Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - When Worlds Collide

[Bastion]

Hurriedly Sebastian soared through the air. Beneath underpasses of freeways and swiftly around corners narrowly making the turns through the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. A strong gust blew behind him as the speed of his trajectory left a wake of sliced wind behind him waking out to the passerby’s on the streets below.

He peered at his watch, a dangerous thing to do when blazing through the streets at triple digit speeds, cursing silently to himself as noticed the time. He pushed himself even harder trying to make up for some lost time taking his speed to near his maximum soaring up over the skyline and to the onlookers below he was gone in a flash.

When his feet finally touched down the pavement cracked as his impervious frame refused to yield to the impact of his hasty landing.

A raven-haired vision of heaven looked down on him from atop the steps of L.A.’s City Hall. She sighed; mingling it with a half smile she shook her head and descended the stairs to meet him. “Still working on smooth landings, eh?”

He looked down at the pavement while taking each step one at a time to meet her. A bit embarrassed he rubbed his neck and grinned. “Smooth landings aren’t easy in a hurry, here.” He took a designer purse from off his shoulder and handed it over.

“I don’t know, it looks good on you.” She mused, cracking him a smile. He glared at her with a deadpan expression on his face. “I’m kidding. Thank you Sebastian, honestly. I can’t believe I forgot it this morning. It has my planner appointment book, drivers license, hell, everything. You’re a life saver ‘Bastian, thank you.”

“Don’t sweat it,” He said trying to hide a yawn. “Next time though, call around lunch time.”

“I have to get going. There’s a budget meeting in thirty minutes and I have nothing prepared,” She walked back up the stairs and he watched as every inch of her frame kept him in a hypnotic like trance. He was trying hard to be the friend he could be for her, but the longer he was around her the more he regretted losing her. “Tell your Dad I said ‘hey’ for me, okay?”

“Aight.” And with that he unglued his eyes from her skirt-clad posterior. Looking around for a moment he decided to walk. Flying to early in the morning left all the muscles tightened up and right now he was about as sore as one nova could get.

He didn’t notice Cassandra turn around once she’d reached the top of the steps. She watched him go; rather impressed with the efforts he was making to remain on good terms with her without bringing up to many bad memories. He was trying and it hurt her to think that he started to late to save what they had.

Looking down from his vantage point above a building across the street from City Hall someone looked down to the dark skinned nova as he walked across the street. He looked at the picture in his hand verifying the image as the man below. Knowing of Sebastian wasn’t difficult, even finding him was easy but he looked to the photo to make sure. He couldn’t afford to screw this up. Casually, the small man leapt from the building down to the street below.

“Oh my god! That man just ju-” was about all Sebastian heard. As a sudden massive shadow blotted out the morning sun above landing squarely where Sebastian was standing, causing him to collapse like he was made of paper.

Two tons of bipedal rock slammed down upon the nova sending him halfway through the street in an explosive crater of debris and dust. Gritty laughs echoed through the morning commute as people fled for cover, evacuated their vehicles and otherwise evacuated as quickly as possible. Up at City Hall onlookers, Cassandra included, quickly fled behind the pillars of the massive front entrance, unable to flee from the spectacle happening below.

“This!?” The giant mocked watching Sebastian, stunned and winded, crawl up from the shallow crater the he was still standing in the middle of. “This is Bastion? Oh how the mighty have fallen!” He laughed again and the sound of stone grinding on stone filled the air. At nearly nine feet tall he towered over the dazed nova and appeared to be made of solid rock. As he moved sandy grid was shaved off allover his body as the plates shifted and moved across his armored body to allow for flexibility. “This is gon’ be easier than I thought!”

Not wanting to let go of the opportunity while his opponent was stunned he threw his fist down to the street below smashing directly into the back of Sebastian’s skull. His arms gave way under the impact and his face was forced downward to meet the pavement. The street cracked as his invulnerable body refused to be shattered and another small crater was formed leaving him looking like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand.

Cassandra screamed slightly and covered her hand over her mouth and as the blow landed she shuddered slightly, her body convulsing as her mind almost made her feel the impact from all the way where she stood. Tears formed in her eyes as she silently prayed for someone to stop the beating that so far had only been two blows and already left Sebastian incapacitated.

“Take a good look people of L.A.!” The giant shouted. Throwing his arms out wide to collect the praise of his onlookers. “Today the mighty Sebastian Stone falls at the hands of me! Mammoth!” With another chuckle he gleefully kicked Sebastian over with his foot, rolling him onto his back.

“For the record,” Mammoth taunted his downed opponent who was doing nothing but looking around in all directions unable to orient himself. “Dis shit gon’ hurt bruh.”

Locking his hands together Mammoth came down onto the nova’s chest with a hammer blow that collapsed the pavement a bit more as the kinetic energy had to go somewhere. Sebastian’s eyes opened wide and he made a sound that mingled a cry of pain and a gasp for air together into a grotesque gasp of agony.

