The Crimson Phoenix

Battle of Test subjects (Part 1)

Leo and Logan were chatting while walking down the street. It was peaceful and they both planned to study together on that day.

“Since you’ve already had your surgery… or should I say, ‘Makeup’, why are you still wearing a nose mask?” Logan asked curiously. Leo smiled at him and shook his head.

“I’m already used to it, and it turns out I like it.” He replied. Logan scoffed and shook his head in resignation.

“Speak of Kakashi.” He said in a low tone. Leo already seemed mysterious to those at his school who didn’t see much of his face before the accident. Everyone seemed to be curious about him and given the fact that he plays basketball all too well, he was becoming more mysterious to the students.

“So what did Dr. Cartel say about the basketball?” Logan asked.

“Not much. It seemed like he liked the way you called him to watch me.” Leo answered with almost no expression.

“Well you know scientists, he’s probably thinking that me calling him to watch you was so that you could actually show him how strong and fast you can get,” Logan stated. Dr. Cartel saw that watching Leo play basketball and seeing his moves were beneficial for his research and he would just be getting a free observation of his test subject without having to capture Leo and conducting experiments to see his full capabilities. It was just like getting a free ticket to watch an upcoming movie before it was released.

“I wasn’t using my full power. I could actually go faster than that. It didn’t look like it but I was having a very hard time holding back.” Leo explained. Logan smirked at him,

“Was it because you were too excited to hold back?” He asked but Leo shook his head and this confused Logan.

“It was because the control I have over my powers isn’t good enough yet so holding back was very difficult. It’s like trying to squeeze an egg hard but not break it.” Leo explained. Logan frowned and imagining how hard it must have been, he couldn’t help but pity Leo.

At the same time, a group of people were playing and relaxing on a grassy field. There was a fence at one side of the field, separating it from the forest beyond. A guy and his friends were playing Frisbee and they seemed to enjoy it.

“Hey, I’m right here, pass it, Jonathan.” A guy shouted at one of his friends who was holding a Frisbee. He was just about to throw it when a sudden noise and rumbling could be heard from beyond the fence. Johnathan and many others looked and tried to see what it was. Seeing that many peoples’ attention was directed towards the woods, other passers-by also turned to look. The sound of stomping became louder and louder and in time, trees could be seen moving, like they were being shifted aside. Suddenly, something big jumped out from the woods, over the wired fence, and landed on the ground.

It was the giant muscular Chimpanzee and it had been running towards the city for a long time. Seeing this, everyone in sight took to their heels. Some people dared to take a video recording of the scene while others called the cops. The giant monster seeing a lot of people, hit the ground and roared.

ROAAAAAAAR!

It seemed to have taken a dislike to humans and it hated their guts, but that was just the beginning of its fury. After causing a rampage on the field and killing three people, the cops finally arrived and they brought out their guns to shoot immediately. The bullets would have penetrated its body initially but they could barely harm him this time. Seeing this, the monster’s eyes seemed to become redder and it raised both its fists up, and with a huge force, it smashed the ground.

BOOM!

The shockwave sent some people flying and the glass of all the vehicles within a twenty-five-meter radius shattered immediately. A crater was formed on the ground where the monster smashed and various cracks spread across the tarred road. The cops that were sent flying either hit a hard object and broke a few bones, or they fell to the ground and also broke some bones. Some had their organs shattered while a few actually died. The scene was very chaotic and there were lots of dead bodies that littered the ground. Those who were on the ground were either badly injured or dead.

The giant chimpanzee kept moving around and kept destroying things in its way and killing people, causing a rampage and people began to flee. It got to another street and there was huge traffic on the road. It began to crush both pedestrians and drivers alike and destroyed all the cars on the way. A police helicopter came to the rescue and a man at the back of the chopper handled a machine gun and aimed it at the monster from inside the helicopter.

DUDUDUDUDUDUDU!

The shooter did not hold back and began to shoot at the monster. Although the bullets of the machine gun had high penetrative power, it was still not enough to cause high damage to the monster’s hide.

GRRRRRRR!

Annoyed by this, the chimpanzee mashed a nearby car and used it to shield itself from the bullets. After getting even more annoyed by the bullets going through the car and hitting it, it threw the car with tremendous strength at the helicopter.

