[IC] Double Dragon

[Omega Man]

Twenty years ago Centurion protected the streets of Sundown City. He was the only hero stepping up until one of the greatest fighters ever known came to town. The Golden Dragon was a man of few words who wielded great power. He could fly, throw cars around like baseballs, manipulate and generate fire, and… completely stole the limelight from Centurion. As technology continued to develop over the next couple decades, Centurion’s more futuristic tech seemed less and less impressive.

Three years ago the hurricane hit and destroyed part of a nearby dam. The east side of the city was flooded and life changed for thousands of residents. When the Golden Dragon became too old to continue protecting the city he opened a martial arts dojo. The Dragon tried to help Centurion move his HQ up to the roof of a safer building in the flooded part of the city, but the two older heroes were ambushed by a gang of tech scavengers that would eventually become the Dead Heads. They were led by a woman with red eyes who controlled the darkness around her. She would eventually become the Shadow Queen.

Three weeks ago Will and Jay walked into a gang war between the Wolfpack and the Dead Heads. They found shelter and the mark of the Dragon in the abandoned dojo and were transformed into dragon themed heroes. The fire they accidentally started in the building would have been blamed on the gangs by the Channel 17 News had they not flown out of the chaos looking like complete badasses. Sterling Shephard of Channel 17 News was appalled when local law enforcement deputized the Dragons after they assisted the police in capturing an escaped criminal named Abobo.

Two days ago the boys were contacted by Centurion. Will had heard of him before, superheroes were his ‘thing’ in his youth. Even past their prime, Centurion and the Golden Dragon were somewhat local celebrities. They met him at his rooftop HQ just a few blocks away from Jay’s apartment. Whatever happened to Golden Dragon was never figured out, but the boys told Centurion how they gained their abilities. None of them knew that eventually the mark of the dragon would show up elsewhere in the future.

Present Day, 2040 (We’ll say it’s in April)

The plan was simple enough: meet up at Jay’s apartment; transform on the roof or in the alley; and fly to Centurion’s HQ. Nobody was trying to go through the flooded areas and risk running into a crocodile. If rival street gangs going to war weren’t bad enough for the eastside slums, or the drug addicts staggering around on ‘oblivion’, random crocodiles wandering out of the flooded areas can sometimes also be a problem. Public transportation only went so far into the slums. So Will was unfortunately taking the last bit of his journey on foot.

“I tried transforming on my own and it didn’t work. Should test how close we have to be...” Will texted Jay on his smartphone. After putting it back in his pocket he glanced over his shoulder before crossing the street. It looked like a Dead Head was coming up behind him on foot. There was never just one around. And Jay’s apartment is still at least a few blocks away.

“I could run towards the flooded zone. The Dead Heads don’t go near there. I might be able to handle one in a fight… if he doesn’t have a gun or something.” He thought trying to speed up his walk without making it obvious he was uncomfortable. “DAMNIT!” he said out loud breaking into a run towards Jay’s apartment rather than the flooded zone. Thankfully, his speed was higher than that of a Dead Head. He was nearly twice as fast, and he wasn’t even in superhero dragon mode. When he got within a couple buildings of his cousins apartment complex he could feel something, possibly the connection to his cousin’s energy he needed. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted: “Meet me on your roof” before looking around once more and saying out loud “Power of the Dragon!”

In mere seconds the hero was flying to his cousin’s rooftop. When his cousin exited the door to the roof his costumed younger cousin asked…

“You think we should give ourselves codenames? Like… what are we right now? Dragon One and Dragon Two?” Will questioned.

[Double]

He'd only just barely walked in the door after leaving work. He was tired, and kinda wished he could just go crawl into bed. But not so. He had places to be, people to meet... asses to kick. It didn't take him long to spot the text from Will. So they had to be in a certain distance of each other for the powers to even work? Who came up with these weird rules, anyway? He quickly typed in a response, "Well good thing we're figuring that out now instead of in the middle of a fight, y'know?" and hit send. After that he set the phone down on the counter and went into the one bedroom of his apartment. He needed to get the hell out of his janitorial clothes. They weren't uncomfortable or anything, but by the end of the day they usually started to smell like sweat and bathroom cleaning solution, and that smell was just annoying.

