New Form

"Blackfire!"

"NOT. Now kid." she grunted as she shot out a couple blasts, making several goons either duck for cover or sent flying. "Little busy!"

Their gear was good but it couldn't hold up to repeated shots. It was however enough to give her more trouble than she would have liked, even with the power up she had gone through. Though holding back due to the kid was also a pain in her ass.

"But dad's in trouble!" Layla shouted, pulling at her leg, "You have to help him! He's gonna lose!"

That... was a possibility. Whatever the lead thug had seemed to be able to knock Zac around easily. Did they do research on how to counter him? If so, that was too fast for it to be a cooked-up answer. Even if that was the case, that weird summoning earth trick was a little too... out there for it to be a random counter they had lying around. More to the point, where'd they even GET all this gear? Someone was clearly supplying them. Well, they were Syndicate but..., AGH they must have made a call and gotten gear shipped to them or something else.

"Seems pretty overkill though." she thought to herself as she grabbed one goon by the neck and shook him around.

"DAD!!"

Blackfire snapped her head around just in time to see Zac smash into the machines in the middle of the room he was fighting in. That looked like it had hurt and... she was pretty sure parts of his suit were more red than normal. That asshole from the bar was making his way over to her pet. This wasn't going well... should she tag in? But how would she protect the kid while she took the leader’s attention...

"Glass!"

"What did you say?" Blackfire snapped her head down to Layla. She made sure to shift the dumbass she had by the neck as a make shift shield. That seemed to give his friends pause enough for her to listen to the girl.

"Break the glass!" the young girl said, bringing a hand up and hitting it.

Did.... did the kid have some sort of idea? Might be a long shot but why not, she didn't have a good idea right now. And the thug in her grip did seem to have a bunch of grenades.

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"Come on, where'd that fire from last time go? I really expected better than this you punk ass." Torde chuckled as he hefted up his ax again, "Boss man put too much faith in you it seems."

"Boss man?" Zac managed to tumble out of the way of the swing, figuring it was better to dodge out the way than take it.

"Yeah. Boss man wanted to test some gear on you and well, this is looking like I'm gonna pass with flying colors." he gave a wide grin as he pulled back to swing again, "I'm gonna enjoy seeing your head mounted on a wa-"

An explosion tore through part of the wall off to the side behind them, which pulled both of their attention. From the smoke flew Blackfire, carrying Layla on her back and dragging Senai with her. She kept moving about to dodge the random shot from the gang members she left behind but that wasn't the thing that was holding Zac's attention. It was Layla who was holding up something in her hand.

"DAD!" she called out as she brought her arm back and threw as hard as she could, "CATCH!"

There's no way his little girl could have tossed it that hard but then again, he felt a weird pull from whatever she just tossed. Looking back on it, Zac would say it just flew into his hand. But right now, he had in his hand the other Zodiac stone and on instinct he clasped down on it. A loud crack was heard that seemed to cause everything to stop. Torde slowly turned his head as Zac held up another emblem. This one was Light green in color, with a straight line going horizontal on it, and what looked to C's or parentheses stuck through said line. Wait that was just like...

"SHOOT HIM!" Torde shouted, which broke the stillness in the air as he charged at Zac, axe held up high to smash down onto the human.

“Armor Set!!!" *CLANG* "ARMOR CHANGE!!!"

Zac didn't even think about it before swapping the set emblem in his belt to the new one. As he did so, a wave of energy erupted from his body which blocked the incoming shots from the thugs and even blowing Torde backwards.

The armor he was wearing vanished in a haze of light, each piece turning into another star like orb of light. They flew around quickly forming into a new pattern, the same that was on the emblem he just used before turning back into pieces of armor, only this time it wasn't the same heavy armor as each piece flew back to onto Zac's under/base armor.

Now he was wearing deep blue long heavy coat with a light blue green horizontal stripe from his shoulder to his waist, acting a bit like a sash. Flat dark blue shoulder pads, almost like boards, were on his shoulders with a thin green material falling off them like waves, lightweight chains maybe. Thick bracers adorned his covered hands, with each of them having the light green trim and odd animal symbol on the backside of the hand, some sort of aquatic creature. His legs were covered in the same lighter armor, with a light blue trim on the wider bottom, gray knee pads with each of them having a dark blue trim at the top, and wide boots with a pair of stripes each in that same green color.

His helmet's visor glowed that green color from underneath a somewhat flat or low, dark blue metal tricorn hat.

"The Tidal Trickster! Pisces Armor!"

"SHIT not this again!" Torde grumbled as he got up to his feet, "I don't care how many costume changes you got, I'm gonna gut you like the fish you seem to be!"

Torde activated his weapon's ability; this time sending out scatter shot waves of jagged rock splinters the size of yardsticks towards him. If that didn't work, he's switch to something bigger and...

"STARRY BLOW! PISCES!!!"

It wasn't even a punch; he just seemed to back hand the air on front of him. But a large curtain of water rose up out of nowhere and blocked the incoming attack, the liquid turning hard as ice when the rock tried to pass through. Even the extra shots his men were starting to pour into it, this barrier seemed to withstand anything. He was going to call in for heavier weapons or some explosives when he saw the guy turn away. Was... was this punk actually running?

