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***
But the problem was that Will still didn't understand how to properly awaken the Creator's state, except by risking his own ass. The thing was, the Creator worked like an "evolution" mechanism, awakening Willard's body with sudden developmental leaps, and subsequently altering the structure of his body on a molecular level, as Vanessa Wayne had suggested. No clear evidence of the Creator's work could be found. Will considered Creator to be an ironic ability that suited him just fine, because he was actually a hitman from another world and thanks to this ability, he adapted the laws of the worlds to himself. By himself he was an impossible anomaly for this world. It is quite possible that the Creator allowed Willard not only to get into this world, but also magically made his life quite natural for the people around him.
In a brief exchange of blows with Wonder Woman, Willard received a powerful kick to the stomach that broke a couple ribs, and a snap to the head that made his eyes flicker. He was thrown backward as he diligently concentrated his chakra through the pain blossoming in his mind.
Willard's task now was not only to capture Diana Prince, but also to develop his abilities for the final battle with Darkseid, which was why he was risking his life to fight the strongest woman in the world. If he couldn't defeat Diana now, then engaging in a direct battle with Darkseid was pointless.
Fighting Diana for the sake of his own abilities was Will's main goal, one he kept carefully hidden from the others, or he wouldn't have been allowed to risk it. The Resistance forces were too inferior to Apocalypse, and the final battle was slowly approaching.
Could he pass up the chance to strengthen himself at the expense of the second most powerful - Wonder Woman?
"I guess if it were Superman, I'd be broken by now," Will grinned.
Even though Diana's onslaught was unimaginably strong, the pain was worth it, because Willard began to see Diana's blows more clearly. It meant that the Creator was already gradually altering his body for the evolutionary leap. It didn't take long before the lightning around Will's body slammed harder.
Diana seemed surprised.
«You sped up..." a cold tinge of tension glinted in her eyes as Willard increased the distance between them with an ultra-fast leap that Diana didn't have time to see.
«And you broke my ribs," Will said, infusing all of Kurama's chakra into the injured limbs, which flowed hotly throughout his body, filling muscles and limbs with energy with a bone-crunching, tense sensation that made Will shudder.
The wounds on his body healed rapidly with burning pain, causing Diana to watch with a grim expression as the blood from Willard's torn skin evaporated in the hot chakra and his limbs straightened dramatically.
«Hmmm...seems like this isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be," she said.
"So, ready to win already?", Kurama grinned.
Diana's blow knocked him out of his thoughts, hitting Will's pre-exposed palm, but unable to withstand the onslaught, the palm flew aside, and Will flew back to the tree, felled it, and fell to the ground with a clatter.
«Working on it," he hissed.
Meanwhile, the Apocalypse Ships appeared overhead. Para-demons flew out of blind spots and tree shadows, knocking down trees from different directions. Apocalypse had already tracked their location and sent units to support Diana.
"It seems we've been here too long. Time to change position," Kurama remarked.
«I'd love to, but...I need some time...I can't seem to move a finger," Will grinned.
The thing is, his spine was damaged. He was only seconds away from recovering, and in the meantime, the enemies were advancing.
"Hmm... no question," Kurama said.
Diana attacked from the front, the para-demons on different sides. Will bent over in an attempt to heal his limbs, while Kurama's chakra of gigantic volume abruptly erupted above him. Transforming into the shape of an open fox's mouth, Willard's chakra took the form of a demonic fox's mouth, which closed in on the approaching para-demons and turned them to ash. The attack hit Diana, who managed to bounce back.
She looked up with a pained expression from her burned hand to the silhouette of a huge fox with a predatory grin that appeared before her.
«I will scorch the earth and make the sea dry up," Kurama growled, releasing a black blob of energy from his mouth.
Wide-eyed, Diana threw herself to the side. The thickening air exploded. And everything was swallowed up by the overwhelming tension, for a moment all sound disappeared, and then the world blazed and collapsed.
Sand and bits of earth rained down noisily on Diana as she opened her eyes and looked around. Everything in sight was scorched earth, and the sky was filled with black smoke. Mountains blazed and melted, mines and rivers disappeared from the faces of the earth, leaving only black scars.
The blazing silhouette of a fox demon loomed over Diana lying on the ground and hummed.
«Get up so I can eat you, you lowlife.
«Ha-ha... I've never seen monsters like that," Diana said, clutching her sword in her hand. - Don't even think about winning, fox face.