“Incoming!!” The shooter in the helicopter yelled and he kept shooting the car, hoping to be able to blast it to bits in time. The pilot controlled the helicopter and tried to dodge the incoming car but he was a second late as the crushed vehicle hit the helicopter's tail, causing the helicopter to spin into a crash.

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” The pilot yelled and tried his best to land the helicopter carefully so that they wouldn’t die if they crashed but to no avail.

CRASH! BOOM!

The helicopter crashed and exploded, with both the pilot and the shooter in it. The giant monster continued its rampage and those in their vehicles afar quickly abandoned their vehicles and ran away. Lots of vehicles were being flung and thrown into buildings and a nearby restaurant was not spared.

ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

The monster gave a long and victorious roar at the sky with its leg on an upside-down taxi.

At the same time, Logan and Leo were chatting down the street when they suddenly got their attention drawn by the news.

“We are here to give you emergency breaking news. There is a huge monster that looks like a giant chimpanzee on the rampage at Calvary Street. Video footage by some brave journalists shows this monster destroying lives and properties.” The screen then changed to a footage of the monster, destroying vehicles and ripping a man apart. This gruesome scene shocked everyone who was watching and Leo had his eyes wide open. He was the only one present who knew where it came from and what that monster was capable of and seeing it unleashed, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Police reports say that this monster suddenly came from the forests and they have no idea where it came from. The mayor has decided to take drastic measures by mobilizing the military and curbing this issue. Unfortunately, the weapons of the soldiers could barely harm this monster and more lives are being lost. We advise that you remain calm and stay indoors….” The reporter continued.

Leo was annoyed and shocked. “What monster have you created Dr. Cartel?!” He whispered to himself. Logan seemed to hear and but he wanted to confirm what he just heard.

“What?” He asked. Leo didn’t mind him and after knowing where the monster was, he decided to rush to the scene. He was just about to go when Logan held him back.

“Where are you going dude?” He asked. Leo snapped.

“I’m going there of course. I can’t sit around and do nothing.” He yelled at him. Logan was confused and angry.

“Do nothing? Just because you have super strength and speed doesn’t mean you can match that thing. Not even bullets and tank missiles are working on that thing. What makes you think you can kill it?” He argued with a whisper so as for the people around them not to hear them. Leo didn’t turn his back to face Logan and his head dropped.

“Because that monster was created by the very thing that created me. Trust me, I’m evenly matched with that monster and probably even stronger. I won’t hold back this time.” Leo said with resolution as he clenched his fist. He then turned to Logan.

“I need you to get three bonfires ready. Make sure the flame is big enough. I need to have a field advantage.” Leo ordered. He then took his Bluetooth earplug and put it in his ear. “Call me when it’s ready.” Without any emotion on his face, he ordered. Logan was confused but he didn’t see the expression on Leo’s face.

“Ok,” he replied, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Leo turned his head to the side, he still wore an armless hoodie and a long sleeve turtleneck that was attached to his nose mask, making him look almost like Hatake Kakashi, a character in an anime called ‘Naruto’.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He said with a deep and calm voice. He gave off an aura of strength and high killing intent. Logan nodded.

Leo suddenly bent down to tie his shoes and he took a running stance. He made his breathing even and closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate and recite his mantra in low whispers.

“I am fire. The fire is within me. I am one with the flames, born from the ashes of war and strife, to rise as a true born god. The god of fire. The Crimson PHOENIX!” Leo exclaimed as he suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils were burning with flames and thin electrical webs were running inside his eyes. Leo himself was unaware of it but he just felt increasingly energized. He didn’t bother about this great strength coursing through his body since that was what he needed.

BOOM!

Leo launched himself forward with a burst of speed, causing a strong breeze to blow Logan’s clothes. He was so fast that he became a blur and he was running at a speed almost close to the speed of sound. The people around turned their attention to Leo as he went forward and they were all surprised as to what was happening.

“First we hear of a monster destroying the city and now a boy in a mask suddenly burst forward with high speed. What the hell is happening!? Am I dreaming?” A man yelled. The people around glanced at him before they quickly walked fast into the building nearby Logan looked around for things that could for a long time so he went into a nearby restaurant and broke some chairs. Of course, the owner disagreed with him.

“Hey, you! What are you doing breaking my chairs!?” He queried. Logan was at lows for words.

“Sorry. I just need some wood that I could burn. Have you got any gasoline too?” He asked shamelessly. The owner of the shop was at a loss for what to do and he couldn’t help but feel angry so Logan had to pay him for the chairs and bought some gasoline in a nearby fuel station and prepared the bonfire.

