Aurora touched down and began attacking with gusto. Gus watched in admiration as she disabled super after super, the relatively diminutive woman taking out men larger and apparently stronger with ease. Gus smiled, enjoying the show when a boot stepped in front of his view. A polished gold boot, with some new scuff marks on the toe.
The boot suddenly disappeared until it made its reappearance in his side, flipping him over onto his back from the force. Gus barely felt it, his body numb from the near-constant shocks he was feeling as he jittered on the floor.
Seeing his state, Basileus stepped over him crouched down. “You idiot!” he screamed. “All that work, all that time, waiting for my moment and you took that from me!” A thin line of drool hung out one side of his mouth, suspended for a second, then dropping to the floor next to Gus.
Aurora was right, this guy was unhinged and was quickly becoming worse.
“At least I was able to pull more power to me than any super has before…” He stood, raising his fists in triumph.
That’s debatable, Gus thought, wishing he could vocalize the jibe.
“Now I will be able to pull Manticorps out of obscurity and establish it as a new fourth Faction that others will flock to. It will be glorious!”
Yep, he’s definitely losing it. Did absorbing all that power fry his mind? Or at least the part that kept him sane? Gus could feel the first hints of control returning to him, being able to very slightly move his neck, but he was still trapped in his own body.
Basileus leaned in close, his hand beginning to crackle and pop with energy. Sparks flared as dust particles entered the field and were immediately burned away. He moved the ball of energy closer to Gus’ face and visions of Graviton sliding by reminded Gus of what was about to happen next. His face began to redden from the intense heat and energy pouring off the madman’s hand.
“You don’t know how much I am enjoying watching you suffer; I’ll make sure to prolong—”
Gus thrust his neck forward into Basileus’ hand. Gus’ face exploded with pain as he pushed it into the plasma. His vision winked out with indescribable pain but it allowed him to activate Energy Absorption and drink. He pulled energy inside and opened himself up. The plasma ball fizzled and sputtered out.
Gus continued to pull, feeling multiple channels he had never noticed before open up. His glove disintegrated as Gus pulled and allowed Leech to activate. It grabbed at Basileus’ new abilities, the Absorb ability from Ash kicked in and he took energy from Basileus’ very body, breaking apart the bonds that comprised his muscles, bones, from his every cell and lapping up the energy.
He felt sudden cold in his hand and he felt the filigree on Jet’s guard had slid into his hand. He jabbed the naginata in Basileus’ side and drank even deeper as Vampire’s Kiss activated. His face felt a refreshing wave like a cool mist and his skin was suddenly whole. Blinding light appeared as his eyes reformed and were restored. Still he pulled more, feeding the black hole within him, trying to fill the void.
He locked eyes with Basileus, seeing the terror there as he was now just as paralyzed as Gus was, in the throes of the Leech effect. Gus took and took, stripping the new powers from Basileus that he had just obtained and added them to the myriad others. At that moment, he was a leech, a vampire, a parasite. And he was okay with that.
Basileus opened his mouth to scream but could find no words as Gus continued to draw everything. He saw Basileus appear to visibly age, his skin becoming furrowed and sallow. His hair became limp and lifeless, a dull gray mess matted to his bony skull with fervent sweat. His cheeks sank as his features became more gaunt.
Sensing he had almost taken everything, Gus forced himself to stop. It took a brief moment to stop the massive momentum and influx of power. Gus stopped just shy of killing the man, who toppled over to the side. His now brittle bones made a crunch as he fell to the side. The infusion had restored Gus’ ability to move, although he still felt like he was vibrating uncontrollably.
Taking pity on the husk of a man before him, he fished in his pocket for a red gel and popped it between the man’s teeth. There was a rough scraping noise and Basileus remained there curled up on the floor weeping.
“What have you done?” He looked at his liver-spotted, withered hands, suit hanging off his shrunken frame. “Father can only restore me to where I was before death…what now?”
Gus turned away from the pitiful sight, not sorry in the least.
Looking around, Gus saw many supers standing in awe, their leader summarily deposed. Many turned to flee, and Gus sped into motion. He flew toward each and stripped their powers away with the velocity of the best speedsters. The process was much quicker now and in less than a minute he had reached them and sapped away what remained of their powers, for good.
Chapter Forty-Six
Shake It Up
When he had finished running, he noticed that his hands were trembling. No—it was his whole body, as if he had an uncontrollable shivering fit.
“What have I done, Aurora? I think the effect isn’t stabilizing. There’s no way I can assimilate this many powers.” Gus could feel a fatigue starting to creep in, so intense that he began to ache. He dropped to his knees, and the deluge of powers felt like it was literally crushing him, burying him with their enormity. The perimeter of