***
A series of movements reflected on the virtual map. Steppenwolf watched intently as Apocalypse's army pursued Willard Light, but couldn't catch up. First Russia, then Berlin, then China, and on and on.
«They've drained part of the Baltic Sea and defeated China," Steppenwolf commented on the entire web of destruction left by Diana and Willard's fight, "yet I'm surprised that even Wonder Woman can't hold it together.
Steppenwolf watched the battles across the land, and controlled all of Apocalypse's troops. Chasing Willard Light was one of his many tasks.
Maybe he would have chased after him now, but Darkseid's plans had changed recently. The Overlord has decided to crush humanity for good, and has decided to come down to Earth himself.
«We're about to launch a major offensive. Are you sure it was worth risking Wonder Woman to capture the target?
«It doesn't matter anymore. We've set up enough portals and Tyranids at key points on Earth. All we have to do is wait for the Overlord to give the order, and it will finally be over.
***
Arthur and Vanessa watched the Apocalypse armies move on the map of the earth.
«What are they doing?
«They're rallying the troops. I guess it'll be over soon, just like I thought," Vanessa said grimly.
«Then we need to hurry.
«Yes...it will all be decided in the battle for Wayne-taver.
«Except we're still short of men. They'll be ready for our attack," Arthur said.
Suddenly there was a flash from the side, and something collapsed to the floor, rolling to the feet of Arthur and a surprised Vanessa.
A battered Diana lay on the floor, blood on her lips and bruises all over her body. Her armor was badly bruised, and judging by her labored breathing, she needed an ambulance.
«Damn me, you did it after all," Arthur said, looking up at Will.
«Yeah..." Will said, slumping to the floor.
He looked no better than Diana did. Maybe even worse, because his arm was broken and a couple of ribs were sticking out of his chest. His face was even worse to look at. Except that unlike Diana, he was recovering faster. Kurami's chakra burned his skin, but it wiped away the blood, mended his bones, and healed his injuries in seconds.
Soon all that was left of Will's injuries were torn clothes and caked traces of blood on the black cloth.
"If Minato was steering, it would be a lot easier," Kurama hummed, "you still lack skill."
"Be thankful I didn't die. Did you see her punches? I'm still freaking out... She almost knocked my brains out of my skull! Instead, it went to Elf Tower."
"That's not what I mean! You need to use techniques wisely and not show off every time you get the chance. What are you, in wrestling?!"
"I'm sorry... I like to show off sometimes. And it's really hard to use techniques at this speed, I don't even know how Minato did it."
"No one knows. At one time he outlasted even Madara," Kurama remarked.
"Yeah yeah...I remember, there was such a thing."
But only once, and when Madara was distracted. Minato took advantage of the moment and cheated. Will respected him for that - it was worth eleven points out of ten to sneak up on Madara Uchiha himself.
Minato and Will's minds were fused together, but they could think apart from each other, but it felt strange, as if a telephone had been plugged into their heads, and a voice was always coming out of it that they couldn't influence. Will could hear Minato, and Minato could hear Will. It was like having a split personality, only live. Normally people couldn't perceive two personalities at the same time, and if one was taking over the other, then the other was asleep.
Once upon a time there was a man with over twenty personalities. He had a teacher, a little girl, a boy, a boxer, a hack, and many others. And each of these personalities was unique. Each personality had their own special skills. But when switching between personalities, only one person could think at a time. In addition to that, there was another feature: one personality was responsible for a separate skill it possessed. The teacher personality could teach children physics, the burglar personality could open doors perfectly, and the boxer personality could punch faces perfectly.
Willard and Minato had it a little different. In their "shared body", only Willard could control his unique "Creator" ability and could endlessly develop his powers, while Minato could only use his own powers, which Willard had once improved. Except that it was Minato who used these improved powers the best. In other words, Willard was better suited for strength training, while Minato was better suited for combat, where the wielder could get the most out of his body's abilities.
Willard attributed his inability to fight properly to his inappropriate temperament, while Minato was an experienced shinobi with many years of experience - his fighting skills were undeniable. Battle talent was a thing of the past, it was either there or it wasn't. But Will wasn't discouraged, he liked the fact that he could develop his power indefinitely. Sooner or later, potentially, he hoped to defeat opponents without too much strain... when would that be? Tenth thing!