So for several minutes, Jay was in the bathroom taking a shower followed by putting on some non-sweaty casual clothes. It was while he was in the shower that he really started to think and realize just how completely weird his life had become. It was a lot take in, especially for someone still in the process of dealing with the death of their dad and best friend. He was the oldest and therefore had to at least put on the front of being the strong responsible one. But the truth was Jay had no fucking idea what he was doing. At this point he might as well have been playing all of this by ear. And sometimes it felt like these rare times when he was alone that he could just vent, even if no one was around to actually listen to him.

He paused a moment while drying off. There it was, that... feeling he got whenever Will was somewhere around. That was going to take some getting used to, and... Jay wasn't even remotely used it yet. He threw his clothes on and checked his phone. Another message from Will. This time Jay didn't bother replying, thanks to the weird energy sensing thing he knew Will would be showing up any minute now and so there was no point in texting anything back. Instead he just pocketed the phone and went out of the door. From there he climbed the stairs that would take him up to the roof exit.

Will was already out there waiting for him. He asked something about names, and Jay just shrugged. "Beats me." he said as he pulled an ice chest out of a nearby hiding spot and opened it up. These little rooftop meetings had taught him to keep a couple of folding chairs and stash of drinks on the roof. He pulled out a whisky bottle that looked about half empty and popped it open with a shrug and took a drink out of it. Then used his foot to slide the chest over in Will's direction, "Thirsty?" He didn't just keep liquor in there. There was some waters and sodas too, since Will wasn't exactly a drinker. Or even old enough to legally drink in the first place, for that matter. Not that Jay would stopped him if he decided to grab a beer or something out of the cooler.

[Omega Man]

Like an old buddy-cop movie from decades’ past, there were clearly two personalities here with different opinions. Will was able to figure out that his cousin had just got home from work; his hair was still wet from the shower he took when he got in. Will’s mom got Jay the job as a janitor at the local community college. William would eventually be doing the same thing in another week and a half now that he had superpowers and was taking time away from school. That was for another time; at this moment Will just wondered why his cousin was still acting so casual.

“You probably shouldn’t be drinking booze if you’re gonna fly to Centurion’s HQ. Could crash into a building or something… or are you not gonna come with?” Will commented.

Jay was still just relaxing in his fold-out chair.

“If you’re tired, the power of the Dragon will fix that. I can swing it alone if you want, but there’s a Dead Head a little ways up the road and you know he’s not doing the city any favors. Probably out pushing oblivion on people…” Will explained, “So… you wanna transform before I fly off?”

Before either one of them could really do or say anything else somebody could be heard screaming a couple buildings down. Will’s muscles tensed up. Was it the Dead Head? Maybe another crocodile wandered into the streets? Hell it could be a six foot tall mutant amphibian for all anybody knew…

[Double]

"Well, shit..." muttered Jay, putting the lid back on the whisky bottle before storing it into the cooler he originally dug it out of. He pushed himself to his feet and hurriedly stashed the chair and cooler back in their hiding places, "I think our minds were just made up for us!" he said as he ran for the edge of the building and took a leap. Before he could actually start falling he shouted, "Power of the Dragon!" and then his powered up form could be seen flying off in the direction the screaming had come from.

Being that it was only a couple buildings away, it took the fledgling heroes only a few seconds to arrive and see what had been causing the screams. He looked like some kind of roided up meathead with yellowish skin and white hair. And he was apparently attempting a smash-and-grab in one of the jewelry stores. Well, actually it looked more like he'd skipped the "smash" part because he was just straight up carrying the whole damn cash register and safe full of what Jay could only assume was diamonds or other jewels that hadn't been put on display yet. Jay swooped down with a literal flying kick into the guy's stomach. Regardless of his size, Jay's enhanced strength was enough for him to knock him to the ground.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you didn't pay for that." said Jay watching the big guy push himself to his feet. He looked pretty mad, like he was gonna start blowing steam out of his ears at any moment.

"You're gonna regret getting in my way!" the guy shouted as he charged at the deputized hero and attempted to throw his entire body weight into a tackle with a shout of, "Hoo-Ha!" of course, the silver clad hero had little trouble getting out of the way. In moments the big found himself tackling only the pavement, followed by something grabbing his ankle and then hurling him up and over only to slam back onto the pavement.