Leo was running across the street with unbelievable speed, and he was slowly approaching the place where the giant, muscular chimpanzee was. He kept thinking of a plan and he couldn’t find one.

“What do I do? How do I fight this thing?” He whispered to himself.

He suddenly stopped to think well and he looked around. He saw a weapons shop and an idea came into his head, making him smile weirdly.

GIGGLING! GIGGLING!

The sound of a bell sounded at the door of the gun shop. The owner of the shop was already packing his guns into bags and putting them deep into his shop but was alerted when Leo entered. He was surprised as to who would enter when the placard at his door wrote that his shop was ‘closed’.

“Who are you?” He question when he saw a young boy about eighteen years of age wearing a mask and a hood.

“I need some guns,” Leo said with a deep voice. The owner of the shop didn’t bother about him and he went ahead with his packing.

“As you could see, the message on the door says we’re closed, so I advice you lea–” he didn’t complete his words when Leo knocked him out. The gun seller fell to the ground as a lifeless chicken and Leo dragged him into the inner chambers of his shop. It was there that he saw different guns. He looked around the small warehouse and opened a few boxes. Not only guns were there, but so were grenades, bulletproof jackets, throwing knives, and other kinds of weapons.

“This is good,” Leo said as he looked around and found a shotgun. It was a Mossberg 590 shockwave SPX with a gauge of twelve and a bullet capacity of five rounds. Leo smirked at the look of this gun which was black and huge. He looked around for the shells and found them in a box nearby. He inserted them into the gun and gave himself a quick shooting lesson in the training area of the shop. After testing the power, range, and accuracy, he was satisfied and he loaded the gun to its full capacity. He then took a shell belt and placed twelve more shots into them. He also wore a bulletproof jacket, a pair of leather gloves, four grenades, and a plastic nose mask. He took a pair of long combat knives and put them on his weapon belt. He was fully loaded and felt like he could finally go to war but he suddenly saw something that drew his attention, a pair of katanas.

He smiled and took the two swords and hung them over his shoulder. When he was done, he rushed out with blinding speed so that nobody would see him and all the weapons on his body.

***********

ROOAAAAAAAAAR!

A deafening roar was heard and the monster was currently battling an armored tank. It grabbed the muzzle and bent it upwards before carrying it and smashing it repeatedly, thereby crushing the soldiers inside.

BOOM!

A shotgun shell was shot at the giant chimpanzee’s back and the monster felt the pain. It roared and turned to look at the person who shot it. A man dressed in black all over and fully equipped with enough weapons to bring down a whole house was standing six meters away from it. This man was brewing with killing intent and his eyes were burning with orange flames.

After Leo finally got to the scene of the monster’s rampage and what he saw made him shiver. Cars burning up and down, blood-stained clothes, detached body parts and organs, dead people here and there… this was all too much for him. He shivered with fear but also, but anger began to brew up inside him. He looked at the monster which was still destroying everything within its path and killing intent started emanating from his body.

He finally confronted the monster and shot it in the back before reloading. The monster dropped the tank and faced Leo. Its eyes were glowing red and it bared its large fangs at Leo. Leo was unfazed and his blood even boiled more. They both stared at each other and intimidated each other with their presence. A journalist chopper was high above at a safe distance and the journalist was taking a video of the scene.

“We are currently live at this gruesome scene and just when everything seems lost, a mysterious man has suddenly appeared and confronted this monster.” The reporter in the chopper described the scene. She went ahead to ask a few rhetorical questions, “Who is this man? Why is he here? And can he face this monstrosity that has been destroying everything in its path?”

The muscles of the giant chimpanzee got thicker and bulged out more and it was 12 feet tall when standing on two feet. It pounded its chest and hit the ground, trying to intimidate Leo.

ROOAAAAAAAAR!

It roared at Leo but he was unfazed. Instead, he really wanted to kill this monster.

TZZZZT! TZZZZZT! TZZZT!

Electricity kept flickering in Leo’s eyes and his pupils burned even brighter. Anyone around him would feel immense mental pressure just by looking at him. He unsheathed his two swords and prepared for battle. Seeing this, the monster roared and ran towards Leo. Leo didn’t back off either and he ran towards the monster with his arms stretched behind him. They both jumped and collided with each other and a dangerous battle began. A battle between two monsters, two ‘test subjects’.