"You think you can just walk away?!? This isn't done, I'm gonna find you and rip your limbs off piece by piece you stupid fuck!" Torde cried as he changed in and slammed his axe against the water which seemed to do something, leaving a large 'gouge' in it. "HA see you can't stop me you prick! I'm gonna enjoy ripping you apart! Hell, I'll make your stupid spawn watch...."

Crunch!

Oh no... it was happening again.

Zac hadn't responded to the provocation. Instead, he simply summoned more water to cover the broken machinery around him and compressed it down to a single mass of metal. Torde could see it move and flow inside the orb of water like the metal was liquid itself before it started to lengthen out and split in two. Zac simply reached into the water and drew out two twin blades.

Both were a silver color and rather short, broad sabers, each one slightly curved towards the end of the blade. The hilt had a basket-shaped guard with what looked to be the same animal shape as he had on his gloves. But the most particular part was the cutting edge; there wasn't one. Not in the normal sense. Instead of sharpened metal, each blade had a length of tubing running down that side but with a part of it opened. Water ran down this length before entering back into the tube and being recycled back up to the top of blade to continue the cascade.

It was like some deranged take on 'water chainsaw'. And with how fast that water was moving to the point he could HEAR it moving...., getting hit with that was probably going to hurt.

The curtain of water dropped to the floor, signaling that he wasn't running like Torde had thought at first.

"The actual..., fuck it!" Torde grunted as he swung his weapon, sending out boulder sized rocks towards Zac this time.

Only for the rocks to hit.... nothing? The man wasn't there anymore. Was... was he that fast now somehow? The only thing that signaled he was even there was the remaining scrap metal and a pool of water that was spreading out on the floor. Had he fled? No that wasn't something he'd do, after all his spawn was still here, right? Torde turned his attention to the orange woman flying around the room, throwing out energy blasts at his men every so often. Well, if the coward wasn't around anymore, getting his mate and the girl she was carrying should make him come out.

Torde shifted his weight on his legs a bit to take a good stance only to feel something, soaking into his boot. He looked down and saw the water starting to pool around his feet.

And he saw the eyes of that visor inside the water.

You don't get to be the head of a gang without good reflexes. Torde instantly shifted his attack to summoning rock right in front of him to defend himself instead as Zac burst out from the water as if catapulted upward. It wasn't enough though as he heard his barrier being shaved in half by that damn sword. Broken through now, Zac slammed his knee into the alien's chest, knocking him backwards. Torde was able to swing one of his heavy gauntlets on reflex, which was blocked before his attacker jumped backwards. He saw the decent torn out length of metal in his glove, those swords weren't a joke as silly as they were.

Still, he had a couple tricks up his own sleeve.

The two clashed again and again, Zac using the water to move about and trying to catch Torde off guard while the alien fended him off, his swings getting just a bit closer each time. His timing was starting to catch up to this new speedier form. And he was starting to get predictable about where he'd appear from. After one attack and dive back into the water, Torde took a couple steps backwards to regain his footing. Zac sprang up from the pooled water behind him, swinging a blade downward.

Only to be caught with a flash of light.

"Got you!" Torde said as he brought his weapon back to swing, activating its power as he did so.

He took a guess that he'd be attacked from behind, as he'd done so a few times now when Torde took steps backwards. Thus, he tossed a flashbang behind him and had his helmet filter the effect out. Dumbass didn't seem to have anything like that so now, "HIJACK, IMPACT" was the last thing this bastard was going to hear..., well. Maybe his own body being torn in two.

"DAAAAAAAAAAD!!!" Layla cried out as she started to freak out.

Blackfire herself wasn't sure how to feel about this. Zac, that accursed man, who the last day or so had been making her feel so strange. He had just been slashed in two, cut down before her eyes. She could see his lower body fall one way and his upper body the other way. How, how had this happened? That armor should have been able to protect him, right? That asshole, he'd gone and killed them all now. She put a hand to her heart, expecting it to cut out like someone turned her off. That wasn't happening not yet at least, but the pain in her heart felt like it was going to kill her anyway.

Why did she feel this way?

"Does...., does Starfire feel like this?" She thought as she charged up a Blackbolt. She might not have been able to save him, but she was more than certainly going to turn that fucking lizard to ash!

...., wait was Zac melting?

Blackfire watched in a mix of confusion, amazement, and maybe a little bit of pissed off anger, as she **** Layla to watch what was happening. They weren't the only ones; everyone from Senai to the gangsters just watched as Zac's body seemed to just.... turn into water and merge into the water on the floor. Torde wasn't mentally prepared for that. What sort of being turned to water on ****...., no wait that's stupid he's gotta be....

He heard the water below him breaking as something came up right from under him. A solid uppercut caught him in the chin and sent him flying. Now it was his turn to land among the broken machinery. Dazed, he was able to get himself free but it was more in a scared rapid scramble to move than any kind of skillful movement. He looked up and saw that damn bastard standing there, taunting him with his blade.