Will couldn't fool around during the War of Survival, so he and Minato agreed that the Fourth Hokage would replace him in extreme cases. For example, when there would be no time for evolution and an important issue needed to be resolved. Will had been able to handle any difficulties with his own "beefed up" strength, but after the last battle with Steppenwolf, Minato was no longer needed.
Since both had fallen into the world against their will, Willard didn't want Minato to completely disappear from his life, for it wasn't fair. In a way, they were unfortunate brothers in an awkward situation. Minato, on the other hand, wanted Willard to forget about him and live his own life.
Kurama proudly declared that they were both idiots in the same body, and that he didn't care which of them lived or slept. As long as they don't both die, or he'll die too. And what's with all this sentimentality?! It's disgusting!
Kurama, you see, has taken a fancy to the new world and would like to see more of it even though there is a war going on.
"I'm not used to war. My whole life is war and hate, kid. So I'm ready to kick one ass after another if I have the chance," Kurama grinned.
"Who'd doubt it, Demon Fox," Will said.
"Shut up, I hate that nasty nickname."
Also, Kurama was sentimental and hurtful at times.
"I'll break your neck, you think I can't hear shit?!"
Vanessa ran over to Will and helped him up off the floor. They walked to the guest room and sat down on the couch.
«How are you? - Vanessa asked excitedly, looking at Will's shattered appearance. His hair was disheveled, there was blood on his cheek, his gaze was downcast and dark, and there was a crooked grin on his lips.
«Just a couple minutes ago, my body was burning and tearing with pain, my ribs ripping through the meat, and now I was sitting there feeling like a hundred percent, except my mood was shit. I'm fine," he said, changing his smirk to a tired sigh, "I'm almost out of chakra. I need to take a break.
«Got it. Karen's got a squad at the barrier, Zatanna's monitoring the situation in Gotham. So far, Apocalypse doesn't seem to have a clue what we're gonna do.
«But they're definitely guessing.
Vanessa nodded thoughtfully.
«Can't help but guess. But there's no change.
«They are there, but we don't see them. They want to make us think they're not doing anything, but in reality we're probably in for a trick. Did Zatanna try to test it with magic yet?
«Of course, she scanned everything. Found nothing, empty as a desert. I bet Raven did her best to wipe out all the Apocalypse plans with top-notch magic.
«Oh, how annoying. I never realized magicians were such a pain in the ass. When do we attack?
«I'd like to say a month from now, but judging by the movement of the Apocalypse Army, we don't have more than a week.
***
The time had come. It was felt in the hushed silence, in the atmosphere, in the red sky overhead, in which the assembled Ships of the Apocalypse floated, black as the darkness of the abyss.
The day came as suddenly as it always does when you don't expect anything. The days that had flown by already seemed unreal and cruel, like a bad joke.
Behind Willard's back stood the last hundred heroes who had managed to survive for over half a year in an unequal battle against Darkseid and his warriors. They were all terrified, some of them excited that they could finally end it all, and some of them had already lost all hope, but were unwilling to step back because they had a shred of faith in the best. They were all united by the determination to end it all now, either by victory or by their own death, because there was nothing left behind and the nervous anticipation of imminent death had already drained all the juices. Food and water were running out, the Apocalypse was rapidly advancing and cutting off any chance of recovering from the damage done.
And the whole planet has become like a bitten piece of apple. Everywhere you look, there's death and destruction. Humanity would never live the way it used to, and might even meet its oblivion in the next couple of days. Everything depended on chance, the winner, or even the whim of fate. And yet none of them gave up, because each of them had faith in their own convictions.
Willard put his foot on the stone and breathed in the dusty, pollution-scented air that held all the pain and bitterness of the gathered people and the memory of a once-living city, but now a dead and shabby skeleton of Gotham City that you didn't want to look at. The pain and pleasant memories of each person gnawed at the soul.
«Today it ends once and for all," he said.
Vanessa stood next to her, rubbing her fingers nervously against each other.
«Before we begin, I'd like to apologize for everything that happened between us, Will," Vanessa stood across from him, and in a way unlike herself, as if all the stars in the sky had aligned and stopped at this moment. Her sad gaze was cast downward, and dared not rise higher, from his hands.
He slowly shifted his gaze to her, trying to suppress the awkwardness that had crept in.
«I thought you didn't care," he said, though it sounded fake.
«Imagine, sometimes even I worry about something," even though it was obvious.
«Persistent," he smiled, patting Vanessa's shoulder with a kind of lightness. - I forgave you a long time ago.