"You literally watched me fly in and kick you down to the ground and your first thought was, 'Yeah, I can take him'? You're not exactly a brightly lit bulb, are you?" the Dragon asked of the now-winded strongman.

[Omega Man]

The red clad Dragon watched as his cousin took out the hulking brute with ease. This was the second time they’d dealt with this Abobo family of muscle heads since becoming superheroes. The yellow skinned enemy on the ground remained and citizens of Sundown City began to gather around what had just taken place. Cars passed them by on the streets, as well as flying overhead. Thankfully for the boys they could fly higher than the futuristic cars were allowed to.

“You gonna wait around for the cops? If so I’m gonna go ahead and fly to Centurion’s HQ…” Will stated as the flashing lights of the local law enforcement approached. “We really need code-names. I don’t know what to call you in front of a crowd.”

"Yeah, about that..." Jay said in response to the line about code-names, "...It kind of looks like some people on social media are already calling us something." but he didn't say anything else aloud. Instead he used his phone to send a quick text message. Apparently, they're calling me Firebrand. Guess they already must think I'm the rebellious one. Lmao.

The employees of the jewelry store had come around the corner, as well as more civilians who witnessed the attempted heist. A little boy holding his mother’s hand in the crowd asked the two cousins in costumes about the Golden Dragon.

“Are you the Golden Dragon’s kids?” the boy who wore a cartoon superhero t-shirt asked.

Jay seemed more concerned with the brute on the ground than he did the crowd. Will leaned down and addressed the boy.

“He’s not our dad, but he was an inspiration to us both.” He said with a smile as the child’s expression perked up.

The authorities were on the scene now and came through the crowd. Sterling Shephard of the Channel 17 News team was also on his way through the people with a camera drone in tow behind him. The boys didn’t know exactly what they did to piss this news guy off, but he had serious beef with them for some reason. They gave each other a look and both took to the skies in an instant with an energy trail behind each of them mirroring the look of a serpentine dragon. The Double Dragons flew through the city darting between skyscrapers and dodging flying vehicles, only to see that the city wasn’t in any peril at the moment. From behind the boarded up windows of an abandoned or rundown retro arcade an amphibious hand pulled away a broken piece of wood to get a better look at the flying heroes. Across town, back in the flooded zone, Centurion watched the skyline of the city from his HQ.

Positioned on top of one of the larger skyscrapers on the eastside, Centurion’s base was composed of what was left from his civilian life and his original base of operations. The whole thing had a very sleek and sci-fi look to it. There was technology like it in the city here and there, but sixty percent of the city was still pretty gritty and worn down. It was imperceptible to the naked eye thanks to hard light holographics giving it a much more rundown and dilapidated look like other buildings throughout the city. When going outside to check on things he usually threw a tattered cloak and hood over himself to better blend into the grime projections. He did this as he met the boys outside on the roof.

“I JUST saw the text about the code names… apparently there’s one camp calling me Blaze and another group calling me Inferno. Oooh, Marian just texted…” Will began saying as they approached Centurion in his cloak.

Centurion looked down around the base of the building where the lower levels were still flooded to make sure there were no crocodiles or self-proclaimed Kings.

[Double]

The cloaked Centurion looked back at the two young heroes. His drone companion continued to check the perimeter as he led them to the entrance. There were two entrances to the HQ; a hatch on the backside as well as a hidden door. The group approached the door as the drone made its way back to Centurion. The elder hero stepped on something that moved a wall of wooden crates and revealed the door itself. There were several stray cats in the area. As they stepped through the door, the three heroes stepped by the food Centurion had set out for the animals while he removed his cloak.

“Why do you feed them, they just piss on everything?” Will asked.

“They help camouflage the outside. The holograms and ratty tarp only hide so much on a windy day…” Centurion explained.

“I’ve narrowed down the potential spots King Croc could be operating out of in the flooded zone. Still no idea what he’s looking for here.” Centurion began as he sat at his monitoring station by a giant window. “There’ve also been sightings of a humanoid reptile or something down near the old rundown arcade in the Midtown area. Could just be somebody in cosplay, then again King Croc may be mutating DNA and making hybrids or something AWAY from the flooded zone….”

