had the power here, right? Maybe that woman's life hung in the balance, but so did his! Her peril was the only thing that had kept her from pounding him into the dust. Surely he realized that. When he commanded her to kiss him, she stiffened. She would comply, but not the way he wanted.

"Fine," she spat. "But not like that."

Nervously, she pulled at the fingers of her gloves and slipped the garment off her right hand. If he needed her power, she'd give it to him. But she wouldn't kiss him, never ever. She glanced down at her palm. It was the one that had the triangle symbol on it. That seemed like the most logical choice for this. Maybe even, what it had been designed for...

"Y-you just need to...to... touch me, right?" she said, trying to control the fear in her voice. "Take just what you need then bring me to her."

Sparkler told herself she'd be able to control it this way. There was no need to get that close to him. No need for their lips to touch. No need for her body to react so enthusiastically to his intimacies. Just a quick chaste touch of the hand. Her body was still brimming with power, she could spare a little then break the connection. It would be easy, right? She took a few cautious steps forward.
 
Silver Soul shook his head. "Why so shy, Sparkler? It wouldn't be the first time your lips have tasted mine... surely you haven't forgotten." He reached up quickly to take her hand, grasping it before she could reconsider and bending down to kiss the back of it. Electricity surged through her body and into him; the moment he felt the growing power, he gripped down on her wrist. Now that he had her, he wouldn't let her escape. Not that he intended to drain her completely dry; she would need a little bit of power to endure what he had in mind for her.
 
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