A shadow of surprise flashed across Vanessa's face, and she froze.
«Are you serious?
«I can't stay mad at people for long, that's just my nature," Will shrugged smilingly.
"What a fool you are," Kurama snorted.
"We're all fools to one degree or another," Will replied, keeping his tone firm and even giving off a look of irritation. Since when did he have to think about such trivial matters when he had so much to do, and he hadn't even gotten Kara back. Those little things... only people with nothing better to do could care about them right now. Still, Vanessa had decided to apologize, and Will was a little grateful for that.
They gathered to discuss the plan before they began. The crowd of heroes stood around the table with the map.
Vanessa began to explain the plan.
«We need to get to Wayne-taver, and then hope for Willard.
«Whether we survive or not, we must stop Darkseid.
«They have a whole army," some guy said.
«And superiority in weaponry," some damsel said.
«Yeah, but we'll have Superman," Will said.
Everyone looked at each other, and no one said a word. They all knew who Superman was, but after months of despair, his existence had slipped their minds. They'd probably all given up hope for the best a long time ago.
And yet, at the mention of Superman, a faint glimmer of hope showed in people's eyes. Will couldn't help but smile. He himself was looking forward to Clark's return.
«If only you'll set him free," Vanessa said, smiling back at him.
Yet getting Clark back wasn't enough. He had to find Lois Lane, the one weakness Darkseid had used to stop Iron Man from interfering in the war.
Without Lois Lane, Clark's release made no sense.
«I'll shut down the Tyrants for ten minutes, maybe more, depending on how prepared they are for our arrival," Vanessa said.
Vanessa would be at the Royal Palace of Atlantis the entire time and overseeing the operation through the network Will had put in place throughout Gotham during their preparations for the final battle. They had prepared for this day diligently, and Will had to sweat hard to get the entire line underground to pair with Karen.
«Ten minutes? Are you kidding me? - Ollie said, slapping his hand on the table, "What do you think I am, Superman? What's there to do in ten minutes?!
«Maybe even less, so don't get too excited," Vanessa said sarcastically, "Apocalypse got wind of our plans and strengthened our defenses. I can't imagine what they've come up with to stop us. I hate to admit it, but they're improving at an insane rate. In another year or two... I might not have been able to keep up," Vanessa said grimly.
It was still difficult to handle alien technology that had evolved long before Vanessa was born. That she had been able to outdo herself during the Apocalypse War was a miracle, but Vanessa realized clearly that she had reached her limits. She couldn't go any further, not in this lifetime, and certainly not in the short amount of time they had left. The last time she had tried to hack into Apocalypse's system, she had not only set herself up, but she had almost lost control of her own computer.
«Probably no human could hack the Tyrants permanently, so don't worry, you've already done your best-" Will said, trying to encourage her.
Vanessa nodded gratefully.
«Let's hope we have at least ten minutes," she said, looking Will in the eye with seriousness, "You have to understand, Will, if you don't find Lois Lane in time, we're going to lose. Without Superman, we'll be wiped off the face of the Earth.
Clark was vital to the humans' victory, and the realization of all the responsibility sent shivers running down Will's skin. Too much depended on him alone:
«I'll do what I can.
At this point, everyone was looking at him. Harley, Beast Boy, adults, teenagers and children, they just had nowhere else to go. War was feasting everywhere.
Green Arrow put his hand on Will's shoulder and squeezed it, his hand trembling, but Ollie himself was smiling.
«It's gonna be a hell of a gamble, buddy, but we can't screw it up. Get Supes and Batman out of captivity, give humanity hope of survival.
Will nodded.
Will said goodbye to everyone, and glanced around at the people who were seeing him off. Their eyes read fear, determination, and... hope.
Will felt a small hand grasp his arm, it was a little girl who hadn't even gotten her teeth yet. She was holding a toy with a round face like a funny dummy, a toy with Batman's face on it.
«Please bring Superman back," she whispered.
Will squatted down in front of her and smiled.
«What's your name, beautiful?
«Marie...
«Don't worry Marie, I'll be sure to get him back," Will said awkwardly.
The girl smiled sweetly, and Will's heart clenched.
If he fails, they all die.
«I'll go..." he said, feeling everything inside clench and twist with excitement.
But you can't stumble.
It was hard to step into the void, as if he were stepping through mud in a swamp, and suddenly he was on the roof of a ruined high-rise. The shift into a new space was replaced by tension in the air. The dusty building beneath his feet was bowed sideways, and crumbled with every movement of his feet.
