Vlad’s mind felt a little clearer now that he had shouted his frustrations out. Before he felt clouded with rage, guilt, and was unsure about what to do, and in his haste he had attacked a person who had nothing to do with what was going on.
How could he blame someone like Austin for the actions of other people in the city. When recalling back, Austin had even told him many times that he was not to come with him, yet he was the one that had insisted on going with him.
Now that his mind was clear, the current situation that he was in, it was starting to become a reality. Moments ago, it felt like the world was black and white, with everything just plodding along like a movie.
Now he could see everything, and his eyes and face were in shock as he saw that Austin had been captured by a monster.
‘Crap… crap, this is all my fault!’ Vald looked at the Altered, it had strange tentacles from its back wrapped around each of Austin’s limbs, it was pulling him back towards it, towards the crazed Altered.
“I… I have to do something!” Vlad stood up from the ground, ready to sprint over.
“Stay there!” Austin snapped. “I told you, I would help you get your revenge right, and I’ll start right here with this person!”
Austin’s body started to change, his muscles were growing in size. It looked like water was being injected into his body as the muscles all over were swelling up. A light fur started to grow on his arms and body, and his face started to change in shape.
His nostrils grew larger while horns started to grow out from the top of his head. They weren't small horns either, they were thick and large in size, and finally Austin had finished his full transformation.
“You’re a… You’re an Altered.” Vlad said, with his mouth left open wide and him looking up at Austin’s face.
The extreme strength, the stamina, the fearlessness, it all was making sense to Vlad now how he was so strong. He was an Altered, but his opponent was one as well. It didn’t mean he was out of the woods yet.
Austin tensed his body with all his limbs bringing them forward. Due to how hard the Altered's tentacles were holding onto him, all of the ends snapped at that moment. There was such a large amount of raw power that had been used.
Quickly, Austin turned around and at the broken end of one of the tentacles, he grabbed the end and yanked it forward. The entire body of the Altered was lifted into the air and came towards him.
With his strong hooves, he pushed off the floor, and Austin’s heavy large body was in the air. The Altered was flying toward him while Austin leapt towards Pan. He held onto both of his hands, lifted them in the air, and slammed them down towards the ground right on the Altered’s spine.
A shockwave was sent out as soon as the blow had hit, and Pan’s body was sent right into the ground, cracking the very floor beneath him. The cracks spread out far and wide even reaching where Vlad was standing.
Landing on the floor, Austin looked at the Altered. It was unmoving, blood was pouring out of its mouth, but Austin still lifted his head up above his head.
“You tried to take my life, and you guys killed someone who didn’t need to be killed. If we don’t get rid of people like you, you’ll just end up causing more pain for everyone else.” Austin slammed his foot down, crushing Pan’s head.
There was no chance of him coming back from something like that. Vlad was still frozen in place as he witnessed everything. As a teenanger, he of course watched multiple Altered fights. He watched the AFC on the regular occurrence, and when he compared Austin to many of the fighters on the screen, he had overwhelming power.
‘Just how strong is Austin… Why is someone like him here in our city?’ Vlad thought.
Austin's form started to revert back to normal. His body was shrinking in size and when he was back to the way he was, he started to walk over to Vlad. His clothes were quite badly ripped from his transformation.
He wasn’t wearing the special uniform the Howler’s wore, because this was an undercover assignment. He never expected that he would fully transform either.
“Vlad, I want you to tell me everything that these bastards did to you.” Austin asked.
———
The two of them walked away from the situation. Although there seemed to be no police that would arrive even if a case like this was to appear, who knew what would happen to them.
In the end, the two of them arrived underneath an old bridge by a river. They stayed on the underpass where there was no one around and Vlad told Austin about everything that happened, every last detail of what they had done.
“Those guys!” Austin's fist was clenched so hard the veins could be seen popping through his entire hand. After seeing what he could do, Vlad was a little worried that if he was to hit the bottom of the bridge it might collapse.
“I know you're strong Austin… and I want to take out all those b*stard’s, I don’t want my father’s death to be meaningless, but can we do it?” Vlad asked.
“I promised you.” Austin said, as he took out his phone. “I was already planning to deal with these guys, but now after touching you and your family they have made this more personal than they can imagine.”
Vlad’s chest was choking up. No one but his father had treated him with this much care before, and now a stranger had done so. So many times while at school, going through all the crap he had been through, he just hoped someone would come and change it all.
Or at least there would be someone he could go to when he was in trouble, when he needed help. His father was already doing everything he could working for them. How could he tell his father about his troubles and worry him more? Now he didn’t have a father to even talk to.
Austin dialled a certain number and placed the phone next to his ear, it rang a few times before it was eventually answered on the other end.
“I have something to ask.’ Austin said. “I know we weren't meant to cause trouble, we weren't meant to make too much of a big scene, but something has happened on my end. I’m going to this thing, it's called the Phantom Brawl… I need your permission, Boss. Is it okay for me to get rid of the Scavengers?”
Vlad was able to hear Austin’s every word, and now knew that the one who he was on the phone with was his boss. It was expected that someone so young to become an Altered had a backing of some kind, but it made Vlad just wonder who they were.
“Of course, you go crazy.” Gary replied. “I think we're in this too deep already.”
******
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