I sprang into action, summoning copies of Summer's arms. Her ability was gigantification, which allowed her to grow in size. They reached out and scooped people from the black liquid.
"Get to safety!" I called out to the stunned group being dropped onto the sidewalk while dodging a water jet cutting through the air toward me. It missed, but the pressure had me worried about my shield's durability.
"What happened!" Backhanding the water tentacle reaching out for her, Susan joined the fray.
Grabbing another handful of hostages, I dived in toward a now clear section of this water behemoth.
"Protect the citizens! I'll handle this slime!" I shouted to Susan and created a pair of eyes that glowed blue before launching a beam of ice.
Susan snatched up the people I had just pulled free. For a split second, her invisible constructs were visible while separating them from the water.
The portion of sludge I was aiming for froze solid, locking it into place. Instead of separating, the other half of this water creature trembled and tugged at the frosty bits.
Pulling back slightly, I turned my attention to one of my disembodied arms. It had suddenly gone stiff while inside the liquid.
"Morgan! That's Eddie Black! Do not touch that goo!" Susan called out. Maybe she expected me to know that name.
She wrapped the survivors in an invisible bubble before lifting them into the air. Susan gave me one worried glance before flying off to get them to safety.
The giant arm, still partially stuck out from the slime, creaked as the pressure around it increased. Bones popped and crunched as I watched it turn to mush in the water.
"I've called the team and informed SID. Summer is the closest and will arrive first. Henry should get there next, but the rest of the team isn't within range. Connecting comms now." Rex reported his efforts to call in backup.
"Summer needs to keep her distance. This Eddie guy can kill her." I called back over the comms.
"I've come across him before. I'll be fine." A mildly annoyed-sounding voice filled my ear.
The bone fragments and slushified skin floated around inside this monster. It began to come together and reshape itself. More human slurry flowed up the black water from the hole in the building to join.
Part of this creature was still inside, attacking the warehouse workers. It was creating a mound of flesh surrounded by the black water bubble. There was no particular shape. It did put me in mind of a slime core.
The next tentacle swung my way, reinforced by a smaller fleshy appendage inside it. While zipping backward out of reach, I tried dismissing the arm it had eaten. Unfortunately, it was no longer under my control.
"First night out, and you're already attacking a villain's base. This is not how we operate, Morgan." Henry's chastising voice came out over the comms.
I ignored his comment to focus on the eyeball I had just sent shooting into the water. Crashing through the fluid membrane, it immediately began releasing a cold beam. The ice kept it from being absorbed, but it didn't spread very far before the eye froze, trapped in its own cocoon of ice. I dismissed it and summoned a replacement.
A lump of meat was expelled from the internal mass at incredible speeds, slamming into the ice and knocking it out of the creature. Moments later, a water jet severed the connection between it and the chunk of its body I'd already frozen.
Now free again, this beast pulled itself entirely from the hole. In front of my eyes, this thing began to shrink. A second later, it had compressed its watery layer to barely an inch above the fleshy bits.
Now possessing a vaguely humanoid shape, Eddie pointed at me threateningly. I was happy he had decided to make this easier for me and turn himself into a smaller target. With a thought, two ice-vision eyes hovered around me. Next, I summoned a set of arms crackling with electricity and a pair that appeared quite normal.
"Can you speak?" He wasn't attacking, so I took the chance to try a more peaceful approach. "It's not too late to surrender."
There was no response from him. He took a single step forward, causing a spiderweb of cracks to branch out under his foot. The building wouldn't hold his weight forever.
The moment he moved to take another step, my normal-looking arm shot forward. Crashing the arm into the behemoth's stomach with as much force as I could muster, red lines began spreading from the area of contact.
An explosion of steam burst out from the monster, instantly reducing visibility to nothing. Sensing where my first limb was, I sent in both eyes and electric arms. The arms made contact with the water and sent a powerful current coursing through it while the eyes dived into the hole left in its body from the explosion.
Another steam explosion rocked the area as my first arm had its partner join in. The superheated water escaped his control after becoming steam. A wobbly swing of his arm cleared away a portion of the cloud surrounding him.
Freezing the sides as they went, my frosty eyes advanced into the hole in the creature. It took only a second to reach the fleshy core. The human parts were spasming from the electricity running through them, but they slowly reshaped themselves.
The black water seeped into the core, turning the flesh dark. A claw-tipped arm reached out from this meat egg and pulled free a monstrous form.
"What is this?" Floating in the air by myself, I felt an inkling of fear.
This thing, I assumed was a super, vaguely reminded me of the monsters in the mist. The process was different, but it was obviously evolving during the fight.
The black water still left dispersed into droplets that hung in the air around our battlefield. The creature tensed its claws and shook its body like a dog trying to dry off.
Sickly yellow eyes looked up at me, and a sharp, toothy smile broke out across this thing's face. Instantly, the droplets shot toward me, slamming into my shield and tossing me back. Cracks spread quickly from the constant pelting.
Each of my active limbs lept at the super. The water in the air was eating away at them like an acid, but the electric arm struck first. Landing on his back, a shock that could take down several grown men was released. He didn't even react.
His attention focused on the arms that caused the steam explosions. He formed a blade of acidic water that lanced out, slicing through both at once.
A beam of ice swept over his feet, freezing him in place. Before he could break free, a projection of Summer's arm materialized. It grew to about twelve feet tall and dropped its massive fist onto his head.
The rooftop caved in from the attack, and a few people inside scattered in different directions.
"I'm on location. Where is he?" Summer called out over the comms.
I spotted her pulling up in a car and jumping out while running toward the building. Her size increased with each step until she towered over it.
She waved her hands around to generate wind pressure that forced the water droplets in the air away. It didn't entirely spare her, but the little that got through did an insignificant amount of damage to her costume.
I ignored her for a moment to focus on the pile of stones and metal obscuring our opponent. A blast of cold beam slammed into it just as an arm began to dig its way out. A second beam joined it moments before those claw-tipped fingers broke free. Only a few digits sticking out were visible, frozen solid.
Watching for movement, I waited for him to break free. Nothing happened. A sigh of relief filled my comms before I spoke.
"Eddie has been neutralized." I let the team know as I drifted down to Summer.
"There's still members of the gang inside. And another man, possibly with powers. He was dressed in a suit and had super designed gauntlets. I don't know what they could do, but I'm guessing you don't want to be hit by them." I broadcasted while meeting eyes with Summer as I landed.
She had shrunk to about seven feet tall and stood by the main entrance. Her gaze went over my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Henry arriving. He didn't look happy with me.
"Summer, guard this exit. Morgan, circle around the building and look for anyone trying to escape out the back. I'll clear the place." Without another word, he pushed off inside.
"Well, this is disappointing." Summer complained and glared at Henry's back as it vanished inside.
Authors Note:
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