Will looked up determinedly at the ruined Gotham, and at the reddening sky above, which was now vibrating with a wide energy beam that was tearing the sky and the planet apart. This beam was opening a huge portal in the sky, through which hordes of para-demons were arriving on the ground, and in numerous swarms spreading all over the city like buzzing locusts in a lush field.
"Just don't die, brat," Kurama said glumly, "you still have a lot to lose"
«Uh-huh...
Somewhere out there, he was waiting to meet Kara. Will clenched his fist, feeling a wild rush of energy. All the emotions, pain, impatience, and fear, were contained in that surge.
The clones, which had been absorbing the natural power from the surroundings all this time, burst at once. Will's pupils changed to yellow-black, and his body throbbed with incredible force, so that his muscles bulged as if they'd been punched from the inside.
And so Will entered Hermit Mode.
The chakra he needed for the final and decisive battle exceeded the usual amount.
Kurama sat inside his mind in a meditative pose and frowned:
"He showed up as we suspected. I'll cover you to the best of my ability, but don't expect much support," Fox said.
«Copy that.
Somewhere in the distance, once on the lid, a red silhouette appeared, with red lightning running across its body. A cocky grin froze on this man's lips, and his eyes were distorted by the scarlet power of the Apocalypse that controlled him.
«Well, kid, it's time to decide who's the fastest? - said the Flash.
The two flashes went off in less than a tenth of a second, and the city shuddered with a flashing rumble - the deadly duel of two speedsters had begun.
***
«I'm not going to let you through, Will, and frankly, you're not going to make it, so why don't you just humor me before you die? - said Flash.
Flash ran backwards and seemed to have no problem facing Will.
Will's every attempt to grab onto Flash was unsuccessful. Will's every attempt to grab onto Flash was unsuccessful.
"Barry Allen...I knew it would be unrealistic to beat Flash in speed," Will thought grimly.
Willard's attack passed him by, while Flash playfully pushed him back, preventing him from reaching Wayne Taveras.
Willard only had ten minutes to spare, and at the end of that time frame...humanity would lose.
«You can't outrun me, kid, leave it alone," Flash grinned, coming within a millimeter of Will, then behind him, then farther away.
Flash didn't seem to be moving that fast, he just teleported, leaving no trace of movement.
Uncontrollable goosebumps ran down Will's skin, and he grinned.
It was the first time anyone had ever been so much faster than himself.
"Speedforce makes him too strong an imba!" - Will mentally shouted
"Don't sweat it and focus on your trump card, kid! This is no time to be surprised!" - Kurama shouted.
"Damn... you're right as always," he thought, catching another punch from Flash.
Fortunately for Will, time was running extremely slow in his duel with Flash. Not even a minute had passed since their clash had begun, and yet, with only a glimpse of Will looking back, he was witnessing the Apocalypse Army already bearing down on the remnants of the Resistance and threatening to wipe out all the people with whom Will had shared food, water, and hope. And they could all die in less than an instant if he did nothing.
"Shit!"
Flying back into the building from Flash's blow, Will punched several walls with his back and came to a stop as a pile of hard rocks with iron bars sticking out of them gathered beneath his ass. It was only because of Kurama's chakra and hermit mode that he was still alive. Otherwise his body would have been pierced through by the bars and sharp stones.
"Adapt, Will! Use Creator!" - growled Kurama.
This was followed by a kick from Flash, which Will barely dodged.
«How could you do that, man? I didn't even speed up. Try harder! - laughed Flash.
There was no point in using techniques like Bijudama or Razengan, because Flash could easily dodge. Then Will would just lose a lot of the strength he needed to win.
However, he was only required to use Creator one single time to adjust to Flash's speed.
"I'm trying, but... it's a little harder than with Diana! I can't even imagine how I'm supposed to get up to speed!" - Will shouted mentally.
The time was slowly approaching the ninth minute. A full minute that Will had almost lost in the fight with Flash. It was unacceptable in his case, and Will bit his lip painfully.
Flash was out of reach, no matter how hard Will tried to catch up to him.
«Come on, go get your friend, Will," Flash said, arching an eyebrow. He even stood up and squatted on the spot, "Look, I'm all relaxed, buddy," "Get Minato, I've been wanting to run with him for a while. Maybe he can show me something useful.
Will gave a tense hum.
«I'm sorry, but no. I can beat you myself," he said.