“You remember that old retro arcade, Cuz?” Will asked Jay, who seemed to be staring off into the city skyline.

"You mean where I used to kick yours and Casey's ass at Karate Champ and Tag Team Wrestling?" Yep, he remembered all right. They were just kids back then. It was a different time, seemingly an entire lifetime ago.

“I also made contact with some old acquaintances who mentioned that the Wolfpack is losing the turf war but there’s one Alpha still out there trying to keep fighting. He supposedly ended at least a half dozen Dead Heads in the last two weeks. That would normally be good news but he also killed two civilians if this is really the same guy. The Twilight Times called him ‘the Last Alpha’ but it could all just be made up…” Centurion said looking at Jay now.

Jay's hands clenched into fists that appeared to briefly spark with embers. Otherwise he showed no other visible reaction, "Looks like someone didn't get the memo. Leave that wannabe to me." he said with fire in his eyes, "His ass is mine"

He gave a side-long glance at his cousin, "You can check out that King Croc lead." he turned and started for the HQ's exit, "I'm going wolf hunting."

[Omega Man]

“Was he that angsty before becoming a superhero?” Centurion asked after Jay stepped out of the HQ.

“He used to be in the Wolfpack, before his dad got killed.” Will commented.

There was an awkward silence to kill all awkward silences. Centurion didn’t know these kids personally, only that they were locals who were given power tied to the Golden Dragon. Centurion wasn’t a great detective, but the way the young hero in front of him just spoke he could tell that the two Dragons were related somehow. He had to do something to ease the tension…

“So… Dragon 1… Dragon 2?” Centurion asked wondering what to call Will.

“There’s a group on the ‘net calling me Blaze…” Will commented as Centurion sat in front of the large window at his monitoring station.

“Well… Blaze… what’ll it be? Or do I need to ask?” Centurion asked.

“Yeah… I’m going to the retro arcade.” Blaze replied getting himself hyped.

“I didn’t have the chance to ask the other Dragon….” Centurion began saying before Will corrected him.

“Firebrand.” The younger Dragon stated.

“…okay, do YOU want company? My drones are long range now and Midtown shouldn’t be beyond their limits. I can be another pair of eyes.” Centurion explained.

Minutes Later, Midtown…

It was at the bottom of a large hill, on the end of a shopping mall long past its prime. There was a creek behind it, and the mall itself was off of a major highway. However the pavement was cracked and the parking lot was large and vacant of any cars except for on the far side of the building. There was still one discount beer and tobacco store willing to attempt to do business. The employees and customers are usually the ones calling in the reports of the lizard creature near the arcade. When Will arrived the drone was still a few minutes behind him. Through a crack in some wood covering the windows the Battletoad called Rash prepared himself for a fight. He wondered why the guy in the fancy suit was just standing around outside.

“I’m not waiting for your backup to get here!” Rash screamed, leaping towards the Dragon themed hero with a Big Bad Boot attack. Mid-air the Battletoad’s foot morphed into a giant steel toed boot with spikes and caught the hero off his guard.

13 – Blaze [-2 for Rash’s Sig Move]
15 – Rash

“What the…” Will said out loud, picking himself up off of the busted pavement. Centurion’s drone finally hit the scene.

The Toad’s arms morphed together to form a double bladed battle axe and came down with another strike. If not for the Dragon’s enhanced attributes and durability he would’ve already been done for.

12 – Blaze [-1 for Rash’s attack]
15 – Rash

“Where are the Topians?! And what have you done with my Battletoad bros?!” Rash questioned, as Will attempted to get his wits about him. It wasn’t every day that a guy got tossed around by a six foot tall frog man.

“Maybe I was just here for the retro arcade…” Blaze muttered grabbing the Toad’s ankle and flying into the sky. Within moments he threw him to the pavement, unsurprisingly the amphibian bounced.

12 – Blaze
14 – Rash [-1 for being thrown]

“Retro? How long was I trapped in that game?!” Rash questioned, looking around at all the bits of newer technology sprinkled in the city. The flying cars, the large hologram billboards, it was a lot for the teenage hero to take in.

“I don’t know what a Topian is, or what you’re talking about… but I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Will said extending his hand to help the Battletoad to his feet.