One after the other the giant man of rock brought his arms down on the defenseless nova in the street, beating him further and further into the crater that formed with each and every attack until he finally he gripped Sebastian and lifted his limp body up, his enormous hand nearly engulfing his stunned opponent completely. As casual as one could be he tossed him up into the air, cocked back his fist, and on his way down to the ground punched him with everything he had.

Bastion flew across the avenue, upwards into the second story corner of a building there in the intersection. The impact shattered the stones and crumbled the intricate decorative ledge. Like a rock he fell to the ground while rubble and large chucks of stone fell onto him at sizes that no baseline could have ever survived; The Mammoth’s stone grinding laugh echoed in his ears as the dizziness shook itself away. From the dust and rubble Sebastion Stone stood up, his face locked in a grimace of pure rage. His clothes torn and battered and his skin covered in the dust of shattered rock. Despite the severe beating he’d received not a single cut or bruise marred his otherwise perfect physique.

The Mammoth laughed ore before looking at his prey. “Aw come on! Stay down and I’ll make it quick, Keep getting up and I’ll make this shit last all day! I’m the baddest and the biggest there is dog, I’m unstoppable!” He slammed his fists together to emphasize his point.

[[[ Fight Music! ]]]

“And you sure love hearing yourself talk,” Sebastion replied, brushing away the dust from his shoulders. “Time to school ya. Ya see, it’s not the size of the ‘dog’ in the fight…” He rushed forward, his feet gliding across the pavement as his powers of flight defied gravity in his favor before his feet touched ground halfway there and met The Mammoth like a Scotsman charging the English. Mammoth cocked back his fist and swung with everything he had and Bastion did the same.

His fist was tiny compared the stony comet of force that bared down on his but Bastion’s clenched rage slammed into The Mammoth’s rock-like hand in mid strike, deflecting the punch with a punch of his own. The Mammoth’s hand crumpled like a sedan before a semi as the shockwave of kinetics tore through his arm and halfway through his body. He cried out in agony, clenching his wrist as he stepped backwards, away from the man who was only half his size.

Sebastian grinned evilly as he looked the suddenly fearful nova in the eyes. “…It’s the size of the fight in the ‘dog’.” He popped his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders to work out the last of the dizziness. “Now, get at me. Come get destroyed.”

Now on even ground the two novas stood just a few feet from one another. Bastion stood up straight facing his opponent with out any defenses raised to avoid an oncoming attack while The Mammoth still clenched his wrist trying to get the numbness to stop wondering Bastion was able to harm him so easily.

[Guest N! News]

OLED displays lit up across nearly every living room with an Op Connection in the L.A. area as well as anyone tuned into N! as 'Breaking News' interrupted their favorite daily programs.

"Ladies and Gentleman we are live on the scene in Downtown Los Angeles where ex-municipal defender and all around Mr. Attitude Sebastian 'Bastion' Stone is combatting, in the middle of the street outside the courthouse might I add, an unidentified nova who appears to made from solid stone."

As the cameras try to get a good angle from their helicopter vantage point viewers at home watched as Bastion and Mammoth collided in the streets as hordes of ignorant spectators on the sidewalk and pressed against windows watched on.

"Sources are telling us," the reporter voice was raised of the sound of the rotors. "That the unidentified nova, who has called himself 'Mammoth', leapt from a nearby building and proceeded to, as one witness put it, 'Lay the smack down' on Sebastian Stone. So far law enforcement officials have been deployed on the scene to disperse the crown, but with little success. More as we have it..."

[Bastion]

"Look at them!" The Mammoth screamed at his opponent. Their hands were locked together as they struggled to gain the upper hand on each other in a contest of strength. He grunted out each phrase, finding himself rather worried at the ease with which Bastion matched his power. "You're just entertainment to them now Bastion. A washed up nobody that they've forgotten about now that you've served your purpose to them."

"You talk to much." Was Bastion's reply as he applied his true strength to the lock and bent Mammoths hands completely back with little effort in 'Mercy' fashion all the while summoning a large amount of pure quantum to his fists.

As the Mammoth wailed in pain under the pressure of having his stone wrists shatter Bastion let go, reached back and asserted himself with everything he had. His punch landed squarely in the center of the giant's chest as a shockwave of tectonic force screeched through his body in a wave of agony. The shockwave rumbled his inards and escalated to seizures within a matter of moments.

Without missing a beat Bastion was on his collapsed foe beating him with fists as solid as the hardest metal without regard for the oppositions current state.

"Next time..." His fist slammed Mammoths face, once more packing the tremor of a shockwave. "Know..."

His other hand came in and rocketed against Mammoth's cheek, the ripple of force was enough to knock over close by pedestrians as they watch in horrified awe. "Who."

Mammoth fell to the ground on his back finely ground sand began to ebb from his ears, nose and eyes. Bastion's fists crashed down on his body in a 'hammer blow' similar to the one he received from the nova earlier. "You are..."

"Fucking with!" And with a mighty shout he kicked the Mammoth with so much force the nova took to the sky and soared down the avenue for what seemed like miles but was really just several hundred very painful yards where he tumbled through the twenty fourth floor of a far away office building.

Tired and wounded Bastion hit one knee and attempted to compose himself. "Asshole." He mumbled under his breath.