«I don't think so," Flash said suddenly, coldly, probably extremely disappointed by the answer.
The next moment, Will didn't even realize as a punch flew into his chest and he flew over several houses, crashing into a monument and rolling on the ground for several meters. It didn't take Flash a minute to show the difference in their speed.
«Bloody hell...," Will muttered.
"If you keep this up, you'll waste all your chakra and we'll fucking die!" said Kurama.
«Yeah... you're right. I can't go on like this," Will said, clenching his palm into a fist.
He slowly got to his feet and sighed. There weren't many options, either to die of exhaustion or to die after ten minutes from the Tyranids' gunfire.
"We're going to have to take some risks."
Flash was already standing nearby, humoring Will with a scornful look.
«If you don't call Minato, I'll kill you right now.
«That's a good one," Will said suddenly, making both Kurama and Flash look surprised.
«What? What are you talking about? Did I hit you too hard? - Flash asked, poking a finger at his arched eyebrow.
«No, go ahead and attack.
Will had suddenly removed all of his chakra, leaving him completely defenseless. Now any strike from Flash would kill him without much trouble. And... this strange decision left Flash confused.
«Are you serious?
«Totally.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Kid! Have you lost your mind?! Get your chakra control back now, or we're going to fucking die!" - Kurama growled, only with great effort not to break his meditation control.
"I've already tried everything and nothing has worked, Kurama. If I continue to act safe, protecting myself from every strike from Flash with chakra, I'll just lose all my strength and die. And then we'll lose. Besides, the longer I try to fool myself, the more time passes. I've decided to make a bet."
"A bet?! What fucking bet?!
"To awaken the Creator, I need to be on the verge of life and death. Otherwise, evolution won't work, no matter how hard you try. I used to think there was a way around this condition. I thought I didn't understand my ability well enough to awaken it properly, but..." Will grinned sadly, looking into Flash's suspicious eyes, "But no way. I think the Creator's always worked with one single condition - either I die or I evolve and get stronger. If you think about it, it makes sense, because it was by dying in my world that I was reborn in this one!"
«You asked for it, kid," Flash said.
The Flash appeared in front of Will, as expected, faster than Will could have realized. All the while, however, Will was extremely focused and... incredibly scared. So frightened that his soul went to his heels. His body was trembling because death was coming.
Maybe this death would be so quick that Will wouldn't realize it. Because Flash was moving too fast, too fast his hand would go through Will's chest, and too fast it would interrupt his heartbeat, too fast it would stop his thought in his head, and end this fight.
Except it wasn't death that Will was afraid of. He trembled not at the possibility of dying forever, but at the fact that all those people who had trusted him with their lives would be torn to shreds by the para-demons. Slowly and painfully, they would kill them all. Starting with Harley and Beast Boy until they get to the children.
"And they'll kill that girl too," Will mentally muttered, clenching his fist.
One single thought.
One single thought and nothing else is what proved faster at first.
Faster than the wind, faster than the speed of sound, and then Flash.
The motion of a clenched palm followed, and then the eyes opened.
Willo's whole body shuddered first at the horrifying thoughts and then at the speed that had reached a new level.
And Flash, noticing the change in Will's grim face, stopped the punch at the last moment to get away, but... the kick to the chest was faster.
He, Flash, had been outdone by someone with speed.
"TOUCH HIM!" - growled Kurama.
***
«Eight minutes and thirty seconds," Will muttered, wiping his bloody lips.
His body surface, organs, and bones were so damaged that he could hardly breathe, and yet even that ton of chakra wasn't enough for Will to recover instantly.
When Flash came to, he stared in surprise at the black boot mark on his chest.
«You're going to die.
«I'm almost there," Will grinned.
He was absolutely right, because his own chakra would not be enough to restore his body after the evolutionary leap. He had received that bottomless chakra with healing power from his faithful partner.
With a smirk, Kurama slammed his paws together. His clones, gaining natural chakra at that moment, exploded and filled him with unbridled power.
"Here you go, asshole!"
It took Kurama a moment to redirect all the chakra he had accumulated into Willard's body. A huge stream, no, an entire wave of energy came at Willard from nowhere, literally choking him from the overflowing power.
The power was so immense that it flowed beyond his body, pouring orange magma onto the ground, rising into the sky in swirling torrents, both hitting Flash and pushing him away like a tsunami washing away helpless obstacles in its path.
Not even the Flash could get through that veil of power.
