V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 230: Rise of a Hero Part 9

Taking serval more hits to the face, Alton was knocked to the floor once again. Shane didn't finish up with any more attacks allowing Alton to stand back up. Taunting him, Shane hopped up and down, mocking the wannabe hero. "I expected more from the hero of New York, Alton. Come on, I'm just a nerdy kid with no knowledge on how to fight."

"You're really starting to piss me off, Shane…"

"That's good; anger leads you to give it all to a fight. You may have taken the Blight Father by surprise, but you won't be so lucky with me, kiddo."

"Don't go forgetting me!" Eve yelled, jumping behind Shane swinging her weapon at high speed; however, it stopped as dozens of nanomachines extended from Shane's backstopping the weapon. Tossed around, Eve was flung into the seats above the second floor.

While distracted, Alton landed a clean punch, stunning Shane for a split moment. This, in turn, would be met with a punch from himself. The two fighters kept landing blows after blows avoiding as many as possible, all while trying to take each other out. And while they seemed to be on equal playing fields, Alton was far outmatched with Shane's healing ability and raw power. Feeling the burn, Alton was knocked off his feet, falling against a set of chairs panting. Lifting his arm up, he fired a burst of smoke, doing little to nothing to his foe. "I can't help but feel disappointed. Is this all the infamous Phantom has to offer?"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Alton whispered, lunging up, meeting Shane head-on again. Still, this time instead of going to a head-to-head battle, Alton dissolved into a puff of smoke passing through Shane blinding him. Behind the Syndicate member, he single kick to his knee forced him to the floor before Alton pulled off a roundhouse kick blasting Shane through the cinema and into the next screening. Holding his hands together to his mouth, he blew out a large pool of smoke all over, covering everything blinding the area. Shane stood up, keeping his cool, looking around. "I want to get home to the people who are important to me, so I'm going to pull out all the tricks to take you down, Mortem."

"I see, so that's how it's going to be then? A shame really, I just can't quite work you out, boy. You claim to be a hero, yet your reasoning for a fight is so personal and self-centred. This sort of fighting is hardly heroic like." Shane scolded, lifting his arm up as dozens of shadows rippled through the room, moving around catching Alton off guard. Pinning him around the room as the shadow latched onto him, using him as a human pinata. The smoke faded as Alton was held upside down, unable to move as he gave up there. "Good, I'm glad to see you know when you're defeated. Can't say Kurt was the same. He could have lost all sight, an arm and leg and still fight. I guess that's the difference between you and him. You're no hero."

"I can be!" Alton yelled. "People see me as one; that's enough for me."

"You could be seen as a great messiah in other people's eyes. The one to save the world, but if you cannot back that up or even believe in such delusions or desires yourself, what does it matter? People are so easily fooled, and it seems you are quite the trickster Alton Brantley."

Alton stared on deflated before something occurred neither of them was quite ready for. Jasmine hit the ground with a mighty bang leaving the echo to dwindle through the room. Her bloody, lifeless body left Shane shaken as he stared at it blankly. From the second floor, a lone figure stood staring down over the two Anti-Humans. "You lie; all you say, Alton, are lies."

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Shane stared on, looking weary. "Who the hell are you? Are you with him? Adam Berry?"

"Incorrect." Shane gritted his teeth allowing all of his shadows to bombard the lone figure, only for each of them to stop inches from him frozen solid. The shadows shattered as a single icicle pierced Shane's chest pinning him to the ground. The nanomachines couldn't heal him in time as they all froze over, leaving nothing but a shell of the former boy. Alton collapsed to the ground witnessing the killing with complete shock. "Shane Fury, Kira Syndicate, Jasmine Parker. None of these futile weaklings was important. You allowed yourself to be led astray yet again, Alton following the orders of others without question, hoping that would be where your answer lies. You fight for the sake of others but only because you know no difference. This is your truth, Alton Brantley. You are nothing but a tool, a tool of destruction wielded by strong-minded folks with ambitions and dreams. Good or evil, that doesn't matter one bit as long as it gives you purpose. You have lost your way and unless changed." The figure stepped forward, revealing to be Alton himself but with dead black eyes, those of which puppets of Mortem would have. "You'll always be the very thing you fight against."

Alton stared on in horror, shaking his head. "There's no way this is possible…"

"Oh, but I'm afraid it is Alton. For you see, this was never about showing you the life and heroic deeds of a former Kurt Hatching, for as heroic as he was even, he fell to the will of Mortem. He joined their ranks, and that's where you're soon going to. Since then, your path hasn't changed; in fact, it only highlighted the future, which will almost certain. You fight with vengeance and guilt. Any action which strays from this path is taken out of past traumas and defeats. You don't look to grow and change. You seek only to surround yourself with others who will. This is your truth, accept it and become what you are destined."

Alton gripped his fists, shaking his head. "You're wrong, Acceptance. You throw me into a world of your creation to trick and manipulate me to your own doings, spending years locked away alone to fall apart with no real purpose. This isn't my truth, so you warped and changed it to your own liking so your word could be the one and only truth. I won't stand here and let others use me like that again."

"You're fighting the wrong fight here, Alton. No matter how much you fight my authority, everyone eventually falls victim to the truth. It happened to Gale and Zinnia, and soon you will accept this reality with open arms and be glad of it. V.I.R.A.L has used your time and time again, and yet you are fine with that. For that, I have no use for failures like yourself. Fall into the deep and drown in your own self-doubts as you never find your truth." Dozens of icicles appear, flooding the area leaving Alton with no means of escape. Acceptance twists his hand around, staring blankly at Alton. "Know this, though. You never cease to entertain me, Alton. Your suffering has only fuelled me further. But this is far enough for the Hero of Rhinefield to go."

All the icicles flew towards Alton with his time all but out. That was until dozens of portals matched the attacks saving him at the very last moment. Acceptance turned as all his attacks were sent right back at him. Before he could counter, he felt his whole body slow down to a crawl like time itself was stalling. The attacks landed, blowing the second floor apart, forcing it to collapse to the ground. Adam appeared behind Alton, tutting. "You're seriously going to give up after all that ranting and raving you gave to us back then?"

Eve stood balancing on her scythe, staring up. "It seems that won't be enough… Who the hell is this guy?"

The smoke faded as Acceptance stood with his cold dead eyes ignited with a yellow glare making the two siblings flinch in shock. "That's not possible!"

"Adam and Eve… You both amuse me very much." He spoke before vanishing into a haze of icy wind.

"Any of you hurt?" Adam asked, turning to his allies. "I have no idea what you were thinking…"

"It was my idea," Eve whispered, jumping off her weapon. "I thought we could take Shane alone."

"That turned out to be a shitshow, huh? Jasmine and Shane are both taken out, meaning we should have won… Yet why does the Garden's presence feel even stronger?"

"That person back there… That was me."

Both of them turned to Alton, shocked. "What? You mean you from the future? How is that possible?"