by GoozX and Captain Sammitch
Phil Smith stepped back, almost falling in the massive hole in the rocky ground, the one left when Priest used his strength to force the Beast through the cave roof and on to the mountains and beach above.
What can I do to help? Phil thought to himself, then realized that with the hole still wide open, the Beast would easily be able to jump back into the cave and kill the dozens of innocents hiding underground from the storm.
Phil concentrated, and the land around the hole shook and closed up. Phil reinforced it by pulling large boulders down the mountains and covering where the hole was.
Tayden watched from inside the cave, as the very earth above him seemed to repair itself. These men who saved him were miracle makers in their own sense. For a moment, he wondered if they were the chosen few, gifted from the higher powers to even the scales of justice.
Nah, that was too corny. They were just good men (and woman) doing what was right.
Above ground, Priest sidestepped the Beast, still keeping a good second ahead of the massive creature. Priest's years of military training were really paying off. As he ducked away from the creature's razor claws, he caught its arm and snapped it backward. The inhuman sound of demon bones breaking screeched in Priest's ears. He ignored it as he blinded the Beast with an energy blast to its eyes, all eight of them.
Slipping on the rain-drenched beach, Priest failed to escape from a blow from the creature. Its claws dug deep into Priest's side. Priest gritted his teeth in pain and used the momentum to swing around the Beast, getting it into a headlock.
Priest used the Beast's own struggling to absorb the energy he needed to break its neck. The creature fell to the ground in a heap of bone and scaly flesh. Priest also fell to the ground. He struggled to his feet and was met with a hand by Phil, who helped him toward the cave, Priest's hand trying to stop the blood flowing from his side.
Both men stopped as they heard movement where the creature lay. Turning around, the creature had begun to shift form and grow. It was now larger, stronger, quicker, and hungrier.
Priest grunted. "Figures."
Phil looked at him. "Any ideas?"
Priest shook his head.
Phil sighed his frustration. "Right." He looked at the Beast, which seemed to be trying to decide the best way to dispatch the two men. Then it hit him. "You absorb kinetic energy, right?" Phil asked Priest.
Priest nodded.
"From colliding with objects?"
"Sometimes."
"I got an idea."
Priest rolled his eyes. "There goes the neighborhood."
Phil shook his head. "No, it'll work. But it might sting a little."
"Now I'm listening."
Phil tried to find the right words. "Ever done any flying?"
Priest nodded.
"Know how they showed you how to assume the position?"
Priest nodded. "What are you getting at?"
He looked down and noticed he was several feet off the ground.
"Better assume that position, good buddy," Phil told him.
"You wouldn't."
"You have a better idea?"
Priest groaned. "Something tells me I'm going to regret this."
Phil closed his eyes.
WHOOSH!
Priest wasn't by any means a lightweight, but somehow he rocketed through the air at what felt like a hell of a high rate of speed. He tucked his knees under his chin and folded his massive arms over them, which set him spinning like a four-seam sinker, the ultimate beanball.
Priest looked up in time to see the solid wall of the Beast's chest headed right for him.
"Smith, you son of a..."
BOOM! The collision sent the Beast flying backward. Priest quickly absorbed the remainder of the enormous quantity of free energy, and his mass grew until he was almost two-thirds the size of the Beast itself. The Beast landed in a heap on its back, and Priest strode over to where it lay, intent that the ass-kicking be unbroken, by and by.
Phil stood there and watched Priest start to slug it out with the Beast. He hoped the huge man could hold the creature off until Phil came up with another plan.
It had been a great idea at the time. Unfortunately, the massive quantities of energy that Priest was absorbing were beginning to show their effects. Priest was visibly weakening. The fight was rapidly progressing from Priest kicking ass to Priest holding his own to Priest playing defense to Priest fighting for his life. Phil didn't like where that logical little progression was going. He hurled another rock at the beast long enough to separate the two. "Priest! Priest!"
The big man turned slowly.
"Get the hell outta there!"
Priest staggered away as the Beast clambered to its feet sluggishly.
The Beast was angry now, but it saw the massive metahuman right there in front of it. The Beast took a step forward, intent on crushing Priest, but its foot went right through the big man and into a hole in the ground.
Dazed, the Beast turned to see Priest to its left. It swung its massive tail, which also passed right through Priest, throwing the creature off-balance and sending it toppling to the ground. Enraged, the Beast leaped to its feet and set about trying to demolish the big meta, each time to no avail. Priest could be right there, but nothing the Beast did seemed to have any effect.
This would all have looked almost comical to a bystander, considering that Priest was actually about twenty yards away. He gasped for breath and watched Phil intently. Phil's eyes were closed, and he was obviously in very deep concentration. Priest saw the Beast flailing away at things that obviously weren't there and put two and two together.
Phil didn't turn to face him. "I can't do this too much longer."
Priest nodded. "We need a plan... now."
Phil nodded. Suddenly it hit him. "Go get Tayden."
Priest raised an eyebrow. "What can he do?"
Phil smiled as he continued to lure the Beast into chasing imaginary Priest facsimiles. "He can call Chance."