Flash was beginning to feel a serious disturbance, but he froze in surprise. In the next instant, all that tremendous power was gone, absorbed into Willard's injured body, who was barely standing.
At first glance, the regeneration process seemed typical, with Willard's body bluntly regenerating tissue and healing broken bones, but the process didn't end there. In addition to regeneration, Williard's body was undergoing a reactive change, otherwise known as Evolution. His body was being filled with excessive amounts of energy to strengthen and develop old muscles, tendons, and new elements that were now moving to a new stage of development... After all, evolution is primarily about changing what you have into a better form.
And by now all of Will's injuries had healed, leaving his body on alert, but the sensations he was experiencing were already brand new. The air was fresher and... outwardly, there didn't seem to be any changes. However...
«You spent that much energy just to speed up a bit and heal yourself? - Flash threw a chuckle, and ran towards him.
Of course, very quickly, no, even faster than usual.
A fist punch flew straight at Will's face and was suddenly stopped by the palm Will had put out in advance.
«Correction," Will said, grinning, "all that power was spent on completing the evolution of my body. My bones, tendons, blood, and even myriad chakra all became an order of magnitude higher to kick your ass!
Will punched Flash in the stomach, sharply and, he thought, very confidently. The fist not only collided with its intended target, but sent Flash flying through a couple of houses.
But it was too early to rejoice, because everything was just beginning. The shaking ground beneath Will's feet and the time frozen in his eyes hinted at it.
Flash had stopped holding back, and now the real race between them would begin.
Except that Will was no longer involved.
«Dibs on me! You can take it from here, I'm almost dead! - Will shouted excitedly.
And the high-speed duel between them began again. Only this time.
«You have eight minutes, passing the baton," Will said.
Now that Will and Flash were equals, it was left to compensate for the difference in experience and ability to use their own abilities.
Before Will could blink, Flash's fist appeared before his eyes... which was reflexively knocked upward by a flash of Yellow Lightning.
Even though Will had gotten stronger by leaps and bounds, he couldn't beat Flash. Which was within Minato's calculations.
"I amplify and you use," Will thought to himself.
«Count on me," Minato smiled.
When Willard and Minato switched places, it affected not only the manner of combat, but also Willard Light's speed, causing the world's fastest hero to be confused for a minor period of time. This same miscalculation on Barry's part was used with filigree precision by Minato to turn the tide of their battle in a single move.
Minato approached Flash from the back, and placed the Thunder God mark on his back.
In the next instant, they moved into a dark room, where a pentagram burning with a blue glow appeared beneath Flash's feet.
Bari grinned.
«Come on... I'll be gone before you can conjure anything up.
«I wouldn't say that," Minato threw in.
«Che... you're obviously kidding-ee...," Flash glanced down at his feet, they were vibrating at a tremendous rate in an attempt to move from his seat.
But nothing was working. Barry's feet were stuck, as if glued to the floor.
«Well... then I'll just get rid of the caster.
Barry glanced at Zatanna, who was standing right in front of him with her arms outstretched. It looked like she was holding Barry and even looking at him, but she wasn't. Zatanna was looking in front of her, but... she hadn't even realized yet that Flash had moved here. Zatanna hadn't realized anything yet, because in the speedster world, other people moved so slowly that they couldn't see him. That's why Barry was laughing.
How could the sorceress cast a spell on him if he would immediately disappear when he appeared?
However, it didn't immediately come to Barry's attention exactly how the spell that had chained him in place worked.
"They set this trap in advance, but only Willard Light could close me in it," Flash thought.
In addition to Zatanna, Minato was also here, moving in the Speed World with Flash. Yes, Zatanna wasn't fast enough to stop him, but Minato... he was quite the speedster.
«You won't escape, Flash. That's because once the Thunder God mark is made, it stays with you for the rest of your life," Minato said, holding up the seal with his hand. - I called this technique "Flying Thunder God: The Seal that Holds the Moment of Soaring"
«What a shitty name..." Barry grimaced, and then froze in place, as if frozen. Not his hands, not his feet, not even the glint in his eyes-nothing moved.
When it was over, Zatanna opened her eyes in surprise to find an old friend in her trap, with Will standing beside her.
«Honestly... I thought it wouldn't work out. You're amazing, Minato. I never would have thought of using a spell like that," Zatanna said, giving Barry a subdued look.
Flash froze in place and didn't move. Time for him... stopped.
***
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