all-out war zone, Ace. Reaper’s holding his own for now, but I don’t know if even he can defeat that many Strangers alone.”
“He won’t be alone for long,” I said firmly as I squeezed the throttle and sped past an overhead sign that read: Welcome to New York City.
3. HOMETOWN HERO
http://goo.gl/V8bLtl - ♫
REAPER:
THE THICK BASE LINE OF MY FAVORITE RAP GROUP’S NEW single “Hometown Hero” boomed in my ear piece as I slammed into a group of Strangers and sent them all flying like rag dolls. Howie had been concerned that I wouldn’t be able to defeat so many of them at once but the battle was proving to be so easy that I had decided to throw on some music just to keep from getting bored.
I bobbed my head and shoulders to the beat as I held my fists before me and dared the army of Strangers that still filled the streets to advance toward me. I had reduced nearly a third of them to unconscious heaps of broken bones and bruised flesh but there were still six-hundred of them left standing and despite the ease with which I incapacitated their comrades, the rest of them weren’t showing any signs of backing down.
I blazed back into action faster than the naked eye could see and tore through another twenty of them in a matter of seconds. My heart thumped uncontrollably as more and more adrenaline poured into my system and further amplified my already unearthly abilities. I smiled and plucked an RPG out of the air just before it could slam against me. I crushed the grenade between my hands like a soda can and it exploded harmlessly in my face as I turned my attention back to the astounded Strangers.
Not so fast! I thought, as I suddenly leapt forty feet into the air and sailed after a group of Strangers who were trying to evacuate Alias. Most of them toppled to the ground upon impact and the rest of them scurried away as I slammed my fist against the pavement and sent hundreds of cracks ripping through the street.
“Come on!” I dared as another wave of mercenaries rushed toward me while I clenched my fists and loomed over their leader, who had been knocked unconscious when I slammed into the group. I continued to bounced back and forth and bob my head to the music in my ear as I dared them to make the first move. Now that I had caught up with Alias, I knew they would have to get up close and personal instead of relying on gunfire—and that was exactly what I had been waiting for. There was only so much fun to be had while zipping around as they fired their worthless guns from a distance. The carnage of hand-to-hand combat and the sensation of their brittle bones snapping with every thrust of my fists is what I really craved.
The first of them to attack was the largest of them all. The moment he threw his wild left jab I leaned in and head butted his fist, instantly dislocating his shoulder and snapping his forearm in two. I slammed him hard to the ground, just as the rest of them rushed toward me all at once. Despite their numbers, they were woefully overmatched. In a destructive blur, I decimated the forty Strangers that surrounded me in less than five minutes. Despite their armor, I shattered bones and ruptured internal organs with every attack, but I made sure I pulled my punches enough to keep any of them from dying upon impact.
I grabbed Alias and leapt high into the air just before the next wave of Strangers could attack me. They all turned and gave chase as I hit the ground and rocketed toward the Empire State Building. As I zoomed toward the massive skyscraper with hundreds of Strangers racing behind me, my heart pounded in my chest so violently that for a moment, I thought about slowing down—but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop until I had freed as many of the hostages as I could. As I approached the front entrance of the building, I held Alias’ unconscious body behind me and reduced the front door to splinters as I smashed right through it.
Somehow my already raging