Did... how hard did he get hit? Why was he seeing double...., wait.

"FUCKING HELL!"

There were now two of those armored figures, each one holding one of those stupid water blades. He couldn't see past that helmet but he knew that damn bastard was smiling. The fist bump the two figures shared helped sell the idea they were just mocking him.

He attempted to swing again only for Zac to duck back into the water again. How the hell was that possible, the water barely went up to his ankles, how was he just diving into that small a space? Then again, the fact that two figures rose up out of the water, each one pointing a blade at him, well. Physics probably jumped off a bridge around Torde the first time he saw the transformation.

For his part though, Zac felt alive. This armor filled him with a lot more energy than the previous one. Leo had been energetic but felt more... contained than this? Was that a good way to put it? Possibly made sense given the water power and the fact he was semi split in two. That was the weirdest part; it didn't feel like he was in two places with two sets of eyes but it did feel like he was seeing someone's perceptive while he couldn't move..., almost like a dream. Really hard to describe..., maybe he should write this out later.

Regardless, this form was just what he needed to stand against this boulder of a ****. He was too quick and slippery now and when he did attack, the 'water chainsaw' which was a weird sight even to the guy using it, was basically a high-pressure water jet. He'd seen a few vids from a friend that worked at one of those machining plants. It was wild to see water could sheer metal like that. And if it worked for that..., well it could work for whatever this was right?

Still there was something weird about this whole thing...., okay. A LOT weird with this whole thing. But the weird part that he was focusing on was how those earth attacks felt... off. Yeah, him summoning earth out of nowhere was odd but considering he was using Fire and Water in the same way..., Zac couldn't judge. But it just felt, disturbing to him. Like it shouldn't be that way and he couldn't really pin point just why it felt wrong to him.

"Wait could it..., I need to get that weapon off him." Zac thought. He had an idea but he needed that weapon off Torde to confirm it. Though it would raise far more questions if he was right.

Torde got up and swung his axe, sending out another wave of earth towards the pair of Zacs. One ate the attack head on, splattering into water as his blade went flying. The double or real one caught the tossed blade and charged, slashing away at Torde's armor, and tearing off large chunks of metal and plastic off it. The brunt of the damage was on the gauntlets he wore. Rather than focusing on trying to beat him down, Zac had shifted his attention to those gauntlets as whatever was happening, those seemed to be a focal point in using and control the axe. If he could take those apart first...,

This pattern continued as Blackfire and Layla watched on. The gang was so stunned by what they were seeing, so the trio where able to take cover after Blackfire tore off some of the walling to act as a shield for the child. Senai had used this time to duck out, crawling into the service tunnel that had been exposed and said they would try to get security involved. Honestly, she hoped the shark like alien would make it out of this okay, didn't seem that bad.

Torde would eventually end up getting a lucky swing in, but the killed one would show that it was the water double. Or if it was the real one, the duo would end up combining their blades to block the swing and back off. Slowly though, they were getting through his armor... or more accurately, his gauntlets. Each time those oversized gloves took damage, Torde's swings would become more frantic and uncontrollable. The earth attacks he shot out with the axe also started to falter, appearing as more mud and gravel than what he wanted.

"Those must be how he controls that thing...., the hell did they dig it up." Blackfire thought as she moved around, picking up more bits of broken off metal.

She had a bit of a plan for what came after. Zac would win, of course he would, he’s, her partner. If he could handle her, well he could handle one ganger hopped up on some sort of mystic or tech-based tool. It was the afterward that was going to be a bit of a pain. Still her heart ached a bit when she saw him get hit, even if was the water double. If this was how Starfire felt anytime Nightwing was in trouble, how could she withstand that sort of feeling?

"FUCK THIS!"

A shout brought her back to focusing on the fight than her own work. She saw Torde activated his weapon's ability several times in a row. In answer, the Zac pair also paused and slammed down on the transformation belt.

"Hijack! RAGE IMPACT!"

"Starlight Breaker! PISCES!!!!"

Torde slammed the axe downward, a wave of jagged rubble shooting out like a shock-wave when the blade hit the ground. Zac for his part dismissed his double and held both blades himself, swinging them down into an X formation. A wave of blue energy hovered in place, holding to that X shape while the rock wave borne down on him. The energy wave held, sheering the rock into quarters as it slammed into it, sending it to the sides as if it was nothing but pebbles. Torde barely had a moment to process this before Zac spun on a heel and kicked the energy, sending the whole shape flying towards Torde.

He was able to block it but the **** sent him backwards, driving him towards a wall as the energy flowed around his weapon and gloves, tearing away at the metal, plastic, cables, and anything it could get a hold of as it pushed the gangster back. He slammed into the wall behind him with such **** it kicked up a dust cloud which when it dissipated, showed Torde half embedded into the wall, with a large X shape torn into the wall. A loud clang was heard that held in the air for just a second before those gauntlets simply shattered.

The remains falling to the ground in time as Torde himself fell flat on his face.